'Tis the Season

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving, and Aaron braved the crowds to get some good Black Friday deals. Although it's not nearly as busy as it is in Idaho. There is only a few more gifts to buy, and we are done with shopping. We have now decorated for Christmas, and have Christmas music playing often. I am ready to start baking. However I still need to get a few more ingredients. But I've had the itch to bake. It will have to wait until Monday, or Tuesday when I have what I need. It's beginning to look (smell, taste, sound and feel) a lot like Christmas!!!

Christmas meme

I got this as an email and saw it on someone's blog. So I thought I'd post it here.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper - especially for the kids. Gift bag for friends or gift exchange.
2. Real tree or Artificial? For the last 8 years - artificial. This year we have a real one! I love it. I love the smell.
3. When do you put up the tree? Day after thanksgiving (we broke tradition and put it up last Saturday)
4. When do you take the tree down? the first day of January - if it will last that long
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but once or twice a year is enough for me.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I can't remember a specific one.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Aaron - or at least hardest to surprise.
8. Easiest person to buy for? the kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? A few - a glass one, a clay one - from El Salvador, and ornament from Peru.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? PJs from my mom. They were huge and fluffy and had a zipper. I felt like I was wearing footed pajamas - and I was 16 or 17!
11. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love "Miracle on 34th St." and "It's a Wonderful Life," oh, and "A Christmas Story"
12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I find a good deal. But mostly on Black Friday
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe, I don't remember
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? too many favorites, but mostly the candy and ham for dinner
15. Lights on the tree? usually white, sometimes colored
16. Favorite Christmas song? too many favorites again, but I really like "O Holy Night", "Silent Night" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas".
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We rotate every 3 years - stay home, my parents' home, his parents' home. This year we stay home - mostly because Aaron is working on Christmas this year.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Growing up we had an angel. Now we have a star.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning - although it was Aaron's family's tradition to open one gift Christmas Eve- usually the PJ's Mom made them.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds, lines, cranky people shopping!
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Our tree ornaments are eclectic. Most of them are either gifts from others or souvenirs from vacations.
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I really like the stuffing.
24. What do you want for Christmas? Nothing in particular. Just to enjoy the holidays with my family.

Me in images

I saw this on Natalie's blog. Here are rules: For each question, look up the answer in a Google Image search. Then choose your favorite image from ONLY THE FIRST page of results.

My Age:

A Place I'd Like to Travel:

My Favorite Animal :



My Favorite Food:



My Favorite Color:

Town Where I Was Born:


My First Name:

My Bad Habits:



My First (Post College) Job:

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up:

Happy Thanksgiving

It's getting late and I haven't posted yet. Today I am reminded of my many blessings. I can't list them all, but mostly I am thankful for my Savior. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for my family and that we are sealed together for eternity. I am thankful for the opportunity to live in America, and to enjoy so many freedoms.
I am also thankful for many friends, a home to live in and food to eat. I am grateful for my husband's job - that it provides for us, and that he enjoys it.
We celebrated Thanksgiving today with Nathan and Amy and Evelyn. It was great to be with family and enjoy a relaxing day. The kids were very excited the whole day, and had a little too much energy. Even after playing football with Aaron. We played lots of games and watched a little TV. Now we are getting ready for bed, because Aaron has a long day ahead of him. He has to get up early - to go shopping. He does have to work, but not until the evening. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

giggles

Last night as I was reading a book to the boys at bedtime, Aaron was changing Amy's diaper and getting her pajamas on her. Aaron called to me and said "listen!" He was playing peek-a-boo with her and she was giggling with delight. It was her first laugh. So sweet. We have yet to be able to reproduce it. Hopefully soon I'll get it on video. Then I can share it with everyone.

a few words

I have a longer post coming. It's just not finished yet - so here's a picture just for fun.

mama's girl

Amy had her first bottle today. She wanted nothing of it! I guess she's more like her brothers than I thought. I went to David's parent-teacher conference. Ms. W* and I had a good talk. Aaron stayed home with the kids. I then went visiting teaching. It was kind of odd not to have a child with me for almost 2 hours. By the time I got back (right on schedule to feed Amy) Amy was crying and Aaron was getting a bottle ready. I fed her on one side and burped her. Since the bottle was ready Aaron tried it - nope, she didn't want it. She gagged. And it was expressed milk, not formula. I tried feeding her the bottle - nope. I saved it for a later feeding - she didn't want it then either. So 3 oz of precious breast milk down the drain - oh well.

As I mentioned I met with David's teacher this morning. It went very well. He is at or above where he is supposed to be. I am also pleased to hear that he is getting along socially as well. He loves to learn, and has a "deep sense of justice" as Ms. W* put it. He makes sure everyone is nice and no one is left out. He does talk a little too much, but she said she is able to handle it. So it is as I guessed it. He is very good (obedient) at school and then lets his guard down when he comes home. Then he is tired, and grouchy and less willing to obey.

Another confession - I listened to Christmas music today! By choice.

confession

I have always been a "don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving" girl. So I protested when Aaron wanted to put up the tree over the weekend. This year we decided to get a real tree. We've had an artificial tree for the last 8 years. Since we will be home this year (and living in a place that allows live trees) we decided to go to a tree farm and cut one ourselves. Then we heard about getting a permit to cut our own in the forest. It only cost $10!!! Obviously we would also spend money on the gas to get there. I knew Aaron wouldn't have another time to go get the tree, so yesterday he took David up into the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree.

David was excited to put on his snow boots - which are still a little big on him. he thought for sure it would be snowing even though Aaron and I had looked at weather reports and there was only a small chance of snow. Much to his delight it was indeed snowing. As Aaron and David got further from the van the snow got deeper and soon they were trudging in a few inches of snow. David threw a snowball the first chance he got. Aaron snapped this picture, but a lovely snowflake is right in front of his face.


So Aaron cut the tree down an hauled it 3/4 mile up the hill back to the van. Luckily it fit.
He still had to cut a little off the top and bottom to get it inside the house. But that gave us enough boughs to make a wreath too (more on that later).

So now we have a tree with a star on it. We'll trim it later. But the tree is up.

We also wrote letters to Uncle Mike yesterday:


And I got in a little college football. Although I'd rather not discuss the BYU game. We still have a bowl game. And the basketball team is undefeated so far...

not in the mood to blog

I'm not feeling like blogging - BYU lost. 'nuff said.
But here's more pictures of Amy

In the morning before she woke up at 8:00am !!!

More tummy time

new things and old things

Amy is doing a few new things. She holds her head up very well, and will bring her head up when I lift her with her hands - you know the thing the pediatrician does at the check-up. I really could use medically correct terminology, but mot many of you would care to read it. But anyway... She is also turning her head toward sounds. Not that she knows her name, but if she is looking the other way and we call her name she'll turn her head toward us.

Amy is still sleeping pretty well. 6 of the last 9 nights she has slept through the night, and the other 3 nights she woke at 4:45 am to eat. Then she woke again at 7 or 8.

This last week I have been helping out with the used book sale at David's school. Tuesday I helped in the afternoon. Timothy played at a friends house, and I carried around Amy. When school got out David opted to sit in the library (where the book sale was) rather than play on the playground. I carried Amy around in the wrap until she woke up. Then I fed her and finished up with the booksale. We were done at 4:00 and I let them count the money while I headed home with the kids. Gemille was watching Timothy and brought him to the school since she was the one picking up the cash box.

Wednesday I helped in the morning. I brought Timothy with me this time and he did very well. But after 3 hours, he was tired and wanted to go home. I didn't blame him. I was ready to go too. Amy slept most of that time. We got there at 8:30 and she slept until 10:40. Then I fed her and we were done at 11:30. We stopped by the lunch room to say hi to David and went home.

I enjoyed working at the book sale, I even finished my collection of Harry Potter books. I now have all 7 (hardback) and paid less than $4 each, well except for the 7th book, Aaron gave that to me and paid the Amazon price for it when it came out. I think I might start reading them again - it was #1 that i was missing. I know I am a dork. David's choice of books- Captain Underpants (why????) and Chess for juniors. Quite the diversity there. I also got Timothy a Dinosaur mask cut out book. I also added to our collection of chapter books: Magic Tree House, Ramona Quimby, and Junie B.

misplaced

I wish I was better at keeping an organized home. I have way more clutter than I (or Aaron) like. There are a few things that I am good at keeping track of. There are a few places that become a dumping ground for stuff when we get home. Aaron has so many things that he has to "dump" when he gets home. Bag, jacket, pager, keys, pen drive, badge, palm pilot, stethoscope etc. Well, the other evening when he came home the bed became the dumping place. I had just put Amy down for the night when he was looking for his pen drive. He needed to work on a document for a presentation in the morning. So he got his trusty flashlight and began searching the room for his pen drive. Maybe he moved it... so we began searching everywhere we could think of. We were both a little frustrated, and he was about to head over to the hospital to see if he left it there. He asked me to pick up Amy and bring her in the hall so he could search with the light on. I did so and brought her into the dark hallway while he searched. I switched arms so I could hold her more comfortably and guess what I found - his pen drive. Apparently it was on the bed. When I put Amy down, I had put her blanket on the bed, then swaddled her (and the pen drive by mistake) and put her in the cradle.

We were glad it was found, but I wish we weren't always trying to find things in the house. I have a place for most everything, but it just doesn't get to the right place all the time.

David's lunch bag got lost this week as well. It got lost somewhere between after lunch and the classroom. After the kids are done with their lunch they put their lunch bags in a bucket before they go out to recess; that bucket is later taken back to the classroom. David had done that, but somehow it didn't make it back to the classroom. My guess is it fell out of the bucket and someone picked it up and put it in the wrong bucket. Luckily he had his name on it and someone found it and it was returned to us - yay!

Farewell Mike

Mike with our little niece Hali
(I hope you don't mind if a steal your picture Becca)

As I type, my brother Mike is in the MTC. I can picture him in one of the big conference rooms, getting his orientation. I used to work in 1M, so I know how it works - or at least how it worked 10 years ago. He worked in the cafeteria at the MTC, so he'll be able to see some friends that still work there. I am still in awe of my little brother who made the decision to serve a mission. He will be a great missionary. I'm going to miss our phone conversations, and seeing him when I visit my parents. But I know this will be a great experience for him. I love you Mike - see you in 2 years!

Learning the ropes

Taken at David's class get together
David is in the gray hoodie and blue baseball cap

Timothy still has a long way to go before he's ready for kindergarten. I mentioned in an earlier post that he doesn't understand the rules of fair play. Here's an example. He will try to play with the older kids, and cries when he doesn't win. He also randomly body checks people. Random people he doesn't know while they are walking the opposite direction. Usually it's an older kid, who just looks at him like he's crazy and ignores it because he's 4. However next year - it won't be tolerated, by anyone. Maybe he is just trying to practice for when he plays football and celebrates that someone made a touchdown. But until then I have to figure out how to curb this behavior.

funny scriptures

Along the same lines as yesterday, I thought of another funny thing that happened during scripture time. A few days ago we were reading in Alma chapter 54. This is Moroni's epistle to Ammoron. Timothy was repeating verse 8 after me. It reads: "But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may expect you will do it again." I thought Timothy was a little confused when he said the phrase: "even so I may expect" twice instead of finishing the veres. But look at what he was supposed to repeat :"you will do it again." He thought he was supposed to say it again instead of repeat "you will do it again." We all had a laugh over that one.

My kids are silly, but sometimes insightful

We read scriptures every night as a family sometime between after dinner and before bedtime. (truthfully sometimes we forget, or get home really late and the kids are asleep). David will read a few verses and Timothy will repeat a verse or two. We are reading in Alma right now - often called the "war chapters". The Nephites and the Lamanites are often fighting. Captain Moroni is is the military leader. However the kids often mispronounce his name and call him "Ramoni".

A while ago Timothy out of the blue asked, "Why do we talk about fighting in the Book of Mormon?" What a good question. I tried to explain why the Lamanites didn't like the Nephites, and why they started wars with them. I also told him how reading about it helps us fight the battles in our lives today - only in simpler terms. I love little teaching moments like that.

I love how David gets excited about little things, like having PE at school. Today they are going on a field trip. To see this author!!! He is one of my favorite. I hope he enjoys it. He was sad that they weren't going until after lunch. He wanted to eat lunch on his field trip.

There was more I was going to write, but now I've forgotten. I might have to post again later, if I remember what I was going to say.

Primary Program

Today was the annual Primary Program at church today. The children sing songs and talk about what they have learned this year. I love that the kids get to write their own parts. Each class has a question that the teacher asks and the kids give their answer. Then they practice the answer they gave. David's question was "What have you learned from the scriptures?" His answer: "I love the story of Ammon. He served others. I can be like Ammon. I can be an example to my friends."
Timothy's question:" What do you know about the temple?" His answer: "that's where we get married. It is Jesus's house."

The program went pretty well. Timothy needed some convincing to go up there. But once the song started he decided to go up to the stand. However then he came back down to sit with us. He wouldn't go back. I convinced him to go back up for the next song if he would stay up there with his teacher. He said , "OK", but then came back down again. I told him he couldn't go up there anymore. He was fine with that. However when it was his class's turn to talk in the microphone, he said he wanted to go and stay up there. He did his part and stayed up there - finally.

Amidst all this were the other antics of my children. For the first 2 songs David decided to walk from his seat all the around the piano back in front of the podium and back to the side where everyone was standing to sing. I gave him a disapproving look and he didn't do it a third time. At least he wasn't pushing the younger kids out of the way like he was doing in practice yesterday. Timothy decided that instead of singing the songs he would do an interpretive dance number. I was kind of glad he wasn't there for all of the songs. At the end they sing two songs in a row. Timothy did great for the first one other than using his hands to conduct the song. However, in between the two songs the girl next to him was patting him on the head and he was bumping into the boy next to him. And during the last song his hand was no longer conducting the song but rather in his pants. At least they read their parts well.

The primary program is always entertaining, that's for sure.

And now for more cute pictures of Amy.

David took this one

catching up once again

With all the of the memes and tags, and pictures of Amy, I haven't journaled what we've been up to this past week. Friday Aaron was post call, and had gotten 5 hours of sleep so instead of coming home and sleeping, he stayed up went to an Allergy Conference in town. He didn't stay long and ended up coming home and played with Timothy, then picked up David and took the boys on a few errands. That evening he crashed at bed time. Saturday was wet and cold, Aaron went to his conference and the boys and I cleaned and played and listened to theBYU game - they won again!! When Aaron came back we had dinner and I left for the adult session of Stake Conference.

Sunday we arrived at our building early to get seats in the chapel. We were greeted by about 40 protesters with signs. They didn't bother us, and we enjoyed our conference session. The topic was about living in these uncertain times. Each person had a different aspect of that topic
- following Christ in these uncertain times, preparing spiritually.... , preparing temporally... etc. The rest of the day was very relaxing.

Monday was a nice day, we had a break in the rain. The boys had fun playing at the playground after school. It was Aaron's last call night forNICU . It was just a fun night for me and the boys. Lots of games, popcorn and silly stuff. Timothy stuck a popcorn kernel up his nose, but fortunately was able to blow it out without a hassle. Oh, and Amy slept through the night!

Tuesday was Veteran's Day. David had the day off. It was raining so I was trying to think of something fun to do indoors. Then Timothy got sick. So we didn't go anywhere. Aaron was post call and got home around 11:00 am. He ate lunch with us and then took a nap while the boys watched a movie. Timothy just laid on the couch with a fever. He fell asleep right before dinner. He woke up just in time to get ready for bed. After the kids were in bed we had Nathan and Amy (and Evelyn over) and we playedBlokus. Amy slept through the night again!

Wednesday Timothy was still a little sick. After refusing breakfast, he threw up and wanted to know why it was yellow :( . So much for the shopping I needed to do. After we dropped off David, Timothy laid on the couch and watched movies. Finally around 11:00 am he said, "I'm hungry." Yeah - that's a good sign. It was back to normal by the time we picked up David. It was raining again so we didn't stay and play. Aaron had planned to go out to dinner with theNICU residents that night, but he ended up staying late signing out to the new senior. We went to bed early that night. Amy slept through the night again!

Thursday was a very busy day. I spent most of the morning cleaning the house. After dropping off David we made a trip to the store. Came home in time for my visiting teachers to come over. then more cleaning and making lunch. I headed over to David's school early to help with the book sale set up. We couldn't do much since there were still students in the library. So we mostly sorted newly donated books. Timothy was actually helping a lot. Price tag stickers had to be taken off and he diligently picked them off. When school let out David played on the playground, but Timothy opted to stay in the library to help. I put Amy in the wrap as I helped. At some point Timothy knocked over the dolly and it crashed very loudly. Eventually Amy was hungry and I fed her while trying to keep Timothy from climbing over everything. David was done playing outside and came into the library to help. Then the boys wanted to go home. And I still had things I needed to do at home. It was 4:00. I had 4 hours before I had ladies coming over for our cooking group - Gourmet Girls. Plenty of time - if I didn't have to stop quarrels, make dinner, nurse a baby, get her to sleep, and keep her asleep. I put a movie on and fed the kids grilled cheese sandwiches. So when Aaron finally got home he jumped in and helped even though he hadn't had dinner yet. Amy was getting a little fussy, and I was trying to get my appetizer ready, and Aaron was trying to get the boys ready for bed. It was a little hectic.

However, at 8:00, the boys were in bed, my bruschetta was in the oven and everything was ready to go. We had a good evening. We got to chat and eat. Amy was a little fussy and Aaron and I tag teamed until he got her to sleep. I was feeding her as we wrapped up and my guests started to leave. Amy slept throught night again!

Friday was a pretty laid back day. The rain took a break and Timothy, Amy and I ran some errands after dropping off David. I was busy on the computer, budgeting and doing Christmas shopping among other things. We got to stay after school and play, even though it was a little chilly. I thought the boys had burned a lot of energy on the playground, but they were having a little trouble listening and getting along. They went to bed early. We listened to the BYU basketball game - wich they won. Amy didn't sleep through the night, but I didn't feed her until 4:45 am.

Today I made waffles for breakfast. And then cookies bars. Aaron had a workshop related to the project he is working on this month, so he left around 8:00 am - he only found out about it on Thursday. At 10:00 The boys had a practice for the Primary program at church tomorrow. We went straight to a park for a class get together for David's 1st grade class. It had started at 10:30 and we got there around 11:10. The kids had a lot of fun, and I got to meet lot of the parents, and associated them with the kids in David's class. Everyone liked the cookie bars - everything else was store bought. We got back around 12:45 pm. Aaron got home soon after we did. He ate some lunch and then took the boys to the Science Museum. I was worn out from this morning, so I opted to stay home. Hopefully I'll get some cleaning and dinner done before they get back. So far all I've done is feed Amy, blog and listen to BYU win yet again.

Tagged again!

I am... Emma, mother of three, wife of a dedicated and hard working man.
I think... my kids are great
I know... I'm not perfect
I want... healthy kids
I wish... I could be more patient
I had... bruschetta for snack
I hate... unsolicited advice
I miss... my family
I fear... losing people I love
I feel ... worn out
I hear... Aaron making dinner
I smell ... garlic and basil
I crave... oranges
I search... for good deals
I wonder... when we will ever be homeowners
I regret... when I am quick to anger
I love... when my boys play nicely together
I care... about others
I always...procrastinate
I am not...a writer
I believe... in Jesus Christ
I could... be better at visiting teaching
I dance... less than I want to
I sing... often
I don't always...use a tissue
I write...newsletters
I win... baking contests -sometimes
I lose...on purpose sometimes
I never... swear
I never listen to...rap - at least not on purpose.
I can usually be found...home, or at Target.
I am scared of...
I need... to exercise
I am happy about... life
I tag... everyone

My List

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a Meteor Shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a Mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a Lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

42 out of 99... What about you?

Thanks Lyn!

Tummy Time

During tummy time the other day Amy was holding her head up so well. She even smiled. So I grabbed the camera.



I love this one. She's looking right at the camera, and David is giving her a hug. He can't leave her alone - ever. He tries to play with her even when she is sleeping.

Easy who's who.

I was looking at old pictures of Timothy and found one that is about the same age as Amy is now. So duplicated it with Amy. I thought they would be pretty similar, but I was wrong. Guess who is who. I think it's pretty obvious.





I have a bunch of tag posts coming. I hope you don't get tired of me talking about myself.

A Meme from a friend

Fun from FoxyJ!

*FOODOLOGY*

What is your salad dressing of choice? Roasted red pepper Italian

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Ottavio's in Provo. Pappasitto's - in TX.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? strawberries, and chocolate of course.

What are your pizza toppings of choice? olives, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil.

What do you like to put on your toast? butter and homemade strawberry jam



*TECHNOLOGY*

What is your wallpaper on your computer? a picture of David drew

How many televisions are in your house? one

What color cell phone do you have? blue



*BIOLOGY*

Are you right-handed or left-handed? right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? wisdom teeth, moles.

What is the last heavy item you lifted? David

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? no



*SILLYOLOGY*

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? no

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? wouldn't change it

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? no



*DUMBOLOGY*

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? two

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Got pulled over senior year of high school - a judge threw out the ticket, no fine, no record.

What do you want to be when you grow up? a grandma

Last person you talked to? David

Last person you hugged? Timothy



*FAVORITOLOGY*

Season? Fall

Holiday? Christmas, Independence Day

Day of the week? Friday

Month? April



*CURRENTOLOGY*

Missing someone? friends and family, especially my brother who leaves for his mission next week.

Mood? content

Listening to? Mulan - kids watching the movie, and Amy making noises

Watching? Mulan - I guess

Worrying about? what to make for dinner



*RANDOMOLOGY*

First place you went this morning? I haven't gone anywhere today - Timothy is sick.

What can you not wait to do? Host Gourmet Girls

What's the last movie you saw? Yesterday we watched Winnie the Pooh Seasons of Giving.

Do you smile often? not often enough

Kindergarten

I just registered Timothy for Kindergarten. Yes school started less than 3 months ago and I'm already registered for next year. I can't believe Timothy is old enough to go to school. He will be one of the youngest in his class. But since he is already close to reading I'm not worried about it. I do think he needs to have more interactions with other kids though. He plays with the kids at the playground when we pick up David from school, and he cab hold his own. However I worry that he is a little too aggressive, and doesn't quite understand the rules of fair play. It goes by so fast. Here are some pictures of my baby growing up.

Newborn

2 months old (about the same age as Amy is now)

18 months old

3 years old

David has been tagged

David was tagged by his cousin, and Timothy wanted to play as well.

Name/meaning: David Brent. David means "beloved". He was named after a friend of Aaron's from his mission. Brent is Aaron's Dad's name.

Age: 6 1/2

Favorite Activity (ies): David loves to ride bikes with his Dad Playing with his friends. Making cookies with Mom. Playing with baby Amy.

Favorite Food: Candy and desserts. Fish sticks.

Least favorite food: tomatoes

Favorite music: Music from school - "This Land is Your Land"

Favorite toys: Legos

Favorite books: Magic Tree House series and Magic School Bus series.

What makes him happy: When people are nice to him, and when Amy smiles at him.

What makes him sad: Getting in trouble. People not being nice to him.

Timothy

Name/meaning: Timothy James. Timothy means" To honor God." Timothy was just a name we liked. Aaron and I both have ancestors with the name James.

Age: 4 1/2

Favorite Activity (ies): Activity books,

Favorite Food: Mussels (he's only had them twice, but for some reason that's what he said)

Least favorite food: banana candy (Laffy Taffy)

Favorite music: the songs from Mulan.

Favorite toys: the loader (a big toy construction truck)

Favorite books: All of them (that's pretty much true)

What makes him happy: Going somewhere. Amy smiling at him (he likes to copy David).

What makes him sad: losing a game, sitting in time out.

We tag any kid who wants to answer questions. David got bored and refused to answer some of them. :) I had to answer them for him.

Online Modbe Party

My fabulous SIL Beverly is a Modbe consultant. I am hosting an online party for her. You can check out her website here. There are sizing charts on the website to help you find the right size, and there is a 60 day return policy if it doesn't fit. Right now there is a 30% off coupon code (MSHM69DF). If you order with my party number (#859) I get credit for the party, and if you order 3 or more items (using the party code) you get 10% off (plus you can use the 30% off coupon code as well). Those of you who live near each other can save on shipping by ordering together and sending it to the same address. I am going to put my order in on November 14th, so order by then. Please contact me (by commenting or email) if you have any questions. Happy Shopping!

Just because

Aaron went to a meeting last night. It was a day care information night for parents. He was there to be put on the spot to answer parent's medical questions. It was a good experience for him. However it meant that he had to drive to work (and pay for it and walk too far), and go straight from there. He didn't get home until about 9:00. He brought home a treat for us to share. He stopped by Trader Joe's and got some Sparkling Pomegranate Juice, some Brie and flat bread crackers, and these lovely irises that are starting to bloom.

Just Because.

Happy Thoughts

• The Election is over! Some outcomes were good, others not so much...
  
• We bought gas for $2.39 a gallon over the weekend
• I think Amy will have blue eyes, to counter her brothers' brown eyes.
• Fall is here and I love the cold weather (don't quote me on that when February comes, and I'm complaining).
  

Budding Artist

David has always loved to draw. Ever since Grammy showed him how to paint a smiley face he has been creating art. He loves the art lessons at school. He will come home and show us what they drew. Yesterday he drew this:
Ms. D* (the art teacher) gave them step by step instructions. David did it from memory at home. He even added the sunset - it must have been in the picture she showed them, because the instructions were just for the orca.

2 months old

Amy is now 2 months old (yesterday). I don't have any growth stats, because I don't have a check-up until January. But she is bigger than 12 lbs 8 oz, and maybe longer than 22.5 inches.

New things she is doing:

• She has found her hands. She will hold her hands together and try to put them in her mouth. She will suck on whatever gets in her mouth. It doesn't satisfy her though.
• She will smile to get a response. She still smiles when we smile at her, but now she will smile first.
• Her evening time fussiness is gone
• She is going to bed earlier and waking once to eat.

Things she loves:

• Her brothers when they smile at her
• Her parents when they smile at her
• being held
  
• the binky- hooray!
• babbling
• sleeping
• the TV - uh oh
• the camera
  
• baths
• diaper changes
  

Things she hates:

• getting out of the bathtub
• getting dressed
• being alone
• bubbles in her tummy

She is a joy and gets attention where ever she goes. It's hard not to get compliments with all that hair!

I voted,,,,

....did you???

Welcome November

We had a long day yesterday. But it was fun. The morning was filled with mostly cleaning and getting ready for the day. Then we headed out to IKEA. The kids played while we shopped, and then we ate lunch. The kids usually end up getting a free meal when we scan theirs kids club cards. So I just plan on buying a meal for myself. Since Aaron was with us we split one. Since we were halfway to Valerie and Christian's place we visited them for an hour or so. In all the business I was grateful for that hour. We could sit and relax, but it was also the only time I got to watch football yesterday.

After the kids got their fill of candy and playing with Maddie (their pug) we made the trek back home. Timothy fell asleep on the drive - oh well. We stopped by Nathan and Amy's new place to celebrate Nathan's birthday. We finally got home around 5:30. We could finally check on the BYU-CSU game. At that point the scoring was back and forth, so I was relieved when it was over and we won 45-42. We got some dinner ready and Aaron and I got ready to go out.

We had been invited to an election celebration. Not a government election, rather the AAP elections. A local doctor. Aaron has been working with for the Advocacy program was elected to a regional position. We had a small gathering at his home with lots of fabulous finger food. We had one of the Young Women babysit the boys and took Amy with us. It was fun to chat and eat with the other colleagues. The guests represented the different generations of doctors, from the retired, to the resident, and everything in between. It was also great mingle at a casual gathering and remember that doctors are normal people. We talked about kids, fishing, the economy and chocolate. It was also fun to have them ask Aaron about his project, and give him ideas and advice. Amy slept for about 45 minutes so we could eat and talk. Then I fed her and we stayed until 9:00. While I took the babysitter home Aaron took some pictures of Amy. I think they are pretty good.



One last note: Amy slept through the night for the first time - even with the time change!!! I didn't feed her again after the party and she woke up at 6:50 am! (7:50 if the time hadn't changed) I had to express some milk at 4:00 am so I could get back to sleep.

Halloween recap

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures the day of. But you can see their costumes in this post. The day before I had made sugar cookies with the boys - they frosted them by themselves, and had a lot of fun. David really wanted to take them to the Harvest Party at school the next day, so I emailed his teacher and she said it was alright - I was going to help out anyway. So we showed up at David's classroom around 2:00. They were making an owl (after reading about it in a Ramona book). I expected Amy to wake and eat around 2:20, but she didn't. We helped them get their food for the Harvest Party. Lots of orange and harvest items - cheese and crackers, apples, oranges, cookies, Rice Krispie treats and Tootsie Rolls. The kids were a bit restless since it was raining all day and therefore didn't get to have recess outside. Then they got to pick an activity sheet: coloring or a maze. Timothy participated as well. Another mom had brought her younger son as well. Ms. W* ended with reading a couple of Halloween stories. We didn't get to finish the last one because the clock was a few minutes off and the bell rang when we thought there was 8 minutes left. Oops. Amy never woke up, but the moms admired her while she was in her stroller.

By the time we got home it was 3:25 - only 3 minutes before the trick-or-treating started at the local shopping center - Amy was still sleeping. So I ran upstairs and grabbed the kids' pumpkin buckets and we drove over the to the shopping center. I fed Amy while they romped around the van and changed into their costumes. The rain stopped just in time. I pushed Amy in the stroller and carried her when she fussed a little. We didn't hit every store, but the majority of them. I gave them a lecture before we headed out about staying together and not running ahead. David was very diligent about making sure Timothy got his candy and leading ( or dragging) him back to the stroller. Half the time Timothy was more intrigued by others costumes than getting candy. We were done in about 45 minutes and the kids were tired. They got to eat some candy while I made dinner. I didn't have a cool Halloween meal but I did make a taratantula olive for their salads and we had hot apple cider. Aaron got home just after we finished eating. In all it was a great Halloween.
I got the idea from an email Aaron forwarded to me. It doesn't look like the one on the website because theirs only has six legs, even though the directions say to cut eight. I guess they wanted it to look good instead of being right.

Happy Birthday Nathan

Yesterday was by BIL Nathan's 25th birthday. We've been blessed to have them live so close over that last year or so. We got to share birthday cake with them yesterday as we visited their new apartment. Very spacious compared to their former residence. Nathan was just a teenager when I met him nine years ago. He has many talents, playing the piano and running cross country are just a couple of them. He is currently working on a PhD in Math. He and his fabulous wife Amy have introduced us to many new games and we have enjoyed playing the games with them. We'll have to have a Blokus party soon (Nathan got it for his birthday!). Happy Birthday Nathan.