It was very Merry, in deed!

We had such a wonderful Christmas! P got more into it that we expected, which made it all the more fun!

We started the holiday festivities with a lovely church service. I really enjoyed the music and Jeff and Presley enjoyed roaming the halls of the church! (We're in that stage where only one of us really gets anything from church services!)

After church, we loaded up our fancy new sleigh and headed to Tampa to Christmas as my mom's. We instituted a Tobler tradition when we arrived--graham cracker house building! We were surprised at the creativity and craftsmanship of so many first-time builders!

Jeff took another stab at his Christmas pirate ship (which was an impressive structure to start with)...

Greer and her boyfriend, Patrick, worked together on a quaint little candy cottage with plenty of landscaping! When I say "worked together," I mean Patrick did all of the work and Greer bailed on him at the first sign of collapse. Once he saved the structure, she returned again--a fair-weather builder, for sure!

Ashley and Jay built Notre Dame--which was solid enough to withstand gale-forced winds.

Unfortunately, Jeff's ship taught everyone a valuable lesson about the delicate balance between enough candy and too much (so much so that it becomes the demise of the structure!).

My little two-story house was cute and even managed a few first-place votes.

In the end, it was Greer and Patrick that took the prize (our respect). Beginners luck, I say!

On Christmas Eve, we sent the men-folk to the golf course while we spent the day cooking, watching movies, and chatting. When the boys returned, we had a "light lunch" (of heavy hors d'ovuers), Braden passed out on the couch...

P had lots of fun and attention playing...

Jeff and Jay didn't stray too far from the food (and Jeff made his famous face, just for Ashley)...

And I didn't stray too far from my culinary creations!

We had our delicious prime rib dinner that evening and even P enjoyed some! She was mostly interested in the potatoes and her beans but, I think she knew it was a special dinner!

After dinner, we got all geared up to go and spread the reindeer food on the lawn to make sure Santa stopped for us.

Presley loved throwing the reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter)! She had glitter everywhere!

After a quick walk, we came inside for a family photo.

During which Ashley, the photographer, said "one, two, three...we're pregnant!"

We were so excited! It's so great to have a little Peep on the way and another cousin for Presley!

We all opened our Christmas jammies...

Sung some carols...

And called it a night so that Santa could come (and his elves could get to work!)

Christmas morning began much earlier than in years passed since we have our Sweet P!

Presley was excited to see what Santa brought her

A water table, a tent with tunnels, a little Gator chair, and a basket ball hoop!

She likes it when I fill her shirt full of balls :-)

Great minds think alike...we both got each other black wayfarers!

It was a fabulous Christmas--full of great food, great company, and great fun!

Merry Christmas!

From our little family to yours, Merry Christmas! We have been richly blessed this year and hope that you have too!

Tis the Season

We sure have been enjoying the holiday season and the main event is almost upon us! Here are a few highlights...

P got to wear her new Christmas dress to church and it was so fun to watch her in it. She loves the ballerina-style skirt and immediately after getting putting it on, she went to show her Daddy and then to sit in her "happy place" (under the kitchen sink).

We have really been enjoying our Elf on the Shelf (thanks, Gramma!). Presley enjoys going to look for him every morning and always cracks up at our rascally elf.

Per Tobler tradition, we had our friends, The Draneys, over for graham cracker house building.

We had some really imaginative creations and the kids had a lot of fun too!

Just in time for Christmas, it's freezing in Gainesville. We took advantage of the cold and bundled up, packed a thermos of hot chocolate and went to see the lights around the pond at the hospital. It was so fun!

Santa visited us a little early this year and brought us a new car! Our Mazda finally died and was replaced with a fancy 4 Runner that we love. I've been left wondering how I ever lived without navigation, bluetooth, seat warmers, etc. We *love* our new car!

And of course, no Christmas would be complete without a visit with the big guy! Presley knows what Santa says (ho, ho, ho) and when she saw him arrive at the church Christmas party, she made a beeline for him. She wasn't scared at all and even managed to tell him that she wanted a new 4 Runner for Christmas!

We have really been enjoying all of our time together as a family. It has been the best gift as we celebrate the Greatest Gift. We have much to be thankful for and are so grateful to have this time to be a little kinder, a little happier, and a little more mindful of the Savior.

A Year in Review

We sure love our 1 year old and can't believe how fast time goes! And what a difference a year makes! At 12 months old, our little Sweet P is 30 inches tall (75th percentile) and weighs 19 pounds (25 percentile). Here are a few highlights from the last month and our year in review!

• Presley has such a sweet, fun personality. She loves to play and be silly and started "cracking herself up" this month. She's quite the ham and always makes us laugh.
• She is quite the chatterbox! Her current list of words we recognize--momma, dada, hi, hot, nana (banana), ball, bath, lamb, bye, right there, baby doll, that, those, this, no, and yes (complete with a Napoleon Dynamite hand gesture)
• With Christmas coming, she now knows what Santa Claus says (and she makes the cutest little face while doing it!)
• This girl loves being outside! She likes to pick up acorns and rocks and throw them. She also likes to try and slip them in her mouth--much to her Momma and Daddy's chagrin.
• She still a good eater and sleeper. She started eating yogurt and loves eating that for breakfast or lunch every day. She started drinking whole milk and didn't seem allergic but, she also isn't that excited about it. She doesn't drink a whole lot of it but, she loves almond milk.
• She's sleeping about 12 hours at night, which we love! She goes to bed around 8, sleeps until 7:30am, and then naps about 2.5 hours during the day (either two shorter ones or one longer one).
• Presley is a proficient walker and has now graduated to "big girl" shoes. I'm happy to be done with the little leather (unattractive) moccasins and she seems to really like her new kicks (or "sleds" as her Uncle Jay calls them).
• Her favorite toys are her push/ride-on dog, baby doll, cars, and balls, balls, and more balls! She is getting pretty good at dribbling her soccer ball and likes to roll and/or throw a ball back and forth. She still loves Momma's iPad and now has her own folder full of fun games and stories to enjoy!
• Presley loves music and dancing! She likes me to turn the music on my iPhone on and she carries it around the house dancing along.
• She is becoming increasingly independent and likes to try to do everything herself--putting lids on jars/bottles, feeding herself with a spoon, putting her diapers in the garbage can, brushing her hair and teeth and finding her shoes to put on so we can go outside.
• She learned how to fold her arms for prayers this month and likes to find the pictures of Jesus in her Book of Mormon. 
• Presley has 6 teeth, 4 on top, 2 on the bottom. She went through a biting phase but, I think we're passed that. That goodness!

She is just such a joy to have in our family and we are always amazed at how fast she is growing and learning. What a blessing it is to be her parents.

2 days old

  

1 Month (No Sign!)