Merry Christmas!

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. I was so excited for it to come, but now I am sad that it is over. This year was so much more fun now that the boys are old enough to start getting into it.

We had Christmas a few days early with the Cardalls. We all got together at the pool house to have dinner and for Al and Nancy to do gifts. The boys got a play kitchen, a train set, and new minky blankets!

My parents came down from Montana to spend Christmas with us. It was so much fun to have them here on Christmas morning. We slept in until the kids got up, had breakfast and started opening gifts around 10am. I figure this is the last year we will get away with sleeping in!

But the boys had so much fun opening gifts and playing with their new toys. They made Christmas so wonderful! This may be my favorite Christmas yet, with many more to come!

My Silly Boys

One of Tommy's favorite places to play is in the cupboards. I prefer my pots and pans scattered on the floor anyways. So here is where I found him hiding the other day. And this other picture is of them the other morning watching Mickey Mouse together. It didn't last long, but it was cute for a few minutes!

8 Weeks to Go...and Counting!

Our little boy finally gave us a face shot today.Usually he has his hands in front of him or turns his face completely away, but we caught him today. Hard to tell but I think he will be just as handsome as the other two!

I went to bed last night with the thought that he is going to be a happy baby. He'll be the one that always smiles and makes you laugh right along with him. I can't wait to meet the little man.

The pregnancy has continued to be rather easy with only a few complaints. I get leg cramps and horrible pains in my sides from where the ligaments are stretching. And I have officially hit the point where I want my body back. I hate that physical things have become so taxing. The stairs wind me, and that's even when I'm not carrying one or both of the kids. Picking up toys is a workout. I wish I could lay on my back and play on the floor with the kids. I miss seeing my toes. It is a feat to put on socks, wash my feet, pick something up off the floor, or get out of bed.

Even Eddie and Tommy have noticed that my lap has disappeared and that has caused some problems. Poor Eddie will try to sit close to me, but sit on my stomach. He realizes that is too high, so he slides down to my lap but then looks at me confused because I am so far away. Now he knows my pain of never being able to get comfortable. And oh how I wish I could sleep on my stomach.

But I probably miss running the most. I know it is crazy but I can't wait to start running. It will be so great to feel normal again. I really try not to complain because it has been such a great pregnancy, but I can't help but count down these remaining weeks. I know a newborn brings with it a whole new set of challenges and stresses, but I think they are easier to tackle when you feel a little more like yourself.

I can't wait to meet you little boy! You have 2 pretty great parents and 2 wonderful brothers who are ready to welcome you into our perfectly crazy little family!

Christmas Lights at Temple Square

Since I have lived in Utah, I have always felt that you can't have Christmas until you have been downtown to see the lights of Temple Square. There really isn't anything like it. And I love that there are no Santa's or reindeer, just lights, nativities, the Temple and Christ. It really helps to bring back in the focus of the reason for the season...the birth of Christ.

Sunday, the 15th was Dan's birthday so we decided to make it a weekend event even though its really only an hours drive from Cache Valley. So on Saturday, we met up with our dear friends The Waltons. Dan and Ryan went to see the latest Hobbit movie (thank goodness I didn't have to suffer through another one this year), and Jeni and I took the kids (all 5 of our boys) to my friends birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. This was our first time going to Chuck E. Cheese and after going, I'm not sure if it was any better than the torture of a Hobbit movie for 2.5 hours.

Eddie had an absolute blast, but the place was utter chaos. It was all I could do to keep an eye on Eddie, and half the time I failed at that. Jeni and the kids were great at helping me hold Tommy or find Eddie in the jungle gym. At 32 weeks pregnant it was just a little much. I hadn't eaten all day, and then scarfed the pizza, so by an hour in I was feeling sick and lightheaded. But we played a bunch of games, had pizza and cake, and the kids had a blast which is all that matters.

Then we went and met the husbands at the trax station. Eddie has been obsessed with trains lately so we decided that instead of dealing with traffic and parking, we would take the train to downtown. The boys loved it!

It dropped us off right by the temple. So we wandered around with the mass of people for probably about an hour and a half, then took the train back. We picked up some chineese food on the way home, had dinner and put our exhausted kids to bed. Did I mention that Tommy only snoozed for 10 minutes the entire day! He was a trooper considering how tired he was.

And once the kids were down the party really started...we stayed up way too late playing games and eating snacks. It was wonderful! We finally got to bed, hung out for part of the day Sunday, then headed back home. I don't think Dan could have asked for a better birthday. I had to laugh because although it is not planned this way, this was the second year in a row we have spent Dan's birthday with the Walton family. I think it may be a new tradition!

Danny's Letter to Santa

Nancy came across a letter that Dan wrote to Santa the other day. It had never even been opened. Apparently it didn't make it to the North Pole. So we opened it to take a peek. We figure Dan wrote it in 3rd or 4th grade.

Here is the envelope...notice the 25 cent stamp on it!

Here is how the letter was folded up...

And here is the darling and oh so funny letter...

Talking Tommy

Mr Thomas has decided to start talking. He knows mom, dad, outside, juice, milk, lights, candy, and no (he knows this one really well). I'm sure there are more but I can't think of any right at the moment.

Over the past month I have been working with Eddie on animal sounds. Little did I realize that Tommy was soaking it up as well. He can now say moo, meow, woof woof, neigh, and snorts for a pig. Considering how long it took Eddie to really start talking I am shocked. He continues to amaze me everyday with what he picks up on. He makes sure he is only a step behind Eddie with most things!

Season's Greetings!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

So this is the second tree we have ever had since getting married. And yes it is real. I love nothing more than the smell of a real Christmas tree in the house. As soon as I saw them up for sale I drug Dan to go get one. I'm so excited to be having Christmas with the boys in our own home. It makes all the work of decorating totally worth it! Even Eddie can now say Christmas Tree...it makes it so fun!!!

 

Bink Broke

I took Eddie to the dentist last week and learned that his binky habit was messing with his teeth. We have him down to only having it at night time and nap time, but we decided it was time to end the dependency. So Thursday night, I cut all the tips off of Eddie's binkys. When he went to bed, picked up his bink, and couldn't suck on it, he looked at us with the saddest face and asked "Bink broke?" I felt so bad. I mean sooooo bad.

We explained that the binkys were broken so we would have to throw them away. We had Eddie carry them downstairs and put them in the garbage. He laid down alright, but for about 5 minutes I could hear him saying "Eddie bink. Bink broke." Then he went to sleep and slept all night. It was a miracle!

He has not had a binky since. Every nap and every night he asks for it and we remind him that they were broken and had to be thrown away. Sometimes he protests a little, but nothing too bad. We remind him that he still has his frog woobie and that binkies are for babies.

So overall, I would say it has been a success. We only have 4 nights down, but maybe in a few more he will quit asking about it. Thank goodness Tommy never wanted a binky. I figure this gives us enough time so that if the new baby wants one we won't have a fight on our hands.

Bye, bye binky!!!!!

27 Weeks Pregnant

I feel really bad that I have not been good about keeping up on this pregnancy. But the truth is that it has been such an easy pregnancy, sometimes I forget I'm pregnant! In the beginning I had some slight nausea in the mornings and occasionally at night. But I have thrown up maybe 6 times this entire pregnancy as opposed to the last 2 where 6 times a day was more normal. I had a rough 4-6 weeks with really bad indigestion but I just made TUMS my best friend and we were good.

At my 20 week appointment I was concerned because the baby doesn't seem to be moving near as much as Eddie and Tommy did. But the docs assured me that everything looked great and it was probably just that I don't notice it since I'm constantly chasing the other two around. But over the last 3 weeks he has started to move a lot. Sometimes I can't believe that he's only 2 pounds in there with how he pushes on me.

And this baby is just as camera shy as Tommy was. Every time we try to get an ultrasound picture of his face he either looks away or puts his hands up.But that will just make him more of a surprise when he decides to grace us with his presence.

I officially am feeling large. I have a hard time getting comfortable at night and switch from side to side. And about every time I do that, I have to pee as well. And just over the last week I noticed it is harder to bend over, and stairs kick my butt. It's crazy to think that between the baby weight and those times when Eddie and Tommy want to be carried, I am lugging around an extra 75 pounds! No wonder my lower back hurts. I finally had to go into a chiropractor last week to have him work on me because I was in so much pain. It took 2 visits for me to loosen up enough that he could adjust me but I have felt great since.

It seems like time is flying by. The holidays are here, and I know it will feel like a blink until February. Part of me is scared knowing that I will have 3 babies under 3, but another part of me is excited to meet this little guy. Eddie is already such a great big brother and helper, and I know Tommy will be too. I know it won't be easy. There will be good days and bad days. But I know me and my boys can do it!!!

The First Snow of the Year

We had the first snow of the year and just had to go out and play.We bundled the boys up and they rode their bikes around while Dan shoveled off the driveway. Too much fun!

Halloween

Eddie actually fit in his halloween costume from last year so we decided to make it easy and do super heroes again. Say hello to Batman and Superman!

We started out by handing out candy to those that came to our door while Dan was still at work. This is when Eddie learned to say "trick tree!" Once Dan was home we took the kids around our neighborhood trick or treating. By about the second house, Eddie figured out what was going on. He would run up to the door, knock, say "trick tree!", grab a handful of candy for his bucket, then one for Tommy's bucket. Then he would walk back to us saying "door, door, door", until the next door was in sight.

Last year he didn't want anything to do with it so it was really fun to have him so excited about it this year. Tommy, however, preferred to be carried the whole time, but didn't make a fuss at all. When we made it back to our house, I had to catch Eddie from running to the neighbors house and brought him inside kicking and screaming. I think he had fun.

We had picked up one of the pumpkin face pizzas from Papa Murpheys so we had that for dinner. The kids love their pizza. All in all I would say it was a pretty fun Halloween!!!

Where'd Tommy Go?

Over about the last month, Eddie has finally started talking. He has always known a healthy amount of words, but now he is quickly learning more. It's fun to hear him say people's names or try to repeat things that we have said. Dan and I now have to be good about watching our language!

And the first sentence that Eddie put together was "Where'd Tommy go?" Which sounds more like "Air Dommy dough?" He says this anytime Tommy wanders off somewhere Eddie can't see him. It is funny to see how aware of Tommy he is. And the next sentence was close to the first with "Shhhh, Tommy sleeping." This is what I say 10 times a day to remind Eddie to be quiet while Tommy is napping. So now anytime we walk past the bedroom door, or something is too loud, Eddie will say this.

It has been amazing how fast he is picking up on speech. He gets quite animated when he tries to tell you something. And his voice always drops really low when he says "Big truck!" And daily he asks about 5 times, "Daddy home?", which I think is darling. Then Dan gets greeted with a high pitched "Hi, Daddy!" when he walks in the door. He has also started trying to sing, especially to hymns at church. And without too much help, he can count to 5 pretty good.

But his favorite word is Tommy. He talks about Tommy all of the time. And if he wants to say something but doesn't know what to say, Tommy is said about every other word. Too cute if you ask me!

Desitin

I thought he was napping...but I was wrong. I heard a noise and went upstairs to find Eddie covered in Desitin butt cream. I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures but there were globs smeared in his hair. I put him in the shower to try to wash it out, but I had no luck seeing as the whole point of Desitin is to repel liquid.

I finally googled it, hoping that my child wasn't the first to do this and thankfully found some very helpful ideas. I ended up having to wash his hair with vegetable oil to get the desitin out, then dish soap to get the oil out. I have washed the clothes and bedding several times but it won't come out from there either. So I finally googled that and now have some ideas to try that will hopefully work. Oh the joys of being a parent! Always a learning experience!

Tommy's First Haircut

Tommy had his first official haircut today.He has had a major comb-over for the last few months, but I found it too darling to get rid of it. And since his hair is so blonde, you couldn't even tell until there was a breeze and this way long chunk of hair would stand up!

I took him to this place called Cookie Cutters that does nothing but kids haircuts. They were amazing! All of the seats are cars like the one Tommy is in. So you can pick from the firetruck or the airplane etc. Then each seat has a tv screen so they can pick out a movie to watch as well. They had books, toys and suckers as well to use in case things weren't going smooth.

This was the first haircut Eddie has had that he didn't scream the whole time. Neither one of them cried a bit. They did so good!

You also might notice Tommy looks a little beat up in these pictures. He got into a fight with a cement stair and the stair one. He scraped up his nose and has a huge goose egg between his eyes. Poor kid always has an injury of some sort.

Tommy's 1 Year Old Pictures

We had Tommy's 1 year old photo shoot a couple of weekends ago and here are some great pictures. Thanks again to Andrea Christy Photography. I'm always amazed at how she is able to take 45 minutes of a play session with my kids and capture photos like these.