holiday roundup: Christmas

a few days before we left for colorado, our little family checked out christmas card lane to see all the fun lights. 

we were with daron's family for christmas this year so it was 10 days in colorado! we really got to know coats, hats, and jackets. we even eventually figured out mittens! the first day there, we were in line to see santa claus when carter saw the choo choo train. the train and the reindeer (pictured below) far surpassed good old st. nick. we stood in line for about 20 minutes to see santa. once we were in, santa's "elves" were screaming in really high voices and shaking lots of loud toys all in the name of a picture. i guess i should say, all in the name of money since all they wanted was for us to buy their dumb picture. anyway, next year i will be on the look out for the real santa claus! one that actually says "ho ho ho" and "merry Christmas!" 

while we were there, we also took family pictures during a blizzard! it was fun and freezing! i'll never forget carter's face as we tried to force him to smile while it was snowing and windy. 

he looked at daron and i like, "are you joking?" 

instead he just kept yelling, "hide!" and trying to pull the blanket over his head. 

eventually we got some good ones though and of course, the "torture" was worth it - as it always is with family pictures!

photos by jennifer winder photography

carter and i snuck in wearing our matching reindeer sweatshirts.

i'm thinking next year we should get one for daron, too! 

{he would love that... wink wink }

we also played outside in the cold sans pants. who needs pants in 40 degrees anyway?

Christmas eve i took this picture of carter. he was pretty adorable when daron and i put him to bed that night. he couldn't stop saying, "mama, santa claus?" and "mama, reindeer?" in this they-are-coming-tonight, right? voice. 

and one of the 3 pictures we got of carter Christmas morning. this was his face as he pulled each item out of his stocking. i die over the anticipation!

on Christmas day, daron's family took everyone up to the cabin in breckenridge. it was here that our dreams of a white Christmas really came true!

some spa action in 10 degrees... no, our hair and eyelashes aren't turning grey. 
those are icicles! 

^one of my favorite moments with carter.

daron and i gave him a big smooch and he must have squealed 

"again! again!" a thousand times. 

i love that kid.

my favorite part of the trip was cross country skiing for the first time! daron has very fond memories of skiing with his dad as a boy growing up in alaska. he's told me all about it. it was a real treat to finally be able to go! i had to remind daron that i was his 5 months pregnant wife and not his guy friend a few times ;) but even with that, it was definitely the highlight! 

the last day, we tried to take carter sledding but the snow was too dry. so we messed around on the sled instead. i was so surprised how long carter made it playing in the snow. i thought for sure we would get him all dressed and he would want to come back in after 5 minutes. but he didn't! in fact, we usually had to coax him in.

even after this faceplant! 

{i wish i would have snapped a picture before daron wiped the snow off}

^those rosy cheeks though...

we don't see those in california often!

once home, we had some crazy Christmas blues. every day for 3 weeks, carter asked me "mama, where Chistmas go?" after we cleaned up the decorations. we may have made a mistake putting them away while he was napping. he was so, so confused. it broke my heart to watch him climb up the stairs screaming "Chistmas! Chistmas!" to turn the corner and realize Christmas was not up anymore. i think next year, we will make taking down Christmas a family affair, at least until carter starts throwing/breaking the decorations. that will be our cue to put him down, ha!

i can't believe next Christmas our little girl will be 8 months old (!!!!!) 

really though...that blows my mind. 

i can't wait!