What I wish for my family in 2011

Okay, so it's been almost a week of the new year, but it's still a new year. There are a few things I'd like to see happen this year. I'm not sure if it all will, but it's nice to hope. Honestly, I feel my family has been blessed in so many ways. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for what we have. We haven't had too many challenges, and for that I'm incredibly thankful for. But onto the new year and what I hope it brings us:

1. Our Bothell house to sell...and fairly early in the year too.

2. Logan to be potty trained

3. Olivia to be potty trained

4. A minivan (even if it's on the last day of the year)

5. Very few illnesses. We've had our fair share in the last couple of years. I would like us to have a healthy year for once.

6. Logan's speech to improve. He's a bit behind his peers, but I think it can quickly be solved with the right help.

7. More dates with Sam. We haven't done so well in the past, but I'd like to at least start with one a month and go from there.

8. More one on one time with the kids. (daddy/daughter, mother/son dates) I think it will help everyone.

9. To go to the Temple more often. I'll admit, it's been awhile, but maybe we could try going once a quarter for starters and see where that takes us.

10. Logan to enter primary and not have to worry about him. He turned 3 last year (okay the last day of the year) and technically should be in primary at church. But seriously, if his birthday was 1 day later, he would still be in nursery for 1 more year! Luckily the primary presidency and nursery leaders are okay with whatever we feel is best for him. And right now, we don't think he's ready for primary. Maybe in a few months, but not now. Besides, he's the only sunbeam! So there really isn't a whole lot of pressure. But I would like to see him in primary by the end of the year.

So there you have it. The things I hope happen this year. It'll be fun to look back at the end of the year and see where we stand with it all. :) Happy New Year!

Look Who's 3!!!

My little boy turned 3 today. It's true what they say...Time really does fly. We've got some exciting plans this year for Logan. We may enroll him in a gymnastics/preschool class and of course, there's potty training. I'm excited to watch him grow this year. It's fun to learn things all over again from the perspective of your kids.

We had a little party for him this morning. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it was fun. He got lots of presents. His favorite was the computer his grandma and grandpa H gave him. Once he saw that, he didn't want to open any of the other presents. We had to hide it and tell him he could have it once everything else was opened.



He loved being sung to. I've never seen him so excited before.


And of course, his cake was a big hit too.




Happy Birthday to my sweet boy!

Christmas 2010

Christmas was awesome this year. We started Christmas Eve by going to Buca Di Beppo for dinner with Sam's family. Afterwards, we went to his parents house where we had the kids (and Sam) participate in the Nativity. I have to admit, I've not seen a cuter Mary or shephard. Joseph was pretty good looking too. ;)


After the nativity, we opened some presents. Logan was thrilled with the thought of opening presents and wanted to open all of them. It took awhile to get the kids to settle down when we got home. Bedtime was later than usual, which made for a later morning. We had a good time opening the presents that Santa left behind at our house. He brought Livi a ginormous doll house that both kids fell in love with. They even tried climbing into it themselves. (Good call on the doll house Santa!)




I'm not sure how it happened, but Logan sure did get a lot of good stuff this year!
You can't tell from her expression, but she was so excited to get this from Grandma and Grandpa H. She absolutely loves it! Coloring and music are 2 of her favorite things, so it only makes sense that she would love the Crayola color wonders toy.


Once our presents were opened, we drove back up to Sam's parents house to visit for a bit and open more presents. (The kids were pretty spoiled this year.) One of my favorite gifts that Logan got from his Grandma B was a photo book of his "Awesome Summer". It's something that he can keep for years to come and one day show his kids. It was brilliant!

We travelled to my parents house later in the day where we enjoyed a delicious dinner, time with family, and yes, more presents! I really wanted to not have the focus of Christmas this year be on presents, but it was worth it to see their faces. We had some fights over toys, and a few tantrums, but overall, I think it went pretty well.

Merry Christmas!

A Goodnight Story

Last night, Olivia was having a hard time going to bed. I would hold her, she would scream. I would put her in her crib, she would scream even louder. Finally, I gave up and let her go into Logan's room to try to sleep in the toddler bed. Logan was thrilled to have his sister in his room. She just wanted to play. She jumped on the bed, laughed, held teddy bears...finally she got into bed with Logan. They seemed content, so Sam and I left them. I was standing outside the door for a few minutes when I heard Logan ask Livi a question. "Do you want to read 'Goodnight Moon', sweetheart?" And then I heard him "read" the book to her. (He has it memorized.) It was such a touching moment. I was so proud of my little boy. Such a wonderful big brother!

Logan, I love you so much!!!

The night didn't go that smoothly for much longer. Soon, Olivia wanted out of the room and eventually went to sleep in her own bed. Logan was very upset that she left. He kept crying for "Eeya" to come back to bed with him. I'm so glad that he wants to share his room with her. One day it will happen. But for now, I'm not ready for her to sleep in a toddler bed. I'm just fine with her being in the crib.

Here comes Santa Claus

Today we had our church Christmas party. We had breakfast, enjoyed looking at displays of different countries and their Christmas traditions, and even got to visit with Santa. Santa, of course, was the highlight for Logan. It's all he talked about on the way there. He just wanted to see Santa. But when we pulled into our church parking lot, we had to wrestle with Logan to get him out of the car. He was determined that we had tricked him into going to church. We had to reassure him over and over again that, yes, Santa would be coming by. When Santa made his grand entrance, both of my kids were in complete awe. Olivia started laughing and ran right for him...Logan wasn't far behind. However once they got closer to him, they both froze. I should be more sympathetic to my kids. Afterall, a guy wearing a big red suit with a white beard can be intimidating. But I just thought it was hilarious to watch them react in such a way. We had to force them into the picture. Olivia screamed her loudest scream and Logan clung onto Sam for dear life. Maybe next year it will work better.

12 days of cookies, not so much

The 12 days of Christmas cookies hasn't gone over very well. Here's a rundown of what's happened so far.

Day 2... we just put frozen cookie dough on a cookie sheet. Still yummy, but not as fun.

Day 3... we decorated Nabisco Nilla Wafers with red and green frosting. This, the kids did enjoy. It was a fun time and maybe something we will do again. It was easy and didn't require baking any cookies.




Day 4... we didn't do anything. But some friends of ours came by and delivered a plate of cookies. Does that count?

Day 5...nothing. :( It's sad but true. We just weren't home enough to do anything. But that's okay by me.

I'm not sure anything will get baked tomorrow either. Honestly, if it wasn't for this nasty headache I've had for almost 2 weeks, I might be in more of a baking mood. But really, I'm just trying to survive hour by hour. We have enjoyed other Christmas activities though. We have looked at neighborhood Christmas lights, decorated some ornaments and colored lots of coloring pages of Christmas stuff. We've had fun so far with Christmas activities, cookies or no cookies. :)

12 Days of Christmas...Cookies

It's a lot of cookies, but I found this idea in a magazine and thought it sounded fun. My kids aren't quite old enough to enjoy the making cookies part, but they sure do enjoy eating them. Today was Day 1. We made "Twinkly Trees". I don't think they turned out quite as well as I would've liked, but they look cute enough.

Logan did his own tree. It's the top left.