Christmas break and more...

We just thought we'd give a little post Christmas update. Things have been crazy over the last few weeks but it was well worth it, we had a great time over Christmas break. It was a major west coast tour that started with a trip to Oregon to visit the Stockhoff family. It snowed like crazy and the news kept saying that it was the worst storm since like 1964 (or something like that). We didn't end up getting out very much because of the weather but we had a lot of fun and there were hallmark Christmas movies a plenty!
Following Oregon we headed to Utah to spend some time with the Brady family. We had a lot of fun spending time with family and visiting friends. The snow was kind enough to follow us from Oregon to Utah. Luckily in Utah they have equipment to remove snow so we were able to get out and about. I know it's cliche but we made the obligatory trips to bajio and cafe rio while we were out there. They just don't know how to do that tex mex here in the dirrrty. Probably one of the biggest highlights of the trip was Gus's baby blessing. As parents it was a special experience. Gus did really well and didn't cry once during the whole blessing and managed to not have a blowout in his little blessing outfit, which was also a plus.
On Monday I had to head back to South Carolina to start school, but we decided that Allice should stay a few more days out west with the fam. As part of my husbandly duty I thought I'd better make a little post about our break and put up a few pictures of the little man. He's getting so big and everyday he does something new. We can't help but love him more and more.



Gusser


Me, my mom, Jessa and her girls


Gramma and Gus


Gus's namesake: Grandpa Stockhoff


Gus trying to suck his thumb


Nat and Kenz


Gus and the Christmas sock



Gus enjoying the frigid Oregon winter


Corey doing the Lebron James


Gus with Nana and Gramps




Blessing day


Gus and his new friend Ford

Baby Gus's 12 week update

This last Wednesday marked a mini milestone in baby Gus's life, he has been here for 12 whole weeks now. It's hard to believe that baby Gus is already 12 weeks old but we are really enjoying having him here. It seems like everyday he's doing something new and we find 100 more reasons to love him. I'll spare you the specifics because surely they're things that only we as new parents find newsworthy! Instead of saying too much I'll just post some pictures so y'all can see how chubby the baby boy is getting.

2 Weeks Overdue

This post is a little over due but I'm going to post it anyway. Gus is growing up so fast and is now 2 1/2 months old. He is getting so big and I love it.
Here is a pic of him in his car seat the day we brought him home from the hospital



And here he is in all his 2 month old glory



Making some progress right??

He has started making baby sounds, eye contact and smiling. However, whenever I try and capture one of his prize winning smiles on camera this is what happens....



So we're still trying to catch one in film. This is the closest we've come so far...



We'll keep trying and I know we'll get a good smile on camera one of these days!!

It is time...

These are perhaps the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever tasted. My mom and I found the recipe when she was out here in South Carolina right after I had Gus. She was watching Food Network and they featured a bakery in NYC called the Levain Bakery and made me look it up online. We did and found out that they don't actually give out their recipe but they do give links to other peoples blogs who have tried to copy their fabulous cookies and that is where we found this one. So if you love cookies and are looking for a new one to try this one is just the one!!

Enjoy!

Levain Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup cold butter
2 1/2 Cup flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup White Sugar
2 Large eggs cold
12 oz. Chocolate Chips
3/4 Cup Walnuts

In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Cut in the cold butter until crumbs. Add sugars and stir well. Add eggs and mix until dough forms. Stir in Choco chips and nuts and chill dough for at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put 1/2 the dough on a cookie sheet and round it into 7 large balls of dough. Bake for 13-18 mins. (And when we made them we made the dough by hand, didn't use the mixer at all)

They are huge cookies and kind of cake like but super tasty.

Enjoy and happy baking!

I love this!

New video chat in Gmail. Love it. Want everyone I know to try it.

A Week (or so) of Pics

I'll make this short and sweet. We haven't really been up to much lately so I'll keep the words to a minimum and the pictures to a max. Greg, Gus and I are now officially on our own here. We just had Greg's mom Stacie stay with us for 10 wonderful days. She was just a big help and little Gus just loves her!! After her visit I went to Utah for a week while Greg was at a conference in Miami Beach. It was great to be back in Utah for a little while and so fun to spend time with family. We totally surprised my dad by just showing up Saturday night. My sister Jessa just walked into the house holding Gus while I hid around the cornere. My dad was so confused and had no clue what was going on and I couldn't help it so I just jumped out from around the corner and completed the surprise. It was so fun to have my fam see Gus and be able to spend time with him, and it was a bonus for me because there were always so many willing arms to hold him. It just makes me so excited for Christmas when we'll be able to introduce Gus to all our family!!
On a different note, we had the best mail day yesterday. We got the cutest package from my little brother Tucker who is serving a mission in NYC. It was a simple note, 2 pics and a cute cute beenie for Gus that he had knitted himself. I was so excited I almost started crying. Darn pregnancy/motherhood hormones.
Anyway, enjoy the pics!!


We love Nanna


Great Gramma and Gus


Cousins


Trick or Treating around the cirlce.....Gus is a Clemson Tiger


Gus and his new friend Jack


Our fall family photo


This is the hat from Tuck...I love love love it

One month already

I can't believe that we have already had this little baby with us for one whole month. Time sure does fly. It felt like just yesterday that we were coming home from the hospital with this little person that totally depends on us for everything. Everyday is such a learning curve but we are loving every minute of it and love showing off our cute little guy. He has changed so much in the past couple weeks (at least I think he has). I can't wait to see what the next couple weeks bring.


This was a rare moment when he took his bink

This past weekend we made the very long journey from our home in South Carolina to a wedding in Nauvoo, Illinois. One of Greg's oldest and best friends, Josh Downs, got married and we just could not miss it (seeing as how Josh is the one who introduced Greg and me!!) We had a wonderful time and couldn't be happier for Josh and Jess. We love you guys.


The very happy couple


Greg and Gus and the Nauvoo Temple


Me, Gus, my cousin Dru and Gus' future cousin due Nov. 24...we can't wait to meet him!


Father and son

Such a Tease...

Ok as much as I love love love this little guy he is just teasing me over and over. The past couple days he has been doing an ok job sleeping through the night, that is until last night. He refused to go to sleep until 6:15 in the morning. And even if he would doze off, as soon as I laid him down in his bed his eyes would pop open and the crying would begin. So I pretty much pulled an all-nighter. Welcome to motherhood right?

This is for you Family....

Ok here is our 5 day update. Wow it's been a whole 5 days and I have to admit that it kind of feels like it's been a whole 5 years. We finally made it home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon and are so glad to be back in our little place. We are figuring out the whole sleeping, eating, being awake kind of thing and I'm pretty sure little Gus has what our pediatrician called "jet lag". He hasn't quite caught up to the whole day time, time to open your eyes and eat and night time, time to sleep. But we sure love him and are so glad he is here!!! (I was way over my maternity clothes)

Enjoy the new pics!


The car ride home from the hospital


Dad and baby Gus



After bath time and his hair makes him look slightly like an oompa loompa



He's our little peanut