Wednesday, December 19, 2007


Platt Family
Christmas Letter 2007

2007 has been a year of surprises for the Platt Family. To start, Garrett began working full-time at our local hospital as an LPN. As all starting nurses do, he began working the night shift (6pm-6:30am), and was sorely missed by his family. Towards the end of the summer, he switched over to days, which has been a lot more fun for all of us. In his spare time, he is a jungle gym for his two boys, keeps progressing on the basement of our home, gets wood to warm our house in the winter, takes the family camping and four-wheeling, and fiddles around with lots of other projects that keep Jonathan always wanting to “help dad”.

Cynthia continued with the day care this year and is looking forward to her last day on December 20th. It has been a great learning experience for her and has brought a number of good friends into our lives. In November, with the help of her sister Melanie and Aunt MarJean, she began running a cleaning business, to compensate for the day care closing. Cynthia also began working with her two Uncles – Steven and Dennis Cox and their families – in a new business venture where she has learned so much about leadership and pursuing the good in life. The year was full of many visits from her uncles and their wives, trips to Salt Lake for seminars, and a memorable trip to St. George in the summer. With all of these pursuits, her greatest delights are the three men in her life, and she is anxiously awaiting the coming of the next child and wondering how in the world people have more children than they have hands…

Jonathan (who insists to anyone that asks that his name is Jon and he is any age except three) turned three in March and got to celebrate in a fun-filled birthday party where his dad decorated his cake with all his favorite construction equipment, followed by a memorable trip to Hogle Zoo with cousins from both sides of our family. He also had the time of his life this summer when we sadly parted with our little Gabe (Thanks to Grandma Z!!!) and drove to the Oregon Coast where Jonathan got to see the ocean and play in the waves. He had so much fun getting all the attention of his parents and getting to play with Corbin and Hadley at Uncle Shawn and Aunt Carissa’s wedding. Little did he know that his mother and dad learned on that trip that they were expecting another baby (and yes, we heard that – They’ll be 17-18 months apart.). He can talk up a storm and is a big help for his mom and dad.

Gabe started the year with a serious look on his face, watching and learning every second. As time has progressed, a definite personality has emerged. Gabe is a happy, curious, giggly, stubborn, teasing, wrestling little pocket of fun all rolled into one little (just ask our doctor who complains that we have to start feeding him more) darling boy. He still is a bit unsure on his feet, but he doesn’t let that stop him from running and climbing on anything (especially Jonathan and Daddy) and from carefully analyzing what toy to steal from Jonathan to provide the greatest excitement. He loves looking out the window and taking trips outside to the garage with Dad and Jonathan. All this personality is cleverly hidden at the sight of any new face and his relatives have been sadly taken in by the deceptive act. I have been able to steal a few photos that are earlier posted on our blog that show the true Gabe at his best.

Our little Wyoming town continues to be the place for our family and while we truly don’t expect anyone to visit our remote corner of the country, we have been thrilled by visits from all the boys’ grandparents, Uncle Ron, both Uncle Joseph’s, the newlyweds Uncle Shawn and Aunt Carissa, and Uncle Clair and Aunt Carolyn’s visit at the end of their mission, followed by almost all of their children. And speaking of missions, we got to spend Thanksgiving with Cynthia’s family as we said our farewells to the youngest of Cynthia's siblings, Stephanie, who is now serving a mission in Australia. As for our family, our most memorable events not listed above include trips to grandparents’ homes, exciting family reunions this summer, and the wonderful memories that continue to build in our little neck of the woods.

Merry Christmas to all of you! We love this time of year as our attention turns to loved ones, secret services, and the greatest gift the world has ever known. We have been so blessed this year and are thankful to count each of you in those blessings. Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! 2008!

Love, The Garrett and Cynthia Family

Stay Tuned for the Upcoming Arrival of our newest member!!! By the way, for those of you who know of our past two arrivals, we usually go to the hospital without a firm name in mind for the new child. Then, the day after the baby comes, we come up with something that just fits. Our ultrasound suggested that the next child will be a girl – and for a change, we have a name picked out – Jana Lee. Lee is Cynthia’s middle name, and her father’s middle name, and Jana is just a name that we both liked. We’ll be having the baby here. So, for anyone who happens to be in the area around the last week of January (the odds that this will happen are so minimal, I will not try to calculate them…), come and see our latest member of the family!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Finally Adding Some Pictures

First, please note that I added really cute pictures to the blog "Endearing Quirks."

This first picture is from Halloween with the two boys and their costumes. Jonathan was Thomas the Tank Engine and Gabe was Spiderman (with a non-matching binky).



The second picture is from the Thanksgiving we spent at Grandma and Grandpa Z's house. Jonathan is here making a turkey with Grandma Z. It turned out really cute and most of the kids really enjoyed doing it.
Then, we have been rearranging the house and this is Gabe sleeping his first night in his new little bed. He seems to like it ok. Isn't he darling! I'm so glad Garrett thinks of taking pictures!