Christmas 2009

Here's a quick update on our December happenings...

We were able to make a quick trip down to Temple Square with my cousin Heather and her honey, Jeremiah. Joseph loved all the pretty lights, but wasn't a fan of the cold. We decided we all needed to thaw a little and so we sat in the Visitor's Center for a while. Joseph was a tired boy. He fell asleep all snuggled in Daddy's arms... his favorite place to sleep.

We stayed at home for Christmas. It was quiet and a nice, relaxing day. We were able to conference call in with my parents and talk to my brother in San Antonio, TX. It was good to hear his voice and he seems to be doing really well and enjoying his mission.

We all must have been good this year because Santa stopped by. Joseph was probably the most heavily rewarded for his behavior. He got a walker, an exersaucer, a johnny jump-up, lots of yummy baby food, a high chair to eat all the yummy baby food in, lots of books to look at and his Christmas Eve jammies, of course. How cute are the little bears on the feet?!? =] That was one tradition that we didn't do last year, 'cause, well it's just not very sexy to buy sweats for your honey and that's usually the jammies AJ and I wear. We did open up a gift Christmas Eve tho... a new filterless humidifier!! We were pretty excited, and our noses have been appreciative when we wake in the morning and can actually breathe.

Stockings I made the boys. Now we all have stockings that are the same size.

Probably the most ironic part of Christmas... AJ got clothes and I got tools... =] Gotta love it, we had a good laugh.

Daddy and Joseph on Christmas Eve. He's sure got a soft spot for that little boy. <3

We had lunch on Christmas with my brother-in-law, Richard and his family. It's nice to have family in town to share some of the holiday spirit with. We ate deliciously, as always, and stuffed ourselves. We decided, well Joseph decided, to head back home around 4pm. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

Thanksgiving

Once again, I've fallen behind on our blog. Life just seems so much busier with a baby. My kid still takes a couple 2 hour naps a day, you'd think I'd be able to get a fair amount of stuff done in 4 free hours... I can't ever seem to get all caught up. Anyways...

Grandma McElprang, Kaiti and the great grandkids.

We were able to attend a family reunion on my mom's side for Thanksgiving this year. It was good to see all the Arizona family again... and of course everybody else too... but we don't see the Arizonians very often. It was also VERY nice to get out of the cold weather. We were wearing shorts and t-shirts! It was amazing.

AJ came home from work about noon on Tuesday and we packed up and drove all night... ok, more accurately AJ drove all night (after catching a few hours of sleep after work) and Joseph and I slept. Joseph did really well until about 9am and half an hour from our destination. He was getting restless. We finally got there and he was soo excited to get out of that "dumb car seat"... his words, not mine. Hahaha. AJ took a nap and we just relaxed with my mom and sisters and aunt and grandma. Joseph's sleep schedule was all messed up though so he was a little cranky. We went over to a park for a little while and around 4pm, AJ and I went back and started making pizzas for dinner that night. The next few hours consisted of cooking and eating pizza. We also had to make a run to the store, I'd forgotten a few things and we just couldn't pass up a cranberry slush from Sonic. Thursday consisted of cooking and eating. We also had our auction to raise money for the next reunion, and another run to Sonic. Yum!Even though it wasn't warm enough to swim, they did.

On Friday, AJ made a Black Friday run to get one of my Christmas gifts... yes, I know what it is and yes, I've already used it. That doesn't make it mean any less and it still completely qualifies as a Christmas gift. We were able to attend a temple session with my mom and dad in Mesa. It was nice and definitely less stressful for me to have my mom there. Going to the temple probably shouldn't be stressful; but, for me, it is. I know, the only way to make that go away is to go. Irony... gotta love it. My adorable little sisters...


Family Photo. Missing our Missionary Andrew!

24 1/2 years... still going strong.

Cute Miss Kaiti. Ask her how cold the water was...


Kimme... I can't believe how grown up she looks... makes me feel old.

After our temple session we took some family photos and then I took some pictures for my sister. Hopefully, they turn out fantastic and she can use some for her senior photos in her graduation announcements next year if she wants to. We then had dinner and a movie night at my cousin's house.


We left Saturday morning early and made it as far as Panguitch, UT when we decided to stop. It was snowing, the roads were yucky and we were all tired and tired of sitting in the car. We all ended up taking a two-hour nap and AJ went back to sleep after that while I attended to our night owl... We made our way back north on Sunday and finally to our house and our nice, soft bed. It was a quick trip, a long trip, but a fun trip. And we were soo glad to be back home. Although, I could have done without all the cold we've had lately...

A Bottle of Green Beans

Tonight our little boy ate his first real 'meal' of 'solid' food! So, it was actually more like half an ounce of mashed baby food green beans... but he sure seemed to enjoy a flavor other than rice cereal and formula. He has had several 'tastes' of other foods, but this was the first time he had more than a few bites and actually ate off a spoon. I didn't bother getting the camera out because the other times we've tried have totally failed and that's what I expected tonight... when he actually was eating I didn't wanna stop to get the camera out, afraid he wouldn't start again. I can't believe how fast he's growing. It's amazing how one week he's not quite ready for something and then a week later he absolutely is. Last week he wasn't quite ready for food off a spoon and tonight he chowed down and did pretty well with the spoon. It's awesome. I love being a mom! It's so fun to watch him learn and grow.