From the Mouth of My Babe

Davis playing with the Lightning McQueen racetrack. 

This afternoon, Maddie came up to me and matter-of-factly said, "Goodbye mommy, I'm off to save the world."

Christmas 2011

Isaac and Maddie playing the part of Joesph and Mary during the Nativity on Christmas Eve. 

The manger. We were able to have Brooke and Jeremy over as well as some friends from church. We always have a Mexican fiesta on Christmas Eve and this year was no different.

This Shepherd who wouldn't sit still long enough to be photographed. 

Ryan got home from work on Christmas morning a few minutes after the kids woke up and I was able to keep them entertained upstairs until he could be with us.

Maddie in her new princess dress, socks, and jewelry. The blue earrings are my favorite. 

Ike and his dragon tail. My sister-in-law made one for each of our kids. They are adorable and are already being used  to play dress-ups.

My kids love to watch videos of themselves from this blog and their very favorites are the ones from Christmas morning. I'm sure the following videos will be hits in the months and years to come as well.

Checking out their stockings.


Maddie opening a Christmas present.


Isaac and Maddie riding the gifts given to them by their grandparents. As you can see, Maddie is just as accident-prone on a bike as she was her tricycle. If you listen you can hear her sing "Angels We have Heard on High" as she rides. Maybe she shouldn't be multi-tasking so much.
I'm always a little melancholy when I think about the Christmas season coming to an end, but we are looking forward to what the next year has in store for our family.
Bring on 2012.

From the Mouth of My Babe

The other day I had a moment where I could have laughed or cried. Since I seem to be choosing the latter more often than not, this time I chose to laugh. I have mentioned previously that Ryan is currently in the thick of his busiest rotation so far as a resident. One night he came home before the kids were in bed and Maddie looked at him and said,
"What are YOU doing here, Daddy?"
"I live here, Mads."
"Oh, yeah!"
Luckily Ryan thought it was just as funny as I did.

Because you haven't seen enough pictures of my kids with Santa.

At our church Christmas party on Saturday.

Three Days and Counting...

Ike and Maddie talking to the Big Man in the red suit. Davis wouldn't go near him but did get up the courage to high-five him as we walked by. 

If your home is anything like ours, the excitement level is through the roof right now. I think the kids really could bounce off the walls. Even Davis is excited and he has no idea why. It is contagious and magical and even a little bit maddening at times, but it is very special and only comes around once a year.

Hope your Christmas is a merry one! If you haven't had the chance yet, this video, Wise Men Still Seek Him, is a great way to spend three minutes of your day. 

From the Mouth of My Babe

Isaac with his Christmas gift from Grandpa--a double shooter marshmallow gun. 

This morning during church I was taking Isaac and Maddie to the restroom when Isaac looked at me and said, "Sometimes I just pretend that I have to go potty because the meeting is sooooo long."

Christmastime in NYC

At the last minute Ryan found out he was going to have the entire weekend off (a Christmas miracle with this current rotation!), so at the very last minute we decided to spend the day in NYC. Brookie was brave enough to join us.

We started off the day with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry.

His impersonation of Lady Liberty.

Maddie and Isaac both must have said a dozen times how happy they were that they could go to New York with Aunt Brookie. I don't know what we would have done without her. She was a complete lifesaver.

After the ferry ride we took the subway to Central Park. 

These two shots of Davis were taken less than 5 minutes apart.

 After playing at the park and snarfing some food from a street vendor, we took a mile walk to Rockefeller Center to see the famous tree decked with 30,000 lights. This was by far my favorite part of the day. I loved listening to all of Maddie's oohs and ahhhs at the window displays and array of Christmas lights as we walked down 5th Avenue.

Brooke in front of the tree along with about a million other people. Never in my life have I been in such crowded conditions. It was insane.

Party of Five and the tree.

The lights were spectacular. The crowds were massive, and the City was really beautiful all decked out. There were literally thousands of Santas in Times Square. The kids loved it.

Low lights of the trip:

• Adding an extra hour to our commute into Manhattan thanks to one missed exit.
• A bird pooping on my hair in Central Park. Ryan cleaned it out for me without one word of complaint. If that's not true love, what is?
• Pretty much the entire Times Square subway experience, which included getting yelled at by New Yorkers for not moving fast enough, me yelling at my sister when the locals were yelling at me for not moving fast enough (she forgave me), and worst of all losing Maddie for about 30 seconds in the subway terminal. Ryan thought I had her and I thought he had her. My heart stopped when I realized neither one of us did. I found her right where I had left her, with eyes as big as saucers, standing as still as a soldier and scared to death. I scooped her up and gave her the tightest hug I could.

Highlights and favorite one-liners of the day:

• Hearing Davis spot Elmo in a sea of people. "Elmo! ELMO!"
• "It looks like they're celebrating Christmas in New York too. There are Santas EVERYWHERE!" (Isaac, shortly after arriving in the City).
• "My legs are all fuzzy!" (Maddie, after riding on my shoulders for too long while walking down 5th Avenue. After a little circulation in her limbs she no longer felt "fuzzy").
• "This is such a fun day in New York!" (Isaac)
• "I never seen so many people celebrating Christmas in all my life! (Maddie while walking through Times Square).

It was a crazy, exhausting, crowded, beautiful day. Now we're all ready for a trip to the country. We're thinking Vermont, maybe?

I'm Rambling Again...Mostly about Motherhood

Isaac at a Halloween preschool party a couple of months ago.

• I am often torn between what I like to call fun mommy vs. functional mommy (ok, so I just made that title up, but I think it fits). We have all read the warm and fuzzy quotes about leaving the dishes piled high and letting the laundry go because our kids won't be kids forever and we should spend time with them instead. While it is true, that our kids won't be kids forever, if I didn't do laundry or dishes, we would all be naked and eating off the kitchen floor. So enough feeling guilty about doing housework while my kids watch Super Why. And I will do my best to keep an organized home so that I'm not wasting time searching for the only pair of clean pink socks in the house and instead have time to "weed a book" with Davis, or "play cars" with Isaac, or "pretend carnival" with my little Maddie.

• As a school teacher to young children, this time of year always brought many questions about Santa Claus. "Is he real, teacher, because Juan says he isn't?!" to which I would always reply, "What do you think?" Miraculously, that answer was always enough for them and they never pushed me further, usually choosing to believe, that yes, Santa was in fact real, and Juan was a big fat liar and meanie for suggesting otherwise. Just today Isaac asked me, "Was that the REAL Santa that we saw at Bright Lights last night, or was he one of Santa's helpers?" My old standby answer that I had used with my students came flowing out of my mouth, and once again, that was enough. Isaac convinced himself that he had seen the real Santa the night before. I don't have a problem with Santa Claus-- I love the traditions that come with him. But ever since I listened as an undergraduate to one of my professors lecture about the many similarities between Santa and Satan (the letters in their name, the color red, how they both make people greedy...), I haven't been able to be totally at peace with the jolly man in the big red suit. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a Santa-hater and I think my Weber State professor was borderline nutso about many of his opinions, but I do feel uneasy about lying to my kids. Not to mention that I don't want Santa to get all the credit for my hard work! I was the one buying gifts in the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday, so those Lightning McQueen cars are going to be from ME. Santa can fill the stockings hung on the fireplace and and bring magic to Christmas, but just remember that mom and dad are the ones who bought you that bicycle, buddy...and your grandparents, of course (I am happy to give credit where credit is due).

• I mentioned in previous post that I have been teaching an institute class this past semester at Yale. It just might be my dream calling. It pushes me just enough that I get nervous right before I teach a lesson, but it is also something that I really look forward to each week. I am amazed at the caliber of women with whom I get to associate in this class. Top notch, every one of them. I am certain I learn more from them than they do from me. Plus, since the class title is "Teachings of the Living Prophets," I can basically teach anything that a latter-day prophet has said. While I usually stick to recent Conference talks, from time to time I delve into lectures that were given years ago. Just the other day we discussed this talk entitled The Currant Bush along with a more recent talk by President Monson, Finding Joy in the Journey. It seems I always end up choosing a topic that is pertinent to my life and these ones were no exception. 

• I am seriously (seriously) considering buying high chairs/booster seats (anything with a seat belt to strap 'em in) for my three and four year old. Their inability to sit in their chair for the duration of mealtime is starting to drive me bonkers. If any of you have tips for remedying this situation, please (pu-lease!) share.

• I am really trying to find a balance between disciplining my children too much or too little. Do you all struggle with this? I feel like at times I am especially hard on Isaac--mostly because I am convinced that the oldest child has an immense amount of  influence over not only their siblings but the entire climate of a home. So I go back and forth between being too hard on him and too easy--you could say I lack consistency. Someday I will figure it out. That being said, I am SO grateful that Isaac is my firstborn. 

Maddie and Isaac making salt dough ornaments the other day. It wasn't as big of a hit as I had hoped. They became disinterested rather quickly.

• If you are a mother to young children, I am sure you often hear something similar to the following statement: "Before you know it your children will be grown...childhood goes by so quickly...cherish it!" I try really hard to cherish it, I really do. Sometimes I am really good at cherishing it. And sometimes I am not. The days are at times long but  the years never cease to fly by. I have been asking several friends lately how they find joy in their life NOW. It seems that a common theme among their answers is 1) finding ways to be grateful each day and 2) realizing that our joys during this stage of life come in moments. I also often remind myself (with the help of great advice from loved ones) that I only need to worry about being the best me and the best mom to my children that I can, not be the best at everything and to everyone. 

• I recently read this post and part of it really spoke to me because it is exactly how I feel about my little Isaac. In most ways I see Isaac as a typical four-year-old boy, with many similarities to his friends and cousins. There are a few ways in which he struggles to keep up as well. And in the same regard, there are a few ways in which he really shines. I love watching these characteristics come out in him and I have begun to discover special characteristics in Maddie as well. All children have these special shining characteristics, and I think that, as parents, one of our responsibilities is to help our children develop them. I look forward to discovering the talents of each of my kids. I pray that I will be able to focus a little more on the best, most special parts about my little ones and a little less on all the areas where I seem to think they need improvement. 

From the Mouth of My Babe

What happens when Isaac puts himself in charge of the sprinkles on his pancakes.

Isaac came into my room this morning while I was still in bed, reading and snacking on some dry cereal. I am usually starving when I wake up each morning, so this was my "pre-breakfast" meal. He said the following statements during the course of our early morning conversation:

"Crunchy Nut Cereal is the crunchiest cereal in the whole wide world!...I thought about putting one of them up  my nose but decided that I probably shouldn't do that."

"Scripture power is the best power in the whole wide world!"

Searching for the Silver Lining

At the Nautilus Submarine Museum over Thanksgiving break. Photo credit to Kelly Pluid.

Ryan works a lot. I'm certain many of  your husbands do, too. You'll have to excuse me---I am having a little pity party because I miss my husband. Our kids miss their dad. And it's going to get worse before it gets better (waaah-waaaah, poor Sara! Cue the violins). Everyone pays their dues sometime and Ryan is definitely paying his now. That being said, I have been composing a mental list of the positive side---a silver lining, if you will--to Ryan's job owning him for the next long while:

• Heading to work in the wee hours of the morning means I get the bed and all the blankets all to myself for a few hours early each morning. 
• We never have disagreements about how to raise the kids because he's rarely home when they are awake. I get to make all the child-rearing decisions myself and only consult him when I want to =)
• Because family time is rare, when we do get to be together it is wonderful. I haven't enjoyed ordinary things like car rides and wrestling kids in church this much in my whole life.
• I don't do much laundry for him because he rarely wears anything but scrubs and the hospital washes those bad boys for him.  
• I get full control of the remote after the kids are in bed. The entire Felicity series is queued up on Netflix and ready to be watched. 
• Snack dinners are a staple at our house, and I see nothing wrong with popcorn and carrot sticks or cold cereal for dinner once in awhile. 
• At least we live under the same roof. That wasn't the case with all of his travels last year.

I'm going to take my sister's advice and do my best to keep my chin up. I know that as hard and long as my days are, Ryan's are always harder and longer. And I should feel lucky to have a husband worth missing. 

Madelyn Ruth @ 3.5 Years

Next week our Mads will cross the 3.5 year mark. 

This picture pretty much sums up her personality for me. 

•  Maddie is kind, thoughtful, sticky sweet ("Mom, do you know who I love more than anyone else in the WHOLE WORLD?...YOU!..and Isaac and Davy and Papa..."), feisty, demanding, fiercely independent, determined, and unpredictable. 
• She loves to help out unless it involves cleaning up toys.
• She is as friendly as she was 3 years ago and makes new friends anytime we go out in public.
• She loves to eat just about any fruit, candy, carbs, carbs, carbs, and carrot sticks. She rarely eats anything I make for dinner without a lot of coercion. 
• Like most three-year-old girls she also loves princesses and Rapunzel is her favorite. She wears her Rapunzel dress just about everyday. 
• Her favorite colors are pink and purple and I overheard her tell Isaac that she would be happy if the whole world were pink.

She loves her brothers and loves to fight with them, too. You wouldn't believe how fast she can turn on the water works in an attempt to get her way.

• Maddie is my little sidekick. This past semester I was called to team teach an institute class downtown and she and Davis come with me while Ike is at school  Maddie insists on wearing a dress and tights, too, because I am required to dress up. 
•  She loves school and has recently shown a growing interest in learning how to read. I have been doing lessons with her in the same book I used with Isaac. We are about halfway done with the lessons and I am really proud of how far she has come--it's hard work learning to read (you'll have to turn the volume all the way up if you watch the video--it's a little muffled).

• She insists on picking out all of her own outfits and I usually let her have full reign in that department...even if it means snow boots in the summer or socks on top of her tights. I do, however, make her get dressed if we are going out. She loves loves loves her pjs so this is often a battle with us. Just yesterday, in fact, though I reminded her several times that she needed to get dressed, she wasn't ready when it was time to go. So I made her leave the house in her underpants. She was not happy but she was ready with clothes on in plenty of time this morning =)
• She is still small for her age. In fact, she and Davis currently wear the same size footsie pajamas (2T).

Making a paper countdown chain for Christmas.

Just this morning I had the following conversation with her:

Maddie: "When I am thirteen I am going to be a mama, too!"

Me: "Uhhh...or maybe when you're twenty-three...or even thirty?"

Maddie: "Yeah, or twenty-eighty!"

Me: "Sounds good to me."

She is constantly cracking me up and putting a smile on my face. I will continue to record the funny things that come out of her mouth for as long as she continues to say them!

From the Mouth of My Babe

Three Little Monkeys...

We decorated our Christmas tree last night. As you can imagine, the excitement level was pretty high. The following statements were uttered:

• "Santa will LOVE our tree!" (Maddie said this at least 2 dozen times)
• "This is the best Christmas tree EVER!" (Isaac)
• "It is so beautiful!" (Maddie)
• "I wish I could talk to Santa." (Isaac)

Thanksgiving Highlights 2011

 We were able to spend this Thanksgiving with both friends and family. I am so so lucky to have my sister and her family an hour away from ours, and our friends the Pluids are just a few hours south of us, so they came  up for a few days to celebrate the holiday.

Jackson and Davis. A mix between a hug and a choke hold. These two were fascinated with one another.

My brother-in-law Jeremy is a pilot, so of course he needs a blow-up Santa flying a helicopter. 

Here Brooke is getting lost in These are Special Times: Celine Dion Christmas with the PeeWee. She and Jer were very gracious hosts and the turkey was nothing short of perfection.

I decided it was high time I tackle my decade-long fear of homemade pie crusts. I finally had success and now I'll never go back to the store-bought variety. 

Anything goes on Thanksgiving day around here.

Kelly was a super-friend and tackled Black Friday with me. I never could have got all the screaming deals without her (or my TGI Black Friday app) . Finding a bargain on Black Friday is seriously like a drug. And I'm addicted. It was so fun to hang out just the two of us, even if it was in the late hours of the night!

On Friday we took our kids to the submarine museum in Groton. It was totally worth the hour drive. We were able to tour the very first nuclear powered submarine. I learned that I don't want to live in the claustrophobic atmosphere of an underwater ship. I never knew bunk beds could be so close to each other. 

It was hard to capture in a phone photo just how small and confined everything was.

The biggest hit of the museum (aside from all the control panel buttons that they were allowed to play with to their hearts' content) was this hand-held audio tour guide. Each person was given one so we could listen at our own pace. The kids were in heaven. 

Thanks so much to Brooke and Jeremy for having us over for Thanksgiving--the kids always love to spend time at your house. And thanks to the Pluids for making the trek north to visit us! The kids had a ball getting reacquainted with their friends. Last night Isaac commented to me, "Saying goodbye to Chase was just sad for the whole family." Don't worry, Ike, I'm sure it won't be long before you can say hello again.

Thankful for:

Ryan is thankful for:

• Cinnabon cereal
• my beautiful wife and the time she spends on our family blog
• my kids
• ESPN 3
• Diet Dr. Pepper

Sara is thankful for:

• making pies with my sister and mama. Tears were shed when she left today but thanks to my baby sister's engagement (whoot-whoot!) we will all be together in Utah early next year. February in Utah never sounded so sweet.
• Modern Family and Up all Night. Two most hilarious sitcoms on TV.
• my super-awesome better half and the fact that he'll participate in blogs like this even though he'd rather just watch ESPN 3 on the one night he came home early this week.
• my 3 fun kids and all they teach me about life.
• Picnik.com. My sister recently introduced me to this gem of a photo-editing website. It's photo editing for people who don't know how to edit photos. Helps me make my mediocre photos look a little less mediocre. I am loving experimenting with all the cool effects. My only problem is that now I have the uncontrollable urge to edit every photo I've ever posted on this blog.

 Isaac is thankful for:

• Maddie
• popsicles
• race cars
• Lightning McQueen

Maddie is thankful for:

• princesses
• lollipops
• treats
• all my family

I

If Davis knew what gratitude meant, I think he would say he's thankful for:

• Yo Gabba Gabba (Finally! TV will entertain him!)
• shoes
• books ("po favo, weed a book, mom?")
• yogurt and applesauce
• high fives and hugs ("a hug, a hug" he will say multiple times a day with his arms outstretched)
• cars, tractors, airplanes, and trains.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandma Maddie in CT

Blowing bubbles in the backyard with Grandma.

Mom and I in front of the Revolutionary War Memorial at Yale. The kids are having a hard time grasping the fact that she headed north to Springfield to stay with Brookie tonight. Luckily we get to spend Wednesday with her before she heads home to Utah.

Maddie and Gram Maddie at Yale. "I love my Grandma because we are twins" she said tonight.

Pretty sure Ike was fulfilling a dream in this moment as he drove the monster truck.

He thinks he's the bomb dizzle right about now.

"You've got the kids, right?" she said  "I'll be back after I play a couple of games." 

Giddy-Up!

Recent Random Videos (Mostly of Davis)

At the end of this video you will see just how far Davis is willing to go to be like his sister.


What happens when Davis and too much bath water combine.


D's rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Even More

Grandma Maddie got into town tonight and we are all so excited to spend a few days with her. Maddie's comment at dinner pretty much sums up her feelings. She leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Mama, I love you, but I love Grandma even more." Can't say I blame you, little one. What's not to love?

From the Mouth of My Babe

Maddie riding her trike on the trail near our home. "Look Ma, no hands!"

Maddie has been cracking me up lately. Sometimes I am shocked by the big things that come out of her little mouth. Just the other day a friend dropped off some cupcakes at our house after they celebrated their son's birthday. The kids were stoked with the unexpected treat. As my friend walked down our driveway to her car, Maddie watched her thoughtfully and replied, "She is so special."
Then just this afternoon she followed me upstairs when I was putting Davis down for a nap. "Isn't our baby wonderful?" she gushed.

A Current Favorite Photo

Daredevil Davis. My current motto is: If you can't tame them, at least snap pictures of them.