Sister Suzy from Seattle is Engaged!

Suzy and Michael are engaged! Yay! He asked her on Christmas Eve under the big tree in Marble Falls. Suzy wasn't expecting it -- she says the last ten times she thought he would ask, he didn't, so she didn't think anything of it when he told her wanted to look at the lights.

I feel like an ass -- I kept calling Michael and Suzy to ask where they were because they weren't following the family caravan to our pizza bakeoff. We started putting two and two together when Dad acted a little weird about it, too -- "they just wanted some time alone, Nicole." I knew it! When Suzy and Michael showed up, we were so excited:

Christmas Day 2009

Luke had some loot, that's for sure! He got a ton of toys! We had dinner at my grandparents' on Christmas Day, and a couple of days later had Christmas at the Scotts. This was such a great day...so much to be thankful for -- healthy baby, healthy family, jobs.

Just a year ago, we were announcing I was pregnant to our families. Here is a picture we took Christmas Eve '08 at the Scotts'. My sister-in-law Michaela just found out she was pregnant, too, and Ryan and Adam told the family to say "Micki and Nicole are pregnant!" instead of "Cheese!".

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas has come and gone, and it was a huge success! Luke had a great time -- all he knew is that he was held 24/7 and got a ton of kisses and hugs from his aunts and grandparents.

After Adam got off of work, he, Brooke and I drove to Marble Falls to make the Christmas Eve service with my parents, Suzy, Michael and Katie. To say it's a little stressful to bake cookies, and get myself, a baby and a car full of suitcases and toys ready in time is an understatement. We made it to church after the service started, then I had to take Luke out about five minutes after we got there to feed him. Once we were finished, the service was over. Ugh! Oh well...next year we'll be more organized.

Christmas Eve night we all went to my Aunt Patty's and Uncle Tim's new house outside of Johnson City to have a pizza bakeoff (we always have pizza on Christmas Eve). Tim and Patty are opening a brewery next year, so we drank their Christmas Ale and ate as much pizza as we could stomach. Adam and I would've had the award-winning pizza, but there was some tough competition. My cousin Sean grilled all of his ingredients, and his pizza was awesome! And, Suzy and Michael had some sort of pear, mozarella concoction that was pretty yummy. Then, we had a book exchange and got the book "A Christmas Carol" -- it was my grandpa's when he was a kid.

Sitting Up

Luke's doing a pretty good job of sitting up (with a prop of some sort) and holding his head steady. I think any day now he should roll over. He's putting his feet into the air and tipping them over when he's on his back. And, he spends most of his day drooling and sucking on his fist or anything else he can get into his mouth.

I noticed tonight that he was scooting himself down in the bathtub, so we'll really have to keep a close eye on him. I turned my back for literally five seconds to put something under the sink and he'd already managed to scoot his bottom over the little seat that's in the baby tub.

Under Construction

The house is coming along, albeit slowly. We had a meeting with the contractor last week, and we're hoping for a closing date before June 2010 so we can take advantage of the $6500 home buyer tax credit. Hopefully, it'll all work out!

Meeting Santa

Luke had his first meeting with the Big Elf. We waited for about an hour and half, and Luke didn't make a peep. Just sat in his stroller or in my arms, observing everything going on in the mall. Maybe he'll be a people watcher like me. (Adam tells me sometimes that I have to quit staring.)

All that waiting for a 30 second photo shoot and $25 photo. Oh -- and I spilled my smoothie before I even got to drink it. But, overall, it was super cute and Luke told him he wanted two front teeth this Christmas.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

Methinks my son's head might look like his Great-grandpa Madden's.

Thanksgiving 2009

Katie and Lauren are the best older cousins. Maybe they'll start a Cousin Squad like my cousins and sisters had. We spent most of our time initiating my sister Suzy and cousin Rachel, but it was so much fun! It's even more fun to read through our meeting "minutes" and club rules. My cousin Becky kept all the paperwork (she was the secretary, of course), so I'll have to show the girls...

I think it goes without saying that I'm most thankful for a happy, healthy baby and a wonderful husband who I love so so much. This has definitely been a great year -- can't wait to see what's in store for us in the future! Thanksgiving was at the Scott house this year. Christmas will be at my parents'. Adam's brothers and sisters and my sisters are all on the same schedule, so it works out perfectly!

Clearing the Lot

They've cleared the lot for the new house, so there's no turning back now! We've already picked out the granite, tile, paint, doorknobs...everything! I kind of zoned out when it was time to choose the grout -- so many details and minutia make my head hurt.