Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year was probably one of the most memorable Christmas' for me.  I think this is because the boys were so excited.  We did something almost everyday to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas.  Ethan goes to a religious-based VPK, so he brought home spiritual and secular things all month.  Most of these items produced tears in me, except for the one with Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus.  In the picture, Mary (who just had a baby) is holding a sheep.  I just found it hilarious and well, I'm evil, huh?
Enjoy some photos taken over the last week of my sweet boys.

 Posing for a group shot before the Ward Christmas Party.  Grayson loved wearing Jared's Santa hat.  He would wear it around the house singing, "Santa Claus is coming to town..."

 Ethan on Santa's lap at the Ward Party.  No one else was interested.  Jared said Ethan leaned in and whispered that he wanted a robot.  So cute.

 Opening gifts Christmas Eve with Gigi, Papa, Aunt Stacey, and Uncle Tony.

 Landon really got in on the ripping open packages action this year.  He barely looked at what he got because his favorite part was tearing off the wrapping paper.

 Uncle Tony bought the boys this huge soccer ball that you can get into.  It is one of the favorites! All three boys enjoyed a romp around the yard on Christmas day.  Today, Ethan took a "rest" in it while playing outside.  

 Santa came and left quite a stack under our tree.  

 Merry Christmas!

P.S. I made a throw for my sweet mother-in-law, Sabra, for Christmas this year.  She does so much for us and we are grateful for all that she does. 

Random Things I Don' Want to Forget

Grayson has been learning to pray and he recently started feeling confident enough to pray without any assistance.  His prayer the other day at lunch touched my heart.
"Father.  Thank you for this day.  Thank you for this food.  Thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for lunch.  Amen."  He also calls reindeer "kangaroos."  It is awesome.

 The boys love to color in the morning.  It is a nice, quiet activity and I am so glad they like it because it lets me get dishes done and go to the bathroom in privacy.  Ethan really loves color by number sheets.  Just love that they will sit for at least 5 minutes.  Heaven!

 Recovered this little chair to sit at a new computer desk.  We inherited Brandon's old computer and plan to use it for the boys mostly.  This was an extra chair I had, but Grayson's eating habits had done a number on it.  So, I used some extra fabric I had and recovered it.  The rest of my chairs need to be recovered as well with a heartier fabric to withstand the boys.  Aunt Teresa is coming in a few weeks to help me out with that larger project.  Very excited.

 Weather here has been so beautiful, so we've been enjoying our backyard.  Here we are having lunch last week.

 Eggplant Parmesan with Spaghetti!  I just thought our dinner looked so yummy this week, I took a picture of it.  Here's the recipe if you'd like to recreate.
Peel and slice eggplant into about 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices. Go with your preference.
Preheat olive oil in skillet.
Dip eggplant egg/milk mixture and then into Italian bread crumbs.
Fry in skillet until a pretty brown color on both sides.  Drain excess grease on paper towel lined plate.
Place eggplant in layers in casserole dish.  Cover in sauce and sprinkle with as much parmesan/mozzerella/etc that you like.  Bake for about 20 min at 350.  So good, people.

Ethan made this Santa Claus at school.  (Side bar: Landon sees him and says, "Santy Claus! Ho, Ho, Ho!")  I asked him about his healthy eyebrow hair.  His response, "He's angry." Me: "He is?  Why?"
E: "Because people have been naughty."  Hehehehe.

More Christmas Fun

 This week we focused on giving Christmas gifts to Jesus.  After all, it is His birthday!  I found this sweet little tear out in our Friend magazine that gives you scriptures and tasks to do each day that give the "Best Christmas Gifts" to Jesus.  Check it out HERE.

Monday night we had some friends over and decorated sugar cookies.  It was so fun to see the children play together and the cookies were delicious.  We love when the Swartzlanders come over.

 Forgot to bust out the camera until the very end.  Here's the only shot I got.

Tuesday, we made more cookies!  This time we delivered them to our mailman.

Wednesday, we took the remainder of our cookies and took a walk to deliver them to a neighbor.  As a side perk, we were completing our "Best Christmas Gifts" task for the day by enjoying the beautiful Earth that Heavenly Father has created for us.  It was drizzling, but we ventured out anyways.  On our way home we were rewarded with the beauty of a double rainbow!  I know it was just a rainbow, but I felt Heavenly Father's love so strong. It was a pretty sweet experience for me and lifted my heart. 

The double rainbow was much more spectacular around the corner. Once we got home to get the camera, the view from our house wasn't as awesome.  We did catch a little glimpse of her though. 

Boys will be Boys

Just wanted to share a few funny stories about my boys. 

Almost every night when it is bath time, my boys run wildly naked through the house.  This usually involves multitudes of giggles and ends with Ethan and Grayson finding me and rubbing their butts on me.  Not sure where this originated, but it is kind of hilarious.

A few days ago when Jared arrived home from work I asked him to check on Ethan in the bathroom.  We have been having a test of wills all week about him cleaning himself up on his own.  He had been in there quite awhile as I finished dinner and I was starting to get worried about him.  Jared opened the door to find Ethan standing on the bathroom counter checking out his little booty.  He smiled impishly and stated, "Had to make sure I got all the poop off, Dad."  Perfect logic, Ethan, perfect logic.

On Sunday, Grayson was getting dressed.  He usually does so himself, but asked for an assist from me.  As I'm heading over, I see he's holding his clip on tie and I can just see the wheels turning in his head.  I say calmly, "Grayson, please don't put that tie on your penis." As I talking, he does it folks.  He clips his tie on his penis and he is now screaming.  In order to get it off, I had to yank it, which I'm sure added to the pain.  It took all I had not to laugh.  I think I'm the worst mom ever.  (Note: Grayson was completely nude when this occurred.)

Christmas is Coming

 We LOVE Christmas around here!  Our decorations are up and we are trying to create fun family traditions.  Usually one of our favorites is getting our tree.  Jared insists on a live tree and our vacuum always gets a workout, but it sure does smell good.  I'll admit, Jared and I were both cranky on the day we got our tree.  We got this super fat tree, but it the trunk was crooked which we did not notice.  It took us about 3 hours to put it up and I am not exaggerating.  Once it was up, Grayson pulled it over and that is why he is in none of these photos because he was sent to bed.  My friend, Emily, introduced me to the concept of FWP (First World Problems).  This is definitely a FWP, but it did not help with the aforementioned crankiness.  

Jared feigning excitement.

 How Jared really felt at the end of that day.

 Decorating our tree.

Monday night we went to the Cypress Grove Park Festival of Lights.  It was so fun and stress-free since we didn't even get out of the car.  Unfortunately, I forgot the camera.  We will definitely be doing this again next year, so I'll get some then. I hope Christmas has come to your homes!

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving seemed to come so fast this year. As always, we have many things to be grateful for. I tried to encourage the principle of gratitude with the boys during the month of November. Last year we made a paper chain and this year I made a tree for the door and we wrote our "thanks" on leaves that we taped up. It was a lot of fun to see what the boys came up with. Ethan was thankful for Jesus, his brothers, and video games. Grayson was thankful for Rae Rae, Mom and Dad, and meeting Mickey Mouse. Landon, at one, doesn't really understand gratitude. Instead I asked him what makes him happy. So sweetly, he replied one night "Mommy! And Daddy too!" My heart melted. He is the sweetest thing. Tonight, he spent about 3 minutes alternating between smooching my hand and Jared's.

Our Thankful Tree

We spent Thanksgiving at my parent's home in St. Augustine. It was a quiet, relaxing day filled with delicious food. My favorite part was watching Jared have real down time and play with the boys.

 The boys played soccer, climbed the cedar tree in the backyard, and made a fire in the fire pit.  It was a perfect day for my sweet boys. 

 

Dad and I did the cooking.  I was pretty proud of how much I did and that most of it tasted pretty good.  My homemade pie crust from The America's Test Kitchen Baking Cookbook was probably my favorite!  My cousin Lance and his wife, Dawn, stopped by with their children, Avery and Byron.  Dawn teaches Pre-K and brought a fun Thanksgiving craft over to do with the boys.  Ethan was too preoccupied with Gigi's IPad to participate, but Grayson and Landon loved it.  They each made a few so now  have a new Thanksgiving decoration for next year.  

Photo Storage

Apparently, I have reached my photo storage limit on blogger and unless I want to pay a monthly fee I am out of luck.  I think I'll just have to start going to old posts and deleting the photos from them.  I did print my blog into a book, so I'll have them in hard copy form at least.  I'm bummed you won't be able to access old photos, but I just can't keep them around.  If any of you know of a way around this, please share. 

Our New Niece

 

Kevin and Melissa welcomed a baby girl over the weekend!  We couldn't be more thrilled for them and big brother, Nathan.  Kaitlyn Brooke is a happy edition to their family.  I want to drive to Utah right now and smooch her, but I can't : (  I did make her a blanket (my first time following a pattern, so I'm pretty proud of myself despite the flaws) so I can hug her from afar.  We love you, Kaitlyn!

Grayson: My Sweet, Sweet Boy

Grayson is three!  I really can't believe this one.  He has grown so much in the last year.  Grayson is such a sweet, snuggly boy.  He is also pretty mischevious and curious and tends to have difficulty listening to his mommy.  I love that he dresses himself now because it leads to some pretty cute wardbrobe choices.  For instance, earlier this week he wore his pirate costume from last year (too small) over his clothes to a play date.  He also loves to wear galoshes on any occassion and sneaks my accessories when he can.  Grayson always provides a snuggle and is happiest when we spend time with him sitting on the couch. 

 

Grayson at 2 months. Smiling as usual.

 Grayson at 6 months.  I want to smooch him!

Happy Birthday, Grayson! 

 

We held Grayson's birthday party yesterday.  Gigi, Papa, Grandma, Papa K, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Joe, Lyla, Logan, Aunt Teresa, Miss Elisabeth, and Jacob came to celebrate.  We painted these super cute pumpkin hats.  Painting is one of Grayson's favorite things and apparently so are pumpkins.  He requested a Pumpkin Party.  The hats would not stay on, so they were a little bit of a disappointment.  However, they were fun to make.

 

 Pumpkin Cake!

 

 While we sang to him, Grayson was so shy.  He was not shy about blowing out the candles.  I think he wanted to do that all day.

 

 Presents!  Little man couldn't wait to open them up.  He ripped into one after another.

 

Grayson and his buddy, Jacob. 

Playing with new toys.  This tent was a huge hit. 

Fall Season Soccer

Ethan's first soccer season ended today and he went out with a hat trick!  He really loves playing soccer and I feel blessed that he has found something he enjoys so much so early.  I will be sad on the day it transitions from being fun to being serious.  I will probably take my mom's advice and bring a book so I don't have to watch.

 Go, Ethan, Go!  Landon is a great cheerleader.  He claps and yells "Hooray!  Ethan!"

Ethan has a lot of fans!  Papa K, Mama K, Gigi, Papa, Aunt Stacey, Unca Joe, Unca Tony, Lyla, Logan, and Rae Rae have all been to his games.  I hope this little boy knows how much he is loved. 

 When Ethan is not on the field, and sometimes when he is, this is what his brothers like to do.  I love how Landon is sticking his head in the net in the photo below.

 

 Purple Power!

Coach Jon, Ethan, Max, Samuel, Mason, Coach Royal, Mia, and Brady

 

Awards ceremony!  Coach Jon and Coach Royal were so great.  Ethan really loved working with them both and enjoyed being on the Purple Team.  He learned a lot about soccer and how to be a teammate.  This was truly a great experience for us all.  Coach Jon and Coach Royal had a lot to do with that.

There's No Place like Disney for the Holidays

Our dear friends, Brad and Rachel, took us to Disney earlier this week.  We had so much fun.  We started at Hollywood Studios and rode Toy Story Mania.  Seriously, I think this is my all-time favorite ride at Disney World.  It was awesome!  We also met Mickey Mouse and saw lots of other characters including Mr. Incredible, FroZone, Wreck-It Ralph, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. 
The Cottles have become dear friends and they are soon to leave Orlando.  We are devastated.  All day long, Landon was checking in with them.  "Where's Brad?  Where's Rae Rae at? Hi Brad!  Hi Rae Rae!"  He is so cute.  I also love that when he wants to do something he emphatically says "Me Do!"  He is at such a fun age right now. 
One of the coolest things we did was explore a section of the new Fantasyland.  We rode the new Little Mermaid ride.  The boys had a great time.  I was pretty worn out by the end of the day and spent all of the next day recovering.  So worth it!

 Christmas Tree at Hollywood Studios!  Wish I could fit one this big at my house.

 Cinderella's castle all lit up.  So beautiful.

 Waiting to ride Toy Story Mania.  Mr. Potato Head provided the in-line entertainment.  We even got to see him pull out his ear a few times. 

 Here's Grayson meeting Mickey Mouse with Brad.  I am a little surprised he did this.  He usually cries and runs from these experiences.  He is especially scared of Santa Claus.  He let Brad take him up.  Brad did say that when they got close to Mickey, Grayson was clutching on to him with his whole body.  Afterwards, he excitedly ran up to me and said, "Mickey got me!  With his magic!"  Hahahahaha.

 Landon was super excited to ride Dumbo.  I think it was his favorite.

 

All of my sweet boys.  They were so great all day.  Thank you Brad and Rae Rae!

Green Meadows Petting Farm

We spent the day at Green Meadows Petting Farm with Ethan's class!  It was awesome.  Here are some photos of our adventures.

They had old tractors everywhere.  Ethan finally let me take his photo on one of them.  Here he is with Brian from his class.  The children enjoyed a hay ride pulled by a tractor and a train ride through the Farm.  Definitely two of the highlights of the day.

 

Ethan said his favorite thing was feeding the goats.  Did you know that goats do not have any top teeth?  This little guy had broken out of the pen and accosted Ethan on his way to feed the other goats. 

Here are the other goats.  They know when it's feeding time and were ready and waiting when the children headed their way with the food.  Didn't catch my favorite goat on camera.  His beard touched the ground!

Petting Angel the pot-belly pig.  Of course I loved the pigs and can't believe I didn't get more pictures of them.  Mama Pig was HUGE!  She seriously was as large as my dining room table.  I am so bummed I didn't get her photo.  She was my favorite thing about the farm.

Petting a three-day old baby chick.  They were chirping the whole time.  We also visited the large chicken pen.  The children ran around and some of them even caught chickens.  It was a pretty hilarious site.  Fun fact: Chickens can lay up to 240 eggs per year.

The lone baby duck.  His little wings were so small.  Apparently, they grow very slowly.  So soft and cute.  We also visited the duck pen.  They are heavier and a little harder to catch.  I think only one little boy got his hands on one.  I did not participate in touching any farm animals.  That is a no-no for pregnant ladies. 
Another picture I'm sorry to have missed was the Zorse--a female animal that is part horse and part zebra.  So cool!  Made me and another mom think of "ligers" and then I saw llamas and now I must watch Napoleon Dynamite. 

Sheep and Cows!

From top left: Sweet, shy sheep.  Also, very dirty; Baby calf; The children were allowed to milk this sweet cow, but Ethan just wanted to pet her; Mama cow; "Shaun the Sheep"; Sweet milking cow's cute face. She is expecting a calf right now. And, almost all of the cows at the farm are her babies, including Mama cow.  In order to produce milk they must be pregnant or within a year of having a calf.  Also, they can produce up to 8 gallons of milk a day!  In the center is Ugmoo! She is a dwarf cow.  She had the world's greatest underbite.  She was my second favorite thing about the farm.