Christmastime!

I intended this post to be several smaller posts, but I just never got around to it. So now it's just a big long one.

December 15

My friend Rachel had a gift exchange party. It was great to dress up, be with our friends, eat lots of yummy treats, and have a fun white elephant game. And this was a girls only party, so even better! Everyone brought neat gifts and I would have been happy taking home any one of them. I ended up with a hot cocoa and mug set with a book and a Woodstock stuffed animal. I wanted to steal a certain pair of earrings, but Jessica threatened me with her eyes!


From the left: Tiffany, Yvonne, Sheralyn, Me, Jessica, Katie, Dawn (holding Tiffany's baby Tyler), Maribel, Rachel

December 16

Friday night we had our ward Christmas party at the church, complete with turkey and all the fixings! They also had a little program and a sing-a-long which was surprisingly really fun. Near the end all the kids sang a song to usher in Santa Clause. I wish, Wish, WISH I had a video of Cannon's reaction! He was beyond excited! I was holding him up and as soon as he saw Santa his eyes got huge and he raised both his arms high with one hand opened and the other hand holding up two fingers and he starts shouting, "Yeah, Santa! SANTA!" Just picture someone at the concert of lives and that would be Cannon! He ran to Santa to get in line with the other kids. Despite his total awe, the picture of him would suggest otherwise. This was his third time sitting on Santa's lap this year and it never got old for him.




These are the infamous green earrings that I wanted to steal from Jessica. When I got to the ward Christmas party, Sheralyn had bought them for me! She's the one who originally brought the gift for the white elephant party. I thought that was so nice of her!

December 19

For family home evening, we went to see the lights at Largo Central Park. Actually I got there early with Cannon so he could play on the playground first. We got there around 4:00 and played until Ryan got there at around 6:00. Cannon was happy to see the lights, but he was most excited to walk on the train tracks. Afterwards we got $2 subs at Subway.







December 20

My birthday! I got to open my presents in the morning before Ryan left for work. Ryan's parents got me a watch (I left my other one back in Austin). My mom got me a Willow Tree figurine of a husband and wife and also a Visa giftcard. Ryan got me a shirt from Old Navy and Burts Bees chapstick (I was impressed that he attempted to buy me clothes). And he surprised me with an iPOD Touch! I LOVE it, but I feel so guilty for having it. But with all the giftcards we got, it more than makes up for it.

In the morning I met a couple of friends, Rachel and Jessica, at the park. Rachel made me some earrings and Jessica got me journal and chocolate cupcakes. It was such a nice day at the park and fun to let the kids run around.

Later that day Cannon and I met Ryan at his office around 5:15. I had never seen his office, so he gave us a tour and introduced us to a few co-workers. Then we headed out for a dinner at Maggianos. On the way there we saw two dolphins in the bay! I always complain to Ryan that he gets to see all the good animals, so I was so happy that I finally got to see some dolphins!



December 24

For Christmas Eve we went the beach! We decided that needs to be our new tradition. It's been really warm, like in the 80's, so we felt that the beach was the perfect way to spend the day. It's always a little cooler once you get to the shore. We didn't have any intentions of fully swimming, but we wore our swim suits anyway. Cannon found a stick and just wanted to play in the sand. We stood in the water, which actually wasn't that cold, but the wind was cold. It was so nice and relaxing. We also saw a few seals out in the distance.





Christmas!

Christmas was so much fun this year! Cannon "got" it and that made it so fun! The first thing he said when he woke up in the morning was, "Is Santa here?" He kept thinking that he was going to see Santa. I kept explaining that he wasn't going to see Santa and that he had already come. We let him open his stocking and a couple of presents before church. We had church at 10:00 and so we waited to open everything until after church. I kind of liked the delayed gratification. When we did open presents, we took our time. Cannon liked to play with each toy for a bit before opening the next one. Our families definitely spoiled all of us, especially Cannon!

Later that day our friends, the Kanooths, came for Christmas dinner. I made a turkey, stuffing, and rolls. And Rachel made mashed potatoes and a super delicious blackberry pie! Dinner was great and the kids had fun playing together.

Here is a video of Cannon coming down on Christmas morning:



I love how he calls his trampoline a "bounce-a-leen!"





The dogs got their Christmas bones and their toys. Trixy is the other dog and we are watching her while her family is in Utah for the holidays.


The aftermath!


Christmas dinner with everyone, except Micah. He was asleep in Cannon's crib.


How many babies can you fit into a dog crate?


After dinner I cut Micah's hair. Doesn't he look so handsome?

I was really good this year and cleaned out things before Christmas to make room for the new stuff. When Cannon went down for his nap we were able to clean up and organize the toys before he woke up. Today we are going to take the tree down and put away all the decorations.

Here is a random video of this house right by our church. They have the most decorations I have ever seen!