Christmas!

Holiday Fun Part Three

Dan and I decided that it was finally time to tie the knot - so on December 11th we went to the courthouse with Alma and two of our close friends, Brian and Gretta, and did the deed. It was an absolutely perfect wedding, very casual and laid back. We got married by Judge Judge who did a very lovely job. He said a lot of great things and we really enjoyed him. Afterwards we dropped Alma off with a sitter and went to the Old Post Office in Pullman for a long dinner. We enjoyed good food with good friends and even had wedding cake at the end.

Holiday Fun Part Two

Because we were heading down South for Christmas we celebrated with Dan's family a little early. We went to his parents house for an afternoon and celebrated by eating a lovely pasta dinner and opening gifts from each other. Alma got a snuggly teddy bear from her Godfather Uncle Matt, a giant giraffe from her grandparents, and the promise of a toy box from papa BJ. Alma had the honor of being the only grandchild - except, of course, for Matt's new dog June.

This year when I asked Dan what kind of Christmas goodies he wanted he said Peanut Butter Bon Bons and homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries. I had a lot of fun looking for recipes and even more fun making a big gooey chocolate mess in my kitchen. Dan helped me roll the cherries and dip them in chocolate. The only problem was that the recipe said it made about 50 and we ended up with about 100. Even after giving them out to friends and neighbors we are still trying to eat them all.

Holiday Fun Part One

This year we had a very interesting holiday season. We were very excited about Alma's first Christmas, so we celebrated every chance we could get. One of the highlights of early December included going to Dan's parents house to cut down a Christmas Tree. We were a little nervous about taking Alma out, but we strapped her into the Moby and she had a really great time. She loves being outdoors, so she just looked around at all the pretty things around her and was completely happy the entire time. We had a lot of fun when we got home decorating the tree, the mantle, and putting lights up in front of the house. Another highlight was attending the Historical Society's Victorian Christmas party at the McConnell mansion. It was a very lovely affair, Alma got all dressed up, and was certainly the belle of the ball. A family christmas photo!

I really wanted to put Alma in a Christmas box. She really didn't like it much - but we got at least one great picture of her with a semi-smile.

I really love this picture. It is by far one of my favorite daddy/daughter pictures. This was taken at the mansion.

The belle of Victorian Christmas.

Our tree before we cut it down!

Daddy helping Alma hang up her Idaho Vandals oranament.

Dan worked really hard on the lights! The two bright spots on the house are candy canes - they didn't photograph that well.

Our stockings! A family tradition - my Aunt Karla, a.k.a. Granny Annie, makes them for everybody in my family. I have had mine since I was a little kid, but the other two are much newer.

Bedtime Stories

Every night before bed Alma gets to cuddle with us while we read her a bedtime story. She is just starting to get into story time. Sometimes when we read stories during the day she giggles and laughs all the way through. This is also the time she is most likely to lay on her tummy without crying because she is so entertained. And yes, I am reading her a Thomas the Train book. We have more train themed paraphanalia than anybody I know. . . including a hundred pieces of wooden train track that Alma will probably not touch for at least another year. Sometimes I wonder if the toys are really for Alma or if they are for her Daddy.

Thanksgiving Dinner

This year we spent Thanksgiving dinner with our friends the Jarolimeks. It was an absolutely delicious meal and a whole lot of fun. Alma was happy the entire day, so much so that she never really took a nap. She enjoyed hanging out with her buddy Neil as well, at one point she even did him a favor and chewed on his fist for him. It was a great time! Dan, Brian, and Neil hanging out after a giant meal.

Alma hanging out in her buddy Neil's walker. She LOVED it.

A quick family photo. Notice the giant wet spot on Dan's shoulder - that is the norm around here now that Alma is teething.

Yummy - Brian and his delicious pumpkin pies.

Alma and baby Neil sitting at their first Thanksgiving dinner table. Alma looks awfully happy!

Alma's first solid food

Today was a big day in the Graves-Funke household - Alma ate her first solid food. It was just a bit of rice cereal but we thought we would give it a go. It didn't go extremely well, but her first solid food experience didn't go terribly poorly either. Alma and Daddy with her first box of cereal.

Mixing the cereal nice and runny so Alma can eat it.

Trying to get her to eat it through a bottle after the spoon didn't work out.

All pooped out after a big meal and a good snuggle.