Welcome to the world, Lily!

On December 27, my sister gave birth to sweet Lily Grace. I was so overcome with emotion to be there with her when she made her entrance into the world. I even got to cut the cord! Thank you, Lesley & Jesse, for allowing me to be a part of this magical moment.

I was very anxious to see Spencer's reaction to his new baby cousin, since he'll have a baby sister before he knows it. He has been sweeter than I ever could have dreamed. He squeals and giggles when he sees her, wants to hug and kiss her and visit constantly. Let's hope the excitement sticks around when it is our turn to bring a baby home.

SNOW!

Spencer has not been a fan of the snow up until this point, so I was not sure what he would think of our snow day the day after Christmas. Turns out, he loves it (and has been very upset since that there hasn't been any more snow.)

Merry Christmas!

What a great Christmas we had. It has been more and more fun each year as Spencer gets older and this was probably the best yet. We have lots of family in Boise, and managed to see everybody. We started out on Christmas Eve and my Grandparents house. Spencer loved playing the Grand Piano for his Pop Pop.

We continued Christmas Eve at my dad's house. The hot air balloon in Spencer's hand was not a gift, but a decoration that he has been holding on to all month long whenever he goes to their house. He will be sad when Gramma packs it all up!

Grampa Scott always has to get some sort of motorized toy and this year the boys got their very own Gator!

And then there was Christmas morning! Spencer still wasn't as excited as I thought he would be about running right downstairs to see what Santa brought. Instead, we still had to do our routine of a cartoon and glass of orange juice in bed first. But it was well worth the wait. Santa brought lots of goodies in his stocking and a piano!

But the highlight was from Mommy & Daddy...his very own Jake & The Neverland Pirates spyglass! He got Bucky and a Sword too, but nothing could compare to the spyglass.

One last stop for Christmas to my mom's house. By this point, he is becoming such a pro at opening gifts he thought he might try climbing into the boxes instead.

We hope ALL of our friends and family had a great holiday!

I am so thankful...

Each year, Saint Lukes holds a holiday party for their NICU "graduates" and this was the first time we have been able to attend. It made Chris & I both SO THANKFUL that our NICU situation was relatively mild with just a five day stay, as we saw parents who spent MONTHS there with their little ones. We are forever grateful for the care he received there but, no offense, we are hoping that we do not have to take advantage of your hospitality this time around! There were lots of kids, cookies, and crafts and Spencer had a great time making an ornament for our tree. Hard to believe 2 1/2 years ago he was just five pounds and we were bringing him home...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For the first year in many, many years, I did not have an event the day after Thanksgiving, so we decided to load up and go to Utah to see the Stonehocker's. Before we left, Spencer and I made this hat (which may or may not be politically incorrect these days, but I don't know how to make a pilgrim hat so DEAL WITH IT).

I would be absolutely lost without my iphone and a terrible parent because I would have NO PICTURES OF MY SON. How did I go to being so good about taking pictures to so terrible? I apologize in advance to Baby Emily...I hope I get my act together by the time you are born! ANYWAY, our first stop in Utah was to In N Out. Seriously, Mama needed a burger BAD. Spencer enjoyed the delicious fries and shake. Just typing this post makes me crave one.

Ogden, UT has a very fun place for kids called the Treehouse Museum with lots of interactive displays, learning and fun to be had. But Spencer didn't want to leave the fire truck.

Getting his first bowling lesson from Aunt Jodi...

And to really get ourselves in the holiday spirit, we drove around the Roy, UT Fire Station. This picture does not even remotely do this place justice, as there are thousands and thousands of lights here. So pretty. Bring on Christmas!