I hope you had a very Merry Christmas time....

Things I want to remember…

She's eight months old
Lily is eight months old as of December 21st. She got her first tooth that day. It has been coming in slowly on the bottom right. She was grumpy the day it came in and has been really good the past couple of days. She's been so happy because her teeth aren't bothering as much anymore. I hope she's not as grumpy with the next ones (wishful thinking I'm sure). She also weighed in at 26.6 pounds. She is a healthy girl and we love every bit of her. This past week Lily has been doing more and more new things. She stands up by herself by the couch. She is trying to crawl. I suspect she will just take off one of these days. Lately, she has been clapping her hands. Most times when I say "yay" and clap my hands, she will do the same with a big grin on her face(pic below). She has also been sitting up from being on her tummy. She wants to discover anything and everything. It is a new world and she is ready to explore.

Matt got STAIGHT A’s

This past semester was plain old hard for everyone. Although it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I do not want to do it again. This break has me so spoiled being home with Matt and Lily and I do not look forward to going back to school. That being said, Matt had some extremely challenging classes this past semester. He dominated over his classes and passes with flying colors. He got all A’s. Not one A-. 4.0!! Way to go Matt!! We are so happy for him. He loves his major and is really good at what he does. This past summer and part time during the fall he worked for Forsgren Associates. It is a civil engineering firm. He has learned so much and has had such a positive experience there. December 19th we went to the company Christmas party. Everyone was so nice and the food was exceptional. Everyone had something positive to say about Matt.

Snow in Rexburg

It has been snowing a whole lot these past couple weeks. I don’t mind it for now…it gets to me in April however. This week and last, Matt has stopped and helped several people (cars and small busses) out of snow banks. He just got a new tow strap because his broke last year. He is glad he did. He has already put it to good use. The snow is piled up to our apartment window. Our car is the one on the left. We are in for a long winter. Thankfully, Matt is such a good snow driver and I hardly have to brave driving in the snow.

Camera for Christmas

We were spoiled today for Christmas. Matt got me a gift card to Porters and Paul Mitchell. I get to go shopping, crafting, and get my hair done. One of the best parts about it is I get to go baby free. He said I get an entire day to myself. What a sweetheart! The perfect Christmas present for me!! Matt got a new watch and a movie.

When we opened presents at our house this morning, Lily liked it okay. She helped Matt a little bit with the first one and lost interest. Lily made out with new toys from us, Grandma Mitchell and her Aunts. It was nice to have all of Matt’s family here for Christmas. For the past 8 months we have been borrowing Matt’s parent’s digital camera. They were so nice to let us keep it for that long. Finally, today for Christmas, we got our own. We are so thankful for it and everything else we got for Christmas. We were too spoiled!

JOY letters

I’ve been feeling a little crafty this year. I wouldn’t call it talent, it is just an interest. For our enrichment a few weeks ago we made letters that say JOY and decorated them for Christmas. It was so much fun. I loved them and made them for my mom, sisters, sisters-in-law, and mother in law. Altogether I decorated 6 sets of letters. While I was doing it I was so excited. I love doing this type of thing. I kept on telling Matt how much fun I was having. Matt was so great to cut out more letters for me. We did have a slight mishap, a casualty if you will, in this project. While Matt was cutting them out, he cut his left index finger on the band saw. His friend Rex was with him and they rushed to get stitches. That wasn’t fun for him. So these letters were really made with our sweat and blood. I hope you all like them.

Matt hasn’t been working this break because he’s been helping his parents finish their basement. They are putting in a bathroom and Matt has been spending a lot of time out there trying to get it looking nice for his sister. Hopefully he’ll get it all done this break because his time is called for this coming semester. On top of a full school load, he is Elder’s Quorum President and watches Lily while I’m in class. I know it will all work out like it has in the past. Looking toward the future can be overwhelming. We are going to take it one day at a time.

If you are still reading, I know this is long. I just want to remember these things. Lily had a really great first Christmas. This is our third Christmas together. It was a good day! ...Because I love you as much as I do, Merry Christmas to you...

p.s. Chelsea sent Lily this cute outfit. Thank you Chelsea...you're the best!