Max's Baby Blessing

Max was so blessed to be blessed (lol) on Christmas Day. What an excellent way to start such a special sacrament meeting with a baby blessing. I was in such a good mood that morning that I completely forgot to pay attention to anything Bryan said during the blessing!! Luckily for me, my wonderful sister-in-law, Deborah, jotted things down for us. His blessing was short and sweet and perfectly describes the person I see my baby boy becoming one day. We were so lucky to have so many family members attend the blessing, which we had in Bryan's parents ward, which is also the ward we attended for the first 7 months of my pregnancy. It was fun showing off my baby to all those who saw me grow bigger and bigger by the week.

The Jones Clan

               Bryan's Uncle Scott                                        Grandma and Papa Jones

 Parents. Or should I say, Grandparents.

The Simonds' side of the family

 Uncle Kaleb and Aunt Kailee

 Uncle Johann, Aunt Deborah and cousin Henry

 Grandpa and Abuela

 Cousins

Christmas in Cali

We spent three weeks in California for Christmas vacation and it was Heavenly!! It was so nice having a ton of people ever so willing to hold Max and entertain him! Not that I don't love spending all my time with my baby, it can just be a little much sometimes when he even has to join you in he bathroom... I'll tell of our vacation through the pictures:

One of my little brothers, Kaleb, got married! They got married in the San Diego temple and get this: they were married in the same sealing room and by the same sealer as Bryan and I were. What a coincidence! As we were listening to the sealer I couldn't help but observe how each ceremony is tailored to the individual couple getting married, despite the sealer having just met them.

Waiting outside the temple:

                                                                   My mama and me

                                                                        Can't escape a hungry baby!

                                                                    My dad and me

          The happy couple, Kaleb and Kailee!!

 

I have two sisters now!! (This is a big deal for me. I grew up with three brothers).

 Max and his cousin Henry meeting for the first time.

 Auntie Deborah

                    Cousin Henry loving on Max...                           ...a little too much?

We spent Christmas Eve with my family this year and everyone enjoyed their time with Max.

Aunt Deborah and Uncle Derek, my other younger brother.

                                                                 Matching PJ party!

                      Uncle Johann, my brother                                     Auntie Kailee

Christmas day was spent with Bryan's family. Bryan's dad was so excited to have all his youngest kids and grandkids home for Christmas that he spoiled everyone with presents!

 Max with his twin cousins, Hannah and Carter

All three of Max's cousins. These are             Hanging out by the tree on his first Christmas.

Bryan's brother Daniel's kids. (I don't 

know why this picture's sideways).

 Max and Papa Jones

 Trying to eat my hand.

Watching Peter Pan with Uncle Daniel and cousin Ethan.

Disneyland Hotel

Bryan's parents were generous enough to get all the family tickets to Disneyland and California Adventure this Christmas vacation. We unfortunately [thought we] lost our camera a couple days into vacation so all our pictures were taken either with Bryan's phone or someone else's camera. The night before we all went to Disneyland Bryan got the flu, so we went in a little later than everyone else. By the time he got up and ready to go, California Adventure was opening so we decided to start our day there. We went on the new Little Mermaid ride and Toy Story Mania, both of which Max actually enjoyed and I loved. After, we had lunch and headed over to Disneyland. We called Bryan's parents to meet up with everyone (Bryan's brother's family was there too) and it turned out that the flu had caught up with Bryan's dad and he and Bryan's mom were headed home. We thought we could still meet up with Bryan's brother, but they were already in California Adventure. So we caught the parade, got a pin for Max's first visit and headed to the rides. Well, we went two days after Christmas and the place was PACKED!!! We walked around the park looking for rides we could go on and alas found none. The only thing we ended up doing was hanging out in Innoventions for about 45 minutes to feed Max, change him and relax. EVERY line was more than 30 minutes and though I was more than willing to wait in them, Bryan was still recovering from the flu and just wanted to head back to the hotel. We took a break, Bryan took a nap, and we went back to Califonia Adventure to catch the most amazing World of Color show. That made the disappointment of only going on two rides totally worth it!!! Seriously the best show I have ever seen! We ended the evening with the best boneless wings from ESPN Zone.

First ride: Little Mermaid

                                                        Max loves the new baby carrier!

 Doesn't he look so different without clothes?

                             Pajama souvenir

Getting ready to see World of Color

We also had the wonderful opportunity to stay 2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel thanks again to Bryan's parents.  It was seriously such a dream come true!! I'd never stayed at any Disneyland-based hotel and I was like a kid in a candy store! There were Mickey details everywhere, including in the sheets and the tiles in the shower.

 The carpeting in the hotel

 The wall lights up with fireworks and plays

"A Dream is a Wish You're Heart Makes" when you first turn them on.

  Watching the Disney Channel at the Disneyland Hotel!

 We actually left these lights on all night. It was so fun to wake up 

throughout the night with Max and see these!

 Not an attractive view.

We stayed in the Frontier Tower and they had an awesome model

of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.