Let the Festivities Begin!

Merry Christmas time!

We have spent some time the last two weeks going to as many Christmas festivities as possible, because nobody can get enough of them at this time of year.  For family home evening this week we went to Redmond Town Center to ride the Christmas carousel.

I love this picture of Elsy because it says it all.  She was SO excited to be on the merry-go-round.  

And there was a nice little bench on the merry-go-round for Logan and Tommy to ride on.

Another activity we went to was Snowflake Lane at Bellevue Square.  I was sad that I only got one picture of us in the elevator.  Elsy and Tommy both had a blast.  Elsy was clapping and dancing and singing as we watched the roller skaters.  But of course her favorite was not the dancing, fake snow, or the awesome drummers, but the sucker she got from one of the dancers.  Elsy and I were front row but we got separated from Logan and Tommy.  When I looked back at them Logan was bouncing Tommy to the music and they were both laughing.  I love how magical Christmas festivals can be. :)

And then... there are those that aren't magical at all and you wish you had skipped entirely.  We decided to go down to Tacoma for the ZooLights display at Point Defiance Zoo with some friends.  Sadly our friends were not able to make it but we decided to make the drive in the pouring rain nonetheless.  We got there and it was just to cold and rainy for the kids.  Elsy loved seeing the sharks (probably because it was inside) but after that everything went down hill.  I wanted to make the most of our money spent but Logan I think was a lot quicker to call it a lost cause.  He kept saying, "This is crazy" and kept saying it was time we headed back.  I like zoos to much, though, and wanted to see all the animals (most were 'in bed' for the night).  The last exhibit was the meerkats and Elsy finally perked up for that and loved watching them dig in the sand.  She pretended to be a meerkat all evening.

Elsy actually has a rather awesome imagination.  For example, she is always indicating the living room and saying "Dis is da park, okay?" or "Dis is a school bus!".  Our kitchen table, apparently, is a dragon named Goofy.  He has pink eyes, she says.  She loves Goofy and sometimes gives the table a hug at meal times.  She is always asking me to be the teacher so she can pretend to go to school.  Another favorite is sleeping with her pillow and blanket on the fireplace.  She always is running to the couch to blow out an imaginary candle.  Another time she had a slice of cheese and told me it was a fish tank. I love watching her imagination blossom.

It may be her imagination that makes her so picky sometimes.  The other day she wouldn't eat her slice of cheese because this little cheese speck was on it.  What? 

I love Elsy's little voice.  She is starting to get to be such a good talker and can carry on some fun conversations.  She still can't say her "L's" and "F's" though so sometimes I will say a word she is trying to say and ask her to repeat it.  It's funny, because now sometimes when she is showing me something she will say, "Mom say _____" because thats what I say to her.  Two of my recent favorite mis-pronunciations are "Wedgie Tales" for "Veggie Tales" and "Booty and da Beast" for "Beauty and the Beast."  She walks around the house singing "Booty and da Beast!" over and over again.  At night when I am putting her to bed, before I leave she often says, "Mommy wanna talk with me?"  I like to ask her what her favorite thing about the day was.  I also read somewhere to ask them what their least favorite thing is too, so I try to remember to do that too so that she will feel comfortable talking with me about everything.  But it is so much more fun to focus on the positive.  

She is always adding an "Okay?" to the end of what she says and is so matter of fact.  When I get angry or impatient she is often saying "Mommy, be nice to me okay?" or "Be nice to Bay Tommy, okay?"  The other day I loudly told Logan to clean his office... okay it maybe was a little bit of a shout (not a yell that makes it sound mean) and Elsy came in from the other room to say, "Shhhh, don yell at Daddy okay?  We only yell outside." (Okay back story, Logan never cleans his office.... EVER.  And I always casually tell him to but he never does.  So this particular day I just said loudly, in a joking manner - because I seriously wasn't mad at all,  "Logan you never clean your office!!!!")  She is a doll but I can't help but tell you that the reason she knows we only yell outside is because I am constantly reminding her of that rule. :P

While she can give us a run for our money sometimes, she is always so good at telling us she loves us.  The other day I was having a bad day and she threw her arms around my neck and said "You're the best mommy ever ever ever!!"  That made me feel a lot better.

Attention!  Attention!  Tommy can walk!  Okay, not like really well, but he learned this week to stand up from the ground and will then take a few steps before laughing so hard that he falls.  It is funny because he will practice standing over and over again and just laugh and laugh.  It is so fun to watch.  Tonight he walked a fairly good distance... maybe that will be his Christmas present to me.

He is getting to be quite inquisitive and his favorite place is still the bathroom.  If the door is left open he makes a beeline to the toilet paper roll with the funniest giggle all the way because he knows he isn't supposed to go in there.  Today while nobody was watching he climbed to the very top of the stairs.  While I was proud of him it also made me very worried because if he had turned around at all he would have fallen the entire flight.

Tommy's rash finally cleared up, with his bad diaper rash lingering the longest.  I am so glad he is comfortable again.  However, after being sick we are back to struggling in the sleep department.  I hate listening to him cry but there really is nothing else I can do.  Most of the time when he is tired it is a wrestling match to keep him on my lap so I just end up laying him in his bed until he cries to sleep.  Every once and a while, when he is sleep, he will curl up into my neck and snuggle there.  That is my ultimate favorite. :)

This little boy loves his sister.  The other day they were both jumping on the bed and laughing hysterically.  In the morning when we wake Elsy up he crawls right to the side of her bed as fast as he can and then puts his head on her to wake her up with a head hug.  Aww so sweet!

Okay, so I am really trying to loose all the baby weight, but lets be honest, its like so impossible to work out when your kids are climbing on the treadmill or sitting on your abdomen while you try to do your ab workouts.  Elsy is a slave driver and is always telling me to do jumping jacks but Tommy, being the clingy boy that he is, is always so sad when I exercise.  I'm sorry but I can't wake up before my kids... not while I still am waking up twice a night to feed Tommy (which seriously has to end soon).  And I've tried working out at night but last time I did that I couldn't fall asleep forever.  Hmm... 

For Activity Day's this week we painted three little word blocks that spelled "JOY".   I am always telling myself not to ever paint again with these girls but we always somehow manage to do a paint project every few months.

Elsy even got to paint a block green and she was so pleased.  She loves running around with the older girls there.

Tommy struggled a bit this time.  It is funny because the other two leaders, Lacie and Janalee (babysitting her granddaughter), both had kids there too and all three of us were walking around with a kid on our hip trying to help the fifteen girls.  Activity Days is always an adventure but I actually love it.  It gives me something to prepare for and do during the week and the girls are so much fun.

This was one of my favorite scenes from this week.  All three of my loves playing my favorite instrument.  Logan told me that Elsy leaned over and gave him a big hug and told him he was the "best Daddy ever!!"  She loves when Logan plays the ukulele too, and is always strumming an imaginary guitar when the music comes on.

We were able to go to my cousin Mindy's wedding reception yesterday.  It was absolutely beautiful!  It was in the Hazel's barn and the decorations were stunning.  They had a false ceiling made out of branches and glowing orbs, the food was delicious,s and the atmosphere was wonderful getting to see old friends and family.  We are so excited for Mindy and Rob and their new adventure called marriage. <3

And I just loved how Elsy and Ezra were dancing together to the music...

Another highlight of the week was Logan and I got to go out to a nice restaurant, one of our friends from the ward gave us a gift card as a thank you.  It is always so much fun to get to do things one on one from time to time.  We also got to go see the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens (only my brother Carl got to tag along).  

Today in church my family got to sing in Sacrament meeting "Away In A Manger".  I don't think we have ever done that all together.  In the past it used to be just us sisters.  My mom played the piano and my brother actually sang.  It was fun getting to practice together and we all got some good laughs in.

We are so excited for Christmas this week!  I just love spending time with family, eating yummy food, and watching people open presents.  Merry Christmas!