Christmas Break

There aren't too many benefits to having a husband (and dad) in graduate school, but there is the 2-week break for Christmas. That is pretty sweet. Tomorrow is back to reality, so I thought I'd sum up the last two weeks in a quick post.

Ethan got his first haircut and we discovered that his hair is darker than we thought. It is light brown!


Sydney surprised us and learned to get on her knees while holding onto the crib. Doug and I were playing with her after she woke up from her nap. It was fun to watch her make a discovery.

On Wednesday, Dec 22nd the U of U played in their bowl game. Doug opened a present from Ethan and Sydney a little early. They had matching black/red/white pants to wear while we watched the game. I knew Doug would love it.

They had a great time playing with toys while we watched the game.
{photo below taken at halftime}

The next day, we went to Elyssa's (Doug's neice) basketball game. E&S were amazed by all the cheering, bouncing, and buzzers...but most of all Sydney was amazed by her cousin Josh. She kept smiling at him and if he wasn't noticing her, she would lean down to try to get in his line of sight. Josh wasn't sure what to do with the attention. He was nice to humor her and smile back...over and over and over again.

Ethan's cousin Keslee came after halftie and Ethan loved her attention.

We spent Christmas Eve with family closeby. In the afternoon, we went to the Merrills (Doug's sister) and played games and I worked on their puzzle. We must have too much fun with them because we always forget to snap a photo. In the evening, we went to my parent's house and had our traditional opening of family gifts. Ethan sported some bows--thanks to my dad--most of the evening.

Grandma gave them each a pair of pajamas. She went to the trouble of trimming the 'feet' off of Ethan's so he could wear them to bed. He still wears his brace for night and nap-time.

Christmas morning was pretty casual this year. We woke up, ate breakfast, cleaned up breakfast, and finally waltzed into the living room to see what Santa had brought around 10 am! Doug opened his rollerblades and decided to take them out for a spin. He went over to the Merrills to check out their loot. I told him he couldn't leave without a photo--rollerblading in December. He's been wanting a new pair of rollerblades for a while now. This summer we took the babies out for a rollerblading stroller ride a few times. Now Doug can go extra fast! (while being cautious and careful pushing the stroller of course)

E&S weren't really sure what to do with the presents. Here is a photo of them opening their gift from Aunt Michelle (Doug's sister). She gave them an amazing book collection and some 'quiet books' to look at during church. I know they will love them.

Michelle spent the weekend with us along with my parents and my brother Matt. We played a lot of games, but we also spent a lot of time holding fussy babies. Sydney cut her top tooth Christmas day and Ethan cut his 2nd tooth on Boxing day. We were glad they had a reason for refusing to nap most of the day. Made Christmas a little less fun for their mom and dad.