A Christmas Story, Part 1

That smile pretty much sums up Tagg's first Christmas! All laughs and joy and even though you can't see it, his shirt says "Best Gift Ever." Ain't that the truth?! It's so amazing to see the holidays through a child's eyes, in spite of the fact that he's too young to get Santa and presents and thought that a silver bow was about the coolest present of the day.

Tagg really had a haul of gifts and we are so grateful for everyone's generosity. The gifts were awesome but knowing that they represent so much love for our little man is really heart warming. Tagg now has a loot of new clothes which he actually needs because he's growing like a weed! He got a very cool WVU outfit from his birth family, and a pair of cute little bath slippers and a Santa hat from Aunt Kris and Uncle Hank. He got a bunch of fun new books that we're starting to read and new toys to play with. Mommy and Daddy got a jogging stroller, bike trailer, a Flip video camera to record all the big moments to come, and a Wii so those gifts will all be fun for him too.

Tagg's birth family sent him a ton of sweet gifts, including a copy of The Night Before Christmas which is one of their family traditions that we'll share with Tagg and a Baby's First Christmas ornament which he promptly stuck in his mouth and started chewing on! We feel so blessed that their family has so much love for him and that we're able to have them as part of our lives. It's very special.

We got to go to Grama's church choir program and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with both families, eating way too much and playing games and oohing and aahing over the baby. Tagg really had fun with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and all of his cousins. He's like a magnet for the kids! Ashley says "baby, baby, baby" over and over and tries to feed him her dolly's bottle. And Hunter and Bailey literally fought over who got to help change him and feed him and ride in the car with him. Pretty cute! Tagg impressed us with his first tooth (bottom left) and his first roll over from back to front. He's very advanced! So advanced apparently that his father decided they needed matching tattoos. Mom was not thrilled, but you have to admit - that's pretty dang cute! And with a little baby oil, all gone!

Kris, Hank, Amy, Bailey and Hunter arrived from California with about a foot of snow to greet them. The kids loved it and Scott built snow forts and spearheaded a snowball fight. We all went sledding, although Tagg had to watch from the sidelines. He probably would have been fine with all the padding in his snowsuit (poor little guy could hardly put his arms down, but at least he was warm!). Scott and Lisa took the fam snowboarding on Sunday and those adventurous, quick-study, first-timers bombed some pretty hard blue runs with us...with only minor injuries to show for it! Scott is a great teacher, for the kids and Amy! He has so much patience and a great sense of humor. If he ever decides to quit selling boats...nah!

Instead of exchanging gifts this year, we all decided to donate to our favorite charities and help those less fortunate this year. It was a really good decision, and helped us put the focus back on the important things...family and friends, sharing and joy.

Overall, it was the perfect first Christmas to spend with Tagg. Everything we always dreamed that it would be. We look forward to many more early Christmas mornings and snowy holidays! We'll have more pictures and video for part 2. Happy holidays everyone! We love you all!