Christmas Day

Christmas morning waiting on the stairs for the okay to come down and see what Santa brought.

The pictures before we can open the presents.

The presents, oops that's Tanner.

Tanner playing seek and find.

Zach was so excited to open up this present and find almost all the Cars characters. He loves to play with these cars.

Here comes Santa

Zachary got this Santa hat at the Price Family Christmas Party, afterwards he loved to pretend he was Santa.

Sugar Cookie Fun

Zach had his friend Jack over to make some Christmas sugar cookies. They had loads of fun decorating and eating the cookies. I think they were on a sugar rush afterwards.

Bates Ugly Sweater Contest

Matt decided to have an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest with his family this year. It was hilarious to see what everyone came up with.

Christmas Cookies with Grandma

Grandma Arnold taught us how to make some fun new Christmas cookies this year.

The best part of making cookies. Yum!

Then there's the waiting.

Unwrapping and stacking the Andies Mints was Zach's favorite part.

Breakfast with Santa

Zach was excited to see Santa Claus.

Candle Light Christmas

We went to the Candle Light Christmas at "This is the Place" State Park. It was cold, but lots of fun.

Father Christmas as they called him back then.

Christmas Boys

Our Christmas Boys.

Michele's Birthday

Michele's Birthday Cake. Yum Yum!

Tanner's Blessing

Today was Tanner's Baby Blessing. Matt gave a beautiful blessing. It was great to have the family and a few friends share the day with us. Tanner is such a cute baby. He takes pictures so well.

Thanksgiving Fun

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Michele, Dawn and Abish got together this year to learn how to make their own pie crusts. The night before Thanksgiving they gathered their flour and shortening and met at Dawn and Eric's house. They had lots of fun, however their pie crusts didn't quite turn out. "Yuck, it taste like flour!" Luckily the stores still had pie crusts available to purchase and their pies turned out great. It was a night to remember. Even after this experience they are still going to try and make Christmas candies and goodies. If the treats don't turn out, at least they are making memories.

On Thanksgiving the boys ran the Cold Turkey 5K up town. They had a lot of fun with it. Zach even ran in through the finish line with Grandpa Bates and Eric. He loves cheering for Daddy when he run his races.

Calling all turkeys

Zach had so much fun making his Thankgiving Turkeys. Thanks to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse website we found these fun craft ideas.

I'm so glad...

when Daddy comes home!

I'm gonna eat cookies... all day long

Here is Zach and Mommy making peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies for Family Home Evening. Daddy isn't much of a fan of Mom's banana cookies, so we decided to go for something different. I didn't know it would take all night to make these cookies. But when you have a very independent 2 1/2 year old you should count on it. "Big boy, myself, I do it."

Daddy's Little Buddies

Zach loves his little Tanner.

Trick-o-Treat, Happy Halloween

Not sure who was more excited for the Buzz Lightyear costume, Zach or Daddy.
Unfortunately we couldn't find a Woody costume that would fit Tanner.
Zach's favorite saying was, "Trick-o-treat, happy Halloween".

Our Little Tan Man

Maybe all those manure filled diapers are paying off because this kid is growing like a weed.
At Tanner's 2 month doctor appointment he weighed in at a whopping 13lbs, 2oz. He is growing
more and more into Grandpa's nickname, "Tank". If things keep going like they are we'll be signing
him up for football next year.

The Face of Trouble

2 year old For Sale. No offer will be turn down. Diapers included
How is it that something this cute can be so much...trouble.?

Zach and Tanner

Zach and Tanner wrestling on the floor.

The Bates Crew has grown by two more feet

Tanner Lee Bates was born on Sept. 11th. (FINALLY a reason to celebrate this date) at 4.29pm. Tanner weighed in at a hefty 8lbs, 12oz, and was 21" inches long (please be tall, please be tall). You can imagine how odd he looked in the NICU next to children a third of his weight. Tannner was born with a couple of holes in his lungs and Group B Strep, which caused him to stay a couple of weeks longer at Club Med. We feel like we have a timeshare at St. Mark's Hospital, and we're looking to trade for something more exotic. Tanner is home now and doing great.