Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas this year!! We look forward to this time every year so that we can have some time to spend at home together, just relaxing and playing. On Tuesday I left work early because our office was so slow, and they let me take Wednesday off, too. Since we hadn't gotten to the mall yet to see Santa, Grandma and I decided to take Rylee Wednesday afternoon. While we were waiting for Santa to get there, I decided to take a few pictures. Rylee found this bench and thought it was the funniest thing! She was being really good, so we got a few good shots: As expected, she did not like Santa at all! Not even after he bribed her with a candy cane. (But that's ok, I was kind of hoping for a picture of my screaming baby with Santa - something I could not have understood until having a child of my own!) Now we just have to hope she isn't still traumatized by next year!! Afterward she wouldn't even stand by the fake Santa statue!! But she forgave me eventually. On Christmas Eve we went to the annual party at Grandma Shelton's house. Ry was pretty shy at first, but she warmed up eventually. She definitely has a special spot for cousins Riley and Ashley. She was also being pretty good buddies with Aunt Marci this time. We had an excellent feast then exchanged gifts and watched the kids play for a little bit before heading home. Ry also got to open her Christmas jammies so that she could put them on there and be all ready for bed when we got home!! Christmas morning we got up and watched Rylee run out to see what Santa had left. She was tons of fun this year, even if it did take all morning to get through presents!! (As you can tell from the video, she wasn't shy at all about Christmas morning.)

On Saturday, Rylee went down to Sandy to play with her Williams cousins while we went to a dinner theater show at Desert Star Playhouse. It was a fun activity and Rylee had a blast playing with her cousins and Aunt Sally and Uncle Connon!! Then on Monday night, we got together with the Shelton's (and extended Shelton's) for an excellent dinner at Hamilton's. Overall it has been a great holiday season and we are looking forward to another fantastic year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!