we are thankful

Tonight after dinner, I set out to make my contribution to our thanksgiving dinner. Cheeseball, (naturally.) sweet potatoes, and a pecan pie. No one likes pecan pie but me, so I made it mostly for myself. Anyway.

Jazz had to run to the church to set up some sort of projector, so the babies hopped up on the counter by me as I gathered the ingredients. They helped me measure and mix and held on to the recipe cards for me. Lincoln sat up there with no pants on, as always. And Isabelle's hair... well we never did quite get to it today. They sat and watched and we giggled about the mixer and the sound of pecans in the food processesor. Lincoln thought that was hilarious.

And I looked around at my beautiful house. And our sparkly Christmas tree. And the faces of these children that were sent specifically to me, and me to them. And I was overwhelmed with the things that I am thankful for.

This month, we made this very authentic looking turkey out of construction paper. Isabelle helped me cut out a bunch of feathers and every day we wrote down something we are thankful for and added it to our turkey.

Some of Lincoln's: Momma, Paci, Cars and Boats

Some of Isabelle's: Pre-school, Madilyn and Kira, Gwamma and Gwampa, Dad, Jesus

We could keep this going and easily fill up the entire door. The entire wall, really, with things we are thankful for. 

I think you know by now how enamored I am with my children. I'm thankful to be their mother, to be responsible for them, to teach them and to learn from them. They are so beautiful. I'm thankful for this new little life that will be joining our family soon. I'm thankful for my husband, for his patience, for his work ethic, for his sense of humor and for his beard. I have a great extended family. Wonderful, loving parents. Good friends. Safety. Health. Freedom. Nice comfortable pillows. The list goes on.

Now the pie is baked, cheeseball and potatoes are in the fridge for tomorrow. My house is sort of picked up. I'm so tired from a few busy days in a row that I can hardly type, I'm embarrassingly excited to go to sleep. Tomorrow we will head to my parents' house to be with our family and eat delicious food and maybe play some bingo, I don't know, things can get crazy.

There are few, if any, luckier than I am.

thoughts 11/25/13

I was in church yesterday and both of my kids were playing semi-quietly on the pew for a few minutes. And my hands were empty and it felt weird. No one was sitting on my lap. Lincoln just isn't a baby anymore, he will be two in six weeks and then will then FOR SURE officially be not a baby. When did this happen? I thought of all the sacrament meetings I listen to from the mothers room, feeding Linc. Now as soon as we hear the "amen" of the closing prayer, Lincoln yells YEAH YEAH YEAHHHHH and sprints for the nursery.

I wonder if that will ever go away? Like, when our last baby turns two will my hands still feel empty? Or will I be too busy to notice? Will we feel complete as a family? I keep semi joking to Jazz that we will just have babies forever. He doesn't think it is very funny.

I'm to the point now where I could actually leave the house and take a purse instead of the diaper bag. A purse! The kids are low maintenance when we are out and about- no bottles ( OR PACIS!!!) and don't generally need a change of clothes or anything. Now that I've said that, I'm sure sometime this week I'll be cursing and wrapping a naked kid in my cardigan in the back of my van. I just carry the essentials.. wallet, phone, diapers, and like four packs of emergency fruit snacks.

I'm almost half way through this pregnancy, so I guess I should do an update and a picture about that. I'm so hoping to find out the gender soon, I'm just anxious about it!

it happened.

I held off as long as I could. 

Slowly, over the week, Christmas came to our house. I started small, with bookshelves and mantle crap. Eventually we got our tree out and set it up and sadly, only about half the lights worked. There are some things I'm willing to compromise on in life, and having a half lit tree is not one of them. Naturally, we went to Costco for fhe last night and got some pizza and a new tree. 

Which was really great, because yesterday morning I shut the shower door on my heel and skinned all the skin off of it. Then all the soap from my shower ran down my leg into my bleeding wound and I cried. What can I say, I'm pregnant. I should have taken that as a sign and just gone back to bed, but alas there were two tiny monsters asking for juice and breakfast so I kept going. It was not my best day. But it ended nicely with nice new shiny lights and now coming home to my house feels so much cozier with Christmas up. I forced us out of the house to target today to shake off the gross day that was yesterday, and they are already out of oreos! Can you believe it! 

Also, we tried to find out the gender of our baby last week and he/she wouldn't uncross his/her legs. SURPRISE. 

OH BUT HEY. We confiscated Lincoln's paci when he isn't in his crib. It's only the end of day two but it wasn't nearly as hard as it was when we did this before. (we are consistent parents) Now he carries around his fox with him all the time and that is totally fine with me. A stuffed animal wont make his teeth any more janky than they already are. (Morgan there is an example of using than vs then.)

Thanksgiving is next week and I'm so excited for my dad's stuffing I might explode. It is the "off" year for my siblings so I don't think anyone is coming for the holiday (but we will see them ALL for Christmas!). Last year I got demoted from bringing pie to just bringing cheese ball and maybe this year I will be given more responsibility since Fancy Morgan won't be here. 

"Mom I think Lincoln is going down the slide on his face."
Why yes, yes he is.

this outfit. I need it in my size.

the end.

got our family pictures back.

I think they went well.

eleven twelve thirteen

Today is 11-12-13. I'm assuming everyone is using this special day to their advantage to either 1) get married or 2) have a baby. We are doing neither.

Everyone has a cold with leaky noses and we've been trapped in the house for a few days so we LEFT this morning. To anywhere. Do you get like that? Just get in the car.

We went to the preserve and the kids rode their bikes almost two miles. I say almost because they walked a few times and also then towards the end they were DONE. I think I underestimated my 22-month old just a little bit.

Mom pick me up. Also, I need a hair cut.

Of course this is all a ploy to get the kids to sleep well for nap time so I can finish the last episode of the new downton abbey and then quit my life because it is over for another season. I will drown my sorrows in white oreos.

Also I feel like I should be really honest and tell you that Jazz brought all the Christmas stuff back from storage and I am THISCLOSE to busting those bins open. Except it's going to be 80 degrees today and that just doesn't feel right? It's going to drop down to 66/38 this weekend so that seems much more reasonable. Pandora station + christmas candle + cracked windows = go time.

Anyway. here are some more pictures.

 

this weather is so awesome. Lincoln's fluffy hair, killing me.

Sometimes you are on a date on Friday night and you have twenty minutes before your movie starts so you run to target and then you run into your mother who is doing things like this. it is the best.

 

the game is to hold on until hugging isn't fun anymore. / I bought six boxes.

Mom I'm not tired I don't need a nap, make me a deal. Look kid the deal is you go to sleep.

leaves n stuff.

We spent a good chunk of Saturday doing much needed yard work. We have a pretty small yard so a few times a year we tackle it and chop stuff down, trim the bushes, rake the leaves that fall from our neighbors' tree. (thanks but no thanks.) Lincoln and Isabelle were pretty good help.

someone take that kids paci away. please. anyone. 

Oh, November, you wonderful month. The California weather has finally cooled off- yesterday I took out all summer clothes/clothes that won't fit me for awhile and put them away and got out all my favorite stretchy pants and oversized shirts. It felt good to organized my closet and pull out my boots and my one singular coat that I really only wear on Christmas Eve when we go caroling.

If you don't love this time of year, you are a scrooge mcduck because the anticipation of the holidays makes me giddy. I took down Halloween decor and just left the walls and shelves mostly blank because GUESS WHAT I'm putting up Christmas soon and I don't care if you judge me. Thanksgiving isn't until the 28th or something insane and there is no way I'm waiting that long to deck my halls.

Sunday I woke up.. and immediately something was wrong. "Jazz, (I yelled) I think I need a c-collar!" Not sure if it was weird yard work or if I slept jankity but hot potato my neck wasn't moving very well. Neck, shoulder all the way down my arm.We made it through church and I led the music like a robot then I came home and laid on my side making yelping noises the rest of the afternoon. Well, I thought they were yelping noises but Jazz sent me a text message from the other room with a sound file of chewbacca which I think was meant to mock me? I'm not sure.

Mom took the kids yesterday morning until nap time while I convalesced (what a horrible word, convalesced) and kept the laundry going. So thankful for that woman, that mother of mine. And tonight my dear friend is bringing dinner to us so we can eat and the kids can play and Jazz can mountain bike in the freezing dark with my father. These are my people.

What a stupid thing, to have a janky neck. But it is nice to have people to take care of me. Jazz even unloaded the dishes twice in two days. And he got me the seventh episode of Downton Abbey. This is true love.

Well its 3:30 and the kids are sleeping and the sun is starting to set, thanks a lot Benjamin Franklin. Word on the street is the white oreos will be making their appearance later this week and that, we all know, is the true kick off to the hoilday season.

49 days until Christmas.

Halloweenie

We had a great Halloween. Izzie had preschool in the morning, everyone had a good nap, and then we went to my moms for her halloween party and some trick or treating. 

Princess Aurora and her friendly castle dragon

Turn around let me see your tail!

She was so excited to wear this outfit with all the accessories and some lipstick.

squirrel!  the profile kills me.

Of course, my mother wins the costume contest every year, if there was such a thing. This year she was Johnny Depp's The Mad Hatter. She spent so much time on the details- the rings and ribbons, shoes and makeup. She is LEGIT.

Again, dragon profile is killing me.

Thanks Francie for getting a picture of us! 

Many of our little friends having some pre trick or treat jump time. I love that Kira is mid-flight. She went as Elpheba from Wicked and Madilyn was Galinda the Good Witch. How adorable is that. Charlotte was Rapunzel and little brother Ryder was Pascal.   

Like I said. Too legit to quit.

Dinner on the patio. Mom has this great tradition of sloppy joes on Halloween- ever since I was a little kid.  Now she just makes a couple big batches so people can stop by and eat. 

After we ate and jumped and played, we went trick or treating around their neighborhood. Last year it was raining, cold, Lincoln was not yet walking- I think Jazz and Isabelle attempted about three houses before calling it quits and raiding my mom's candy supply. This year Isabelle was totally into it. "Frick er Freat!" she yelled. Lincoln obediently followed like the little brother that he is- he had no idea what was going on but if Isabelle was doing it, so was he. He actually got the hang of holding out his bag for a treat and then signing thank you when prompted. Every time Isabelle got a treat she would turn around to me like MOM can you BELIEVE they are just giving me CANDY! Best day ever.

punkin picking.

It's Halloween! The babies are napping and I've got banana bread in the oven for my mom's party tonight and I uploaded some recent pictures. Horray! (editors note. I started this post yesterday afternoon... of course I didn't finish it until this morning so, it's out of context but whatever I'm not fixing it.)

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch with Isabelle's preschool group. I took Lincoln for the morning and I'm pretty sure it was the best day of his entire life. Boots + dirt + hay ride = happy kid.

are they the cutest or what. Lincoln loves Kira so much.

baby hug

It was fieldtrip day for other schools, pretty sure Lincoln thought he was in third grade. nbd.

The big bouncey thing! 

Let me tell you something though. Lincoln is a free spirit. He wants to wander and run and explore. Keeping tabs on him and an eyeball on Isabelle was basically impossible. Thankfully JaNae and Scott were there helping me herd my children. Also why did I bring my camera, my hands were full... iphone is just too handy. 

hay ride out to the patch 

Her perfect pumpkin.

Lincoln was like 'freeeeedommmmmmm'

tired from fleeing, he hitched a ride back to the car

We carved out pumpkins on Monday for FHE. Isabelle refused to touch the guts but mostly was excited to use a tiny pumpkin knife. Jazz was mostly excited to toast all the pumpkin seeds.

Next day we were out riding our bikes and had to check on the pumpkins every lap or so.

She looks so grown up to me! That bike is the perfect size for her though. She is really getting good at it!

not to be left out...