Christmas 2011

We had a nice Christmas this year. Having a new baby definitely mixed things up a bit - I felt like my Christmas preparation and Christmas spirit got derailed completely for a week! We managed to pull things together, but it was definitely a laid-back holiday for us.

On Christmas Eve we couldn't do our traditional sledding because Boise hasn't seen an ounce of snow yet this winter. Instead we pulled out the game Ticket to Ride and played that with the older two kids. It was Dicie and Dallin's first time playing and it was fun for us to play a more "grown-up" game with them. Dallin killed everyone. In fact, he ended up with the highest score we'd ever seen on that game - like 172 or something. Of course he had a lot of help from Mom, but it was still a great win!

After our game we enjoyed our official Christmas dinner. It turned out great and I've found that I really enjoy preparing (and eating!) nice big meals like that. I tried a new recipe (more of a method) for mashed potatoes and it was life-changing. We ended the evening with a quick reenactment of the nativity which we videotaped but neglected to photograph, but Beckham made a very sweet baby Jesus. He also looked very cute later on in his Christmas jammies:

Christmas day was nice and relaxed, though very under-photographed. We had our usual big breakfast:

Avery ate like 10 strips of bacon! Jameson cried because he wanted to eat the mini box of cereal that he got in his stocking instead of the nice gingerbread waffles his Daddy had prepared.

I love giving gifts and watching them being opened on Christmas morning! This year I was extra excited because I felt that we'd really put some thought into the gifts and I was hoping that they'd be received the way I anticipated. For the most part, I think we succeeded! Dicie received a nice new CD player and has been listening to it a lot. She also got a fashion tracing set that she's had a lot of fun with. Dallin has really been liking his new legos - we've only had duplo-sized legos up to this point, so he's enjoying the smaller size and versatility of "real" legos. He also got a spy watch that he LOVES. One gift for him that I knew would be a love it or hate it type thing was a board game called No Stress Chess. It is a beginner's chess set that teaches kids how chess pieces move and how to strategize. Dallin loves it and has played it a lot, and Dicie, several cousins, Dad, and Grandpa have all enjoyed it too! I would highly recommend it.

I think Mia's favorite gift that has gotten the most use is the movie "Despicable Me." The kids have watched it a kajillion times since Christmas. I'm not sure that it's MY favorite movie, but they've loved it. Jameson got a Hot Wheels Boombox and he and Avery got sets of picture books with the audio CD's to go with them. I think all the kids have enjoyed listening to the books and turning the pages when they hear the chime! It will be fun to collect more books and CD's - I love the Scholastic book orders! Avery's favorite gift was not the cute dinosaur Matryoshka dolls that Santa brought her (Wow, I guessed wrong on that one!), but the new dinosaur bath towel and bubble bath from Mia! She played with her towel for a long time on Christmas morning!

I don't know what Brett's favorite gift was, but I really liked the music I bought him! I purchased two albums online by an LDS artist named Daniel Beck. He is my new very favorite - he is a wonderful tenor! Dicie has also been listening to him a ton on her new CD player. As for me, I think Brett did a great job shopping this year and everything I received was something I wanted and/or needed - a case for my tablet, a floor vac for my kitchen, and the exercise DVD set that I wanted.

It was kind of nice going to church on Christmas (it was on Sunday this year), though it was my first time going to church with 6! Let's just say things are going to be interesting on the Dodds pew. It was nice that Brett was able to join us after the sacrament and he got to wrestle Avery and Jameson while I enjoyed the nice Christmas program!

Overall Christmas was good to us. I definitely felt blessed being surrounded by my family, cuddling with my new baby, enjoying good food and a warm home, and feeling the sweet Christmas spirit.

This was the only other picture taken on Christmas - I was obviously too laid back to do anything more than baby-snuggle!