Christmas Pictures

Blake and James!

James Winking!

Work Christmas Party

This past weekend was a weekend of parties. Friday night was my work party and Saturday night was our ward party. For our work party this year we went to Iron Gate Grill for dinner, we had a fun time visiting and laughing. We also did white elephant gifts which was a lot of fun!

Christmas Traditions

We have a Christmas tradition of cutting down a real Christmas tree. The tradition started when Joe was a kid and it is one we have decided to carry on. We usually go with some of Joe's brothers and sisters and his parents. This year was our first year with little James. He seemed to stay pretty warm and happy.



Another tradition we have is getting a new ornament each year. This year we picked out a pair of blue booties. We have thrown around the idea of letting each child pick an ornament each year so that when they move away from home they can take them with them. I don't know if we will do that or just do one for the family...either way we are safe with blue booties for this year.


It's been fun starting our own family and making our own traditions. I love talking with people about their Christmas traditions. This year I have had the opportunity to talk with a lot of my patient as I clean their teeth. One patient told me of a tradtion they have that I really liked. One of her family traditions is Santa's Elfs leaving Christmas PJ's under the Christmas tree the day after the tree is set up and decorated. It is the elfs way of saying that they like the tree. We recieved Christmas PJ's on christmas eve in my family growing up which is a tradition that I loved although we only wore the Pj's for a short amount of time. I love the spirit of Christmas and hope this year is a wonderful one for all of you. If you have any traditions you would like to share feel free...I would love to hear about them!

Adoption

Earlier in the year I posted a picture taken with my family and some friends from the Ukraine. Well, turns out that three of those friends are going to be my new brothers and sister. That right...my parents are adopting three kids from Ukraine. They have started the adoption process although it could be another year before Alina, Oleg and Vitali are officially members of the family and home with my parents. Alina and Oleg are brother and sister, Oleg is 8 and Alina is 11, Vitali is 11 also. I am excited to see Alina, Oleg and Vitali again!!

Pumpkin Pictures

We each picked out a pumpkin this year. Joe picked out the huge one and was pretty excited about it. I got a medium one and James got a small baby one. We bought them back in October but didn't get around to taking a picture with them until the day we decided to throw them away in December...funny how that works. Last fall after carving pumpkins we planted the seeds behind the fence in hopes that something would come up this fall. Joe was sure it would work because it did when he was a kid...it didn't work this time around. This year we are waiting to plant the seeds until late spring. The little Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins in front of James did come from our garden!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was at the Palmers this year! We had Thanksgiving dinner at Joe's brothers house in Providence. It was a lot of fun spending time with family. Thanksgiving would just not be the same without family and friends to spend it with. My family went to California for thanksgiving and they had a big dinner the Saturday before they left. We were able to spend the day with them too and enjoyed Pre-thanksgiving dinner.

James First Fall

James fell and hit his head yesterday. He got a pretty good rug burn and goose egg. This was his first big fall...mommy felt pretty bad. He is a tough guy though.

8 Months and Growing Fast

James just hit his 8 month mark yesterday, I can't believe how fast he is growing!

2 Weeks Old


2 Months Old


3 Months Old


4 Months Old

5 Months Old


6 Months Old


7 Months Old


8 Months Old

Our Friends from Ukraine

My family hosted 4 visitors from the Ukraine for 3 weeks. We visited them a lot and got to know all of them: Vlad, Vitali, Alina and Oleg

Our Sweet Boy

Jessica's Home!

My friend Jessica just got home from her mission! It was fun for Holly, Sherry, Jessica, Chelsea and I to all get together again. We were good friends in high school and still are. It's been awhile since we have all gotten together because Chelsea served a mission in Brazil and left a couple months before Jess. I am greatful for the wonderful friends I have!

Hunt

Joe worked long and hard this hunting season but did not get a buck. My brother Brian went hunting for the first time this year, he worked long and hard too and did get a buck!

Pumpkin Walk

This year was James first year at the pumpkin walk. I didn't think he would really have much fun because I thought he was still too little but he really liked it. He kept swinging his little hands up and down and smiling at everyone. He really seemed to enjoy all the different colors and the lights!

Halloween

Halloween this year was a lot of fun. James had no idea what was going on but it was fun for us to dress him up and visit family and friends. Friday night we had a Palmer family party. We did donut on a string, decorated sugar cookies, told scary stories and played games! Saturday night we visited a few close neighbors and our families, we also made homemade pizza and watched a movie and handed out candy. It was a fun night!

Family Pictures

We went up Smithfield Canyon for our family pictures this year. The leaves were beautiful and we ended up getting a few with James smiling.


The classic James look--mouth open and in a daze.


He loves to stick out and play with his tongue.

Update on James

James is 7 months old and growing fast, I am sure his love for eating only adds to that. James loves eating especially carrots and applesauce.

He also loves playing with his cousin Blake...

and his cousin Sadie.

He loves his toys especially the ones mom lets him chew on. He also loves playing with paper because of the noise it makes when he grabs it, his favorite toys are the ones that play music and lights up.

James loves bath time! He has gotten to the point where he does not like to lay back in the tub.

James loves spending time with mom and dad! His favorite time of the day is just after dinner when he has a full stomach and he gets to play with dad before he goes to bed.

James still can't crawl but he is getting up on all fours and has rocked back and forth a couple of times. He is getting good at scooting too.

He falls sometimes...

...but he usually gets back up and tries again and he is pretty happy about it. He is a good natured baby, mom is greatful for that!

James just started eating crackers. His favorite are graham crackers. The other day he was eating one and it got stuck to the back of his hand and he sat in his high chair trying to grab at it with the same hand it was stuck to.

James first tooth just broke through the surface 2 weeks ago and his secound tooth broke through yesterday.

I sure love my little James!

6 month Pictures

22 Years Old

I share a birthday with my twin sister and my mother in law. The Palmer family got together and we had cake and ice cream. James thought the candles were pretty cool.


James was also pretty entertained with the balloons.


I worked most of the day, I love where I work and the people I work with. We all went to lunch at Fire House!
(Dr. Hutchingson, Dr. Butler, Shelly, Jill, Me, Angie, Stephanie, and Sharon)

My Brothers Mission Call

My brother Bryan got his mission call Wednesday night. He is called to serve in the Kiev Ukraine mission. He will speak ukranian and leaves on December 30.