Season’s Greetings! December 2014
Hello Friends, Steph here. I have been nominated to write this year’s Baxter Family Christmas letter. We have a very strict selection process. This year went something like this: Steph: “You know what time of year it is?” Jason: “I’ve been dreading you remembering since Halloween.” Steph: “That’s right! It’s time to write our Christmas letter!” Jason: “*grumbles to himself*.” Steph: “Ok, you’ve written the last 3, I’ll give it a shot.” Jason requests I edit this exchange to make him sound more handsome and suave, but for the sake of time I will move on to the current events section.
This year marked our second full year in our “new” house. What a labor of love this place has been for us! We love our neighborhood, we love the house, we love the layout, we love the yard but it is a 65 year old house and a third of an acre, so quite a bit of labor is also involved. Outdoor projects included (in no particular order) taking out some bushes, digging in a small pre-formed pond, re-setting and/or installing edging stones around 80% of the yard, various weeding and raking projects, installing a section of fence, and building several garden boxes. When the outdoor weather wasn’t accommodating, we also managed to re-paint the bedroom ceilings, baseboard trim, a bookcase, three end tables, and some fun wall art. This list makes me happy. I guess it was my kind of year.
Again this year, as happened previously in 2012, I drove myself to the hospital and had a baby. This time instead of an unplanned C-section, we decided to schedule a planned one. Delivery was much more enjoyable this time around than it was with William. Christopher Quinn made us a family of four on April 24th, 2014. Our neighbors continued to be wonderful and delivered meals and gifts to our home after his arrival. He has been the easiest, most smiley baby I can imagine. He is sitting up well now and I believe that he is on the verge of both crawling and sprouting some teeth. He must have some male Baxter/Koenig genetics because he LOVES to eat, but for as much as I feed him he still doesn’t get as deliciously roll-y as I’d like. He also still thinks he gets to eat all day and most of the night, but wins me over time and time again with his shoulder snuggles and gummy smile.
Big brother William has grown by leaps and bounds. In anticipation of his new brother’s arrival he graduated to a new room with a twin size big boy bed shortly before his second birthday. He will be turning 3 in March. He has two speeds: running and asleep. The running speed is almost always noisy. He speaks fluent toddler-speak with current subjects including fighting bad guys, talking about power rangers, fighting some bad guys, playing cars, and fighting more bad guys. He loves (and drinks) more chocolate milk than I care to admit. He’s a sweet big brother most of the time and is starting to enjoy making Christopher smile. He knows his alphabet, shapes, colors, numbers, and can tell left from right. He still completely refuses to potty train and will scream bloody-murder if you give him a haircut. He FINALLY lets us brush his teeth without having a meltdown. He had a wonderful time being Spiderman for Halloween (CANDY!!) and is now super excited for Christmas (PRESENTS!!). William keeps us busy, drives us crazy, and sure makes us smile!
Our house was a pretty bustling place this year. We had company throughout the year including my mom and DeBaets Grandparents in February, my mom again in May, my brother and his wife in June, and both of my parents in July and December. My parents retired from full-time milking on the dairy farm mid-year, so I hope they have many more chances to come out and visit. Our home also hosted a family reunion, Thanksgiving dinner, and will host Christmas dinner in a few short weeks. We look forward to any and all visitors interested in spending time in Utah in 2015! Disclaimer: Visitors may be assigned jobs. When my parents visited in July they were fortunate, unlucky, crazy enough to help us get our old house ready to sell. It is SOLD for which we are thankful. During the December visit the project of choice is installing laminate flooring in two downstairs bedrooms. It is so wonderful to have their skilled help!
Due to working full time, being pregnant/having a baby, and some unexpected expenses, we didn’t get back to the Midwest as much as I might like this year. We did manage to make one trip at the end of August to introduce little Christopher to his Midwestern relatives. My parents graciously hosted a picnic to get everyone together while we were there. William very much enjoyed playing with Mike (my parent’s border collie) and now requests that Mike comes to visit whenever Grandma and Grandpa come to Utah. While in WI, Mom was sequestered into a dishtowel sewing project I’d been pining after for quite some time. It must not have been too bad because she’s sewed a couple dozen towels since our visit for friends, family, and herself.
Jason and I are both doing well at work. Jason is still part of his “temporary position” which has now lasted a year and seems to be looking more permanent all the time. My workplace is in its busy season which keeps me busy and helps the days pass quickly. Between work and the boys time is flying by!
Our Christmas surprise for the family this year is that we took new family pictures back in October! I went a little crazy and tried to put all my favorites on our Christmas card. I accidentally printed it a little funny, but there we are nonetheless.
I hope this note finds you all doing well. I hope 2015 is as good to all of us as 2014 was. I only foresee more craziness in the Baxter household as the boys continue to grow. If you’d like to see more pictures and updates from the year check out my website: https://aroundherelately.com
Wishing you Happiness and Health in the New Year!
The Baxters—Jason, Stephanie, William & Christopher
