However, we did have a good Christmas, and it was so much better having a baby to share it with. Buying stuff for her and watching her "open" her presents was a lot of fun. Playing Santa was fun, and I'm sure it's going to just get better as Ellie gets bigger and understands it better. Speaking of getting bigger, Ellie turned 9 months (9 MONTHS...WHAT!?!?!) on Christmas Eve. She is definitely growing up too fast.
Here are some pictures of Elle's first Christmas season:
We went Downtown to Temple Square to see the lights.
We took a picture in this same spot on one of our very first dates!!
Christmas Eve...
Ellie loves her cousins so much. She will just sit and watch them play and laugh at them. They're so cute with her!
Christmas Eve.
Playing Santa for the first time... so much fun!
Santa Came!!!!!!!!!!!
Our stockings.
Christmas morning. Ellie loved the wrapping paper the most! :)
I love her face in this picture. SO cute.
Figuring out her new walker.
Oh my gosh.. She is OBSESSED with cats. She loves them so much. When she sees them she freaks out, even if it's just on T.V. It's so cute!
Opening presents at Grandma's House
Christmas day. We stayed in our Christmas jammies all day long!! :)
I think she thought this dog was real. She was having so much fun playing with it.
Matt's grandpa turned 90! He and his wife came from California to celebrate his 90th with everyone. It was so good to finally meet him!
ALLLLL the Maynard Grandkids.
New Year's Eve. All the banging of pots and pans woke poor Ellie Bean up. She wasn't too happy about that! :)
I finally got a Garmin running watch for Christmas!! I have been wanting one FOREVER. Running with it is amazing. I don't know how I ever ran without one! I also got a sewing machine! I am going to learn how to use it, and sew lots! Especially in the Fall when Matt is busy with school. :) I made Matt a blanket out of old special t-shirts. It turned out so cute! He also got accessories for his guns and some new clothes as well. Overall it was a good Christmas!
Ellie has started to say a few little words. She says cat, da-da, hi, bye bye, ball. She is crawling like crazy, has started to pull herself up, walks with her walker, and gets into EVERYTHING!!! She is a busy girl. She loves animals and always smiles and gets so excited to see them, even if it's just on T.V. She loves going to Petco. We will just go over there and walk around, and she loves it!! She is always so happy and always makes my day so much better. She's so excited to see me in the morning when she wakes up. I just love walking in to see her standing in her crib waiting for me with her little 4-tooth smile. She is my little world and every day I feel so lucky to be her mommy.
Matt has now been accepted to Rocky Vista in Colorado, and also Touro University in Nevada. We're not sure which of those we will be going to, and we still haven't heard back from some schools. He has an interview in February at Des Moines University and one in March at a school at Pacific Northwest in Washington. I'm not sure if he'll even end up going to the Washington interview, we'll just have to see.
I sure wish I knew where we will be for the next 10+ years of our lives, but I guess that's just part of the adventure. I'm excited for what's to come, wherever we may be!
XOXO
