The box he is sitting in is his race car he made last night. What can I say...the kid cracks me up!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Fun Brother
Okay, okay, I know you are all sick of hearing me talk about how much I love my kids and how fantastic they are (okay, not fantastic and certainly not perfect) but this week they have been pretty amazing, especially with Vanessa. I am a mom that takes advantage of my older kids when I can. Once again today I took advantage of Andrew after school. He was playing with Vanessa so I decided to quickly vacuum upstairs. I came back into the living room to find him and Vanessa watching TV...
The box he is sitting in is his race car he made last night. What can I say...the kid cracks me up!
The box he is sitting in is his race car he made last night. What can I say...the kid cracks me up!
Crazy Hair
Vanessa has cradle cap. Andrew never had it but Ally had it pretty bad. Holly, my hair girl, told me to use olive oil and a comb to get it out. Last night before bath I decided to start tackling Vanessa's hair. Her hair is long enough and thick enough that you really can't see it, but I know it's there so I want to get rid of it. I worked on it until she cried and then gave up and put her in the bath tub. After getting her out and dressed I noticed that her hair was sticking up everywhere so I decided to have a little fun with it. I made it stick up everywhere it wasn't and tried to 'style' it a little. Ally thought it was hilarious!
Brotherly Love
Yesterday Andrew stayed home from school 'cause he wasn't feeling well. I didn't think he was too sick (he acted fine) so I decided to take advantage of having him home. I put him in charge of entertaining Vanessa so I could vacuum downstairs really fast. When I went downstairs she was sitting in her Bumbo and when I came back upstairs she was sitting on the couch. He had her sitting there and he kept pretending like she was hitting or kicking him and he would fall to the floor. She was laughing so hard.
Like Ally, Andrew is amazing with Vanessa! He loves her so much and just wants her to be happy! After watching them for a little while I decided to get some pics of them together. I think they turned out cute, but hey, I am biased.
Like Ally, Andrew is amazing with Vanessa! He loves her so much and just wants her to be happy! After watching them for a little while I decided to get some pics of them together. I think they turned out cute, but hey, I am biased.
First Attempt at Rice Cereal
The other night I gave Vanessa her first rice cereal on a spoon experience. I had been putting some in her bottle to help with her spitting up but then she was having stomach issues so I stopped the rice cereal and switched her formula which seemed to help. She is consuming so much formula I decided it is time to start working on the cereal and solids. I put her in her Bumbo chair and started feeding. Wow! This girl does not like rice cereal. She actually had me laughing really hard because I would put it in her mouth and she would make this really sour face and then force herself to swallow. I tried and tried to catch a picture of the sour face but I couldn't quite get it.
The next morning I tried again and she took about three spoonfuls and then she wouldn't open her mouth anymore. The little turkey! She already knows what she wants and doesn't want and knows how to get her way. Too bad for her she has a Mom that won't give up though!
The next morning I tried again and she took about three spoonfuls and then she wouldn't open her mouth anymore. The little turkey! She already knows what she wants and doesn't want and knows how to get her way. Too bad for her she has a Mom that won't give up though!
Sisterly Love
The other morning I was in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast and could hear Ally playing with Vanessa. I was happy that she was keeping her entertained so I could get a few things done. When I was finally finished I walked by the living room to see this...
Ally was helping Vanessa see the TV better. It was really cute and thoughtful of Ally and Vanessa seemed content so I went to make my bed. The next time I walked by I found this...
Ally kept rocking back and laying down and then she'd rock them back to sit up. It was really funny to watch. Vanessa got fed up really quickly, much to Ally's dismay.
Ally really loves Vanessa and is so cute and loving with her. I love to watch and listen to her playing with Vanessa when she doesn't know I am.
Ally was helping Vanessa see the TV better. It was really cute and thoughtful of Ally and Vanessa seemed content so I went to make my bed. The next time I walked by I found this...
Ally kept rocking back and laying down and then she'd rock them back to sit up. It was really funny to watch. Vanessa got fed up really quickly, much to Ally's dismay.
Ally really loves Vanessa and is so cute and loving with her. I love to watch and listen to her playing with Vanessa when she doesn't know I am.
Do You Think She's Teething
One night Vanessa was extremely, EXTREMELY cranky!!!! Nothing would please her, not even being held which always seems to work. Finally I put her down and gave her a puppy to play with and this is what we found...
Poor thing, no wonder she's been so cranky! She seriously chewed on that toy for 1/2 hour. I'm glad we get our teeth when we are so little and really can't remember the pain.
Poor thing, no wonder she's been so cranky! She seriously chewed on that toy for 1/2 hour. I'm glad we get our teeth when we are so little and really can't remember the pain.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Christmas
The kids woke up around 7 this year. Since I was a slacker and didn't make my usual Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls we just had cereal and toast. The kids seemed quite hesitant this year to dig into the presents. I really don't know what it was but they both just went into the living room and sat on the couch. But, once they got started, there was no stopping them.
Everyone was happy with their gifts this year. Even me since I finally got my Kitchen Aid mixer. Woohoo!!! Jim was really happy with his Nook. It was a great Christmas because we got to spend the day as a family enjoying each other and making memories. My family came over to our house this year for Christmas. It was fun having them at our house for the holiday. The next day we went to Jim's parents' house to exchange gifts and then went and saw Sherlock Holmes. I LOVE the holiday traditions we have. And, I am sooooo grateful that our families live so close by so we can enjoy the holidays with them. We always miss Dave, Laurie and their kids and Tricia and Tim at these times of year but it just makes us enjoy the time we get with them even more!
Everyone was happy with their gifts this year. Even me since I finally got my Kitchen Aid mixer. Woohoo!!! Jim was really happy with his Nook. It was a great Christmas because we got to spend the day as a family enjoying each other and making memories. My family came over to our house this year for Christmas. It was fun having them at our house for the holiday. The next day we went to Jim's parents' house to exchange gifts and then went and saw Sherlock Holmes. I LOVE the holiday traditions we have. And, I am sooooo grateful that our families live so close by so we can enjoy the holidays with them. We always miss Dave, Laurie and their kids and Tricia and Tim at these times of year but it just makes us enjoy the time we get with them even more!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Christmas Eve
Yes, I know, I am way behind on my posts but Vanessa has decided to become a baby that loves her mom and being held by her mom. That, and I left my bag at Kelly's house and realized too late that my camera was in it. Anyhoo, here we go, time to get updated.
This year ear aches, antibiotic reactions and other crazy life happenings kind of got in the way of Christmas and many of our traditions. Okay, and my kids have an ornery mom who couldn't seem to get into the spirit of it all this year. We tried to go see the 'Festival of Lights' here in Spanish Fork but the line of cars was clear down Highway 6. The kids were very, VERY upset when I told them we'd have to go back another night. No, I am not exaggerating when I say very upset. Andrew wouldn't stop crying and throwing fits. I finally told him that Santa doesn't bring presents to kids who act like that. He told me he didn't care about the presents. I told him to remember that when Christmas morning he has no presents under the tree (yes, I am the world's meanest mom!!! In my defense he had been acting like this for 15 minutes and we were all getting tired). He then said (I seriously started to cry) 'I don't care about the presents Mom, all I care is that my family is together, happy and we remember Jesus' birthday.' Yes, my son gets the true meaning of Christmas more than his mom. Another example is when I was trying to get the lights on the tree he asked why I don't just take a strand and wrap it all the way up and be done with it. I told him it wouldn't look pretty that way. He looked at me with a look that said 'Mom, boys don't care about pretty.' So I told him that I know he doesn't care if it looks pretty, he doesn't care what the tree looks like, all he cares about are the presents under it. He said (yes I cried again) 'the presents aren't what matter mom, it's remembering Jesus and that we are celebrating his birthday.' I seriously don't know where this kid came from but I am SOOOO grateful I have been blessed with him in my life!!! He is AMAZING!!!
Since we are usually running to my families and Jim's families' houses on Christmas day I have made Christmas Eve our night. I make a more 'formal' type dinner, this year I made b-b-q beef brisket for the first time with red potatoes, green beans and homemade rolls. It was really yummy, even the kids didn't complain as much as usual.
Here are the kids hanging out waiting for dinner to be cleaned up so we could continue on with our Christmas Eve traditions.
Next came making cookies for Santa. I am not very nice when it comes to cookie making. We don't start from scratch or even from a Betty Crocker bag. I buy the Nestle break and bake cookies. Mean, I know, but the kids enjoyed breaking the dough apart and putting it on the cookie sheet.
See, smiles and everything. They even enjoyed eating a few of them after they cooked.
We then moved on to a new Christmas Eve tradition this year, putting the decorations on the tree. Most years I have the lights and decorations on the tree the first week after Thanksgiving but this year was quite different. It took me 17 days, and 3,250 lights to get the tree partially decorated. I ran out of lights and could not find anymore with green strands so I bought some with white strands and ended up hating them so you will notice, the tree does not have lights on the top. I gave up!! Since I gave up on the lights, I really didn't care what the rest of the tree looked like so Jim, Vanessa and I sat back and let Andrew and Ally put the decorations on the tree. They really enjoyed it!! I learned this year that what the tree looks like does not make Christmas!
Next came one of my favorite traditions. New pajamas!! This is one my mom used to do for us when we were kids and I have continued it with our family. I decided that for next year I am going to be even more creative and include me and Jim in this tradition. How fun would that be?? All of us in new pj's. Since I had this thought late, it was just the kids who got new pajamas this year. Andrew and Ally's pajamas came in packs with slippers, tooth brushes, brush and hair things for Ally and as you can see, Ally's came with an eye mask.
We then read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and the Christmas story in the Bible and it was off to bed for the kids. This year another new tradition happened, Jim stayed up and helped me get things ready for Santa. It was really nice spending the time together getting it all ready. Unfortunately for Jim, this is a tradition I really want to continue year after year!!
This is what the kids woke up to Christmas morning (minus Dixie of course)...
Yes, I know Santa went overboard. My kids are spoiled!!
This year ear aches, antibiotic reactions and other crazy life happenings kind of got in the way of Christmas and many of our traditions. Okay, and my kids have an ornery mom who couldn't seem to get into the spirit of it all this year. We tried to go see the 'Festival of Lights' here in Spanish Fork but the line of cars was clear down Highway 6. The kids were very, VERY upset when I told them we'd have to go back another night. No, I am not exaggerating when I say very upset. Andrew wouldn't stop crying and throwing fits. I finally told him that Santa doesn't bring presents to kids who act like that. He told me he didn't care about the presents. I told him to remember that when Christmas morning he has no presents under the tree (yes, I am the world's meanest mom!!! In my defense he had been acting like this for 15 minutes and we were all getting tired). He then said (I seriously started to cry) 'I don't care about the presents Mom, all I care is that my family is together, happy and we remember Jesus' birthday.' Yes, my son gets the true meaning of Christmas more than his mom. Another example is when I was trying to get the lights on the tree he asked why I don't just take a strand and wrap it all the way up and be done with it. I told him it wouldn't look pretty that way. He looked at me with a look that said 'Mom, boys don't care about pretty.' So I told him that I know he doesn't care if it looks pretty, he doesn't care what the tree looks like, all he cares about are the presents under it. He said (yes I cried again) 'the presents aren't what matter mom, it's remembering Jesus and that we are celebrating his birthday.' I seriously don't know where this kid came from but I am SOOOO grateful I have been blessed with him in my life!!! He is AMAZING!!!
Since we are usually running to my families and Jim's families' houses on Christmas day I have made Christmas Eve our night. I make a more 'formal' type dinner, this year I made b-b-q beef brisket for the first time with red potatoes, green beans and homemade rolls. It was really yummy, even the kids didn't complain as much as usual.
Here are the kids hanging out waiting for dinner to be cleaned up so we could continue on with our Christmas Eve traditions.
Next came making cookies for Santa. I am not very nice when it comes to cookie making. We don't start from scratch or even from a Betty Crocker bag. I buy the Nestle break and bake cookies. Mean, I know, but the kids enjoyed breaking the dough apart and putting it on the cookie sheet.
See, smiles and everything. They even enjoyed eating a few of them after they cooked.
We then moved on to a new Christmas Eve tradition this year, putting the decorations on the tree. Most years I have the lights and decorations on the tree the first week after Thanksgiving but this year was quite different. It took me 17 days, and 3,250 lights to get the tree partially decorated. I ran out of lights and could not find anymore with green strands so I bought some with white strands and ended up hating them so you will notice, the tree does not have lights on the top. I gave up!! Since I gave up on the lights, I really didn't care what the rest of the tree looked like so Jim, Vanessa and I sat back and let Andrew and Ally put the decorations on the tree. They really enjoyed it!! I learned this year that what the tree looks like does not make Christmas!
Next came one of my favorite traditions. New pajamas!! This is one my mom used to do for us when we were kids and I have continued it with our family. I decided that for next year I am going to be even more creative and include me and Jim in this tradition. How fun would that be?? All of us in new pj's. Since I had this thought late, it was just the kids who got new pajamas this year. Andrew and Ally's pajamas came in packs with slippers, tooth brushes, brush and hair things for Ally and as you can see, Ally's came with an eye mask.
We then read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and the Christmas story in the Bible and it was off to bed for the kids. This year another new tradition happened, Jim stayed up and helped me get things ready for Santa. It was really nice spending the time together getting it all ready. Unfortunately for Jim, this is a tradition I really want to continue year after year!!
This is what the kids woke up to Christmas morning (minus Dixie of course)...
Yes, I know Santa went overboard. My kids are spoiled!!
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