Temple Lights

We went out to the Mesa Temple Lights tonight and had a great time. Here is a picture of Emma enjoying the purple lights. Doesn't she look purplely?

Christmas is Over Already?!?

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it seems like the entire holiday season just flew by! Christmas is already over and we're preparing for the new year. Here are some of the highlights leading up to and after Christmas:

We made a gingerbread house (severely trying Marcus' patience with the frosting bag)

Emma sang and I played piano for our ward's Christmas sacrament meeting program.

Drew sat around looking cute.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with a nice dinner and a sibling gift exchange.

We took our first hallway photo on Christmas morning.

Santa came while everyone was sleeping.

Can you guess what he brought?

Some other favorite gifts.

Grandpa Bob and Corrie are here to visit, so we exchanged gifts with them.

Marcus turned 31. The kids had to help open the presents and blow out the candles. We also went out for a nice dinner at Logan's Roadhouse grill, and even got to meet up with Grandma Lark and Aunt Chelsea.

Now it's on to New Year's Eve (which I highly doubt I will be able to stay awake for) and the start of a new year. We hope your Christmas was merry and bright too!

Christmas Tastes Great

For Family Home Evening, we decorated Christmas cookies. I actually practiced some restraint and let the kids do most of the decorating, including dropping globs of icing in the center (Kyle) or gently scraping the icing until it filled in all the parts of the cookie (Emma). I managed not to freak out too much, except for when Emma put the icing knife in her mouth

I don't particularly enjoy doing this. I used to, as a kid. But now that I realize how much work it takes to get the dough roll-out perfect, cut and bake the cookies, wait for them to cool, mix the icing colors, and decorate them, somehow it's not as fun anymore! But they do taste great, and the kids have a great time.

Thanks, Mom, for all the years of doing this for us, so I can now carry on the tradition with my kids. Sending a virtual cookie your way:

Can You Guess What We Did Today?

That's right! It was Christmas Card Photo Day. We, I think wisely, opted for individual pictures of the kids this year instead of trying to get a decent shot of all three. Watch your mailboxes for the finished product....

Drew is also two months old today!

Already I almost can't remember when Drew wasn't a part of our family. Things are still hard for me-- I still don't feel like I have a handle on things, but there are more good days than bad. We're getting decent stretches of sleep at night, Drew is starting to have longer stretches of happy time when he's awake, and you have to admit, he is pretty darn cute.

(I know the block says one, and he is 2 months- it is just a favorite toy that made it into the photos- so don't be confused.)

How can you see a face like this and not feel happy yourself? When I count my blessings, one of the things on my list is definitely "happy baby smiles".

What would you do with 20 min?

Drew naps in 20 minutes bursts throughout the morning. For some reason he just can't stay asleep. I've tried everything I can think of- nothing works. Sometimes I can get him right back to sleep- sometimes it takes up to 45 minutes before he's ready to sleep again. Basically I spend my entire morning putting Drew to sleep. So I am somewhat limited in what gets accomplished each morning. In 20 minutes (give or take a few), I can do ONE of the following:

• Fold a load of laundry
• Wash some dishes
• Get my kids dressed
• Take a shower
• Get ready for the day
• Write a blog post
• Balance the checkbook
• etc

The problem is, I have to choose. Do I take a shower or clean up the kitchen? Do I fold those towels or brush my hair? I feel like I get nothing done- though I guess since my kids are clean and fed, we're doing okay.

Marcus was home for the long Thanksgiving weekend. It was really nice to have an extra set of hands. We spent the Thanksgiving meal with two other families in our ward who don't have family nearby- we did the meal potluck style and just had a nice relaxing afternoon.

The rest of the weekend was spent decorating for Christmas- I did the inside, Marcus did the outside. He HATES putting up lights, as he told me no less than five times. It turned out great, though.

There's something satisfying in decorating- even if it's not exactly Martha Stewart-worthy. Especially when it's something you made yourself.

I always wanted to put up these dishtowels but my kids always pull them right off. I saw this idea on a blog somewhere and wanted to kick myself- why didn't I think of it earlier? So far the towels have stayed in place! Thanks blog world!

We got in some tummy time while Drew was being happy- though he'd much rather lay there and stare than try to pick his head up. Not that I blame him. It's hard work being a baby.

Well, Drew is stirring once again. So I'm off to comfort him. And yes, I am here in my pajamas because I chose to catch up on my blog instead of showering. Maybe I'll get a shower in the next 20 min.

What we've been doing

It's hard to get things done with a fussy baby in the house, but we're trying. We've been busy

Buying new church clothes

Doing Thanksgiving crafts

(I followed this tutorial in case you'd like one of your own)

Practicing our smile skills

Sleeping (well, some of us are getting sleep anyway)

At That Moment...

I usually don’t make too many blog posts but I came across something on TV tonight that I thought was blog worthy.

I was watching Seinfeld tonight like I do every night and saw that the funniest episode of all Seinfeld episodes was on. I have all the episodes of Seinfeld on DVD and have probably watched each episode at least a dozen times and this scene below is by the far the funniest scene and perhaps the funniest thing to ever appear on TV. I have watched this scene at least 100 times and still laugh uncontrollably every time I see it. I even have a t-shirt that Valerie got me for Christmas last year devoted to this scene.

The soup nazi, the sponge, shrinkage, the contest, don't come close to being as funny.

If you are unfamiliar with this scene, a little setup: Kramer was hitting golf balls into the ocean at the beginning of the episode.

Enjoy... Marcus

My t-shirt says: "At that Moment I was a Marine Biologist" with a little golf ball below it.

Am I obsessed with this show...?

E-N-B-R-E-L spells relief....I hope

I got a present delivered today.

I hope it kicks in soon.

Bless the Child

We had a fun weekend visiting with Marcus' parents and his brother Todd's family. Steve and Lark flew in from Oregon for the long weekend. We went out for pizza in Gilbert on Friday night, and then on Saturday we hung out up here in North Phoenix. Chase, Cameron, and Jackson had football games up our way, so we went to the games and then hung out at our house--watching football. Then the men finished up the day with---more football! Steve, Todd, and Marcus drove down to Tempe for the ASU/USC game.

Today we blessed baby Drew, then had a dinner at our house after church. I'm sure Todd and Amber are really glad they came since someone broke into their car in our church parking lot. So sorry, guys!

But Emma and Kyle had a wonderful time with their cousins, and we all enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks for visiting with us, everyone! Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Kyle at the football game

Emma enjoying Grandma Lark's BBQ pork- oh wait, she just ate the chips.

Proud Mom and Dad- Amber caught the one moment Drew wasn't screaming

Happy family

Taking a breath in between screams

It's Been a Long Month

Drew is one month old today! In some ways it seems like we've had him forever. Yet, I can't believe it's already been a whole month since he was born!

He is feeling and sleeping better, by the way. That ready-to-feed formula seems to have done the trick. Too bad it's basically liquid gold. Yet it's worth it to get some sleep and to have his pain eased somewhat. He still cries every evening for a good hour or so, but I'm learning to live with it, and hoping it doesn't last forever.

Here are a few photos of him at one month:

My Little Frog

My sister Laura reminded me that I hadn't posted pictures of Drew in his Halloween costume. Sure, no one saw him much as I keep him covered as much as possible when out, but he had to have a costume-- he's my little October pumpkin!

Zombies

I think Marcus and I should have been zombies for Halloween. Not only are we seriously lacking in sleep, thus acting like said zombies, but my RA has flared so badly after delivering Drew that I walk like a zombie. My hips, knees and ankles are completely swollen, so my gait is disjointed and awkward. My elbows and wrists are so stiff and swollen that one arm juts out at an awkward angle and I must lift things in strange, creative ways. Who would've thought picking up an 8-lb baby would be hard?

The anti-zombie remedies are on the way, I hope. Once the insurance red tape has been cut through, I'll be back on my arthritis drugs and hopefully feeling some relief. Helping baby Drew sleep better, however, may be more complicated.

Drew has tummy issues that cause him to wake screaming every hour or so all night (except for the rare exception here and there when I think I will lose my mind- thank you Heavenly Father!) He has painful gas that causes him to go rigid and scream until it finally passes, and then he will zonk out until his empty stomach or next gas bubble awakens him. We've switched to a "sensitive" formula and less-gas bottles, and tried gas drops and gripe water- all with limited improvement. Today his doctor recommended that we try ready-to-use formula instead of powdered, as apparently many young infants can't digest the powdered very well. If that doesn't work (or if it bankrupts us) he will be getting a check up and probably some sort of medication.

I feel awful for him when he's screaming. And I feel sorry for myself and Marcus. We're so tired.

Costume Par-tay

On Saturday night, we had our ward trunk-or-treat. Marcus stayed home with Drew, and I took the older kids out for an evening of chili-eating and trunk-or-treating.

This year, Emma decided she wanted to be Tinkerbell. She got a dress-up trunk for Christmas that had a Tinkerbell-ish dress and wings, and ever since then, that was her costume. I thought I was going to get off easy this year. However, there is a new Tinkerbell DVD coming out, of which Emma received a preview book. In it, she has a new look:

Emma decided she wanted parts of the new Tinkerbell costume, including the tights and cape. She also wanted to wear this ugly hat we have, but I talked her out of it. She also had to wear a shirt under the dress because the cape we made is "too itchy". So her costume isn't really a traditional Tinkerbell costume at all. She looks more like some random green fairy. I thought I wouldn't have to buy anything, but with the tights, shoes, and material for the cape, I ended up spending more than it would have cost to buy a premade outfit at the Disney store. Oh well.

Kyle on the other hand was quite easy. Somehow he discovered Spiderman, and it is the only thing he considered being for Halloween. I found this costume at Party City- the only one without a mask for a face. I think he looks pretty darn hilarious.

One Halloween event down, one to go. Hope you're all enjoying your own festivities!

Darn it all

Apparently the picture slideshow only works on my computer. Anyone else see it? Well, for those who couldn't see it before, here are the pictures- in a different format.