March 2013: Spring Training & Grandpa's 60th Birthday

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What a difference a year makes!  Last year, we enjoyed a fabulous family vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where we relaxed in the sun, and attended Spring Training games. In fact, we enjoyed our trip so much that we decided to replicate it again this year!  And this year, the trip was made even better because (1) Grandma and Grandpa Mothershead, Tia Heather, Tio Jeremias, and Cousin Betinho, joined us; and (2) the trip provided a perfect way to celebrate Grandpa's 60th birthday, which was just days away.

We stayed at an awesome hotel, complete with its own water park!  And we were able to attend a Giant's game, an A's game, and an Arizona Diamondbacks game, which allowed us to see our two favorite teams, and three great ballparks.  One of the most fun aspects of the trip was the fact that we rented a huge, 12-passenger van, and we drove around the entire time as a family.  It was fun to sit in the way back with Heather and giggle like were were kids again!  The trip culminated in birthday s'mores for Grandpa.  We feel so lucky to have had this amazing opportunity for family time.  I hope we can make it a tradition!

January 18-22, 2013: A Trip to Miami

Grant has been traveling to Miami, Florida for work for - literally - years, so we decided it was about time that I join him.  Over the long Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend, we decided to take a family trip to South Beach.  We stayed in a great family hotel right across from the beach, and just spent time relaxing in the sand, cruising up and down the beautiful beach-side trail, perusing the Art Deco Festival that was going on, and eating great food.  All-in-all, traveling with a baby is tough (particularly given the extra baggage, and with a red-eye flight), but - as you can tell - we truly enjoyed our time together there!

Winter 2012: What a Season!

As is typical of the season, Winter in the Gaudette household was full of family and fun, and it went by in a blur.  The holiday season started with a major milestone for Ellie -- on November 15, 2013, she officially became a walker!  It was a wonderfully exciting night in our household as she toddled back and forth between us.  Tia Megan even came over to enjoy the fun.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with the Mothershead/Zunguze clan visiting for a nice long weekend.  Ellie and Betinho were really starting to interact and play, and it melts your heart to see them together.  Knowing that we wouldn't be together for Christmas, we followed our Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday with a weekend of Christmas decorating, festivities like gingerbread house-making, and exchanging gifts.  What a great weekend of celebration!

The month of December came and went in a blink, but notable events included seeing Santa at the mall (I'm pretty sure Stanford Mall is where the real Santa visits -- look at him!), and attending the WSGR Christmas party.

And before we new it, Christmas was here! This year, we had a non-traditional Christmas in Morro Bay with the Cross family.  We rented a great house that was just a short walk to the beach, and had several days to just relax and spend time together.  We took a trip to Cayucas, explored the Hearst Castle museum and gift shop (tickets were sold out for the castle itself), decorated gingerbread houses, and just spent good quality time as a family.  What more can you ask for for Christmas?

October 31, 2012: Halloween 2012 -- Ellie the Elephant

We celebrated Halloween this year with family costumes again - Ellie the elephant and her safari-going parents - and trick-or-treating with friends.  Ellie's favorite house was undoubtedly the house that gave out bubbles!  Mommy and Daddy liked the house that gave out full-size Reeses!

October 4, 2012: Ellie's First Birthday

We officially have a 1 year old!  I've been told that when you have kids, the days go by slowly, but the years go by quickly.  I now see how true that statement really is!

We celebrated Ellie's first birthday surrounded by friends and family for a fun, end-of-summer barbecue.  We are so lucky to have so many amazing people in our lives who were willing to travel from near and far to celebrate Ellie's special day.  Here are a few photos from the event.

 

Of course, we also documented the moment by taking Ellie's 12 month photos.  We think they turned out great!