Heather's Thoughts: 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

"It's a Wonderful Life"

(Photo by Braelyn!)

The word that seemed to describe our Christmas this year could have been simple. Because it was just us here we didn't have the family dinners to go to, company parties to attend or gift swaps to coordinate. At times it seemed a little to quiet but we really enjoyed choosing just what we wanted to do and really focusing on the things we love. We spent a little time with friends decorating gingerbread houses and baking cookies while Kevin played football on Christmas Eve and that evening we drove through a farm here, where they decorate with lights and all sorts of inflatable and light-up Christmas characters. The girls really liked that and Berkley waved out the window at everything saying "Hi!, Hi!" while she wiggled to the Christmas music playing. Braelyn was worn out and fell asleep in the car on the way home, but we woke her up so we could do new pajamas and open our ornament for the year. Braelyn got Snow White jammies and Berkley got princess jammies that used to be be Braelyn's that I wrapped up and stuck under the tree. Shhh, don't tell her. The girls also got a pink Princess ornament (you can tell what the running theme in our house has been this year) and the family ornament was a beautiful vintage looking Santa with a squirrel on his hand because we have lots and lots of squirrels in our yard and have spent a lot of time in our yard watching them run and play. Before they went to sleep we wrote our letter for Santa, put our magical Santa key on the door and set out milk and cookies. Braelyn has been very into Rudolph this year and she only cared that we set out something for him. We picked an apple and she set it right next to the door so he could just lean in and eat it.

Morning came and I was excited and ready to go, but my early birds wanted to sleep in. This of all days, they pick to sleep! I got up, turned on the lights started some music and then waited and waited...Finally about 8:00 Braelyn threw open the door and said, "Santa came!" We had told her many times that she couldn't just run to the presents but that she had to come in our room and wait for everyone but she quickly ran from the room. I yelled for her to wait but she was gone and when I chased her into the living room I saw that she had run past the presents straight to where she had left the apple and was checking to make sure Rudolph had gotten it. After being sure Rudolph was taken care of she was happy to come climb under the covers with me to wait for Berkley. As we laid there Braelyn looked at us and said, "Isn't it great to spend the holidays with family?" Ha, I am wondering what show she got that from. Luckily we didn't have to wait long for Berkley and the girls hurried to their presents. Santa had wrapped some treats as well and once Berkley saw the goldfish crackers and Teddy Grahams she didn't care about anything else. We finally got her to open the big gifts, but she is so meticulous that she would tear off a teeny square and then walk it over to Kevin so he could put it in the trash and then go back for another tiny piece. It sure made Christmas morning last longer. Brae tore through everything but would stop and exclaim, "Thank you! Thank you for everything! I love you so much!" with her usual dramatic but very grateful flair. Braelyn got a digital camera from Santa and Berkley got a polar bear cub that blinks and purrs and moves it mouth and makes noises and they each got a stuffed reindeer also. Berkley wouldn't let me hold her bear but would grab it from me and give it to Kevin, she still takes it if she sees I have it and gives it to Kevin. I guess he is the better babysitter. I had found 2 wrought iron canopy doll cribs at a yard sale and I gave those to the girls along with a princess baby doll. After we played we got to open all the rest of the presents under the tree. I even had some surprises this year.

We spent the day playing with dolls and trying on the new dresses and we were able to speak to our families and show them the gifts on the computer. Kevin wanted to go to a movie but my fun meter was done and I convinced him to just stay home so we could all stay in our pajamas. As I finished up Christmas dinner we were able to call Greg and speak to him in Brazil. Berkley even said "Hi" to him. I can't believe that was his last phone call home, next year it will be Taylor.

We couldn't have asked for a better day. We had found out Kevin's teaching position won't be renewed for this coming year, but as we sat together and watched how happy our kids were it helped remind us that we still have what is really important in life. Being together we will be able to handle whatever comes our way.

I got up early the next day and took Braelyn with me to get some new ornaments for next year. I wasn't the only one and it was very busy, I could hardly push the cart, but I made a haul and am excited to pull it all out again. I told Kevin eventually I would just need a bigger tree. But as for this year, as soon as I got home I took everything down and it is neatly tucked up in the attic until then.

Happy Holidays! (These are some of the pics Braelyn took with her camera)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas Eve EVE is already here!

Didn't December used to creep by when you were little, and now it flys by in a blink. I started Christmas shopping very early this year, but even still I was trolling the lanes at Wal-mart today still trying to figure out what to get Kevin and stocking up on baking stuff to make the extra batch for neighbors and friends we still need to get to.

We started with our ward party. We had a dinner and Santa, who was the funniest Santa I had ever seen. We had made Berkley sit on Santa's lap a few times, so she knew by now she was not interested so after we watched all the kids take their turns I asked her if she wanted to go see Santa. She firmly said "No!" and latched onto to my leg. I asked if she just wanted to say Hi, so she turned, without letting go of my leg and said "Hi" from across the room. And that was enough for her.

Later that week the elves started visiting our house and leaving gifts for the 12 days of Christmas. This was a tradition started when I was growing up, and they leave a little gift or activity. This helps pass the time and entertain the kids while Mom gets holiday things done, and get some little gifts that may get lost in the hustle of Christmas morning. It also helped Braelyn remember that the elves were there to watch her and report back to Santa each day, if she was being naughty or nice. Some of the favorite's this year have been snuggies, paint set and candy of course!

We also got a visit that may have been even more exciting than Santa coming, when Munga came to Georgia! We weren't sure if Berkley would remember them but she saw her first and tried to crawl up the escalator to get to her. We kept her busy by going to the library puppet show, grocery shopping and then to see "The Princess and the Frog." The girls also opened their Christmas gift from them, which was a train table and Braelyn has spent hours playing with it since. I took no pictures because we were literally running everywhere because Kevin and I also got to get away for 2 nights and go to a conference in Tennessee. I was so excited to have an entire day to do anything I wanted and to be able to spend some time with Kevin. It was a 6 hour drive and I loved just reading my magazine and not having to get anyone treats, or toys or potty breaks. We stopped to get dinner when we got there and I dug right into my food because it is a luxury to eat your meal when it is hot but about 10 minutes into the meal Kevin said, "We really don't have anything to talk about do we?" I laughed because I was just enjoying the quiet. While Kevin was at classes I got to exercise in the weight room, take a long bath and actually blow dry my hair. It was bliss. It started snowing that day and quickly escalated into the worst storm they had had in about 5 years. We didn't think it was that bad but we are used to Utah winters, but we had to go to 5 different restaurants to find one that had stayed open. There were cars all over the side of the road. We had thought we wouldn't have a white Christmas this year, but we did get a taste of it. We were very nervous about coming home because we had to come over a steep mountain pass, but after much thought and debate we decided to try it and it was much easier than everyone had made it out to be. We only had to stop because of rubberneckers checking out a semi on the shoulder. My dad was also supposed to fly in from Florida for the weekend and he had a nightmare with the weather in Florida and Atlanta as the storm moved north. He got delayed twice and ended up not getting to the house until midnight. Kevin and I got home late Saturday and Braelyn wasn't feeling well so we got her to bed only to have her join us and stat puking a few hours later. My parents had to leave early Sunday and we felt a little like we hadn't even seem them, but the girls had a wonderful time playing with them, and they doubled the amount of presents under our tree.

Sunday was the church Christmas program and Kevin and Braelyn were supposed to sing but because they were both sick we all missed out. I had felt a bit under the weather and by Sunday night was certain it was strep when my huge white tonsils felt like they were on fire. They don;t have an urgent care here, so we ended up at the emergency room. Yes I went to the ER for a sore throat. I have become one of those people who used to drive me crazy, but we were a little worried about Braelyn so we both got checked out and felt much better after some antibiotic, and were only there about an hour.

Monday we felt much better and we had our nativity family home evening. Braelyn loved hearing the story and played the part of Mary and I was Joseph. Kevin was the angel and innkeeper and Berkley was just in the way, and insisted that her teddy bear "Go bed!" in the manger. Braelyn liked it so much that we played nativity for the rest of the night and every day since.

Tuesday was our big baking day and I am happy to say we were almost totally successful. The divinity is going to take another try but overall everything turned out yummy.

I love this time of the year and am sad to see it pass so quickly, but am so grateful for the blessings we have, especially family and friends. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Ssshhh! Baby Sleeping

Sometimes this is the best part of my day. It was definitely a high point today. Berkley woke up at 6 am and soon after Braelyn pop out of her room. I figured with such an early start I had guaranteed nap time from both of them. It didn't go that way, Berkley didn't nap at all and by dinnertime we were all ready for some shut eye. Braelyn has also began to wake us every night with terrified screams that a wolf is coming out of her Christmas tree and making funny faces at her. We tried talking about nice monsters, we tried wolf spray, we told her she could say a prayer to not be scared, and one night I even pulled her blankets to our floor. Since the scary things seem to come from the tree we threatened that if she woke us again that would be the last of her tree and last night we were successful. I'm hoping for the same tonight but if not then I am giving away a wolf producing pink decorated Christmas tree.

It is strange how different both of my children's sleep habits are, and since my day revolved around sleeping, I decided to write it all down. Braelyn has always been a terrible sleeper. She was so difficult to get into bed. We rocked her for hours until I had run out of every song I knew and would have to start making some up. We would have to sneak quietly away from her crib and there were many times, just as the door was closing, you hear that dreaded scream and have to start all over. She has always been a morning person and always wakes up early. She stopped napping around her 1st birthday but would usually fall right to sleep in the car. She never put herself to sleep and was always rocked in someone arms. She does wake up very happy and is ready to play as soon as she is up. Berkley on the other hand did not start sleeping through the night until she was 10 months old, but she cannot fall asleep anywhere but her crib. She can't settle down in her car seat unless she is exhausted (yes both pics of her sleeping she is not in her crib, I promise that is a fluke!), and I can count on one hand the number of times I have held her until she is zonked. As soon as we can tell she is getting sleepy we lay her in her crib with her snuggle bunny, binky and the same blanket. She puts her self right to sleep and usually we don't hear a peep for about 12 hours. She is a light sleeper and she has to have all her comfort items but it is so nice to be able to just say good-night and walk out with no fuss. Berkley is absolutely not a morning person, in fact I don't know how she and I get anything done because I am just as grumpy in the morning. Kevin is so scared of her in the morning he doesn't usually dare change her diaper until she has had breakfast. I manage to get the diaper off but if we don't instantly stand up and go to the pantry for food she turns mean. She then gets a snack because she will not be hungry while I fix breakfast. And some days she still takes two naps.

But even if we have the most terrible day of our lives as soon as I see those sweet faces peacefully sleeping I know I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now it is time for me to go to bed, I sure hope I stay there until sunrise this time!

Monday, December 7, 2009

You only turn 21 once!

I remember talking our friends, another married couple, and we decided that we would all go to Vegas because 3 of us turned 21 the same year. It turned out we were both pregnant when we turned twenty-one, and didn't exactly feel like partying. Kevin bought all of this Steelers stuff and had it set up when I came out of the room and told me it was for my birthday. I told him that if this wasn't a joke then he would get a 3 second head start before I came after him. He had gotten me a diamond bracelet which he presented very quickly and I still think about this time in my life whenever I where it.

Today my brother Greg turned 21. Although he probably always imagined he would not be at home for this birthday I don't think any of us guessed he would be in a small town in Brazil, melting in the heat, and probably have no one mention Pearl Harbor to him for once in his life. I am sure that he will also always remember this day fondly though I am sure he was a little sad as it marked the last birthday he will have in the mission field. We now his flight plans and are all looking forward to January 26th. He has been so impressive in his duty to serve. He never doubted the reason he was there and worked tirelessly with the people in Brazil. I think he has learned how to deal with difficult people and less than ideal situations. I hope he has cemented his faith in God, as that is something you rely on your entire life. He has worked so hard as he has been taught to, and is another faithful missionary to come in a long line of men who have gone before him. I remember distinctly the night he was set apart. I was still working at the doctor's office and we had late night, and it was cold and dark and I was frazzled by the time I got there. But once we got into the room and heard the prayer and blessing that was given to Greg all the negativity off the real world was able to disappear. We were all sad to have to say good-bye to our sweet peacemaker and his very funny humor, but we all knew he was ready then. What a great thing that the Lord can take a nineteen-year old boy and throw him into an unknown culture, speaking a foreign language, away from friends and family and turn them into tools in His hands. Both of my grandfathers had passed away in recent years, but that night during that blessing we all knew they were with us, close as could be, and we knew they were ready and excited to go with Greg as he served, and that they had been doing some preparatory work before he got there.

Now it is our time to be excited, I am looking forward to the jokes and the stories as only Greg can tell them. I am ready to laugh so hard I can't breathe and to see if he remembers any of his old dance moves. I can't wait for him to get to play with Berkley and to see how much Braelyn has grown. I am looking forward to the few weeks we will all share together before we do this all over again and send the baby of our family to where he is needed.

Happy Birthday Elder Greg- you only turn twenty-one once, and you couldn't have done it any better!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Goings on in our world...

Grandma requested some pics and stories everyday, and since I mainly write this for myself and her, I am only too happy to oblige. Those who do not adore my kids as much as we do (but how could you not, they are great!) may just need to skip the overload...

Here is what we did last week:

Braelyn was invited to a girl's only tea party. Each of the guests brought a little tin that we filled with snowman cookies. When we got to the Cork's house there wasn't anyway home. I thought I must have mixed up the day so I called Kevin and he called their Dad. Kevin assumed I was at the wrong house which was very frustrating to me because I have been to their house before and picked up their daughter to babysit. Kevin kept asking me to describe what I could see and where I was. I was certain that I was in the right place but started to feel a little like I was going crazy. While this was going on, Dana the mom, got a hold of Kevin and told him they were just running late doing pick up at preschool. I was just glad I hadn't lost my mind. Braelyn had a great time and here she is in her cute dress and fuzzy boots:

Friday night I got tickets for Braelyn and I to see "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer- The Ballet" We got dressed in matching black turtle necks and I let her wear a necklace. We left really early but I had a hard time finding a parking spot because they were having a festival downtown and it was raining, then when we got to the theater there was a choir singing carols in front so we couldn't get in. We just stood right next to them staring while they finished the song, then the guys at the end didn't want to move to to let us in. It was very strange. We were so early we had a long wait in the crowded lobby and then we had to kind of push to get in, but we got seats right near the front. A family from our ward scooted in next to us, and they had their grandson with them. When he saw Braelyn he said, "I want to sit by her." The boys tend to like her, she already has the flirting down. Once the show finally started it was really kind of terrible but Braelyn sat still the whole time and has been doing some of the dance moves since. We stopped for some dessert on the way home and Braelyn wanted to sit at the bar. They were out of pie so we ordered breakfast instead. The waitress was a short lady and when she came to talk to us Braelyn just stared and after she walked away Braelyn said, "That was not a grown-up woman, she was a little one like me!" She was enthralled with her the entire night and would stare down the counter at her and say, "That is such a cute little woman!" She was excited because she thought Dad would be asleep when we got home because we had gone out at nighttime.

Saturday morning we all headed over to the kid's clinic they have at Lowes. They were making gingerbread houses and they gave the kids an apron and goggles to wear. Brae got all suited up and it was so cute when she would try and hammer the nails in. She and I were on a team and Kevin and Berkley were on a team and we raced to see who could get it done first. I actually let Braelyn help me and Kevin sent Berkley to pull everything out of my purse so they won. Braelyn loved putting the stickers on, and the house had a hinged roof you could open so we showed Berkley she could put her binky in it, and she stuck it in there and carried it around. I was hoping that could be the final resting place for her pacifiers but she took it out once we got home. Braelyn loved building this, and I had so much fun watching her try and use the tools. She wore her apron and goggles to the other stores we went to that day.

Later when we were at Wal-mart they had Santa there. Braelyn talked with him for awhile then we forced Berkley to take some pictures, and she actually stopped crying after a few seconds. We had seen Santa at the mall when we were shopping on Black Friday but didn't stop that day, but have talked a lot of going back there, so I was wondering what Braelyn thought of this other Santa. I asked her if it was the real Santa she had talked to at Wal-mart that day. She said, "No." I asked her how she knew it wasn't the real Santa and she said, "That man smelled like Papa." I asked if they smelt good and she answered, "Yeah, your dad smells good." I wonder what the real Santa smells like?

Berkley tends to share the OCD that runs in our family and the recent obsession has been closing doors. She often closes herself into a room and can't get out so we have to follow the whining to let her out of wherever she is stuck. This drives Braelyn crazy when she shuts her door so the battles have ensued and most of the time Berkley wins. My doorknobs are all very sticky at this point. Once all the doors had been shut she took a break to watch me paint my toenails. I never get nail polish out with her so she was very fascinated with the bottle. I gave her an old bottle that had been dried shut and that I have to use the pliers to get open now. You can guess the end of this story. It is amazing how much strength a determined toddler has. I screamed when I realized what she had done and that scared her then I thrust her at Kevin so I could try and save the rug. Kevin scrubbed and scrubbed her but she is still a nice shade of bright pink, good thing she insists on being naked most of the time. My rug is okay, it is a red rug so I think it will just look a little worn in the spot. My pants will probably not make it. And the nail polish will be behind lock and key again.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Thanksgiving Break

We had the entire week off, and Kevin and I were determined not to waste the time. But we really weren't successful, I guess sometimes having a slow week and just hanging out can be okay too.

We started with a fashion show. I like to watch Say Yes to the Dress, so Braelyn got out all her dress-ups and would try one on, then stand on a stool in front of the mirror and we would each give our critiques of the outfit, what we liked and didn't like and if we said Yes or No. She posed for some pictures and Berkley just kissed her reflection in the mirror.

The next day Braelyn got to go to a princess party at her friend Gracie's. She loved making a crown and helping Gracie opening her presents by plopping them in her lap then yelling, "Open this Grace!" She was just as excited as the birthday girl was.

Later that week Kevin knew we were a little stir crazy so he took us to McDonalds for dinner and playing and then we went to the last farmer's market of the season, "Shop by Lantern." This was so much fun for me. There were booths with crafts and yummy food everywhere, and everything looked really special because of the lanterns. There was a man singing old songs and his little daughter was dancing in front so both of my girls joined her and the three put on such a cute show that there was a crowd gathered around after the first song. They had organic produce and one farm that produces eggs had a chicken named Cleo at their booth. It was in a cage but I still watched Kevin and the girls check it out from across the parking lot. We kept seeing people with bags of kettle corn and when we got to the booth it was our friends the Corks. They gave us a huge bag of the yummiest kettle corn. Someone else was giving out balloons and Braelyn handed me hers, but I didn't notice in time and it slipped into the sky. She cried and cried but Kevin saved the day by running and getting a new one, and he told her that he jumped up high and saved her balloon. I'm not sure if she fell for it, but she was happy to have a balloon nonetheless. I just wish we had discovered this fun activity sooner. Everyone was so nice and the girls had fun looking at all the crafts and trying the fresh veggies. This small town feel has been one of my favorite things about living here, there is such a strong sense of community.

We also spent one day in Savannah. We went to the Jepson Art Museum. There are 3 museums on this block, 2 are in beautiful historic buildings and the third is a very cool modern building. We started there and I loved walking through the exhibits. Berkley took a particular interest in a statue of a mother holding a small boy. She walked around and around this statue staring intently, then walked up to the backside, pointed and said, "Bum." The reason we picked this place is because they had a children's ArtZeum. They had lots of interactive exhibits and things that taught kids (and me and Kevin) about the history of art and different kinds and artists. Kevin loved building with the wooden blocks, and Braelyn spent a lot of her time at a little table where she said she was the teacher and she would draw each of her pretend kids names on little squares of paper. She was very proud when she had the entire wall filled up. I followed Berkley around while she ate marshmallows. They had a phone set up and you were supposed to pick it up and answer the question, "What painting would you take with you if you went to the moon?" Braelyn picked up the phone and after listening for a second, she looked at me with a very surprised look and said, "Mom, I'm moving to the moon!" (Lots of pics!)

Then it was time for lunch and we drove all around finding a parking space and we found one across from River Street but soon found the restaurants there were way more than we wanted to spend, but we did wander through the shops and the candy stores. We eventually found this little place called B&D burgers. They had like 50 different kind of burgers and sweet potato fries. Our food was really yummy and the staff was so nice to the girls. They have an eating challenge where you have to eat a 3-lb burger and 1-lb of fries in 40 minutes, and Kevin is determined to go back and do that next time.

After lunch we went to Forsyth Park. This is the park in Savannah with the huge fountain you often see pictures of. The day was kind of overcast so it made the huge trees and hanging Spanish moss look even more dramatic. The fountain was lovely and the girls played on the playground while we listened to the speakerphone when my brother Taylor opened his mission call. He got called to the Long Beach California Spanish speaking mission! We are very excited for him. Last stop was a walk through the mall where they have a another playground for the girls and an ice cream cone. It was late by the time we left and we were very grateful for the DVD player to keep the girls quiet on the trip.

Thanksgiving day was very relaxed but while I was making the mashed potatoes our garbage disposal broke, so poor Kevin spent his day cleaning that out. Yuck! My dyer also broke that week so we had clothes and dishes making a mess everywhere. My mom had sent the girls a family home evening lesson with a magnet story about the first Thanksgiving and pilgrim and Indian finger puppets and a letter for each of us to write what we were thankful for. Braelyn's mostly focused on her toys and Christmas tree, but she loved telling me the story of the pilgrims with the magnets. We went to dinner at a family from our ward' house. The mother is Braelyn's nursery teacher and my visiting teacher and we were so glad they invited us. I am used to lots of people and kids and playing since I have a big family on both sides, so it was a little different to actually sit down and serve off the dishes in front of you, as opposed to doing it buffet style and waiting in line! The food was so, so good! Berkley sat in her high chair and ate and ate, then when we put her down she went to the kids table and climbed up and proceeded to clean off each of the plates left there. We played some games, and Braelyn had a fun time playing with their son Zach, who has autism, but seemed to like playing with her, and Berkley decided she needed to be undressed down to the diaper, though everyone said they didn't mind. After dinner we went over to the Van Tassels to finish with some playing and talking. We missed family but couldn't have asked for a better day.

Kevin loves the Black Friday madness and wanted to get up really early but I did not want to so we didn't go until about 9:30. A lot of the big things were gone but I did pick up a few gifts and Christmas dresses for the girls. It is very hard to navigate the crowds with little ones and we were all worn out by lunchtime. I think I will stick to online shopping from now on.

We ended our week with a bang unfortunately. Kevin had Berkley on our bed to watch a movie with Braelyn and she nose-dived off and scraped her nose off on the carpet. We were going to have a friend take family pictures but I decided to wait. Although I could have dressed her up as Rudolph I guess!