On the 6th Day of Ryder....

my true love gave to me....Christmas, a road trip, and meeting a lot of family.

We are not Arizona natives. Well Cam kinda is, but we both are from California. Both of our families live in Northern California. We miss it. A lot. So for Christmas the three of us drove up there! Crazy right? Doing a 13 hour drive with a 6 month old? Nope. It was cake!! We broke the trip up into two days. The first day we drove to Riverside to stay with my sister for the night. Ryder met his aunt and his cousin for the first time. They were all very excited about this.

Isla, my neice, just made Ryder laugh and laugh. She's a cutie isn't she?

Then, we drove up to Sacramento, where we're from. We got to my parents house, and it was just like being "home." You know that feeling right? When you go back to your parents, and there's just this thing inside you repeatedly saying "home, home, home, home..."? Yeah, that's the feeling I got. And it was wonderful for Ryder to be around his family.
Christmas is always a big planning extravaganza, as I'm sure it is with anyone that has both sets of parents in one area, so you're obligated to go both! We usually do Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family, and Christmas afternoon and dinner with Cams family.
Being that it was Ryders first Christmas, it was especially special!!

He got some pretty cool new toys, that he still loves. And of course he had on his "babys first christmas" gown!!
The Kimball family is quite large! One daughter and 5 sons! Plus 10 grandkids! So obviously, there was a lot of people to meet.

Those are all the adults and four of the grandkids. Big family right?
Ryder also met my aunt, my uncle and his boyfriend. *No, you didn't misread that*

My uncle isn't much of a kid person, but let me tell you, I was scared I wasn't going to get Ryder back!!
And of course Ry had to meet Santa! I don't have that actual photo on the laptop, but I do have this one of us in the outfit he wore to meet the big guy.

Little gentleman he is. :)
But who needs to meet Santa when.....

you ARE Santa?! And who better to fly the sleigh than Ryder the Reindeer!?

Not only do I have Ryder The Reindeer on a coffee cup, but this was the holiday card last year. Who could deny that face?!
Ryder also had a few firsts this month. His first bath in a sink and his first splash!

And his first cookie thingy. Messiest things around, but he liked it.

I think the grandmas enjoyed our time in California more than anyone else on earth. Though this picture doesn't look like fun, it was. And I think this picture is classic so I have to share it!

And then there's this one, Ryder is "cooked" as we say. *Not like a chicken or anything, just meaning he's totally asleep so feel free to move about the cabin*

and since Cam got a new hat for Christmas, Ryder had to try it on just to make sure it was ok for dad

On the 13th day of Ryder my true love gave to me......ultrasounds, dozens of doctors appointments, a scary birth experience and a baby shower!!
On the 12th day of Ryder my true love gave to me......Ryder!
On the 11th day of Ryder my true love gave to me…funny faces and...nothing else. :)
On the 10th day of Ryder my true love gave to me.... colic and poop problems.
On the 9th day of Ryder my true love gave to me....strong arms, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa K and a broken foot.
On the 8th day of Ryder my true love gave to me....2 teeth, Halloween and first foods!!
On the 7th day of Ryder my true love gave to me....sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving and daddy time.
On the 6th day of Ryder my true love gave to me....Christmas, a road trip and meeting a lot of family