Christmas Fun

We had a great Christmas. We spent it with the Catmulls and had fun eating, playing games, talking, and opening presents.

Iva opening her first Christmas present.

Baby Disney Cinderella doll. She was very intrigued by it.

Christopher got a Furby and Iva loved it. It kept her very entertained.

Jason and Kelly got the boys bouncing horses. They were quite the hit.

Kristin made this adorable monster. How creative and talented is she?

Iva got a new ExerSaucer from Aunt Jamie

And she love its!

There are just so many toys to choose from.

When we got home, Iva wanted to go right back into it.
It might be my new favorite thing.

Jason and Kelly got Iva a ladybug that shines stars on to the ceiling.
After Iva fell asleep watching it, Shawn and I played with it a little bit :)

We had a great Christmas and were glad we got to be able to spend it with family. I was super happy to have Meg there with me. It makes a big difference to have family around. She might disagree :)

Merry Christmas

We are ready for a white Christmas here. Presents are wrapped, stockings are hung, pajamas are on and Iva is asleep. I can hardly wait till morning.

Merry Christmas from the Catmulls.

Sugar Cookies

What would the Holiday season be without sugar cookies? We had a lot of fun making and decorating sugar cookies. I was amazed at how into it Amos and Maggie were. They worked hard on their cookies and their cookies were beautiful. And delicious!

Laura may or may not have been hinting that she wanted a bicycle for Christmas. Can you guess which cookies were hers?

Christmas at Riverwoods

We came down to Utah this last weekend to visit the Hornes. We had an awesome event coordinator, Eric, and had a full schedule.

One night, we ate at Sundance. It was so delicious and I ate way too much, but it was so worth it. After dinner, we went to Riverwoods to meet Santa.

Amos, Audrey and Iva were the only ones brave enough to sit on Santa's lap. (Maggie chickened out.) They were all pretty cute meeting Santa and telling him what they wanted for Christmas. I can hardly wait for Iva to be big enough to believe in Santa.

Here are some pictures from Riverwoods.

Attack of Cousins

Iva is loving her cousins. And they seem to be loving her. But they really love Shawn.

An Eating Machine.

Iva has not maintained her adorable rolls by being a light eater. Before we left for the DR, the doctor told me she needed to start on some baby food (vegetables.) She is chubby and needed more fiber. I won't go into anymore details. She may or may not have had rock solid poop?

I tried a couple of times to feed her, but we ended up with more food on me and Iva than in Iva's mouth. While we were in the DR, Grammie showed us how it was done and Iva has not looked back since. She is an eating machine. (Who thought someone would have to be taught how to feed a baby?) She loves eating and has gotten so good at it.

Om nom nom...

Patiently waiting for the next spoonful.

The death stare... Faster, mommy!

Chomp!

Yum...

All done.

Just kidding... more please.

Give me the food!

Servants of the Lord.

Elder and Sister Shaver with Iva.

I am so thankful for my parents and their willingness to serve a mission. I can only imagine how hard it has been for them to go and leave everything behind. I remember as I prepared to go on my mission that I thought I was leaving a lot behind, but looking at them I realize I hardly left anything behind.

I know this is where Heavenly Father wants them to be. As I followed them around for a week and a half, I loved watching them interact with the people, missionaries, and especially hearing Grampie talking to the missionaries and others on the phone. I, also, have a greater appreciation for all that they are doing. I know it is not easy and I am so proud of them for doing it. I can't imagine being thrown into the DR without any Spanish lessons in the MTC, but somehow they are doing it. I loved watching Grammie speak Spanish and the look of shock on the Dominican's faces when she talked to them. I, also, loved how Grampie was our tour guide and translator several times. (It made me think of times on our trip to China when I was supposed to be translating.)

I tell Iva everyday that we are so blessed because her grandparents are on a mission. I really have felt the blessings of their service. I am not ready for them to come home because I need those blessings. I mentioned extending to Grammie and she just laughed :)

One day as we were walking around the temple, Elder J Devn Cornish of the Seventy came up to us. He looked Iva over and gave his approval. (He is a pediatrician.) And then he looked at me and told me my parents are priceless. I know they are priceless and a servant of the Lord confirmed it to me.

I am so proud to call Grammie and Grampie missionaries.

Last one...

My last post of our trip... Maybe. I might post again once Dad and Laura share all their pictures with us. But for now here are some random pictures off of Grampie's camera.

At the beach in Santo Domingo.

The Horne children outside the temple. They are beautiful.

Iva at the resort.

Cousins. Iva and Ward took a lot of naps together
on Grammie and Grampie's bed. 

Shawn with my baby lizard.

Baby Ward... he is the cutest! And best ever.
He made Iva seem so fussy.

That is all for now :(