A Merry Christmas

It was a great Christmas for us in Logan with Justin's family. Grandma Kathi and all of the grandparents really spoiled us. We had a party at the Campbell's house (Justin's aunt and uncle) where we did white elephant gifts. I think everyone wished they could have taken home my signed 8X10 headshot. Okay, at least it got some good laughs. Christmas morning was definitely a magical one for Nolan, but sadly we couldn't find our camera for half of the morning. He sure loved what Santa brought (a train table and a green garbage truck). Ezra enjoyed his first Christmas, especially the wrapping and tissue paper. Here are some pictures of our happy morning.

Aren't these zipper ties so handsome?

While in Logan, we took a ride up the canyon to Hardware Ranch where they have a wild herd of elk that congregate during the winter. Our sleigh ride through the herd was a fun one. Nolan was mostly interested in looking over the side of the wagon and checking out the wheels. I was so wishing my Dad was with me. He would have loved it. Dad, these pictures are for you!

It's been great to be home because Ezra had some rough nights. He seems to do better in his bed with his normal routine. It has also been good to store some of Nolan's old toys and make room for the new. We'll cycle through his toys so that hopefully he won't ever get too bored with anything.

I'd like to report that I have gained about 2 lbs. since my last post! This is wonderful news and I'm sure it will be a great relief to my mom. On Christmas Day she said, "I can't stand the thought of you wasting away!" I started taking fenugreek (an herb) for my poor milk production and it has really helped. It makes me smell like maple syrup. I've been drinking lots of Ensure Plus, extra water, and I've bought some Clif bars to start eating. There is rarely an hour that goes by that I don't make myself eat something. Believe it or not, it gets annoying. Thankfully, Ezra seems much more satisfied!

Little Thoughts

I'm sitting here just waiting for Christmas Eve to come. I thought I would jot down a few thoughts before I head to bed.

First, Ezra had his 6-month well visit last week. He weighs about 16 lbs. (I can't remember the exact weight) and is in the 24th percentile. He is in the 30th percentile for height and the 50th for his head. He is turning out to be a little guy compared to Nolan at this age. I told the doctor that Ezra continues to wake up around 1:30 a.m. even though I have fed him oatmeal and nursed him at 9:30 p.m. He is concerned that I'm not making enough breast milk. Well, if you've seen me, then you would obviously agree. I certainly don't look like a nursing mother. I've tried giving him formula in a bottle and a syringe (given by the doctor) but he won't put up with it. I'm losing weight (about 3 lbs. in the past 2 weeks) so I'm trying my best to eat lots of food so that I will make more milk and stop wasting away. Thank goodness it's the holidays, right? Love that food!!! Anyway, Ezra is healthy, he just needs to eat in the night for now. I guess for Christmas I'm dreaming of a full night of uninterrupted sleep (along with a lot of other moms out there, I'm sure).

Nolan's vocabulary is really incredible lately. Yesterday he was telling me all about the gears inside of his Grandma K's oven. He said something like, "there are gears in that oven at Grandma K's house by the cookie jar. It gets hot. Not gears in the clock but just in the oven right there." When asked what he wants for Christmas he rattles off this list without taking a breath: "a red semi truck, a green garbage truck, a bumblebee transformer car (how does he even know about that?!), a fire station with a helicopter and the building." Last week my mom was visiting with him just before he was going to bed. They talked for a moment and then during a lull, Nolan said, "So, what's happenin'?" And after sitting on Santa's lap last week, he kept singing his own song: "It was a special day..." We just think he is so much fun. At night we sing him several songs. He sometimes continues to ask for more. Well, one night Justin got up and said, "No more songs. Daddy is too tired to sing. Good night, love you." Before he could get to the door Nolan says, "Don't sing any more songs, Daddy. Just cuddle with me." He is clearly starting to negotiate. I wish I could jot down all the things that make me laugh, bottle them up in a jar, and pull them out for later when I can't remember anymore.

Consider yourself greeted

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year and all the rest. This is our official holiday greeting card since we only send out a few real cards. Getting a family picture just never happened so here are some pictures of our visit to see the temple lights.
It's been a great year for us. We think next year will be even better: we're pretty much done with landscaping, Ezra is starting to sleep through the night (it's about time), and we're going to Disneyland soon! Justin's job is going well. We're really grateful for that. We have good health, our beautiful boys, a cozy home, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. What more could we want? (Other than that new flat screen TV... but we're not going to give into that one) We're certainly excited for Christmas to come. Nolan keeps asking for a red semi truck and a green garbage truck. Um, I'm not sure if Santa got that memo. Sometimes Santa puts in toy orders too early in the season and then kids up and change their mind!
We hope you all have a wonderful time with your loved ones. We're glad to have you in our lives.

We love SWEETS

Yesterday we toured the Sweet's Candy Factory. Nolan seemed most interested in the huge air vents and pipes in the ceiling. Go figure. I was most interested in the free samples. I was really worried as we started out because I had to use one of their umbrella strollers (wouldn't let me use mine) for Ezra. Luckily he sat happily slumped the whole time. And they told us that we had to stay in the yellow lines and not touch anything. Oh boy... this was going to be real fun with Nolan. Well, he did so great that I bought him a box of chocolate cinnamon bears. Turns out he doesn't like them. Oh, that's a shame. The funniest moment was when they handed out a hair net to Ezra. Nolan didn't want to hold Ezra or put his hair net back on for this picture. He kept yelling, "NO, I don't!" But I couldn't resist:Ezra is nearly 6 months old. He's so good natured that sometimes I hardly think it possible to have such a sweet baby. I love kissing those chubby cheeks. You should see his "hip fat." Maybe I'll take a picture and post it some time. All that chub just pops out of his diaper! I love it when I see him just waking up from a nap. He looks around, makes eye contact, and then gives a big groggy grin. I hope he wakes up that happily as a teenager. I won't count on it. As you can see, he has recently discovered his tongue! We love you, Ez!

Our Thankful Weekend

We spent our Thanksgiving break in Alton at "the cabin." As we piled into the car, Nolan looked at Ezra and said, "Oh Ezra, you're so sweet. You're so strong." What a good start to the trip! I must say the food was more delicious than ever (which I didn't think possible)! It was a group effort but well worth the fuss. I especially enjoyed that both of my children went down for a nap just before it was time to eat. Finally a peaceful meal for Justin and me. Nolan had had an especially rough day. Justin had been telling him not to touch the gas stove because it's so hot. Well, I came along and turned the fire off and within a few minutes Nolan took hold of it. I'm sure that he thought it was okay because there were no longer flames. It was a miserably painful burn (his first) and for a solid hour all he wanted was "Mommy blow on it!" I eventually got lightheaded so we found a fan that would do the job. It turns out he was also coming down with a cold so it wasn't Nolan's happiest holiday to date. Here are the pictures we took that day. Check out the pies... I made the apple one under the direction of my sister, Lacey. I was just a bit proud of myself!

That evening, the kids all begged for Lucky Charms. They were much happier with that than the huge feast!

The next day we went for some short hikes at Zions National Park. Before we left I told everyone I would not be taking Nolan on any hikes that have cliffs higher than 3 or 4 ft. Well, my Dad found the perfect place. It was a little canyon where Nolan couldn't run away or fall. We all had a good time and the weather was beautiful. I'm so thankful for gorgeous places to get away from it all. At one point, Nolan looked up at a huge rock formation and said, "Look! Daddy Nolan rocket!"

One night, we all filed outside to see the space shuttle and the space station pass overhead. It looks like we're looking at a huge full moon in this picture. But no folks... that's just lint on the camera. It really was fun to see, though!

Here we are playing noses. It's like spoons, but you touch your nose instead. It's sly, I tell you. We kept saying, "One, two, three, pass" over and over as we played and Nolan joined in by saying "One, two, three, ass" plain as day. He's so helpful!

This next picture is exciting (for us)... my Dad spent the weekend drawing up our plans so that we can begin work on our basement!

Getting in the Spirit

I'm starting to really get excited for Christmas. Okay, I was already excited weeks ago. I even put some Christmast lights up. Last week I made this:

It didn't take much - just a cheap wreath from Wal-Mart, and some miniature ornaments. So festive!
Last Saturday we went to the Christmas tree lighting at Gateway. We're not sure why they lit the tree before Thanksgiving but I won't complain. We went with Grandma K and Justin's brother's family. They gave away cookies and hot cocoa while we listened to Jon Schmidt play the piano. Luckily we were prepared with hats and gloves even though it wasn't too terribly cold. The tree really is gorgeous! The surprise of the night was seeing Santa drive up in a carriage. Nolan was so happy! It also didn't hurt that we rode Trax to get there. He can't get enough of trains.

Today I made my favorite pumpkin cookies. So yummy and easy! Just a can of pumpkin (15 oz.) and a box of spice cake mix. Throw in some chocolate chips. Bake @ 350 for 10 to 12 minutes. Here are Nolan and his buddy Jaxon enjoying a beater.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a happy turkey day. I wish you all a glorious nap that afternoon. I doubt I'll be so lucky!

Girls Getaway

I spent this past weekend with my mom and sisters in Park City... a much-needed break away from Nolan is what it came down to for me. The kiddo has been wearing me down and the time away made me remember all the reasons I love him. We started our weekend by going to see Good Things Utah. We're pretty sure it was the most boring show they've had. There were three "on location" segments, a lame craft, and a cauliflower recipe. It panned the audience once and it's obvious that I was holding back a yawn. Bummer that we happened to be there for a blah show. We thought it was interesting that the Good Things girls don't give a hoot about what the reporters or Joy in the Garden are saying. They gab and mess around (or eat) until the camera is on them. I think they were just as bored. It would be fun to go again if I just knew they would have better guests or a musical number.

We enjoyed eating out and shopping at the outlets. Too bad there was a snowstorm. Every time I left a store I had to go out from under the covered area while pushing Ezra in his stroller because there are so many stairs between stores. He was cozy, but I didn't even have a hat. After a while, we left and took a nap together in the hotel room until everyone else finished shopping. While we were all relaxing, we heard a loud glug in the bathroom. A while later, this is what I found:

So while that was being fixed and while the hotel room aired out, we lounged in the lobby trying to decide where to eat. We were still full from lunch and so at 8:30 we finally decided to get Lucky Charms and a quart of milk. It hit the spot. It was so fun to be with the girls in my family (and Ezra was an angel). Thank you, Mom!

The day I came home was my 26th birthday. Nolan was so excited to put candles in my cake, sing, and blow out my candles. While we were eating, Justin said to Nolan, "Since it's Mom's birthday, we should tell her why we love her." Justin got him started by saying that I cook good food, I'm so pretty (his words, not mine), etc. He had to ask again, "So why do you love Mommy?" Nolan thought hard and finally said, "Mommy cleans the floor." It's sure nice to know that my two-year-old appreciates my most dreaded chore.

In other news, Ezra is 5 months old. He's just started eating cereal. It took him 3 days to learn how to swallow, but I think he's getting it down now. Can't believe how fast he's growing!

Never-ending Yard Work

That's the theme of our lives, really. Yard, yard, yard, and the only one loving it is Nolan. If you think you're sick of reading about it, then think how I feel about doing it! This past week was spent planting our last tree, moving rocks to make the creek bed, spreading massive amounts of weed fabric ($$$, ug), hauling bark from the trailer and truck we borrowed, and spreading it out. I worked so hard in the yard that I think I felt my testosterone levels rise (but not that much). Justin took a brief nap while putting Nolan to sleep and he came out to find the trailer emptied. I was proud of myself... it's the least I could do for his birthday! We're really close to being done. If any of you are considering buying a home and putting in a yard yourself, run the other way! If any of you are considering putting in a dry creek bed, just say over and over again like a mantra: I don't need this in my life! We're pretty proud of ourselves that after nearly 3 years of working on our yard, we're nearly finished. Now we can start maintaining it. These pics show our progress:

I look at the picture above and think, "What are you smiling about?"

For Justin's birthday we got a baby-sitter and enjoyed dinner out together (with Ezra since he's such a little tike). We also went to a free ballroom dance lesson. It was all going great until they asked us to switch partners. I quickly learned that Justin is an amazing dancer! Dan, Preston, and Blair are really no match. Dan seemed to be frightened to touch my hand, I don't think Preston could have moved on the beat if his life depended on it, and I knew immediately that Blair was nearly drunk. Wow, what breath that man had! Justin was disgusted when he looked over and saw him continually trying to hug me. I'm talking long hair, thick cologne (but barely detectible over the alcohol), touchy-feely. Do I need to go on? Luckily, studio-owner lady saw my plight and switched partners so that hubby and me could be together again. She later told us that Blair is their resident alcoholic who installed the dance floor. So thank you, Justin, for sweeping me off my feet in the proper way! You really know how to dance. I'm not kidding though, it was a fun date. We all enjoyed his peanut butter dark chocolate cake. It was so nice of Nolan to sing and blow out the candles for Dad.

Here are this week's random pictures: