Other December Activities

I've missed quite a few things in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and moving and sick kids. Yes, we are sick again. This time Sara has RSV. Yep, that means in the past 6 weeks that we have had: Croup, Conjunctivitis, Rotavirus and now RSV. At least we were healthy for Christmas. And, it looks like despite two very scary diseases, we will stay out of the hospital. Our new house is just quarantined.

Babies
We did several things involving babies this month. My best friend Karyn gave birth to an absolutely gorgeous baby girl, Clara Emmaline. She is an amazing woman and I am grateful she shares her little ones with me.
We also got to spend some good time with Keri's littlest, Aysha. I just ate her up, (she is adorable) but I think that Sara liked her even more. Yay for cousin kisses. Laura enjoyed being with her close cousin Emily, and Keri and I had a great time chatting as well.
I also got to attend a surprise baby shower for an old friend from Nauvoo, Emily. It was great to see her and the progress in her life. It was also amazing to catch up with Kate. Kate did a much better write-up on the shower and you can read about it here. Remarkably, I found the time (while J was assembling his grill) to make a handmade baby gift.

Family Activities
We've done a few family activities as well. We attended a beautiful funeral and viewing for Grandma Jo. It was a sad experience, a learning experience (I loved learning more about her life) and a gathering experience (we got to see a lot of J's family). And, I finally got a good picture of Jason and his siblings.
Also, the girls have been playing together so nicely lately. They really enjoy one another's company and it is a beautiful thing. I often find them playing and laughing together. And Sara is working very hard to keep up with her sister. She is trying to crawl and nearly has the sitting thing down. She is also strengthening her legs in the jumper.
We have also been enjoying the PILES of snow that have been here lately. Sara doesn't like it much, but she looks great all bundled up. Laura, however adores the snow and is outside playing in it every chance she gets.


Food
As always, much of our lives revolve around food. Both girls have gotten rather picky lately. The only vegetable that does not bring a clamped mouth and the "done" sign from Sara is my homemade squash. I (or my mom) bakes it with sugar and butter then I puree it with Chicken Broth to thin it down. I think Sara wants big people food...a new favorite is Cream of Wheat.
Laura is not a fan of trying anything new lately. Fortunately she has a lot of old favorites. My Mom and Dad took pity on our quarantined house and brought us many her favorites. Yep, that's broccoli and squash on her plate. She may not like hamburgers, but broccoli and squash are always hits.
Jason assembled his new grill (a horribly difficult task). But, it seems to have been worth the effort. We can't wait to try out the rotisserie and infrared searer. He loves it and it makes great food - even in the snow.

House Stuff
We finally seem to have settled in the house. Very nearly everything is unpacked (upstairs only...we don't even talk about the basement) and in it's place. Now it is on to the most difficult tasks of all - finding places for and hanging all our art; oh, and finishing the basement.

Today we tackled the garage and got both cars in. It feels wonderful and will make life much more comfortable.

Here is a picture my mom gave me of our moving day. It was taken before all the snow (we're talking 5 inches) began to fall. Yep, all those cars were there to help us. We were truly blessed.