Stephan Welcomes 2014 with new Discoveries!

Stephan celebrates the New Year with family and friends hosted by his Uncle Ray and Aunt Susana's.  In January, Stephan left crawling behind and took his first strides solo.  His walking parallel a new rhythm of sounds and babbling (let's say monologues are his thing!).  His family and friends gathered once more to celebrate his birthday, where we took the party to the rooftop on what was finally a warm spring day!  With warmer weather, more hours spent at the park and long walks.  He also joined Gymboree for weekly music class and climbing exercises, where he is honing his skills in music appreciation and scaling!

Enjoy some of our favorite moments....

Stephan's First Christmas and New Year!

Fresh on the heels of Thanksgiving, Stephan kicked off the holiday season with being introduced to Christmas music 24/7 (thank you, Pandora!).  Stephan greeted the celebratory month with introductions to new friends and family, followed by parties, strolls through Zoolights, and of course, the big day itself, Christmas cheer.  Enjoy his first Christmas pics!

Meeting new friend, Salvatore (5 weeks old)

 Santa made a special appearance at our building's Holiday Party - Stephan approached him like a pro!

Zoolights at the National Zoo

We traveled to Catawissa, PA for a pre-Christmas celebration and first introductions to Jan's family - sister Brook and her lovely boys, Claire, and Jan's mum, Nancy.  Oh, and of course, Brook's endearing pups - Jack, Sophie, and Millicent who adopted Stephan as one of their own.

Christmas pajamas and bunny slippers

Christmas day celebration with Mary, Michael, Ian, Mason and Elise.  We feasted on ham, turkey sandwiches, mean mash potatoes while indulging in great conversation, laughter, and cheer.

Uncle John was Stephan's Secret Angel and while his gift arrived several days later, his ode to UNR WOLFPACK was intact! Go WOLFPACK!

We were blessed with another warm, loving, joyous, and peaceful holiday season!  Next major event - Stephan's first birthday on April 4th.  Until then, continue to follow his every adventure and glorious discovery.  Many blessings in 2014!

Stephan's First Thanksgiving

Stephan concludes his seven-months with holiday jubilee and his uncles' 50th birthday.  Stephan and mama boarded Delta airlines on Wednesday, November 27 for a six-hour journey to mama's birthplace, Las Vegas, NV.  His charm wooed travel companions, making the travel easy and fun.  His Aunt Jennie, Uncle John (R) and grampa Joaquin greeted us at the airport and whisked us away to Green Valley Resort where we joined the Limon gang in celebrating Raymond and Michael's 50th birthday.  The evening sealed beautiful memories of 1963 trivia, yummy treats, and of course, hearty laughs and hugs.

Thanksgiving Celebration
Stephan starts the morning at Olympic speed racing up the stairs - his first - with his Aunt Jody shepherding him along. Mama and sister Jennie burned a few pre-meal calories, not at Olympic-speed, but enough to get the juices flowing.  The day followed with lots of eating, football, arts and crafts, lots of eating, napping, and storytelling.

Black Friday with Santa, Cousins, and Jammies

Goodbyes 

Can't wait for next year! Now, here comes Christmas!!