Dear Friends and Family,
I want to inform all who are readers of my blog that this is an edited version of my Christmas letter. It has been formatted to fit your screen. But, seriously, I originally wrote this letter with a different opening paragraph and a different concluding paragraph. There was a hidden joke that I printed behind the actual text of my letter that would have explained why I wrote the open and close the way I did. However, due to the fact that I can't post that special effect on a blog, I made a minor revision. Just in case you talk to someone else in the family or eventually see the original Christmas letter, I didn't want you to be confused. On that note, I removed the opening paragraph altogether and I'll dispense with all pleasantries and get right to it. It may lessen the effect, but I'm too tired to worry about that, really.
Here is the rundown on my little family:
Aiden Jacob, 13 months, is as handsome as ever and only becoming more like his father everyday. He is known to toddle around the house these days and speak in tongues. He and God are the only one’s who know what he is saying, I’m afraid, but maybe it’s better that we don’t know.
He does enjoy church a little more, now that he stays awake for most of it, which is more than I can say for myself. He’s taken to leading the congregation in spontaneous hymns and directing them as if he were Mr. Krueger in front of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He’s a little off key, if you ask me, but it’s a heated topic between us and he’s asked me not to make a point of it.
He has also taken his first step towards potty training! Well, if you consider purposely pooping outside of his diaper potty training. He was lounging about in the bath recently and let loose a flurry of chocolate covered raisins into the warm bath water. A near vomiting Courtney had to drain the tub, clean the toys with boiling water, and soak Aiden in bleach. I call it a step toward potty training and not just an accident because he did it AGAIN a few days later under the obviously not so watchful eye of his father who found him with a rubber duck in one hand and a … well, he got cleaned off and we decided just to throw most of the toys out and get him new ones.
Courtney is playing the full-time babysitter to a child and a husband, both of which are constantly being told to take things out of their mouths. She seems to love what she does though, because she’s always babysitting for someone else. More often than not, I come home and the baby sitting in the high chair, sleeping in the crib, or hugging my leg isn’t mine. I’m never quite sure if the owners of the child actually asked her to watch their kid or if Courtney just saw them somewhere and thought it was cute and just “had to have it”. Each night ends up with just Aiden, and I try not to think about where that other child went that looked mysteriously like our mailman.
She has been teaching Aiden words and pictures lately. She has him saying things like “shoe” and “ball”. He calls her dad “Bobo” because he can’t say “Papa” yet. She can say words and make him point at things too! He still has a ways to go because he still runs to me when she says “messy dirty beast”. Kids can make the silliest mistakes.
As for me, I'm doing well. I get to do what I want and Courtney knows where she stands. I call the shots and everything I do here, I do of my own free will. Not because anyone told me to. She does NOT force me to do things such as take out the trash, bathe daily, and write the freaking Christmas letter. I do those all on my own.
My days are usually packed full. I go to school full time at ITT Tech pursuing a degree in computer networking. I enjoy it a lot, although the classmates leave something to be desired. I guess I kind of asked for it when I decided I wanted to go into IT. I also work at Electronic Data Systems doing over the phone tech support for the Navy and Marine Corps Intranet. Not all that bad for a job while I’m going to school and I get paid to chat with sailors all day, so I can’t really complain. They will be paying for a lot of my certifications while I’m there and that’s a big plus, as most of the certifications are 300 dollars or more just to take the test.
We as a family are happy and progressing nicely. We celebrated our first year of marriage this year and, for those of you who are doing the math and realizing that May 19th hasn’t come around yet, we actually got married civilly on December 2nd of 2006. We’re doing well, thanks to the generosity of each of our parents. Can’t say we’re not being taken care of and we wouldn’t be where we are without their help. I definitely appreciate family more now that I’m out and on my own and know that my family will always be there.
With that, we wish you all a very very Merry Christmas and we love you all. Be safe, love each other, and cherish your friendship with me. I'm an amazing person and well worth knowing.
The Norris Family
I will often put on a movie for 30 minutes to distract Aiden so I can get a few things done quickly. However...this usually results in Phil getting distracted and not getting anything done either. So instead of doing homework the other day, Phil and Aiden watched a movie together. They were both quiet and out of my way for a while (and they look so darn cute). But Phil didn't get his homework done...I guess he took one for the team because the house got clean! Yay! 
