"What we are to be, we are now becoming..."
The boys enjoyed sword fighting and playing dead with grandpa. (oops, close your eyes Corbin!)
They also found thrills in climbing grandpa's giant ladder to help him decorate his big (and REAL) tree!
Who knew ladders could be so much fun?
Presents were opened, candy was eaten, and Polar Express was enjoyed all before nap time.
Later that evening more cousins and family joined us for our annual Larson Christmas Party dinner and Nativity re-enactment. Such beautiful angels:
Darling sheep... yeah, they eat carrots!
Handsome (I mean studly wise men):
And of course a precious little baby Jesus (who also gnaws on carrots, when he's teething).
Apparently it was a long evening for that little baby Jesus and he had it. Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and sheep all took a hand at consoling him, but new teeth hurt and thus he was promptly replaced with a baby replica.
It was another fun-filled day with candy, cookies, cousins, presents, food, rain, and family. Christmas traditions at their best.
Such a goofy bunch.
And yet so serious sometimes...
Merry Christmas!
Such concentration... it's an art, you know.
After naps and the ASU v. BYU basketball game we met up with my parents, Mandy, Dusty, Kimball, Jim, Shelley, Adam, and Sarah at MiMi's Cafe for a yummy meal before the Suns Game. Corbin has become quite the budding photographer and here are the faces he gets when he's behind the camera:
Silly Grandpa..
Silly Grandma and Aunt Shelley (and Papa Jim)...
Since Kimball has become such a huge basketball fan and Seattle doesn't have a winning team Mandy and Dusty invited us all to attend the Suns Game with them Saturday night.
Quinton loved the hat that was way too big.
Corbin and Kimball loved sitting on my dad's lap while my mom fed them Carmel popcorn and licorice. There's my dad's silly faces again... he's a very enthusiastic Suns fan and Corbin wasn't too sure about all the screaming and yelling!
During the 3rd quarter Corbin finally had taken in enough of the sights and sounds to sit on my lap and watch the game. He loved watching the dribbling, passing, and shooting and got the hang of scoring points.
Poor Jeff, who is not a Suns fan, willingly coaxed Quinton to sleep during the second half. I'm not sure he enjoyed the game too much, but the rest of us sure did. Thanks Mandy and Dusty for the fun-filled day! :)
Corbin loved the nativity and the baby Jesus.
And the wise men, because he's ridden on a camel himself!
There are always a lot of people on the temple grounds, but it always feels peaceful somehow.
There's just something about loads of lights, a nativity, and frigid nights that spell out CHRISTMAS!
Such a classic picture! He was a darling Santa "helper" and it was a great start to a fun-filled weekend.
Corbin and Kimball were so excited to see each other again! They ran wild through the backyard kicking and throwing soccer balls and themselves around.
It was pure childhood bliss running around like that:
After our KFC picnic we enjoyed a warm ride on the boat. These 2 cousins were nearly inseparable and had to sit and stand be each other the entire ride. It's so fun to watch your kids enjoy their cousins.
Thanks "Captain Papa" for a fun afternoon!
He isn't so little anymore! Quinton had his 6 month well check last week and here are his stats:
Seems like it was only a few months ago that we did this last year, and I was 3 months pregnant! The year before I took Corbin because he was still unpredictable about nursing... so this was the first year I got to go without a child. It was so nice to hang out with the girls.... although we did miss Mandy, Sarah, Julie and Macy this year. We always begin with lunch at MiMi's Cafe before attending Chandler Center for the Arts for the ballet. Here is this year's group:
Of course my mom knew like 4 or 5 dancers so this year we took a backstage tour after the performance. The little girls got to dance inside of the huge rolling Mother Ginger. The tour director was actually the MAN (a traditional role) who played Mother Ginger, and who is also the husband of the Artistic Director/ Founder of the Ballet Company. 
The set was impressive to look at up close. Here are the girls with the mouse trap from the Fight scene.
Here is Brittney (Jesse's girlfriend) with Kylie and Alyssa in the Snow Sleigh.
And here's my mom (the birthday girl) with 2 of her grand-daughters... pretending to be Snow Queens and Court Fairies.
As always, it was a beautiful performance and a lovely girl's day out. Nothing seems to bring a little Christmas cheer like gathering with a load of good friends, eating yummy soups, salads, breads, and desserts....
...dressing up in our ugliest sweaters....
... and having a little white elephant gift exchange. Jeff & I had a great time without the kids this weekend doing each of those things. Good food, good company, good laughs, the perfect combination for a little holiday cheer!
The other day while Corbin was sitting on the potty waiting for something "exciting" to happen we had the following conversation:
Me: "Corbin I am so proud of you for being such a big boy! I love you." (kissed his cheek)
Corbin: "Why do you love me mom?" (wiping my kiss off)
Me: "Because you are my little boy and you make me happy."
Corbin: "Oh."
Me: "Do you love your mommy?"
Corbin: "Yes."
Me: "Why do you love me?"
Corbin: "Just because mommy!" (kissed my hand and smiled at me)
Yeah... he melted my heart. My little 2-year old understands more about love than many... he loves me "just because".... and that's just fine with me. We don't need reasons to love each other, we just need to love. Don't you just love "potty-talk?" It's always very enlightening.
How did my precious little newborn...
and Lexi...
... and Luke.
Then he tried his hands out at the monkey bars... and hung around for a while.
After playing hard for a good 2 hours we lined the kids up for a snack. 
It's so fun to have friends that you can play with in Nursery on Sunday... and then meet at the park on Monday to play with again.
Even the little guys (Quinton and Lucas) got in on the fun after a nice nap at the park.
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