We had a great Christmas! Reed's brothers Greg and Ben were here from Utah along with the usual gang (Mom and Dad Sloat, Stuart, Gram, Reed, Kason, and me) we were quite a crowd. We got many generous and thoughtful gifts and enjoyed being with family for Christmas. Kason got a lot of new clothes in 6-9 month sizes, which is good because he's growing out of many of his older clothes. He also got some new toys and books and really cool safari swing that plays soothing jungle music. Kason enjoyed sucking on a candy cane (with the wrapper on) and hanging out with his uncles. As part of a Sloat family tradition 
we all (except Kason and Gram) saw a movie in the afternoon. We saw Bedtime Stories, which I was a little wary of because the last few Adam Sandler movies I've seen have been terrible, but it was actually very cute. We also talked to Mom and Dad Bylund, Jeff, Tammy, Eli, Mike, and Becky on Skype. It was fun to see everyone there in Utah. I decided to make beanies for everyone for Christmas, so I have been crocheting like crazy. I ended up making nine beanies total. It was fun and now I'm way fast at it, so if anyone needs a beanie...
It was great weather for Christmas. Reed and Kason I went for a walk in 70 degree weather, it was wonderful. It just made me think of being back in Utah with three more long months of winter ahead and made me grateful to be where I am. Kason loves it to because he likes going for walks.
Still no news on the job front, but we haven't lost hope. Things will pick up again next week with the holidays over and we are bound to hear something.
Kason is doing fantastic! He is now five months old and more and more fun
everyday. He can roll over from his stomach to his back and almost from his back to his stomach, but he doesn't like being on his stomach, so there isn't much motivation to go that way. We are continuing to give him rice cereal every once in a while to get him ready for "solid foods" next month (baby food, to me, does not count as solid). He gobbles it right up, but it seems a little hard on his system so we are only doing it once or twice a week right now. His favorite thing is looking in the mirror. He gets a huge smile when he sees himself and sometimes laughs (his laugh is my new favorite sound). All in all we are happy and doing great.
We have been in Virginia now for over two months and we finally went to a historical site (we really need to work on appritiating and taking advantage of our location). Last week we made our way out to Yorktown, which is the site of the last major battle of the revolutionary war. They told us, that although battles followed, the one at Yorktown really decided the outcome in favor of the United States. It was cool to see and be in the actual battlefield. We had a very good guide who was interesting and well informed. I learned that the French really did a lot to sway the war in our favor. I also learned that towards the end of the battle Cornwallis had some ships waiting 
to escape with his men, which would have left them to fight another day and dragged to war out for who knows how long. That night a bad thunderstorm came up and destroyed and damaged the ships so badly that Cornwallis and his men were forced to surrender. I thought it is such a good example of the hand of the Lord in establishing the freedom of the United States. Kason was so good, it was just like he was listening intently to the guide (until he fell asleep, which was good too). He just loves being outside and walking around! It cost $10 per person to be there and there were seven of us, so we ended up just getting a season pass which only cost $50 and is good for Jamestown also, which means there are 
more historical site trips to come!
