Christmas is UP

There have been a few changes to the Christmas decor this year. Despite much looking, we could not find an additional stocking (for Eliza) to match our existing ones. So, we bought all new ones. We settled on something quite traditional and I really like them; we got them, oddly, at Smith's. The knit and the colors are fun, but the best part is that we have one for Eliza. Something else that I love is that the kids stockings hang on "JOY" which is true, my girls are definitely my joy!

While on the stocking search, I got this great apothecary jar at Tai Pan. I had been wanting to move my floral arrangement from the entry way to the behind the couch table for a while and to make the entry into a seasonal arrangement. The apothecary jar filled with candy (my favorite candy cane Hershey's Kisses) is just the thing. Though, it is torture on Sara and Jason, my candy hounds. I would like to find two more jars in different sizes to complete the arrangement for all the seasons. But they had only one size at Tai Pan. Anyone know where I can find some others? The cute boxes I won at Bunco and I like how they finish off the arrangement.

The other change is to the skinny tree. We found additional ornaments and ribbon after the season last year. So, this year the tree is just dripping with decorations and I LOVE it. Doesn't it look much better than last year?

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. My brother Dave and his wife Mel came into town from Seattle, so most of our time centered around being with them. It was great.

Thanksgiving day brought a beautiful meal at my mom's house. The food was delicious and the company was fabulous. I just wish I had been smarter and not eaten things I am somewhat allergic to. I spent subsequent nights awake from pain and am still not walking the best. But, the food was fabulous, I was just stupid!

Laura spent the whole day hanging out with Kaitlyn. They are such good friends that we really didn't even see her. They played outside and had "meetings" in their club (the cold storage).

Sara warmed up all to all her big cousins. She loved being the center of attention and banging around with all the teenage boys.

Eliza was fake baby again. She was passed around like a football and happy the whole time. She slept during the meal and was an angel otherwise.

Black Friday was a total bust. Jason said the crowds were 3 to 4 times as big as they have been in years past. After striking out at Walmart and seeing a ridiculous line at Kmart, he came home with my blessing. We're glad the girls want to do Disneyland for Christmas this year and presents aren't a big deal. Later Friday morning we went with Dave and Mel to Gardner Village and Tai Pan and had much more fun there. Poor Jason had a bummer shopping day, but at least he had just played football with all the boys.

Friday afternoon kinda stunk too. We attacked the leaves in our front yard. The leaves from all the trees in the common area blow to our house because the HOA doesn't clean them up. So, we did. With my histamines already crazy, I wore a mask the whole time. But, after shoving them down in 6 full size bags, they are gone and we are ready for snow. Yah, I don't think this many leaves came from our one little maple.

Friday evening, Jason's mom (THANK YOU) watched Miss E after we put the girls to bed so Jason and I could go out for an adults dinner with my family. We missed Danny tons and tons, but had a wonderful time at Tepanyaki. My goodness my siblings are funny and brilliant. We didn't get enough chatting in at the restaurant, so they were accommodating and came to our house to chat afterwards. How I love them all!

Saturday morning, the family got together again for a casual brunch. I made piles of cinnamon twists for the affair and loved the food my mom prepped. Yep, it was a packed family weekend and just about as great as it can get.

Happy Thanksgiving

This year I am grateful for my family. Particularly for my little turkey...

my adorable pilgrim...

my distracted Indian...

my grumpy Indian and her Daddy. I am so blessed!

Always Makes Me Smile

Doesn't this huge grin and little face just make you smile?! It sure makes me smile and I thought I'd share with you. Honestly, she turns me into a Mommy Puddle!

Just Can't Help It

The girls can hardly wait for Christmas. I think the chain counting down to our Christmas trip to Disney (chosen instead of presents by the girls this year) might be contributing to the anticipation. So, we put up the kids tree in the basement for FHE last night. My parents joined us and it was a great time.

It is not decorated beautifully, but it makes me so happy to see that my girls did it and how happy it made them. And, isn't that the purpose of a kids tree?!

I justified the early decorating by reminding myself that Christmas is for the children. And, that we will be gone for a week during the Christmas Season, so we might as well have our decorations up a little early and enjoy them.

Twilight Changes

Oh my, what a difference a few years can make. I wrote this post about the Stephenie Meyer Twilight series 3.5 yrs ago. At the time, I was a bit embarrassed to be recommending a teenage vampire romance novel that not a bookstore in my three closest cities even carried to my girlfriends. In fact, when I was looking to buy it, a salesgirl at Seagull told me that they would "never carry a book like that, even if it is written by a Mormon author". But, now look what is available!!

Isn't the change incredible?! And, imho, well deserved. This weekend I went to see "New Moon" the movie with a bunch of my girlfriends and the hysteria was awesome. Adorable Andrea M, gave us the above candy bar to enjoy for the movie and we had a great time together at the movie and getting treats afterwards. Thanks ladies, for not judging my taste and all jumping on the Twilight bandwagon with me before it was cool!

Snuggling

Jason and I are probably two of the most affectionate people on the planet. Our kids get kissed to death and we are always holding hands. (Yep, one of the many reasons our marriage works: I always feel like I can hug him and he will be happy about it!) So, we are not surprised that Sara is incredibly affectionate too.

Fortunately, Eliza seems to be equally affectionate, just not quite as big. She just leans in and grins at kisses and snuggles.

And, with these two snuggly sisters and her obnoxious parents, even Laura is becoming quite affectionate and snuggly. (Laura used to cringe and cry at kisses when she was little.) Oh, how I love that these girls love each other and let one another know it!

Playtime

Now that Laura is a schoolgirl, she is into jump rope. Do you remember things like "criss cross" and "24 Robbers"? Oh yes, they are a regular part of my day. And the girls are so cute doing it.

When it is bad weather, Jason and I spend a lot of time watching performances. They are the greatest thing for about a half hour - they often go for much longer though!

Eliza's new favorite playtime is her bug mat. She just grins the whole time she is on it as long as I can keep Sara off her. Eliza is really growing up!

Reading Time

I spend hours everyday reading to my girls. It is some of my favorite time with them. So, it didn't really surprise me to see Laura reading to Sara instead of them watching Saturday morning cartoons.
However, I was a little surprised to find Sara "reading" to Eliza. I'm super excited that my love of reading is being passed down.

Tough Chick

All my girls have loved the baby swing. Eliza is no exception. It is also nice because it does afford her some protection from the intense love and attention of Sara without me having to hold Eliza constantly.
So, she being the youngest, got a very early start on the big swing in the backyard. The girls were enjoying one of the last sunny days and Eliza got in on the act. I'm not sure whether she enjoyed herself or just tolerated. But, I sure enjoyed seeing all three girls playing together.

Big Girl Sara

It seems that Sara has just grown up lately. All of a sudden, she has turned into a big girl. She gave up her binkys over two months ago and hasn't looked back.

Sara communicates like she is years older. "Mommy, that was not considerate." or "I can't get the headband. I frustrated" And she totally knows how to work a situation, "Thank you for the candy Mama. You da best." or "But, Daddy said it was okay to touch the TV"

She also LOOKS like she is so much older. She is currently in 4T clothes and has so much hair. She is very tall (39 inches when we measured her yesterday) and has totally slimmed down. In fact, her tummy is ripped!

Sara has also decided that she is going to make progress on potty training. She will not be pushed and I think it is going to take a while, but I am changing 1/4 of the diapers that I was two weeks ago. Any progress is wonderful.

Finally, she is really calming down. She has become much more logical, helpful and calm. In fact, she went to the store with me today and was a perfect angel. All we're wanting now is for some successful trips to nursery on Sundays. Let's hope that the terrible twos are really over, because I sure love this Big Girl Sara.

Eliza Smiles

Wahoo! I finally caught Eliza's real smile. It comes much more regularly now, so I caught it. Of course she wasn't dressed perfectly or did I set up a background, but I caught it. I love this grin. It is fleeting but beautiful!

And here are a few more adorable pictures of her!

Stylin' Sara

"Mommy, I am a princess." Yes, yes you are, Sara. Sara loves experimenting with style and truly believes that she is "A princess just like Ariel/Jasmine/Cinderella". She picks out her clothes every day. And, she REALLY loves accessories; especially something shiny or sparkly. These pictures are of a medium amount of "bling". Sara wears sparkly things almost all the time, just in varying amounts. Maybe someday she will teach me how to wear jewelry.

Sara also is in the bandaid stage. That stage where bandaids are a style statement. And, I must admit, they do make cool bandaids nowadays. This is how I found her after my shower the other day. Five bandaids...and notice she is wearing headbands as necklaces.
Sara also really loves lipstick and toenail polish. (The only makeup I regularly wear and she knows about...odd, because she has commented to me a couple of times, with a scrunched up nose of disgust, about a heavily made-up woman "What is on her face?") She really gets into flavored lipsticks. This was the result when I just let her go at it the other day. And yes, there is always polish on her toes.

Our Sara is already stylin'. I have a feeling that she will be my child to keep me looking fashionable when I get old and funny. What will she be like when she is 16? But for now, I just think she is sooo cute!