Few and far between

Tyler and I rarely get an entire day off together. He works most Saturdays, and Sundays we both have off (him usually), but you know how Sundays are. Wonderful, but sometimes not too relaxing. For us, it's full of primary, young men, and home teaching obligations that we really love. But, it leaves little time for just us. Anyway, yesterday was one of those precious days that we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. We both love to-do lists, so we compiled a pretty detailed one at breakfast and got to it. We had big dreams of getting the beadboard up in the bathroom, but that was the only thing we didn't get to. We put two new light fixtures up, hit up four stores in Bountiful, cleaned and organized neglected parts of the house including the garage, and capped off a terrific day with sherbet and Mamma Mia. Oh, and Tyler just decided to build a shoe rack for me too! He's amazing.

Tyler's handiwork. I DI'ed about half of what was in there too.

Speaking of Tyler's talent to create, I haven't posted what he made me for Christmas. Our tradition for Christmas gifts for each other is $25 to buy supplies to make something for each other. Last year he created a beautiful apron holder, this year he actually sewed an apron! He went over to a neighbor friend's home to borrow her sewing machine and expert advice. It was a total surprise! I love it. I needed an Christmas apron.

Speaking of Christmas gifts, :) Cole is loving his walker. He likes the freedom to explore things at a higher level, and he gets around pretty good by kicking both legs at the same time. He still can only go in straight lines though, so we're turning him around quite a bit when he gets to a wall or rug. Look how big he is!And speaking of Cole, this picture tells the whole story of how he's adjusting to our new 9am church time. We were at 2-5pm before, which worked great with his nap schedule. But now, church is during his favorite nap in the morning. This is when we got home at noon and were finishing up our lunch. It was so cute.

Cole's First Christmas part 1

Okay, we have a two part Christmas here. The first part is actual Christmas, and the second part is our Morrill Christmas weekend. So, to start it off...

This Christmas was so special for Tyler and me, having Cole with us. He not only makes every day wonderful and bright, but also any special event is extra important because it's his "first". After spending Thanksgiving with our Oregon family, it was Utah family's turn for Christmas. Tyler had to work Christmas Eve (sometimes retail is a drag), so we loaded up the truck and took off right after he got home. The roads weren't too bad, and the 3 hour drive went fast in anticipation of the fun festivities ahead.

Here's the ladies, looking good. Especially you Grandma! At 93, she's looking GREAT.

A family tradition, acting out the story of Jesus' birth. Guess who got to be baby Jesus! Joshy was Joseph, and Tegan a beautiful Mary. Cole just sat so still, all swaddled up, and listened to dad read the story. So sweet. Josh's walking stick was really heavy, he kept saying.

We got a good night's rest in, and on to the next morning! Another tradition, waiting at the top of the stairs until dad gives the okay to go check stockings. The boys were at the bottom, taking pictures.
Cole seeing what Santa brought him. Binkys and toys!After checking stockings, we head into the family room to see what else Santa brought and open presents. Can you tell what one of Tyler's gifts was?

Cole's goal all day was to get some kind of wrapping paper in his mouth when we weren't looking. He loved all the new sounds and tastes.

He loves his basketball hoop from Uncle Jordan and Aunt Jolene. And cute hat from Grandma Lisa and Grandpa Rod.

After opening presents and having yummy breakfast, we headed outside to play in all the new snow! It couldn't have been a more picture perfect Christmas day. Tyler likes to try to make the same face as Cole. Close!
One fun thing (of the many) about my parents place is they have a lot of land, and dad likes to hook a sled up to the tractor and give the kids a ride.

Look how cute and frozen the boys are! You too Tegan.

I switched Tegan and went with all 3 boys. Fun times!

Cole petting JJ. Cole got an awesome walker from Grandma and Grandpa Morrill, and Jackson took it upon himself to show him how to use it.

Playing with the Batman castle. Cole doesn't tip over when sitting up anymore! He's such a big boy.

Shane dressed up special for our Christmas dinner. You can see the pride in Mom's eyes.
I also got dressed up later, for bed. My footie jammies were a hit, just look how jealous little Joshy is :) $10 at Target if you're thinking of getting you some. But make sure you're looking in the kids' section, mine are an XXL.

So it ended up being a wonderful, magical Christmas. Tyler had a lot of time off, and I had 2 weeks before school started up, so we decided to stay until New Years and just relax. It was so great to spend that time with everyone. Some other activities while we were there...

Cole got his first trim! His hair had grown over the top of his ears, so I trimmed around. A little scary to hold scissors that close to his face, but he sure didn't realize the danger. We finished with no injuries.

And grandma's sink is so fun to take baths in! He could have played all night.

We also picked up some clay pigeons and shotgun shells to have some shooting practice. The boys did terrific. It was FREEZING, in the single digits.
Cole and Uncle Shug.
I can't believe it's all over. What a wonderful Christmas break! Can't wait for next year...

Cole's First Christmas part 2

Here's what we were up to before Christmas!

Every December, our Morrill family picks a weekend to spend in Salt Lake at a hotel, doing fun stuff. The tradition started waaaaay back when we were little, and we would look forward to coming to the "big city" to get Christmas shopping done, look at all the lights, and enjoy the wonderful things that staying at a hotel brings like swimming and free bath goods. Back then, it was always Little America, but since our family has grown substantially lately, we have moved it to Embassy Suites where we can get 2 rooms with plenty of beds and a very huge, yummy breakfast every morning downstairs. This year, our first activity was to do some service at an assisted living home in SL. We brought Christmas cards and stamps, and helped them write notes on them for their family or just pick out some to send later. Then we visited and sang Christmas carols. It was my favorite part of the weekend together. There's nothing like serving with your family around Christmastime. And brightening someone's day, that's always the best.

Dad taking a turn with Cole. Shane's new friend. (To Shane:"What do you call that haircut?" "Cool." "Oh, cool. I like it!")

The lady sitting by me already had sent her cards out for the year, so she was trying to get a supply for next year. She was sneaky!!

Christine's Chase and his new lady friend.

Tyler writing a bunch of cards for this sweet gal.

Parker and mom set the mood with some Christmas tunes.

Cole and I visiting with Gloria.

After that, we headed to Harley Davidson of SL to get Cole's picture taken with Santa on a Harley, for free! We got him decked out in his cute outfit, look how excited he is! He was the complete opposite when he sat on Santa's lap, however! I'll scan that pic and put it in at another time.

We also went bowling that weekend. Cute Joshy and Jackson!

Shane showing good form.

Parker as well.

Cole slept most of the time, until the end.

We were able to spend some quality time hanging out together at the hotel too. With Auntie Christine....

Watching football with Uncle Shug....

And reading stories with the cousins.

Cole also got to go swimming for his first time ever! He loved the water, just kind of acted like "this is no big deal". I'm sure with daddy's help he'll be an excellent swimmer. All that swimming wore us out, so we relaxed a little.

Cole wants to look at the snow falling with the big boys too.

A super fun weekend! I love that tradition.