Mr. domestic mountain man

Mr. domestic mountain man made a scrumptious elk roast in a dutch oven on the wood burning stove. It was so good, authentic and totally impressive. It only took about 12 hours. At about 2:30 in the morning the house was smelling pretty delicious.

Oh Christmas Tree oh Christmas Tree

We kept with family tradition this year and chopped down our Christmas tree.  The pictures somehow got in reverse order to we'll try something fun and present from finish to start.  Tadaaaaa, this is our end result.  I'd like to take some credit.  However, I cannot.  Brian chopped it down, carried it to the truck, set it up, trimmed it, put the lights on it, and then he and the kids decorated it.  I can say it looks fabulous!

We decided to put it in the front room this year due to a certain 7-month-old's curiosity.  It looked beautiful and you could see it nicely from the street.

Remember, we're watching the movie in reverse?  Here it is first put up...

right after \being cut down...

daddy and Kolton

Mom and dad and their tree...

Our family...onlookers as well as workers...

It was ccccccoold, but still very little snow. This was certainly a change from last year when most tree cutters got stuck in the powder.

WE also made it to the downtown Christmas tree lighting,  fun, but ccccccccccold

Monkey

This little monkey crawls like nobody's business. He is fast! When Xiana started crawling she was so dainty about it. Not this little guy. It doesn't matter if it's stone, tile, hard wood, cement, pavement, he wants to be off an gone. He's so funny.

He has also at 6 1/2 months mastered the stairs... up, not down! This can be a bit of a challenge. He giggles the whole time he climbs up and then either aborts mission falling to his yet another bruise/scratch on his head, or lays flat and slides. Either way, pretty genius if you ask me.

He has a total of 6 teeth as of 12/7/11.  It appears as though he has a few more of those chompers coming in.  He HATES to have his nose wiped.  I know, all kids hate to have their noses wiped, but he really really hates to have his nose wiped.

It's getting harder and harder to snap posed pictures because, like I said, he is always on the move.

He babbles like crazy. I think he will be an early talker. Brian insists that he says, "dada" regularly, and I once heard him distinctly say "mama."

He stands on everything! Including his crib when he wakes in the morning. He follows you around just to use your legs to stand up on. He often lets go thinking he can walk causing many more it-looks-like-we-beat-our-child bruising. He also likes to climb into things...like laundry baskets.  The tricky part is getting out.  He sometimes propels himself forward to knock over said basket.  Other times he yells for help.

He laughs and laughs especially at his big sisters. He has come to love the magnets on the fridge. He makes a beeline for them at all hours of the day (and the wood burning stove.. troubles!)

There are few things he doesn't eat. He prefers to self feed.  He gets pretty annoyed if we dare to assume the responsibility of feeding him.  He is fiercely independent.  He's happy to be able to sit in the cart at the grocery store instead of in his car seat.  He loves bath time with sissy.  He is intrigued by grandma and grandpa's cat.  I don't think it will be long before he'll be able to catch her.  He is entering the spend-church-in-the-hallways months.  He still sleeps pretty good at night though more and more frequently he wakens once in the night.  This is bizarre since he was always such a good sleeper.  The one time I made him cry it out was utterly unsuccessful.  He woke many times that night.  When I simply rock him to sleep, he sleeps all night.  Go figure.  He is an early bird regardless of how he does at night.  I hope we won't always wake between 5:30 and 6:30, but he is his father's child.  He has begun snuggling a bit more, not much, but more.  Also, he gets around so easily that it's really sweet when he comes to you to lay his head on your leg or chest.  His eyes are still blue, but they are starting to fade into green.  His hair is slowly but surely starting to grow.  He's wonderful.  I don't know how we lived without him.

Diva

Straight or curly... this little girl is a diva! She struts her stuff like a high fashion model and constantly asks, "don't I look beautiful?"  Indeed she is!

• She is also an obstinate little critter.  She can't be convinced otherwise once her mind is made up.  I frequently hear her, after being corrected on a song, scripture, letter, word, "I can say/sing/write whatever I want."  She will not tolerate being told she has the words wrong.  She will simply insist they are right.

• I've frequently commented on how she says like like, a lot.  So, the other day when we were chopping down our Christmas tree, we mentioned that we were in California.  She exclaimed, "now we can say like because we can talk like Californians!"
• While bragging about the many things Kolton can now eat to my friend she said, "he can even drink water!!  But not too much because we don't want him to waste calories."  Indeed I believe that's a phrase she's heard a time or two in her skinny little life.

• While in the back seat Xiana was pushing buttons on her DVD player.  She announced, "It says there's a bad accident on Vista, we better go a different way."

• Watching a TV program with a man creating a nutcracker, she said, "that guy is a gooder builder than my dad!  But I bet if my dad builds my playhouse then he will be a gooder builder."

• Before my dad leaves for work on the mornings they have the kids, she always teases him saying, "good night, sleep tight."  Dad said, "don't let the bed bugs bite."  She very seriously told him, "but there's not really bed bugs.  That's just a figure of speech."
• The other day Xiana informed me that I'm a "grownup kid."  Thinking I was young and fun, I asked her why.  "Because you still have a mommy and daddy."  Oh, well, I'm glad I have that sorted out.

Give Thanks

Well, I must be doing better because instead of this post being a month out... it's only a few weeks! See, Thanksgiving in December means Christmas in January...I can hang with that. Like I said earlier, Brian went on his brother's elk hunt and abandoned his family for Thanksgiving.  Fortunately, we had a wonderful time nevertheless... but we did miss him!  We went to my parent's house and mom, as usual, out did herself.  I brought a few little things, but we had quite the spread.  It honestly won't bother me even a little bit if I never have to tackle Thanksgiving solo.  I have no interest in cooking a turkey or making the spread.  I'm grateful for my mom and mother-in-law.  I hope we can attend with them every year!  Speaking of table... I didn't get a picture, but it was beautiful.  My parents, us, Garrett and two of his friends, and my sister-in-law all sat around the beautiful feast.  We ate until we were so stuffed we thought we would die and then devoured six different types of homemade pies... delicious.

Of course dad needed to work off some of his meal.  In the morning we watched the parade which was quite reminiscent of Xiana's second Thanksgiving where she squealed with delight at the floats and balloons on the screen.  Kolton got to eat on his first Thanksgiving.  Let me tell you, he loved it.  He ate turkey and tators and his weight in candied yams, and pie (okay whipped cream mostly, but a bit of pie) and then finished off with a spoon for entertainment.  He not only ate like crazy, but he was very kind to let me eat also. 

I have much to be thankful for.  Like others, the list is endless.  This year, I am especially thankful for my little family.  I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, Brian, for our kids Ekco, Xiana, and Kolton.  What a wonderful addition each member is to our family.  How important they all are.  The each serve their own purpose and fit our family perfectly.  I'm also extraordinarily grateful for my parents.  They do so much for us.  They spend so much time with us.  I'm grateful that I get to live here in Sparks... where I always planned on living. I'm also thankful for my siblings, my in-laws, and my friends. 

I'm thankful for our home, wood burning stove, cars, truck, electronics, washer, dryer, dishwasher, vacuum, and so many other material goods that make life easier and more convenient.

I'm thankful for our jobs, the gospel, warm clothes, computers, books, cameras, lights, doctors, modern medicine, freedom, and happiness.  But most of all, I'm grateful for my Savior without whom there would be nothing for me to be grateful for.  I hope that I can give more gratitude daily, live in a way that doesn't condone resentment, but rather fulfillment, and always always always give thanks.

32!!!

Happy birthday to me! I celebrated my 32nd birthday this year.  I felt much the way I felt on my 29th birthday... after the dust of motherhood had settled and I felt, for one of the first times, like a person again.  This is similar to how I felt this year.  Brian and I went out for sushi and then bowling (which was our first date).  Suddenly, my experience, feelings, and thoughts came crashing down on me reminding me that, although I am often a mother first... that is not all I am. I am also a person, a wife, a teacher, a thinker, an optimistic individual that sometimes loses her optimism.  I did it with Xiana, Kolton, and I'm sure I'll do it again; this thing where I get lost in the void of motherhood and can't seem to make it out.  I forget to feel confident and instead feel resentful.  I forget to feel grateful and instead feel overwhelmed.  But most importantly, I forget the I am me.  I still exist.  When we were bowling, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic.  It took me back to the first time I met Brian and we were there, in the same alley.  I remembered my initial impression of him; how mysterious and exciting it all was.  I remembered how good it felt, and fun.  It was good for me to remember how incredible he is; how I forget that he excites emotions in me that had been previously, and later put on the back burner.  It reminded me who I was years ago.  It reminded me that I still am her.  I guess I just rely on birthdays for perspective and a sense of self.  I'm. still. here.  I'm. glad.

The next day was my actual birthday so we went to my parent's house where my mom made crab cakes and cheesecake. It was beyond delicious and we had a wonderful time.

I had my trusty helper to blow out my candles, and I made a wish... but I'll never tell.

I got to spend my birthday with the most important people on earth to me. And Brian left belatedly on his brother's elk hunt so that he could be here for my birthday. Oh, and also so that I didn't kill him for missing both my bday and Thanksgiving. But I think the former was the most important part.

We went to church, Xiana was her adorable self, Brian made me breakfast, and all was good in the

land of 32!

 

Brian got me new headphones and itunes gift card and my parents gave me a gift certificate for a spa!  It was a wonderful birthday weekend.