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!)

P's Birthday Bash

We had a little birthday party with some of my family just before Presley's birthday and boy, was it fun! Presley helped me with all of the preparations by emptying out my cupboards and sitting in them to fill her diaper (it's her new happy place).

Around Halloween, we discovered that P loves balloons and these helium balloons were a big hit!

\

We didn't do anything fancy, just a light lunch, a few decorations, a trip to the park, and lots of visiting!

Oh yes, and some Gator football!

Auntie Ashley and Uncle Jay gave her this great little dog. It's one of her new favorite toys! She loves to push and pull it around and really likes it when Momma and Daddy push her around while she rides it! And, any time she needs a pick-me-up, she pushes his nose and gets her groove on to the music.

 The park is always lots of fun!

Two generations of bottoms protruding from the tube...

During a game of bocce ball, Ashley's big gold ring flew off her hand. Jeff was the lucky, sassy-pants, finder.

After the park and a quick nap, it was time for cake and ice cream!

P was pretty excited when she saw her cake and candle coming and really liked having everyone sing to her!

She liked to stick her fingers in the frosting but, that was about it.

She ate a couple bites of cake, put some frosting in her hair, and then decided she'd rather eat her beans and cheese fishes.

Party hats were not optional at this party!

We were excited that Her Majesty, our resident Prom Queen, came from enemy territory (FSU) to celebrate with us and she brought her pretty face too ;-)!

P was actually more interested in opening presents than I thought she would be. She got really excited about each one!

Her new baby doll was an especially big hit! (P.S. No, her hair is not wet, it's slicked down with frosting. No time for a bath mid-party!)

And to start a new tradition, P woke up to a room full of balloons on her birthday! She thought that was lots of fun!

We had such a nice time and appreciated being able to celebrate it with some of our family! I know P had a good time and felt like the special little lady that she is!