Our Three Christmases

This Christmas was different from any Christmas I have ever experienced. We had 3 of them! Sadly, I didn't take out our camera the ENTIRE Christmas holiday. I am kicking myself now and still can't believe I didn't take any pictures. Gratefully, my mom got a new digital camera for Christmas and took lots of pictures. So I will at least be able to post pictures of the Christmas we celebrated with my family.

Our first Christmas was at home the day before we were supposed to fly to Utah. We weren't about to take our gifts with us on the plane because we had enough to carry (Shane hasn't learned how to pack light yet). So, we put Shane to bed and unwrapped the gifts we got for each other. Adam got a pull-up bar and I got the yoga DVD I had been wanting. (Anyone who wants to is welcome to come over and do yoga with me!)

The next day we were supposed to fly to Utah. We got to the airport and our flight was delayed about 20min. No big deal. By the time we got to the front of the check-in line, our flight was delayed another hour. That meant we would have about 10 minutes to catch our connecting flight. Apparently, Southwest was having a bad day and ALL of their flights were delayed by a few hours that day. Our flight was still sitting at the airport when our connecting flight in St. Louis took off. So Southwest had to rebook us for the next morning. Fortunately, everything went well the next day, but our flight was at 6:55 in the morning (gross). Shane did really well on all of our flights, all 5 of them. He didn't cry at all. Adam and I were both pleasantly surprised at how friendly people were when it comes to parents and flying with babies.

Our second Christmas was Christmas day in Utah at Adam's sister's house. This was Shane's first time meeting Aunt Andra, Uncle Brant and their kids. Adam's brother Nick was also there and got to meet Shane for the first time. We even got to spend time with Adam's grandparents and other relatives Christmas Eve. It was so much fun being with Adam's family! The time was just too short. We left in the afternoon on Christmas day to spend the rest of our time in Utah with my parents, brother, sister and Aunt.

The 26th was my family's Christmas and our third. We had it at my aunt's house. No one in my family except my mom had met Shane, so there were lots of new faces for him. Adam and I also got to meet my new niece Leah. She was born a month after Shane was. My sister had her blessing in Utah while we were there, so we could all go to it.

We stayed with my brother for a few days while we were there. He had a work party that we went to with him and his family. Adam, Becca (sister-in-law) and I got to go ice skating for free while my brother watched Shane. It was Shane's first experience with a babysitter. Ice skating was so much fun, and being childless was a lot more liberating than I expected.

My parents with Shane and Leah at Leah's Blessing.
Shane was REALLY tired.

My sister's family (Heather, Greg, Leah, & Jeremiah) at Leah's blessing.

My dad with Shane.
This is one of my favorite pictures our vacation.

Adam playing with Jeremiah's cars.

This is the adorable apron my sister and brother-in-law made for me.
Okay so Greg designed it and Heather made it.

My sister-in-law Becca gave Adam exactly what he wanted: big cereal bowls.

My niece Addy and Shane. They became best buds.

Addy playing "little piggies" with Shane's toes.
He thought it was so funny.

Mom wasn't there to save the day:
Shane had, what I think is, a traumatic experience while we were on vacation. Shane blows through his diaper pretty often and I am normally the one to clean it up. However, this time I wasn't around and Adam was stuck with the job. Apparently, this particular blowout was one of Shane's worst and somehow it got all the way up near his neck. Now, Adam treats all bodily fluids that come from Shane like the black plague, so you can imagine how Adam reacted. My brother (who doesn't change very many of his own daughter's diapers) ran to Adam's rescue. This video shows a little bit of what happened. (The video was shot vertical, so just tilt your head.)

(Movie removed. Contact me if you want to see it.)

When I saw this, I felt very sorry for my poor son. Needless to say, I still clean up most of Shane's blowouts.

This quote on how to diaper a baby reminded me of Adam:
Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.
Jimmy Piersal


So we had one more adventure before we headed home. From Utah we flew to Dallas to visit Adam's parents for New Year's Day. Shane got to meet one more uncle, uncle Morgan. Morgan had to leave the day after we got there, but we were so happy that we got to see him. One of the days we were there we took Shane to his first football game: the Armed Forces Bowl. Thanks to Adam's wonderful cousin Caleb for the tickets! We had so much fun! Shane did a lot better than I thought he would. He was certainly exhausted when we got home.

Thanks to everyone who let us stay with them. It was so fun seeing all of you again. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we can see you again.