Amelia's First Christmas!

I think I've waited as long to celebrate Amelia's first Christmas as I did to actually give birth! It's one of those things that I used to daydream about and I can't believe it's come and gone. It was magical and perfect and she made it the best Christmas I've ever had. Hands down. We started off the festivities with a visit to Temple Square to see the lights. Amelia was in awe. Her eyes were huge all night. Then we were able to see Holli and her kids for another 2 seconds before they headed back to California, so Amelia and Jax got to play together for a minute. I sure miss my friends, especially around the holidays. (That means especially you Nat.) Amelia sure loves our new car and she wanted a chance behind the wheel - she takes after me with her need to drive already! And I can't help it, but I had to get about the 500th bathtub picture. That face kills me! Then we had to grab a pic in her Christmas dress for church - the darling little jacket didn't make it in the pic. Bummer. Then the week of parties started. First with my Mom's on the 22nd. We had a special visit from Cousin Eddie, aka my brother-in-law Jason. Every year he gets us rolling with laughter by staying in character all night, outfit and all. The party was great and Amelia loved all the commotion. She loved the boxes the best - forget the presents. Her special gift to me that night was her first time peeing on me as we were getting her in the tub. So thoughtful. The 23rd was always the party with my Grandparents, but since they are gone, my Uncle Bruce has carried on the tradition. It's so strange how family dynamics change as we age. Then the 24th was our evening with Mark's family. Such a fun night with Grandma Kass. Amelia has this little chair that she loves sitting in and it's the cutest thing. She also discovered the piano - I think she's a natural! Getting her ready for bed on Christmas Eve was different than all the other nights. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with just the magic of Christmas. I even waited to put some of her presents under the tree until she went to bed. (Like she would know the difference!) Christmas morning was magical as well. Even though she wasn't crazy about opening all the presents and Mark had to do most of them for her, it was still a once in a lifetime experience to witness her very first Christmas morning. We let her stay in jammies until we got over to my Mom's and we just hung out there the rest of the day. The best gift of all came toward the end of the day. She didn't want to sleep in the pack 'n' play, so I held her in my arms, where for the first time since she was maybe 8 weeks old, she fell asleep on me. Truly magical and the best part of the day. Tuck got a little jealous, so he felt the need to get a part of me too. Watching her sleep made me realize how blessed I am to have her. And especially at Christmas when we need to remember another baby in another time. How grateful I am to know we are an Eternal family because of Him. This year has been incredible and my words can't do it justice. I can't believe how Motherhood has changed my life and how I can't imagine a world without Amelia in it. I apologize for the long post and the bazillion pictures to follow. I just love her SO much!!!

Some fun things...

The last few weeks have been pretty dang fun. Her first Thanksgiving, which was SO great. We went to my sister Melissa's house and Amelia stayed up WAY past her bedtime, but we all seemed to survive. We are definitely thankful for our little "turkey" this year. I caught a pic of her sleeping with her hands clasped and it just melts my heart when I look at it. We had our ward party and it was so funny - Mark did a big singing number with some other fellas in the ward...maybe I'll put a clip of it on if he doesn't mind. Holli came to town so we saw her for an afternoon and Amelia waved bye-bye for the first time to her! It was so dang cute and I kick myself that I didn't catch it on video. Kindermusik is a blast as always and my Mom and Grandma Kass came to this weeks class. So fun. And, the best news for last...I finally got my Honda Pilot. It's been years of plotting and dreaming and we decided to just give in and do it. You could say Santa came a little early this year! Amelia loves being higher up so she can see out the window. I guess grown-ups still can play with toys because I'm having a blast playing with it!

9 Months Old

I clearly remember sitting around last November saying to Mark that a year from now we will have a 9 month old. It seemed impossible! Well, here she is...our little 9 month old, although little is not the word to describe her! Her Doctor appointment last week has her way off the charts in height, but her weight is staying with the curve. Her 2 bottom teeth finally popped through after what seemed like weeks of swollen gums. Which I guess makes her think she's a big kid now too so she shows us by doing "SO BIG" with her arms straight up in the air. We couldn't help but take a million pictures of her in the fall leaves...it was just too gorgeous. And of course Halloween happened, but surprisingly I didn't get as many pics as I usually do for events. She loved to look at all the new things, but only stayed in her costume long enough to grab a pic or two. Eating out is now becoming pretty easy with her which is way awesome for me. She'll eat just about anything I give her! She's gone from putting her own fingers in her mouth to anything she can grab, shoes included! We finally got her bathroom remodeled, aside from a little painting, and she is loving being in the big tub. She's found that it echoes wonderfully and has developed quite the shriek. She looks more and more like a big kid everyday and it breaks my heart!