Happy 1st Birthday, Guy!

Yesterday Guy celebrated his 1st birthday. Our house was filled with not-yet-played with Christmas gifts, but it was time for another celebration.

We had a small party with Grandma and Grandpa Hauner and Mary, Randy, and Everett. Guy enjoyed his cake, but wasn't thrilled with it (it's not baby yogurt, you know). He even managed to keep his shirt on - if you remember Lincoln's first birthday, he ended up eating and opening gifts shirtless. Guy received lots of great gifts, including his very own vacuum cleaner and a mailbox that Lincoln's been playing with all morning.

Guy has really come a long way in his first year. He has been walking since Thanksgiving and can even run a bit. He says "mommy", "daddy", and a form of "banana" (I even thought he said "kitty" once, but he hasn't repeated it). He waves bye-bye and tells himself "no" when he gets too close to the stairs (even though he'll still go up). His favorite game is wrestling with Lincoln, and his favorite foods are yogurt and bananas.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We've had a great day - luckily last night Santa was able to find our house in the snow storm.

After opening presents, which included matching his- and hers- sweatshirts for Linda and me (courtesy of Lincoln and his daycare), we all bundled up and went out to clear the driveway of the 6 inches of snow we got last night. It didn't take long before we were all cold and crying, so he headed back inside for lunch.

Lincoln and I went out later in the day to practice skiing with the skis Grandma King got him in Colorado last year. He's a natural but was soon cold and wet, so back inside we went.

Now we're off to Mary and Randy's for dinner with them, Everett, and Grandpa and Grandpa Hauner. Best wishes to all.

Santa Pictures

Last weekend, my work had our annual Kid's Christmas Party - complete with Santa, crafts, and cookies. We all went, and Lincoln and Guy had a great time.

Before the party, Lincoln had declared that he would not sit on Santa's lap and that he didn't want to talk to Santa either. Guy was indifferent.

When our turn was up, we assumed it would be a "Guy-only" picture. However, we ended up luring Lincoln near Santa with the promise of candy canes, and at the last minute, we sat him on his lap. It all worked very well.

Although Linda and I encouraged Lincoln to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas, he remained silent and we all decided later that maybe a letter would be more appropriate. Overall, it was a great day.

Belated Thanksgiving

We just got back from an extended weekend in Lincoln, but as most of my time there was spent doing super-secret Christmas stuff we don't really have any good photos to share. Instead I'll give you a belated Thanksgiving update.

After spending the morning with my parents, we travelled to Hastings for Thanksgiving with the extended King family. Afterwards they played the traditional football game in balmy 60 degree weather. Even Lincoln and I got in on the action!

Here's the actual folks that played. Note that they're wearing matching jerseys.

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing at Scott's parents. We spent one afternoon walking through Werner park with the boys. Although there was a "path" mowed through the grass, it was still an adventure trying to maneuver the sit'n'stand.

Lincoln also demonstrated his hopscotch skills at the local elementary school.

There was lots of other fun events during the week - Joni's baby shower, Lincoln's first attempt at driving a remote-control car, and even (of course!) some Christmas shopping. I don't think the business will let up until after Christmas.