short and sweet

it must have been too long since christmas, because it was time for another welcomed visit from mema and papa!  i'm pretty sure my mom cant physically go much more than four weeks without seeing ledger or she would explode...  they came down to visit sunday after church in grand rapids, arriving here at the house by around noon.  we hung out around the house for an hour or so playing.  they even treated us to a feast at the local red lobster (or as the cool kids call it 're lob').  but soon afterward they had to head back home.  i tell you what, these visits are far too short for my liking- and i'm pretty sure mema would agree!
(more pics)

another battery

ugh, it happened again.  after just replacing the battery in the saturn a couple weeks ago, it looks like its time to replace the one in the grand prix too!  when the car first wouldn't start i had no idea what the problem was, i would put the key in the ignition and turn it and the thing would make clicking noises.  my first thought was that the ignition needed to be replaced, which got me worried about trying to replace it because i have no skill when it comes to cars.  i got a hold of aaron, a car guy, and he said that it wasn't the problem, instead it was probably just the battery that needed replacing.  i hadn't thought of that myself because the car lights were working and everything when i would try to start it.  he explained that the battery might have enough power for the lights, but not enough to turn over the engine.  ok, well i can fix that!  so i made another trip to the car parts place and got myself a second new battery in as many months, and took care of business- volia!  a running car!  man, i'm staring to get a false sense of confidence about fixing cars- two problems, two fixes!  i'll be sure not to let this go to my head and try to fix something that's actually hard...

phone games

diana and i have found some fun little games on our phones for ledger to play with.  they are just simple games that involve him simply touching the screen and hearing an animal sound, but he sure does love them!  every once in a while i just think about how incredible these phones are and i realize that these are the sorts of things that i had wished i had when i was a child- we're livin' in the future, i tell ya, livin' in the future!

troll hunter

as a lover of film, i have seen my fair share of movies.  ok, i'll be honest, i have seen so many movies its probably more like three or four shares...  because of this, it is rare for me to be completely surprised by any of the films i see, but recently i saw one that just blew me away.  i realize how stupid this sounds, but i fell head over heels in love with the movie 'troll hunter'!  even though it sounds like a cheesy saturday night movie that would be on the syfy channel, its actually really amazing!  after watching it, much to my wife's chagrin, i have become obsessed with it.  for a week or two after seeing it i would spend every free moment trying to learn more about it, reading interviews with the director, reviews from other people, production stories about its filming.  basically anything and everything troll hunter related (i know- obsessed!).  well, this became a bit of a joke between the wife and i- she thought it was really funny how much i loved this movie and would gently rib me about it every chance she could.  she didnt love the movie as much as me, but appreciated my joy in learning all about the film (like i've said a million times- she is my dream girl!).  now that i've read pretty much all there is to read on the subject, i still get asked by her jokingly if i am reading about troll hunter every time i'm playing on my phone!  it warms my heart to laugh with her about my strange interests, and it delights me to no end that she loves me anyway!

more toys!

ledger had been having a blast with all of his toys, but was starting to loose interest.  fortunately, alanna, my sister-in-law, has a boy thats about a year older than ledge and they offered us a bunch of his old toys- yes please!  so now ledge has an overflowing wealth of fun toys to play with.  diana had the great idea of splitting his toys up into three groups- one he can play with now, and the other two groups we can substitute in when he is starting to loose interest in his current crop- that way they will always seem new to him.  well, we recently swapped out the first group of toys with the second group, and he is loving it!  he spends most of his day just tinkering and playing with the new stuff!  and when he's done with those?  well, we've got that third pile of toys to swoop in and save him from a boring afternoon!  thanks again, alanna!
(more pics)

a night out

it had been a while and both diana and i were feeling it.  it had been a week or two since the two of us had any real time together outside of the house.  feeling those winter blahs, we decided to do something about it- we packed up our boy and headed out to get something to eat!  someone had given us the wonderful gift of a gift certificate to panera bread, so we took full advantage.  it was wonderful to be out- out of the house, and out of our house clothes...  diana and i had the chance to have a real live conversation, and we got to introduce ledger to a few new foods- some cheese broccoli soup and little bits of bread from the bread bowl!  he was absolutely thrilled!  although, as you can see, he's thrilled just by seeing a new lamp... 'la luz!'
(more pics)

ledge and stink

the two adversaries lock eyes, preparing for mortal combat!  don't worry, i'm only kidding!
 ledger has certainly gained a new found interest in that little stink dog of ours, which could be trouble...  fortunately, we have been training poco to keep his distance from ledger.  ever since we first brought ledge home from the hospital poco has been told to back off and keep away.  this method is proving very important now that ledger notices poco.  its kind of funny sometimes watching the dog navigate his way around the living room if ledger is on the floor playing, sometimes stink will try to figure out a way past ledge and still keep his distance, but the funny times are when poco doesn't see a way to do it, so he gives up and heads back to his house in the kitchen!

face front

one of the great gifts my parents got us for christmas was a new car seat for our boy.  he was getting a bit big for the old carry seat, and diana was starting to get back problems whenever she had to hoist that monstrosity in and out of the car!  it was also a bugger because ledger didnt like that he couldnt see his mama and papa in the car- it was to the point that all he would do is whine and cry in the car because he was facing backward.  now that he's big enough, he gets the big boy car seat that faces the right direction!  he is much happier because he can see whats going on, and we are much happier because he is much happier!  thanks again, mom and papa!

crib naps

ever since ledger was just a couple months old everyone had been telling us that we need to start training him to take naps in his crib.  but we ignored them.  why?  well, look at him, look at how cute he is!  i would much rather hold him for that hour than put him in his crib so i can do something less important around the house!  we kept delaying the transition, not wanting to give up this special time with him.  sure, we tried it a few times and it didnt work very well anyway, he would sleep for about twenty to thirty minutes, and then be up and exhausted until his next nap.  this made him unhappy, and it made me unhappy too- not enough sleep makes for a pretty flustered baby.  well, it finally came time for us to do it, not of our own accord, mind you, he just got to the point where he wouldn't fall asleep if he could see mama or dada- he would much rather grab our noses or play with our shirt buttons!  so, reluctantly we put him in his crib so that he wouldn't be quite as distracted.  it worked, and now he takes full length naps in his crib twice a day.  this is great for getting things done around the house, but i am a bit sad that this stage of his life is already over.  i made sure to snap this photo of the last time my son took a nap in his father's arms.

happy baby

finally done with his ear infection medicine, our little ledger is back in fine form- happy as can be!  this is the reaction i am blessed to come home to every day!  i'm sure my loving wife has to deal with the squirmy frustrations and the exhausting fits, but around four o'clock each day he is ready to smile and play.  thank you, dear wife, for putting up with the difficult moments that happen while i'm gone (and i know there are many), but to have such a joyful baby means that you are doing so much right in raising our son!
(more pics)

tire problems

for the past year we have been dealing with annoying tire problems on our black car.  the two front tires are always going flat.  its not that they go totally flat, they just seem to leak air and always need more put in them.  this becomes especially annoying when we dont drive it for a couple days- the tires can get so low that they almost seem like they are flat!  usually i would remedy this by stopping off at the oil change place once or twice a week.  they offer free tire checks and stuff for their customers, so i often take advantage!  well, this time we must have let it go too long because the front left tire was looking completely flat!  i didnt dare drive it over to the oil change place for fear of bending the rims of the wheel.  i called up ol' jeffry lee and he suggested that we get a portable air compressor and just keep it in the trunk.  genius! i ran down the the hardware store and found one for under twenty bucks!  i was fearful that i would need to buy a big giant one for a hundred or two bucks, but this little thing works great!  after pumping the tire up i took the car in to get the tire resealed and, surprisingly, it hasnt given us any trouble ever since!

feeling better

finally, after a hard fought battle, everyone in the house was starting to feel a bit better.  diana and i were able to walk around without that constant dizzy feeling, or the feeling that we might need to run to the bathroom at an instants notice!  we were both finally keeping everything down and were almost back to eating real food.  i would say ledger was back to his old happy self, but he never really left- the only real change was that he had more energy (lucky us...).  and now that we are all feeling better its time for my vacation to end.  figures.  oh well, at least it happened when i was able to be with the family and help out on recovery as best i could, right?  thanks again, mom, for coming to our rescue and allowing us all to take the time to get through that terrible week!  now that i think about it, it was terrible, but at the same time it really brought us three together.  silver linings and all that, right?

runny nose

all in all ledger was so good about being sick, never really getting down or whiny.  well, except if we tried to wipe his nose!  for some reason that boy hated to have his nose wiped!  it would just run and run, snot coming down his face.  diana and i would try to keep it under control but every time we would try to wipe it he would throw a fit- you'd think we were hurting him or something the way he would howl whenever that kleenex touched his face!  eventually he seemed to make peace with it, because by the end of the cold he would seem to mind as much, thankfully.  and i think playing with the tissue box might have made it seem like they were toys, which i'm sure helped!
(more pics)

sick boy

with both diana and i severely out of commission due to contracting the death flu, diana's mom swooped in and saved the day!  she came to visit to help out with ledger until all three of us started feeling better.  i've never been so thankful for help in my entire life!  unfortunately ledger did get a bit sick as well.  he had some sort of bug, but thankfully not as bad as the two of us.  the crazy thing about ledge being sick though, was the fact that he never let on.  he was still just as happy and smiley as normal, wanting to play and everything!  when diana and i were feeling a bit better we took him in to the doctor just to make sure everything was ok with him.  it wasnt.  he had a double ear infection and a respiratory virus! good thing we brought him in!  now thats a tough kid, two ear infections and still a smile on his face.  maybe his mom and dad could learn a lesson from this trooper!
(more pics)

new year's sick

what a way to ring in the new year...  diana and i had made some great plans for new years: barbara and jeffry lee were going to come and spend the night with us hanging out and having a blast.  well, things didnt exactly go as planned.  i got out of work around 9:00 and headed home.  sis and jeffry lee had just arrived and we all poured our first drinks to start off the fun and frivolity.  about twenty minutes later diana was sick in the bathroom feeling miserable- and about twenty minutes after that i joined in!  my stomach was feeling upset, i went pale, and out came dinner...  so much for our plans.  not wanting to get sick themselves, around 10:30 sis and jeffry lee took their leave and headed back to south bend.  well, that was a fun two hour visit...  sorry guys!  diana and i proceeded to feel like death itself for the next three days, leaving the bathroom only long enough to allow the other person to use it...

cousin photo?

try as we might, we just couldnt get a good picture of all three of them!  this is the first time all three cousins have been in the same place, so we thought we would try and get a cute photo of the three of them enjoying their christmas together for the first time.  its a good idea in theory, but the actual execution of getting three squirmy little ones to sit still and look at the camera turned out to be impossible!  oh well, i'm sure we will have another chance soon!
(more pics)

uncle jeffry lee

one thing that made me so happy about christmas with diana's family was that i got to share it with jeffry lee!  of course i love diana's family, but it was a special treat to have my best friend (other than diana) there to join in the festivities.  jeffry lee has always been so excited about our little ledger- he was actually the first baby that jeffry lee held in his entire life- not even jeffry lee's nephews can claim that feat!  when ever ledger is around, jeffry lee just gets so happy- such an unexpected side of him that i really love!  he even spent some time playing with ledger on the ground, messing around with the toys, and having a great time.  every time i see that big old lug it reminds me that he is indeed the 'best man'.  as ledge grows up he will certainly enjoy his crazy uncle jeffry lee!
(more pics)

tech play

tavish's favorite thing to do is play with the ipad- hey, i dont blame him, that thing is cool!  david has it packed full of fun games for him to play with and tavish has certainly figured out how to use it.  well, tavish really wanted to show it off to his cousins, so we put ledger on the chair with him and tavish played one of his games and explained it all to ledger- i'm sure ledge was busy taking notes!

ledger's gifts

with all the gift giving, it was now ledger's turn!  he had some practice with opening prizes with my family- lets see if he learned anything this time around!  turns out, he still had no idea what was going on...  oh well, he sure loved to play with all the wrapping paper anyway!  with a lot of help from his mama, those prizes got opened and ledger got a bunch of new toys and a couple new outfits!  he of course, was oblivious to it all, just laughing and enjoying the whole thing.
(more pics)

2nd christmas

well, we are at it again!  after all the gift giving with my family, its now time for round two with diana's family!  after gathering together around the table and enjoying the fantastic meal david made for us, we all piled in to the living room for the prizes.  barbara sat down next to the tree, planning on taking her typical role as the one who gets to hand out gifts, only to have her job usurped by tavish!  he was so pumped about the whole thing that he tried to beat barbara to the job.  they decided to work together: barbara would pick the gift and tavish would deliver it to the right person- teamwork!
(more pics)

hello, cousin

what was really great about our stay with mom and david was the fact that david's other daughter katie and her husband jared were there too- as well as their son liam!  liam is only a couple weeks older than ledger, so it was really funny to put the two of them together and watch them interact.  diana and i hadn't really ever seen ledger interact with other babies.  sure, he has spent some time with other kids in our church nursery, but we've never been able to just watch him around others his own age.  it was really funny, ledger just kept staring at liam and trying to reach over to him and touch him!  so cute!  i'm sure these two will get into so much trouble together through out the years...
(more pics)

next stop

after breakfast, diana and i had to pack everything up and say goodbye to my family in grand rapids.  mom, as expected, was really sad to see us go but was still thankful that she got a whole week with her little ledger!  once we were all packed, we made the trip from one family to the other and stopped in south bend to spend some time with diana's family for christmas.  ledger adjusted pretty quickly because he got to go from one grandma's arms to the other!  diana's mom and david were so excited to see him (oh, and us too...)!

breakfast with papa

every saturday morning, papa meets up with his friends and they go out for breakfast together.  friday night papa asked if i would like to come with him and bring ledger.  well, of course!  i knew i would be up with ledger bright and early anyway, so we might as well tag along, right?  it was nice to see the guys and show off my little guy.  one of the other sons came as well and got to talk about how he was a bit nervous- his wife was nine months pregnant and their first baby was going to be coming any day now!  oh, how i remember those days!

ten pins

diana had recently reconnected with a friend from college and he was going to be in town over the holidays.  he and a few friends were planning on going bowling, so he invited diana and i to join them.  its been quite a while since we last went bowling, so we were both excited for the fun night out!  mom and papa offered to put ledger to bed so we could go out for the night.  we met up at the bowling alley behind the old eastbrook mall and played a few games with everyone.  it was fun to meet jeff and his friends, do some bowling, and trash talk the other guys (not that i actually had any game, but it was still fun to pretend that i did...).  afterward we stopped at the restaurant down the street for a little bit to eat.  it was really fun to hang out with some new people, or at least new to me!

bye, cabin!

another successful year- no one got hurt and everyone had a blast!  this year was especially fun, considering we got to stay up there for twice as long as usual!  living two hours away from grand rapids means that i never get to see these guys as much as i would like to, so this time together has to last me for quite a while.  when its time to go i'm always thankful for such a great time and great tradition we get to have as friends, but i'm also a little disappointed because i know i've got to wait twelve more months till we get to all get together and do it again!  see you next year, cabin.
(more pics)

let 'em roll

when we arrived back at the cabin it was game time.  we tried the night before, but got distracted with discussion.  this time dusty was here and he brought the awesome poker yahtzee game we love so much.  we took our positions and got right to it!  before we played dusty's game though, adam had a new one to teach us about.  i dont remember what it was called, but its kind of a mix between 'telephone' and 'pictionary'.  whatever it was, it was hilarious!  everyone involved couldnt stop laughing the entire time.  we ended up with some very strange results- and some pretty amazing drawings...  when we finally got around to the dice game we were in high spirits and about as silly as you can get- aaron was spouting off zingers left and right!  i'm not entirely sure if i ever stopped laughing the whole night!
the night ended, as it always does, with a time of talking and reflecting on what a great year we had.  sharing the ups and downs of the past 12 months is always a highlight of the trip, reconnecting with friends and having a chance to hear whats been going on for them and what they are looking forward to as the new year begins.  eventually the crowd thins as guys finally admit how tired they are, leaving just the final three or four. when the conversations finally come to an end, the lights are put out and we all crawl in to our beds for the night.

sporties spectacles

ah, that favorite of cabin traditions:  our annual visit to sporties!  every year we come up to the cabin we stop by sporties for dinner.  its always a great place to crash- part of the fun is that the place looks different every year!  this year they had, for some reason, a twelve foot long table in the middle of the bar.  sounds perfect!  we had a great time: we played the basketball game in the corner, counted chairs in the bathroom, and adam flirted with the 70 year old waitress (who in turn gave us creepy sugar candies for some reason...).  you never know whats going to happen at good ol' sporties...
(more pics)

cabin sub

by early afternoon the rest of the guys showed up: aaron, dusty, and adam showed up to join in the fun and festivities!  the three of them had to work wednesday, so they were only able to be up there one night- suckers!  after having a three foot sub for christmas with the family, there was till a couple feet left, so mom packed it up, and all the fixin's, for me to bring up for the guys.  they were very greatful for the yummy lunch.  now that we've got our bellies full, its time for more shootin!

a game of it

as is our custom, we ended the night with some deep conversations.  we gathered around the table with the intention of playing a game or two, but we never did get around to playing any of them...  i guess the five of us just found enough entertainment just from talking that we didnt even need any games!  eventually we called it quits, turned off the generator, and crawled in to bed.  and to think, we still have a day and a half of this left- score!

a path in the dark

that night, as we were hanging out in the cabin, keith decided he wanted to go for a walk.  he asked if anyone wanted to go with him, so we all decided to tag along and enjoy the great outdoors in the dark, dark night!  we wandered back down the path that lead us to the cabin, but this time we took a turn to the right and followed it.  the guys had never been down this way before but were up for an adventure.  i had been down this path many years ago on a snowmobile, but never on foot.  as the path winded back and forth we had a great time just talking and joking.  eventually the wooded path opened up to reveal a huge path where the enormous power lines cross the county.  it was really cool to just take in the quite moonlight and pause to appreciate the great time we were having.  after a time we headed back down the path, back to the cabin, but feeling a renewed sense of appreciation for nature, each other, and the annual tradition of going to the cabin!  later we estimated the path to be over three miles both ways- no wonder my legs were hurting when we got back!

pompeii pizza

after we arrived and got everything unpacked, we got the fire started and met up with keith at the local grocery store.  he was driving in from mount pleasant, so he just met us there.  we got back to the cabin and hung out for a while, taking some time to practice our aim with the plethora of guns rex, jeffry lee, and keith brought along.  as evening approached, we ventured out again to the thriving metropolis that is baldwin...  we drove up and down the place looking for a place to eat other than our usual digs (we wanted to wait until everyone was there for that tradition).  we ended up stopping at pompeii pizza and getting a bite to eat.  when we first pulled up we assumed it was closed considering there was no one in the whole place.  turns out they were open, it was just a rather slow night...  fortunately the food was pretty great and we had the run of the place, which of course meant that we were pretty silly the whole time.
(more pics)

cabin, ho!

its that time once again, time for the guys to head up to the cabin!  the day after christmas i headed over to jeffry lee's place to meet up for the big trip.  it actually is bigger than last year- we are staying two nights this time!  papa let me take his truck up because i had to take an alternate generator up to assure that the cabin would in fact have power (the cabin is too far away from any power lines, so the only way it gets power is with a generator).  jeffry lee, rex, brains, and i were all up for spending an extra night up in good ol' baldwin.  the other guys would be joining us the next day, but the four of us were in for two crazy nights of rustic fun. we met up around 11:00am, but didnt actually leave jeffry lee's until about 1:00 or so... oh well, better late than never, right?

to the movies

chad and miyuki invited diana and i to go to the movies with them that night.  we all wanted to go see the hobbit, so we made plans to go and see it together.  seeing a movie on christmas day is something i had never done before, but it was so awesome to get the chance to do that with chad.  while we were waiting for the movie to start, chad realized that he hadnt been to a movie theater in about six years!  yeash- thats quite a while!  we saw the movie in 3D, which was a first for both chad and miyuki.
after the movie we hung out for a minute, all four of us, and realized that we wouldnt see them again before they left to go back to their homes!  they were going to go visit chicago and by the time they got back, diana and i would be heading back our home as well.  it was a little bittersweet- we had a fun evening together, but now it was goodbye.  it was so wonderful to meet miyuki and to spend time with chad that we didn't want it to be over so quickly!  i guess we will have to do it again soon, right?

thank you hugs!

after all the gifts have been opened and the there is nothing left under the tree, we always go around and thank everyone again for the thoughtful gifts and fantastic time we had together.  the three kids jumped on papa to thank him for their prizes (dont worry, mema got some big hugs too!).  another successful christmas can now go in the record books.  it was such a great time, and such a blessing to have all of our ever expanding family there to enjoy it with!
(more pics)

fun with uncle chad

our little ledger just took such a shining to his uncle!  most of the time while we were unwrapping gifts, ledger was happily sitting on my lap or on diana's lap, but at one point he just kept reaching over to chad wanting to go play with him!  he wasnt going to have too much time with his uncle, so we passed him on over.  ledger proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes laughing, smiling, and grabbing at chad- who was a willing participant!  look at how happy those two guys are together!
(more pics)

wrapped and unwrapped

finally, time for the main event: prizes!  we spend the next couple hours just having so much fun opening and giving gifts.  though diana and i are on a pretty tight budget, were were still able to splurge a little and get some great stuff for the kids.  ledger got some pretty awesome stuff: some fun big boy toys (well, if you can call toys geared toward 12 month old babies that) as well as some really cute clothes and stuff!  diana and i didnt make out too bad either!  diana had made some really cool jewelry for mom, jill, the girls, and miyuki, so it was great for her to give those out and share the beautiful creations she had been working on for the past few weeks.
one of the highlights when ever chad is around for christmas, is his amazing gift wrapping skills.  he has been doing this ever since i can remember.  what he does is just find the most ridiculous way possible to wrap a present- often throwing in random objects as well so that the gift will feel heavier or look different to throw us off so we dont have any idea what the gift is.  we look forward to it every year!  well, to be honest, i think he out did himself this year with jill's gift- look at that thing!  we were pretty sure it was designed to be a nun's habit, and jill was going to go flying away at any moment!
(more pics)

goofy game

as we finished our dinner, aves broke out the game she had just unwrapped.  it is a silly twist on indian poker- each player gets a headband and puts a card in it, then you take turns asking yes or no questions and then guess until you figure out what is on the card on your forehead.  its a pretty simple game, but it had the whole family in stitches!  all of us, especially jackson, got a huge kick out of seeing papa with the goofy headband and a card that read 'i'm a toaster!'  it was a really silly game- i'm sure aves and tweets will get hours of fun from playing this one!
(more pics)

gift break

with the first few prizes opened, it was already time for a break!  before we all headed to the dining room for food, we went outside so jackson could show off the christmas gift he had gotten from mom and dad earlier: a dart blow gun!  all the guys headed out, jackson set up a target by the shed, and showed off his impressive accuracy.  it was pretty neat, but the lure of dinner was too much, so i quickly headed back inside to help out (and by 'help out', i mean 'pretend to help so i can sneak a few chips and sweets!').  after ten minutes or so all the other guys came in as well and we were able to begin the christmas feast!  mom did a great job of making some fantastic food and treats for us!

ledger's first christmas gift

with this being ledger's first christmas, diana and i didnt know how he would react to the flurry of activity and attention.  knowing our boy, i figured he would be thrilled by it all.  turns out we were right- he loved every minute of it!  we started off the afternoon with each of the kids getting one gift before we dug in to the meal mom had prepared for us.  ledger got to be the first one to open his gift. granted, being only nine months old, he didnt really have any idea what was going on or what he was supposed to do, so jill and the girls stepped in to help him with unwrapping his prize.  even as they unwrapped it, he still had no idea what was happening, he was just happy smiling at jill, tweets, and aves while they opened his gift for him.
(more pics)

oh christmas tree

with the family on the way, papa and i went up and gathered all the gifts that had been stashed away for the big day!  the tree was absolutely surrounded by prizes!  diana and i wrapped the gifts we had brought as well, so we added them to the overflowing piles.  with all these prizes, you just know its going to be a blessed christmas!

mema's toys

as mema was getting food ready for the festivities, it seemed that ledger came to an important realization: mema has toys too!  while mom and diana were in the kitchen doing a few odds and ends in preparation, ledger kept wanting to see what was going on, so we decided to just set him on the floor next to the kitchen so he could watch, but also be hip deep in a bunch of fun toys that he had never been able to play with before.  what a lucky boy!
(more pics)

playing cards

the rest of the family wasnt coming until later in the afternoon, so diana and i were able to pull mema away from the kitchen for a few minutes so we could play a little cards!  this is always a highlight for me when we visit my parents: playing cards with my two favorite women in the world: my wife and my mom!  and look at that, ledge even decided to join us for a while!

christmas church

christmas morning we got ourselves up and ready.  diana and i were excited to head on out to church that morning because we knew we would see tim, jill, and the kids!  papa asked if we wanted to all pile in to one car, so i hooked up the car seat in his vehicle and we loaded everyone up for church.  it was pretty cold out, so we pulled out ledger's hat and mittens.  doesnt he look so cute?!?  it was great to get the chance to focus on the reason for christmas with a sanctuary full of praise and rejoicing!
(more pics)

papa's nose

for some reason i cannot fathom, ledger really seems to like papa's nose.  when papa was holding him at lunch time, ledger decided he wanted to see what it tasted like...  what a goof ball!
(more pics)

dinner with grandma

it can sometimes be hard to get around to visit everyone during the times we are home, so it was really nice that mom had made plans for grandma and jay to stop by for dinner while we were there.  grandma gets just about as excited as mom does about getting to see ledger, even though he is her 34th (or maybe 35th) great grandson!  the two of them played around, laughing at each other the whole time.

playing with uncle chad

one of the parts of our visit that i was most looking forward to was seeing my brother again.  it had bee quite a while since he last visited, so i was very excited to see him and show off ledger a bit.  turns out he had someone to show off as well: miyuki, someone my brother got to know while he was stationed in japan, came to grand rapids to spend christmas with our family too!  when the two of them came by for dinner we got a chance to meet miyuki, and a chance for uncle chad to spend some time with his newest nephew.  ledger, being the social butterfly that he is, didnt even pause when he saw the two of them- he immediately reached out to miyuki to hold him so he could say hi!

home for christmas

one of the best perks of my job is that i get two weeks off for christmas. this year i worked on saturday, but then we headed up to spend the week with my family on sunday.  the trip up went really well with ledger sleeping most of the trip!  when we arrived we were welcomed by a couple of really really excited grandparents!  we unpacked the car, which seems to be taken over by baby stuff now, and settled in for a great week of family, friends, and christmas cheer!