December Shenanigans

December was a busy, cold month. I can't remember the last time we played outdoors. Jack doesn't even ask to go outside. Fortunately, he does not seem to enjoy the snow so even while there was snow to play in, we knew he didn't want anything to do with it.


December also brought a lot of new words and cute moments. Here are a few I captured on video:

Over the break, we went sledding at my parents. I was so excited, thinking Jack would surely love it as much as he loved his new roller coaster. Failing to grab a before shot, I pulled Jack with me into a taboggin and took a run down the "track". Unfortunately Jack got a faceful of snow and was crying halfway down the run. I figure it's okay we don't have a traumatic experience documented- he has an incredible memory so I don't think we need photos for him to recall the event!

I waited so long to upload pictures I really can't put all these shots in chronological order. So here are some images of December happenings

Helping mom bake

Hey mom! Look what I can do! 

We have a thing for lining toys up....see below pictures

Yes that is Ernie amid Charlie Brown characters

At least he is organized! 

Enjoying his Santa treat with his buddy cousin Logan at the mall. 

Just chilling with Maria. Actually, I think in this picture he was running away from GranMary to Maria because GranMary was ticking him. 

He looks a bit chubbier here but I love how relaxed he is to hang out in Maria's lap. 

This was a "paint" machine at the Provo Beach resort. It had a touch screen to paint a picture and at the end it takes your picture and prints out your artwork. This was Jacks. I love that it only captured half of his face in which he looks completely thrilled about the whole thing. Haha!

Reading books with uncle Ryan

After we discovered the art of Kazoos, we also learned they fit well onto fingers. He uses kazoos the same way you would put people house on your fingers. He also has specific ones. Blue- Daddy, Green- Mommy, Orange- Maria (Nana), and "Dak" (Jack) is the purple. 

Apparently he needed a good ride on toy for Christmas...

We got a good snow storm Christmas Eve night. This was Mark and Maria having a bit of a snow-dust fight. Jack wasn't so sure about it all. 

Mark and our neighbor shoveling. Unintentional but I like how the clouds turned out. 

One morning I was putting a bag of sugary cereal together as bribery for our shopping trip. He likes to look at the back of the box since it's colorful. I turn back around to find him happily helping himself to the newly discovered unlimited supply of cap'n crunch. 

At the Provo Beach Resort. We were waiting for Dad and Maria to finish playing their game so I let him climb up and we took a few action shots. 

We love our roller coaster....but did you know it can also be a slide?!?! 

Mostly I just love his Santa pjs. Santa and shades just make me giggle. 

Saturday afternoon cuddles with Dad. Daddy was really trying to nap, Jack was tired enough to lay there, but kept poking Mark every time a new character appeared on the TV screen. 

A few days after Christmas, my sister Brenda was in Utah with the family she nannies in New York. My sister Cheriss and I went up to the ski resort they were staying at and visited for a few hours. I'd never been to a ski resort so it was fun to look around- and also see how much snow the back country really does get! 

Our visit overlapped with my parents so we grabbed a group picture.

And just like that...Christmas break was over. It was a good balance of busy but also relaxing. Mark was able to take a few days off, albeit he was sick for the whole break, but it was nice to not have school and only a little work for 2 weeks. As always though, I was happy to get back into a routine- and get on with our last semester of college. Life is pretty grand at the moment. Mark is home every night of the week by 6pm at the latest (barring work emergencies) and it's nice to not have Jack go an entire 2 days without seeing Mark. Only a week into the semester and I'm loving it. Here's to only 15 more weeks of school!