A little bit of the Beehive State

This year is the Atkinson side for Thanksgiving.  We came down a bit early so our kids could have more time with their cousins.

While we were here, Eliza (finally) got her first tooth!  We were at Ryan & Amy's house on the 23rd talking about how our almost one-year-old is pretty much like a 6-month-old:  no walking, no talking, no teeth, etc.  Just a few minutes later Aunt Amy came over and showed us the tooth!  Her bottom right.  Of course you can't see it in the picture, but it seemed like a photo-worthy moment anyway.  Eliza's starting to look like a big baby.  She's getting taller, wearing 12-month size, her hair's getting thicker, and she stands up really well now when she's holding on to things.

Aunt Nicole made gingerbread girls & boys for the kids to decorate.  Most of the kids had a fun time decorating.  Isaiah had a fun time eating "m's" (what he calls m&m's).  

Jerel and I met up with an old friend at Temple Square.  I thought it would be so fun for Isaiah to see the lights.  There were a few flaws in my planning.  First, the night I picked was the night of the official Lights-On ceremony so it was super crowded.  Second, it was super windy.  And third, it was not so fun for Isaiah to see the lights.  He's only smiling in the photo because we promised we were about to go home.  I get so frustrated when I plan things that I think will be so fun for the kids and then they end up hating it.  Oh well.

This is me with our old friend Stephanie.  Jerel and I both knew her and her roommate Kim really well.  A few years ago they both moved to Salt Lake so I planned a reunion.  Kim was out of town, so it was Stephanie and her husband, uh, Jake I think and twin 9-month-olds Caleb and Zachary.  It was fun to see her as a mom and to see her so happy with her husband!  By the end of our little excursion her boys were crying as much as Isaiah, so we shouted our goodbyes over the screams and headed for home.