Christmas 2011

Here are the new Christmas Sunday clothes.  Bryce is holding his "Kno-knock."  No idea where that name came from, but it's what he's been calling guitars for forever. Anyway, my dad, the guitar nut who has a whole room dedicated to his guitars, thought it was high time Bryce had his own.  So that was Bryce's Christmas present from the grand-parents.  His first ukulele.  It's actually a pretty nice instrument.  At first I thought I'd get it down for him when he asked for it and just let him play around with it.  But now I take it down when Brynn practices piano and I teach him how to hold it, and he can actually play a few chords!  He loves it!

A little home-made Christmas gift for Brynn.  It's a sensory box full of mermaids, buried treasure, and the best part - Boulder sand!! Boulder is a tiny town in Southern Utah where my Grandpa owns some land and we spent  time every summer.  It's the softest sand in the world and since I've only been there a couple times since I've been married I get homesick for it.  I've had fun playing with this toy with Brynn.

And an ocean-themed sensory box for Bryce.  Not quite so much of a hit - sorry, Buddy. :)

 But the real present is behind the wrapped windows and doors...

 wait for iiiiiit..........

 Ta-dum!  We got a screeeeamin' deal on this playset on Craig's list.  And thank you to Marty, who put in an exorbitant amount of time on it, sanding, staining, other repairs.  Plus re-landscaping the lawn so we'd have a place for it.  And I might add, this is all in the last week or two of the pregnancy and the first couple of weeks of the baby.  Got it kids?  We must love you.

 Even sweet baby Gabe got to try it out.

 We had picnics for lunch out on the picnic table for weeks.  We still do multiple times a week.

 He already loves his sister. She treats him like gold, and in return he responds so well to her presence and her voice.

 Sigh.  I love this picture.  I know it's not great photography, but it's my sweet little cherub.  Looking, again, SO much like his brother and sister.  Wait a minute...didn't I already raise this baby a couple of times?  All my babies look alike.

This is where he spent most of Christmas, in Grandma's arms.