Christmas #1: December 23rd

Thursday before Christmas, Grandpa Bob/Glass (Jason's dad wants to be referred to as Grandpa Bob, but we prefer the kids know him as Grandpa Glass. I guess we should just call him what he wants to be called - I mean, grandparents have earned that right after all. Ironically, Weston usually calls him Grandpa "Globe," which as far as I can tell is his way of mixing both names therefore pleasing his dad and his grandpa!!) Anyway, Jason's dad came over along with Ryan (Jason's brother) and Sadie (Ryan's girlfriend turned fiance - yes, we are thrilled for them!!)

We had them over for dinner before exchanging gifts, and it was the first time I ever made a turkey! I was really nervous, but it turned out better than I imagined! I stuffed it full of all kinds of good stuff, then made a mix of butter, olive oil, chives, cilantro, garlic, and several other herbs and spices which I rubbed both under and over the skin. I added a few sprigs of rosemary for good measure and mmmmm.... Jason said that turkey juice made the best gravy he's tasted since we've been married. Anyone who knows about Jason and his perfectionist cooking ways knows what a compliment that is! I was very pleased with the whole experience. :)

Then on to the presents. As you can see, Grandpa went way over the top this year! The kids were in Christmas heaven. Here are many pictures of the evening for your viewing pleasure:Grandpa and Sophie:Ryan and Sadie:Two beauties: Daddy and Weston:

Let the opening begin! Sophie was very camera happy that night... we love her cheesy camera grin! Jason's dad is big on gag gifts... here was the one that Weston got. The joke was lost on him, but Jason thought it was pretty funny!

Opening Weston's "big gift"While this smile is clearly posed and appears to be fake, Weston is in fact THRILLED with his Spider Man bike! He has been wanting this for at least a year now. A backpack of her own... Jason opening a new set of golf clubs:Sadie's gift for Sophie was a huge hit...She was extremely impatient while I got out her princess shoes, as evidenced by the distressed expression on her face!Ahhh, to finally hold them!This little princess has been prancing around in her "high heels" ever since that day - with great pleasure I might add! She seems particularly fond of the clicking sound they make when she walks on tile.Fortunately Sophie was kind enough to help Sadie open this box of chocolates... I'm sure the burden of doing it alone was downright overwhelming. :)Upon ripping this gift open, Weston immediately yelled "awesome!!" over and over again. It was super cute. Score for Grandpa! Another gag gift... this had been wrapped to appear as though it were some super amazing golf club but was in fact some old wood club from the DI. It is almost impossible not to crack up when you see Grandpa bust a gut!

By the end of the night Sophie was one tired baby girl. (But you'll notice she never took her princess shoes off!)

From the huge mess, you would have thought it was Christmas morning! I could hardly believe all the presents that showed up under our tree that night. It was an absolute blast. I married into a family that goes all out when it comes to presents... and who can complain about that?!

By the way, my very generous father-in-law got me an iPod as well as a VERY nice enameled cast iron skillet that I have been wanting for years. Ryan and Sadie got us party games - Balderdash and Scatergories - two of my favorites that I have been wanting for a very long time. I am one spoiled lady!

Cuddle Bugs

Christmas 2010 Decorating the Tree

I can't remember the last time we bought a Christmas tree from a lot - that is because almost every year we get a tree up by Bear Lake, where my brother lives. This year my mom was kind enough to bring us ours since we didn't make it up there. Oh how I love the smell of a mountain tree! As soon as I put the skirt around it, Sophie cuddled up on it as if it were a fuzzy blanket. Weston quickly followed suit, telling me several times that it was a "comfy skirt!" I absolutely love hearing all the silly things that come out of his mouth since he's started talking these last few months. It was so much fun decorating with the kids.Normally I am very concerned that the tree appear balanced, with all the ornaments spread out properly, but I quickly realized that such perfectionism was a lost cause! This picture illustrates my point perfectly:
This little duckie is Weston's favorite ornament because it says "baby's first Christmas 2007" and he knows that it is especially for him. He loves it so much that he wanted to hold it and play with it, but I knew it would get lost if I let that happen. The day after we decorated the tree he must have told me a thousand times how pretty it is! He is so sentimental... just like me.This bell ornament is from the year Jason and I were married. When Weston was about 15 months old (about the same age as Sophie now), my mom took us to Disney World where we each got one of these ornaments. It is such a fun memory, and I love that we got an ornament to remind me of it each year! (Reflecting back on it, and thinking of how wild Sophie is, I can hardly believe that we survived that 5 hour plane ride to and from Florida with little Weston when he was that age!)To top it off, Jason climbed up a ladder and put a bow at the top... I love having ribbons cascading down the tree!

Once the tree is up I always feel that the Christmas season is really here!

Mall Santa

We have never taken the kids to see Santa at the mall before, for a number of reasons. Weston's first Christmas allowed us the opportunity to introduce him to Santa at a friend's Christmas party... which didn't go too smoothly since he was terrified. Since then, it just never seemed like it would be worth all the effort to go clear across town, wait in a super long line with either one or two cranky kids, and then pay $20 for someone to take a picture that I will never display in my home. This is the one Christmas tradition we have never experienced, but on Monday we thought it would be a fun FHE activity (and after watching Elf again recently I was tempted to tell Santa that he smelled like beef and cheese, but refrained.)

It was a fairly uneventful excursion except for the fact that Monday was "bring your pet to take a picture with Santa" night. Does that seem odd to anyone besides me? Fortunately there were no creepy pets around like rodents or spiders - all we saw were doggies, and the kids LOVED that! They made us sign a waiver in case someone got bit, scratched, or otherwise harmed by an animal... what a weird world we live in! What I found even more odd, though, was the "save the planet" coloring book the Santa handed to the kids as they left. I'm mischaracterizing it just a little bit, but the book definitely had an agenda... and it had NOTHING to do with Christmas.

Anyway, the best part was that the guy "playing" Santa was in fact a jolly old man with a REAL beard!

Sophie wasn't having anything to do with Santa, but Weston happily reported to him that he wanted spiderman gloves. Afterwards, he seemed really disappointed. We soon realized that he was sad to only have something like 30 seconds with the bearded fellow. :(

Fortunately, his mood quickly turned up again at the sight of the various little kid car rides you can put a quarter in and "drive." They even had a helicopter, which I thought was cool. Here's a picture of Sophie on the helicopter:

Overall, it was a lovely time. And Kudos to Jason's dad for taking these cute pictures - in all my brilliance, I had totally forgotten to grab my camera (although I did end up with the camera case in my purse)!

THE FAM

Father and SonCan't take too many pictures of Sophie!

Weston is one handsome little dude!

Proof that sometimes it gets downright cold, even in Vegas!What I love about this picture is that it actually happens spontaneously in real life. Sometimes they just give each other a big ol' hug! They really do love each other. :)