Utah Vacation

We just got back from our Christmas vacation in Utah. We had such a great time! We were able to visit and spend time with both of our families. It was a trip we will always remember. Of course everyone was so excited to meet Charlie and I think they were a little excited to see us too :)
A few highlights from our trip:
*Charlie met his cousins
*His Aunts and Uncles

Aunt Chloe was nice enough to put on her swimsuit and give Charlie his baths
*and his Grandpas
(not all are pictured...that would be a little much)

*Dates with just Tony and I
*Temple Square Lights
*Family Home Evening's with Tony's family

*Charlie's Blessing
Tony was able to bless Charlie with both of our families present. The blessing was so beautiful. It was a very special day for Tony and I. We are so grateful for this little guy.
*Christmas
It was just a great vacation and we had such a great time visiting our families. We were so sad to leave them,
but are happy to be home.

Our Christmas!

There's nothing better than Christmas morning!
Here's some of our pictures....

Charlie waiting to open presents...the suspense was killing him :)

This is my favorite picture! He's smiling and rocking that bedhead.
Whoo hoo a new bottle!

Finding age appropriate toys was a little challenging, so we got a few things he can play with in the future. Pretty sure he didn't know this toy was there haha

Tony with his stocking presents

Charlie actually liked this present! It has dancing lights that captivated his attention

We're obviously first time parents because every present needed a picture! This one cracks me up because after about 15 minutes Charlie was just ready to go back to sleep. I think Christmas was just too exciting to enjoy longer than 20 minutes :)
So we let him sleep and opened up the rest of our presents.

We had so much fun! Now we get to look forward to two more Christmases with family!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Our Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Tree
Tomorrow we are getting on a plane and flying to be with our families for Christmas. We are so excited to see them! We're also excited to have lots of eager hands to hold and help with Charlie.

Since we'll be away for Christmas, we decided to have our own Christmas a little early. Last night was our Christmas Eve!

We made cookies, watched this...

and just enjoyed our time together as a family

We knew Charlie wouldn't understand the concept of opening presents, but we were still so excited to see him with his presents the next morning.
It was a great night!

Surgery

Right now I'm laying on my couch, sipping cranapple juice while Tony is taking care of Charlie. Yesterday I went into the hospital and left without my gallbladder.
When I was around 30 weeks pregnant I started getting these awful pains in between in my shoulder blades and under my rib cage. It was just constant pain lasting 40min to a few hours. Poor Tony would rub my back while I was throwing up or just laying down. Neither of us knew what on earth was going on! We called the doctor on call and was told it was probably just something I ate and I needed to take antacids (that made me feel like the biggest wimp ever) When the pains kept coming back I thought these were those false labor pains you read about so I just dealt with it.
After Charlie was born and I could feel the pain coming on again one day I was really surprised. I thought these pains were what was making me dilate and getting ready for labor. I asked the nurse about it at my six week appointment and she said gallbladder problems were common in pregnant women so eat a low fat diet to avoid flare ups.
Yesterday the pain came back again. It was so sad because Charlie was crying and I couldn't pick him up or anything, We just cried together. Tony was at work and he called and convinced me to call a doctor. I called a specialists office and the nurse said I could only come in if I was referred by my doctor. But she said if I really was having a gallbladder attack I needed to go to the emergency room...what?! That was first time anyone mentioned that! So Tony came home from work and we went to the emergency room. The pain had been going on for three and a half hours by now and I just wanted someone to do something!
Holy cow, the story is almost over. I promise.
We had an ultrasound and turns out I had several gallstones. The doctor said I needed my gallbladder removed so we stayed there and I went into surgery.
So in the end, I've had 10-12 gallbladder attacks at home and I could've had this taken care of a long time ago! I was too afraid of looking like a baby so I never went in to have it checked. So if you're pregnant and have pains like I described, don't listen to people telling you you're having braxton hicks, heartburn, etc.
The recovery should only be 2 days. The problem is that the incisions on my body are right where I hold and feed Charlie. Luckily, Tony is staying home and taking care of him.


phew... that was probably more info than you ever wanted to know!

Nativity

Last night our stake hosted a Christmas celebration that included a concert, nativity displays and a live nativity. Our family participated as Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus.

(I thought his bright green pacifier might be a little distracting so I opted for my finger instead)
I'm so glad we were able to be a part of this. It made me think and wonder about what it was like that first Christmas night. I can't imagine how special and also how scary that night must have been for Joseph and Mary. I wonder if they fully understood what that night meant for all of creation. I don't think you could.

We had a great time and this definitely put us in the Christmas spirit!

Our Little Helper

We sat Charlie down and had a heart to heart. With the messes he makes & the cost of diapers, he needs to start pulling his weight and help out the family.

Here he is doing laundry :)

Tummy Time Photos

Charlie loves holding his head up! He's constantly trying to look around and see what's going on. I've just started placing him on his stomach and he loves it.

I love the string of these photos!

This last one makes me laugh every time I see it