Christmas Tree 2012

We kicked off the Christmas season by strapping a tree to the top of our car the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And although it was an activity we did as a family, one of our little family members decided not to participate in the family picture taking.

Kylee was right outside the view of the camera here. I think she had had enough and was ready to go inside. It was a really cold and windy day.

Once she got inside, Kylee had a lot more fun. Good thing she likes to vacuum...there's always pine needles to clean up around here.

There is one perk to cold weather: hot chocolate!!

Ready to decorate!

We haven't had a real Christmas tree (or any tree at all) since we moved from Utah four years ago so I was super excited to get this beautiful thing decorated.

Thanksgiving weekend was one of the most relaxing weekends we've had in a long time. There was plenty of time to play and enjoy eachother. In my opinion, all weekends should be that long.

Thanksgiving 2012

For the first time since Steve and I have been married we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We spent the day cooking and playing games with friends, the Hansen's and the Hale's. And by the looks of these pictures you'd think I care more about the food than the company. I guess I was too busy having fun to take very many pictures of the house full of people.

Steve did an awesome job on the brined turkey. 

Cody didn't think he wanted any turkey, but then he tried it and changed his mind. 

 Stuffing, green salad, deviled eggs, fruit salad, roasted yams, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole with fresh green beans, homemade rolls, and veggies...

and of course the turkey.

We also had Sour Cream Apple pie, pumpkin pie, and chocolate cream pie.

The day turned out to be wonderful and we have so much to be grateful for!

Preschool Buddies

IMG_0443, a photo by tif_cramer on Flickr.

Kylee loves preschool! She goes once a week to her friend Adam's house with two other friends, Madalyn and Jade. Kylee adores Adam's mom and all the kids get along really well.

Videos: Livy the Walkie-Talkie

Thanksgiving weekend was a big turn-around for Livy. She just decided to start walking and since then she has been up more than she is down. She also has had more bruises and a black eye too (climbing on tables and chairs is a new hobby of hers, unfortunately).

So between new words every day and lots of walking we are having fun with our Olivia. Here are three videos of her jabbering and walking. She likes to say "Go!" when she starts walking and you can hear her say that in these videos. Pretty fun.

Parent Teacher Conference Surprise

I went to Parent Teacher Conferences this past week for Cody. He couldn't wait for me to go because he had been working hard on a personal narrative in time for the Conference where the teachers give it to the parents. He kept telling me how many more days until the surprise...

It was my seventh birthday! I was so excited! I ran down stairs and asked my dad if I could open my presents he said no because I had to wait until lunch is over. So I ate breakfast then started playing with my toys. I kept asking when lunch time would come. Then...it was lunch time! I ate lunch as fast as I could so I could open my presents! The first present I opened was from my sisters and I got

six LEGO light sabers two red, two yellowish green, and two blue. The second present I opened was from my mom and dad. When I opened it I was so surprised because it was my favorite game The Settlers of Catan! The third present was a package from one grandpa and grandma. In it was a pair of sunglasses, a calculator with a book called Calculator Riddles and some other books. The other grandpa and grandma had

also sent a package and in it were some Transformers and you can put suckers in them! There were shirts for my mom and dad, and some treats too. Also from the same grandma I got a mit and a baseball and a build-it mouse trap game and a LEGO set! When I finished opening my presents I had a big cupcake it was yummy! Then we played the new games for the rest of the day! We had my favorite

diner balsamic vinegar and noodles than I got ready for bed. It was a fun day and the best birthday that I can remember!

Primary Program Super Heroes

Cody has never been able to go up in front of people at church. He's always been too scared. Whether it was giving a talk or prayer in primary, singing a song in Sacrament meeting with the primary kids for Mother's Day, or the annual primary presentation in Sacrament meeting he has never been able to go through with it, despite all our efforts to help.

Well, our ward primary presentation was a big break-through this year. Two months before the program Cody and Kylee both prayed every day that they would be brave enough to go up and sing with the other primary kids. Actually, we all prayed. The week before the program Cody and Kylee had their parts memorized and talked like they were going to go through with it. And although we had prayed and prepared many times before this time seemed different. Especially with Cody.

The morning of the program at breakfast I asked Cody if he was going to do it. He confidently said yes (which had never happened before). Right after the sacrament before the Bishop stood up to invite the children up to the front of the chapel, Cody (who was sitting on the end of the row) sat right on the edge of the bench with one leg out in the aisle ready to jump up. I had to tell him a few times to wait until the Bishop was done talking (I couldn't believe his eagerness!! Previously, he would be glued to the middle of the bench with no chance of budging at this point).

As soon as the Bishop finished, Cody jumped up and started walking up to the front. He turned for a second to wave Kylee to come with him, but she said she had to go to the bathroom and she was looking pretty hesitant. I told Cody to go ahead but I don't think he waited around long enough to hear me. He was too excited. So while all the other kids and teachers were heading up to the front, Kylee and I went against the flow and went to the bathroom. I really hoped she would still be able to go through with it once we got back. We hurried as fast as we could and as soon as we got towards the front of the chapel I could feel her pulling backwards on my hand and wanting to turn around. Luckily, she has a wonderful teacher this year who saw us approaching, met us halfway up the stairs, and we did a quick pass before Kylee had a chance to change her mind.

When it came time for Cody to say his part in the microphone he stepped up to the podium and said his part perfectly clear and without any hesitation. You would never guess that he struggled with getting in front of people. It was a miracle. Steve and I both teared up immediately. We were so proud of what he had accomplished!! Kylee, however, did not stand up to the microphone and say her part. But, we were just as proud of her because she went up there--and stayed up there--for the entire program (something Cody was never able to do at her age). Both of them were super heroes to us!

Since then Cody seems to have gotten over his fear. He was assigned to say the scripture of the month in Primary last week and did a great job! He has also prayed in our home when we have had visitors (he loves to say the prayer when he's called on, but he never wanted to do it if anyone besides our own family was there).

Watching our children during our primary program was one of the best parenting moments I've ever had. Seeing your kids work at something that is challenging for them and seeing them overcome their fears is amazing. And I'm grateful for the lesson that we all learned from it: we know that we can pray and work for something and see miracles!

Video: Piano Pals

Our kids love the piano. Cody has really caught on well and has learned lots of songs. Kylee has even taken an interest in learning, but she mostly likes to sit and play her own music. And Olivia loves to join Kylee every time.

I had to do some sneaky work to get this video of Livy and Kylee playing the piano. Usually when the camera comes out Kylee stops singing and playing. So I set the camera on the ledge in front of the kitchen sink and turned it on while I innocently did the dishes. Kylee kept looking at the camera like she suspected something, but it was still a success!

Update About Livy: Pictures and a Video

Livy has learned so much in the last few weeks...

She has been working on her walking skills. She's still going at her usual chill learning pace though. When she starts to walk she gets a huge grin and starts to laugh when we cheer her on which usually makes her tip over, but she's getting there. 

This week she has been surprising us with all the words she knows. Her most common words are: ball, cheese, apple, bread, go, keys, that (pointing to whatever she wants), Lucky, ruff (when she sees a dog), mommy, daddy, and Kylee. Kylee is her newest word and she loves to say it because she knows Kylee will come running to her side. I caught her saying it on video (below). She also nods her head yes in a very exaggerated way when you ask her a question. I have yet to get that on video though. 

This week she also started folding her arms and being quiet and still for the prayer.

Livy gets the award for the most nicknames in our house: Liv, Livy, Lu, Lu-lu, and Livia. Today I was thinking about how Olivia was named. When I was pregnant, Steve and I told Cody and Kylee a few of the names we were considering. They both immediately chose Olivia and never once wavered for the rest of the pregnancy. If we brought up another name they didn't even see it as an option. Now that she is a part of our family it's fun to see how much they adore her and care for her and give her nicknames.

 Livy found a baggy with some toilet paper in it from our hike (clean, of course). She opened the baggy, ripped up the toilet paper and put some of it back in the baggy. She was pretty proud of herself. I wonder if she thought it was good as new.

When you're making dinner, helping kids with homework, and trying to keep everybody happy it doesn't seem all that bad for her to sit quietly in the kitchen and rip up toilet paper into a million pieces. It was definitely a win-win.

Leaves from Out of Town

Hurricane Sandy brought us a big delivery of leaves. Usually we just have one or two different kinds of leaves in our yard from the neighbors' trees, but there were so many different colors and shapes. It looked so cool. Who knows what state these came from.

Halloween 2012 (video and pics)

Halloween kind of snuck up on us. We had stayed inside for the 2 days before because of the hurricane.. 

Kylee really, really wanted to wear her owl costume again. I thought I could convince her otherwise but she just loves this costume so much. She actually wanted to be an owl last year too, but we talked her into being something different.

Cody decided not to decide...until the very last minute. Five minutes before we went to our Trunk-or-Treat party he started getting out cardboard and markers to turn himself into a Lego guy. Sorry. Not happening. Since he didn't like any of the ideas I had given him we had to throw something together at the last minute. We finally left the house with a Harry Potter robe with no glasses and no scar (as he requested). So, I guess he was a Gryffindor student at Hogwarts other than Harry Potter...?  And we don't have a picture of him, but you get the idea.

And Livy was a pink poodle. She couldn't wait to get into her costume. She was so excited. And she's started barking lately when she sees dogs so it was perfect. You can see her say "ruff" in the video below. It didn't take her long to get the idea of Trick-or-Treating. She went around the neighborhood with Cody and Kylee, but I didn't have a bucket for her. That didn't stop her from holding out her hand and smiling at every door. She's too smart.