Porter vs. Rice Cereal

Porter got his first taste of rice cereal Monday night.  I was cracking up with the faces he was pulling.  But let's be honest, that mush isn't the tastiest food on the block.  I'm sure he'll come around once we start trying the good stuff!

 "This is definitely not milk!"

"Oh great, here she comes again..."

"Don't know what the fuss is about, this stuff is nasty!"

That about sums it up...

 

This is a perfect summary of life right now: a certain 2 1/2 year old who absolutely adores his baby brother, wants to "help" with him in any & everyway possible... and a certain 4 month old who has no idea why he constantly is being smothered by a curiously loud blond-haired boy, but nonetheless loves the attention and is constantly watching his big brother no matter where he is/what he is doing.  I have a feeling these two are going to have so much fun together-- and keep me busy as they do it!

PS: This little guy turned 4 months old on Monday!  As his gift to me, he is now sleeping 9 hours straight at night!  YAY!  Now if I could only figure out how to do something about that crazy hair!

Christmas in Utah

We stayed close to home this year and had a wonderful white Christmas with the Hardcastles.  On Christmas Eve a storm rolled in and brought about 6 inches of snow. 

 

Owen had a blast playing in the snow with all his new "friends" over at Grammy & Papa's house. 

 

Brad had a blast (obviously) shoveling it all.

 

Despite my best efforts, one of Owen's favorite things to do is eat the snow.  Better watch out for that yellow snow!

 

We were a little worried that the stormy weather may put a damper on our family Christmas Eve party, but the snow let up just in time and almost everyone was still able to come.  We had a great time with all the Hardcastle cousins!

Porter & Uncle Chris

Porter was quite the hit of the party.  The girls (this is only half of them!) loved holding him.

Owen crashed towards the end of the night.   I was hopeful that this meant he would sleep well, but boy was I wrong.  He ended up waking up as we moved him into a different bed and didn't go back to sleep until 3:30 am.  Brad & I started to have second thoughts about the gifts waiting for him under the tree.... did he really deserve them? 

It was a rough night, but the magic of Christmas morning erased it all. 

Santa brought Owen a new fire truck that spins, lights up, and makes all kind of fun sounds.  Oh how I love all these loud toys!  :)

 By far, the favorite gift of the day was his Woody doll.  Owen loved it.  L-O-V-E-D it!

After opening it, he disappeared and I found him lying in Grammy & Papa's bed with Woody "watching TV".  They were instant best buds.  I think Owen fully expected Woody to come to life, because he kept throwing him down on the ground.  When Woody didn't pop back up, Owen would lay down with him in the exact same position.  It was so darn cute.

 This little guy had a great Christmas!  So happy just to be there!  Didn't care about anything else!

 

We had a wonderful day with our family-- full of laughter, yummy food, and naps!  We also got to talk to Uncle Ross who is serving his mission in Tucson right now.  Merry Christmas!