Baby's First Christmas

I know, I know... it's the end of January and I am just getting to Christmas.  But Christmas was so fun I can't skip it.

We spent Christmas in Texas, so before we left we let the baby open her gifts from my side of the family.  She is definitely too young to know what Christmas or presents are, but she loved getting new toys.

 

 

Our trip to Texas was so fun.  Christmas and a beautiful wedding kept us busy so my picture taking was sporadic, but here are a few of my favorite pictures from Christmas Day...

(Grace's great new toy from Nana and Grandpa.  She loves it!)

 

The best part about Christmas is spending time with family.  Grace loved spending time with her Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles (Luke and I liked that best too).

 

Christmas was so fun!  We love family filled holidays!

Baby, it's Slightly Chilly Outside

A few weeks ago, we joined the Young Women in our ward on a trip up to Mesa to visit the temple and look at the Christmas lights.  I was really impressed with the light display.  The Christmas lights and the slight chill in the air (it was in the 60's) made it finally feel like Christmas time.  Which is good, since we live in the desert and the landscape never really changes.  It is hard to know which season it is by looking outside.

 

 

Looking at lights made the baby very sleepy and she fell asleep like this...

We didn't notice her hat was covering up her eyes until after she was out, and then I was afraid moving it would wake her up, so we left her like that.  Ha ha.  Poor baby.

Meeting Family

 

Taking Baby Grace to Utah to meet my family has been something I have been giddy about since the day she was born.  I had to wait until Thanksgiving to do it, but it was worth the wait.

 

We named Grace after my Grandmother.  Grandma Grace is one of my favorite people in this world.  Her life is amazing!  She has lived through it all and come out the most kind and gentle person.  I was lucky enough to grow up near her and while I was working, to save money to pay for my mission, I got to eat lunch with her everyday.  I have learned so much from my Grandma.  I love my Grandma Grace and couldn't wait for my Baby Grace to meet her.

This was a very happy day for me... 

 

Great Grandma Grace and Baby Grace

 

Grace also got to meet my aunts, uncles and cousins (and their kids).  Unfortunately, I was so caught up in catching up with them I did not get any pictures.

 

Grace got to spend a lot of time with her Grandma...

 

And GrandG...

 

It was such a wonderful trip!  I already cannot wait to go back. 

Oh yeah, Thanksgiving was somewhere in there.  It was yummy... turkey, etc.   

Little Bat

I love Halloween! I think it comes from having a late October Birthday. When I was a kid my birthday parties were often Halloween themed.

I would pick out what I wanted to be for Halloween early and my talented Mother would sew it for me. Watching her work on my costume everyday for a couple weeks increased the suspense and excitement of dressing up and Trick-or-Treating on Halloween.

Since I love Halloween and it was our first major holiday with the baby I couldn't wait for October 31st. I agonized about what to dress her in for far too long, and when we decided to make her a bat I got a little ambitious with her costume. Once I dialed it back a bit I had a really good time making her first costume (I did not make the cute bib). I am not as talented as my Mom, but Grace looked pretty cute.

 

Happy Halloween!