A Very Merry Christmas Morning

Well Christmas Eve, it did arrive

and Parker - Oh! He was EXCITED!

Out on the snow he spread reindeer eats

Hoping Santa and team would be DELIGHTED!

They sure were!!! They did deliver!

Christmas morn was quite the SIGHT

P & E -- what lucky kids

Just look to each side of those gleaming tree LIGHTS!

A kitchen for Emmie -- shiny and red

A train table as requested by P

All on display in our new finished basement

--A gold star Christmas favorite for ME!

Their eyes -- how they twinkled!

Bright smiles they did flash

Those moments - ones we want to ENGRAVE

What beautiful kids what a wonderful life

My family - they are the true gifts I do CRAVE!

On went the day, filled with laughter and love

The rushing about I could do without - I won't LIE

But blessed are we to celebrate the birth of His Son

Whom did suffer and for each of us DIE

What a wonderful year as I look back and reflect

on all that went on in '09

I am grateful and blessed for ALL that I have

From me, there will be no WHINE!

(okay - not 100% true - if you read my blog - you know I whine. Sometimes. :))

The story goes on...HOORAY! -- the pictures get better

For a FUN surprise I did get from my CHRIS

It is shiny and black with a shutter and lens

Yes! A new camera! A high tech one! I'm in BLISS! :)

Happy New Year everyone!!!

To be continued....

Big Man in Red

Last Monday we were on a mission to go and see good old St. Nick.

Parker wanted to be sure to let him know what is topping his Christmas list this year.

As for Miss Emmie, everybody knows that a girl must look her BEST to meet the

Big Man in Red.

She is counting on her good looks and a little ESP to get her what she wants for Christmas this year. (Like most women out there, right?!...)

So the preparation began.... In went the curlers.....(a little hesitantly after our last episode)

...and out came.....
...SHIRLEY TEMPLE but with crazy calics!
No worries, with a little tweaking the lockes were tamed and she was looking pretty spiffy upon her turn to sit on Santa's lap.

She forgot her smile but her big brother remembered his. Parker was very excited to meet Santa and confidently let him know that he's been a good boy and would like a train table this year. He parted with his new found friend with high fives and high hopes and trust that Santa will deliver this Thursday night.

Afterwards we had a yummy lunch in the food court before Chris had to head over to work and then hustled and bustled around the mall with some of the other Christmas shoppers. It was craziness but actually really fun. We even saw a man get jumped and hand cuffed just a few yards from us out in front of Macy's.

(Yah, the man was super violent and it scared the daylights out of me to have this brawl go down so close to my kids!!)

Oh the excitement of the holiday season.....!

I love to see the temple

On Monday night we packed up and headed for Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square.

The beautiful lights are missing from these pictures however because my lovely camera battery died before it even got a chance to get dark out. Oh well. We still got a few pictures of the beautiful temple - which is way better than the lights anyways, right?

What a nice day out! SUPER COLD, but at least it wasn't snowing on us!

Parker loved the touch-screen videos in the visitor's center. He couldn't get enough of them and therefore we eventually had to rip him away. The kid is obsessed with electronics. Before doing so, however, a black gentleman appeared on the screen to speak.

What came next was our son screaming out for all to hear,

"Obama! It's Obama!".

Oh dear. Not Obama. Nice try though. Too bad he wasn't screaming out President Monson's name at all the pictures of him posted around. Maybe then we would have looked good... :) If you don't sense my sarcasm here you don't know me very well... :)

It was a fun night. I truly love to be on the beautiful, sacred grounds of the breath-taking Salt Lake Temple! What a blessing and miracle it is! I am so grateful for this time of year and the enhanced opportunities we have of reflecting on the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. All things are possible through Him. I have felt such an overwhelming sense of gratitude this year as I reflect on all the many, many blessings in my life! I am truly blessed.
MeRrY ChRiStMaS!!!

Lights, hot chocolate, and reindeer

On Monday night (December 7th) we met up with the Hansens (minus Zach, Sarah and Dustin) & newlywed Bergers at Thanksgiving Point to see the Christmas lights. We also went inside the cafe there for hot chocolate and to check out Santa's reindeer. We had a great time!

Gotta love Thanksgiving Point. They've always got something fun & festive going.
Parker and Atticus...
Yes, they are cousins, but these little buddies could sure pass as brothers, don't you think? These two have had the best time playing together this last little bit as the Texans - Eric, Cindy and Atticus have been visiting Utah. They are 18 months apart in age - just like their
red-headed daddies! It is so fun to watch them interact and play!


This is Parker's way of saying that it was
FRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEZING but fun!
Don't you just want to squeeze his little cheeks???

Photography on a budget

The very beginning of November, we were on a mission to get a few good pictures of the kids. I'd love to do them professionally, but it just wasn't fitting the budget this year! So we took our point and shoot camera and drove about three minutes from our house, and here's a little of what we managed to capture. Nothing PERFECT (far from!), but a few pretty cute individual pictures that I am happy with for the 'free' pricetag that they came accompanied with!

Have a look:
My favorites are not here but might just be showing up in your mailbox soon! :)

Good morning

A pretty typical morning at our house: The bedhead, walking around pantless, interesting footwear, Emmie carrying around a plate begging for seconds (thirds & fourths)....

Yep, we've got it all together around here! :)

A Very Merry St. George Thanksgiving

Our little Fam of 4 landed in St. George for Thanksgiving this year to visit my Mom and Reed. We had such a fun time! I was able to go down early with the kids (on Sunday) and Chris met up with us after work on Wednesday.
My brother and his wife,-aka 'The Newlyweds'-also joined us for the festivities.
They were nice to come along with me to try and catch some pics of the kiddies one morning. It was pretty unsuccessful all in all, but I did catch a few that bring a smile to my face.
Like this one: Kylie and I COULD NOT stop laughing at this picture. She and Steve look like the proudest hunters ever holding up their game, (poor Emmie!) and if you look closely you can see a three year old running off into the wilderness...Wait a second... that is the same 3 year old that I spend a LOT of my time chasing after.... Yeah, so that pretty much sums up the essence of our attempt at a 'photo shoot'.....!
Oh and let's not forget this classic. Question. Is there such a thing as a cooperative three year old?
Hmmm. Not in MY world there isn't....
Okay so Emmie isn't guilt free here. The girl is GO GO GO and it was pretty much impossible to get her to hold still for 2 seconds. I am beginning to just accept that there is no such thing as the 'perfect' picture with a 3 and a 1 year old smiling sweetly at the exact same moment.
I mean, that would probably be really fake, and we wouldn't want to portray such a phisod in our Christmas card pictures right? Seriously. They were just doing me a favor by keeping it real and keeping me humble. Darn! JK :)Back to reality....
Roxy came along for the trip and had fun playing with her pal, Barkley.The weather was great and made us miss Arizona. I was pretty thrilled to miss out on a snow storm up in Salt Lake. Grandma Jane and the fam
I have to say, Thanksgiving dinner was FABULOUS!
(This picture is lame but is the only pic I got of the feast. Half the food hadn't made it to the table yet... not to mention some of the partakers...and yes, we had a very merry Thanksgiving Christmas...)
I am still dreaming of the super delicious, best gravy I've had in years, the perfect mashed potatoes, the tasty turkey, and the super yummy apple pie. I won't mention the 6 or so cookies I managed to devour....



Little Missy - aka 'Little Munch-Munch', couldn't help hanging out by the cooking turkey. She must have smelled the delicious aroma and was licking the glass door at one point...
Have I mentioned that this girl LOVE, love LOVES to eat???
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! :)

After putting the kids to bed that night, we snuck out to see the new 'Christmas Carol' movie while GJ and GR guarded the snoozing little people. Yay! A night out is such a rarety for us so it was so much fun. We even liked the movie!

The next morning, Kylie, my Mom and I braved Black Friday and hit good old Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. That store is NUTS on a regular basis, so this was absolutely IN SANE! It was actually fun though and I got a few items for the kids, so the bargain shopper in me was happy.

Thanks Mom and Reed for a very fun Thanksgiving!
We had a great time. :)

All about the P-Man

The other morning while I was getting ready, Parker walked into the bathroom adorned with these:

Half of Chris' ties.

Parker gets pretty creative in his activities in the morning while he waits for his Mom - who doesn't function without a shower - to get ready.

(No, three+ years into mommyhood and I still have not succumbed to surrendering my daily shower and mascara.)

Like a few weeks ago. He climbed into the (empty) tub and I hear him shuffling with a wrapper. Knowing very well what it was because this wasn't the first time, I told him that those (ahem, TAMPONS) aren't toys and to please not open anymore because he was wasting them.

"But Mom, I am just practicing!"

"Practicing what???"

"Practicing THIS!", he screeched, as he swung around the string with attached cotton wad trying to knock down the standing, strategically-placed plastic applicator.

Ooohh. Of course! What was I thinking?

He continued on for a good ten minutes as though he were having the time of his life, reassuring me the entire time. "Don't worry, Mom. I am just practicing. I have to get good at this!" He animatedly went on to ask me,

"Mom? When YOU were a little boy, did you practice playing with these, too?"

Oh wow. We're in trouble if little boys who play with tampons grow up to be women!

What can I say?

The boy has a fascination with feminine hygiene products.

I have to tell him several times a week that they are not toys!!! (although I haven't been able to explain to him what they really are, either!!!)
F.H.P.'s aren't the only things Parker is intrigued by. This kid has had an obsession with my HAIR ever since he was a baby! When I would rock him to sleep he would grab a chunk of my hair and hold on for dear life. He STILL does this when I rock him to sleep for his naps!
(Yes, I still rock him for naps!)
He is constantly telling me, "Mom, I LOOOVE your's hair", and to prove his affection he'll kiss it. When I wear it down, he'll tell me at least 4 or 5 times in the course of the day, "Mom, I looove your hair down". He is constantly stroking it and grabbing onto it - and it's not just mine - he'll do this to any girl's hair he can get his hands on. Truthfully, it can get really old because it's just not fun to have my hair pulled on all day, but he seems to be so obsessed that I've found it really hard to break his habit!
I'm thinking that "good hair" is going to top the list of his required features in a wife someday. Either that or we have a future hair dresser on our hands....
A few more Parker quotes worth noting:

• About to jump off his toy chest, he assures me, "Don't worry, Mom. I won't smash Emmie. Cuz we'd miss her!"
• "Mom, I have LOTS of "bless you's" today." We always tell him "bless you" when he sneezes, so I realized recently that he thinks that that is what they are called...
• Parker will see something he wants and he'll tell me, "Someday we'll have THAT!' SOMEDAY!" So I've tried to explain to him the concept that Daddy gets paid to work and that we use that money to pay for all the things that we have. The other day when he asked where Chris was and I told him, he said, "Daddy's at work?" Oh okay. But I don't want him to stay there very long. (PAUSE) Actually, he NEEDS to stay there long so that we can have money to spend."
• Parker hates for me to call him "little". He's always telling me, "I'm not LITTLE, Mom! Call me 'Big Boy'!".
  

And he is right. He IS getting to be a big boy! He is sure growing up fast and it's so fun to see his little personality (and OCD tendencies...) come to life! :)

Curlers and monkeys

A while back after the kiddo's nightly bath, I put curlers in Emmie's hair. Just for the heck of it. I knew they wouldn't last long, and I was right. About 10 minutes later they were out, and here is what she was left with: A very out-of-control bang due to the still crazy-as-ever, cursed swirl calic that still sits prominent as ever in the front and center of Emmie's precious little head.

This is why the poor girl almost always has to wear a pony or pig tails....or she looks like quite the little rat child... CUTE, but rat child cute. Trust me.

This last week I caught a minute of 'The View', and I was laughing at how much Emmie's 'do that night looked like this lady:

Okay, so Barbara's hair maybe looked better, but my Emmie is still cuter!

More pictures from Emmie's Barbara Walters impersonation night:

Our 2 little monkeys, jumping on the bed!....

Just prior to nightly story time and post baths, these two can be found bouncing on Parker's tiny bed while screaming like a couple of coyotes, having a good smack down wrestling match (on the bed) and rocking themselves in the rocking chair accompanied once again by their monotone coyote scream. We are a very routine household around here, and this bizarre little ritual has worked it's way into our evening schedule. Emmie won't go to bed until she's had her night time "fun" with her brother. I'm not even joking.

I think that Parker is starting to love having a sibling/co-conspirator.

And we are loving watching their interactions! Most of the time.
We sure love these little monkeys!

Even when they are wild and crazy at bedtime. :)

Saturdays are not my fave, but this one was pretty darn good!

Most people look forward to Saturday.

I don't.

Chris almost always has to work on Saturdays. They are typically long, boring days for me and the kiddos. Chris leaves early in the morning, and doesn't get home until I'm putting the kids to bed. I expected yesterday to be no different... Boy, was I wrong!

It was 8:30 a.m. and Chris should have been leaving for work. Instead, I found him in the kitchen whipping up

THIS: (Picture displayed is not actual breakfast made)

Completely CONFUSED as to why he wasn't rushing out the door for work, my eye caught

THESE: Realizing that something was up, I looked at him speechless for an answer. Not getting one, and trying to process what was going on I managed, "Huh?? Wait. You don't have to go to work today???". I was fighting tears of excitment and pure surprise.

"But I thought you had to work!"

"I always get the day after a special anniversary off!", was his answer.

Anniversary? Hmmm. What is the date? I'm not sure I even know what month it is - they all just kind of blend for me... Scanning my brain --- ding ding ding! I blurted out,

"The anniversary of our first date!"

Yes, my dear husband took the day off (which NEVER happens) to celebrate the

TEN YEAR anniversary of our VERY FIRST DATE! (Nov. 6, 1999)

Seriously! How many guys out there do that?? How many would even remember the date of their first dates??

All I can say is, LUCKY ME! :)

So within the next hour, I found myself at the spa getting

THIS: An amazing pedicure!

And after the kiddies napped, we dropped them off at Grandma and Grandpa Hansens and we were off to enjoy dinner and a night out! An actual date! This is a big deal for us... such luxuries only happen a few times a year!

(Pitiful, I know but babysitters around here are PRICEY and Chris' work schedule doesn't allow for much of a social life anyways!)

Oh wait, it gets better! Just when I think he couldn't have been more thoughtful, at the end of the night he pops in a DVD that he made filled with pictures (and music of course) of our ten year journey!

Yeah, you better believe it. It made me cry!

Yes, I know. I am a lucky girl! What a great day! Probably my best Saturday yet.

Such a fun, completely unexpected surprise! :)

I love you, Chris! Thanks for such an awesome day!

Has it really been ten years??? Man, we are getting OLD!....

Sirens and early wake up calls

We went on a Joy School field trip to the fire station a few weeks back. While Emmie and I thought it was fun and interesting, Parker kept his head buried in my leg (as shown above) most of the time and didn't want to participate in anything or even be around the other kids. He was actually quite defiant and on the verge of a major meltdown for the entire tour.

(Yes, I look prego in this picture. NO, I am not...)

So why was my little guy who is normally THRILLED just to be around other kids acting so ornery at a place he otherwise would have been intrigued by?

The answer lies in those bags under his red, puffy eyes. Maybe if he hadn't waken up at 4:45 a.m that morning he would have been a little more chipper.

His super, way-to-early awakening isn't just a one time thing.... It's the norm these days! Chris and I have a special early morning visitor each day that loves to come and chill in our room anywhere between 3:30 and 5:45 a.m. What a treat! Yeah, it's pretty awesome. He's UP, wide awake, and rearing to go for the day. He'll come in, take Chris' Iphone off the nightstand, and play video games on it while we snooze away. Yeah! My three year old navigates the stupid Iphone better than I know how. Most of the time Chris and I are so dead asleep we don't realize that he's there until he's screaming from the master bathroom for us to go and wipe his bum. What a lovely wake up call at 4:30. So you say to just go put him back to bed. Well, that is where it's complicated. If he is to fall back asleep, that would require us to ROCK him, which will usually take up to 45 minutes, robbing us of our own valuable, much needed rest. (and he'll only sleep for possibly another 45 minutes anyways.) Yes, sacrifice is part of parenting. A BIG part of parenting. And maybe we are selfish. Maybe. But most days of late, little P gets away with his early morning shenanigans due to the fact that in order to take care of he and his sis the rest of the day, I need my SLEEP! At LEAST until 6-- PLEASE! If he were a baby, okay. He'd win. I'd be right there, rocking him. That's what you do for babies. NOT for three year olds!!

(Note: If it's earlier than 4:45ish, we usually DO go and rock the little stink..)

Does anyone else have this problem??? What do you do?! Any suggestions? Chris is ready to lock him in his room at night...Sounds a bit drastic to me but some mornings - trust me - it really makes sense. Before taking such measures, I think I am going to buy him a digital clock and tell him he can't leave his room until at least 6:00 a.m. I'll let you know how it goes. Oh, and putting him to bed later DOESN'T WORK. He still gets up at the same time and it just makes the problem WORSE!Back to the field trip. After a little 'talk' on the drive home and promises of, "I'll remember next time, Mom" (to behave nicely at the firestation), Parker was back to his regular self once home and ready to pose for a picture with his badge and new fire hat the nice firemen gave him.

THE QUESTION:

Are we bad parents for not getting up and entertaining our child at 5 a.m.? Isn't there some sort of rule in fine print saying that if your 3+ year old child chooses to get up at really crazy, ridiculous times in the morning that he is on his own until 6:30 and that anytime there-before is not considered neglect?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I must have read that somewhere before...I must have.

Aghh! HELP! :)

A shout out for blogging

I snapped this picture of Parker the other day. It reminded me so much of a baby picture of his so I dug it up to compare them side by side. Four months old...WOW!

This last three years has just flown by! Parker went from this serious little baby whom we had to work to get smiles out of, to this bright, bubbly, chatter box, energizer bunny - go-go-go of a little boy! Honestly, it's sometimes hard for me to remember him as a baby... it just goes so quickly! If you are a part of this crazy (in a good way) Mommyhood Club, you understand the fact that you don't have a lot of time to sit and reflect and absorb all those precious (and not so!)moments with our little ones to our harddrives. Yes, some are probably better forgotten, but it's those little frames in life that make up a lifetime and many are worth remembering!

Maybe it's just me , but I often feel as a parent that my two little on-the-go offspring cause me to go-go-go (and go and go...) myself, making it hard for me to take it all in because I'm juggling what seems like a million things from one day to the next. Let's just say that I have a hard time processing everything that goes on because my days are just so non-stop! Half the time I don't remember what I did the day before because I am just on overload!

My point is.... that this is why this blogging thing works for me. It's my way of reflecting on those little moments. Better yet, blogging motivates me to record them, so that a few years down the road when those memories are a little dim, or possibly even faded, I have something to look back on. A voice and an image that will help bring those moments back to life and remind me of the journey that got me where I'm going, and most importantly, those that helped me get there!

I've been so grateful to have been blogging since Emmie was born. It just gives me great relief that amidst what feels like such chaos much of the time, I have journaled milestones and recorded stories that I can share with her in the years to come. I just wish that I had been doing it from the start with Parker (although I had no idea what a 'blog' was back then!).

It is the best way that I can record my family history! An hour (or two) of my time once a week will make a huge difference down the line. It's the difference between remembering....and not!

I'm hoping to remember and to help my family do the same!!! :)

And the extra perks are that I get to stay in touch with great friends - old and new- and feel like I still have a voice to be heard and validated! I love my fellow bloggers!

HOORAY for blogging.

If you can't tell by this post, I LOVE IT!!! (Even though I don't keep up on it as well as I should. :)

Tink and Peter and a night of fun....

These cute little munchkins were so excited about Halloween.

An excuse to eat sugar, an opportunity to stay up late, and a night in NEVER NEVER LAND...

What more could a kid ask for???

PRESENTING......

PETER PAN!

& his sidekick --

TINKERBELL!

It was a complete fiasco trying to get a picture of these two.... it was their bedtime by the time we were getting out the door to trick or treat so they were both tired and verging cranky, and "Tink's" fairy legs flitted her into a speed walk each and every time her little feet hit the ground, making it nearly impossible to catch a picture!

As for Peter Pan - he was just anxious to fly around the neighborhood and get himself some chocolate - one of the loves of his life. Who could blame him?

As a result, this is the best (only!) picture I could get of the two together prior to them coating their costumes in chocolate (okay so only Tinkerbell was guilty of that one...).

Yes, Chris went trick-or-treating in his work gear. I think the neighbors were confused at his "costume".....
Shirt+tie+BYU sweatshirt = "Hmmm. What the heck is this guy trying to be?" :)

Grandma and Grandpa Hansen made it over in time for the chaos. They came bearing this cute smoking cauldron and yummy Halloween sugar cookies, and even came along for the trick-or-treating fun for a few houses.
After all was said and done, I was finally able to get a few smiles out of Emmie by the time she had some treats in her little hands. No surprise - this girl LOOoves to eat! She bit through that Crunch bar and had it eaten in no time. I caught it just in time to fish the wrapper out of her mouth... You can see the lovely chocolate drool embellished all over her shirt.
A very nice Halloween touch!

And Parker... he had his fill of chocolate himself. I could swear he didn't eat all that much, but apparently I missed some because he ended the night with a nice throw up all over the kitchen floor. But, no need to worry. After having been sick with the flu a few weeks ago, he took throwing up like an old pro, and reassured me by saying, "I'm going to be okay, Mom!".

It didn't seem to phase him one bit.

What a night!!!

Totally fun and totally worth all the effort in getting their costumes together.

We just love the magical effect that our little Tink and Peter Pan provide in our home year round!

Here's to another HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! :)

Chocolate anyone?

YIKES. Did I really just eat all of those???