Christmas

Our first Christmas on our own, with no family to visit or invite over. It was small, and mostly quiet. To be honest, at first it was weird with a "now what?" sort of feeling, but once we got going, we had a blast. We LOVED having a day together as a family with no errands to do, nothing to fix, no to-do list, and away from electronics and the Internet. Mostly, we just enjoyed playing together. And it turned out great!

Goose mostly wanted the food in the stockings... :)

The Mr. and I liked taking time with the boys to enjoy each present a bit before moving on to the next present.

And of course, we had to use all that cardboard and wrapping paper for something! It was great!

Matchy-matchy! Mickey loves to match with his brother (he really does- this face was because he was impatient to take the picture).

A Home!

We have a home! And not just A home, OUR home! :) The boys loved running through and exploring their new space.

Goose particularly loved the outdoor addition - that was the first place he went.

Our home was so happy to see us, it quickly shouted "fix me!" Though a stressful and expensive welcome, we are happy to be settled. And the boys are great helpers inside and out of the house - like helping with the leaves, and dishes, and toilets. :)

The first week in, we had guests over and thoroughly enjoyed our time playing, running, and jumping with Gpa V, Gma Donna, and Kelly. We also had a special visit from Gma J. The boys absolutely LOVED having her around for a week. While she was visiting, we took a break from unpacking to go to a Christmas carnival. Mickey asked Santa for candy canes and friends (one candy cane for each friend). Santa was kept asking if there was anything else and didn't know what to say.

The boys also found toys they really want ... Hahaha!

Warming Up

... to the city any way. The weather is definitely not warming up here - it's colder here (for longer) than I ever remember Utah being. BUT, we are exploring the city and finding our way around to people and places we enjoy. We started off our adventure here with our Family Christmas Outing - a present we give to the whole family to go do something fun together, to ensure that family time doesn't get lost in all the gift giving and toys. This year, we went to see Disney on Ice - Frozen. I've always wanted to see a Disney on Ice show (for years when I was younger, I secretly wanted to be a figure skater . . . in fact, I still think it would be fun). We figured there's no better time than when a show Mickey loves is also showing (that and Mickey loves his nickname namesake, Mickey Mouse).

Loved it! So much fun! Mickey enjoyed it too. . . but did get a bit nervous at the "scary" parts with bad guys (like the marshmallow snow monster).

Christmas

We love the chance to spend time with family for holidays! This year we got to host Christmas morning in our temporary apartment, courtesy of Mimi & Gpaw. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the 2 cousins shared - and with their new toys too! It was fantastic. 

Guess who took over when grandpa set up the camera?

He still plays "pew-pew" with random sticks because of this...bad idea Santa. 

Gpaw & Mimi's turn

Showing the littles how to play with a toy.

A spot of color to go with all the spit up spots :)

Goose's opinion of present opening.

Apparently Auntie E thinks this of opening presents . . . good to know.

Cars, cars, cars!

Lovin some grandma time!

A kind cousin was willing to share his Santa toy with Mickey. (That's the real gift of Christmas)

Opening gag gifts - including a redneck plunger (attached to a gun) and a iPad arm attachment.

Playing in the snow with grandpa - definitely a highlight of the celebrations for Mickey!

What a beautiful lady!

What the rest of us did while they were out:

Of course, a little boy cannot complete a snow day without sitting on grandpa's lap and drinking hot chocolate!