Merry Christmas!

8am- wake up!

8:07am- attempt to sneek g past living room full of christmas presents
(attempt failed, distracted with cocoa milk)
8:08am- feed g breakfast.
8:10am- put sticky buns in oven.
8:30am- release g man to room full of presents.
8:31- 9:30am- watch g climb on new tricycle first, then play with new train set, talking bbq grill and finally realize there was a slide! so thrilled about these gifts, g did not see the need to unwrap any of the many remaining gifts under the tree.


9:31-9:45am- g unwraps two gifts, pausing to run and place each freshly torn piece of paper in the garbage can, and then later being satisfied with handing each freshly torn piece of paper to mom instead. yes. quite the slow process. we are confident next year he will be quicker.

9:46am- get ready to go to church!
10:20am- leave for church.
10:30am- church begins! (listen to j-dad deliver a wonderful talk on giving)
12:00pm- return home from church.
12:02pm- feed the g some lunch.
12:30pm- nap time, for everyone! (very sadly our last sunday nap)
2:30pm- wake up refreshed and ready for more presents!



7:00pm- fast forward to after skyping with family, eating a delicious ham dinner, opening a few more presents, and finally lying down the sweet, tired babe. there are still presents left to be opened and discovered by the g-man, but perhaps they will have to wait a few months for his birthday. :)
we had a wonderful christmas day and hope you did too!

Reasons Why Our Son May Be a Puppy Dog

10. He loves his snacks (which can be used to bribe him)
9. He has superhuman hearing - he can hear any dog barking from anywhere in the neighborhood
8. He likes to chew on anything and everything including shoes, books, and furniture
7. Drool
6. He is easily distracted by squirrels
5. Sometimes when he chews on things, he will shake it vigorously from side to side
4. He gets excited when he hears the mailman - he would chase him down the street if he could
3. He's pretty good at playing fetch - sometimes :)
2. He likes to snuggle up next to you....until he hears a dog bark, or sees a squirrel
1. Recently, he enjoys eating while on all fours or while laying on his belly

WE LOVE HIM !

Home Alone!

3 weeks ago, Bee and G left to spend some time in Utah for the holiday. I left a few days later to join them for a week and a few days and very much enjoyed the time we were able to spend visiting with family and friends (and munching on some "Utah only" favorites like J Dawgs, Dunford donuts, and Magleby's Fresh - not to mention the Zermatt Resort in Midway). But while I had to return to Virginia in order to maintain employment, Bee and G were able to stay for an additional week.

So, here I sit, home alone in front of the magic monitor waiting and hoping for my dear family to return home to me in time for Christmas :)

Sweatin' to the oldies!

Yes! that's right! this year for Halloween we all dressed up and paid tribute to some rockin'

80's outfits! for the j-man and g-dawg we got hooked up with some goods from a local thrift store and added some creativity.Mine was courtesy of my dear mother, who believe it! sent me out a lovely package of her old workout outfits. yes. the ones she actually wore! crack me up!:) totally perfect though!


here we are at the ward trunk or treat!
notice our sweet rockin' shoes? paid $1 for mine and g's and $2.50 (which the bishop said was not enough) for the j-mans!we went around to a few homes and g loved watching all the dressed up kids running around from a sugar rush and pointing to all the 'punkin'!
he was pretty tired after his little work out.

Happy Halloween!

one in a million naptime!

i am almost too giddy that i am actually blogging, to think of where to begin.

how about yesterday?

what do you do with a cranky, whiny, super cute :) toddler who wakes up at 5am and then only naps for 1 hour?! ah! (what's with the scrunch face, g?)
rejoice when the next day he sleeps for 3 hours and counting! amazing.
poor thing. we have been transitioning down to 1 nap for a few weeks + flu shot + teething+ case of the runs. perhaps today is finally a break through! knock on wood, because we shall see what tomorrow holds.

now then, before i divulge about all the wonderful things i have been able to get done today, i will put a huge disclaimer: i know there are those "super moms" out there who do these things and more each and every day. perhaps with more than 1 child too! and to you- kudos! here is your pat on the back, because i really am in awe at how you get 'er done!

but man on man.
today while the g-man slumbered in dream land, i:
*exercised!
*checked on my dreaming babe!
*danced around to Dora the Explorer, while thinking up some moves for our youth road show!
*talked to some friends!
*made dinner!*checked on my dreaming babe!
*ate lunch, uninterrupted! :)
*showered!*combed my hair!
*changed into regular clothes and out of p.j.s!
*painted my nails this color! (these are not my nails:))

*read some of this book,
while waiting for nails to dry, and was inspired

"the average woman today, i believe, would do well to appraise her interests, evaluate the activities in which she is engaged, and then take steps to simplify her life, putting things of first importance first, placing emphasis where the rewards will be greatest and most enduring, and ridding herself of the less rewarding activities."
- Sister Belle S. Spafford

*created two more halloween crafts!
*checked on my dreaming babe!
*blogged this posting!

so when this time all comes to an end and i can hold my well rested little man, i will
be able to better handle my cranky, teething little man!

oh the adventures of motherhood!

missed opportunities

oh boy! so, to keep a long, dramatic story brief- my trigger fingers somehow deleted all of our files, ie pictures, documents, you name it. not so wonderful. and to top it off i had just moved and deleted over 1000 pictures from the camera.
poof! gone like that.

but, here are some things the g-man has been up to recently:

received a lovely package from mimi & enjoyed opening it
and seeing what was inside.

i was more excited about the two swim trunks and g man loved the fish.
thanks mimi! :)

check out that belly! cracks me up each time i am bathing him.
g has discovered the new fun it is trying on daddy's shoes and learning to walk in them!

toys r' us in search of a new carseat (finally!)

g was in awe of all of the toys and found a seat and stuffed
animal just his size.:)

taking a bike for a spin

panda bear in tow and off to find something else exciting.

reading up on how to install the new carseat.

first sign of fall- pumpkins for sale! so excited!

no worries peeps, just a little first taste of some
chocolate pudding. (don't mind my goober face!)

power tools and all, g was ready to help out daddy!

playing at the park! this kid loves to climb!

also loves to swing, but doesn't last too long

dizzy seat of craziness!

learning how to go down the slide all by himself.

playing peek a boo with dad

our attempt at a family photo.
when do kids start to look and smile at the camera?
seriously. he is so crazy.

thanks to liz and thomas for this rockin' swimming pool.
unfortunately the water was a bit colder than the g-man would have liked.

hanging around with mama!

so, does everyone know about the most random store called Ollies?
we had fun watching g finding all sorts of odds and ends, including a super-sized dog to drag around,

x-large ping pong paddles,

taking a break at the perfect sized table and stool,

and coming home with his very own watering can!

eating popsicles

i found the very studious g reading up in the dictionary.

dinner at the park. g loves to help out and wanted to carry the blanket back to the car

so we let him have his fun

best craigslist buy ever. little tikes car for $5

he loves it and wants to ride everyday.
i love a good deal!:)

and here he is reminding me, yet again, never to underestimate
his mad climbing skills.

isn't his expression the best?