It was Tate's first Christmas and what a wonderful holiday we had!  He shined the whole month of December and was never lacking for love or attention :)

 

The big events started early this year - with the annual Preston holiday party on December 8th.  That was a great time as always - we got to see lots of friends that we don't get to spend enough time with the rest of the year.  Neisha came over and spent the night with Tate and they had a fun time.  She ended up staying the whole next day so Scott and I could go to the Seahawk game which was fun.  We're going again on Saturday to the home playoff game and Grandpapa is coming over to babysit for Tate.

 

Then on December 11th we flew to Denver which was suprisingly eventful.  In the middle of our filght there was a loud noise, the plane shook and we started descending.  A little scary... turns out we blew an engine and had to divert to Salt Lake City for several hours before we could get on another flight to Denver.  But we arrived safely and dropped Tate off with Grossmama and Grosspapa so they could watch him while we went to Mexico for 4 days to cousin Erik's wedding.  We flew to Mexico City on December 13th and had a real adventure trying to drive our rental car to the hotel which was about 2.5 hours south of the city. 4+ hours later we pulled up and it was worth it because it's a beautiful spot.  We had a great dinner at the Hotel Cocoyoc compliments of Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul and I spent the next day relaxing by one of their 5 pools while Scott and the boys played golf.  Then we headed out to the reception spot - La Finca Guadeloupe which was about 30 mins south of Cuatla.  It was another adventure trying to find that place but again we made it.  I ended up going to sleep at 7:30 that night and sleeping until the next morning.  The grounds of the reception area (which is where the whole family stayed) were truly beautiful.  Jesica (the bride) chose a very special spot for the wedding.  The wedding itself was in a church in Cuatla and it was beautiful as well.  The reception lasted.... 11 hours.  Oh yes - it was a long one!  The mariachi band didn't come out until after 1am!  It was a great time and we're glad we we went.  Flying home the next day was another adventure but we made it and I couldn't wait to see Tate because I had been missing him so much!  

 

Tate had a great time with Grossmama and Grosspapa and when we got back we all had a great few days together.  Mom had a holiday party so that was fun and then we shopped and went out to dinner and just relaxed.  Then we went over to Dad and Sallie's which was also very laid back and relaxing.  BIG NEWS - Tate took his very first steps on Friday December 21st!!  It was very exciting.  He hasn't progressed beyond about 5 steps yet but it's a big deal and he's very proud :)  Dad and Sallie's house was decorated with the traditional huge tree for Christmas and we ate lots of great food and had lots of time to visit.  Grandma came in on Sunday and got lots of Tate time too.  Christmas Eve was spent at Grossmama's house with Darren, Dawn, the kids and Dawn's sister, Heather and her family.  It was really nice and Tate was one tired boy afterwards!  Christmas day was very nice as well with a big turkey dinner around 3:00 and then mellow time.   Overall it was a great great trip!

 

It was nice to be home to Seattle and to our "new" house with Tate's new room.  He gets baths in his own bathtub now and likes his room.  He can climb all the way up the stairs by himself (with someone close behind to catch the occasional mis-step) and he's a happy happy boy.  On Saturday the 29th we went down to Aunt Dorianne's house for the Livingston Christmas dinner and celebration which was a really nice family time and Tate got lots of amazing new toys and clothes!  He loves them and has a whole host of new things to play with now.  The cousins, Amy, Matthew and Anna got lots of fun things too and everyone played all day long.  THe next night we hosted the annual Livingston, Cox, Williams holiday dinner at our house.  We had 14 adults and 7 kids here - it was a full house but it was still a really nice time catching up with friends.  Then on New Year's Eve a few friends came over to our house for a mellow New Year's gathering.  Ron, Kim and Henry came over along with Lisa, Troxel, Uncle Ross and Aunt Dorianne.  We had fun playing Rock Band in the basement.  Ron has a real knack for singing. 

 

And now we're caught up.  What a busy time!  but a great time and I'm a little sad it's back to the grind now.  But we look forward to another great year in 2008! 

 

All the best,

Dawn, Scott & Tate