Come and Gone

There is always so much build up before the holidays and they seem so far away for so long and then BAM! they're just a memory. We had a wonderful Christmas. Since there were some gifts that we didn't want to pack with us to Utah, we had our own little Christmas a few mornings early. I surprised Bill with all of his diplomas matted and framed and he surprised me with a new camera. It's a dream!

I've had a blast experimenting and playing around with all it's neat features

Bill had to work for a few hours on Christmas Eve, but we were packed and ready to hit the road by one. Sam was a good boy and watched his little movie while I got everything together. He did great on the drive to Logan.

As always, we acted out the Nativity story with Bill's parents and his sister Angie and her family

Christmas morning was very peaceful and quiet. Sam was the only grandchild in the house and he had a ball tearing the paper off all of the gifts. He got lots of fun new toys and books.

Later that evening, we drove down to Layton for an Ellison family Christmas dinner and then on to my parents house for the night. We had a great time seeing some of our friends in Salt Lake over the next few days.

Sam's best buddy, Drew Gardiner

Dinner with our friends from NYU, the Wilson's

Sam LOVED playing with his cousins, Noah and Sloane

Bill had to drive home Sunday morning, but Sam and I stayed a few extra days, most of which were spent being sick. Sam had a couple of bad nights and I was worried about our flight home, but after being delayed about an hour, we finally made it back to Idaho. We were so happy to see Bill!

Now onto 2010!

Photo Shoot

My sister, Ann, and I finally took our boys to get their pictures taken...

Not a fan of Santa

We thought it would be fun to take Sam to see Santa Claus...

He felt differently.

Home:

[noun] 1. The place in which one's domestic affections are centered. 2. Any place of residence or refuge.

Welcome!

Entry

Office

Family Room (Poor Sam doesn't have a stocking yet. I'm working on it!)

Dining Area

Kitchen

Mud Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Laundry Room

Loft

Guest Room

Spare Oom (as Bill calls it)

Sam's Room

Party!

So that all my sisters and their families could join us, we waited until tonight to have cake and ice cream for Sam's birthday. Inspired by my friend Kris, who makes amazing cakes, I whipped this up:

If you're noticing a lion theme in our family, you're very observant. Sam is quite fond of a little stuffed lion that he sleeps with and one of his favorite pieces of a puzzle he has, is the lion. And, of course, he was a lion for Halloween too!

My BIL, Travis (next to Bill) celebrated his birthday on the 27th and my sister, Ann (far right) will celebrate hers on the 4th. Happy birthday Travis and Annie! We were so happy to have everyone there to party with Sam!

Sam was a little suspicious of his cake at first, but I think he liked it!

Video clip soon to come

One

I can't believe I have a one-year-old! If the rest of my life flies by as fast as this last year has (as I'm frequently told that it does), I'll be a senior citizen before I know it! Sam had a great birthday.

The three of us went to dinner at Smoky Mountain Pizza and Pasta

And then Sam got to take a bath with his new tubby toys

While Sam was napping this morning, I read through my journal entries the few days before and after his birth. It was such an amazing time that I can still remember very vividly. I've never felt so humble and vulnerable as when I got to hold my sweet little baby for the first time. It was the most precious moment of my life. I loved seeing Bill just melt as he held his new little son.

Life for us has sure changed since then! We are so happy to have Sam in our family and love him so much! Happy birthday Sammy!