Kicking Off the New Year

After the excitement of Christmas, we settled in for some good visiting during the rest of the week with my family.

On Friday we had our traditional adventure with the nieces and nephews to get hot chocolate. 

We spent that afternoon with the Nickells and enjoyed a walk to the grocery store among other things before meeting up with Tyler and Christina in Tulare.

There were a number of other times for relaxing and hanging out together before we finished with a bang at our New Year's Eve party.

Heather set up a photo booth, which was thoroughly enjoyed.

We also had plenty of snacks, puzzles, games, and video games to keep us going until midnight and the new year.

The next morning we enjoyed cinnamon rolls for breakfast, plus more games, visiting, and a walk. After lunch we said goodbye to everyone and returned to Modesto.

We continued the new year in style the following day by going to Uncle Jimmy's house for eggs benedict. 

That afternoon we took Solace and Amari to frozen yogurt for their Christmas adventure.

Gayle has Christmas bells for each of the grandkids and every year adds a new one in their color to the tree. Mary's are silver, and she enjoyed exploring her first one this year.

Thursday we headed over to Ukiah to spend the night with Bethany and Laura. We had delicious tacos and played games, then had breakfast together the next morning.

Friday we made the trip back home. The drive felt particularly long, but we made it and were happy to be home. The house was cold, so we bundled up until the heaters had time to warm things up.

It was a great visit with everyone in California, but it was also nice to be home. We enjoyed settling back into a more normal routine over the next few days.

First Christmases

We kicked off Mary's first Christmas celebration early by opening gifts as a family on the Thursday before Christmas. Mary was in the midst of some serious teething and wasn't feeling her best, but she seemed to enjoy opening her gifts and playing with them.

The following day we drove down to Modesto.

Amari was happy to share his highchair with his little cousin.

Saturday we attended the Holiday Follies show that Joy was working on. Solace was a little lamb in the Nutcracker part of the show and did a great job. It was Mary's first ballet; she slept through the middle of it, but was interested in the beginning and end.

Dave and Joshua made shortbread cookies the following day, and Mary learned how to fork them with the family pattern.

Christmas day we had brunch, then gathered for gifts and Christmas dinner. Mary got to sit with Grandpa while he read the Christmas story from Luke.

We had a food themed gift exchange this year, and it was fun to see what people did with the theme. Some of the gifts were almost totally edible while others were cooking related.

The next day we headed to Visalia to round out the Christmas celebration with my family. We started with cinnamon rolls for brunch, then had the traditional picture in front of the tree before opening presents. We finished the day with Christmas dinner. There was a lot of good celebrating with all three of our Christmases.

Christmas Clothes

It's always exciting to get a package in the mail from Grandma with a new outfit inside.

Seven Months

Mary continues to be a busy, curious, and happy baby. 

 She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. She can also scoot backwards on her stomach, increasing her ability to get around. 

Mary is discovering new sounds she can make, like smacking her lips, blowing raspberries, and banging her spoon. She likes trying foods and sitting with us at dinner.

She continues to enjoy the superman pose alternated with pushing up.  

She just recently learned how to push back into a seated position from her hands and knees. 

When Mary is happy or wants to make you smile, she wiggles her whole little body in a side to side sort of shimmy. It’s so cute. 

Our sweet baby is growing and changing every day, but she continues to be a delight.

Mary Sitting

Last month, Mary started sitting up with minimal support.

She quickly improved to the point where she could sit for short periods on her own.

Now, she is a real pro and can sit by herself for a long stretch, even while reaching for toys.

Cousin Pajamas

Photo credit: Michelle

 Growing up (and still occasionally), my mom made pajama pants for the three of us. It was always exciting to pick out new flannel and snuggle up in a cozy pair of pjs made with love. Now, Mom makes pajamas for the grandchildren every year. This was Mary's first pair.

Photo credit: Heather

The flannel this year is a camping print.

Photo credit: Heather

 After taking the group pictures, the girls wanted a few more together; of course, we were happy to oblige.

Photo credit: Heather

Day Trip

Photo credit: Heather

 Joshua, Mary, and I took a day trip down to Visalia on Monday and spent the day at the Nickells' new house. We arrived in time for pumpkin pancakes and sausage for breakfast, after a tour of the new house of course.

Photo credit: Michelle

Mary enjoyed lots of snuggles and play time.

Photo credit: Michelle

Photo credit: Michelle

Photo credit: Heather

We enjoyed a walk before a delicious lunch, then in the afternoon we spent time decorating gingerbread cookies.

Photo credit: Michelle

Photo credit: Michelle

We finished the fun day together with tasty tacos for dinner. It was so nice that it worked out to see everyone (except Isaac, who was out of town) and the new house. We returned to Modesto in time to have pecan pie and Tea of Good Tidings before bed.

Retirement Celebration

Dave retired! His last Sunday preaching was November 18, then the retirement celebration was December 2. We headed down to California on Friday. Joshua had band practice Friday night and Saturday morning because the old church band got back together to play for the occasion. Sunday morning everything went well. It was a lot of fun to have the band lead worship, and our family got to light the advent candle. Things were festive and fun. Following the service, there was a luncheon and short program that included some presentations and people sharing memories about Dave's 36 years at Trinity and other ministry, including this gem from the old Calvin Crest days that Mark Nazarian shared during his talk:

It was neat to hear all the stories and memories; some were funny, others touching, but they all reflected a deep commitment to service and love for others.

Christmas Tree Hunt

Mary got to get her first Christmas tree this week; she seemed to enjoy it, but probably not as much as I did.

 We love a good tree.