Christmas and Sledding

Daddy had to work Christmas day so we had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with Uncle Jason.  Santa came & brought way too much stuff.  We opened presents as a family & had breakfast together.  After Daddy left for work Mommy & Uncle Jason thought it might be fun to take the boys sledding.  We asked Jay if he wanted to go tobogan and he said no, he didn't like it.  I told him he had never been before.  Apparently he thought it was a movie and it sounded boring!  Once we got to the hill he decided he liked it and didn't want to leave.   Uncle Jason was a little more adventurous than Mommy and went way up to the top and down with all three of the boys.  He had problems moving the next day, but he did it.  The video wouldn't upload.
     Uncle Jason had to go home to feed cows on Boxing Day but he did help get the boys ready for church which was great.  The boys were actually pretty good through Sacrament & I didn't have to go out with any of them (yay, that is a first!!!).  Nursery was a dream as we only had 9 and that was with 2 visitors.  We even made it out of the church to head home in record time.   We headed home and had lunch with Daddy then he headed off to work again while the boys and I started a Lego marathon - putting together all of the Lego that Carson and Jay got from Santa while also watching movies.  When it came time to putting the boys to bed I wished we had been able to go sledding Boxing Day too!  Way too much energy and excitement in those little bodies.  Oh yeah, and way too many Skittles all over the floor!
     The boys were full of energy again this morning.  I was feeding Jay and Nathan breakfast when I heard Carson 'yelling' from upstairs.  I ran up the stairs as Clarke was trying to sleep to find Carson singing "Jingle Bells" as loud as he could.  I hushed him quickly and reminded him that Daddy was sleeping to which he replied, "That's okay, I have a good voice!"  Sadly, I think he is tone deaf like his Mommy.  Clarke woke up.  I took the boys out shopping then to try to give Clarke some more sleep time.  Can I say that we really like sales at Carlton Cards in the mall in Medicine Hat?!  This is the second year in a row now that we have been able to buy Jim Shore Christmas carvings for 75% off during Boxing Day/Week sales.  I honestly didn't think there would be anything left after Boxing Day craziness yesterday that we didn't participate in for numerous reasons.  I came home with an amazing Mickey and Winnie-the-Pooh.  They go nicely on the mantle beside Eeyore that we got last year.  There was nothing else really at the mall that fascinated us so we left and went for lunch at Jay's favorite store, Costco!  Gotta love their chicken and fries and no annoying toys to take home!
      Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our Friends and Family!  May the New Year be full of Joy and Amazing Adventures.

The Christmas Haul

I am only putting these up for those who don't get to see my boys that often...  I have friends that like to wrap up multiple presents and send to the boys (FIONA!!!) because apparently they think they 'need' more things.  Granted mommy likes to cheat and she lets Santa bring toys while mommy and daddy bring clothes and other necessities, like toothbrushes and books.  Based on how quickly Jay is growing (now in size 6 and 6X) clothes are extremely important and I think you can never have enough books!

Jay and his 'stuff'

Carson 

Nathan (almost lost in his pile)

Now, the other crazy thing is that the 'group toys' like games are in a separate pile so they got even more stuff than is pictured here.  It is important to pass on that there were at least 6 pairs of pajamas, 3 pairs of blue jeans, 4 cowboy shirts, 3 sweaters, 2 vests 4 T-shirts and 2 pairs of shoes in here as well as 3 quilts (compliments of Grandma).  It's not really as bad as it looks!

December Fun

Jay's 4th Birthday Party

Jay was excited for his party.  We cheated and had it early.  Having a birthday the week prior to Christmas is tough to work around sometimes.  We had a party at "Kidsworld" a playplace at the local bowling alley.  It was great as the kids got to run around for 2 hours on a cold winter day and they all slept beautifully that night!  Jay choose Toy Story as his theme and had fun helping me make goody bags for all the kids and could hardly wait to blow out the candles on his cake.
    I didn't post these pictures until now as today was Jay's actual birthday and I didn't want to jump the gun.  Jay was excited for all of his presents.  The Lego was the biggest hit for him and his brothers though as it is "big boy" Lego, the real stuff!  He also got a tool set that Carson and Nathan spent much of the day fighting over and here we thought he'd be disappointed as it wasn't the Transformers he asked for.

Meeting Santa

We also snuck in a visit to Santa early in the month so that the boys could get their orders in and not miss out with Mommy and Daddy going off to Las Vegas for 10 days.  It was a great trip but just added to the chaos that often surrounds December.

"Helping" in the kitchen

The boys were excited to 'help' do some Christmas baking with Mommy.  They all have aprons now as Nathan just acquired one.  Carson and Jay are a little jealous because Nathan's came with a matching chef hat.  The boys are pretty good at taking turns putting things in the bowl but not everything from the measuring cups always makes it in!  Sometimes baking with the boys is a little frustrating but they like it and it sure helps with early math skills!

One week until Christmas now and the boys are all nestled snug in their beds which is of course how I finally have some time to write a quick message!  Here's hoping that the Christmas season is warm and peaceful for those we love and care for.

The kids participated in Trunk or Treat, an activity at the church on the night prior to Halloween.  One of the members, Tracey, was taking these amazing photos of the kids for free.  Wow!  She was nice enough to send me a copy of them so I could upload them but also to make copies if I wanted.  I know I am well past the Halloween time but just had to post these.  Thanks again to Tracey!

"My Happy Birthday" - the continuing saga

We went to a 2nd birthday party for a little boy last Saturday.  Nathan was very excited to sing Happy Birthday to Carter all day long, until we got to the party when he completely clammed up.  Tonight I was out running errands with Nathan and Jay when Nathan started singing Happy Birthday to Jay-Jay.  This has been a dilemma but Nathan seems to be grasping the concept.  Even sweeter, however, was when we were looking at the Christmas lights and Nathan said Happy Birthday to Christmas.  I then told him that Christmas is actually the time that we celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, so Christmas is His birthday.  He then started to sing again, this time, "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus! Happy Birthday to You!"

Soldiers, Cowboys and Lamanites

Carson has been very good about learning new songs in Primary and singing them whenever he is playing, or even to his teachers/classmates at school. For the last 2 weeks he has been singing Book of Mormon Stories. I went downstairs early this past week to find Carson playing with his soldiers as well as his western figurines. I asked what he was doing and he said he was playing "Soldiers & Lamanites".

Jay is enjoying preschool, especially the fact that they let him use scissors everyday. (We have been on a scissor hiatus at our house for the last 2 weeks since Carson cut his hair.) Their 'theme' for the month is nutrition so they had the kids cutting out pictures of food from magazines. Jay always brings his pictures home and puts them on the wall. Thursday night when we went in to the boys room for scriptures and prayers we found a number of pictures of food on the wall as well as one of a woman laying on a bench with a sandwich glued to her. He is 3 and he has posters of food and girls on his walls. A sign of things to come? Jay is our food oriented boy as it is and then today came home from church with a coloring sheet that said, "I am grateful for good food." How appropriate for our little man. It made me laugh anyway.

Nathan has developed a keen sense of ownership. He is very creative about it too. He likes to sing "Happy Birthday to me" and just cracks me up when we are out and about and unlike his brothers who beg for things that they want, Nathan picks them up, holds them tight and sings "Happy Birthday" or says "My Happy Birthday" as he puts the item in the cart. As Jay's birthday is approaching Nathan is getting nervous and when Jay says "My Happy Birthday" Nathan starts to cry. I have tried to catch Nathan on video singing Happy Birthday but he clams up as soon as he sees the camera. His other song of choice is "Oh Canada". He will also periodically sing Happy Birthday to Canada. I can't help but giggle when he gets going.

As for Clarke and I, I continue working every other week and in the meantime playing taxi driver for the boys. Clarke is finally going to be starting a new rotation in 2 weeks and will be back to 4 on 4 off. He is excited, I am not. We'll see how it goes. We are planning a trip to Vegas in December, starting with the half marathon, Clarke running it and I am volunteer medical staff for it. We are then planning on hitting the rodeo and a couple of shows. Should be fun.