Lily and Griffin's second Christmas has come and gone. It was quite a lot of fun. They were as spoiled as you might imagine. They did pretty well about not messing with the tree too much. They loved to look at the lights and play by it. They didn't get too much into the snow. They're still a bit too little for that.

Speaking of snow, I've had just about enough of it. I shoveled more snow this year than I care remember. And I realize that everyone has to deal with snow plows, but I swear those guys have been out to get me this year. I've had to start shoveling about 4 feet out into the street in the hopes that the destroying angel will pass me by. (Rant over.)

The kids are starting to talk a little bit. They're pretty good at imitating single sylable words. They are pretty good at all the basics. Lily has branched out a little. Her best word is 'shoe'. I don't know why, but she just loves it. She also shooshes people. In fact, she has shooshed me several times. I was talking to her one night before bed and she looked at me and shooshed me. Needless to say, I was shocked. So, I waited a second and then did the same thing to see if she really knew what she was doing... and got shooshed again. Griff and I have been watching lots of Jazz games and having a good time. He loves the Jazz. He's also excited about the new coach and the direction that the Utah basketball program is heading. He is a pro at rolling his arms for Patty Cake and The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round.

I've tried to think of something to write about Melissa and I, but apparently we're terribly boring because I can't think of one thing to write about us. Oh well, maybe next time.

Here are the family socks. Santa came and filled them up.

The contents of Melissa's and my socks on display. A couple of interesting things here stand out. First of all, you've probably noticed that Melissa's sock is about 10% bigger than mine. Interesting, no? Also, compare our oranges. Melissa has a real orange, while mine is made of chocolate. Seems about right.

This was Lily and Griff's favorite part of Christmas. The nativity and the snow globe blew their minds. They played with the globe every chance they got. Their favorite thing was to listen to the snow globe music and dance.

Lily and Grandma B shooting the breeze on Christmas morning.

"Maybe I'm not ready to open any more presents, did you think of that? I'm just sitting here trying to play with this toy. I guess that's just too much to ask. Sheesh."

Lily is enjoying her Christmas chair. We realize that this only adds to her "I'm the ruler of the world" beliefs, but she liked it so much we couldn't help ourselves.

From the looks on their faces you would think that they were about to enter a long, dark tunnel. Lily is excited, but tunnels always make Griff a bit apprehensive.

Griff and Grandpa strike a pose at one of our family parties.

The kids wanted to get their haircut so that they would look their best on Christmas. They both got suckers, which made Griff very happy. Lily was also glad to have a sucker, but she still had a bit of a hard time not crying. Maybe she is like her old man. When I was little I was convinced that haircuts hurt. She cried a bit, but she hung in there.

Here is Lily, hard at work organizing the ads. They love to scatter the ads about for some reason. I don't really feel the same way about it.

This is Griffin's silliest face. The best part is how funny he thinks it is. It only lasts for a brief moment because as soon as he makes the face he can't help but break into a huge cheesy smile. He is a crowd pleaser.

This is Lily attempting to give Griff a hug. I think that he is hugging whatever toy he is holding. They are typically very liberal with their hugs. It's always a little dangerous though, because every time they hug each other there is a pretty significant risk that one of them is going to give the other a nasty head-butt.

This is one of his other silly faces. He strains his jaw and gets this funny little look on his face. He is such a funny little kid.

This is Lily in her Christmas dress. She seems to like it.

Griff has been really busy this year. He's had to split his time between home and the North Pole and it's been pretty difficult on him. There's a lot of pressure on the elves up there this time of year.

Winter Lily.

Lily and Griff usually get some time to themselves to hang out and do what they want. It's their unsupervised social hour that Melissa and I use to get things done around the house. They play pretty well together. Sometimes they make each other mad, which is generally followed by screaming and/or crying. Every so often, however, we hear crying of a different sort. On one such occasion Melissa came into the room to find that Griff and gotten himself stuck in his drum. Unfortunately for him it was funny enough that Melissa wouldn't get him out until she had documented it.

This is a good picture for you to see how big she is getting. This is at G&G Baldwin's. She seems a little upset. It's most likely because Grandma B broke eye contact with her for a second or two. The hierarchy of Lily's favorite people is well established. The first tier is clearly occupied by the Grandmas. Melissa is the sole resident of tier two. The grandpas and I are on a rotation between third, fourth and fifth tier.

Griff has a good time with his uncles. Here he is with UB. This was the only time they were holding still enough to actually take a picture.