Christmas

I forgot to recap what we did for Christmas and New Years's. Seriously, every time I try to write on this thing, Emma poops or cries or something! But that's life:) So we went up to Idaho for Christmas and New Year's for a relaxing 2 week vacation. It was a blast! The best thing of my life was to have a washing machine close by and not have to walk to a far off laundromat every time Emma had a blowout or a spit-up fiasco. It was a beautiful thing.

Emma hit her 6 week mark the day we drove to Idaho and I was so excited to take her out into the world! I was kind of paranoid those first few weeks after she was born and didn't want to take her anywhere. Good thing too I guess. Anyone hear about the measles coming to Utah over Christmas break? Yep, that's real...at the Walmart where we shop no less. Ridiculous! Vaccinate your kids people! Anyway, when we got to Boise, we went shopping, out to eat, etc. We were living it up. Good thing too, cause i was going just a little stir-crazy! Josh can confirm that. Spending the winter in a tiny apartment is not ideal.

Emma during the trip. Those cheeks!

We mostly hung out with family the whole break, but I did get to catch up with some of my best friends, Brianna and Bethany. I miss them! During the break my mom and I caught a nasty cold. I  was achy and exhausted for a few days which was awesome. But by some stroke of luck it was the same time Emma was going through a growth spurt. She seriously slept for 2 days straight. At first I was worried she was sick too, but when she was awake, she was totally alert and happy. So I just counted myself lucky. After those 2 days, she woke up an older baby. She smiled more, made new babbling sounds and started to sleep through the night. It was like magic! The most magical thing was that she started breastfeeding. I'd been pumping and feeding her bottles constantly before that because she never got the hang of breastfeeding. Not even close.  But after her two day hibernation period, she did it perfectly. Yay!

Baby's first Christmas outfit. Thanks Grandma Groen!

Christmas day was fun pretty chill. We did a nativity scene on Christmas Eve and since Emma was the newest baby, we were the lucky couple to play Mary and Joseph. That was always the coveted role when I was younger. Dad played the donkey, like always. But, I must have gained a few pounds or something because when he was carrying me to "Bethlehem" he sounded that like this was the last trip this donkey was ever going to make...when Mom, who was the narrator, heard the donkey's howl she just lost it. The little girls were solemnly trying to be angels, but Mom was laughing/crying and couldn't get a word out and then we all lost it. The whole scene was pretty hilarious and memorable.

We had the classic and infamous Christmas breakfast...wheat buds. I was so excited to see Josh's face when he ate it for the first time! For those of you who don't know, wheat buds are whole grain kernels cooked in water. My mom makes it in a crock pot over night. In my opinion, they are best served with lots of honey and milk. For Josh, this is his worst nightmare. He hates whole wheat, honey and milk. I instinctively loaded on the honey and milk for him and it didn't go over well. But like a trooper he ate it all. Next time we'll skip the embellishments for him;)