Big Boy

My little Miles isn't so little anymore. He wants to do everything by himself. It's takes twice as long to do anything. He isn't fun to take shopping of any kind, or out to dinner. He gets out of bed many times when we first put him to bed, and unbuckles himself in the car while we are driving. I have to stop the car, get out and rebuckle him only to find him unbuckling himself once we get going again. There are a lot of threats like, "I'm going to call the police and they're going to take you to jail!" Or "when we get home, you're going to time out!" Nothing phases him. He can be a real stinker sometimes. A cute one though. The other night he comes to me and says, "Mom, when are we having dinner?" It's just a funny phrase coming out of a 2 year olds mouth. Here he is eating his pizza--all by himself too.

Gotta love that pot belly!

Projects

Now that Christmas is over I found myself a small bit of time to do a couple of projects. Audrey still occasionally plays with dolls, so i pulled the ikea doll bed out of the garage and gave it a makeover. It was just natural wood with no bedding. I painted green and made a soft little mattress for it. Isn't it the cutest thing ever?
I then made this wreath out of plumbers tubing! Just glued the plumbers tubing together and then used a little spray adhesive to glue the moss on and WA-LA!
Now all i have to do is re-finish my dining table and 6 chairs, a bench and 2 stools. Now you know why I'm avoiding that one.

Christmas 2011

1 month late? Never too late I say. This year was the year of staying home, no company, just us. But then Owen's parents called a couple of days before Christmas and said they were coming. We were excited, because it's more fun to share the holidays with family. A couple of days before Christmas, I bought a trampoline. Owen has been protesting for years. "trampolines are so dangerous!" "One of the kids friends is going to sue us for damages!" Believe me, I've heard it all. The thing is, is that Owen doesn't have to be home with the kids ever! He works almost every Saturday leaving me with kids getting on each others nerves, spending way too much time in the house in front of the T.V., fighting and then getting on my nerves. It had to be done!!! Owen was not a happy camper when he put this together. In fact the kids tried to help, and he just got all huffy and told them to go away. But...once it was put together, I came downstairs to find a crazy, happy Owen jumping as high as he possibly could go having a glorious time! Now that we've had it for a month, I would say it was money well spent. The kids spend hours on this thing, and when their friends come over, this is where you will find them. So maybe when you go in our backyard it's kind of an eyesore, because it's like "hello 15 foot trampoline!" But we aren't going to be in this house much longer so it works for now. Even Owen's mom got into it. Here is Owen playing crack the egg with his mom and her getting some kind of injury.
Not me...Owen's mom!

For Christmas eve, we went and saw the Adventures of Tin Tin, and then came home and had Panera Bread soup and sandwiches and the kids decorated cookies for Santa.

The girls sang in several numbers in church. This year they were in one of the singing productions for the live nativity. So since most of the kids from the ward were in that singing group, they were able to sing in church. As a kid a dreaded it when Christmas was on a Sunday because we would have to go to church! I really enjoyed it this year and think there should be a Christmas service every year. It really enlightens you and helps you stay focased on the True Meaning! I felt very spiritually uplifed that day. The rest of the day was just relaxing and playing with toys. Here is Maggie playing with her Dr. and Dentist Playmobil sets. And Audrey playing with her Barbie Camper.

The Nutcracker

My friend Susan and I decided to take our kids to the Nutcracker this year. This was a first for the girls so we were excited. Of course everything in Vegas is more expensive because you have to pay that extra money to hold the event at the Paris hotel. I'll just say that it was pricey. The kids seemed like they had a fun time, but I was disappointed in the performance. The ballet company wasn't that great. They elimanated scenes like the big woman who has all her little children come out from under her dress--that is my favorite part too. And all the little performances were done by 1 or 2 dancers. ANd the swan queen was just too tall. It bothered both of us. I've seen Utah's company and it is amazing. I give this one a 3 which is unfortunate that I payed so much to go. But the girls had never seen it and so they had nothing to compare it to and we did all have a good time.

Drew is 6!

Drew is my little buddy. We are like peas and carrots. He will do anything to please me and most nights I find him asleep on the floor next to my bed. You know waht they say about boys and their mamas! He is funny, smart and loves to play anything electronic. He can figure out a new game pretty quickly. He also loves Audreys friends especially Brooke with the freckles much to Audreys dismay. He is still allergic to milk, eggs, and nuts. boo! He has a tender heart and is very close to the spirit. There is something extra special about this kid! I love him!
Having a birthday 6 days before Christmas isn't fun. I found myself stressed and going through his presents and dividing them up --some for his birthday and some for Christmas. I think I'm going to start celebrating his Birthday in the summer or at least January so he doesn't get ripped off. We had all intentions of having a friend birthday party for him, but there was too much madness! So it will be in January. We went to Chuck-E-Cheese in the morning--his favorite, not mine. We had his favorite chicken roll ups for dinner and then we went and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks--his favorite not mine. topped the night off with sorbet for dessert.

Here is Drew as the old Grandpa in his kindergarten play The Gingerbread Man. If you enlarge it, he's actually wearing specs!

All I want for Christmas is my 2 toenails

Gross I know. Owen made a funny the other day and asked me if I wanted my 2 toenails for Christmas. After I got my pedi, I saw that they were both purple. I'm thinking this is because all of the running I was doing for Ragnar. Then one day they fell off. This picture makes me realize how ugly feet really are.