It's official... Amelia was a good girl this year!

Amelia had a tremendous first Christmas! Evidently, she was a good girl in 2005, as Santa successfully made his way down the chimney leaving her lots of goodies. (In other words, her Grandparents on BOTH coasts, her Aunts, Uncles, and cousin Maddie all SPOILED her rotten!)

(PHOTO: What toys? I LOVE my new Christmas ribbon! 12/25/05 - Salisbury, NC - JKB)

We celebrated the holiday in Salisbury, NC, at home with my parents. GG had the house all decorated up with fantastic holiday decorations - it never looked better! Christmas Eve was spent breaking bread with the Dresslers, as they treated us all to a delicious meal at Lucky 32. What a way to begin our Christmas celebration! Chris and Joan also joined us Christmas day for another delicious meal, this one prepared by my mom - what a cook!

(PHOTO: Merry Christmas from the Brinsons. 12/25/05 - Salisbury, NC - JKB)

We're not sure what Amelia enjoyed more on Christmas morning, her new toys or playing with the discarded wrappings. Ripping paper and playing with ribbon just might be her new favorite game. Amelia sends a big "thank you" - with lots of hugs and kisses - to all the folks who gave her Christmas gifts. We were overwhelmed by your love for her. Amelia especially loves the tea set and cell phone from Maddie! She looks forward to calling Maddie and inviting her over for a tea party.

(PHOTO: My new train is so cool! 12/25/05 - Salisbury, NC - JKB)

We left Salisbury on the Monday after Christmas to pick up Gus in Chapel Hill, before heading down to the beach. We dropped off our Christmas loot at home and re-loaded up the truck to meet GG and Grandbuddy in South Carolina. Thank goodness for Baby Einstein - the four-hour ride to North Myrtle Beach was very enjoyable this time, as Amelia was glued to the DVD player. (But as evident by this picture, we do read to her!)

(PHOTO: Goodnight Gorilla. Wait, it's too early for me to go to sleep! 12/25/05 - Salisbury, NC - JKB)

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(PHOTO: Mom said that I'm her Christmas present. 12/25/05 - Salisbury, NC - JKB)

It was a great visit to the beach. We shopped the sales, tested out new restaurants (Abuelo's just may be the best Mexican food ever to touch our tongues!), played some tennis and golf, and enjoyed our time together. My parents hosted a delicious post-Christmas brunch for Uncle Doyle, Aunt Linda, and friends Mike and Carla on Saturday. Afterwards, the boys hit the links and the girls headed back to the mall.

(PHOTO: Amelia's first Christmas - she can't wait to open her presents! 12/25/05 - Salisbury, NC - JKB)

All in all, it was a fantastic holiday week and we were sad to see it end. Amelia's first Christmas was a big success - she's still "talking" about it days later. Now it's time to take down the tree and put the decorations away... good-bye Christmas 2005!

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(PHOTO: Helping to decorate the tree. 12/22/05 - Chapel Hill, NC - JKB)

Merry Christmas from the family

In the immortal words of Robert Earl Keen (a Brinson favorite!)... "hallelujah, everybody say cheese, Merry Christmas from the family."

2005 is fast drawing to a close - it's been a great year. It's flown by as we jumped head first into parenthood. Hard to remember what life was like before Amelia - the fun really kicked in on March 14, 2005!

We're looking forward to 2006...

- Cheering for the Trojans in the Rose Bowl
- the girls' January trip to California (we'll need to warm up from the chilly NC winter)
- Welcoming Scott home from Afghanistan!
- Celebrating Amelia's first birthday
- Rooting for the Tar Heel basketball team to go all the way (we can dream can't we?!)

... and visiting with friends and family throughout the year. If you're ever in Chapel Hill, be sure to look us up!

Happy holidays everyone! Here's to a new year filled with many great adventures!

(PHOTO: Brinsons in the real OC. Laguna Beach, CA - 9/5/05 - JKB)

Nine months in...

...nine months out! Amelia is officially nine months old today. My, how the time has flown by. It's hard to remember when she was a mere 6 pound, 4 ounce, 20-inch, tiny baby. Now she's a 17 pound, 28-inch, whopping big girl! There have been so many changes - every day brings something new.

(PHOTO: Look at my new school bus - it's so cool! Chapel Hill, NC - 12/14/05 - JKB)

She now has four teeth, is a crawling machine, and loves apple yogurt. Her vocabulary is still stuck on "da-da-da" and "ma-ma-ma", but it's music to our ears. Bath time is probably her favorite part of the day. She hates to get out of the tub... just like when her Uncle Matt was a kid.

Amelia's making a last big push of being good before Santa makes his trek around the world. She sent off her wish list weeks ago and got an email from an elf that it arrived in Santa's inbox.

She asked Santa to bring...

- dad... a winning Tar Heel basketball season
- mom... more time to play
- Gus... a big rawhide bone and a stuffed squirrel!
- Amelia wants a snowboard. She knows it will be a few years before she can shred on the slopes, but she wants to be ready!

(PHOTO: Showing off my holiday tights from Grandma Carolyn. Chapel Hill, NC - 12/14/05 - JKB)

We're looking forward to the next nine months and all the treats they will bring. In March we'll celebrate Amelia's first birthday - you're all invited to the party!