Thursday, February 26, 2009
Big Baby?
I had a check-up today and it looks like this baby is following in Luke's footsteps and could be a big baby. That's not exactly the news I was looking for. Don't get me wrong--I'm not after a scrawny baby or anything--but I'm not trying to set any records either! The ultrasound I had a few weeks ago estimated my due date at about April 10th or 11th which would be almost 2 weeks early. My doc basically told me not to get my hopes up--that just meant the baby was big, but he could still easily go to term. Luke was born about 10 days early at 8 lbs. 6 oz. My doc then was shocked at his size...so was I. He also had an extremely big head. When the nurse saw his head she said, "That's the biggest head I've ever seen." Not exactly comforting considering I wasn't done birthing the bigheaded child yet! I kind of wanted to punch her in the face or something. I'm measuring a cm big right now and the doc is estimating this could be an 8.5-9 pounder if I go to term. Yikes! I'll admit that scares me a little. Oh well, can't wait to meet this chubby guy, and I'd be totally excited if it was just a week or two early! At least this time around I won't let the doctors examine his head. Poor Luke had to be sedated and get an MRI when he was a year because his doc was so concerned about his gigantic cranium. Turns out he just had a big head. He gets that from his Grandpa Steve (or me if you ask Jer)!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
You've Come a Long Way Baby
I thought it was about time I did a post dedicated to this little guy growing inside me. The two months I have left seems like a long time but considering we were trying for this pregnancy for over 3 years, we are almost to the finish line. My kids are both asleep, and I felt like blogging so I'm going for it. (Unfortunately Luke is sleeping because he's sick. He has a fever, rash, and has been throwing up. After he wakes up and lets me know how his throat is I may need to have him checked for strep.) I am breaking down and documenting my pregnant belly. I need a few pics (very few) to remember it by.
Here I am in all my glory at 30 weeks and counting. I really don't mind the belly growing too much. It would just be nice to not also get bigger thighs, puffy hands, extra chin...!
Having a picture like this is a perk of IVF. This is our baby boy in his embryonic state (5 days). Which one he is will forever be a mystery. It's most likely that he's the larger one called a blastocyst. The other is still in the morula stage which means it was a little behind from where it should have been. You too could have a picture of your child as an embryo for lots of money, hundreds of needles, and several invasive procedures! Just kidding. Now that it's over I feel like joking about it a little. I still consider myself extremely lucky!
Our first ultrasound at 7 weeks. It doesn't look like much, but it was my reassurance that he was there and growing in the right place. It also let us know that we were having one baby only.
This is at about 18 weeks when we found out we were having a boy (see the arrow). More importantly everything was right where it should be and looked great.
This was just earlier today. I had another ultrasound because my placenta was low lying, and they needed to check it again. Thankfully it had moved out of the way of the cervix (barely), so I should be able to have a normal birth. It was so fun to see how big he is getting. I think these ultrasounds are totally amazing! She guesstimated that he weighs about 4 pounds right now, and he is right on track with his growth.
Check out those cheeks! They look very kissable. It's amazing to me how much you can love someone you've never even met yet. By the way, we are most likely naming him Ian. Jer is totally sold on it, and I like it a lot so unless some other name comes out of nowhere that will be the one. The middle name is still undecided. I've had several days with fairly strong contractions lately but all still seems to be well. He just needs to stay in there and keep on cooking!
Here I am in all my glory at 30 weeks and counting. I really don't mind the belly growing too much. It would just be nice to not also get bigger thighs, puffy hands, extra chin...!
Having a picture like this is a perk of IVF. This is our baby boy in his embryonic state (5 days). Which one he is will forever be a mystery. It's most likely that he's the larger one called a blastocyst. The other is still in the morula stage which means it was a little behind from where it should have been. You too could have a picture of your child as an embryo for lots of money, hundreds of needles, and several invasive procedures! Just kidding. Now that it's over I feel like joking about it a little. I still consider myself extremely lucky!
Our first ultrasound at 7 weeks. It doesn't look like much, but it was my reassurance that he was there and growing in the right place. It also let us know that we were having one baby only.
This is at about 18 weeks when we found out we were having a boy (see the arrow). More importantly everything was right where it should be and looked great.
This was just earlier today. I had another ultrasound because my placenta was low lying, and they needed to check it again. Thankfully it had moved out of the way of the cervix (barely), so I should be able to have a normal birth. It was so fun to see how big he is getting. I think these ultrasounds are totally amazing! She guesstimated that he weighs about 4 pounds right now, and he is right on track with his growth.
Check out those cheeks! They look very kissable. It's amazing to me how much you can love someone you've never even met yet. By the way, we are most likely naming him Ian. Jer is totally sold on it, and I like it a lot so unless some other name comes out of nowhere that will be the one. The middle name is still undecided. I've had several days with fairly strong contractions lately but all still seems to be well. He just needs to stay in there and keep on cooking!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Boy Stuff
Since I'm about to be a mom of three boys, I know I'm looking forward to a lifetime of sports, trucks, dinosaurs, you name it. I'm not much of a girly girl though, so it works great for me. (Not that I wouldn't take a girl if another miraculous pregnancy happened!) My boys are growing up on me so fast and some of the stuff they say and do cracks me up. Luke is always telling me things he'll do "while my belly is so fat." The list includes being really nice to Seth (work in progress), cleaning everything up, and helping me make stuff. His primary teacher said he prayed "to not shove Seth" in class the other day. He and Seth love each other and most of the time when I send Luke to his room for doing something mean to Seth then Seth follows him and cries to be let in.
Luke is learning to read and doing great at it. I've been working with him on "reading lessons," and he's really picking it up fast. Writing on the other hand, he could do without. He has made a lot of progress but it's not his favorite thing. He watched our neighbor's little girl coloring in sacrament meeting the other day totally interested. He was amazed at her ability to "stay in the lines" and "use lots of different colors." He is more about quantity than quality when coloring.
Jer and Luke headed down with two of our neighbor friends and their boys on Friday to the Monster Truck show. They loved it. Luke looks pretty somber in the pictures, but he's been telling me how cool it was.
This is the same place the dinosaur show we went to was held as well as an ice skating thing quite a while ago, and being the detail guy he is Luke had all sorts of questions about how they "changed the floor."
Luke was pleased as punch with the "ear muffs" he got to wear. I guess monster trucks are super loud.
Seth is also becoming such a big boy and actually initiates going on the potty! I am hoping for an easy potty training rather than the horrible experience it was with Luke. He is especially great about wanting to try #2 on the potty. The only drawback is he wants to get on a million times a day, and when he does go he will persist with it and drag it out for like 20 minutes. He just sits there like he owns the throne. He claps for himself when he's done. What a cutie. I'm really not trying to train him yet, but I have him in pull-ups and whenever he's interested we put him on. He is still my snuggly boy and gives all of us the best hugs and kisses.
Luke is learning to read and doing great at it. I've been working with him on "reading lessons," and he's really picking it up fast. Writing on the other hand, he could do without. He has made a lot of progress but it's not his favorite thing. He watched our neighbor's little girl coloring in sacrament meeting the other day totally interested. He was amazed at her ability to "stay in the lines" and "use lots of different colors." He is more about quantity than quality when coloring.
Jer and Luke headed down with two of our neighbor friends and their boys on Friday to the Monster Truck show. They loved it. Luke looks pretty somber in the pictures, but he's been telling me how cool it was.
This is the same place the dinosaur show we went to was held as well as an ice skating thing quite a while ago, and being the detail guy he is Luke had all sorts of questions about how they "changed the floor."
Luke was pleased as punch with the "ear muffs" he got to wear. I guess monster trucks are super loud.
Seth is also becoming such a big boy and actually initiates going on the potty! I am hoping for an easy potty training rather than the horrible experience it was with Luke. He is especially great about wanting to try #2 on the potty. The only drawback is he wants to get on a million times a day, and when he does go he will persist with it and drag it out for like 20 minutes. He just sits there like he owns the throne. He claps for himself when he's done. What a cutie. I'm really not trying to train him yet, but I have him in pull-ups and whenever he's interested we put him on. He is still my snuggly boy and gives all of us the best hugs and kisses.
I didn't take any pics of Valentine's Day, but we had a fun couple of days. We made treats, Luke had a party at school, we ate yummy chocolate covered strawberries, and Jer and I went out on a much needed date. Luke even thanked in his prayers for the "Valentine toys he got from grandmas, grandpas, and mom and dad" and the "yummy pizza-shaped like a heart." It's nice that it doesn't take much to please kids. They enjoy the little stuff and time with family the most.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Fun Weekend
Jer patrolled Friday night and Saturday, so we decided to make it a family affair and headed to the mountains for the weekend. Our friend Steve was also patrolling, so Seth and I hung out with Cami and Caitlyn while the others headed out to ski. Luke had a major skiing breakthrough and loved it!!! He could not get enough. We took dinner up, and I was expecting them to be in by 6:30 or so at the latest to eat, but it was after eight. He just made his "pizza" (that's kid lingo for snowplow) and did run after run down the Little Beav. I was so proud of him. He's a kid that needs some encouragement...sometimes persuasion...to do things but once he does he has so much fun. It was a pretty cold night and he looked like a frozen popsicle when he came in, but he was so excited about what a good skier he was and told me he just "tried his hardest." Jer said his legs were shaking on the lift ride up and when he asked if he was cold Luke said "no, my legs are just a little tired." I totally feel his pain. After skiing with him last year I realized what a workout it is to snow plow all the time! Now he wants to go skiing everyday.
We stayed the night at Steve and Cami's cabin and had a fun day of hanging out and sledding on Saturday while the dads were gone. My kids were exhausted though--especially Seth...and me. We got the kids to bed late Friday and then stayed up until about 2 am which is way past my bedtime. I'm old..and pregnant. When we finally did go to sleep Luke was in the bed with us (it was huge) and Seth was in the port-a-crib in the same room. Between my coughing, overheating (I had Jer opening windows in the middle of the night), Luke hogging the bed, and somebody waking up at least every hour it was not exactly restful. In the morning Jer and I had both kids in bed with us, and we were still closing our eyes and pretending to sleep. After about 5 minutes of the kids jumping around, landing on our heads, etc. I could not help but laugh and ask why we were even bothering!
Here are some pics from the sledding and playing at the cabin. There was a ton of snow!
It looks kind of flat, but they went down the tire tracks in the driveway and actually picked up a lot of speed by the end.
There was a lot of snow eating going on. Luke doesn't even bother to pick it up first. Notice his tiny glasses. Yes, that's the pair he got at age one (a replacement anyway). His have been broken for two weeks and the replacements are still nowhere in sight. After trying both tape and super glue to hold them together it's getting a little old! Glasses and four-year-olds are a very bad combo.
Luke, Caitlyn, and Jack (belongs to some other friends who came up to stay too).
Jack was not a fan of the sledding but Cami finally convinced him to go down with her. After Luke saw that he wanted a ride too. Thanks Cami! He asked me but the tube was a little low on air, and I was pretty sure we would bottom out and/or I would never get back up again. Cami is so tiny you can hardly see her!
And yes, Seth was on this trip, but he was attempting to take a nap during the sledding. He loves "panda" right now and does kung fu/karate around the house with Luke a lot. He waves his arms around, kicks, and says "hiya" a lot. I can't stand how fast he's growing up!
We stayed the night at Steve and Cami's cabin and had a fun day of hanging out and sledding on Saturday while the dads were gone. My kids were exhausted though--especially Seth...and me. We got the kids to bed late Friday and then stayed up until about 2 am which is way past my bedtime. I'm old..and pregnant. When we finally did go to sleep Luke was in the bed with us (it was huge) and Seth was in the port-a-crib in the same room. Between my coughing, overheating (I had Jer opening windows in the middle of the night), Luke hogging the bed, and somebody waking up at least every hour it was not exactly restful. In the morning Jer and I had both kids in bed with us, and we were still closing our eyes and pretending to sleep. After about 5 minutes of the kids jumping around, landing on our heads, etc. I could not help but laugh and ask why we were even bothering!
Here are some pics from the sledding and playing at the cabin. There was a ton of snow!
It looks kind of flat, but they went down the tire tracks in the driveway and actually picked up a lot of speed by the end.
There was a lot of snow eating going on. Luke doesn't even bother to pick it up first. Notice his tiny glasses. Yes, that's the pair he got at age one (a replacement anyway). His have been broken for two weeks and the replacements are still nowhere in sight. After trying both tape and super glue to hold them together it's getting a little old! Glasses and four-year-olds are a very bad combo.
Luke, Caitlyn, and Jack (belongs to some other friends who came up to stay too).
Jack was not a fan of the sledding but Cami finally convinced him to go down with her. After Luke saw that he wanted a ride too. Thanks Cami! He asked me but the tube was a little low on air, and I was pretty sure we would bottom out and/or I would never get back up again. Cami is so tiny you can hardly see her!
And yes, Seth was on this trip, but he was attempting to take a nap during the sledding. He loves "panda" right now and does kung fu/karate around the house with Luke a lot. He waves his arms around, kicks, and says "hiya" a lot. I can't stand how fast he's growing up!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Writer's Block
I am not exactly off to a great start with blogging in 2009. I have not felt like blogging at all and can't really think of anything to write about. Of course since I'm a stay-at-home mom the natural thing to write about would be my kiddos since I'm with them 24/7. I think I've been feeling a little of the after Christmas/winter blues. My kids are doing great though and playing more and better with each other every day. It makes my day to hear them laughing together and to see Seth copying everything that Luke does...even if those things include jumping on the beds, going off the couch headfirst, etc. Before Seth's nap and at bedtime they always give each other a "hug and a kiss" which is pretty cute. Luke still calls Seth our baby which is kind of funny considering Seth is almost as big as him. It will be interesting to see their reactions when there is a tiny baby around here again.
Luke is growing up so fast and learning so much. He keeps asking me how the baby will get out. In trying to figure it out he suggested maybe the baby would come out of my mouth. I told him that was not the case but couldn't even begin to explain how it would really occur. I told him it was "complicated." Help! I'm just leaving him hanging on that one. About a month ago we realized that one of our frogs, "Stitch" the climber, had escaped from the tank. We still have not found his poor little carcass. It made me feel good to know that Luke's first thought was to say a prayer for him. At first he prayed we would get him back but now I think he's resigned himself to the fact that Stitch is gone and he prays for him to be safe in froggy heaven. Ever since Jer's grandpa died in November Luke has asked tons of questions about death and heaven. Stuff like "How do we get to heaven?" A lot of his questions I don't have the answers to. I'm just glad to see that some of what we are trying to teach him is actually sinking in. He definitely understands that there is a heaven and that he can pray and be heard. That's makes me feel good because sometimes I wonder when FHE becomes WWF or Luke only wants to read BOM stories about "bad guys!"
As for me I'm just doing my same old mom stuff. I've been thinking about my role as a mom a lot lately and despite the fact that some days I still miss teaching quite a bit, I am so glad I've decided to stay home with my boys. I love spending so much time with them and seeing what great little people they are becoming. So what if the craziest thing I did all day was wear a white T-shirt while feeding Seth spaghettios. I figure there will be time for "living on the edge" and pursuing my other interests someday. Nothing beats those sticky little fingers around my neck and knowing that my kids love having me around. I do still find a little time for my own hobbies. I love taking pictures and just got an awesome new lens for my camera. I'd really like to learn to take better pictures and have some time to spend on digital scrapbooking. I also still love to exercise. It's not what it once was with this bowling ball under my shirt, but it still makes me feel great. I kind of have to redefine what makes a good workout while pregnant. I've set a few goals (potentially unrealistic) for myself as far as runs I plan on training and entering this summer to lose the baby weight. I am also keeping busy with my online classes I'm "teaching" and the classes I'm taking for my Masters. I'm only taking one class this semester. It's called "Current Issues in Biology" and after reading the list of topics in the syllabus is sure to be incredibly boring, but I am going to power through and hopefully finish up in the nick of time before the baby arrives!
Below are a few random pics of what we've been up to this month so far.
Seth loves pudding and just about anything else. Not just junk though--he can eat an orange with the best of them. He especially loves those little cuties that are easy to peel. He is learning more new words all the time and is my happy "big baby."
We went with friends to see the elk on a day that was about 10 degrees. I didn't take too many pictures because my hands were freezing. The kids all liked the elk and the sleigh ride and then we rushed to the car to avoid hypothermia.
We've had a lot of sunny days lately and our snow is rapidly melting. The snow is hard enough the kids can walk all over the yard on it. Seth is not a big fan of the snow...mostly because he will not keep gloves on and is then very sad when his hands freeze. The swingset even surfaced for some playtime.
Jer is patrolling again this year and to be honest it's a pain for me right now, but I think it will pay off in the future. We all love to ski and our whole family will be able to spend lots of time at the mountain for free this way. We've gone up a few Saturdays to eat lunch with Jer and let Luke go out on a few runs. What he does at this point can hardly be called skiing and he's missing his instructor this year (that would be me), but it's been fun to go. Jer even ditches his snowboard (he's a snowboarder of almost 20 years now) for skis to take Luke out. Seth totally wants in on the action so maybe next year he can go out a run or two when I'm back on my skis.
We also took the kids to "Walking With Dinosaurs." It was mostly for Luke who loves dinosaurs. He asks about a million and one questions about them (and every other topic). I thought Seth would be scared, but he was actually quite in awe of the whole thing. He makes a mean dinosaur noise.
Luke is growing up so fast and learning so much. He keeps asking me how the baby will get out. In trying to figure it out he suggested maybe the baby would come out of my mouth. I told him that was not the case but couldn't even begin to explain how it would really occur. I told him it was "complicated." Help! I'm just leaving him hanging on that one. About a month ago we realized that one of our frogs, "Stitch" the climber, had escaped from the tank. We still have not found his poor little carcass. It made me feel good to know that Luke's first thought was to say a prayer for him. At first he prayed we would get him back but now I think he's resigned himself to the fact that Stitch is gone and he prays for him to be safe in froggy heaven. Ever since Jer's grandpa died in November Luke has asked tons of questions about death and heaven. Stuff like "How do we get to heaven?" A lot of his questions I don't have the answers to. I'm just glad to see that some of what we are trying to teach him is actually sinking in. He definitely understands that there is a heaven and that he can pray and be heard. That's makes me feel good because sometimes I wonder when FHE becomes WWF or Luke only wants to read BOM stories about "bad guys!"
As for me I'm just doing my same old mom stuff. I've been thinking about my role as a mom a lot lately and despite the fact that some days I still miss teaching quite a bit, I am so glad I've decided to stay home with my boys. I love spending so much time with them and seeing what great little people they are becoming. So what if the craziest thing I did all day was wear a white T-shirt while feeding Seth spaghettios. I figure there will be time for "living on the edge" and pursuing my other interests someday. Nothing beats those sticky little fingers around my neck and knowing that my kids love having me around. I do still find a little time for my own hobbies. I love taking pictures and just got an awesome new lens for my camera. I'd really like to learn to take better pictures and have some time to spend on digital scrapbooking. I also still love to exercise. It's not what it once was with this bowling ball under my shirt, but it still makes me feel great. I kind of have to redefine what makes a good workout while pregnant. I've set a few goals (potentially unrealistic) for myself as far as runs I plan on training and entering this summer to lose the baby weight. I am also keeping busy with my online classes I'm "teaching" and the classes I'm taking for my Masters. I'm only taking one class this semester. It's called "Current Issues in Biology" and after reading the list of topics in the syllabus is sure to be incredibly boring, but I am going to power through and hopefully finish up in the nick of time before the baby arrives!
Below are a few random pics of what we've been up to this month so far.
Seth loves pudding and just about anything else. Not just junk though--he can eat an orange with the best of them. He especially loves those little cuties that are easy to peel. He is learning more new words all the time and is my happy "big baby."
We went with friends to see the elk on a day that was about 10 degrees. I didn't take too many pictures because my hands were freezing. The kids all liked the elk and the sleigh ride and then we rushed to the car to avoid hypothermia.
We've had a lot of sunny days lately and our snow is rapidly melting. The snow is hard enough the kids can walk all over the yard on it. Seth is not a big fan of the snow...mostly because he will not keep gloves on and is then very sad when his hands freeze. The swingset even surfaced for some playtime.
Jer is patrolling again this year and to be honest it's a pain for me right now, but I think it will pay off in the future. We all love to ski and our whole family will be able to spend lots of time at the mountain for free this way. We've gone up a few Saturdays to eat lunch with Jer and let Luke go out on a few runs. What he does at this point can hardly be called skiing and he's missing his instructor this year (that would be me), but it's been fun to go. Jer even ditches his snowboard (he's a snowboarder of almost 20 years now) for skis to take Luke out. Seth totally wants in on the action so maybe next year he can go out a run or two when I'm back on my skis.
We also took the kids to "Walking With Dinosaurs." It was mostly for Luke who loves dinosaurs. He asks about a million and one questions about them (and every other topic). I thought Seth would be scared, but he was actually quite in awe of the whole thing. He makes a mean dinosaur noise.
That's about it. For not having anything to say I sure rambled a lot! Maybe I'll get on a roll now and post before another month goes by.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
'Twas The Season
Since I have not made one single post about Christmas, I am trying to quickly catch up on some of the fun things our family did the month of December. I do love this time of year--especially the chance to spend so much time with family and friends. It seemed like once we got back from our trip it was non stop parties and activities, but we've had a great month. Feel free to move on to the next blog because below are posted 20 pics of my family taken this month--that's right 20!! And really it doesn't even begin to capture all the fun we've had and memories we've made this holiday season.
This is one of the few pics I could get Luke to pose for after his preschool singing program. Everytime I asked him what songs they were singing his reply was, "I don't know." I was a little worried, but he did great--quite the ham. I wonder where he gets that from? Each child said their name into the microphone and when it was his turn he enunciated his entire name in the deepest, loudest voice. As for the actual singing he sang the ones he liked and looked bored through the others while enduring a look that could kill from the girl who sat next to him.
Our annual trip with my family to SLC. This trip included shopping, lounging around at the hotel, swimming for Luke and Jer, seeing the lights at Temple Square, and enjoying the amazing brunch. Thanks mom and dad for the fun tradition!
Brunch was not complete without cookies and ice cream and a visit from Santa.
We attempted to take a photo for our Christmas card. I did end up with one cute shot that most of you have seen. Here are a few of the rejects. They mostly involved Seth trying to leave the picture and Luke attempting to force him into submission. Reality but not very holidayish.
Seth's "cheese." I just love those teeth.
Being a glutton for punishment, I attempted to take a pic of the boys in their Sunday best the Sunday before Christmas. I didn't have a whole lot of success at this shoot either. I finally ended up taking some pictures of them sitting under the tree eating all of the treats they acquired at Primary. Luke said the theme in Primary--he even memorized it despite not wanting to practice much--and I was so proud of him.
We've had a ton of snow the last few weeks, and Luke has been loving it. As you can see it is dark, and he still would not come inside. Only at threat of losing his sled the next day did he obey. The next morning by 7 am he was in my room asking me when he and Max (his friend next door) could sled again.
We spent Christmas Eve with my family. We have always had a party with extended family that has evolved over the years. For the past few years we have gotten together with my aunt and her kids and their kids. It is a great time.
Seth is neutral towards sitting with Santa. He does always tell you "ho ho ho" if you ask him what Santa says though.
Luke on the other hand loved it and cheesed it.
The kids did a program including a nativity scene. Seth was "the star." He came out and stood so quietly--treat in hand--and really did a great job. His cute cousin Andrew is the sheep.
Luke and Samantha were Joseph and Mary this year. That Broncos robe Luke is wearing used to belong to my cousin Ryan and has been in the costume bag for about 20 years.
Christmas morning. My parents spent it with us, and we had a great time opening gifts and eating breakfast. Luke was pretty excited at what his robot can do. The only thing he asked for was a "fire gun with fire bullets," and he seemed to think the Star Wars gun Santa brought was sufficient.
We spent the rest of Christmas day with Jer's family and ended up driving home in a crazy blizzard. All of the kids got stick horses (among other things) and had a lot of fun. Luke finally got those cowboy boots he has been asking for. Grandpa Boyd was all too happy to pick some out for him. What a great day and a wonderful time of year. Luke told me that Christmas is about "Jesus and Santa"--at least he got the order right! I hope everyone out there had a Merry Christmas too!
This is one of the few pics I could get Luke to pose for after his preschool singing program. Everytime I asked him what songs they were singing his reply was, "I don't know." I was a little worried, but he did great--quite the ham. I wonder where he gets that from? Each child said their name into the microphone and when it was his turn he enunciated his entire name in the deepest, loudest voice. As for the actual singing he sang the ones he liked and looked bored through the others while enduring a look that could kill from the girl who sat next to him.
Our annual trip with my family to SLC. This trip included shopping, lounging around at the hotel, swimming for Luke and Jer, seeing the lights at Temple Square, and enjoying the amazing brunch. Thanks mom and dad for the fun tradition!
Brunch was not complete without cookies and ice cream and a visit from Santa.
We attempted to take a photo for our Christmas card. I did end up with one cute shot that most of you have seen. Here are a few of the rejects. They mostly involved Seth trying to leave the picture and Luke attempting to force him into submission. Reality but not very holidayish.
Seth's "cheese." I just love those teeth.
Being a glutton for punishment, I attempted to take a pic of the boys in their Sunday best the Sunday before Christmas. I didn't have a whole lot of success at this shoot either. I finally ended up taking some pictures of them sitting under the tree eating all of the treats they acquired at Primary. Luke said the theme in Primary--he even memorized it despite not wanting to practice much--and I was so proud of him.
We've had a ton of snow the last few weeks, and Luke has been loving it. As you can see it is dark, and he still would not come inside. Only at threat of losing his sled the next day did he obey. The next morning by 7 am he was in my room asking me when he and Max (his friend next door) could sled again.
We spent Christmas Eve with my family. We have always had a party with extended family that has evolved over the years. For the past few years we have gotten together with my aunt and her kids and their kids. It is a great time.
Seth is neutral towards sitting with Santa. He does always tell you "ho ho ho" if you ask him what Santa says though.
Luke on the other hand loved it and cheesed it.
The kids did a program including a nativity scene. Seth was "the star." He came out and stood so quietly--treat in hand--and really did a great job. His cute cousin Andrew is the sheep.
Luke and Samantha were Joseph and Mary this year. That Broncos robe Luke is wearing used to belong to my cousin Ryan and has been in the costume bag for about 20 years.
Christmas morning. My parents spent it with us, and we had a great time opening gifts and eating breakfast. Luke was pretty excited at what his robot can do. The only thing he asked for was a "fire gun with fire bullets," and he seemed to think the Star Wars gun Santa brought was sufficient.
We spent the rest of Christmas day with Jer's family and ended up driving home in a crazy blizzard. All of the kids got stick horses (among other things) and had a lot of fun. Luke finally got those cowboy boots he has been asking for. Grandpa Boyd was all too happy to pick some out for him. What a great day and a wonderful time of year. Luke told me that Christmas is about "Jesus and Santa"--at least he got the order right! I hope everyone out there had a Merry Christmas too!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Cancun
Warning: Long Post
I'm finally getting around to writing a little about our trip. I won't bore you with all the details, but we had a great time. We went with our friends Kristy and Spencer who also celebrated their 10th anniversary this summer. We met them right after we all got married when we lived in the same townhouse complex. We've had a lot of fun with them over the years on backpacking trips and this is actually the first trip we've all been on together that didn't involve sleeping in tents! We haven't seen them in a while, so it was great to catch up on old times and have some new laughs. We spent 6 awesome days in Cancun, Mexico. The weather was so nice. They had Christmas decorations everywhere, but they seemed so out of place to me in the nice weather. Well, here are a few highlights:
I think this is the only picture I took where we are all looking reasonably presentable. Actually, the waitress took it and she didn't exactly know how to use my camera. This night was one of the funniest of our trip. Our resort was all-inclusive, so we could pretty much eat anywhere/anytime. By the end we were getting really sick of the buffets, so we made reservations at the "nice" restaurant for dinner. It was Mediterranean night. It was a nice place, and the way they served you was quite formal but that's where the nice ended. Jer started it off with a bang by not bringing any pants which we came to find out are required at this place. Rather than turn us away, Jer was supplied with some sweet black pants to wear. They were kind of stretchy with an elastic waistband but looked like slacks. He went into the bathroom and came out with them over his shorts. We could not stop laughing. Maybe you had to be there, but it was funny. You can check out a full view of the infamous pants in the slideshow. The night just got better as they brought us out one unrecognizable dish after the other. It was seriously bad food. It was presented in a very fancy way, but they forgot to make it taste good. It got funnier to us as the courses continued. You would have thought we were drinking instead of the only sober adults at the entire resort. As we left we checked out the menu for the next night which was Mexican food. The chicken entree in English was "chicken with chili sauce and species (spices?) over meatloaf, with raisins." That did it for me. I'm sure some of that was lost in translation, but could that combo ever be good??? Anyway, the next night we headed into Cancun to Hard Rock Cafe rather than chancing the chicken/meatloaf surprise!
We spent a lot of time at the beach. Our place was really pretty with beautiful pools and then just a few steps down to the beach. The water was crystal clear with white sandy beaches. The waves were huge, and we spent a lot of time swimming and getting pummelled. They served drinks on the beach, and I think we all consumed enough virgin dacquiris and pina coladas to gain 10 pounds.
We went out on two different day trip adventures that involved just about everything--kayaking, swimming, hiking, biking, snorkeling, tubing, zip lining, and rapelling (I sat out the last two for bambino's safety). We had great fun and got to see a lot of neat sights. At a place called Xel Ha we snorkeled and then rode bikes up to the top of this "lazy river" where you can tube down through these cool mangroves. Kristy and I almost ran over several unidentified large, furry critters that crossed our path on our bikes with no brakes. (Turns out they had pedal brakes like a kid's brake, but it took me a minute to think of that.) When we got there and got our lifejackets on I realized mine had an extra strap. The only thing I could think of was that it went between your legs. Do they really make adult life jackets like that? Yep, apparently in Mexico they do. I asked the worker about it, and he volunteered to "help me" with it which got me laughing quite hard. I did it up until we were out of sight and then had to remove it for comfort's sake. Jer's also had one which he did not even consider. Jer made the tubing quite exciting when he jumped off the dock onto his and proceeded to flip it over. It was a good laugh for quite a few tourists. I have to tease him a little because he is very coordinated and normally I would be the one to do something like that. Everyone besides me got out of the river at one point and jumped off some cliffs. I opted out of that one as well. We ended the day by visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum.
I could go on and on because it was such a fun time....but I'lltry not to. Our other day trip was an adventure to a rural Mayan village, and underground cenote for swimming, and eventually to Coba. Coba has the tallest Mayan temple ruin. It also is the only one you can still climb up. That was pretty fun. The way down is steep, but not as bad as some made it seem. People were stopping all along the way and not daring to go further. We also rode bikes at this place which was more fun than walking.
Anyway, those are a few higlights of the trip. We also rode the city buses, watched lots of drunken karaoke, people watched, and ate lots of strange food. Best of all it involved lots of relaxation and quality time to spend with Jer. We get so busy at home with the kids we hardly ever have any time to ourselves. I was so worried about leaving the kiddos before we left but once we got there it was great. It was a much needed vacation. I hope we don't wait another five years before trying it again!
Disclaimer: There is not one single picture from this trip in which I look normal. I either have wet dog ponytail, pale face, look plump, am too scantily clad for my current body or a combo of all of the above. So look if you dare and just remember I'm not quite as scary in real life. As for Jer, I have no explanation for his picture face. He has always refused to look normal in pictures!
I'm finally getting around to writing a little about our trip. I won't bore you with all the details, but we had a great time. We went with our friends Kristy and Spencer who also celebrated their 10th anniversary this summer. We met them right after we all got married when we lived in the same townhouse complex. We've had a lot of fun with them over the years on backpacking trips and this is actually the first trip we've all been on together that didn't involve sleeping in tents! We haven't seen them in a while, so it was great to catch up on old times and have some new laughs. We spent 6 awesome days in Cancun, Mexico. The weather was so nice. They had Christmas decorations everywhere, but they seemed so out of place to me in the nice weather. Well, here are a few highlights:
I think this is the only picture I took where we are all looking reasonably presentable. Actually, the waitress took it and she didn't exactly know how to use my camera. This night was one of the funniest of our trip. Our resort was all-inclusive, so we could pretty much eat anywhere/anytime. By the end we were getting really sick of the buffets, so we made reservations at the "nice" restaurant for dinner. It was Mediterranean night. It was a nice place, and the way they served you was quite formal but that's where the nice ended. Jer started it off with a bang by not bringing any pants which we came to find out are required at this place. Rather than turn us away, Jer was supplied with some sweet black pants to wear. They were kind of stretchy with an elastic waistband but looked like slacks. He went into the bathroom and came out with them over his shorts. We could not stop laughing. Maybe you had to be there, but it was funny. You can check out a full view of the infamous pants in the slideshow. The night just got better as they brought us out one unrecognizable dish after the other. It was seriously bad food. It was presented in a very fancy way, but they forgot to make it taste good. It got funnier to us as the courses continued. You would have thought we were drinking instead of the only sober adults at the entire resort. As we left we checked out the menu for the next night which was Mexican food. The chicken entree in English was "chicken with chili sauce and species (spices?) over meatloaf, with raisins." That did it for me. I'm sure some of that was lost in translation, but could that combo ever be good??? Anyway, the next night we headed into Cancun to Hard Rock Cafe rather than chancing the chicken/meatloaf surprise!
We spent a lot of time at the beach. Our place was really pretty with beautiful pools and then just a few steps down to the beach. The water was crystal clear with white sandy beaches. The waves were huge, and we spent a lot of time swimming and getting pummelled. They served drinks on the beach, and I think we all consumed enough virgin dacquiris and pina coladas to gain 10 pounds.
We went out on two different day trip adventures that involved just about everything--kayaking, swimming, hiking, biking, snorkeling, tubing, zip lining, and rapelling (I sat out the last two for bambino's safety). We had great fun and got to see a lot of neat sights. At a place called Xel Ha we snorkeled and then rode bikes up to the top of this "lazy river" where you can tube down through these cool mangroves. Kristy and I almost ran over several unidentified large, furry critters that crossed our path on our bikes with no brakes. (Turns out they had pedal brakes like a kid's brake, but it took me a minute to think of that.) When we got there and got our lifejackets on I realized mine had an extra strap. The only thing I could think of was that it went between your legs. Do they really make adult life jackets like that? Yep, apparently in Mexico they do. I asked the worker about it, and he volunteered to "help me" with it which got me laughing quite hard. I did it up until we were out of sight and then had to remove it for comfort's sake. Jer's also had one which he did not even consider. Jer made the tubing quite exciting when he jumped off the dock onto his and proceeded to flip it over. It was a good laugh for quite a few tourists. I have to tease him a little because he is very coordinated and normally I would be the one to do something like that. Everyone besides me got out of the river at one point and jumped off some cliffs. I opted out of that one as well. We ended the day by visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum.
I could go on and on because it was such a fun time....but I'lltry not to. Our other day trip was an adventure to a rural Mayan village, and underground cenote for swimming, and eventually to Coba. Coba has the tallest Mayan temple ruin. It also is the only one you can still climb up. That was pretty fun. The way down is steep, but not as bad as some made it seem. People were stopping all along the way and not daring to go further. We also rode bikes at this place which was more fun than walking.
Anyway, those are a few higlights of the trip. We also rode the city buses, watched lots of drunken karaoke, people watched, and ate lots of strange food. Best of all it involved lots of relaxation and quality time to spend with Jer. We get so busy at home with the kids we hardly ever have any time to ourselves. I was so worried about leaving the kiddos before we left but once we got there it was great. It was a much needed vacation. I hope we don't wait another five years before trying it again!
Disclaimer: There is not one single picture from this trip in which I look normal. I either have wet dog ponytail, pale face, look plump, am too scantily clad for my current body or a combo of all of the above. So look if you dare and just remember I'm not quite as scary in real life. As for Jer, I have no explanation for his picture face. He has always refused to look normal in pictures!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)