Kent's first Christmas

It was SO GREAT to visit with Matt's side of the family. We were eager for them to meet Kent and to hold him and love him like we do. My prediction was right: Kent stole everyone's hearts.

Meeting Grandpa Fred.

 Meeting Grandma Pat.

Aunt Kara heard we had arrived, so she came right over.

Kent meets his Uncle Chris and Aunt Corrie!

On Christmas Eve, we started with our traditional delicious brunch! I should try to contribute something next time, because Kara's fudge is so yummy and Corrie's banana bread became my go-to breakfast and snack for the next several days.... and all we do is show up and eat! How rude.

Kara and Corrie helped prepare the potatoes for Pat's famous hash browns. This was one of the rare sunny days.

Kent was especially sleepy that morning. Too cozy in that hat?

Christmas is such a blast for the kids. They get so excited about tearing into the paper to reveal the prize inside. I can't wait to see that same excitement in Kent's face!

Our gift to Kent this year was life and love and food and a road trip to NY. Kent got great gifts from his extended family: toys, bibs, books, medicine, food, diapers, and wipes! Here's how he said thank you:

His gift to us was a wonderful week of GREAT sleep: he slept from about 9 pm to 3 am, ate and then slept until 6 or so, ate again and was ready to hang out with Grandma Pat and Grandpa Fred. Unfortunately, he lost that pattern once we came back home! Boo. We'll keep trying.

After opening presents and eating more brunch for lunch, many of us (all of us?) took much-needed naps, especially with colds all around for the family.

At Tim and Jackie's Christmas Eve dinner party, we enjoyed their company and their incredible array of food. A hit, once again. Grandma Pat snuggled with Kent at the end of this long day.

Fred. Matt and I watched Home Alone on Christmas Day. I hadn't seen it for so long--I forgot how funny it was. Fred got Kent to nap like this:

That evening, Pat, Matt and I played Scrabble while Fred happily took baby duty. I think Scrabble should become a new tradition. It was more fun than I expected--maybe because I won!

Can you guess whose words were whose?

All week, we talked baby, constantly comparing notes and learning from each other's methods. It was very encouraging to us.

That week, Kent gained a half a pound (from 9 to 9.5 lbs) and turned 1 month. He also started cooing, just a wee little bit. He loved the Christmas tree.

He did not like posing for a picture that Mommy wanted. Oh well.

What a fantastic way to end 2014 (aside from never-ending colds). We can't wait to see what 2015 will bring.