2010 Santa Shot

If you can recall, this was Logan's Santa picture last year. I did it very spontaneously at the mall. I saw Santa and thought, yes! Logan wearing his tank top and shorts because it was something ridiculous like 38 degrees, but who cared, he looked cute. And you know, the pictured turned out SO great.




This year I decided to plan it a little better. It was still hot (only 30 degrees), but I decided to get Logan in a nice shirt and pants. Had to even comb his hair down because he had some wings after his afternoon nap. I decided to drive to the nice mall to get a hopefully happier Santa and a nicer back drop. Yes, Logan was ready for Santa this year, or at least he looked ready. When it came to sitting on Santa's lap, that was a NO-GO, so like most parents of little guys this age, I had to sit with Logan and Santa. One problem, I was not ready to be in a picture. I was in shorts and a t-shirt, my hair was still wet from the shower, but too late now and off I hop into the picture. And we get a good shot.





One last point -- the one thing that seems to be consistent....grumpy looking Santas.

Denise and Danny get married -- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Well, since there are so many pics and it is getting late, here is a quick rundown of our trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for Denise and Danny's beautiful wedding.

First attack at the pool






Logan would have the best reaction when one of us would swim under the water and then pop out by him. He would laugh and laugh and laugh.



Family silhouette



One of Logan's favourite playing places, on the balcony. Not a bad view, although he was too short to see it :) But he could play with his trucks and trains all day long.



The day of the beautiful wedding.

A rare husband/wife shot these days.



Denise with Gramma Nitschke and Auntie Margaret



The beautiful bridal party.



Some family pics while we wait for the ceremony to start







Here comes the bride and the proud papa




The spot does not get much more beautiful than this, does it?




And...the KISS!!!



This was great, pictures were being taken below and it was a bit of a rocky walk, so Danny piggy-backed Denise down...now that is love.



Logan doing what he does best, throwing rocks.



Great shot with Gramma and Grampa




We cannot forget it is almost Christmas, and those Mexican ornaments sure look interesting to Logan.



The next day we did a family trip down the beach to our favorite cantina. We go EVERY year, and it gets better and better. It is such a beautiful walk too.





Some family shots on the beach.




A little father/son ball time in the room.




We have to thank Gramma and Grampa for babysitting. Craig and I got to have a great night out, full of fun and....mojitos.





Some quality time with Grampa



Our last night we went back to the little restaurant with the mojitos, but this time we went with Logan who also enjoyed it. The menu was to his liking and so was the music. He couldn't take his eyes off of it, he was their biggest fan, so big that they even let him strum their guitar.





Mmmm, cheese quesillias, Logan's favourite. And you have got to like the Mexican high chairs.





This was too cute at the airport, Logan with the inflatable Santa scene. He LOVED it, especially the reindeer. He kept trying to give them hugs and kisses. Pretty hard to do when they are inflatable.




And what's Mexico without the....sombrero!

Vancouver winter visit

On route to Denise's wedding in Mexico, Logan and I decided to make a quick zip up to Vancouver for 8 days. It was a wintery whirlwind, but it was so great to see everyone.

Here we are waiting for our flight to Auckland. Logan is so into airplanes right now, it was hard to tear him away from the window.




After 20 hours of flying, we don't look to worse for wear, do we?



Nana and Logan having a snuggle on the couch



I tried to take one too many pics by this point and Logan was done and wanted a mommy cuddle.



New favorite toy



Logan loved helping Nana decorate the tree, the downside was that the nice, fragile ball shaped ornaments were his objective as he loves to throw balls. Luckily there was only one causality.







There was a great snow dump while while we were there, something that Logan and I were not prepared for but after a quick trip to the store, Logan was ready to play in the soft white stuff. It took him a bit, but after awhile he was getting into it.







This just looked cool.



Then Gramma came in and spent the day with us. Logan got spoiled, yet again.



A rare family Novotny shot -- Logan's a lucky boy surrounded by all these women.



Then we spent a day in cold day in Vancouver, but it was absolutely gorgeous. You can beat a gorgeous Vancouver winter day.




After a trip to Granville Island, we took the ferry boat back. Logan just stared and pointed out all the other boats. He was quite a happy little camper.





And then, at the end of our trip, Logan had to help clean up Nana's place :)