Finally!

At exactly 15 months she finally consents to take a few steps, then the next day--off she goes! (This only proves to me that she's been capable for a while now...just stubborn.)

Plus, Sarah provides excellent motivation: pumpkin Peeps that have been hiding in a cupboard since last October.

Who's sneaky now?

So, I was planning ahead and everything by cutting up some veggies for dinner early in the afternoon while the kids where playing nicely instead of right before dinner when they go nuts. Karen was pulling on my leg wanting up, so I got her a chair to stand on so she could see what I was doing. She thought it was the greatest thing to grab pieces of pepper and mushroom to eat out of my bowl while I was working. I was telling her what a sneaky girl she was to be sneaking Mommy's food. Sarah wandered by asking, "What's she getting? I want some." Heh. My kids were happily eating veggies. Who's sneaky now? Ha!

Sarah's Current Favorite Joke

"If there's a Eur-OPE, where's Eur-DOWN?"

Vacation in Utah

The kids got to go sledding. For real. On a real hill, with real snow, and real sleds. Yippee!

Sarah was nervous to go down the hill at first,



but once down with Daddy, and she was sold.


She even went down headfirst.

Snow reflects her blue eyes nicely too.

Noah had no reservations about jumping on the sled for his turn. He liked driving the little red sled on his own too.





Karen observed for a while (check those blue eyes again!), then she consented to going for a ride with Daddy.

It's a good thing our Utah relatives had coats to share because it was cold, and our pansy Arizona coats probably would not have been enough.

Christmas 2007

I'm going to have to pace myself with the holiday pictures. I finally downloaded the camera... So, for today, here's Christmas morning at my family's house.



Sarah got the new helmet she asked Santa for...and a bike to go with it. She also got a fairy doll and pony via the Nana outpost of Santa's workshop.



Noah was really into the opening of presents. And then he ran off to play dart tag with Uncle Andy.



Karen was persuaded to rip her own paper off with minimal help. I love the look on her face when she heard the toy puppy making noise.

My New Niece

Isn't she adorable?

7 lbs 15 1/2 oz., 21"


There's your proof that I am the favorite aunt. I got to hold her first. And see how she adores me?

Did you ever wonder...

...how fairies celebrate Christmas?

In their houses, with tiny fairy doors, surrounded with tiny fairy berries. They have a tiny fairy wreath, a tiny fairy Christmas tree, tiny fairy lights and decorations, and tiny fairy Christmas dresses. "They are excited to open their presents and find out what they are. They love their pretty red dresses. Their names are: Beauty, Valentine, and Holly."

Token Project Lament

The cute pictures have kind of taken over this blog's original mission statement. So here's the token update on the crazy stuff the kids get into.

Karen: Her latest display of displeasure is smacking herself in the face. As in "Do what I want now, or I will hurt myself again!" And she loves crawling all around the house (eating any goodies she find along the way) and finding any shelf or cupboard within reach. I'm sure you know what follows.

Noah: The little turkey pulled my knitting needle out of a pair of gloves I was making and used it to dig in the rocks outside. So, not only do I have to start over on the glove (I just can't pick up stitches...it never looks right afterward), but I had to use plier to straighten the poor little mutilated needle tip. And it will never knit smoothly again. :( Then I discovered he's also been using a stick to whack the leaves off all my plants in the backyard. The ones that the frost didn't get. :|

Sarah: Nothing too destructive on this front. Mostly just lots of back talk. Oooh, does she know how to push buttons. The worst project lately has been flooding the bathroom floor with water. Could be worse.

Yay for winning and free stuff!

They just opened up a new Fry's grocery store just a little way from where we live. After dropping Sarah off at preschool, I took the other two kids to check out the grand opening. It was a madhouse, but kinda fun too. They had samples of all kinds of things all over the store. There was a small band playing Christmas songs outside. They had the racecar carts that Noah loves. Prices don't quite beat Super Wal-mart, but the sale prices weren't bad.

The icing, though, was that they were giving away free bags of groceries every half hour. I happened to be at checkout for one such, and they picked my aisle. Inside the bag was a selection of their fancier store brand things: generic organic Cheerios, instant oatmeal, juice, salad dressing, spice grinders, pickles, cocoa, bread, cocktail sauce, mixed nuts. A box of tea and a bag of coffee that will probably go to the neighbors. And...a $50 gift card! And a booklet of coupons for a bunch more free store brand stuff!

Yay for winning! And free stuff!

Christmas Spirit

We're feeling the Spirit of Christmas around our house!

We have a little Christmas Elf. She's getting good at repeating things, so today I got her saying "Ho, ho, ho." It was pretty funny.

The kids have been making all kinds of lists and letters to Santa. Noah's top choice is Motorcycles with Hot Wheels. Sarah is pretty consistent on a new dress and a new bike (her old one is getting small for her). Karen wants "this!" or maybe "eyes - beep!" (Apparently 'eyes' is easier to say than 'nose.')

And Sarah is absolutely smitten with the song "Born on Christmas Day" by Brad Paisley. I don't know if it's because the recording on his CD starts with him singing as a 13-year-old, or if she just genuinely likes the song. In any case, she knows all the words, and requests it on all occasions (Primary sharing time, Primary activity day, Family Home Evening).

Christmas music, Christmas shopping, Christmas cookies, Christmas tree, Christmas lights, Christmas ornaments, Christmas crafts... We are so there.