First Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was the first time in the 8 Christmases that we have been married that we have been at our very own home on Christmas morning. LOVED IT! The Dick family came to our house for the holiday. We had yummy ham and cheesy potatoes on Christmas Eve, along with a tasty trifle that I made. We read the Christmas story out of the bible (abbreviated version for all the little tots present) and then sent the kids to bed while the adults finished up all the necessary preparations for the next morning. It's a tradition in the Dick home that the kids can't come out to see what Santa brought until Mom and Dad put on the "special music" in the morning. The kids were dancing all around - it was all they could do to stay back there. We finally turned on the tunes and out they came. It's a tradition from the Sorensen family to have balloons on the floor on Christmas morning, so not only was the room full of 15 peoples gifts and stockings but also a floor full of balloons. The kids loved it. I think the colors on the balloons was Nathan's favorite part. We did all the gift giving and opening and then had our traditional breakfast casserole. Nathan sat on my lap for most of the morning while I helped kids open this package or that. He loved the wrapping paper and it was constantly in his mouth. We spent the rest of the day lounging around eating treats and spending time as a family. That night we had turkey and potatoes. I had made a pumpkin pie a couple days before, and as I was sitting on the couch on Christmas day thinking about eating my pie I suddenly thought, "did I put sugar in that pie?" I went out to have a little taste and realized that NO, I hadn't put any sugar in the pie. I checked the recipe I used (from a ward cook book) and felt a little relief in that sure enough the recipe did not even call for sugar. It didn't help the taste of the pie at all, but at least I wasn't a complete nut case. I was bummed (especially since I had cooked and blended our Halloween pumpkin just for the occasion). So, two days later I made another one (using another recipe, of course). It was delicious. I LOVE PUMPKIN PIE! And Nathy even had a few tastes...and liked it (mostly).
This season always makes me reflect on the blessings I have: family, a home, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and most especially the blessing of Jesus Christ himself, that He was willing to come to earth and face all the trials that he faced here and complete his mission (which included paying the price for our sins as well as giving up his life) for each of us. I love him and dedicate this next year to working a little harder at becoming more like He is.

Nathan even fit into the little Santa outfit that I got for Caelan's first Christmas.

Giggling and Kicking and Sleeping through the Night

Nathan is a giggling little boy these days. He actually started laughing on Dec 3 but he can really get going these days. If I talk to him and say the same things over and over in a silly tone that will set him off. He also loves his bouncy seat. He has started kicking his feet while sitting in it. And sometimes he gets kicking so much that I turn around and he has slid himself way down into the bottom of the seat. We are starting to get a little colder here in Arizona, (and actually we just had our first snow fall), but up until a few weeks ago Nathan enjoyed going outside and feeling the warm air. He liked when I would sit in the porch swing and rock back and forth. He is now sleeping through the entire night. He goes to bed around 10 or 11 PM and will sleep until usually around the 6:00 hour in the morning. There are still some occasions when he gets up in the earlier (5:00 and sometimes as early as 4:30, but he just eats and goes right back to sleep until at least 7:00 AM). And since he started sleeping so long through the night we also moved him into the crib in his own bedroom. Yay for all of us.

First Time Traveling

We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving holiday in Casa Grande with Grandpa and Grandma Dick. This was Nathan's first real traveling trip, and he did quite well. Slept for most of the ride. While we were in Arizona we went and looked at the lights at the Mesa Temple...which really started to get us into the Christmas spirit.
As you can see from these pictures Nathan has a favorite way of being held these days. He likes to be facing outward, so he can see what is going on. He still has his cuddle moments, but when he is fussy outward is the way to go. And often it will put him to sleep.