Hallelujah!

Okay, so this is probably waaaay TMI, but I talked to a doctor yesterday because I keep getting clogged milk ducts (ouch!) and it has been for about 6 weeks. She asked how my baby was sleeping and so I told her the sad miserable truth. That he is up about every hour or two, sometimes every 1/2 hour. She told me he should be sleeping at least 6 hours at night... (that sounds like heaven)... so she told me to let him cry it out and in less than 2 weeks he would be sleeping through the night. We've tried this on and off but not consistently because I always give in because it kills me not to get him when he cries! But last night Dave helped me to stay strong and not go get him and he cried for about 35 long excruciating minutes and then drifted to sleep... And he only woke up once all night! Hallelujah!

Magic...

It's almost here! I have some pretty excited kids. They have been bouncing off the walls the last couple days and have a hard time going to sleep at night. Tonight Kyler said he had a surprise and had taken an extra strand of Christmas lights and strung them up in his window and around he and Porter's room. I was impressed! Of course Lexi wanted some too so we strung another strand in her window and around her room. It's fun to see the Christmas-light-glow shining into the hall from their rooms tonight. Christmas is such a magical time of year. I love it!

Kyler, Lexi and Porter each had cute Chrismtas programs at school last week. All three of them did such a great job and sang their little hearts out. I was so proud of each of them. I'm so thankful for video cameras for times like this, they're priceless!Porter is the one in the Santa hat that he insisted on wearing for about 24 hours straight. At least he was festive!

Here is our Christmas countdown and each day there is an activity to do as a family. I just wanted to share... We've done almost everything!

Put up tree.
Buy each child an ornament.
Write letters to Santa.
Put on Christmas pillowcases.
Read 24 chapters in Luke (1 chapter each day).
Do the 12 Days of Christmas for someone.
Listen to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.
Have a winter picnic.
Cut out snowflakes and hang in windows.
Build a snowman.
Visit Santa.
Music night (sing carols, play bells, etc.)
Watch a Christmas movie.
Drink eggnog or hot chocolate by the fire.
Make Christmas cards for Primary and school teachers.
Paint holiday scene on window.
Dress in red or green today.
Devote whole day to cookie baking.
Roast marshmallows in the fireplace.
Make a holiday craft.
Make Reindeer food (oatmeal + glitter).
Write notes to put in each other's stockings (positive things you like about each other to read on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning).
Have a slumber party under the Christmas tree.
Celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday (Dec 23).
Act out Nativity and read from Luke 2.

There is also a neat 12-Days-of-Christmas Nativity idea here that I would love to do as a family next year.

One more neat tradition I heard about is to buy each child a nice hardcover Christmas book and write a letter to each of them inside the front cover of their book. Wouldn't that be a treasure for them to take with them?

Last night we let the kids open their Christmas jammies a little early because they really really wanted to sleep under the Christmas tree. I can't even tell you how excited they were! All 3 of them ended up back in their beds at some point during the night. But it was fun for them to fall asleep under the lights of the tree. (Can you tell that Kyler is in the bunny-ear stage, he thinks it is hilarious to do in every picture. Tip: 'Ho-ho-ho' is not a good substitute for 'cheese' when you take a picture, ie. Porter).
Big news! My baby got his first tooth a few days ago! Hooray for Brenner!
We made gingerbread cookies last weekend. They were fun to make but tasted awful! I used a recipe from Sandra Lee on the Food Network so I thought they would be good, but yikes! I ended up throwing them away the next day. Good thing the decorating was fun anyway.
Do you want to know an easy recipe that does taste good? Just dip OREOS in melted almond bark and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top. How easy is that? And I think they turned out cute.

We saw Santa at Dave's family Christmas party last weekend. We look forward to his family party every year and always have such a good time with his family. We had a delicious prime-rib dinner cooked by his brother, Brett, and lots of yummy food and treats, did the nativity with all the grandkids dressed up, and then Santa came as a surprise at the end and gave everyone a present. We also had a funny white elephant gift exchange - it was hoot! Wish I had a picture of Dave's mom and her white elephant gift, it was hilarious!

Speaking of Santa... Elder Boyd K. Packer said:

"I want to emphasize that I have no quarrel with that well fed gentleman with the red suit and white whiskers. He was very generous to me when I was a boy, and we are looking forward with great anticipation to his visit at our home. All of those things with reference to Christmas are appropriate and good and all of them are for children, except, I suppose, the mistletoe." (Thanks, Christal for sharing this quote!)

And my sweet friend Heather shared this on her blog. I love it! Good Christmas food-for-thought...

"When kids ask if Santa is real, they are asking for permission to Believe. It is a fun magical time of year and they just want to partake in that fun. Don't we all! So, I've been thinking about it all because I believe the Spirit of Christmas - of goodness, of joy, of love, and kindness all reside in the character of Santa. Which is exactly why I love this quote by President Faust.

President James E. Faust Believes:

'No one can measure the effect of an unselfish act of kindness. By small, simple things great things do indeed come to pass. Of course, gifts given and gifts received make Christmas special. For many children Christmas Eve is a very long night as they look forward with eager anticipation to the gifts Santa brings, which is why children love Santa Claus. Let me share what someone once said about Santa Claus: First of all, he's a joyous individual. People are attracted to joyous individuals as filings are attracted to a magnet. Next, Santa Claus is interested in making others happy. He increases the happy moments in the life of everyone he meets. He loves his work; he gets fun out of his job. He is childlike, simple, humble, sincere, and forgiving. Finally, he is a giver. His philosophy is to give himself away in service. He is a friend to everyone. He smiles. Perhaps you and I could attain greater happiness if we emulated Santa Claus a little more, for his way is the way of the Infant Jesus.' {“The Man Who Would Be Santa” given at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional in 1998.}"

She took a picture of this sign in American Fork. I love it!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So many things I want to blog about... This time of year is so busy but so fun.

First news in our family is that Dave had another surgery on his inner-ear because he's been so crazy dizzy that he can't walk straight, drive, go to work, etc. He's been miserable, poor guy. So the doctor squeezed him in to his surgery schedule on Thursday and re-did the surgery (where he replaced one of his little ear bones with a titanium one) hoping this time it would help the equilibrium problems he's had for 2 1/2 weeks since the first surgery. So.... we'll see! He's still dizzy but hopefully in a few more days it will clear up. We're hoping!

We put up the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. The kids were such huge helpers this year and it was put together in a flash. I would love to take our kids up in the mountains and cut down a real tree next year. I didn't get a picture of the tree after it was all decorated but here's one of Kyler showing Brenner the tree branches. He's a great big brother.
We've had lots of snow the last couple days and my kids have had fun outside. We've also had wonderful neighbors plow our driveway for us while Dave is sort of out-of-commission. I'm so thankful for good friends and neighbors. Kyler was pretty proud of his awesome snow tunnel. He attempted to slide down the side. I'm glad I went out to see it before it... ...caved in!
Lexi's Christmas dance recital was tonight. Her class (pre-ballet) did a dance to the Nutcracker song in pajamas with their teddy bears. It was very cute. She had the pre-show jitters and was a little nervous but she did a great job and had a fun time. The boys were good sports to support their sister. We love you Lexi!
A tradition I heard about last year is wrapping Christmas books. My kids have loved it this year. Each night one of them gets to unwrap a Christmas book and we read it before bed. It's been a lot of fun. There are some really cute Christmas books, we have some new favorites this year.

I love Christmas countdown calendars. Here's one I made last week. My friend Brandi did the vinyl for me (check out her awesome vinyl lettering blog here.) My kids have fun running through the house every morning to switch them all to the next day and their excitement builds as it gets closer and closer to Christmas.

One tradition we started last year is the Elf-on-the-Shelf and he came back this year much to my children's delight. It comes with a book and a cute little elf that switches places each day (as long as I remember to move him). He watches and listens throughout the day to make sure the kids are being good and then he reports back to Santa. They love finding him every morning and on the rare occasion that I forget to move him before I go to bed then we say he must be losing his powers so the kids need to be extra good that day so he can move again the next day. And if they start to whine or fight I tell them the elf is listening and Porter just eats it up. He stops and immediately obeys (usually).

Oh, I can't forget we saw Santa a couple weeks ago. There is nothing like Santa!
A sweet friend took our family pictures for our Christmas card last week. We had a fun photo shoot in our front yard in the snow.
I hope your holidays are full of the Savior's love and that his Spirit is in your homes as you celebrate His birth this Christmas season. All our love to each of you!

Isn't That Just Like Life?

There are so many Christmas things I want to blog about when I get a minute! For now I'll tell about my Christmas pajama hunt real quick.

Lexi's dance class is having a Christmas recital this Saturday. Instead of buying a class costume the teacher decided to have the girls wear a Christmas nightgown because they are doing a dance with teddy-bears. Lexi doesn't own a Christmas nightgown so I got online trying to find one a few weeks ago. Surprisingly there are not a lot of options out there in the area of Christmas nightgowns! After searching lots of different places I found one at Company Kids that was at least green, with little ballerinas on it. I thought that was as good as it was going to get so I ordered it. Over 2 weeks ago.

Since the recital is Saturday I checked the order status yesterday to see if it would be delivered this week. It said expected delivery date was Monday, Dec 15. One mailing day too late! Ahhh! I thought that just figures.

So today I drove Dave to a doctor's appointment in IF (my poor, poor husband is still so super dizzy from his ear surgery 2 weeks ago and can't drive or walk straight) so while I waited for him I went to three different stores searching for soft Christmas material so I could sew her a Christmas nightgown by Saturday. I couldn't find cute material anywhere.

Lexi was searching with me and decided on some pink Hello Kitty material with Christmas trees. Not really Christmas-y with the pink but I figured at least it had the trees. Then in Porter's I found some cute red flannel with white polka-dots. So now we had 2 options.

Then on the way home from IF about an hour ago we stopped at the Post Office and got the mail. Guess what came? The nightgown I ordered! 6 days earlier than expected. I just had to laugh. Isn't that just like life?

Christmas Slippers Anyone?

Dear family and friends,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, but Christmas is tight this year.

I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.
The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the
nifty slippers for yourself....

Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each
one of you.
I got this email from my sister-in-law, Kara, and thought it was too funny not to share!

Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful day visiting both Dave and my parents and my grandma, and eating DELICIOUS food. Dave had inner-ear surgery on Tuesday and the poor thing has been super dizzy since then and has a hard time walking straight. He still can't hear anything with that ear and his tongue is numb so he can't taste anything. Too bad that was right in time for the best meal of the year but he was a good sport. We're hoping it gets better soon and the surgery was worth it.

I had great little helpers with me in the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning. They loved helping make the jello. I also made yams for the first time and tried a recipe for a double-layer pumpkin cheesecake that turned out yummy. I also made Janeal's Green Bean Casserole which everyone loved, and homemade rolls.
Porter's 1/2 birthday was on Thanksgiving. He didn't want any pie and we were too full to make cake. He requested that his candle be put in a dollup of cool whip. So that we did and he was thrilled. Happy 4 and 1/2 Porter!

Our thankful tree had around 80 leaves. I loved seeing what the kids were thankful for. It was fun to see the differences on the first day before they were influenced by each other's answers. Porter's were concrete things like money and food and our house. Lexi was thankful for people: friends, family and grandparents. Kyler was thankful for the gospel, the scriptures and going to church. One day Kyler was mad at me because I told him to write a leaf before he went out to play so he wrote "Nuthing." It made me laugh when I saw it hanging up. All in all our thankful tree was a good experience and has made me want to do something similar with our kids every year around Thanksgiving.
Last week I decided to write a thankful list. I planned on going to 100 but as I wrote things kept popping into mind and I couldn't stop. So I went to 200 and then 250. It was dinnertime so I decided I needed to stop but I could've kept going. It was so uplifting and made me feel so happy. We all have so many simple things that are such blessings! I love this time of year and want to keep my list close all year to remind me how many little things make my life so happy.

I hope all your Thanksgivings were wonderful!

(cute 'thankful for so much' design at top from Homegrown Hospitality)

Here Comes Santa Claus

Santa came to town today! The kids have been so excited for days and have been dreaming up what they could ask him for.

Porter climbed up first. He asked for a Handy Manny tool truck. Santa only heard 'truck' and couldn't figure out what Porter was saying. After several tries he said it sounded like it must be a pretty cool truck.

Kyler asked for a Play Station and was relieved that Santa said that sounded easy enough.

Poor Lexi was frozen. She couldn't say a word or look at Santa. He said she could write him a letter. But when we were walking out to the car she was sure Santa knew she wanted a pink Leapster and felt pretty happy and confident about it.

Brenner couldn't take his eyes off Santa's beard.

This really has got to be the most wonderful time of the year. Nothing compares to the joy of children at Christmastime!

6 Months

6 months ago today. At 4:30am before we left for the hospital. Brenner 1 day old. Wow babies grow a lot in 6 months!

Here is his monthly bear photo. He was loving his shoes.
Fun things about Brenner at 6 months old:

Says "ma ma ma" when he sees me walk by and wants to be picked up. Says "ma ma ma" when anyone else holds him. Babbles "da da da" "ga ga ga" "na na na" "ba ba ba" all day long. Sits up really well. Loves to play with toys. Is really fun to play with and laughs and squeals. When we get close to him he grabs our hair and slobbers on our cheeks. When he's excited he flaps his arms like crazy. Loves when we sing to him or play "Peek-a-boo." Gurgles. Constantly. Drools. Constantly. Still no teeth! The last few nights he's only woken up 3 times. It has been heaven! (Compared to 8-10 times a night.) He is so snuggly and cuddly I just eat him up.

Before his biter biscuit:
After: He loved it, and I was surprised it wasn't too big of a mess.
He loves his jumper. The other day he was jumping and got quiet. I looked over and he was sound asleep but still jumping. It was so funny.