Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well, the holidays have almost come and gone. I hope everyone enjoyed them as much as we did this year. I have to say, Carly brought a whole other meaning and dimension to Christmas and what it means to us. The three of us have been able to spend a lot of time together over the last few weeks. Jon has been on vacation since December 13 and the time has flown! It is obvious that Carly loves having Jon at home during the day. When he goes back to work, I look forward to her face lighting up when he comes through the door at the end of the day. She always gets so excited when he arrives home in the evening.

We were able to celebrate Christmas with three of the four sides of our families, only missing the Class celebration on Christmas Day. We had Christmas at the Skinner house on Christmas Eve, the Willis house Christmas afternoon, and with the Pethans over the weekend. We had a great time getting together with family and visiting with some that we don't get to see very often. Carly has little cousins on both my sides of the family; and she watched them adoringly and with amazement.

Here are some pictures from our holiday season . . .

Road Trip

Carly went on her first long road trip this past weekend. We went with my parents, Jody, and Tiffany to Dallas to attend Phil and Jessi's wedding. We rented a minivan and we all piled in Friday afternoon and hit the road. Jon and I did the driving and I am happy to report there were no scrapes, scratches, or accidents in the rental van. We arrived at the hotel a little after midnight, only having to drive around downtown Dallas for a few minutes before the Garmin "recalculated" our missed left turn. Carly did really well in the car. She fussed much less than I expected. I think having four people in the back to entertain her helped.

The wedding was beautiful, along with the bride and groom. Jill looked gorgeous in her dress also. Carly was quiet during the ceremony, it was the end that got her excited. Everyone was quiet, but when the new husband and wife were introduced the crowd burst in to applause and cheer. The sudden change scared her and she started screaming and crying. She settled down fairly quickly and forgot the incident. The reception was super fun! We sat upstairs and could look down at the dance floor and many of the tables below. Carly found a spot to stand along the railing and she danced up a storm. Everyone got a kick out of her performance. Later, we took her down to the dance floor to enjoy the lights and she got to dance with Grandpa. After fighting some very heavy eyes, she went to Grandma and was out like a light. She slept in the booth for a little while until we headed back to the hotel.

Sunday was Jon's 29th birthday. We hit the road at seven and headed for FG. It was a great trip and we all had a lot fun. It was so nice to be able to travel with the whole family.

Hats

We had some special visitors on Friday night . . . Robin and Lindsey were in town for conferences so they swung by the house. It was great to spend some time with them, and Carly loved all the extra attention. She especially loved how they clapped for EVERY move she made.

We also have pictures of her over the last few days sporting her new hats and a new dress. She isn't crazy about the hat when you first put it on, but she gets over it fairly quick.

Carly's friend, Ryan, sent her a toy that she really loves. She dances to the music and bounces up and down. Thanks, Ryan!

Great-Grandparents

Carly is a very lucky girl, she had the opportunity to meet five of her great-grandparents and all four of her grandparents. We all know how special grandparents are and how lucky we are to make memories with them. This weekend Jon's Grandma, Carly's Great-Grandma Pethan, passed away at the age of 92. We thought we'd post some pictures of Carly with these very special family members.

Great-Grandma Class Great-Grandma Pethan
Great-Grandma Willis

Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Skinner