HoLiDAy TiME

Tis the season for dinners, parties, gatherings or just being out somewhere, I think this is the busiest i've ever been during the holiday season. We had Gemma in tow (of course) to most places and she just sleeps in her pack n play upstairs or in another room in someones house until we're ready to leave. She arrives in her pj's, plays, has her bottle and down for bed, thank goodness she's a great and easy sleeper, you can just put her down, shut the light off, shut the door and that's it. I think she's become a professional partier....she can hang for a bit but gets partied out pretty easy....not because of drinking to much though. I think we all enjoyed our busy holiday, seeing everyone, meeting new people and making the fun memories. Since this is my first year with a kid I wasn't quite sure how the present giving to other kids worked....Darin and I did a little something for each other but not a big deal and Gem only had 4 presents (stuff here is so expensive), not to worry, she has more in the states waiting for her (how to get it here is another story). We didn't do anything for our families because our flights home are so expensive we just wanted to spend the quality time with each of them this last trip and that we did. SO.....mid December rolls around and people keep showing up with gifts for Gemma! As nice as it was and how amazing it is knowing how much people love our little girl and they want to give her gifts.....I felt HORRIBLE!! I didn't get anything for anyone....lame! Next year i'll know for sure what's up. 

It's always weird around the holiday time when we aren't with our families and this year I got pretty down about it, more than I thought I would. Maybe because it's Gem's first Christmas...i'm not sure. To keep me out of my funk was our island family. I know i've said it before, but again, we have the most amazing friends that are like family here and thanks to all of them for keeping us feel welcomed and busy throughout the holiday. We spent so much time with other people and their families you can't help but feel super loved by everyone here, the food is great, the people are awesome and if we can't be with our family in the states then we could never ask for a better group of people to be spending the holidays with. 

New Years (or Ole Years here), we went to this amazing event put on by some of our friends here. It was huge and magnificent and we had such a great time. They had a great execution of their first go at throwing an Ole Years event. Everything was completely thought out from the detail in our wristbands to the signature drinks at the bar and the layout and ease of getting around with hundreds of people there. We didn't feel squished, we didn't wait forever for a drink, the music and food were awesome and the vibe was perfect for the whole night....with all you can drink champagne!! Next year will be just as epic i'm sure!

Gem was 11 months on Christmas Eve....that's crazy to me. I can't believe babies go from such helpless little things to walking around and understanding things you say and do, they start to develop a personality...I just feel like this should take like 2 years, not 1. Their little bodies just change at an insanely fast pace, from week to week they look different, do new things, say new things, are curious about new things.

Gem can walk from thing to thing or if we tease her with something she'll walk to us but doesn't go clear across the house yet, this all started somewhere in the 10th month. She loves the fridge and the dishwasher and tries to get in them every moment she can. She has a new kitchen set that makes a bunch of noise and she loves it! We moved most of the toys to the back room so no more mess in the living room (i always hated it anyway, drove me nuts), hooray!! The girl loves to eat, pretty much everything so far, playing chase and peekaboo with Darin is one of her favorite daily activities and she has certain shows that when the songs come on she freaks out, crawls to the tv and dances....or dances in place, it's pretty funny watching her. She's almost 23 lbs, and about 28 inches tall, hopefully she'll keep the chunky thighs a little longer, since I love them!

top: New Years and Boxing Day 12/26, raft up party at Juju's beach

bottom: Christmas Day brunch at a friend's family house