Christmas and a Catch-up

So sorry it has been so long since we have posted. Holidays are crazy, and we have been enjoying ourselves! Here are some highlights, organized chronologically:

November

• Jacob's preschool celebrated their 25th anniversary! We love his school so much, and though it was stressful at times planning for the event (I was the head of fund raising - with the President of the Board), it went beautifully and was a ton of fun. We are certainly so blessed to be a part of such a lovely community.
  
• Thanksgiving! We had a delightful time visiting with Nick's family. We gorged ourselves with our Greek thanksgiving - spanikopita, tyropitakia, mellamacarna, limonata and other such assorted goodies (I think I might have spelled one of the dishes correctly, if I was lucky). It was lovely visiting with all of the siblings and their children. Jacob and Joshua are the best playmates, and Sam got to meet his cousin Ethan that is only one day older! We also loved seeing the always adorable Paul and Will. It is a blast having all the boys (6 under the age of 5) in the house.
  

December

• Christmas! We celebrated Christmas a million times - starting with putting up the tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. All of us adore Christmas here - it is such a joyful time. We then proceeded to celebrate Christmas at the preschool (Jacob had his first presentation - it was beautiful and fun watching him sing), at home, at Nick's parents' house and at my parents' house! Jacob is obsessed with Star Wars this year and received plenty of gifts to show off his obsession. He also received tons of books and other fun presents. Jaocb especially loved going shopping for Sam and Mom and Dad. He really got into the spirit of giving, and requested the story of the birth of Jesus EVERY NIGHT before bed. It was lovely.
• Nick and I celebrated our sixth anniversary in St. George while we were visiting my family. For the first time since Sam was born, we went out on a date. We went to the Painted Pony for dinner and had such a lovely dinner. It was fun to dress up and be adults again. My parents and family watched Sam and Jacob, and when we got home Sam had fallen asleep on my sister. I don't know who enjoyed it more - my sister or Sam.

• Family, family, family! My sister Susan, her husband Rogan, and my awesome nephew Asa were in St. George from Los Angeles. I love seeing them, and we spent many a night up late playing games (Bang, Pandemic, Ivanhoe, etc.). It was wonderful! And of course, my parents are always amazing. Great food, great company - it was a beautifully relaxing vacation. My brother Michael, his wife Emma, and their seven kids also stopped by for a few days. It was so much fun seeing Carina, David, , Kathleen, Peter, Annie, Jared and James together! We are really looking forward to our family cruise in the Caribbean next summer.

January

• Sam has multiple teeth! Over the Christmas break, Sam had two bottom teeth come in. Last weekend when Nick was away, he had three top teeth come in. It was a fun weekend, let me tell you. the house was a wreck, I was a wreck, and the only person who got any sleep was Jacob. We were so excited to pick Nick up from the airport this past Saturday night! Daddy to the rescue!