Trip to UT!

So I will have to back track later but this is a little recap of our fun trip to Utah to celebrate and bring in the NEW YEAR!! We had such a blast! Thanks Aunt Marnee for taking such great pictures. We had fun sledding, going to Thanksgiving Point, sledding, Cabela's, sledding, fire crackers and more sledding!!

Merry Christmas...

To all of you whose address we don't have but would like to remember that Christmas was less than a month ago...ENJOY!

P.S. to "My Crush!"

Okay, so that crazy, insane, slightly warm December morning when I posted about "my crush" must have been inspired because the rest of the day went something like this...

"Joseph, PLEASE stop taking off the fifteen couch cushions that are so fun for you to throw on the ground and jump on but take me twenty min. to put back together so that we can actually sit on it. If you do that again you will go to timeout!"

"Son, where is Spencer's passifier? Are you getting your fix under that blanket because he needs it to take his nap. If you take it again you will get hot sauce on your mouth!!"

"Joseph, do you know where the Tivo remote is? We can't watch Curious George unless you find it... WHAT THE HECK!!! I didn't even know Tivo remotes had this many pieces!! How am I going to get all the ashes off and you are SOO lucky that the fire was already burnt out or you cold've really hurt yourself!! Son, Tivo remotes DO NOT burn in the fire and DO NOT take them apart like this! I don't know if it will ever work again... You better take yourself to timeout because if I come near you..."

I feel like I was inspired that morning to have happy thoughts about him because it honestly kept me in check as he experimented and tested with my "holly jolly" mood!!

I have a Crush!

So I have crush, A HUGE crush on my son, Joseph! I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the circumstances of his unique birth, but whatever the reason, we have a pretty special bond. The beginning of the month was a little rough on our relationship because he REFUSED to play "Joseph" in the Joyschool Nativity program. Now, this wouldn't be a big deal except that he is the only boy in the class and with five other Mary's, we REALLY needed a "Joseph". He even helped me make the bribe batch of cookeis, but nothing worked. I took him around the house and showed him every nativity and we played the "who's this" game with every character about twenty times... Still nothin! He was not interested... Oh well, maybe next year.

But since that rough start to the month, he has repented (ha ha ha) and has been my dreamboat ever since. Last week HE came up to me and said, "Mom, I wanna snuggle!!!" I pinched myself! Really, you want to snuggle!! YOU BET. And this isn't just a little hug and then go to bed... oh no! He tickled my face and put his arm under my head and his other arm around my neck and we fell asleep touching foreheads!! It was wonderful... and I love nap time!

The downside of taking naps on my bed is that he thinks he can join us during the middle of the night. We've been trying to break this 3:00 AM waking but it all went down hill on Sunday night after an unfortunate scorpian sting. He was twitching and screaming and so uncomfortable that even McKay was a go with him joining us in bed. So there we were, on a gigantic queen size bed, Papa bear and Mama bear and Baby bear! Only it was more like toddler bear! None of us slept much that night. Last night, there was NO sign of him!! Possilby because McKay let him sleep with the blanket that has flowers on it, per his request!

Every morning since we brought back to life our Christmas movies, I wake up to Joseph saying, "Mom, I wanna watch Polar Express!" We have probably seen it 45 times so far this season... I'm not exaggerating. Of course he has to have his Geo Trax in front of him as he watches so he can push a train along while he quotes and re-enacts the entire movie! Including the cariboo yelp!!!

My crush is here to stay. When he's fifteen, he will no longer want to snuggle or play with trains or be so easily entertained so I am enjoying it while it lasts! I want to bottle him up forever!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Better late than never! We had a really fun Halloween! Almost no meltdowns... but it wouldn't be Halloween without the spooky emotions of children on a sugar high! We missed our ward party (apparantly we missed the memo!) but we made it over to my parent's house for dinner and enjoyed a visit with Grandma and Grandpa Ray. Then we headed down the street to the good 'ole Sixtieth Ward carnival! After all the fun we could handle there, we headed back to the neighborhood and went on our first ever official trick or treat run! When we turned the corner the entire culdesac was filled with lawn chairs and children! We didn't even have to knock on the door because they were all sitting in a semi-circle holding out their buckets of candy!! It was the most efficient trick-or-treating experience ever! The best part was the next morning we told them to pick their ten favorite pieces and then gladly handed over the rest!!! Innocence is BLISS!!

Fun in the Autumn Sun!!

McKay and I surprised the girls and got them out of school early to have a "Family Field Trip!" We all went to Schnepf's Farm and had a great time! Family outings are the BEST!!

Our Sleeping Boy!

Now that you know where he was born, these images will make a little more sense! There's just something he loves about the stairs...