Christmas 2013

It's been long enough since I sat down and blogged that I had to give myself a pep talk about starting up again.  I've been feeling overwhelmed at all the events that I neglected to record.  I might get around to blogging about our trip to Disneyland or about my trip to Vermont to see my dear friend Chelsey get married.  I might.  Then again, I might not.  I might have too much laundry to do, too many dishes to wash and meals to cook.  What I can tackle, though, is today- Christmas 2013.  I can take a minute to capture the magic of today. 

This picture was taken this Sunday before we headed off to our second to last one o'clock church meeting for three more years.  I thought the boys were rather dashing in their Christmas sweaters and, in a miraculous turn of events, Hyrum sat still long enough to get a picture of the four of them.  When I look at this picture I see these boys and I can't believe how blessed I am.  Four boys.  Healthy, happy and wonderful boys grew inside me, made their entrance into this world and continue to thrive and amaze me on a daily basis.  I am blessed. 

 

We started our Christmas celebrating at my mom's house with a little dinner and my dad was kind enough to snap this picture. 

After dinner with my parents we loaded up and went to temple square, as has become our Christmas Eve tradition.  We love the lights, the music, the nativities and that temple.  This year was a little more crowded than years past but the boys were good with the exception of Hyrum who kind of lost his mind.  He's two though and it's forgiveable.  There were some really sweet moments while on temple square that I wanted to capture. 

• At one point I was walking hand in hand with sweet Noah and we started talking about the temple and how Nat and I were married there.  When I told him that the temple made us a forever family he squeezed my hand and melted into me a little bit.  
• We took the boys to see the statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and they all got really excited at Hyrum's statue and tried to get Hyrum as excited as they were.  He remained a little confused.  
• I was praising Luke for always setting such a good example in public for his brothers and I could tell that it meant a lot to him.  He cuddled up into me and thanked me for noticing. 
• Isaac was really sweet and quiet the whole time we were there.  I could tell he was really taking it all in.  He's a pensive little one who notices everything.

We didn't stay as long this year on temple square.  We were tired and the boys were claiming to be hungry so we headed home for cookies and cocoa.  After a snack and setting cookies and carrots out for Santa we sat in front of the fire where the boys took turns singing Christmas songs for us.  They then surprised Nat with their recitation of Luke 2.  We've been working on it in the mornings before school and we memorized about half of it.  I was particularly impressed with Isaac.  I didn't even know he'd been paying attention but he had large passages committed to memory.  I thought that it would be fun to fall asleep in front of the Christmas tree and then carry the boys up.  They had a different idea though and just wanted to get in their own beds.  Fine with me.  I fell asleep next to Isaac.  Nat made several attempts at waking me up and I finally went down and laid on the couch while he got things ready.  

Luke and Noah snuggled up and fell asleep in Luke's bed.  I'd like to think there were visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads but I'm pretty sure neither one knows what a sugarplum is.  I am not entirely sure that I know either.  I could google it but I am sure it would take the intrigue out of it for me.  I took this picture after stockings were stuffed and Christmas was all set out.  This was done mostly by Nat while I struggled to stay awake and help him locate Christmas.  I am not a night person.

Then Christmas morning was all too quickly upon us.  The boys got up about 6:30 and were itching to get downstairs.  I made them pose for the stair picture and got these hilarious results.  Noah and Isaac managed some cute expressions but Luke and Hyrum took turns looking pained instead of excited.  Luke was the most animated about coming down and discovering Christmas.  They opened their stockings and played happily with the contents while we prepared breakfast. 

 Every boy got a few toys in their stockings.  Isaac, not surprisingly, latched onto his toys and tried to carry every last one of them everywhere he went.  After stockings my parents and brothers arrived and ate with us. 

After breakfast the present opening ensued. The boys were darling and grateful.  They were especially excited about the gifts that they gave each other.  This is one of my favorite parts and they always manage to know exactly what to select.  Noah wins the most enthusiastic award. Everything was exactly what he wanted and he let us all know it.  

 I-guy just made me melt all day.  He was so happy and sweet.  He just about burst with pride when I opened the present he'd made me at preschool.  He's been so excited for me to open it all month.   Being the mom at Christmas gets better and better.  These boys fill the day with wonder and magic. 

Fourth Grade!

Fourth grade!  It seems unreal to me that this guy is a fourth grader for a number of reasons, including the fact that just yesterday he was a babe in arms.  Fourth grade seems like a milestone-- he's an upper elementary student.  He was ready (unlike his mother) to head back to school.  He's especially excited about the daily trips to the library to keep him in books.  (I tried over the summer to make sure that he had something to read but he reads way faster than I can get to the library.) Some of his best friends are in his class and he came home from school the first day and told me his teacher was , "Awesome."  He's excited to head out the door every morning and really likes having his brother at school with him all day.  I, on the other hand, am struggling.  I feel like the summer came and went before I really had a chance to soak up my time with all my babies at home.  Their childhoods seem to be flying by and I can barely enjoy one stage before they're on to the next one.  Here's to a great school year!

The first day of first grade

This little guy left my side Monday morning to join the ranks of kids whole stay the whole day at school.  He's now packing a lunch and learning to eat between chatting with his friends.  I knew I needed to sit down and capture the magic of his first day before the memories left me for good.  He's been thinking about first grade all summer long and asking me questions from time to time about how things work and wondering if his teacher would be nice.

The first day was exciting for him and he actually told me that there was no need to walk him to class, he could just go with his friend Jake who knew where he was headed.  I insisted on walking him to class, helping him find where to put his lunch and then took a picture of him at his desk.  I was then dismissed with a little wave and an "I love you, Mom". 

He's come home cheerful and excited every day and loves his teacher.  He's made friends with the other Noah in his class and loves to list the kids that are in his class that were in kindergarten with him last year.  

I'm pretty smitten with him.  He wants to follow the rules, works hard and is genuinely concerned for others.  He's reading well, loves to color and do worksheets and is interested in Math.  

While I miss my wide eyed little guy during the day I am excited for the adventures he's having in first grade.  

My boys

Smart boy

This little man knows how to use my phone, undo the child locks and get down whatever he's after.  His latest trick is climbing out of the crib.  He was napping yesterday and I ran to get the mail.  When I came back in he was in the kitchen enjoying a snack of craisins. He keeps me running.  The wonderful thing about a forth child though is that I find myself delighting in his accomplishments, knowing that the busyness is just a phase and that the persistence he is demonstrating will take him far.  There's also a lot of other people in this house to help me keep him alive.  The other boys know to pull him out of the bathroom when they catch him in there.  Also, isn't his bedhead in this picture just adorable?

This boy

The winter has melted together into a big blur of school work, runny noses, logging miles to train for my first marathon and Nat working non-stop.  At some point I'll get caught up on the blog, with entries from Christmas and Valentines and all the nonsense in between.  But, for now I've decided that I'd better document our little Hyrum.  He's pushing 17 months and he's pretty full of personality.  He's into everything all the time and the kitchen chairs now reside in the family room except for dinner time to avoid the constant climbing onto the counter top to get into the cupboards. 

At almost 17 months Hyrum

• is all weaned and drinking out of a sippy
• loves his binkies and blankie
• loves the dog and the cat, who both really love him back
• is super snuggly
• loves to read, he's pretty sure that if I ever sit down during the day I want to read him a book 
• loves cheese, yogurt and chocolate chips 
• is still the most popular member of the family- his brothers adore him and think that everything he does is hilarious
• has a temper and is pretty good at communicating his displeasure when things don't go his way
• loves the Bell family- I am pretty sure he thinks Emily is his other mom
• loves water- in the bath or the pool or just in any cup he can pick up and dump out 
• still melts me daily with his sweetness

He's a treasure. 

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Our Christmas card photo shoot didn't start out very promising because all we were getting from Hyrum was this:

 And I was reminded of the year that Isaac was about Hyrum's age and this is what we sent out as a Christmas card.  I thought it was funny and ironic.  And it was better than this:
  In the end though, we ended up with a few keepers. 

I even got a decent one of each one of the boys.  Hyrum wouldn't look at the camera for his individual shots.  I do love his profile though.  These boys are the best work I've ever done.  

Christmas around the house

My Christmas decor was really minimal this year.  I have a toddler-  'nuff said.  I love my nativity, the little people nativity and our Christmas books.  I also made a paper chain countdown to Christmas.  That was enough for this year.

 We also managed to pull off the Elf on the Shelf.  Isaac named him Richie when he joined the family last year.  We even remembered to move him most days.  The boys loved it. 

Thanksgiving 2012

I failed at documenting Thanksgiving this year.  

Here are the things that I failed to capture: 

The whole family did an early morning Turkey Trot.  There was a five mile race and a two mile run/walk.  I ran the five mile and the rest of the family did the two mile.  Nat, my sainted husband, pushed kids in the stroller.  Luke ran the whole two miles with my mom and came in 7th overall.  He was so proud of himself.  The race itself was really neat.  It was put on by Ogden Regional hospital.  Entrance fee was taken care of with a canned good item or a monetary donation.  I loved watching each one of the big boys turn their cans in as they had the chance to think of the less fortunate on Thanksgiving.  There was a wonderful community feeling and as far as I'm concerned a new family tradition  has been born.  I'll push the stroller next year and Nat can run the race.  

I REALLY wish I'd taken a picture of all the sparking juices.  There were twelve bottles when all was said and done.  We got our wires crossed about who was bringing what and we all brought too much.  We managed to polish it off though.  

I didn't take a picture of the cousins and their creative play while the adults prepared the meal.  It's a sweet, sweet blessing to be so close to family.  

I didn't take a picture of the finished spread.  It was a traditional Thanksgiving with all the family favorites.  Yum!

Here's what I got instead: 

I'm on the phone with Ashley who spent the holiday with Caleb's family.  We missed her and her family.  I spent the whole day chopping and slicing.  I love cooking.  I love it even more with my momma around.    Thanksgiving is really one of my very favorite days of the year.  I think I might like the prepping even better than the eating.  I love the smells, conversation and warmth of being with family.  

I did manage to document the cheese course.  We set it out late morning and munch while we prep.  We.  Love.  Cheese.  We've recently discovered this little ginger marmalade.  It's a brilliant addition to the cheese course. 

 

Thanks to instagram and my iPhone I got a picture of my traditional day after Thanksgiving breakfast.  I love pie for breakfast.  

Thanks to instagram and my best friend my iPhone I captured my traditional morning after Thanksgiving breakfast.  I love pie for breakfast. 

Isaac turns four

This blog has been sorely neglected and I'm here to resolve that because one of these days I'm going to make the rest of my blog books.  We'll get there, I have hope.  It won't be anytime soon though because I have a very busy little toddler and his brothers who love to leave bathroom and pantry doors open so he can unroll toilet paper, throw things in the toilet and unload all the contents of the pantry onto the floor.  I digress.  

Isaac Lee turned four years old the day before Thanksgiving.  We did a little dinner, cupcakes and presents.  The cupcakes were lame, according to my standards and perfect according to Isaac.  That's where we're at with so many fall birthdays.  There were cousins to play with and grandparents to dote on him.  Our family tradition is for the giver to hold the present over the receiver's head, chant the little saying,  "Heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head, what do you wish this person with a bump (giver bumps the receiver with the gift at this point) on your head" and then the birthday boy wishes something wonderful for whoever is giving the gift.  Isaac was slow and thoughtful about his wishes.  That's just the kind of guy he is.  Love this little man.