Christmas Afternoon

We went to Shelley's (my stepmom) sister's house, after breakfast at my mom's and nap time for Naison, on Christmas Day to celebrate with my other side of the family. Nais got to open more presents and play with more cousins! Yay for kids, doggies, and cool outside toys. My dad was there with his camera, of course, and got some great shots.

Here is Nasion loving the little puppy dog...and the annual Meyer sister shot!

Naison was a little scared of the trampoline but when daddy was jumping with him he was loving it. Then all the "kids" layed on the couch to watch a movie.

This was a very fun and stress free Christmas! Loved seeing all the family!

Christmas Morning

This was a busy day! So, on Christmas morning we all we went to my Mom and Bob's house for our Christmas morning tradition. We ate a fabulous breakfast prepared by my mom!

After breakfast we all sat around the tree and opened presents together. The kids had so much fun opening all their gifts!

Notice Naison's outfit change...it was so hot he had to change out of his sweater!

We had a great Christmas celebrating with our families. Next up Christmas afternoon...but I'm waiting on my Dad's pics because they will be much better than mine!

Dancing boy!

This is a video of Naison dancing at my moms to one of the Christmas toys that plays music around her tree. Please excuse my loud laughing....it was so funny in person though. Oh, and sorry, it's a little dark.

Christmas party time!

We had a Christmas party over at my mom's for our Lutes side of the family last Sunday. Naison had so much fun playing outside with all the boys. And he even got to open his very first Christmas present. I think he is going to have a lot of fun on Christmas day opening up his stuff.

Then we had a pre Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's tonight. My mom made the best tamales ever! We all loved them. Our friend Varqa is in town from TX, so we brought him along. (I still have not gotten a picture of him but I will!) Naison loves looking at the Christmas tree and playing with all the stuff around it. There are lots of different stuffed animals that all play music and dance and Nais loves to dance with them.

Next up...Christmas Eve party at Dad and Shells and Christmas Day adventures!

We have words....

Naison is getting very good at saying some words. I will try to do better to get them on video. His favorite word to say is "hot". Of course he says "da da" and not "ma ma" but we are working on it. Some of his other words are: out, ouch, cookie, dog, Max (but he says Dax cause he can't make the m sound yet), eyes (pronounced eeeys since my mom taught him to say it in southern), and water. Most of the time these words are only said after we say them, not on his own, but he really loves to repeat words and use his voice. The only one he says on his own is hot and he totally uses it at the wrong time. I think he just likes to say it!

He is also getting very good at walking and I think I caught him trying to run today! Look out world here Naison comes!

Breakfast with The Bellinos

Since the teachers in our lives are on break we decided to get together with some friends for breakfast during the week. We met Lynn, Nikki, Ansley, Mom, and Court and kiddos at Mimi's this past Tuesday. We always have a blast catching up with them. It is so nice to see all the kids growing up too!

We have been doing this for years and years...when we were just kids ourselves. No we are the ones with the kids! Love them!

Christmas Program

We went to church with my mom last weekend to see Anthony in the children's musical at Glendale Nazarene Church. It was a pretty good show. Naison joined us for a while in the big church and then when he got antsy he went to the nursery.

Nice job Anthony! You were an amazing shepard.

1st Haircut!

Naison had a mini haricut by Mama Shahnaz while we were in Texas, but he needed a big boy haricut this time. I took him to this place that only cuts kids hair because I figured they could handle his constant head movement. He got to sit in a yellow car and "drive" while he got his hairs cut! He even got a blue drape to cover him so hair didn't get all over him.

I think he did a pretty good job of sitting still. Thanks Uncle Jake for coming with and helping! At the end he got a blow dry and a little bit of gel! Ta-da!

Zoo Lights!

We went to Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo on Tuesday night with they Sylvias! I didn't know what to expect from Naison, but he had a great time! He loved sitting in his wagon with KK and looking at all the lights.

We all took turns pulling the wagon. We did get to see a few animals too! Kirst, Ty, and KK went in to see the sting rays at Sting Ray Bay....however, I DO NOT DO STING RAYS, so Nais and I played while we waited for them.

Towards the end of the night, the kids had been so good, we got them light sticks! I think they enjoyed them....Nais still loves his toy!

Naison was so tired when we got done, he went right to sleep!

Thanksgiving weekend!

We went to Thanksgiving this year at Marianne's house, which is my step Aunt. We all brought something so it was very nice not to have to cook much. I made mac and cheese. Nais had a lot of fun playing with all the other kids. I didn't get many pictures because my camera has been acting up. Guess I will be needing a new camera for Christmas. The food was amazing as always!

Then on Saturday we went to the Children's museum of Phoenix for a playdate. Court came along and brought Tatum and Anthony...which is a whole different story! Tatum decided to tell Anthony to stick his fist in his mouth while we were driving there, in my car, so he did...and puked all over her, him, and the car. Needless to say...had to pull over!

So, we met a few friends and had a blast at the museum. We will be going back for sure since we bought a year pass, and so did the others. Yay for playdates...Nais slept over 3 hours for his nap that day!

Cabin trip!

We went to the cabin in Pine last weekend with the Sylvias again. This was our second trip with 2 kids, 3 dogs, and 4 adults. We did some hiking this time with the kiddos in backpacks. We also ate at out favorite breakfast place...HB's. Then we made a chili and cornbread dinner Saturday night. The kids had a blast playing together. Oh, and of course we got lots of family pics...thanks Kirsten and Ty for bringing your awesome camera.

Here we are hiking at the Tonto Natural Bridge

We love our cabin trips cause we don't have to think about anything except having fun!

We can't wait for the next trip!

Birthday Books!

This past Monday Naison and I went to Phoenix Children's Hosptial to donate all the books from his birthday party. My friend Susan, from high school, works at the PCH Foundation and she took us to the Emily Center to donate the books to the book cart. Of course my Dad came along to capture the event on film, or memory card these days. He does a lot of photography work for PCH so he has worked with Susan for years!

Naison was showing off his walking skills! We had so much fun while we were there, we will have to do this more often. It was also very nice to see Susan!

1 year pictures

Here are some 1 year and family pictures my friend Malia took this past week. I went to high school with her. I think they turned out fabulous. If anyone is interested in having pictures by her she has a facebookpage called Malia B Photography. Check it out.

Here are some of my favorites. I didn't put many of the family pics because I want to send one out for the holidays and didn't want to spoil it. So, check your mailbox for our best family photo. Love to all!

Naison's Birthday Party

Yes, my little boy is 1! I can hardly believe it. This past weekend we had a birthday party for him and it seriously lasted all weekend. We were beat, but it was soooo worth it! I would like to give a big shout out to Neda, Kathy, my mom, Court, and Veenur for helping out. Thank you so much! And a huge shout out to Farshid for taking pictures since my dad couldn't make it.

The theme was "Dr Seuss" and I had everyone bring books to donate to Phoenix Children's Hospital instead of gifts for Nais. Vafa's brother and girlfriend came into town for the party and the rest of our AZ families were able to attend as well. I can only speak for myself....I had a blast! Thanks to all who attended and brought books to donate.

Here are some party pics:

Of course I had to make my little man's 1st birthday cake...Dr Seuss style:

We also had a pinata, but not the kind you hit, the kind that you pull the strings. I know, kinda lame but maybe next year we will have the one you hit. I just didn't want anyone to get injured.

Thanks to all who came out to celebrate our big boy's 1st birthday!

The next day we had a chili lunch for some out of town guests from Florida. Kathy and her husband Rod just happened to be in town so it was just another excuse to extend the party to all weekend. Thanks to all of our family and friends that made this such a special weekend.

1 already?!?

Our little baby, now little man, turned 1 on Nov. 2nd. Our 1 year well check up was the next day. Here are the stats: 23lbs 3oz (50%) and 32.5in (90%). I don't know where my son is getting his height but the doctor said he is going to be taller that both of us! Guess it's from the Arnold side, I have tall grandparents. He also has another tooth just about ready to pop through. That will make 2 teeth so far. Everything else was totally normal. He is doing just fine and is a healthy, happy, little......toddler! There I said it! He is not a baby anymore. Oh...one more thing...pacifier needs to be only at night now and gone by our next visit at 15 months. Wish us luck! Next up birthday party!!!!!!

Halloween Fun!

Our first Halloween outing, the day before Halloween, was a party with the mom's club we are in. Naison wore his turtle costume this time. He actually won the costume contest in the baby division...I didn't even know there was a contest. I was so proud!

On Halloween night we started at Glendale Naz church with my mom, sis, and cousin Lenny for "trunk or treat". Then we headed to The Field's for the annual Halloween party they have. It was a very fun night. Naison even got to stay up until 9pm!

Houston

We went to Houston last week for 2 reasons...business and pleasure. Vafa had a 2 day conference and of course we visited his family. 1 very special reason we made a trip to TX is to meet our new nephew baby Alex! Congrats to Valeh and Leo! He is precious and we love him so much!

We did a lot of visiting, going to the park, eating, and relaxing. Vafa and I even got to go to 2 movies while we were there and I went to the spa for a much needed massage and pedicure at the Houstonian! Thanks Mama Shahnaz for all the babysitting.

While we were at Valeh's house we found out that Naison loves stairs. Then at Vafa's folks house we found our he really likes going down the stairs...a lot! He did it over and over and over again.

Here is a video of him coming down the stairs...his laugh is so sweet...I never get tired of this!

I tried to go running every day at the park...and I actually did most of the days. It was nice weather in the mornings so we went usually after a fabulous breakfast prepared by Mr. Jim.

We had lots of fun playing and visiting with all of the family. We missed seeing Neda and wished Victor could have stayed longer.

Naison also loved watching Mama Shahnaz's "tu tu's"...Farsi word for birds.

Oh...almost forgot...Naison started walking...he loves going from furniture to furniture. It is so stinkin cute. You can tell how proud of himself he is.

....and here he is the day before Halloween in his little "My 1st Halloween" outfit.

As always, we had a blast and can't wait for the next trip! Maybe our next TX trip will be to Austin...and hopefully the flight home will be better than this one!

Trick or Treat

About a week before Halloween we went trick or treating, with my mom's club, at Westminster Nursing Home. All the residents had a great time seeing all the kids dressed up. Naison wore his Zebra costume for this adventure.

Here is my friend Brandi and her kiddos and one of their cousins.

New tricks!

Here are the latest and greatest tricks that Naison can do: He has been walking with his toy scooter a lot recently. He can go longer distances every day.

He has also been saying "da da" non-stop and says it for every other word he is attempting to say. So, I say "ma ma" and he responds with "da da. It's sooooo cute!

He has been learning to wave hi and bye and has been doing that for a couple of weeks as well! Enjoy the videos.

Is that a tooth?...and pumpkin farm!

OH MY GOSH!!! This baby is finally getting a tooth. We woke up this morning and Naison had a little tooth popping through his gum on the bottom right. Which is really weird because I had a dream last night that he got 4 teeth. I tried to get a picture but no such luck.

After breakfast we headed out to the pumpkin farm to have a little fun. We met up with our friend Brandi and her 2 little ones. Too bad it is still hot here in AZ. Im glad we went in the morning because it was still a little cool when we got there.

Naison experienced a lot of new things. He got to ride on a horse, go on a hayride, and visit the petting zoo!

And Nais got to play with some pumpkins!