A California Christmas

We have had a fantastic Christmas vacation so far in San Diego. It has been so great to finally be at home with my nephew Finn! He is seriously the cutest little guy! We have all been fighting over who's turn it is to hold him. Christmas day we had a big breakfast at my sister's house and opened presents together. Finn definitely got the most presents!

Here's Finn and I together. I could sit like this all day long!Finn is incredibly expressive! He makes the funniest faces all the time. We call this one "the dragon". He makes it when he's ready to eat. :)
Sisters!

We just had to do it...we put Finn in his stocking for a little photo shoot. :)
So cute!!
We have been doing a few other things besides staring at Finn. Today we went on a long bike ride along the bay. It was a beautiful day!

Cookies and Hot Chocolate!

Rylie and I had a little Christmas adventure together this morning. I gave her a gift card to Build A Bear for Christmas and she was so excited to make her own bear. We headed down to the landing this morning and she picked out a little bunny. She had so much fun stuffing it, putting a heart inside it, washing it and picking out a little Christmas dress for her.When we came home we made hot chocolate and baked gingerbread cookies!
Love you Ry!

He's on his way!

It's official. Finn is no longer a NICU baby! I just hung up the phone with my sister and she was sitting next to him in the car on their way home! I almost can't believe it's actually happening. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures to come, but just wanted to share the news for now!

I'm so excited!!!!!!! :)

False alarm

Ok, false alarm. Just as Finn's doctor was writing his discharge papers this morning his eye doctor happened to come by and check him. Finn has developed more ROP (which is an eye condition he's been struggling with since birth) and has to have his 2nd laser eye surgery tomorrow. Bummer!! We are obviously disappointed but we know he needs to have this surgery. This surgery will probably set him back about a week. Pray that his surgery and recovery goes well and quick! We want to have him home for Christmas!! Stay tuned for more updates...

Early Christmas Present

Today we get the most amazing early Christmas present EVER! Finn is coming home from the NICU! It's been 105 days since he was born. Last night as I was going to bed and praying for his homecoming day I was just amazed at what God has done. He has created this little miracle for us to love and for my sister and brother-in-law to parent. Finn is an incredible testimony to the greatness of God. I can't wait to watch him grow up and turn into the little boy and then the man that God created him to be. Welcome home baby!

Santa made a visit to the NICU yesterday. I think Finn asked Santa if he could go home with his mom and dad!

A little Christmas smile! I mean, seriously, can he be any cuter??!!

"Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String..."

Ok, so I used a little more than brown paper and string. But these are definitely a few of my favorite things! I absolutely love wrapping presents. With my Christmas presents I like to have a theme and of course make some home made tags. This year I used a lime green herringbone paper and a red and silver polka dot paper. For ribbon I used tule and lime green ribbon. I found these really cute red snowflakes that are actually cupcake toppers, but I used them as embellishments. For tags I cut circles out of cardstock, stamped names on them, and attached them with small white clothespins.

Here they are under the tree! Unfortunately I don't get to enjoy them sitting under there for long. I'm shipping them off to California tomorrow. Hopefully they make it in one piece!
Here's a close up of a tag.Finn's presents! So I'm spoiling him, ok? I'm his aunt - I'm allowed! :)I can't wait for everyone to open them up! Only a week and a half more to wait!

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

I just had to title this post with this quote. I'm currently watching "Elf" and enjoying the wonderful scent of my Christmas tree and a baked apple pie candle. Life is good!
Every time I come in my apartment I get excited about my Christmas decorations! It's taken me a couple of weeks to get everything exactly how I want it, but I think I'm finally finished. Here are a few pictures.
Last year I made this Christmas doormat for myself.
I've been collecting Christmas trees for as long as I can remember. I put most of my collection above my kitchen cabinets.This is my favorite one, so she gets a special place in the entry way. :)This is a canvas I painted this weekend to hang over my dresser.
Bedside table. Can you see the little picture of my sister and I in matching Christmas nightgowns and bowl haircuts? It's so cute.
My mom got me the beginning of the "Willow Tree" Nativity Scene this year. I can't wait to collect all of the pieces. Laying with it is a New Testament that belonged to my Granddad when he was a little boy. I have to give a shout out to the Newman's. Pete does a lot of work to get all the lights up and we have the best looking house on the street!

Recent projects

In the last couple of months I've been in full craft mode. I thought I'd share some recent projects I've been working on.

Here's a floor mat in a brown, light blue, and light green paisley pattern. It reads "Give thanks to the LORD for he is good. His love endures forever" Psalms 136:1. This is a "splat mat" I made for my new little friend Sienna Rae. She's not big enough for a high chair yet, but someday soon it will protect her mommy's kitchen floor from spaghetti sauce and chewed on veggies. This isn't a great picture, but around the border it has little sayings like "mind your manners, drink your milk, yum yum", etc.. It's also monogramed with an "S" in one of the white polka dots.
Here's another floor mat. This one I made for my sister in a "quilt" pattern. She lives in Chicago so it's all things about the city.
I've been working on some other fun projects for Christmas presents but I'll wait to share them until after I gift them. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise! I also just thought up a fun idea for my bedroom wall that is in desperate need of some decor. Stay tuned!

Christmas Time is here again!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! Who doesn't, really? This weekend I really got in to the spirit. Saturday morning Pete, Katie, Rylie, Blair and I headed out to cut down our Christmas trees. This has become a really fun tradition for me to be a part of since I started living with the Newman's.

First stop - Dunkin Donuts! There's no better way to start a Saturday morning.
The girls - making memories! The finished tree. TA-DA!Saturday night we had our company Christmas party. It was fun to see everyone and have a nice dinner together. But the real party was the after party! A bunch of us headed out to the Chateau to watch the OU-Mizzou game. But after a little while we discovered another party going on in one of the ballrooms. Just try to keep this group of people away from a live band, a dance floor, and some tipsy middle aged realtors who want to have some fun! We danced and laughed and had so much fun.

Joey, Brett, Chris, me, and Austin in Santa's sleigh. :) Me and Joey - what a dear friend!
Merry Christmas!

Santoro Family Scrapblog

Thanksgiving

So I know you're dying to know what exciting things I did for Thanksgiving. Me and probably two other people in the whole company worked until the end of the day on Wednesday. Thursday morning I got in Roxie the Rogue (that's my car) and drove home to Des Moines. I finally let myself bust out the Christmas music. Celine (of course) and I jammed all the way home to the sounds of "These are the Special Times" - if you don't have her Christmas CD you really should get it. It's a great one! It was just me, mom and dad for Thanksgiving so we had a little mini-feast at the house when I got there. I spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing at home, working on some craft projects, and going to movies. My friend Jill and I went to see "Four Christmases" and I saw "Australia" with my family. I would recommend both movies to you! But when you go to Australia be prepared, it's kind of long. Try to sit somewhere that there is no one in front of you so you can stretch your legs out. My knees were seriously cramped by the end of that movie! Sunday I made the drive back to Branson. About an hour after I got home, I got sick. No good. Yesterday I stayed home from work and recovered. Since I was home on the couch all day I did get some things accomplished that I've been wanting to do. I made a baby gift for a friend, ordered some Christmas presents, watched three discs of Gilmore Girls, and put up my Christmas decorations! As soon as I get my Christmas tree I'll take some pictures and post them. I love Christmas time!! :)