I got to dress Ian today, plus a couple videos

The cutest little cowboy you'll ever see.

Flowers Family Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!
This stocking is as big as me!

Christmas Eve and cookies for Santa

Merry Christmas Eve Ian! Time to start some family traditions.
Yep, we're leaving milk and cookies out for Santa Claus.

Mmm. Peppermint candy cane cookies and cold milk. Lucky Santa.

Christmas with Family

Because everyone who is visiting us is headed to Disneyland on Christmas day, we had Christmas together on the 24th.

Christmas with Gram and Pop Pop

Gram and Pop Pop are out visiting from Virginia. They're taking off before Dec 25th, but we're celebrating Christmas with them early. But first, family pictures!

Ugly Christmas Sweater

Today at work was Ugly Christmas Sweater day. I found a pretty good one.

Flowers Family Christmas Tree Decorating

Merry Christmas! Finally we've got a little bit of time to do some decorating!

Holiday Pringles are out! Cinnamon & Sugar and Pecan Pie!

Oh boy. I just can't pass up special edition flavors! This year they've got a returning flavor and a brand new flavor!

Cinnamon & Sugar is returning from last year, while Pecan Pie is brand new! I'm glad they replaced the Peppermint Pringles from last year because they tasted like toothpaste...

Our Christmas Lights

Ever since we bought our house, I get to go crazy with Christmas lights! Every year Theresa says we can buy a few more, so this year, we've expanded into the yard!

Ian meets Gram and Pop Pop

Ian loves getting visitors. This time Gram and Pop Pop are visiting from Virginia. They got in late on Wednesday night, but Ian was still awake. I'm not sure he's seen anyone with a beard before.

Aubrey's pictures of Ian

Aubrey is a budding photographer. She had her camera out just as much as me while she was visiting. Here's some of her better shots.

Ian is happy and content while sleeping on his Aunt Rita.

Ian's Room

How to decorate Ian's room? We love Disney and we love making Disney paintings. Sounds good to me!

After the jump, check out the 360 degree view.

Go Broncos!

Of course Ian is a Broncos fan.

Ian gets more visitors from Michigan for Thanksgiving

This time it's Theresa's sister Rita and her daughter Aubrey.

Flowers Family pictures

How do we not have a family picture yet?

It's dangerous to play with balloons

So I found this blue balloon lying around...

Theresa! Be careful with that!!!

Ian gets some visitors from Michigan

Uncle Donald and cousin Abby made the journey all the way from Michigan to visit the newest member of the family.

Ian's photoshoot

We're very proud to announce Ian Robert Flowers' birth to the world. Our plan was to send out a bunch of announcement cards, but first we need pictures!

Ian's first walk, first doctor visit and first bath

It was a nice southern California night so we headed out for our first walk.

But guys... it's dark outside...

Our first night at home

It's our very first night at home! Just me holding my little boy.

Ian gets to come home!

Only 3.5 days after the cesarean it's time to come home! Both mom and baby have checked out fine and we're being discharged.

Chillin in the hospital room

After getting back to the room, we slept when we could. It was tough though with all the nurses and doctors constantly going back and forth. It will sure be nice to be home.

Doing my part with the burping after the feeding.

In the recovery room after Ian is born

We get wheeled into the recovery room and we're the only ones there. While there she's holding him in her arms just loving on him.

Ian's Delivery

He's here! He's here!

But what's the story behind him getting here? Read on.

Welcome Ian Robert Flowers!

Theresa and I are very excited to introduce the newest member of our family!

Ian Robert Flowers was born November 11th, 2013 at 11:06pm. He weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 21 inches long! Both Theresa and Ian are doing well!

Of course I have a ton more photos. I'll have the entire story as I get time to write it up!

The Labors of Theresa

It was an early Sunday morning. We woke up at a normal time and today Theresa was really wanting a good breakfast this morning, so we made homemade belgian waffles. Pair that with bacon, eggs, and juice and we are eating like kings.

Around 10am, Theresa started to have some pain down below. Looks like contractions are starting! They're only 9-10 minutes apart right now so we can't head to the hospital just yet. Instead, we spend the day getting ready and watching Sunday football. At halftime of the Broncos game, Theresa was feeling even more uncomfortable so we decided to walk around the neighborhood. We had a lot more frequent stops as T started having more pains, including one break where she sat on a retaining wall for a while. We got back home and finished the Broncos game while T tried to get comfortable. Around 6pm she said the contractions were frequent enough to head to the hospital, meaning they're 4-5 minutes apart. All our stuff is already packed and we're ready to go.

One of my big worries about getting to the hospital was traffic. I was so worried he'd come around 4pm on a Friday when the traffic on the freeways was jam packed. But instead, we were on the road by 6:30pm and again we had great traffic since it was a Sunday night.

Theresa's Pumpkin Belly

Happy Halloween!

Jack Skellington pregnant belly painting

What's this? What's this? I can't believe my eyes.
Why that's Jack Skellington!

Pumpkin Carving with friends

In what is becoming an annual tradition, it's October and we're carving pumpkins again!

My Mom comes out to help Rich and Chi move

To help with Baby Boy Flowers, Theresa's parents Richard and Chi are moving out from Michigan. They're going to be living in an apartment not too far from our place and to help them get everything unpacked and organized at their new place, my mom Sheila flew out from Virginia.

Halloweentime at Disneyland with Ruston and Jacob, Haunted Mansion Holiday - pt 2

Continuing from the first part of our visit, we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. While the regular Haunted Mansion is still a favorite, I enjoy the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay even better.

Halloweentime at Disneyland with Ruston and Jacob, Big Thunder Ranch BBQ and Pumpkin Carvers - pt 1

This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Time for another Disneyland visit with Ruston and Jacob.

Cronuts from the Torrance Bakery

Cronut? Yes, cronut. This doughnut and croissant hybrid was created by chef Dominique Ansel for Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City has started gaining such popularity that imitators have been popping up all over the US. One such bakery also making cronuts is the Torrance Bakery and that's where Theresa and family went on Saturday morning.

They came back with quite a variety of treats, and not just cronuts. Cronuts are definitely not cheap though. The regular cinnamon sugar was $2.50, the filled cronut was $4, and the premium caramel cronut on the top right cost $6! That's as much as a dozen donuts! This thing better be amazing.

Painting Day at the Flowers'

What's it been? A year? Yep, we sure did wait quite a while to schedule the next painting day? After sending out the invite, we got 15 people who decided to come!

Most people knew what they wanted to paint, so a week ahead of time Theresa and I went to Dick Blick and picked up a few canvases.

Lay's Sriracha potato chips

After easily finding the Chicken and Waffle and Cheesy Garlic Bread flavors, Sriracha was proving to be difficult to find! I didn't see it in any of the stores for 6 whole weeks!
Finally while shopping at Target, Theresa found one lone solitary bag and grabbed it for me. Finally I have all three flavors!

Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread potato chips

After trying the Chicken and Waffle flavored chips from Lay's and hearing that there were two other flavors, I knew I had to find them!
The next time I was at the supermarket, I picked up the Cheesy Garlic Bread flavor.

Beach Volleyball in Hermosa

Besides Disney, my other favorite pastime is being on the beach and playing beach volleyball.
Ever since T and I moved out here 10 years ago and took a beginners beach class, I've enjoyed it. That class happened to be on Wednesdays and every summer since then we still get together and play.
Big thanks to my friend and co-worker Henry for taking all these shots. I'm always busy playing and never take the time to take pictures.

Baby Boy Flowers in 4D!

We finally got to see Baby Boy Flowers in 3D!

Everyone comes to visit for the baby shower

We had lots of people come out for the baby shower for Baby Boy Flowers. Theresa's parents, my parents, her sister, sister-in-law, and their girls came out to celebrate.

Hanging out in Hermosa Beach with Kelly and Sean

Our friends Kelly and Sean are visiting from Arizona and we spent the afternoon together hanging out in Hermosa Beach. Kelly and Sean are also expecting a little one and will welcome a baby girl in December.

Baby Boy Flowers' baby shower!

We're celebrating Baby Flowers! We're only 2 months away now!
Lacey Baker graciously offered to throw Theresa a baby shower and even to host it at her house.

Lay's Chicken and Waffles potato chips

Walking through Target, what do I happen to come across? A new offering from the good folks at Lay's. Chicken and Waffle flavored potato chips!
You can see the shock on my face when I saw them. These must be tasted!

2013 Disneyland Half Marathon - my 8th year running it!

Ready to run a half marathon?
Lights out was at 11:30pm. I already knew it was going to be a short night of sleep. I had dreamt I was running the Disneyland Half Marathon and had already finished and when the alarm went off at 3am, it was a little disappointing.
I left the house at 3:30am and because the freeways were empty arrived at the Mickey & Friends parking structure right around 4am. The wait at the parking booths was only 3-4 cars deep. Well since everything went so quick this morning, I'm pretty early. I hung out in the car, snacking on a banana and a strawberry poptart. An hour before the race started, I took off for the corral.

2013 Disneyland Health and Fitness Expo

It's race weekend at Disneyland! The 8th annual Disneyland Half Marathon is coming up on Sunday!
Before I can run though, I have to head to the Disneyland Health and Fitness Expo and pick up my race packet. The expo started on Friday morning, where most of the 5k and 10k runner who were running on Saturday picked up their packets.
From a friend, I heard it was a madhouse with huge lines for everything, a super crowded exhibit hall, and hour long waits for the official merchandise booth.

John Williams conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl

Way back on April 1st I invited a bunch of friends to join Theresa and I at the Hollywood Bowl to watch John Williams: Maestro of the Movies conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Theresa and I have been coming to see John Williams perform at the Hollywood Bowl since 2005, so it's our 8th time seeing him! It's pretty much an annual tradition for us.
Seven of our friends decided to join us and when tickets went on sale at the beginning of May, I was quick to buy them.