Santa

The holiday season is so enchanting with a toddler! I love seeing Christmas for the first time (really second, but I don't think he remembers much last year) through James' eyes. He learned quickly not to touch the ornaments on the tree and has been such a good boy and has left them alone (for the most part). The wrapped presents, on the other hand, have been a little too tempting for him.

James has always been a happy kid with a pleasant demeanor. Meeting Santa Claus was terrifying to him though. I was a bit surprised because he usually does well with strangers. His first encounter with Santa Claus went better than the second. No tears were involved. (Maybe he could tell that "Santa" was a guy from our ward.) James was quite squirmy though and was eager to leave Santa's lap. 

Round two was pure torture in James' opinion. I'm not sure why? Maybe because Daddy wasn't with us?

James got a lawn mower for Christmas. He couldn't take his eyes off of it in the beginning--quite literally speaking. Taking a nap and having to part with the mower was pure torture. Fast forward 4 days, and James hasn't touched the mower since. His interest in toys seems to fade quickly. 

Shepherds and a baby wise-man for the win

Cousins in matching jammies

Why is Christmas already over? I love this time of year. The anticipation always takes forever, and then it's over in a blink of an eye. Now we get to clean up all of our Christmas decor. Does anyone like that? Here's to hoping that James warms up to Santa Claus next year.

Thanksgiving in Spokane

We didn't intend on traveling to Spokane for Thanksgiving-- mostly because we had just returned home from our cruise. We enjoyed seeing family! I will admit that I was extra glad to be back home after back-to-back trips though. I think James was worried that we were going to leave him again, so we continually reminded him that he was traveling with us (this time) to Spokane.

James loved spending time with Granny and so many cousins. In fact, Granny got James and Rhett matching outfits for Christmas. They looked darling. James was able to interact with a dog, Maggie, and watching him do that was priceless. It actually made me consider getting a dog-- for a brief moment.

So many cousins!

We flew into Spokane on Thanksgiving Day which was a bit chaotic. The flights were way cheaper that day. Also, Andrew had lots of work to catch up on after missing a full week. We landed just after 1:00, made two batches of 7 layer-dip in record time, and rushed to a family picture.

The whole gang

All of the Ditto clan was together for one final hurrah before Granny leaves on her mission to Barbados in January. Our schedule was filled to the brim.

The cousins went swimming at the YMCA on Friday afternoon and James forgot he likes the water. He used to have a blast swimming, so I'm not sure what happened. We had a game night that evening and watched Washington State vs. University of Washington football game. Actually, when I say, "we," I really mean the men in the family. I don't think I watched one second of the game and I'm not sad about it.

Saturday morning the adults went to a session at the temple which was neat. We had a family lunch and did an afternoon scavenger hunt. The adult men went shooting, and then we all met up for a Pizza Potluck to watch the annual ABH premiere-- "All Brother's Hike." 

BYU played The University of Utah that evening in Football, so Andrew was out late once again watching some ball. What a disappointing game. I didn't watch it, but how embarrassing that BYU was up 20-zip at halftime and still ended up losing.

Sunday was spent relaxing and going to church. James thrived in nursery as per usual. We had a scrumptious dinner at Blayre's house and ended the evening playing some games. Our flight left early Monday morning. 

I made (and ate) quite a variety of cookies this trip! I brought Gingersnaps and M&M Chocolate Chip cookies on the plane for Thanksgiving dinner, made Honey Bunches of Oats cookies for the lunch Saturday, and Banana Cookies Sunday evening. I don't think I've made cookies since.

A highlight for me was definitely the "favorite things" gift exchange. Granny sure knows how to spoil us and we all left with full stomachs.