Christmas letter

The Daily Bassett

Six Sweet Years of Marriage! Mel and I have been married now for six years, and we have enjoyed every minute of it. It is amazing to think about how fast the time has passed. Unfortunately our stay here in Hershey is coming to an end, but we look forward to starting another adventure at some undetermined place (we’ll let you know where that place is on the 16th of December!) Mel has been busy this year. I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to be the world’s #1 mom day after day. Taking care of three little kiddos is no small task. Luckily she finds some time to keep family and friends updated on our blog, read through the Twilight Saga series (in a week nonetheless!), and hang out with the Webelos on a weekly basis. I finished up my third year of medical school with a bang and have been cruising through my fourth year. I finally decided to go into Family Medicine when I grow up. The variety of patients and problems that come with the job is hard to pass up and the appeal of rural medicine really fascinates me. I have applied to residency programs through the Air Force and will find out soon where we will spend the next three years of our lives. Jaedon’s Passions Jaedon is an energetic four year old full of ambition and passion. He of all the children will miss Hershey the most. He has formed some great friendships, but the thing he will likely miss the most is Hershey Park. The kid loves to ride roller coasters. His favorite ride has been the “bumpy” roller coaster. He also loves to sit and watch the crazy scary roller coasters as they roar by. He even likes to hear the same story every night about how when he grows up he is going to ride the “Great Bear”. Jaedon is also passionate about preschool. He really enjoyed having our good friend Bryn Thompson as a teacher, but unfortunately she had to move on to bigger and better things at the end of the school year. So, he was enrolled in another preschool that is three afternoons a week and he has been loving every minute. He has been learning to write his letters and he manages to write his name pretty good. Oh Livy! The terrible two’s are here in full force, what more can I say. The real problem is it is so hard to discipline this sweet little girl. Mel thinks I am too easy on her, and she is probably right. She is daddy’s girl! You never know what she is going to do next. Driving to Baltimore she decides she doesn’t want to sit any longer. The next thing we know she is standing up in the back of the van, just hanging out while we are driving 75 mph down the freeway. Minutes from taking family photos we wander into the kitchen to find long strands of hair lying on the floor and Livy with a short little pony tail. She decides she is no longer willing to wear a diaper and rips it off, sits on the toilet, and wipes her bum. The only problem was she had a poopy diaper prior to this cascade of events and managed to make a mess of the entire bathroom. And the list can go on and on. Despite her antics, she is a great sister and brings loads of fun to our household. Sweet Little (?) Sofia OK, little may be a bit of an understatement. This girl has been off the charts since birth, which was roughly 5 months ago. She fits in nicely with the rest of our oversized kids. She has been a pleasant addition to our growing family. It has been fun to watch Jaedon and Livy interact with her. They love to make her smile and laugh any way they can. And there is no doubt that she is mom’s little girl. She is instantly aware when Mel enters the room and responds with a smile when she sees and hears her mother. In fact, she is such a momma’s girl that she won’t even bother taking a bottle. We tried for an entire day to wean her, and she was so stubborn that she wouldn’t have anything to do with it. We felt bad at the end of the day that she didn’t have anything to eat that we eventually buckled and went back to breastfeeding. Hopefully, for Mel’s sake, she is willing to wean in the near future. Last Of All, Merry Christmas What more can be said about the following year. It has been full of excitement and change. We are glad to have all of you be a part of it. With the Christmas holiday just around the corner, we are constantly reminded of those things in life we cherish the most. Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude for the gospel, Christ, loving families, and great friends. We love you all and wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Love, Jon, Mel, Jaedon, Olivia, and Sofia