Christmas Morning at Home

We had a lovely and lowkey Christmas morning at home, just the three of us. After breakfast we headed for the tree, and opened up the presents from Santa. :)

Being forced to pose with Mommy for a Christmas morning picture.

Deuce examining his gift from Santa--a new chicken-flavored Nylabone!

Nathan knew immediately how to use the vacuum cleaner (he certainly did not inherit that trait from me!)

Todd opening his gift.

Sweet boy in Christmas pajamas under the tree.

My new cargo net! Now my groceries won't go sliding all over the back of the wagon!

Opening the gift from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Lewis--meeting Corduroy the bear.

Giving Corduroy a big hug!

Being forced to pose with Daddy for a Christmas morning picture--N was done with the picture taking getting in the way of all his playing!

Christmas Eve at the Emhof House

On December 23rd after we got out of work, Todd, Nathan and I headed up to Grand Rapids for a sleepover and Christmas celebration with Grandpa John and Grandma Gail. My dad cooked a tasty dinner--a pork recipe from one of their fancy cooking magazines and his famous cream puffs for dessert. Have I ever mentioned how happy I am that cooking is something that both my parents and Todd's parents excel at??? We definitely reap the benefits there.

Christmas Eve morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then opened presents after Nathan's morning nap. Unfortunately, Steve and Joanna couldn't make it for Christmas this year--flights were insanely expensive, they are on the brink of moving to a new place, and there was just too much going on. The house and Christmas celebration seemed a little too quiet without them, but we still had a good time. We did get to chat on the phone with them several times, which was fun. Of course, I made good use of the new camera!

Hey look, a picture of me! :)

Grandma and Nathan exploring his new barn.

Dad capturing a moment with his camera.

First self portrait with the new camera!

Mom opening her Fiestaware bowls from us--she's starting a collection and it was fun to help kick it off!

Dad opening his present.

Nathan playing with his Wegman's truck from Great-grandma Joan. We're starting this kid off right! :)

The awesome (and odd!) stuffed ham from Uncle Steve and Aunt Joanna. Check out the artist's website at: http://www.sweet-meats.com/index.html it is really cute!

Family photo

Playing with the drum from Uncle Steve and Aunt Joanna. This is one of his favorite toys from the Birthday/Christmas present marathon--sanctioned banging!

Awww... our first baby! :)

My sweet hubby

Nathan loves to "clean." If you give him a rag, a paper towel (or in this case, stuffing) he will have a ball wiping down whatever surface is closest. Could it be that we will have a neat freak??

Nathan going for the user guide to make sure I'm using the camera to its full capacity.

An example of the reason I'm so excited about the new camera--adorable subject, and a fast shutter speed to capture a moment when he's looking at me and smiling!

First Art Project

On the snow day that we had several weeks ago, I decided to use the found time to work on an idea I had for Christmas presents from Nathan--fingerpaintings! Nathan wasn't too sure about this endeavor. He thought the texture of the paint was a little weird, and he definitely found it strange that the paint didn't taste good. He got into it a little bit though, and had fun making some artistic masterpieces for the grandparents while also turning himself into an artistic masterpiece! Needless to say, the first stop after the painting finished was the bath tub.

Not too sure about this stuff...

Giving painting a try.

It IS fun to paint myself!

The finished masterpieces.

One for Grandpa John and Grandma Gail

One for Grandpa Dan and Grandma Nancy

New Toy

For Christmas this year, mom and dad gave Todd and I a really, REALLY nice camera. Our old camera was a point and shoot with very few megapixels and slow shutter speed. Since Nathan is in constant motion, I really wanted to have a camera that was fast enough to keep up with him, as well as take pictures of a higher quality. I'm sure you are all able to tell when the pictures I post are from my dad's camera, which is a digital SLR rather than a point and shoot.

So we were absolutely thrilled on Christmas Eve when we opened our Christmas gift to find a super awesome Canon EOS Rebel! It is quite the work of art in and of itself, and just out of the box without me doing all the reading and exploration of its features, the pictures are one million times better than with our old camera. Oh, and it takes HD video! Look out world, there are going to be even MORE photos of my family floating around!! :)

Sledding with Grandma Nancy

On the 22nd, Nancy spent the day with Nathan. She arrived in the morning toting a bright red sled! It was a perfect day for N's first sledding adventure--snow on the ground but not too cold. She bundled N up in his snowpants and jacket, somehow got him to keep both hat and mittens on his head, and headed out to the back yard to do some sledding. Apparently he was really fascinated by the snow--he thought it was neat but felt that it didn't need to be quite so cold!

Not quite sure what to think.

Oh, this is fun!

This stuff is cold AND wet? I think I may be done with this activity for the moment.

Back inside, and appropriately wearing the Colorado t-shirt from Uncle Jordan, looks like a ski bum with his t-shirt and snow pants on.

Nathan's Birthday Party

The Sunday after Nathan's actual birthday, we had a small birthday party at our house to celebrate with the grandparents and Uncle Jordan. We all had a great time, and Nathan enjoyed the presents, and especially the cake!

Loves the ribbons and boxes just as much as the toys.

What's in here??

Deuce keeping an extra close eye on the present opening, just in case his services are needed.

On the fire engine from Great-Grandma Joan!

Snuggling up in the BEAUTIFUL Christmas quilt that Grandma Gail made for Nathan. When he has a big boy bed, I'm going to put it out for Nathan every year when we decorate the house. I love starting Christmas traditions with my family! I have this vision of N coming home from college for winter break to find this quilt waiting for him, and this will be one of the signs that he is truly back home.

Dining on some spicy lentil soup before it's birthday cake time.

Isn't this just a great first birthday picture? I think I'm going to print and frame it. Isn't that a beautiful cake?? Nancy got it for Nathan from Food Dance Cafe, which is a local restaurant known for it's delicious food and delectable desserts, made with locally grown food.

Clean-up is serious business.