Top 12 of 2012

To celebrate the New Year, I thought we would share our top 12 moments of the year 2012 as kind of a year in review for our family.  Here goes:

1. In January 2012, Jarom started nursing school at Arapahoe Community College in a cohort with other students from the hospital company he works for.  Of course, they have to dress in very emasculating purple scrubs.  We were so glad that he was accepted and able to start school, and that he's on his way on a career path he enjoys.  As of December 2012, he has one year down and one year to go to get his RN (Registered Nurse) Associate's Degree.

2.  Bryson moved up from nursery to Sunbeams at Church and has learned many important things about the Gospel and about Heavenly Father this year.  (Tonight he even prayed that we can "be like Nephi, and not like his brothers.")

3. Seattle trips in February and October were also highlights of 2012.  We were able to stay with my parents and see my sister, Becca and her family.  We went to open gym, to the swimming pool, to a gymnastics center, and to a pumpkin farm, among other things.  Bryson especially enjoyed spending time with his cousin Zoey who he loves a lot.

4.  In late February 2012, we had a huge snowstorm in Colorado.  Bryson could hardly trudge through the more than 2 feet of snow, but we had a blast enjoying the snow and being snowed in.

5.  We also enjoyed many outdoor activities during the late winter and early spring, including Bryson's St. Patrick's Day Fun Run, a 5K Bryson and I finished together, and a couple of ski trips, which Bryson likes almost as much as Jarom.

6.  Bryson turned four this year.  Jarom and I took him to Red Robin for his actual birthday, and then he had a swimming party with some of his cousins and a few friends.  They all had a blast, and we can hardly believe our son is four, going on five.

7.  Jarom and Bryson attended the Fathers' and Sons' Outing with Randy, Jarom's dad, and Ben, Jarom's nephew.  They roasted hot dogs, put up a tent, and let the boys explore the rocky cliffs that were at Wellington Lake.  Bryson still talks about "camping with Daddy, Papa, and Ben" to this day, so it must have been a fun trip.

8.  Swimming and hiking were highlights of our summer fun. We didn't go on vacation this year, but we did enjoy going to Chatfield Reservoir to swim and play in the sand, numerous trips to the pool, hiking at St. Mary's Glacier, and biking in Waterton Canyon.  Jarom took a few classes this summer, but we managed to make the most of our time together, and I think summer suits our family quite nicely (though not as much as winter does, Jarom would argue).  

9.  For Fourth of July, Jarom's sister Allie and her husband James rented a wave runner, that they allowed us to ride.  It was so much fun rushing through the waves.  Bryson and Jarom enjoyed it, but Melissa thought it was the thrill of a lifetime.

10.  Bryson began sleeping standing up on a regular basis because his toddler bed proved too small.  That's why he got a twin bed for Christmas.  He absolutely loves his new bed.

11.  Bryson began preschool.  In August, Melissa began doing preschool activities with Bryson at home, and in September, he started half-day ECE (Early Childhood Education) at our neighborhood school.  He absolutely loves his teacher, being with friends, and doing fun activities there.  At home he's enjoyed working on different projects that coordinate with each letter (like "A is for apple" or "P is for [Christmas] present").  Bryson can count to 100, write all the letters of the alphabet and the numbers, and is a pro at patterns and drawing.  He's on lesson 30 of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann.  Bryson can read short stories like "That fat cat is sick.  He ate too much.  The cat is sad."  We are impressed with Bryson's learning and are very proud of his hard work and progress.  

12.  We hosted Thanksgiving at our house for the first time.  We enjoyed amazing food and great company.  In this photo, Jarom is sampling the pork roast we made to accompany the turkey Allie and James brought. 

Best Skiing Day Ever

According to Bryson, yesterday was "the best skiing day ever" even though it was only 13 degrees (or maybe even less with the windchill) at Keystone Resort.  He's only been skiing a couple of times, but he loves it each time that he goes.  It was fun to watch him speed down the hill and get a little better at turning and stopping.  Notice that in the first video he says "I am speed" like Lightning McQueen toward the end of the video.   So cute!  The second video he took while holding the camera.  You mostly get a nose shot, but you can tell how much fun he's having from the sounds he makes.  Enjoy the videos!

FILE0026 from Melissa G on Vimeo.
FILE0023 from Melissa G on Vimeo.

Christmas Morning

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Bryson very excited for Christmas to come, and had a hard time getting to sleep because of it.  He opened new pajamas on Christmas Eve and we brought his toddler bed into our room so that Santa could come without having Bryson too close.  He woke us up early (even though Jarom and I had a late night because somehow the directions for Bryson's new bed didn't come in the box and Santa had to figure it out) and we opened presents.  He could hardly contain his excitement, as you'll see in the video when he first comes out of the room to look at the tree and see the letter that Santa Claus left him.

Bryson got quite the loot (though not everything was new - Santa brought some containers for his old stuff and put them in there so he could open up the container of blocks and such).  Among his favorite gifts were the reusable hand warmers Daddy got him, some art activities and cars from Mom (I love clearance sales and coupons for things like these), and his brand new bed.  Bryson was WAY too big for his toddler bed and ended up sleeping hanging out of it, with his feet on the floor half the time, so it was time.  He loves the memory foam mattress and has not come into our bed since getting his new bed, which is a plus for us.  Bryson's other favorite toy that he plays with constantly are called Crystal Climbers, interlocking shape blocks.  They've already provided hours of entertainment.

Melissa got a drying rack, some new cutting boards, a curling iron, and a few other things.    Her new favorite thing in the world is the laminator she got for Christmas because she'll be able to use it for preschool activities, Church stuff, and more!  She's majorly excited.  Bryson made a reindeer gift bag at preschool for us and we opened it to find some fun ornaments that he made for our tree.  He also gave Daddy a tie.  Jarom got a Red Ryder BB Gun, but he's not allowed to shoot it anywhere near here (which is probably a good thing so he doesn't shoot his eye out).  Jarom got some snow gear too.  We had a breakfast of French toast and enjoyed spending the day together and having Jane, Randy, and Molly stop by for awhile for more presents.  
 

 

 

Christmas Morning from Melissa G on Vimeo.

Christmas Eve Fun

We started Christmas Eve by making Christmas cookies, which we gave to our neighbors (though we did keep a few for Santa Claus). Bryson had a lesson in Primary about how the greatest gift we can give is to follow Jesus' example and to try to be like him. We give gifts because the wise men brought them to Christ child, not to see how much cool stuff we can get. I was impressed that he really thought about the "true meaning of Christmas" even if he is obsessing about what Santa Claus will bring him tomorrow). For his "gifts for Jesus," he choose to give cookies to people, help me make dinner, put Daddy's shoes away, and to make his bed. Those gifts of service were pretty small, but I like that, in his own small way, he understood that Christ is the center of Christmas.  And a shout out of thanks to Allie for the new attachment for my mixer!

We went ice skating in the afternoon.  Jarom's family bowed out of Christmas Eve activities, so it was just our family, but it ended up being fine.  Bryson might be a born skier, but he didn't catch on to ice skating nearly as easily. Thankfully, Daddy was there to catch him (almost) every time he fell and there was a bar for him to hold on to so he could walk on the ice. He did end up being able to glide a little bit with Jarom and I on either side of him and walked on the ice a bit too. It did take awhile, however, to give up the notion that "you pick up one foot and lift it up to ice skate like Rabbit on Winnie the Pooh."  We had fun, though Bryson got a few bruises and got cold by the end of our time on the ice.  After that, we watched the movie Brave, ate a wonderful prime rib dinner (a Christmas Eve tradition from Melissa's family), and got ready for Christmas morning.  Bryson even put out the magic reindeer food he got from his preschool teachers to guide Santa to our house.  It must have worked because he had tons of presents come Christmas morning.

(In case you can't make out Bryson's letter to Santa, it says:  Dear Santa, I've been good all year.  I want blocks, Legos, and a ship.  Love Bryson"  So cute!

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Bryson's Holiday Program

Bryson is definitely the most animated of all the holiday singers in his class. So funny!
 

Sledding Fun

We went sledding with Aunt Allie and her kids today.  We had a lot of fun, even if the snow on the hill was pretty sparse.

 

Apartment Christmas Party

The Christmas party for our apartment complex was actually hosted by a Church that's across the street from our buildings.  It was interesting, not exactly the kind of church or apartment Christmas party I'm used to, but I liked that they put Jesus at the center of their celebration.  One of the Church ladies read "Tell the Children" (the story about Santa sharing the symbols of a Christmas) and then Santa came and worshiped the baby Jesus before presuming his duties as the old bearded man who gives you presents.  Bryson also ate a variety of cookies, drank hot chocolate, had his face painted, and made some Christmas ornaments.  So it wasn't bad, just interesting, especially when we were enticed invited to the Church's Christmas Eve service with a $10 gift card from Target.