The Tradition Begins...

...Sleeping underneath our Christmas Tree!

So I have been trying for years to get David to do this with me, and this year he finally gave in! We set up our tree and then had a family slumber party out underneath it. Adam was soo excited and we just brought Brandon's bassinet down with us. We didn't get that great of sleep, but I thought it was a lot of fun. It made me feel like a little kid again on Christmas. We woke up and ate crepes and had hot chocolate.

Setting up our REAL Christmas Tree. I just love the smell and picking one out.

Thanks David for letting the tradition begin! I will probably never have as many or be as good at traditions as my Mom, but some things just have to carry on.

Pre Christmas Festivities

There were so many fun activities going on around to celebrate Christmas, that it was hard to choose what to go to. Here are a few things we did go and do though. This is such a wonderful time of year!

Lehi Interfaith Celebration

Adam was a little leary of the camel, but he had no problem with the donkey!

The Interfaith Celebration had a live Nativity that was really neat. They also had kid's activities, music, and nativities from around the world set up inside.

We went with our good friend, Janet, who is also Adam's Nursery Leader.

Ward Christmas Party

Our Bishop read a story to all the children in our ward. We had a great dinner, entertainment, and of course Santa Clause.

Highland City Crafts with Santa

Right as we pulled up, Santa came in a fire truck with the sirens blaring. Adam now thinks that this is Santa's main mode of transportation:) Any time he sees a fire truck, he says, "Santa in Fire Truck!"

This was Adam's first encounter with Santa. He seemed excited to sit on Santa's lap until he saw children ahead of him in line screaming and crying once they got on his lap. This made Adam a little hesitant... I wonder why!! But by the time it was his turn and after several reasurrances from Daddy, Adam was okay to go. He told Santa he wanted a "mo-mo-cycle." I am not sure what Santa thought of that one! H/H.

We then went into a room and did some crafts. They were so fun and cute. It was a neat activity that I think we will go to again. They also had stroytelling in the library.

Adam was pretty proud of his bell necklace!

Gingerbread Houses at Erin and Mike's

This is a fun tradition my sister and her family do every year. My dad was in town too, so we all got together to make Gingerbread Houses and Trains. It was a little harder than I expected, but it made for a sweet reward afterward!

Hideous Sweater Party

NEIGHBORHOOD CHRISTMAS PARTY

Our neighborhood had a fun Christmas Party this year. It was a hideous Sweater theme which I had never heard of, but I guess it is quite popular. It was such a hoot! We had to leave early, so we missed out on quite a lively white elephant gift exchange we heard, but we had amazing food, great company, and a wonderful time.

All the kids went to another neighbor's house where babysitters were, so the adults could meet each other and have more of a relaxed time. Adam had a ball with all the other kids.

Don't ask where we got our sweaters from... It's confidential:)

We were hoping (and are still hoping) this was a joke!! H/H

The other cool thing about the party was instead of giving neighbor gifts, they gave the option of donating what you would have spent to the Food Bank. I thought that was a neat idea.

Festival of Trees

Every year we love to go and support Primary Children's Hospital by attending the Festival of Trees. Not only do we love seeing all the trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, nativities, entertainment, and eating the scones, but we always remember what great care the people at Primary's gave Adam when he was there. We will always be grateful for their wonderful service and expertise and for their help and support at a trying time. They truly are an amazing organization.

Every year, we search until we find the BYU tree:)

We went with David's family this year. Adam was so cute with his cousin, Annie. He was such a good helper and wanted her to walk so bad!

They had so many kids activities this year! Adam thought the Bubble Machine was pretty cool.

POP!

David and Adam's favorite exhibit

I actually thought the Gingerbread Houses were quite impressive this year as well.

"UP" was a common theme on many of them.

All Smiles

Brandon is already 2 months old and he has the cutest little smile. I love his chubby round cheeks and double chin!!

This next picture was taken when he was 4-6 weeks old. It is David's favorite.

I love when they start to hold their head up. It is just so sweet. Believe it or not, Brandon actually even rolled over last week. Of course I have no proof because he wouldn't do it on the camera, but he did it! Pretty crazy. He is a strong boy. We just love him so much.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

...But we Made the Day Delightful!

This is such a fun age for the snow, because Adam actually enjoys it and wants to go out. We have a perfect hill for sledding right outside our front door at the park across the street!

Along with sledding, we have also turned on our fireplace the past couple of nights, and put up our Christmas decorations. It has been so cozy to nestle up by and hot chocolate has been a must around our place. I guess these first winter storms aren't so bad after all.

We waited for David to come home from work, so it got dark pretty fast!

We had to bundle up good, because it was only 17 degrees, but we made it work! Can you find Brandon? I think he had he best seat in the house:)

These next pictures were actually taken in November when we had our first snow. It was a lot warmer and we had better snow. It was a beautiful afternoon for Adam, Brandon, and me.

Adam was even able to bring the sled up all by himself.

These are the moments when I can enjoy the cold and winter months!

Turkey Trot

NEIGHBORHOOD ANNUAL TURKEY TROT

A girl in our neighborhood started a fun tradition of putting on a Turkey Trot each year on Thanksgiving. They have a 5K run, walk or bike and then a kid's race. It was only a mere 19 degrees, and 7:30 in the morning, but David still went out and ran. Adam did the kid's race, and Brandon and I were cheerleaders on the side:)

AND THEY'RE OFF!

THE FINISH!

THE KID'S RACE


GO ADAM GO!


The kids were rewarded with stickers and everyone enjoyed some fruit and water after it was done. The freezing weather didn't stop any of these crazy die hards!
Maybe next year, the weather won't be so bad for a better turn out.