Merry Christmas!

From our family....to yours, we pray that you are all enjoying this wonderful Christmas season.

Probably the most popular gift this Christmas - a drum with real wooden drum sticks!!

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Loving the Holiday season!

We have had a relatively calm December.  Jason had a few work trips, and Lucy had just two appointments scheduled (eye doc - see last blog and cardiologist - scheduled for this week) .  Overall, we've been able to enjoy the weeks leading to Christmas and do some fun Holiday things.

Lucy likes to watch me do my makeup in the morning - look at this pose I captured of her checking herself out - so cute!!

Lucy's been a great helper decorating cookies (she is very good at adding sprinkles!), she got to meet Santa and see the elves help Santa get ready for Christmas at the Macy's 8th floor display in Minneapolis.  We went to Bentleyville in Duluth to see all the lights and she has even been leaving the presents alone!  In the midst of it all, we moved her to a big girl bed - no more crib for this toddler!!  Every once in awhile, we find her wandering around the house in the morning, but usually she stays in bed until we come to get her!

Getting settled in her bed!

 We hope you are also enjoy the holiday season and looking forward to 2015!!

Snowmen with no noses

Holding baby Dawson for the first time!!

Decorating for Christmas is tough with a toddler in the house.  Anything within reach of little miss Lucy seems to end up going down a slide, getting it's teeth brushed, eating dinner with us, smuggled in the bath or her bed or missing a nose (or a head!) eventually...like this joyful crew here:

They used to have carrot noses :)

Lucy' still doing great and her surgical site is healing nicely.  We had an eye doctor appointment with her this week and got a great report.  You may remember that kids with hydrocephalus often have sight problems because of pressure in their brains that presses on the optic nerve, so we have annual eye appointments to check for any changes.  She is not a fan of eye appointments, so thankfully it's only once a year.

We have been loving some warmer weather here in Minnesota and discovered that Lucy is a huge fan of sledding.  She has a giant grin plastered on her face basically the whole time she riding in it.  We don't let her go down hills by herself yet, but being towed around by someone is great fun to her!!

This is an indication of how cold it's been in Minnesota - mom and dad's lake is totally frozen over already!

We are trying to enjoy the season by planning some fun, seasonal things, balanced with having downtime to enjoy cookies, hot cocoa, Christmas trees, holiday movies and wrapping presents at home.  We hope you are able to do the same!

Cannot resist making a mess!