Christmas Pictures, etc.

Here I am finally getting to posting some pictures from Christmas and a few other December activities. I've enjoyed looking at everyone else's and am glad I can feel a little closer to you even though we were far away from many of you.

Spencer got to hang out with his cousin Olivia when her family came out for a wedding at the beginning of the month. Note his expression of awe in the second photo. He is always so happy to play and talk with the older kids.

We had a ward Christmas party and of course the children got to see Santa. Spencer did a lot better this year, perhaps it was because he had a friend by his side the whole way.

The yummy candy canes were worth it!

We went to the mall to see Santa and Spencer and his friend Andrea enjoyed a ride on both this train and one that was set up just for Christmas, which actually made me dizzy.

On Christmas Eve my family came over to our apartment and we enjoyed a yummy meal and a nice Christmas program with music, stories, and scriptures. My parents came out here because there were more of us in Utah than in Iowa and I was happy to have so many of us together, without any traveling on our part!

Uncle Neil keeping his nephew entertained.

We rented some card tables and chairs from the Wymount office so there would be room for all of us, and the grand total for keeping them for 10 days was $1.54. You are brillant, Daniel!

We had Christmas morning in our own apartment and it was lots of fun for me to watch Spencer open and play with his presents. When we told him it was time to open presents he said, "Happy Birthday to you!" Maybe next year he'll know the difference between birthdays and Christmas.

My sister Megan just returned from her mission in Italy (another reason my parents came out--we wanted to see her before she started school and it would have been so lonely at home with just the 3 of them) and she stayed at our place Christmas Eve and joined in our Christmas morning fun.

We headed over to Neil's house for the rest of the day and were bombarded by even more presents. When there are 13 people together it just takes a while to get through everything! And yeah, the cute little tree Emily and Jenny picked out looks pretty silly with so many presents "under" it.

Spencer was past due for a nap so he was really running out of steam by the end.
(Does this count as a belly shot, Tamara?)


My mom made these adorable Mary and Joseph outfits for the two two-year olds and they cooperated well enough to try them on.

Daniel has been very diligent about getting Spencer outside to exert his amble amount of energy each day even with all the cold weather, for which I am very grateful.

On our last day of Christmas break we went up to a place called "Jump On It" which had these inflatable jumping things as well as multiple trampolines lined up next to each other where everyone could jump to their heart's content. If I had been eager to go into labor early I may have joined in, but I decided to just watch from the side.

We really had a wonderful Christmas season and enjoyed getting together with family and friends to celebrate, as well as having lots of time on our own without school or any big travels. I appreciate the special spirit there is at Christmas and was grateful to have the opportunity to think more about my Savior and the wonderful gifts He has given us. I couldn't ask for anything more than my amazing husband, our precious son, and "baby sister" who is about to join us. We love you all!!!

Bookworm

I'm so grateful we have a good library close by because Spencer's latest favorite pastime is reading books and it helps to get a fresh supply every few weeks. He often places a book on the couch and stands facing it, turning each page and repeating the words he remembers or recognizes from the pictures. He can go through a whole pile and then go search for more books, tuning us out sometimes and other times telling us what he's reading. He doesn't usually sit down unless we read to him, but he found a new spot to try out tonight. (And you can hear that he actually recognized that I wanted him to smile since I had the camera out and was trying to take a picture, but he hasn't quite responded to smiling on command yet ... we'll see if he ever does.)

A bit late, but I just discovered we had it on video

Beginning with Spencer's birthday this year and then going to other birthday parties since then, he's caught on to the concept of wishing someone a happy birthday and it's my favorite thing to hear him say. The quality of this video is pretty crummy, but it's the audio that I like anyway.

Journal Entry

Here's an excerpt from my journal entry today that I thought I'd share with all my faithful blog readers:

"When it was time for dinner, we got the leftovers out of the fridge, but I was having trouble finding the chicken enchiladas. We had them Friday night with Kristy and I hadn't planned on making anything today, especially since it was fast Sunday, knowing we had yummy food ready to go. After searching the whole fridge and not finding anything, I felt a little pang of panic. What could have happened to them? I couldn't remember putting them away but I assumed Daniel must have. I checked the freezer and then asked him and he couldn't remember either. I checked the cupboard and didn't even see the casserole dish we had baked it in. It was not looking good. As Daniel tried looking in the fridge one more time, I remembered. I had put the dish back in the oven to keep the enchiladas warm during dinner and we both had completely forgotten about it. I told Daniel and we opened the oven to discover the leftover enchiladas still in the casserole dish where we left it two days ago. I had to start laughing so I wouldn't cry because I had been so set on that for dinner. Fortunately we had just enough other leftovers to keep from going hungry, and I got to the point where I would just start laughing as I thought about what had happened. That's a mistake we'll remember for a long time and one we hopefully won't ever repeat."

Thanksgiving

We joined up with my brothers and sisters who live here in Orem for a good-old-fashioned Thanksgiving meal and were all surprised at how well it turned out, considering we were all making dishes for the first time. With Daniel's suggestions, and motivation from Kristy's blog with the great pictures, we attempted to make "Grandma Rolls" that Daniel's grandma would always make at holidays. Much to his pleasure, they turned out great! The baked ones didn't look quite as pretty as the dough after I shaped them, but maybe next year they'll look a bit better. Daniel was very happy to have lots left over, but discovered that there was no point freezing them because they are going fast.

Neil cooked the turkey and it was DELICIOUS!!

I heard a radio DJ complain how the focus on Thanksgiving is gluttony when we should be remembering the things we're thankful for. I'd have to say I disagree, because really, one very large, very yummy meal eaten with family and friends all around is hardly a bad thing. And that's the place to say what you're thankful for anyway, if you choose that tradition. What I would complain about is the extreme focus on shopping, with all the "Black Friday" and other Thanksgiving sales that pop up at this holiday. Having said that, here's a photo Daniel got of Spencer and me looking at the ads we received for all those smashing deals. So, in spite of my complaints, Daniel and I stayed up late Wednesday night shopping online (Daniel's preferred method) and I ventured out on Friday to do a bit more shopping.

But I am thankful for a great many things: the fun time I had with Daniel and Spencer this vacation, wonderful parents and in-laws who have set great examples for me, my Savior Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life He brings us, good books to read, yummy food, to name a few, and that I'm down to just two months before "baby sister" comes!

Hooray for Birthdays!

Thank you everyone for making my birthday so good this year! It doesn't hurt as much to get a year older when it gives me an excuse to have some fun. The best part was getting some time alone with Daniel because of nice babysitters (thank you Emily and Stacie!) and the next best part was hearing Spencer say "Happy Birthday Mommy."

One of these things is not like the other...

Most of my family considers me to be a nerd so I thought I would post some proof that the trait is being passed on to Spencer quite early. Note, however, that it is Becky's calculator and not mine :)
-Daniel