Christmas 2014

December 28, 2014

Christmas 2014

Our Christmas was great! We love the holidays and the time we get to spend together. We got our house lights up, and then went in search of a tree. WalMart was our first and last stop! They had beautiful, freshly cut trees for a few bucks, so we just picked one up.

On Christmas Eve, we went to the Valdes' home for dinner. We love them so much. They are family to us, and we are so thankful to have met them! Susie and Heidi gifted Gwennie a lovely and soft doll! We named her that night, but we had so many ideas that I don't remember what we actually decided on.

After we left the Valdes', we got started on our new traditions! The girls opened new pajamas--Gwen and I matched, she judged me--and Jake got new basketball shorts and a shirt. Our house has laminate flooring nearly everywhere, so J and I both wanted and got new slippers. The warmth of our toes has reached new heights! Back to the tradition, I decided that it would be fun to do a movie night with the family on Christmas Eve, so we are going to get a new movie each year! This year, we unwrapped The Maze Runner! We gave Gwen a bath, read from Luke 2, and then did our normal routine and put Gwen in bed. Once she talked herself to sleep, we popped some corn, got hot chocolate ready and started the movie. It was so much fun, and I think this tradition is going to be a good one for years and years to come!

On Christmas morning, Mini woke up around 7:15, so we ate breakfast and then looked at the treasures we got! From the Ellsworth grandparents, we got treats galore, a children's nativity which will be out all year, playdough, a purple Hot Wheels car, nail polish, and a calendar! The Denham grandparents gifted Gwen a standup play station with lots of fun noises and things for Gwendle to touch! I got Jake a collar for the puppy we were planning on getting, and Jake got me a makeup bag and a frame to put one of our new family pictures in. Finally, we gifted Gwen with a beautiful doll from Pockets with Posies. She likes to look at her doll, but she is on a shelf until Gwen is ready to play with her. Don't get me wrong; this doll WILL be played with, but Gwen is more interested in learning to stand unassisted :)

We were able to go down to Mesa to visit with my family, specifically Berit, Josh, Curtis, Clayton, and sweet, new baby Ren. Bear got the cutest pictures and I managed to snap one before everyone moved, but I don't know where it is. Nonetheless, it happened!

We met Santa at our previous ward's Christmas party. She loved him, but she judged his outfit.

This last Saturday, we picked up our newest family member, Fred! His name is Fredrick Diggory. He is the brother of Cedric Diggory, who died at the hand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Fred was so upset about his brother's death that he accidentally permanently transfigured himself into a puppy. We accept him for his magical skills, and he accepts our muggle genes, so we will be happy together.

Fred is a great dog. He does well in the kennel, he is starting to understand going to the bathroom outside, and he's bad at understanding why we don't like when he bites Gwen's ears! All in all, he is great. Gwen and Fred are going to be great friends. He's already tried giving her rides places, but we stopped that quick because she's 4 times his size. HA!