December

Billy at the ball, in his dress blues.

We had a busy December.  We celebrated the Marine Corps birthday on the 14th and got to go down to Vegas for the weekend.  My sister was nice enough to meet us there and watched David while Billy and I went to the ball.  The ball was at the Hard Rock Cafe Casino and Hotel.   I think I'm just not meant to gamble in Vegas.  I tried to play on the slot machines but apparently, it was cash only and at that point I only had quarters.

David sleeping on the plane with his "Inkey."

A week later, we flew to Iowa for Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma Franks.  We also got to celebrate his 2nd birthday there.  Poor little guy is so shy he didn't know what to make of all the people there.  He had a huge smile for everyone, but was a little reserved about stuffing the cake in his mouth with all the people watching.

Watching him open presents was hilarious.  He didn't understand why he would open up a present to see a shiny new car or truck (his favorite things in the world) only to have that put aside and have him open up another.  When the present opening was done, though, he went to town on playing with all his toys.  I think this picture shows he was trying to get overwhelmed, but in hindsight, his ear must be bugging him.  Unfortunately, the next day, we had to take him to the ER because he had a fever of 105.  Turns out he had an ear infection and a cold.  The poor guy sounded miserable the next few days.

Christmas morning was spent at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.  Here we are with Grandpa and Grandma Frank, Aunt Nancy, and Uncle Mike.  He had a fun time in Iowa.  I can't believe how good he was.  No purple face this time.

We decided to open our presents a few days before Iowa. Our excuse was that we didn't want to be carting things back and forth on the plane, but I think it was really because we were impatient to see David opening his presents. Practice makes perfect and he did master the art of ripping open his presents.