Happy New Year!

Our dear friends, the Davies, came into town to celebrate New Year's Eve with us. After much anticipation, Luke met his bride-to-be, Baby Kate, and the kids had a great time last night. Here they are, after a little too much partying! Happy 2009!

Luke's First Christmas

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Luke. He enthusiastically helped open presents, loved playing with his new toys, and provided our family with much entertainment on Christmas day. Here are some of our favorite moments:



The kids were ready for Christmas!



Santa left a big present for Luke this year!



Opening one of his presents...



Luke thinks he is pretty cool driving around in his new car!



Playing in his new house...



Luke gave Mimi and Grandpa a special present that we made.



All boy here!!



Our little elves



Our slideshow can also be viewed under the "Winterhoff Family Photo Albums" link on the right side of this webpage.

Visit to the North Pole

Our family took a quick trip to the North Pole this weekend!




On our journey, we saw a toy soldier.




We also spotted some snowmen!




Luke told Santa what he wanted for Christmas this year...




Winnie even came along to get her picture taken with Santa, too!



Funny how both the pet-friendly Santa and Santa in his sleigh just happened to have southern accents and used the word "ain't" when speaking to children. Gotta love South Carolina!

Christmas in Williamsburg

We went to Williamsburg last weekend to celebrate Christmas with the Winterhoff family. Grams and Poppy did so much to create a special celebration for all of their children and grandchildren. Luke loved playing with his cousins and we enjoyed our annual tradition of spending a Christmas weekend together as a family. Here are some of our favorite pictures and a slideshow of our Winterhoff Christmas:


Grams and Poppy with Luke





Slideshow:

The Magic of Christmas

Here are a few of our favorite poses from Luke's Christmas pictures. Everything about the holiday season seems to be a bit more magical this year: The bright lights on the tree, the colorful packages and bows, the joyful carols and spirit of the season, and most of all, the wonderous gift of our Savior's birth.




Look what Santa left under the tree!



Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas"



"Pass the eggnog, please!"

On the Move!

Our little man is becoming mobile! Although Luke isn't crawling yet, he is certainly on the move! Recently, he likes to be on his tummy on our hardwood floor where he is able to spin in circles. I think he looks like he is breakdancing, and it certainly makes us laugh! Below is a video of Luke proudly showing off his newfound mobility:



Luke also seems to love "dancing" while in his Exersaucer. He bounces up and down and stays very busy. I am embracing these days of being able to keep Luke in one place, before I begin chasing him all over our house! Here's our little jumping bean in action:

O Christmas Tree!

We've spent a busy few days decorating our house for Christmas,and the highlight of our weekend was finding our Christmas tree. I think we've overdone it a little this year, but I rationalize this (again!) by saying that Luke only has a First Christmas once, and we are feeling very festive this year. Here are the stats on "Goliath," our tree:

-Height: 12 feet tall

-Adornments: 1400 white lights
Hundreds of ornaments (all Mark's and mine from growing up, with
one very special addition this year)

-Water Consumption: Multiple gallons per day

-Electricity used to light our tree for the next month: 100,000 KwH
(My GE husband's exaggerated guess!)

-Family Memories created: Priceless



Luke woke up yesterday morning ready to go Christmas tree hunting!


Our Perfect Tree!


Riding home after finding our tree (with Goliath on top of the Jeep).


Our new ornament for 2008!