Life in Littleton

It is hard to believe that it has already been close to 2 months since we made our loooong westward drive to Colorado. Here are some rambling thoughts on our time thus far:

We are really loving life here, and feel like we "fit" Colorado life pretty well....we are trying to take advantage of our beautiful, and fun "backyard"- the Rockies. We have been on some really great hikes in the foothills and on Saturday ventured a little further into the Front Range and hiked through a beautiful pine forest- spectacular views.

It has been wonderful to settle into our own place after being on the move for nearly 9 months. And, although we made a wonderful home in the DR, there is something about having your own "stuff" that makes life feel more comfortable and settled. We had a blast unpacking boxes and boxes of nearly unused wedding gifts that had been in storage- and are really enjoying using them now!

Christmas was really special this year to celebrate in our new home, just the 4 of us (although we missed our families greatly). We attended a Christmas Eve service and then came home and had a delicious meal. We started the tradition that on Christmas Eve the whole house (apartment) is candlelit- no lights except for the tree. It was a great way to settle our hearts for the coming of our KING! Christmas morning was fun watching Avery open her gifts. This year she asked for "Chocolate toys." It was fun to see how our family got creative in giving her just what she wanted- chocolate makeup, a dirt pudding kit, and chocolate santas! Lucas liked chewing on all of his new toys too- even though they weren't chocolate like Avery's!

My parents came out to visit a few days after Christmas and stayed through New Years. We had a great time showing them around Denver (and exploring it for ourselves). We went on a beautiful hike, ate lots of great meals (of course), celebrated my mom's birthday, went shopping, El and Pops went to a Broncos game, and had fun hanging out in our apartment.

Avery and Lucas have both adjusted well, and I think they both feel a sense of home here, and know that our long nomadic journey has ended (for now, ha). Avery is finally getting used to wearing layers of clothes, coats, gloves, hats, and boots, after living in shorts, and flip flops for the first 2 years of her life- we are now down to just one minor meltdown when suiting up to leave the house...progress! Avery looooves to play in the snow and go sledding with daddy. They have even gone night sledding after dinner and used Elliott's head lamp for light. We think Avery is going to be very social- she has fake conversations with people on the the phone or on Skype all day long....she also has a few imaginary friends, Wawa and Su-si. She also likes to play church and sing the doxology (thanks to Mia). Her favorite story in the Bible is Noah's ark, and she thinks that Noah's name is "Noah's ark."

Daddy made Avery a cardboard house (it is beautifully decorating our living room right now).

Lukey man is getting so big and turned 8 months this week. He realllly wants to crawl, but can't quite figure out how to get moving. Sometimes when he is on all 4's he just hops his legs forward until the reach his hands and then he tumbles over. He just learned how to put both of his arms up in the air when we say "SO BIG," and wants to do it over and over once you start doing it with him. He is a big eater, and seems to eat more than Avery at some meals. He is a babbler and loves to talk and make loud noises- he says da-da, ba-ba, squeals, screams, and has a husky giggle. Everyone who is around him, even for just a few minutes, always comments on how smiley he is. We are still waiting on some teeth.

Go Lukey, go!

Elliott started class today, so the seminary adventure has officially begun!