Christmas

Waiting to go downstairs to see if Santa came.

Santa brought a red Nintendo DS for Chan.

And a blue one for Spence.

I said "Show me how Christmas makes you feel."

You can tell a bit of the difference in their personalities from these pictures.  I wouldn't trade either one of them.  They made Christmas so fun.  I love to watch the innocent excitement.

We went up to Brigham after we opened all of our presents.  There was a snow storm that night that threatened to keep us up there.  Luckily, we made it home safe.  Brandon's hands were sore from holding the steering wheel so tight.  

This Christmas was one of the best ones I have had in a long time.  It was relaxed and focused on Family.  Brandon and I didn't do Christmas presents for each other, but I didn't feel like I missed out on anything.  It was nice to not have to worry about that part of it all.  I did feel bad a bit before Christmas, but on Christmas day it didn't matter that we didn't have gifts.  Brandon agreed with me that it was one of the best we have had together.  

Christmas Eve

We had a really fun Christmas Eve.  We went to my in-laws for games and food.  We played pictionary and scattergories.  The boys had fun running around and playing.  My Father-in-law would shoot the guys an evil look when they weren't able to guess what he was drawing.  It was pretty funny because he didn't draw very well:)  

The look.

Spencer, Aiden, Chandler

Christmas pajama time

Zoo Lights

The only picture taken at the zoo.  It was far too cold!

We went to the Hogle Zoo to see the Zoo Lights.  It was so COLD!!!  It was really pretty, but it was far too cold to really enjoy.  We also hadn't had dinner so the boys were all pretty cranky pretty quick into it.  After the zoo we went to the Gateway and ate at the California Pizza Kitchen.  It was a fun experience, but next year we will have to choose a warmer night and have a snack before.

Chandler's Birthday

Chandler.

Chandler turned 4 on Sunday. He was/is so excited about it. Since Sunday he can run faster, jump higher, clean up, etc. He always says, “Yes, I can do it. I am four years old.” One day he was licking under his lips (something that both of my boys do until their chins are sore) and said, “What the heck am I doing? Four year olds don’t lick their lips. It must be leftover from three.” I had to laugh. Hopefully more of his bad behavior is just “leftover from three” and he will start to be a little angel:)

What are we thinking?!?

My “baby” turns 4 tomorrow. What are we doing having another one? I am sitting here thinking about what we are getting ourselves into having another one. Yesterday Chandler decided he wanted lunch as I was in the middle of folding laundry, so he fixed himself a sandwich. He can dress himself. He is potty trained. He sleeps through the night. I can go places without a diaper bag or stroller. I don’t have to buckle anyone in the car because they can both do it by themselves. I have 2 very independent boys. In April I will have someone that totally depends on me for EVERYTHING. I am feeling totally overwhelmed by this idea.

And then I think of the tiny hands and feet, the snuggly baby, the sweet new baby smell, first smiles, first steps, first time seeing the new baby, tiny baby noises, a new little one to love and it all seems worth it.

I can't wait!

Tomorrow is the big day. If the baby cooperates, we will know if it is a boy or a girl!!

Thanksgiving

Chandler is so cool.

Spencer showing off his Thanksgiving picture.

We attempted to get another Grandkid picture.  It turned out just as good as the last time we tried.  

Chandler, Gabriel, Lexi, Christian, Owen

Aiden and Spencer

Where is time going?!?

I swear every morning I wake up a week has passed instead of only a night. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Spencer had his 6th birthday on the 12th. I had a really hard time with that. I feel like he was just a tiny baby laying in the bed at the hospital. In my head I am still just waiting for him to be strong enough to come home. Then we put 6 candles on his cake and I realize how much time has passed since then. I feel like I have missed so much of his life doing all of the regular hustle bustle of life. I really just want to be able to enjoy it more. The year and a half that we managed the apartments took a lot out of both Brandon and I. We both totally missed that time of our boys lives. The boys acted out, screaming for a bit of attention from us. We didn't listen. I am so sad. That was the worst year and a half of my life and I can never get it back. Now we are in our own home, with our own needs and wants to fill our minds and time, we are enjoying each other again. The boys have been so well behaved, Brandon and I have relaxed, we enjoy family time. In the apartments Brandon and I were in a black hole, barely surviving day to day. Now there is light.



For Spencer's birthday we gave him Brandon's old video camera. Spence is a little director in training. He follows his Dad around watching his every move. He had a fake camera that didn't record anything that he would use all the time. Trying different angles, yelling action and cut, setting the scene. When he opened the video camera he had the HAPPIEST look on his face. I have never seen him so happy. Brandon was emotional. And of course, my camera battery was DEAD! I will never forget the look on his face, though. It is forever burned in my mind. Since his birthday he has not let go of the camera, even begging to take it to school.

His old, fake camera

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  We had our very first Parent Teacher Conference with Spencer. Mrs. Jones had nothing but good to say about him. He is doing well with all of his school work, he is an excellent student. He is one she can always expect to do the right thing and to be the example. He earned "character award" for RESPONSIBILTY. We got to go to an award ceremony. He was so cute up there on the stage.
  
  Chandler is Chandler. He is so funny. He always has the funniest things to say, accompanied with the silliest facial expressions. He is always making us laugh, even if he is a bit mischevious. Life would surely be boring without him. He is such a sweetie, too. He is always giving my belly kisses for the baby. He will bring me 2 treats, one for me and one for the baby. He is going to be a great big brother. He is enjoying "acting" in Spencer's films. He is always trying to come up with really great lines, and tries so hard to do the best acting he can. I love to see my two boys playing together. They really are best friends.
  
  One week from today we should be able to find out the gender of our baby. I am excited. We were unsure if we were going to find out, but since deciding to I can't hardly wait. I really don't have any feelings as to what it is. Today I feel like it is a boy, yesterday a girl. Hopefully the baby will cooperate next week and we will be able to tell. The boys are excited to get to see the baby on the computer.
  

The itsy bitsy Spider...

Spencer was playing outside on our rocks, when suddenly he came into the house crying.  I thought he had fallen on the rocks, but he was insisting that he hadn't.  He showed me his leg, which at the time just looked like he had scraped it.  We continued to watch it and as the night wore on it began to look like a bite.  So, we hopped online to find out about spider bites.  That was enough to keep Brandon and I up all night worried about our little boy's leg.  (If you get bored and want to see something really disgusting google 'brown recluse spider bites')  One of the signs of a brown recluse bite is that it turns purple/gray.  He woke up the next morning and sure enough it was purple/gray.  We took him to the doctor and they gave him medicine.  It still got pretty ugly, but not as bad as it could have been.

Wednesday Morning (the morning after the bite)

Wednesday Morning

Sunday Morning.

Monday night

One week later, Tuesday night

Happy Halloween

Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton

Our inspiration.  Brandon's for life, mine for my costume.

Cousins

Amber, Christian, Gabriel, Spencer, Chandler, Owen, and Aiden 

Mommy, Football Player, Biker Dude, Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kanobi, Monkey, Bumblebee

Group shot at the zoo.

These 3 are really good buddies.

Brandon's sister, Amber is in the process of moving from California to Tasmania.  Her husband,Greg, is already living over there.  While she gets all of their things in order to make the move she is staying with my in-laws.  We have gotten to spend some time with her and her two cute little boys while she is here.  It has been great, and I don't want her to move.  Amber, Andrea, and I took all of our boys to the zoo.  That is 6 boys ages 5 and under!   It was some wild times, but was lots of fun.  They all had a chance to play in the snow during the past snow storm.  And this week we had our families over for a Halloween dinner.  Last night they went trick or treating together.  It was so cute to see the little ones (Gabriel-1 and Owen-1) chasing after Spencer-5, Chandler-3, and Aiden-4.  The little ones caught on quick!