Christmas Favorites

Ethan loved the paper and boxes more than most of the gifts he received. Whatever makes him happy!





He did love this tricycle that Grandpa and Grandma Rosa got for him.



His favorite gift of all were these sippy cups. Of course, because they have to do with food. He actually tried drinking out of them while they were still in the package. He carried them both around the rest of the day.



Here is Joe dressed in his favorite gift this year....I had to take a picture since it took him about an hour to figure out how to put it on.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so much fun this year. Ethan loved opening all his presents. He gets really excited when he sees something he likes now. He makes this really cute face and yells "ooooohhhh". It is exciting to see him discover new things and how happy he gets. It makes you stop to look at everything in such a different way.

When we were little, and up until we got married actually, Kevin and I would wait at the top of our stairs on Christmas morning until we were told it was okay to come down. We would always take a picture at the top of the steps. Here is Ethan waiting to come downstairs this year.





We bought Ethan a mini Dyson vacuum cleaner. He loves ours and when I found one that exactly matched it, I just had to get it. Blame Joe for this obsession also. It looks like maybe I will have to be the one to introduce sports to this boy.

A Visit From Santa

We spent Christmas Eve with my mom's family. My dad dressed up like Santa and handed out presents. It was a lot of fun and pretty funny to watch. Ethan was still terrified of this Santa. He finally warmed up a little at the end as long as he didn't actually have to sit on his lap.

A Pajama Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my family a few days early. It was so much fun to have the entire day to eat and relax. We all decided to wear our pajamas which made it all the better. Joe didn't have any so Ethan got him a great big onesie for his present.







Kevin and Shannon got Ethan this slide for Christmas which he loved. He was at the table eating when we brought it in. He wanted to stop eating to go play with it which says a lot for him. Typically eating is his favorite activity so the slide was definitely a hit.



Grandma and Grandpa got Ethan a snowsuit and sled for Christmas. He was sitting it in before Joe could even blow it up. I am sure he will love it even more when he gets to actually go out in the snow.





Ethan also got an ironing board and iron. My mom thought that Ethan would like to take part in one of his Daddy's favorite activities. I definitely don't mind Joe's obsession but sometimes I think the things that he decides to iron are quite strange. Hopefully Ethan won't go that far, but from this picture he seems well on his way.

Santa's Lap

Ethan hated Santa's lap. He may not get any presents this year because of how much he hated Santa's lap. He doesn't really hate Santa himself, just his lap. He gives pictures of Santa kisses all the time, but when it was actually time to sit on the lap, he lost his mind. It was as if Santa had thumbtacks on his lap for how hard he cried. As you can see, Sophia doesn't seem to mind Santa yet. She was definitely his favorite today. We will check back next year.

Holiday Pictures

I decided to try to take my own pictures for our Christmas cards this year. Here are a few of my favorites....

So much to be thankful for...

I know I have been terrible this past month at keeping up on here. Now that the holidays are here there is so much going on. I can't believe it is already December. November was busy and filled with snow. Joe went hunting right before Thanksgiving for a week in West Virginia and left me with all the shoveling. I don't remember the last time we got so much snow that early. We didn't even pull in our fall decorations and forget trying to put up lights for Christmas. The snow has not left us for even a day.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was a lot of fun and we have so much to be thankful for this year. My mom made a wonderful dinner that I actually got to enjoy...Shannon took my place this year with not being able to eat. As soon as we sat down, Sophia decided she was hungry. Ethan loved all the food and ate it for days afterwards.

While Joe was in WV, Ethan really took off walking. It was crazy, he was only gone a few days, but when he came home it seemed Ethan was so much older. He is walking like a pro now and trying to repeat a lot of what we say. It is cute. His favorite word is "hot". I probably use it more than I should because he knows not to touch things that are "hot". So now, not only are the oven and the fireplace hot, but so are the Christmas tree and most other decorations around the house. He is going to catch on soon I am sure.

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving of Ethan and Sophia...



Putting their ornaments on the tree...

I think Thanksgiving is Ethan's favorite holiday so far...

Coloring Daddy a picture while he was gone