Christmas Day

We were able to spend Christmas day with my family.  We had a wonderful time opening gifts, eating yummy food, and playing games together.  This is where Zack and I did most of our gift opening and we had to wait until about 2pm to do it!  Even though I am not a kid anymore I was dying to get in there and open my presents!!!  I still get excited :)

Here is our family by the tree!  We were so excited!  We decided to let Elise start us off and we had to let her open her biggest gift first.  It turned out to be a new stroller since her other one was stolen! 

For Zack this was his clothes Christmas!  He already has everything he needs (we both do!) and so we decided to gear him up with lots and lots of warm clothes for him to walk back and forth from school in.

My big gift this year was the Kindle Fire.  I have been wanting a kindle for years now but couldn't rationalize spending the money on one because I never buy books- I always check them out from the library.  With the kindle fire you can check out ebooks and get apps, surf the web, play music, etc.  I was sold!  I knew Zack was getting it for me so I couldn't wait until Christmas for me to get my new toy! I am so glad I got it!  I use it all the time- and it is awesome to use as my scriptures at church too.

One of my favorite things that Elise got was her "Birthday Girl" outfit.  I know that it is something she really will only wear once, but I couldn't resist getting it for her.  It is so cute!

Our whole family was able to be in town this year and it was so much fun to be together.  My brother Ryan and his wife, Becky, are big time gamers!  They brought a new game called Telestrations.  It is a little bit like pictionary mixed with the telephone game.  We had a lot of fun and laughed hard as we played. It was a great Christmas!

Christmas Morning

Since we split up Christmas Eve and Christmas day, things get a bit tricky for our family.  Especially this year because Christmas fell on a Sunday. We had to decide where to do stocking and Santa gifts, where to go to Church, and when we would re-unite with the rest of the Galbraith family.

We got up and got Elise ready for church and then opened our stockings.  I laughed because this is probably the first and last time that Elise will be up and bathed and in a dress on Christmas morning.  Either way she still looks adorable :)  Here are some pictures from her first Christmas:

 She seemed to think that all these items in a stocking were pretty cool!  Her stocking was filled with toy keys, a ball, finger puppets, baby spoons, freeze dried apples, and an orange.  It was so cute to see her face filled with wonder and confusion as to what to do with all of it and if it was hers! 

Yes, I was also there.  Zack didn't want any pictures taken of him but I was willing to act stupid and model my new sunglasses. We both had a great Christmas morning!  Everything changes when you have kids and celebrate the holidays.  It changes in such a good way!  We were so excited to see how Elise would react to everything.  It was a great day!

Christmas Eve

 

We spent Christmas Eve with Zack's family and we had a great time!   One of my favorite traditions that they do on the Pugh side is to sing Christmas carols.  Zack's mom plays the piano and we all gather round and sing so many fun songs!

 Here's Linda at the piano surrounded by some of her granddaughters.

 More candid snapshots of everyone singing. 

 Elise would get sick of all the singing and we would find her in the closet under the stairs.  Here she is holding her own with the boys playing with the Lego's. 

Here are Zack and I with our "sibling gifts" that we exchanged with Zack's brothers and sisters.  Our niece got a little excited with Zack's present and decided she would help him open it!!  We got some great things and had so much fun seeing what everyone else ended up with too!  We had a wonderful time eating dinner, singing songs, performing the nativity and giving gifts.  It was the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve! 

Home for the Holidays

We have been having so much fun being back in Utah for the holidays!  There is so much to do and so many friends and family to catchup with, we've been having a blast!

 It doesn't take long for Elise to find the stairs anywhere she goes!  It is by far her favorite thing!  She will be entertained for hours on here but that also means that I get my workout for the day!  She knows how to go up but not down so I have to keep a close eye on her.  She sure does love it!

 She had a blast playing with the toys at Grandma Galbraith's house!  She loved the talking Winnie-the-Pooh phone.  She laughed and giggled at it all day long.

 She has had all sorts of junk food and treats that come with Christmastime!

 We pulled out my old tickle me Elmo for Elise and she loved it!  What a precious picture!  I love this one!

 Here she is trapping herself in small spaces.  What a goof- we love this girl!

Told you she loved this phone!  It is pretty great :)  It is going to be so hard to go back to Wisconsin after all of the fun we have been having with family!

Thanksgiving 2011

We were fortunate enough to have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Spencer family.  Zack and Brian Spencer were roommates for two years at BYU.  Brian lives in Iowa and we were able to meet in the middle at his parents home in Illinois. 

We had a wonderful time eating a beautiful meal with all the usual trimmings.  I even ate some Thanksgiving side dishes that I always thought I hated and surprise- I actually liked them!  Who knew?!  Guess I am growing up!  We also had great company to visit with and wonderful toys for Elise to put in her mouth. 

Elise spent most of the evening practiciting climbing the up the stairs.  She is a pro!  Ask her to go down the stairs and you'll probably end up at the ER.  We don't have any stairs in our apartment so we will have to work on that when we are home for Christmas!

Above all, Thanksgiving is a great time to be reminded of how blessed we truly are.  We are so thankful, above all, for family;  For our small family of 3 and for all our family members spread out across the country.  We are grateful for Zack and all the hard work he does in medical school.  We are grateful for our health.  We are grateful to have the knowledge of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Even when times our tough it is always good to have an entire day to remind you of how lucky you are and all the many blessings we have been given.  From the Pugh family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Holiday Crafting

I have been getting things ready for the upcoming holidays!  Here is some of the work I've been doing lately! 

I found these stockings and the tutorial on Pinterest.  I think they turned out very cute and I loved how easy and simple the tutorial was.  I didn't even make a mistake...which for me is a miracle!  If you need stockings this is a great way to go! 

I also made this adorable little turkey onesie for Elise to wear!  I was able to use all scraps from my quilt!  I love that the colors are perfect for fall :)  Can't wait for the holidays to be here!

Zack's Birthday

Zack turned 26 yesterday!  We had a great time celebrating it with a few of his good friends from school.

  Amy (holding Elise), Zack and Hemel

Zack was able to break away from his busy busy school schedule to come home a bit earlier and enjoy praises, food, and of course cake!  I'm not sure what his wish was but he did get all the candles out in one shot- so it's bound to come true right?

He is much wiser in the past year that has transpired!  He has learned the following in his 25th year:

 

-how to get into medical school

-how to fill up gas in a u-haul truck

-that Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa are not places he ever wants to live

-how to change poopy diapers

-how to make a girl laugh on cue

-how to be a wonderful father

-he became the Dominion master

-Washing off the cadaver smell is not always easy

-how to ace biochemistry and anatomy

-that cramming 8lbs. of food in your mouth at one time is possible

-Moving 2 times in one year is no fun

-being the head microscopist is tough work

-how to graduate in Physiology and Developmental Biology

-and best of all how to keep these two crazy girls just as in love with him as the day we met him :)