Sunday Best

All ready for church in their Christmas clothes!

Christmas activities

During the month of December I planned 24 activities as a count down to Christmas.  I knew that for me to stick with it some of the activities had to be really simple or I would just get overwhelmed and stop doing the whole thing.  Some days it was just open a a new Christmas book ( I got a whole bunch of new books for very inexpensive) but other days it was make and decorate sugar cookies. We had a lot of fun doing all of our activities.  And I didn't even come close to taking pictures of everything we did but her are some of the things.  

We went and visited Santa at the Bass Pro Shop, rode the carousel, made Christmas crafts and wrote letters to Santa .

Our kids are pretty scared of Santa.  Well I should say Leila is scared of Santa which then makes Greydon and Asher scared.  So I ended up being in the picture so that the kids would at least stand by him.

Here is the Christmas activity countdown that I made, it was a lot more work then I thought it would be and I barely finished halfway through the  month but now it is down for years to come and I'm happy with how it turned out

One day we got a little bit of snow and Greydon was so excited to get out and play in it.  Even though there wasn't much he still made snow angels and tried to throw snow at me.  

Every year I get he kids new ornaments for our tree.  It is really hard trying to find ornaments that are kid proof and don't cost a fortune. I spent way to much time this year gluing ornaments back together after my kids go a hold of them.  Greydon got a Spiderman, Leila got Hello Kitty, Asher got a Candy cane Santa and Paul and I got an Iowa ornament.  

We went to the Jolly Holiday Lights downtown.  On Monday nights it is half price so we had to take advantage of that.  I was surprised with how long the set up was, they had lots of lights and it was a fun drive for us, plus we had stopped and bought hot cocoa for the drive.  

We made sugar cookies and the kids were so excited!

Last week we got a huge blizzard.  It started snowing Wednesday evening but during the night the wind picked up and caused all sorts of damage.  School was canceled, our power was knocked out and we had giant snow drifts.  Paul took my car (including car seats) since it is better in the snow.  The roads were really bad and I didn't plan on going anywhere.  With our power being out we were freezing.  My friend Alisha called to check up on us and invited us over since they had power.  I declined since I didn't have car seats and really didn't want to drive in the snow.  My mom helped me figure out how to get our fireplace on but it was still so cold and the kids were stir crazy.  We played a bunch of games and tried to put Asher down for a nap but he was just too cold.  Alisha sent her husband to come pick us up.  It was nice for the kids to hang out with friends and for us to have a warm place to be.  We went home that afternoon and luckily the power was back on.   I got to work shoveling the driveway.  My neighbor saw me out shoveling with just tennis shoes on, I kept forgetting to buy snow boots.  I guess she felt really bad because she came over with a brand new pair of nice snow boots for me, she said she had an extra pair and I could just keep them.  She also said she felt really bad because normally she would just snow blow our driveway for us but their snow blower was broken.  I dug out our driveway as best I could before it got dark, well I at least cleared enough so that Paul could get into the driveway.  The snow drifts were crazy, we had spots where grass was poking through and then other spots where it was five feet deep.  We were always warned by our neighbors that it wasn't the amount of snow they get in Iowa but the snow drifts.  The next morning I heard a truck out front and looked out to see my neighbor with a bobcat clearing out our driveway so we could easily get in and out.  I've said this before but we seriously got so lucky with our neighbors.  The temperature dropped very quickly and we ended up with really really icy dangerous roads and the city was having a hard time clearing them.  I'm surprised Paul made it to and from work on Thursday and Friday.  They canceled school on Friday too because the roads were so bad.    

Poor Leila got a stomach bug and had to be picked up from school on Tuesday morning and was still sick on Wednesday. So between being sick and snow days Leila got an extended winter break.  Thank goodness only Asher got the stomach bug and the rest of us remained healthy.  

I spent a bunch of time sewing Christmas presents for the kids.  I made this apron for Leila and was excited that it actually turned out cute.

Every morning the kids loved to look for Ely the Elf.  Some days he was pretty creative and others days we were lucky if he even moved.  I can't tell you how many nights I had to crawl out of bed to hurry and move Ely because I had forgotten.  But the kids loved it and thought he was hilarious.  Some of their favorites were hanging from rope tied to the ceiling fan, when he dyed our milk pink, when he left a naughty and nice list and when he left candy kisses to be planted and then they grew into candy kiss candy canes.  

I took the boys to the mall to do some shopping when we noticed there was no one in line to see Santa.  I asked Greydon if he wanted to talk to him.  Grey seemed excited to so we gave it a try.  Greydon  walked right up to him and told him his name and what he wanted, then gave him a high five and sat by him for a picture.  And then at the end gave him a big hug.  Because this was so spur of the moment I wasn't prepared with a camera and then paid way to much for the mall picture.  I was just so happy to see Greydon actually talk with Santa and not be fearful  

Asher update

Just wanted to write a quick update about Asher before I forget these things.  He is growing and learning so much and so quickly.  

He doesn't say mama he pretty much just yells "mom".  I think he learned it from his brother and sister, sometimes I'm not sure if it Grey or Asher yelling mom.  And he yells it all the time and very loudly.  The worst is at church, during relief society last week he pretty  much yelled mom the entire hour.  It makes me kind of sad that he doesn't say mama or mommy.  

When he is doing something that he knows is naughty and gets caught he shakes his head no at me.  Like when he gets into the cupboard under the sink and I find him he looks at me and shakes his head no and just smiles.  

If he is hungry or there is something he wants to eat he says, "nummy nummy" over and over again.  He can find sweets from a mile away, if he knows there is a treat or something on the counter he will stand right below it it and reach up and yell nummy until he gets what he wants.  

He loves to climb now and can climb our kitchen chairs to get on to of the table.  I can't even tell you how  many times I have turned around to find him sitting on top of the table.  

He is very vocal and talks a ton although we can't  understand most of what he says.  He mimics he siblings and is always repeating sounds and words they say.  He has quite the scream, it is high pitched and loud.  We hear it whenever he is excited, mad or wanting saving from his siblings.  

He is a good little dancer, anytime music comes on you will find him bouncing to the beat.  

He loves to play patty cake and is really good and clapping and rolling.  He loves to cuddle especially with his mama and is good at giving kisses and even includes sound effects.

He LOVES to eat food in squeeze pouches and pretty much anything we are eating.  He likes milk in his sippy and still nurses once a day.  

He sleeps great a night, usually 12 hours and then two naps during the day that are about 3-4 hours total.

He is becoming such a big boy.  The other day I was in the basement watching him play with his brother and sister and he joined in like he was as big as they are  He ran around trying to keep up with all their games.    

update

It has been a busy couple weeks. With lots going on with school, activities, Dr. appointments, sickness, the holiday season and church callings.  So here is just a quick update of some of the things we have been up to. 

We have had some really nice warm days so we have had fun playing outside and and just enjoying the nice weather while we can.  Leila is really into hop scotch, every time we are outside she wants me to draw her a hopscotch with chalk. 

Greydon loves playing dress up and make believe so when this police outfit showed up from his Aunt Ariane for his birthday he  was in heaven and wouldn't take it off for hours. 

We FINALLY got rid of Greydon's binky.  I had been dreading this forever, to say he loved his binky would be an understatement.  Plus I was nervous that my sweet little boy would turn into a monster and no longer be my good  sleeper and napper.  We had been telling him for weeks that when he turned 3 he had to get rid of all his binky's.  So the day after his 3rd birthday he helped me gather them all up.   He did pretty good all day but refused to take a nap so I just let him stay up.  But around 4:30 he fell asleep on the couch and then woke up about 30 minutes later.  When he woke up he was a holy terror.  He was screaming for his binky, hitting me, throwing things, and kicking.  It was terrible plus Paul was leaving for the night shift.  I was at my ropes end so we decided he could have it for three more nights but not during the day.  The next two days he did well and even napped. so on the last night of him getting his binky I didn't mention his binky and he didn't ask for it and just went to sleep without it.  I couldn't believe it, I kept waiting for him to get up in the night and ask for it but it never happened.  He has done so well and is still my sweet little guy and still takes great naps during the day.  It ended up not being as bad as I thought it was going to be and I am so glad he is finally free of the binky. 

We had our first own little Thanksgiving dinner and man it was a lot of work.  I spent all day Wednesday and Thursday cooking and keeping up on the dishes so our kitchen wouldn't be a total disaster.  I now know why people to Thanksgiving together, so they can share the work.  I was pretty nervous about cooking a turkey since I had never done it before and Paul was going to be working or sleeping.  Side note: Paul got stuck with a really crappy holiday schedule, he worked Wednesday thru Saturday doing the night shift.  Anyway I decided to brine the turkey and it turned out great! But I was exhausted by the time we ate dinner hopefully  next year Paul won't be working and we can make plans with friends or even have our family come visit us for Thanksgiving.

The kids are so excited for Christmas and were begging to decorate the house, so a couple of days before Thanksgiving we pulled out all our decorations.  The kids favorite part was decorating the tree, they love looking at their ornaments that they have received each year.  The tree is  not very pretty this year since Asher pulls every thing off that is within his reach so only the top of the tree is decorated.   It kind of bugs me but its just one of those things that I just have to be ok with and realize there is a time and season for everything and right now is not the time or season for a beautiful fancy tree. 

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards and have sent Christmas cards for the last couple years, at least since we had kids.  But this year I had to make the decision that I just couldn't do it this year, first I didn't have a great picture to send and I couldn't afford to get family pictures taken (thanks to my wonderful dental bills) and then I really couldn't afford the cards and stamps.  I know there have been some great deals out there on getting cards for pretty cheap but I was never on top of it to actually cash in on those deals.  It seriously had been one of those decisions that has driven me crazy I so badly want to send them out but I've had to just tell myself that I can't always do every little thing because people are expecting a card from me and it's ok.

Paul hung our Christmas lights over the weekend and lucked out that our neighbors brought home a Cherry picker and told Paul he could use it to hang the lights.  It made the ordeal so easy and so much safer, he was done in less then 30 minutes.  It's wonderful to have neighbors who have access to all sorts of equipment. 

I finally finished Insanity a couple weeks ago and man am I ever glad it is over, by the end I was so burned out on it and was dreading the work outs.  It's not that the workouts were bad it's just that they were really long and took a good portion of the morning.  But I did see results and it was fun to take the fitness test every couple of weeks to see how much improvement I had made.  Now that it is over I feel like I can be a bit more balanced, while I was doing it I constantly felt like I was dropping one of the balls I was juggling, something in my life was always suffering (it usually was a clean house).  The picture below is what would happen while I would work out.  I would put Asher down for a nap and then I would go upstairs and work out in my room, leaving Greydon to run wild in the family room.

Leila started gymnastics a couple of weeks ago.  It is a pretty big sacrifice for us to have her in gymnastics, it is not cheap and pretty serious business.  I mean we are in Iowa home of Olympic gymnasts Gabby Douglas and Shawn Johnson so gymnastics is taken very seriously.  But it is just perfect for Leila, she loves it so much and is doing so well! And poor Greydon wants to participate so bad, after both classes he has left screaming his head off because he wants his turn. 

I am pretty much done with all my Christmas shopping just a couple more things I need to pick up.  This is probably the earliest I've been done with my Christmas shopping.  Thank goodness for Amazon prime, I've been able to get great deals, had family gifts shipped to Utah and I didn't have to haul my kids all over town.  We also had our elf Ely show up on December 1st he brought a letter for the kids plus breakfast.  The kids were so excited and love looking for Ely every morning.

Paul finally has some time off but instead of getting to enjoy extra time with him he has been studying for his Step 3 board exam which he is taking next week.  I can't wait for the day when his vacation time is actually a vacation. At least he gets a week off for Christmas and we can enjoy that time with him.

And then just a couple random pictures.  Both boys love playing with the bar stools and it drives me crazy but it was quite funny that they got stuck in them

Greydon loves going shopping with me especially if he gets to look at toys and try them out.  He really loved this kids chair at Costco

Last week I went and had lunch with Leila at school and then she begged for me to come to recess with her.  She refused to let me take any pictures of her so this was snapped when she wasn't looking.  I couldn't believe how good she has become on the bars, she was swinging all over the place and doing flips off them.  I guess having recess 3 times a day every single day gives you a lot of practice.  And I learned that she has convinced a bunch of her friends to push her on the swings even though she  knows how to pump on her own, such a sneaky little girl.