Counting Our Blessings

We had a wonderful few days of rest and play together as a family after a hectic holiday season. Ben's favorite parts of Christmas morning were the fresh croissants (so yummy!) and the drum sticks Santa left for Mark. We loved being home for Christmas but our hearts were holding close all of our friends and family across the miles. Here's to a great new year...

Love Bug

Now that Ben is walking, well let's say starting to walk, he has been very cuddly. He is probably wanting the extra security as he ventures out on his own. He is talking all the time and we even understand some of the words he says. At church yesterday one of the older gentlemen at church called him a "little Johnny Carson." I think we have quite an adventure in store.

We hope your Christmas season is merry and bright. Love from Casa Watson.

Christmas at Casa Watson

Last night our little abode was on the Christmas Home Tour for the Newton-Conover Education Foundation. This was our first year of truly decorating our home for the holidays, last year we were still in survival mode with Ben!

In our Christmas decorating we incorporated Scottish elements to pay tribute to the Watson roots and fresh greenery, shells, pine cones, twigs and the like to remind us of California. In the guest suite/Leah's office upstairs, Leah embraced her love of all things French and a French/Canadian man on the tour even asked if she were French!

It was a fun and busy night, about 250 people came throughout the evening. We enjoyed meeting more of our neighbors and sharing in the Christmas spirit. Ben stayed with our friends during the tour and was excited to stay up until 8:30 PM and thankfully came home and slept like a champ all night.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Little Turkey

We are thankful that we were not sleep deprived this Thanksgiving. Ben was brand new last year and all memories of that celebration are hazy at best.

This weekend was a good time of friends, pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes, walks watching the last of the leaves fall, staying cozy under covers and making total fools of ourselves just to hear Ben's laugh (hint- he loves fakes sneezes, show tunes with dancing, and playing "football" being tackled by his dad).

As requested, we have included a belly shot...it still doesn't seem real that there is another peanut on the way!

Lots of love from the thankful folks at Casa Watson.

Walk in the Woods

Our friends David & Judy are out visiting from Santa Barbara. Taking full advantage of the crisp fall weather, we took a hike in the hills near our house. Ben loved riding in the backpack and scooting down the trail. The setting was magical with fall turning the leaves into shades of orange, yellow and red. Our lives are blessed by the beauty of nature and it is wonderful to see the wonder of it all through Beemer's eyes.

Great Pumpkin

It was a fun Halloween night at Casa Watson. We had the Alfaro and Cannon families over for dinner and trick or treating. Ivy, Noah and Owen are Ben's favorite friends, all the kids were born weeks apart. Ben rocked his Charlie Brown costume, especially by the end of the evening when he was good and tired- he had the "Good Grief" expression perfected. The scariest part of the evening was realizing next Halloween we would have TWO trick or treaters!!

Rainy Day

We finally had a few rainy days, it felt so good to bundle up. Ben loves trying to catch the rain drops on his hands and tongue. We have all been sick the past couple weeks, Leah and Ben getting the worst of it. Here are some silly pictures from the last week or two.

Busy Boy

We have been busy enjoying the fall season. Last weekend we took a trip to the pumpkin patch, the new Trader Joe's in Charlotte (yippee!) and went to Noah & Owen's first birthday party where Ben had a great time on the slide. His smile and laugh make us excited to start each day...even when Leah is battling morning sickness!

Birthday Boy!

Benjamin Mark Watson is ONE today. What a wonderful year of joy and adventure. We are blessed by the life and sunshine he brings into our home. We love you Beemer!!

Casa Watson had a party in his honor on Saturday and a good time was had by all. Ben is the kind of guy who loves a party- the more people, the better! He dove double fisted into his cake and even survived the sugar high and crash that afternoon.

Ben had a special surprise for all the party guests...he announced to everyone (via a very cute video by Dad) that he is going to be a big brother!! Baby Watson #2 has a due date of May 1, 2008. Yes, another Watson baby was conceived in California...we are going to have to watch out for that...

Let the chaos, fun and love begin!

Thank you for celebrating this past year with us via the blog, we are so thankful for our friends and family.