Christmas in Idaho

We had a wonderful Christmas, besides the quick trip to the ER for my sister (she's fine now).
It was Christopher's first Christmas; he loved it!

Steven wanted to help anyone open their presents and kept the ball rolling by asking whose turn it was to open those presents.

Steven's first Christmas my brother, Matt, crocheted him a cute hat that he has loved since then. Matt liked the way it looked and made one for himself. Meanwhile Christopher needs to wear it, and Steven insists it's his, so Matt crocheted a bigger one for Steven. Here's the handsome trio.

It seems each year we get more excited about the giving and less about the getting. This year was no less, and with these faces, we know we did good.This Christmas was especially touching to me, I had a lot of thoughts of my Savior and his role in our lives this past year. I cannot put into words how grateful I am of his life and love in our lives. I thought a lot of Mary and the woman she must have been to be the mother of the Son of God. How much of an honor it is to be the mother of my boys. This year has been quite a difficult one, a lot of faith stretching experiences that have brought our family closer together and closer to our Savior. It's because of Him that we're where we are today, and my what a place it is. This Christmas was a lot more than presents, it was about the birth of a baby that would eventually redeem the world of their sins. I hope it's that way for many years to come.

Sledding

On Christmas Eve in Idaho we went sledding, it was Steven's first time and he LOVED it!He went down with Daddy.

cousins,

and mommy.

But when all was said and done he just wanted to go by himself, this kid was fearless!

Santa...maybe

We visited Santa at our ward party last week and the verdict...
Christopher didn't mind him one bit!

Steven did. Even after I tried to get him excited about seeing our jolly friend, this was as close as he came.

He did tell us the reason: "That boy (pointing at our friend's son) sat on his lap and cried." There's no fooling this kid.

My baby's growing up!

He only does it occasionally, but it's a start!

And life as we know it will never be the same...

Image

I've been thinking about my image for a while; how I see myself and how others see me. Like most women I was/am concerned with how I look. Mostly am I skinny enough? Then I stopped and thought about it. Why do I want to be skinny? My answer was mostly so those who saw me would think, "She has two kids? She looks great." Also, I wanted those who knew Jacob well to think, "Wow, he really picked a winner!" I thought some more about why skinny was so desirable. What makes women go to great lengths to be skinny?

The answer I think is at the core: To appeal to men's desires. Yes, women want to look good for their friend's comments and such, but society is that way because someone decided that you were only desirable if you are skinny. You know what I have to say about that? Who cares; I don't want to be an object. I have a husband who loves me for ME and not because of my weight. Which lead to me think about some friends that I have who are amazing. Why are they amazing? It's not how they look, it's how they act. It's who they are. Their funny, smart, and make people feel good. That's how I want to be remembered. I told Jacob my theory and he agreed, "You don't think of (our friend) and think, she'd be so much nicer if she were skinnier. No, you think she's a fun person to be around."

I figure if I stop worrying about how others think of me and stop putting myself down because I'm heavier than all the women in the room, I can be myself. And when I'm myself I'll be happier and I'll be able to truly get to know and love more people. I feel this is how my Heavenly Father would have me think of myself. Instead of, "Hi I'm Cassanda, I'm a size 15." I'm going to try and think, "Hi, I'm Cassanda, I'm a wife, mother, craft and cook wannabe. I like to read children books and watch chick flicks. I love laughter to fill my home, and can usually relate to everyone on some level."

I can't tell you how much peace this has brought into my life and home. When I don't spend so much energy worrying about my image, I can keep the house cleaner, be a better mom, a more thoughtful wife. And that's what I really want to my image to be.

Christmas Palooza

Christmas is in full swing at our house and I couldn't be happier about it. We love the Holiday season and it seems this one will be the best yet! Here's what we've done so far.

Jacob's family has a tradition of Elfie Treats every morning in December. This is the first year we've done it, and Steven LOVES it! Mostly he gets small things like crackers and raisins, but our first day we all got something bigger, Steven got a Thomas train.

Jacob and I got Crakers with random prizes and our cool crowns

Christopher got a tin from Grandma and Grandpa's house. He loved it!

We went to see the lights at Temple Square. It was magical!
Christopher kept pointing to the temple.

We also read the Polar Express, went Christmas shopping, and had a great Movie night with the projector and all sorts of holiday treats.

Yep, it's been pretty darn good.

10 months

I know I'm a little late for a post about a 9 month boy of mine, but 10 months is just as good right? At Christopher's 9 month appointment he was in the 75 percentile for his head circumference, 30 percentile for his height, and 13 percentile for weight. Which is hard to believe for when you look at his chubby cheeks, but it's true. You also wouldn't believe that when you see how much he eats, he must have the Morrise metabolism. This morning we had oatmeal from the packets and we all had 2 packets, that's including Christopher. He loves to eat, and is now eating everything we are eating during meals, which is quite handy for me! Though his favorites are bread, fruit of any kind, and yogurt.


Christopher loves to sit up and really that's it. He doesn't like to be on his stomach or back. I can sometimes trick him into laying on his stomach for a minute or two before he flips over onto his back. He doesn't roll much from his back to his stomach, I'm actually not sure if he can. I'm thinking it's the head to body ratio he has. This means he doesn't roll to get places and shows no signs of crawling; I'm trying to remind myself that every child is different and he'll do it on his own terms. Until then, I'm enjoying not having his curious hands into everything, especially the Christmas tree!

People LOVE Christopher, and he loves them back. He is a people person through and through. He seems to know how to connect with everyone, even at this young age. Christopher has the cutest smile and adorable laugh, which he shares freely when smiled at. He loves to read, play with anything he can get his hands on, pull Steven's hair (revenge I'm sure), and playing with daddy.

He has 8 teeth (four on top and four on bottom) and is a complete Mommy's boy! Yes, he did put his arm like that all by himself!
I love you Mister!