Christmas 2011

This year we spent our first ever Christmas in Sandpoint.  It was lovely, relaxing, simple, and filled with good memories.

Christmas Eve - We attended the Christmas Eve service at our church, where there was no childcare.  Kai survived through the singing, but him and I quickly retreated to the back room after a few too many loud exclamations of "Baby Jesus!  Mary!  Jofus!" during the sermon.

Our traditional Christmas Eve video and sleepover in the living room.  Kai only hung out with us for a bit before "The Christmas Carol" became a bit too scary and his crib seemed like a better place.

On Christmas morning we read the Christmas story, opened presents before eating a yummy breakfast and going skiing.

Kai was so deliberate about the opening of his presents, making sure to remove every last bit of paper.

So heavy!

Oops!

The "ABC" magnets were the most popular gift this year.  I'm glad I don't have to spend too much money to make our 2 year old happy :)

After breakfast we went skiing at Schweitzer, where it was kind of blustery but fun nonetheless.

Mr. Independent likes to ski all by himself, but since he can't turn or snowplow yet, he just goes straight which means he goes really fast!  Every now and then we have to catch up with him and slow him down.

Taking a snack break in the lodge.

Kai loves the chairlift.

Enjoying the Snow

When we lived in Hawaii one of the things we missed most was the change in seasons.  Here in Sandpoint we definitely experience all four seasons, and we enjoy every one of them.  Now of course it's winter, and we're enjoying it for all it's worth!

In November we started prepping for ski season, and Kai got to decorate his skis with stickers.

Rather excited about his skis!

First time at Schweitzer for the season.  We weren't sure how Kai would do after our disastrous attempt at Whistler, but he loved it this time.

His first time on the "Magic Carpet" was a big hit.

In typical Kai fashion, he didn't want us to touch him.  He (of course) wanted to do it all by himself, and he did really well.

One cold morning Kai and I went to the park, collected pinecones and brought them home to make bird-feeders.  Then we put them out in the snow, and watched as a few minutes later a squirrel picked a whole pinecone up, and ran away across the power lines with it!  With a 2 year old, it's the little things that make a day wonderful.

Bryon's ski-training camp!  It's hard to see, but Bryon connected a piece of 2x4 to a rope, put Kai's skis on, and pulled him with the 2x4.  I'm sure the neighbourhood wonders at our unique activities sometimes. :) 

Getting Ready for Christmas

We tried hard to keep Christmas really simple at our house this year, but we still had a lot of fun preparing for it.  My favourite part though was seeing it all through the eyes of a 2 year old.

Off to get our Christmas tree in November (yes, 2 months ago!).

"The One"

Bryon said this is the only time he'll go hunting this year :)

Kai loves all of the Christmas ornaments/toys that we pulled out of our storage bins.

Mary, "Jofus", and Baby Jesus get lots of attention too.  It's so fun to have Kai understanding more this year as we celebrate Christmas.

Bryon's company Christmas party....the perfect party for families!  Kai was enthralled with the horses/sleigh ride and loved all of the room to run in the big lodge, as well as the wonderful food :)

We had an ornament gift exchange, and Bryon made this "lovely" ornament for poor Donnie!

The office staff

Yes, that's our child in the front...the one just shouting, "1, 2, 3!" and getting ready to jump up as soon as the picture is taken!

We took Kai to meet Santa, only to discover the scariest Santa we'd ever seen!  Bryon commented that he wouldn't even have sat on Santa's lap, and Kai only approached Santa long enough to quickly grab a candy cane :)