Christmas 2011 and Utah Trip

we had a GREAT Christmas!  I loved going through all our photos from December.  We celebrated Christmas a little early at home, and with the Whites.  Then we headed to Utah for a week.

Cousins!

just notice this is the third picture of Max playing with trains in this post, just know if he visits you and you have a train track in your house, he will find it!

Sean enjoyed my little sister Annies old walker . . I can still remember her walking around in it, and she's now 21 years old!

I was able to visit with old friends, I didn't get a picture of everyone but here are a couple.  SO SO good to see you all.  It was especially good to visit with old friends after church, just like old times.

hugs with cousin Scarlett by the tree

yeah, what did I say about trains??

Auntie Annie would watch Max for me in the mornings while Sean napped, so I could nap too.  She would take him up and do his hair for him, love it.

Great-Grandma Savage holding Sean

Christmas morning with Grandpa

first moments with Mickey and Goofy

My cute niece Courtney and her new dog, Lucky

moments with Grandma

Playing "Angry Birds".  Just the other day Max was looking at a photo of these two and said, "Cousins with the bird game!"

wish this was in focus, one last shot before we pulled away to drive home.

Max really loved Christmas.  He loved our Christmas books and totally understood Santa and the reindeer and the chimney and everything because of those books.  He could tell you all about it.  He also loved the nativities we had with baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph.  For several weeks after Christmas he would randomly re-enact Christmas morning.  It went something like this.  "Present for Max!  Open it! Open it!   *gasp* it's BLOCKS! (or Mickey Mouse or a choo-choo or Little People or whatever present he was thinking of at the time).  He loved being a cow for the nativity on Christmas eve.  He loved seeing everyone dress up!  He still talks about his cousins all the time.  There is just such a special bond with cousins, it doesn't matter if they are close in age or not!

Sean had a great first Christmas.  He received a few new baby toys and of course loved the wrapping paper.  He got to be baby Jesus for the family nativity on Christmas eve.  Our Christmas trip was the first time he went to Utah so it was the first time meeting him for some of the family that hadn't visited us in the previous 6 months.  He got lots of cousin snuggles and kisses.

**one more thing I wanted to remember.  We drove the whole way in one day which was rough but we decided it would be harder if we split it up.  We arrived in Provo really late and Max was having a hard time sleeping in his car seat.  He was just so tired.  When we were 20 minutes away or so he woke up SO cranky.  I told him we were almost to Grandma and Grandpa Wrights he said "and it will be fun!" in the saddest little voice.  He was so excited but so tired!