Holidays 2012

This year we had a low key Thanksgiving, which was really nice. Sometimes I am amazed at how busy we seem to get. It is good to slow down once in awhile and just chill without much on the schedule. That is what we did over Thanksgiving. We are usually meat free in our house, but had roasted leg of lamb along with the traditional Thanksgiving goodies. Amel, Bean and I spent a nice day at home with a tasty meal. The Bean's Thanksgiving plate went untouched of course, as he will still only eat pureed fruits, veggies and proteins. He does love to eat sweets of any kind, chips, crackers, and occasionally bread sigh...

Amel's mom, Goga (None) and her husband Josko (Nono) came to visit us on December 11. We took a trip up to the Grand Canyon. This was the Bean's first experience with snow. While in the car he said, "I want to touch that snow," and "I am so excited about that snow." However, when we got to the hotel and opened the door he rushed us to get his coat on and said "I don't like it!" We never did touch the snow. He wouldn't even walk on it! He did enjoy wearing gloves though. My favorite part of the trip was asking Bean "Do you see the snow?" and him replying "Yeah, and a see penguin  over there."  Bean decided the train around the tree in the lobby was his and spent a lot of time playing with it. The hotel had a cozy feel with a fire place and Christmas decorations, however don't expect to find good quality food when visiting the Grand Canyon.  On the way back we spent a few hours in Flagstaff; what a great little town!

We got to spend Christmas and New Year's with None and Nono, along with Auntie Aida, who also came to visit for a week. We had some delicious Bosnian food (Pita, Bamia, Crepes, and to name a few) in the company of good friends on Christmas Eve. Our good friends, Chris, Yvette, and Noemi joined us for dinner and an evening of conversation. We continued our tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we relaxed at home in the morning and got to enjoy seeing the Bean get his "big dump truck" that he was super excited about. He is still talking about how Santa brought him a big dump truck and loves to scoop "dirt" into it and dump it. I was so excited waiting to see the Bean open his gifts I had trouble sleeping.  We had an amazing Christmas dinner with our friends Nadar and Diane. We are really blessed to have such good friends. There was so much food we had leftovers for a week.

We spent four days, including New Year's Eve and day in Las Vegas. Aida treated us to a hotel room. I think the family enjoyed their time in Las Vegas. Bean was impressed with the lights and was fascinated with the painted sky in the Venetian. I wish I had a video of his face when he looked up. He enjoyed watching the live performances in the casino. He also really liked the Gondolas. I assume he doesn't remember seeing the real Venice last summer. Amel and I spent New Year's Eve in the hotel room watching the recording of the ball dropping in New York while the Bean slept. At 11:30 pm, we decided it was New Year's in AZ and we could go to sleep!

We wish all our friends and family a very happy and healthy 2013 and look forward to what the new year brings! I think it is going to be a great year!