A Very Morrey Christmas

Jonas had his two month birthday on December 23. He's growing so fast and now smiling and cooing (though we haven't yet been able to capture his smile in a picture).  Here are the statistics from his two-month checkup:

Height: 23 inches

Weight: 10 lb 15 oz

This year we had our first Christmas Party in our new ward. This was the most elaborate Christmas party we've ever been to. They turned the gym into a bazaar from Bethlehem, and had everyone come dressed up in garb from the era.  We were asked to be Mary and Joseph, and Jonas was the baby Jesus.  The story of the Nativity was told, primary children sang Christmas songs (Brooklyn and Ethan forgot that they were supposed to go up and sing), and we got to get up on stage, and put our little newborn in a manger while everyone sang Silent Night. It was a special moment. 

Jonas

One of the perks of having a baby at the end of the year is having a chance of being asked to participate in this special role. Jonas got to follow in his big sister's footprints from five years ago. 

Brooklyn

Fast forward to Christmas Eve....
The stockings were hung,

 The cookies were set out for Santa

And the children had visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Ethan ran out of his room after about ten minutes of staring out at the night sky from his bedroom window, and excitedly exclaimed "I saw saw Santa!" We said "Wow! You'd better get back in bed!" and he was back in bed, as quick as a flash.

Santa decided we were on the "nice list," despite some last minute struggles to get the kids to clean their rooms...

He ate his cookies and drank his milk.

When the kids woke up the next morning, they found a note from Santa by the cookies he had devoured.

Then it was time to open presents.  Brooklyn led the way to the Christmas tree, with Ethan following close behind.

Ethan got his Disney Infinity game that he's been asking for for months.  We weren't going to get it for him because of the $75 price tag, but when Jen found it for $13 due to a walmart.com price mistake, she had to jump on it.

Brooklyn was so happy to get her "bath baby," the only thing she really had her heart set on.  Her reaction here was only slightly more excited than when she opened the box of Kraft Mac & Cheese she found in her stocking earlier that morning.

The kids were both excited to open the gifts they got for on another.

Jonas quietly observed all of the excitement from the corner. He was really good - we couldn't ask for a more content baby.

 Brooklyn was super-excited to give this drawing she made of our family to Dad.  He's going to hang it up at work.

Here's the aftermath of the morning.  Ten bonus points to the first one to spot Jonas.

On Christmas afternoon, Kyle's parents reserved the Beaver Creek Lodge near Beaver Mountain ski resort in Logan Canyon. We went up and had a great time with Kyle's parents and siblings.  The next day, we went skiing at Beaver Mountain.  We took Ethan skiing for his first time, and had a lot of fun. He was ready to go home after two hours, but he could already get on and off of the surface ski lift (kind of like a conveyor belt) by himself, and one time he even made it a good quarter of the way down the hill without any help. Now he just needs to learn how to stop and turn, and he's set.