Christmas for the Haights

Sorry, I don't really have pictures of Christmas, but Patrick just wasn't too in to this year, and I don't think anyone cares to see pictures of Reed and I opening presents.

Reed and I had a very nice Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Reed and I drove to Amy's house and we helped here wrap presents they got for a family in their ward. I helped sew some pajamas for the kids, and Amy and Marco provided the family with a nice Christmas. Marco put on the Santa suit and delivered the presents to the family. Even though we were in the car, we could tell the family was very excited. That night we had our big dinner with Amy, Marco, Mom and Dad. We had prime rib, ham, potatoes, rolls, and salad. Later we ate tasty banana cream pie.

Patrick woke up Christmas morning around seven, and we woke everyone else up so we could open presents. Patrick sat in his bouncer chair while we opened presents because he didn't really know anything special was going on. He didn't care for the presents, but he did really like the bows. He would slobber on those until they were soaking wet. Reed and I kept Christmas simple this year (like we always do). Our tradition is to fill each other's stocking. I got Reed a couple $5 movies (Must Love Dogs and Superman Returns), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I get him one each Christmas), Tales from Beetle the Bard (also from HP), and some candy and beef jerky. Reed got me Aladdin, candy, beef jerky and cheese in a can (all traditions in my stocking), and my FAVORITE PRESENT--PAJAMAS!! I always get at least one pair a pjs for Christmas, and this year was no exceptions. This year they have are blue with pink elephants on ice skates. I love them. Reed's parents also got me a nice sweater and black slacks, another pair of pjs, and a year's subscription to Paula Deen's magazine (whoo hoo!). I also got another pie plate and a pie cook book (I think that is a hint).

Oh! I almost forgot. I made Patrick a teddy bear for Christmas. I knew he didn't need much this year, so I just made him a bear. I also made our friends' baby Coralie and matching bear. Patrick likes his bear about as much as he likes the rest of his toys right now--it's a good thing to slobber on!

Overall, we a nice Christmas. The weather here in Denver was lovely. We would have loved to have been snowed in in Rexburg with the Wades, but alas, it was sunny and 50, so we went to the zoo. Because it was sunny, there we a lot more people there than I thought there would be, but we still had fun. I think that will become a fun tradition in our family. We came home, had some leftovers, and watched Mama Mia!, which is a very fun movie.

My mom and dad got us a web cam for Christmas so they could see Patrick and have more fun talking to us. We used it for the first time Christmas evening, and it was really neat! Patrick isn't old enough yet to realize that there are people talking to him, but he is starting to recognize his name, so I think he will catch on pretty sooon. Patrick is growing so fast! He has now tried peaches, and tonight he ate a whole carrot! My baby doesn't know when to stop eating though, and I think sometimes he gets a tummy ache because he eats too much. He just keeps opening his mouth like a baby bird for more food!

We had a very nice Christmas, and we hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as well.

Patrick Went Bananas!

Well, not quite, but he did like the bananas I fed him this morning. I tried yesterday morning, and he clamped his mouth shut tight, but today I tried again with just a little banana mixed in his rice cereal and he loved it. I am slowly starting to introduce new foods, but we aren't in any big hurry. My mom got him a booster seat/high chair for Christmas (thanks mom!), and we are using it early. I have a couple of presents under the tree for Patrick to open, and I don't think his attention span will last much longer than that, so some of his presents he is enjoying early.

What's New with Reed and Chelsea

This week we both got a calling in our ward. Reed is a ward missionary, and I have been called to be the CTR 8 teacher and the Activity Days leader (8 year old girls). I think Reed is excited, and we already met the missionaries because we had them over for dinner this week. (We had breakfast for dinner, which they LOVED because they don't get to eat a nice big breakfast very often.) I am mostly nervous because I haven't been in Primary since I was IN Primary, but I know that I will quickly get into Primary mode and then it will be tons of fun.

Reed is recovering from his sinus infection/bronchitis. His cough is lingering, but he is felling better. Tomorrow he is taking a test for a Youth Security Officer position for the state. Please everyone remember him in your prayers because we are really hoping he gets this job. He also has another interview on Thursday, so the ball is rolling. We are just keeping our eyes and ears open and enjoying the holidays.

What's New with Patrick

Patrick is still happy as ever. Grandma and Grandpa Haight got him an exersaucer for an early Christmas present. We found a really nice one at a consignment store. Patrick seems to like it, but he sometimes get frustrated because he is a little floppy in the seat still. He likes have something other than his bouncer chair to sit in during dinner.

Tonight we drove around to look at Christmas lights. It has been frigid today (-19 last night!) so we bundled up warm for the car ride. This is a picture of my favorite thing that Patrick owns--his adorable penguin hat. It isn't going to fit him forever, which makes me sad. It must make him sad too, because he looks sad in this picture, but he is just really tired.

Happy Birthday Reed

Reed's birthday was Sunday. He is 28 now. What an old man (well at least compared to his spring chick!) I think Reed had a nice birthday. He had gotten over enough of his sinus infection to feel alive and had more of an appetite for his birthday dinner. In our family, we have a traditioin that on your birthday you get to pick anything you want for dinner. This year, Reed wanted BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, creamed cauliflower, roast potatoes, and apple cheese crisp for dessert instead of cake. We had dinner with his parents and Amy and Marco. He opened his presents after dinner. His parents got him a nice vest, Amy and Marco found him some pants (badly needed) and a shirt. Patrick gave him some slippers, and I gave him a book, Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives. The book is from a Food Network show that we really enjoy.

Family Picture

Last week we took some family pictures so I could send out some sort of Christmas greeting. I know there are a lot of people who want a family picture, so a family picture works well for a Christmas card. We also took some pictures of Patrick. It was his five month birthday. Unfortunately, he was a little fussy that morning, so the pictures we got aren't nearly as cute as they could be, but we managed to get a nice picture. I couldn't upload the one with "Happy Holidays" on it, but you can still see the picture.

This is one of the goofy "out take" pictures we caught while taking pictures. Maybe he was yawning?

Christmas Enrichment Night

This week we had our Christmas Enrichment Night. We had a nice dinner, a small program with Christmas stories from Henry B. Eyring and James E. Faust, and yummy desert. Because Ruth is the Relief Society president, I get to help with the activities, and I really enjoy helping. We set up lots of beautiful decorations on Monday afternoon, and then Tuesday Ruth and I spent all day making rosemary bread (like the kind they serve at Macaroni Grill). Actually, Ruth did most of the baking. I helped a little. We make 6 batches, and the bread was so tasty!

We had a really good turn out at Enrichment (about 60 women) and the fun part was the gift swap. I really liked this idea. We each got a quart-sized jar and filled it with our favorite things and then we got someone else's in return. I filled mine with a small cross-stitch kit, some peanut M&Ms, and 5 of my favorite recipes. The jar I got had packets of tasty hot chocolate.

Our new ward has been very friendly, and I am meeting some very nice ladies. I have come to really appreciate how lucky we were to go to a married student ward at BYU-Idaho. That ward was just perfect for our situation in life, and we really miss everyone there, but Colorado is very nice. For example, we got 12 inches of snow on Sunday, and all of it was melted by Monday afternoon. How convenient! There are lots of other nice things about Colorado, too. I just really like that the snow doesn't stay forever.

New Address

I keep forgetting to post our new address. I'm hoping Christmas cards will be here soon! :) We are dirt poor, so you all will be getting Christmas cards by email; we hope you don't mind!

7524 Dawn Ct.
Littleton, CO 80125

Our cell phone numbers are the same, but if we don't anwer, you can call us at home at
303-948-2466.

We hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Decorating for Christmas

Today we started decorating for Christmas, which is a big deal at Mama Ruth's house. We aren't finished yet, so I will post pictures later, but Patrick is really enjoying the lights and decorations. He watches the lights and squeals with delight. He is big enough to look around and know that something is going on, but not big enough to be in the middle of everything, which is really nice! He also has a new trick this week. He will now stick his tongue if you stick out your tongue. I laughed and laughed when he started doing that. I have the happiest baby ever. He wakes up happy and giggling, and he just doesn't stop. Sure, he has fussy moments when he is tired or has gas, but he really smiles a lot, and that makes me so happy as his mom. Patrick seems to really enjoy life. He plays with his feet now, but he won't roll over yet because he doesn't like his stomach anymore. He used to love tummy time, but anymore it just makes him spit up and then he gets fussy. We practice rolling over, but his isn't interested yet. I'm not worried; I know he will figure it out when he is ready. He falls over on his side when he grabs his toes, so rolling over can't be too far away.

Tasty Apple Pie

As promised, here is the apple pie recipe I made for Thanksgiving.

1 recipe pie crust

1/2 cup butter
3 Tbl flour
1/4 cup water minus 1 Tbl
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbl vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

Melt the butter and stir in flour. Add the rest of the ingredients (minus apples) and simmer until slightly thickened (2-3 minutes). Toss apples with this mixture and fill your pie crust. Add your top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until your apples are tender. I find that if you bake it at 350, you don't have to cover the pie with aluminum. The pie will turn out nice and golden brown. Let the pie cool for several hours so the glaze thickens. If you want to eat the pie warm, just put it in the oven on 250 or 300 for a few minutes.

Thanksgiving

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. Reed's parents were in Virginia with his sister Stacy, but his other sister Amy and her husband Marco came to the house and we made a very nice dinner. Reed made a roast turkey and a smoked turkey, and both were juicy and yummy. Amy invited a friend from work and some friends from their ward, so we had a nice big gathering. Most of our guests spoke Spanish though, so there were a lot of jokes we didn't get, but we still have a great time. I was in charge of jello salads and and apple pie and cherry pie. I think I will have to share the recipe I found for apple pie because it was super tasty! I will probably do that tomorrow.

We hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Silly Baby

Patrick is becoming a lot of fun. He is easy to laugh and giggle (sometimes hysterically). He has really enjoyed eating cereal, and one night he was being super silly, so I took some pictures. These three are of his giggles. You will have to insert your own sound since I don't have a video camera yet.

This is the face I usually get when he is eating. He loves the cereal. I have started adding juice, which makes it even tastier, and he gets watered-down juice in his sippy cup, which he could drink all day.

These last two are trying to capture how excited Patrick gets in his bouncer chair (thanks Grandma!). He can now get the chair to bounce so hard and fast that I think he is going to hit the floor backwards.