Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! Isn't it wonderful? We were really excited about having Christmas with Jackson this year, since he would be at least a bit aware of what was happening. And we weren't disappointed! Jackson loved it. He loved ripping the paper off and dropping it on the floor. And if the paper didn't quite get to the floor, he would pick it up again and throw it until it did get to the floor. We didn't take any photos, but we did videotape for the benefit of grandma's living far away! He even took the time to play with each gift before moving onto the next one...he's very considerate like that. He got all kinds of toys, and loves them all. He's a spoiled boy. 

 We had our little family Christmas and then went over to my parent's house for some cold, but delicious, breakfast (cold was totally our fault since we were late) and opened yet more gifts. It was fun to be with everyone and see everyone opening gifts, I like it. Sam hadn't had much sleep at this point, so he went home and slept the rest of the day away, poor guy. We spent the evening at Vicki and Paul's (my aunt and uncle) eating yummy food and playing games with all of my extended family. It was great fun. All in all, we had a great day! 

Jackson getting into trouble in his new Christmas pj's

(He really loves the dishwasher)

Our little Christmas tree

This is my adorable mother and her ridiculous Christmas outfit. She was showing off the socks Heidi sent her. It's terrible, and I'm a little embarrased for her. 

Jackson and Malachi 

Snow!

The last week has brought heaps of snow. And although Sam and I are not big fans of the stuff, we were pretty excited about it. I guess that's what having a kid does to you. Sam has been really excited about playing with Jackson in the snow, and we spent a lot of time looking for snow gear for the boy. (Jackson, not Sam.) I'm happy to say that by the time the snow came, we were ready. Sam went out to start on the walks, and I started getting Jackson ready. About an hour later (and a few tears later) Jackson and I were ready to go. Who knew it was so hard to get a 15 month old into snow clothes! Well, we went out and it was pretty fun. Jackson was a bit nervous, but enjoyed it in the end, although he didn't do much playing in it. He did however, enjoy being pulled around in his little sled. We went out again yesterday, and I am happy to report that it only took about 15 minutes to get him dressed, we're getting better!

We've also enjoyed getting ready for Christmas. We kind of missed Christmas last year, we didn't have a tree, since we moved out of our apartment on Dec 26, so it's nice to be celebrating again. I love Christmas lights, so our tree is lit up all the time, and we even bought some ornaments and Jackson has only pulled off a few. It's quite nice. And I'm even enjoying Christmas music. 'Tis the season! Merry Christmas everyone!

Lookin' good in his new hat

Geared up for the snow and a little unsure about it

Jackson lovin' the sled

Aren't we cute?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Just checkin' in

It's been awhile since I put anything up here, so I thought I should send out a little note to all of you. We are doing great. Time is flying by, and I can't believe that it's almost Christmas. Hopefully we'll get our tree soon. This time last year we were getting ready to leave for Australia, it doesn't seem like that was a whole year ago. We miss you all over there!

Jackson is really growing up and changing. He's become really cuddly, which is a big change. He used to hate cuddling, as some of you know very well. He is also very into reading. He loves it. He is always bringing me a book to read. We are really happy about it, although it would be nice if it wasn't always the same book, or when I'm doing the dishes or making dinner! Anyway, he just loves it. However, we are getting tired of our books over and over, so if any of you have any suggestions for us of fun kid books, we'd really appreciate it!

Jackson also loves the dishwasher. He's worked out how to open it, and does it all the time. Why is he so smart? He has also started walking on his tip-toes, climbing the toilet to the counter and playing in the sink, and screaming a lot! We got really tired of his screaming last night, so Sam decided he would spray him with a squirt bottle each time he screamed. This backfired, as Jackson thought it was hilarious! He just laughed and laughed when Sam squirted him. Any tips to get rid of screaming?

So that's the update. Sam is loving his job, and we are starting to adjust to the schedule, I think. And I was called into the Primary Presidency at church (working with the children). I like it, although I have no idea what I am doing! What an adventure!

Family Photos

So I'm pretty slow, but we had some family photos taken a couple of weeks ago by my wonderful cousin (you're the best!) and I thought I would finally put them up so you can all tell us how wonderful we look. Not really, but I did want to share them. Maybe if I feel really ambitious, some of you might get one in a Christmas card, but for now, just plan on admiring them here on our blog. They turned out really nice and we love them, now we just have to print them out and get them on our wall. What a pain!

Peeping Jackson

I'm pretty sure that Jackson does something new every day. It's really fun. This week Jackson has turned into a peeping Tom, and I find it really funny. Sam went into the bathroom the other day, and when he shut the door, Jackson waved "goodbye" to him. So I asked him, "Where's Daddy?" In answer, he got up, ran over to the bathroom, and promptly laid down on his belly, and looked under the door. It was hilarious. And he has continued to do it. Probably because we laugh at him. It's just so funny. He even sticks his little fingers under to try and find you. I'm glad that I have all of you to share these ridiculous things with. Thanks for listening.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. We were a little afraid that Jackson would hate wearing his costume and try to rip it off, but he seemed to enjoy it. We went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat, where Jackson got lots of candy for Sam and I to enjoy, and we had yummy chilli, hot dogs, and dutch oven dessert. We spent the rest of the night at my parents house, with the cousins. They all had a great time and we all ate too much candy. Isn't Halloween great?

All of the little kiddies

Kendra's little baby Kambria

One cute kangaroo

What a cute boy!