Christmas

Christmas was amazing.  It always is but having kids makes everything so much more exciting and fun.  We spent Christmas morning at my mom's house with all my sisters and their families.  Even though there are so many people and it gets chaotic I love that we can all still spend Christmas morning together.  We spent the afternoon with Matt's family and by about 4:30 the kids were exhausted and lost it!  They pretty much cried through the Jackson Christmas party that night and we ended up leaving and going to bed early.  But hey they did way better than expected.  It was a wonderful Christmas!

Gardner Village Elves

I had been planning on taking Nathan to see the elves at Gardner Village all through December but the majority of the month was too stinking cold to even consider it.  But Nathan was so excited for Christmas and we had been talking about it so much that I couldn't let it go. So two days before Christmas I bundled up the kids and we braved the freezing cold and let me tell you it was definitely worth it!

This will definitely be a tradition in the future. I only took a few pictures in comparison to how many elves there were.  Nathan went crazy for it and talked about the elves for weeks after.  It was just the thing to really put us in the Christmas mood and get Nathan so excited for Christmas morning.

December

Because I was on maternity leave during the holidays and having way too much fun with my cute kids I barely blogged and now I'm trying my best to play catch up so everything is just getting rushed.  But hey, its better than nothing right?  Mostly I'm continuing to blog so late because I want to remember all the fun memories we made this year. So here you go a Christmas season update in April.  

Christmas jammies, is there anything better?  Up until this point Nathan would look at Tiny but kept a few feet of distance between them.  This was the first morning that Nathan woke up and decided that Logan wasn't all bad.  And then he couldn't get enough of him and begged to hold him!  And they have been inseparable ever since.

Nathan was my #1 helper this Christmas season.  He patiently shopped the malls with me all month until the Christmas shopping was done.  He was such a trooper and actually might have enjoyed it more than me.  

The boys in their Christmas shirts.

 Logan pretty much slept through the Christmas season.

First snow storm!

More darling Christmas jammies!  

This Christmas season was so fun!  Definitely the best I've ever had.  I love having a brand new baby at Christmas time, there is nothing that helps me feel close to my Savior than to hold a sweet little baby in my arms.  Logan has been such an easy baby and a good sleeper too that I really felt like I got to enjoy the season instead of hustling through it like normal.  We spent many days at stores buying gifts but even more time at home watching Christmas movies, playing in the snow, and talking about Santa.  Oh and listening to Christmas music, Nathan LOVED Christmas music!  I couldn't have asked for a better time to be on maternity leave and get to be home with my kids!

Nathan's Birthday Party

We had Nathan's birthday party on the Saturday following his actual birthday so that more people could come.  I let Nathan pick the theme for his birthday party this year and he picked Mickey Mouse (of course).  We decided that because of the new baby we would just do cake and ice-cream this year for the party but it still turned out really fun.

Nathan absolutely LOVED his birthday party.  He was so excited opening the gifts and couldn't seem to open them fast enough.  Luckily Braxton was there and helped open gifts or it might have taken several hours.  Oh and the singing.  Nathan now thinks "Happy Birthday to You" is the greatest song ever written and loved that everyone was singing to him.  I love that Nathan has so many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents that came to celebrate with us and show their love for Nathan!

Brothers

I think the thing I love the most about having two boys is how much they like each other.  Even the first time Nathan met Logan in the hospital he was so kind to him.  So kind in fact that we had to start the "no, Logan can not eat crackers" conversations way earlier then we had planned.  Nathan is always making sure Logan has a binky or a rattle or a hot wheels car and in return Logan is always watching everything Nathan is doing and giving him huge smiles and giggles.  

This picture was taken at Costco a couple of weeks ago.  Nathan begged and begged to have Logan sitting next to him so I agreed and once I put Logan in the seat he reached over and took Nathan's hand.  Nathan was just beaming and continued holding Logan's hand throughout the store.  And the craziest thing is they are constantly doing things like that.

This was the day Nathan decided Logan was old enough to roll over.  He sat next to Logan for close to a half an hour coaxing Logan and telling him he could do it and showing him how its done.  And Nathan was so patient and kept saying on a high cute voice, "Come on Logan you can do it!"

If Nathan is not asking to hold Logan then he is always making sure he knows where Logan is.  He is bringing him toys or singing him songs or telling him about Lightning McQueen. There is nothing better than watching the two of them interact and laugh and play together.  I'm so glad that I have two boys so close in age, I can't imagine anything better.

Rolling Over

At four and a half months little Tiny has mastered the art of rolling from his back to his stomach.  He absolutely loves to roll and will not stay on his back for any amount of time these days.  However he has not learned to roll from his stomach to his back so Tiny has gotten all the tummy time he should have been doing the past four months into the past four days.  Props to you Tiny for taking the initiative on tummy time!

Nathan's 2nd Birthday

My little Natie-noodle turned two years old!  His actual birthday was on a Wednesday so everyone was at work except for Emily and I.  So we loaded up the two kids and hit the zoo to celebrate.  It wasn't too cold but not great weather so we only lasted about an hour and a half but Nathan loved it and Tiny slept for the majority of it.

I loved getting to spend the day with the birthday boy.

After the zoo we decided to do lunch at the Red Robin up by the zoo.  It did not disappoint.  Nathan was absolutely thrilled and loved his birthday lunch.  By the way he insisted on wearing his monster hat the entire time we were at the restaurant. Gotta love opinionated toddlers.

After lunch I took the boys home to nap and Emily went home to rest.  She was such a trooper being six months pregnant and helping me haul my kids around the zoo.  We made Nathan french toast for dinner (his favorite) and then got Cold Stone ice-cream that night with my parents.  We did let Nathan open a few presents from Matt and I but saved the rest for his birthday party that weekend.

It was such a fun day to celebrate two years of having Nathan in our lives.  I can't believe that time has gone so quickly and fall in love with him more and more every single day!