I first became a mom on November 25th, 2005, and then again on August 24th, 2007. But up until today, I didn't really feel like a mom. Today it became official when Todd purchased this...

That's right, we have a mini van now and my days of being somewhat cool are completely gone. And you know what? I'm really excited about it! I have been wanting a mini van ever since we had to put two car seats in the back of the Maxima. But, we weren't planning on getting a new car until spring or summer. How we ended up getting one today is kind of a funny story. You see, we are leaving to drive to San Diego tomorrow morning. We were planning to take the Maxima. The Maxima is not a new car by any means, it has over 150,000 miles on it. So, we took it in to get checked out by our mechanic last week. He gave us the okay and then a few days later the clutch started acting up. We took it back in and he fixed what he thought was the problem. Well, the clutch still felt funny to Todd. And then, last Friday when we were driving up to Bountiful, I tried to plug in the DVD player and it fried the cigarette lighter. We really wanted the DVD player for the trip to San Diego, since that was the only reason we bought it. Todd spent most of the morning today trying to fix it. While he was out there working on the car, he started to feel worse and worse about taking it to San Diego. By the time he came in, he had decided that we needed to find an alternative. He started to call rental places, but every one had rented out all of their cars for Christmas and they weren't getting them back until at least tomorrow afternoon. I overheard his conversation with one of the rental places and after he hung up I JOKINGLY said that we could always just go get a new car. Todd didn't laugh and that kind of worried me. So, I started to list off all of the reasons why this was a terrible idea. Todd came up with a bunch of reasons why it was a good idea. When he left for work, he just had this look in his eyes. And sure enough, an hour later he called me to tell me that he was buying us a car. In his defense, he had been researching new cars for months so he knew exactly what he wanted. It was a pretty good deal too. So, instead of squishing into the Maxima tomorrow we will be spreading out on the leather seats, watching DVD's on the built in DVD player, and using the power-sliding doors to get the kids in and out at all of the gas stations we have to stop at. With all of that, I'm sure I won't even care that I am now a nerdy mom!

If gypsies come to my door tonight, I would be seriously tempted to sell my daughter to them! She has been all sorts of trouble today! Don't let the sweet face fool you, this kid is destructive! I have been trying to get ready for our trip to San Diego, so I have been a little distracted. Lily has taken full advantage of the situation. When I put her down for her nap, she didn't ever fall asleep. I heard her jumping in her crib, but I decided to leave her in there hoping that she would fall asleep. No luck! When I finally went in to get her, she was completely naked and there was poop spread all over her bed, on the floor, and on the wall! It was so disgusting and it smelled terrible! Todd was busy trying to fix our car and so I got to clean it up all by myself. Later on, I was upstairs putting away my fourth load of laundry when my darling daughter came in soaking wet. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was playing in the "messy". I went downstairs to discover a lake in our kitchen! Lily had been pushing the water dispenser on the front of the fridge and the entire kitchen floor was covered in water!! So, if any of you would like a naughty two year old, let me know!!

Every year we spend Christmas Eve with my family and then Christmas Day with Todd's family. It works out great because all of my family traditions are on Christmas Eve. This year we got together at my parents house. We had to drive through a blizzard to get there, but it was worth it. We always have a dinner that is just a bunch of snacks. We munch on them all night long. Another tradition is to read the story of Christ's birth from Luke 2. My mom made these cute little cut outs of Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, the shepherds, and the wise men. Lily tried to help, but she didn't quite understand what we were trying to get her to do. This year we played some new games, Nativity Bingo and the Dot Game. I don't really know how to explain the Dot Game, but it was pretty hilarious! Todd had a streak of bad luck and ended up with 11 orange dots on his face. After the games, we all exchanged gifts and then it was time to head home to get ready for Santa!!

Last Friday, we had our annual Hegerhorst Family Christmas night out. We always go out to eat, either at the Mandarin or at the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square. This year was the Mandarin. I love that place, mostly for the fabulous lettuce wraps and the honey walnut shrimp. After our dinner, we always go to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It was pretty cold outside and we debated whether or not we should even go this year. We decided to be brave and we bundled Lily and Owen up. Owen was wearing so many layers that his arms stuck straight out! He couldn't move, but at least he was warm! We had to walk fast, but I am really glad that we went. It's just not Christmas without a trip to Temple Square!

My friend, Nicole, sent me this as an e-mail. I was supposed to fill it out and e-mail it to people. But, I never use my e-mail, so here it is on the blog. Hopefully this counts because I don't want to be a Scrooge!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
For every other gift giving occasion I prefer gift bags. But with Christmas you have to use wrapping paper!

2. Real or Artificial tree?
I love real trees, but we have an artificial tree this year.

3. When do you put up the tree?
The Monday night after Thanksgiving for Family Home Evening.

4. When do you take the tree down?
The first week of January, if I'm feeling ambitious.

5. Do you like Eggnog?
Love it! I made egg nog cookies today!

6. Favorite Gift you received as a child?
Anything to do with art supplies.

7. Favorite gift as an adult?
The first year that we were married we both got bikes. I don't know if that counts because we bought them for ourselves. But, it was the first bike that I have owned since I was like ten years old and it made me feel like a little kid again.

8. Do you have a nativity scene?
I have a few.

9. Hardest person to buy for?
Todd because he never wants anything and when he needs it he buys it himself.

10. Easiest person to buy for?
This year it is Lily. There are so many fun toys out there!

11. Worst Christmas gift ever received?
I can't think of any gift that I hated.

12. Christmas Cards...Snail mail or E-mail?
Snail mail.

13. Favorite Christmas Movie?
This year it is Elf. I've watched it 8 or 9 times already.

14. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Middle of November, but every year I vow to start earlier.

15. Have you ever 'recycled' a Christmas present?
Not yet!

16. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Cheese ball and crackers.

17. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear

18. Favorite Christmas Song?
Oh Holy Night

19. Travel at Christmas or Stay Home?
I have never gone anywhere for Christmas so I guess stay home.

20. Can you name Santa's Reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph, and Olive. (When you sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, it says Olive the other Reindeer. I know it's cheesy! An elf told us that joke on the Polar Express!)

21. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your
tree?
A white star.

22. Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning?
We exchange gifts with each other on Christmas Eve and open gifts from Santa in the Morning.

23. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Grouchy people!

24. Shopping...Mall or online?
I've done a lot of mine online this year. It's kinda nice.

25. Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just
inside (or not at all?)
We have lights outside, but nothing too crazy.

26. Favorite Christmas cookie?
Egg nog cookies

27. Do you own Christmassy clothing or jewelry?
Nope!

28. Do you believe in Santa?
Of course!!

We decided to go over and check out the lights at Thanksgiving Point tonight. Before we went, we drove by 7-11 to pick up some hot chocolate (and a slurpee for Lily). Once we had our delicious beverages, we were ready drove to see some lights. The best part about the lights at Thanksgiving Point is that you don't have to get out of the car. You just drive through and check out all of the fun displays. They had penguins jumping off of igloo's, reindeer parachuting from a house, and a gigantic Santa, of course. It is perfect for us because we didn't have to take the kids out in the cold and it was a lot of fun.

My sister, Julie, graduated from BYU-Idaho last Friday with her degree in Nursing. At the last minute, we decided to drive up there. Unfortunately, Todd had to work both Thursday and Friday night, so Lily, Owen, and I had to go without him. The drive up there went great thanks to an early Christmas present (a DVD player for the car). We left on Thursday afternoon and made it up there just in time for Julie's pinning ceremony. It was this really cool thing that they do for the nursing students. They had a program and then they each got a pin. The program sounded really neat, but I was in the hall the whole time with Lily so I didn't get to hear any of it. Lily was a little wound up after being in the car all afternoon. While we were out there a man came walking into the doors at the end of the hallway. He was a large man, dressed in a scout uniform and a red jacket, and he had a white beard. I was holding Lily and she caught a glimpse of him before I did and said rather loudly,"Mommy, look there's Santa!". I was slightly embarrassed, but she didn't say it very loudly so I was hoping that the man didn't hear her. I tried to distract her, but she blurted out, "Mommy, Santa's coming!". This time there was no doubt that the man heard her and so I made eye contact and gave him an apologetic smile. The man walked right up to us and for a second I was a little worried about what would happen next. Lily looks at him and says "Hello Santa!". Then, the sweet old man reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a candy cane for Lily!! She took it from him and said, "Thank you Santa!". And he walked off smiling. It was so totally unexpected and it left me smiling all night. The next day, Friday, we woke up and headed up to campus to wander around while Julie and Dan were at class. On the way there I was following my dad's car. We came up over some raised train tracks and I looked down to see my dad's tires spinning. I started to pump my brakes, but there was nothing that I could do. I slowly slid down the hill right into the back of my dad's Corolla. We were super lucky because there was no damage done to either car. It was really fun to wander around campus. Being there brought back so many great memories of when I was there. I loved living in Rexburg! It is the coldest place on earth, but there is just something about the place! Friday night, we went to Julie's graduation ceremony. We watched her walk and then we had to leave to come home. We didn't get home until 2 am! It was a quick trip, but I was very glad that we went.

Hi, my name is Jeni Boston and I am a procrastinator. Today is December 11th and I just decided I wanted to send out some Christmas cards. If I would have thought about it a little sooner, I would have had Jessie design one for us because I love her cards. But, I had to get my cards quick so that they would get there before Christmas. I bought some cheap Target cards with a slot for the picture. I also picked up two Santa hats for Lily and Owen to wear for the picture. I spent all morning trying to take a picture for the Christmas cards. At first, I tried to pose the kids. I wanted Lily to hold Owen and for both of them to smile. What was I thinking?! On the first try, Owen slipped out of Lily's arms and landed right on his nose! Then Lily decided that her hat was stupid and refused to put it back on. I ended up chasing her around the house, hauling her back, and shoving the hat on her head. As soon as I got Owen ready, she was gone again! This happened over and over, until I started to get really frustrated. I'm not very good at getting mad because the more frustrated I got, the funnier the two of them thought I was! Pretty soon, I had them both laughing at me!! I managed to get one decent picture of them laughing at me and then Lily took off again. Unlike his sister, Owen really enjoyed wearing his hat and so I took some of him by himself while Lily ran around the house. The Christmas cards are going out in the mail tomorrow and I am so glad that they are done! Next year I really need to start working on them a little earlier!

For the past few months Lily has developed a slight obsession with trains. So it was only fitting that one of her birthday presents was tickets on the Polar Express. To get her ready we started reading the book every night at bedtime and watching the movie. When we told her that we were going to go ride the Polar Express, Lily couldn't stop talking about it. She was so excited to ride on a real train and to meet Santa. The entire drive up Provo Canyon she was straining to look out the window trying to see where the train was. We arrived at the train station an entire hour before the train was supposed to leave and it was nice to have so much time for Lily to check out the train before we got on.
Todd and Lily had to wander around by themselves for a while because I was in the bathroom dealing with Owen's messy diaper blow out. I am so glad that he decided to have his accident before we got on the train!
The train was decorated with Christmas garland and lights. It really looked like the Polar Express. Before we left the station, little elves came around to talk to all of the kids and ask them what they wanted for Christmas. Lily told them she wanted a doll. We told them Owen wanted clothes (I'm not sure if that is what he really wants for Christmas, but that is what he is getting!). When the train started moving we passed snow covered fields, icy rivers, and even a few deer. It was really picturesque!

Mrs Claus was our first visitor. She brought around chocolate chip cookies and the elves passed out hot chocolate. Lily loved the cookies, but hated the hot chocolate. Todd liked the hot chocolate and hated the cookies, so it all worked out!
Isn't this guy the most perfect conductor?
During our ride, we sang Christmas carols and read the Polar Express. I loved that they handed out individual books for everyone so the kids could see the pictures.

Since we were the in the second to last car, it took a little while for Santa to come. When he finally did, Lily watched him with fascination. She was really excited until he came to sit down by us. Then she wanted nothing to do with him. I was really glad that he knew that she was scared and kept his distance. She did like the little silver bell that he gave her. All the way home she was shaking the bell. It was a fun night and a great way to get into the holiday spirit this year!

Yesterday, I was sitting in the family room watching TV when Lily came up and grabbed my hand. She pulled me into the bathroom, where she had put her Dora seat on the potty. Sometimes she asks to go sit on the potty because she thinks it is fun. So, I humor her because it is good practice for when she actually starts potty training. I put her on her Dora seat and then Owen started to cry in the other room. I walked out of the bathroom to go get him and guess what? Lily actually went pee in the toilet all by herself!!! She was really excited because we had a Dora bouncy ball we promised her if she would use the bathroom. I guess she really wanted the ball! I really wasn't planning on potty training for at least another month, but Lily might have other plans!

Yes, that does say parties, as in three parties. I thought that it would be so much easier not to do a big party this year. Instead, she ended up with three separate parties and it wasn't as easy as I planned. It was still a lot of fun though! So, here's a little re-cap of her three parties.


Party #1: Aunt Shell's House on Thanksgiving Day

Lily has no clue what to do with that candle

Yummy! Cupcakes are delicious!!

Party #2: Our house with Lily's friends, Saturday afternoon

Daddy helping Lily open her presents.
Mommy helping Lily blow out the candles. Lily looking sad because Mommy snapped her in the face with the little elastic from her hat.Owen is ready to party!

Party #3: Our house, with my family

Lily's Pumpkin Cheesecake

She finally got the hang of the candle thing!

We had a very busy Thanksgiving Day this year. Poor Todd was at work until 4 am the night before Thanksgiving. He had to wake up to go play in the Ward Turkey Bowl, so he only got three hours of sleep. Our first dinner was at my Aunt Cindy's house in Alpine. The entire Hegerhorst family got together and the house was filled with aunts, uncles, and cousins. We had to pace ourselves, so we only ate one helping of everything. It was a lot of fun to see all of my cousins that I don't get to see very often. Our second dinner was at Todd's sister's house. Since it was the second dinner we went all out! Lily was a little trooper because she totally skipped her nap for the day and she was still in a good mood. We were all so tired that we went home and went straight to bed, at eight o'clock at night. It was a fun day. I am so thankful for our wonderful families and for delicious food!

Aunt Kellie and Owen at the Hegerhorst dinner

Todd trying really hard to stay awake

My boys watching football

Me and my little turkeys

Grandma took Lily to "Build-A-Bear" to make her birthday present. Grandma has been waiting a long time to take her because she wanted to make sure she was old enough. Lily did great! She picked out her own bear without any help. She was a little afraid of the stuffing machine. After a few attempts to run out of the store with the bear, she finally let the nice lady put stuffing in it. She even kissed the little heart and gave the bear a bath.
With a little help, she picked out the ballerina outfit for her bear. I was kind of partial to the Jazz outfit with the tiny basketball, but Lily made her own choice and was pretty adamant about the ballerina outfit. She helped put on all of the clothes and then helped Grandma name her. Lily's new friend's name is Cubby Bear.
Lily was so happy about Cubby Bear that she wanted to carry the box through the mall. She made it about half way to the car before it was just too heavy. Last night when I put her to sleep, she asked if Cubby could sleep with her. She loves her Cubby Bear!! Thanks for the fun Grandma!