Our Very Merry Christmas

 

One of my favorite things about being a mom is seeing Brady discover the world for the first time.  Christmas was fun because there are so many new things to see.  The look on his face was priceless when he saw our Christmas tree for the first time.  He could hardly believe that tree with lights was in his house!

We had a great but busy Christmas this year.  One of our first party stops was Cameo and Jeremy's for a roommate dinner.  Cameo made us a yummy dinner and we had a fun time hanging out with each other.  This is our attempt at taking pictures of us and the kids in front of the Christmas tree.

 

Our next party was Dave's extended family party at his Grandma's.  We didn't get any pictures but had a fun time eating tacos and catching up with some cousins.

The next night was my extended family Christmas party at my aunt and uncles in Orem.  We had some time to kill before the party, so we made a quick stop at the Riverwoods Mall to see the lights.

 

We were surprised that Santa made a stop at the party.  Brady had no problems sitting on Santa's lap.  We had really yummy food and tons of cookies, which I was able to make 12 neighbor plates with some left over treats that I took home!

Christmas Eve was spent at my family's home.  We had a fun time having dinner with my parents, the Mitchells, the Valquintos, and my Grandma Melville.  We played Christmas Scattergories, watched A Christmas Story, and read from Luke 2.

 

Christmas morning we spent at our home.  We slept until Brady woke us up.  We had fun opening presents and tried to make it take longer than 5 minutes.  Dave got an Xbox with a Kinect (he's been asking for one for 4+ years, and I was finally a cool wife and bought it for him), Triathlon swimming lessons, and a HDMI cable.  I received a food processor, socks, and some other kitchen supplies.  Brady got a couple of toys, shoes, sippy cups, and a new bib.  We ate an egg and ham casserole for breakfast, played some Xbox and got ready for sacrament meeting. 

We visited our Heidi in the afternoon.  I  missed her on Christmas.  That morning I had looked over and saw her stocking hanging there all by itself.  It made me sad that she was not with our family.  We went to the cemetery to wish her a Merry Christmas.  I couldn't even get the words out without crying.  I don't cry that often anymore, and even though it sounds strange, the sadness is sometimes a welcome feeling.  It makes me feel closer to her and reminds me how much she affected my life. 

We spent the evening at Dave's parents.  We always have a good time over there.  Soon, Brady will be running around with all his cousins.  We got zoo passes (let me know if anyone ever wants to go!), a handmade cutting board, guitar strings, a Chili's gift card, and a spotlight.  Brady got some farm animals and a puppy you can pull.  We were glad to say hi to Bonnie and her family over Skype.

The day after Christmas Dave worked, but since he had nothing to do all day, he left 2 hours early and we headed up to Layton since my whole family was there.  We did another round of presents.  Brady got bath toys, books, and a clock with his name on it.  I got a sweater, new sheets, metal measuring cups, a running shirt, and a wallflower.  Dave got a dress shirt, a Dicks giftcard, socks, metal skewers, and an electronic basketball game.

Here's a few more pictures just for fun.  We put Brady in his stocking that we got from the hospital last year.  It was a little harder to take a picture this year, since he is so wiggly!  Look how much he's grown!  Do you think he will fit in it next year?

We took all of our decorations down Christmas night!  Our house was just feeling so cluttered, so we took it down after Brady went to bed.  Don't think we're too Scroogy! :)
We're grateful for everyone that was so generous to us!  Even though it was busy, we had a great Christmas being around our good families and friends.