A Christmas Post before January, Woo Hoo!

So I thought I'd share some Christmas pictures. Christmas was wonderful this year. It went pretty smoothly with only a couple of glitches. First we had "Christmas Eve" at Chris and Sara's house the Sunday before Christmas. They just finished their basement and it looks great, I'm glad they were able to show it off to all of us. The food was tasty and Grandma Harding was able to come so that was great. Of course we did our infamous Nativity. Nathaniel was Joseph, Jonathan was a wise man, and Brigham was a shepherd...sort of.


I got him to put on the costume but he didn't really like it and he certainly didn't go with the other shepherds. Sorry for the picture quality, it's my phone and it doesn't do as well inside, especially when everything is moving so much!


Except for Maddy, everyone is holding relatively still, so this picture turned out okay. Brynna was baby Jesus and kept trying to climb out of the manger. I think my favorite part of the night was when we sang Christmas songs after the Nativity. When we sang the Primary version of Away in a Manger the women/girls sang the first "asleep" and the men/boys sang the second one, and the difference in sound made all the little kids laugh. It was priceless.

Rachel also brought her puppies to sell show off to everyone. The boys in my family - including Jaaromy - all fell in love and wanted to take one home.




How can I say No to these cute faces? Pretty easily actually. Don't get me wrong, the puppies are exceedingly cute and they are more my type of dog, but I'm the one who would have to take care of it and I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment. So Rachel, if Chloe ever has puppies again and I'm done having kids, then maybe we can work something out.

So back to Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Penny's and visited with cousins and grandparents and ate delicious food. It was fun. When we got home we opened our presents from me and Jaaromy and read some Christmas stories. We also discussed the sign of the birth of Jesus in 3 Nephi chapter 1, and to illustrate it we left the Christmas lights on all night. I loved the idea but I don't know if the kids noticed because they went to bed so much earlier than we did. I think we'll still do it next year, it will be a great tradition.

Now for Christmas morning. The boys did as they were told and waited in their room for us to come get them. Aren't they great? Don't worry we didn't make them wait too long.


What did Santa bring?


A shapes puzzle, and a cool Doodle-pad.


A space puzzle, Lite-brite, and a neat volcano lamp.


Games, and books!

After we played with our new toys we went over to Grandma Bonnie's for Christmas breakfast. The best meal of the year. Since we spent so much time playing with our new toys at home we didn't see any cousins there, but it did make it less chaotic and easier on my parents. Later we went to Grandma Patti's for dinner. We got to see Kelly and Megan who were up visiting for Christmas. It was a great visit.

Thanks for sticking around for this long Christmas post. It was a great season for us and I hope it was for everyone reading this blog as well. Merry Christmas everyone!

Brigham's ABC's

Brigham is, as you may have noticed, the shy, silent type. But did you know that he loves to sing? It may sound like babbling, but really he is expressing himself through song. He sings several times a day, and he even sings when he is sad. Music is part of his very soul.

Many of you were able to witness Brigham absolutely angelic singing of the alphabet recently. But I'm not satisfied with just a few witnesses, I must share it with everyone.



Every time he sings it he says his letters a little clearer. He will also sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and also some of the Backyardigans greatest hits.

I. LOVE. IT!

Jonathan's Birthday

Last night we celebrated Jonathan's birthday. I had asked him that morning how old he was and he didn't seem to understand the question, he kept answering "No, I'm just Jonathan." I think he'll get it next year.

We started out the day with the school Christmas concert. Since Nathaniel is in the 4th grade, they learned the recorder.



Jonathan sang too, although he was a little distracted.


That night Jaaromy's parents came over to give Jonathan some birthday presents. First was some socks and a pair of jeans which were very much needed. Also they got him a Moon in my Room.


He absolutely loves it and carried it around all night and then when it was time for bed we hung it on the wall and he wouldn't let there be any other light except for the moon. Poor Nathaniel had to find a small reading lamp so he could see his books.


It cycles through all the phases of the moon. It's pretty cool, thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

After dinner it was time for Mom and Dad's present.


We could only ride it a little since it's cold and dark outside, but Jaaromy is going to help him ride outside today. He still likes the moon better, but when it's warmer outside I think he'll really like this one too.

And what would a birthday be without cookie-brownies!


All my birthday posts are looking exactly the same because we always have these for a treat. Try them yourself and I think you'll understand why it's a favorite at our house.


We love having Jonathan in our family. He's always so cheerful and happy to see us. He's always willing to share a hug. Happy Birthday, Jonanthan!

School Concert

Yesterday was a first of what I hope will be many more music concerts to come. Nathaniel played the cello in his first concert at school. He's been playing the cello for about two years now so everything they're learning is review for him, but I'm so excited for him to play with other kids. Even though they sound exactly like you'd expect 1st and 2nd year band and orchestra students to sound, I loved every minute of it. It was beautiful to me to see so many budding young musicians, even though I know most will probably drop out.
I didn't get any video because Brigham insisted he sit on my lap the whole time, but I did get some pictures. My dad also took video but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a copy and I didn't want to wait to post about it.


They had the celli in the very back sitting down and everyone else standing up so it was really hard to see him. I only got this one because the kids in front of him sat down for a bit.

I can't wait until the Spring concert!

Since it's December Now...

It seems pretty sad when it's December and my most recent post is all about Halloween. This has been bothering me since December began and I've been trying to figure out what to post about. Nothing particularly exciting has been going on. Our dog hasn't had puppies, my kids don't really like to play in the snow, Thanksgiving was nice but not much to post about. I would have posted about making gingerbread houses at Grandma Bonnie's but I forgot my camera so it wouldn't have been as interesting(of course, I realized later that I could have taken pictures with my phone, Duh!). I'll get some good ones next year.

After Thanksgiving I really had to fight the urge to decorate for Christmas. It's always been a rule of mine to decorate on the first day of December. It was hard to wait this year. I had to remind myself that I have a lot of cute Thanksgiving decorations and they deserved the whole month to be on display. I did have to cheat slightly and set up the tree on November 30th because I had a dress rehearsal on December 1st and I needed Jaaromy to help me with the tree. Because of my concert that week and my Primary calling, it took me three days to decorate for Christmas. It was such a busy week and all I really wanted to do was decorate for Christmas. Why does everything have to happen all at once? So we are all decorated for Christmas now, and here's the proof:


It looks a lot like last year, I know. But this time I have the stockings up on the railing!

This is the corner I usually put all our instruments and so I had to find other places to put them...


My living room is crawling with instruments. I've got a violin, a trumpet, and a guitar back by my cello, and my bass with Nathaniel's cello up front. I don't usually have my bass at home but I'm playing in the Messiah with a small orchestra this coming weekend. I'm not sure why I said yes to that one, but I think it will be fun.

Well, now that I've taken care of the decorations, I'm free to enjoy the rest of the month. I think I'm going to buy all our Christmas presents online so we don't even have to leave the house unless we want to.

P.S. I'm currently wearing the most comfortable pants in the world and I couldn't be happier!

Halloween

I was all caught up and then I went and procrastinated putting the Halloween pictures up. It was a fun Halloween. I realized something about myself this year though. I love the whole month of October, the weather, the decorating, the fun, the candy. However, when it comes time for the actual Trick-or-Treating I find that I'm uptight and anxious. Halloween night stresses me out. I'm not sure why that is. Could it be that I'm worried we won't get a lot of Trick-or-Treaters? Possibly, we've never had fabulous turn-outs in any of the apartments we've been in. Our current neighborhood has been great, I even ran out of candy last year which was great except I was bummed because I love eating the leftover candy. Could it be that, as a very shy person, I'm anxious about so many people coming to my door? Maybe. Could it be that I'm worried that I'll come across some rude teenagers? Possibly. Whatever the reason, I'm always relieved when Halloween is over. But I'll still love it when it comes around next year.

After much thought, Nathaniel decided to be Mario again this year. This worked out great because he only gave me a couple of days and all I had to buy was new gloves which I found on the first try at Wal-mart.
Jonathan fit into the Link costume I made for Nathaniel a couple of years ago. He was really excited about it. Jonathan is a little taller than Nathaniel was at this age but it still works, I think.

For Brigham I knew he wouldn't go for anything high maintenance so I was thinking something pajamas-based. I went looking for solid color sweats to give me some ideas and I saw some cammo sweats and realized we already had some at home. I wouldn't even have to make anything! I'm all about less work, especially when Halloween is only four days away. I found a cute green hat with Army stripes on it, but he wouldn't wear it. I did manage to get a picture before he ripped it off.

The boys had a great time Trick-or-Treating with Dad. Although Dad was quite worn-out when they got home. They went all over the neighborhood and were out for a long time. Jaaromy tried to take Brigham too, but he's just not super cooperative so he only made it to two houses. It was unlikely that he would have eaten the candy anyway. Jaaromy's work had a Trick-or-Treat on Friday and he got plenty of candy then, so it's not like he didn't have any fun.

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween, I'm glad it only comes once a year! Just for the heck of it, I'll leave you with a picture of the full moon I took the other night. It's not fabulous, but I think I'd like to take up Astrophotography, so give me some time and maybe I'll learn how to do it better.

P.S. If you happen to read this the day I posted it, my Astronomy Picture of the Day has a much better picture of the Halloween Moon.

Pumpkin Day

It's not a national holiday or anything but we usually have Pumpkin Day on the Family Night before Halloween. I decided to call it Pumpkin Day because not all of us carve our pumpkins. Usually the kids paint theirs and Jaaromy and I carve ours. Jaaromy found the perfect pumpkin.


He thought that since it was so perfect it would be a shame to carve it. I thought that since it was so perfect it would be a shame not to carve it.


He decided to paint it.

We decided that Nathaniel was old enough to choose whether to paint or carve his pumpkin. He decided to carve it. Jaaromy helped him clean it out.


This is the principal reason why Jaaromy opted out of carving this year.


Nathaniel was very proud of his work.


Jonathan enjoyed painting his pumpkin.


Brigham started out so well...


...but soon ended up just like last year.


It was a fun family activity. I look forward to it every year.

Now I'm all caught up, and none too soon. I wouldn't want to be late posting my Halloween pictures!

Post #2

The week of October 12th was a very busy one for us. I had a concert which means I was gone Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night. Jaaromy came on Wednesday so they kids had a sitter that night(thanks Mom!). Friday Jaaromy's company had a bowling party so Jaaromy and I went and the kids had another sitter(thanks Sadie!). Saturday I had Super Saturday in the afternoon at which I made a way cute Thanksgiving decoration:

Saturday night was my dad's concert that I really really wanted to go to. Plus, it wasn't an Oratorio so I knew Jaaromy would go with me. So the kids had another sitter(thanks Kym from Helping Hands Care Agency!) So with all the leaving I did and all the baby-sitters, we decided to take the boys to the Dinosaur Museum.


I was impressed that Jonathan remembered the star room from last time we went, it's been over a year since he's been here.

The boys had a lot of fun and I even let them play in the sand and water room for more than two minutes.

Jonathan really enjoyed it and I even had to put him in a smock!


Nathaniel was more careful and kept himself clean.


Brigham was content to wander around the center. Although we noticed he was crunching on some sand later on...


I told Jaaromy to look scared and he wouldn't play along, luckily Nathaniel was happy to oblige.
Of course we played in the excavation room at the end. We were keeping an eye on the exit to make sure Brigham didn't run out into the lobby. In spite of this, we soon realized Brigham wasn't in either of the sandboxes. Jaaromy went looking in the lobby and I went back through into the museum even though I figured he'd gone into the lobby. I didn't go far before I turned back and tried to help Jaaromy find him in the lobby. He wasn't there so we decided to back into the museum. Jaaromy went through the front and I went through the back. Jaaromy was really worried but I had a pretty good idea where he had gone. There he was, in the sand a water room. I was impressed that he found it again and so quickly too. He wasn't very happy to be leaving. He'd had a lot of fun.
On the way home we stopped at McDonald's. It had a neat play area and the kids had fun. Everyone had a good time that day.

I know, I'm a slacker

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I'm sorry I've been such a terrible blogger. I just know all of you have been dying to know what's been going on at our house. Well, there are a few things I want to blog about that happened all in a row and now I'm behind. So, I'm going to try and do a post every day until I'm caught up. We'll see how it goes.

Today's post isn't really about anything specific, just some things I wanted to share.


This is Jonathan's sunflower seed that he planted earlier this year at school. It started out in a styrofoam cup and kept getting bigger. I finally moved it outside in the flower pot. I know this isn't very exciting but I was really happy with how the picture turned out. Oh, and the picture was taken over a month ago. It's not nearly as pretty right now.


Here's Nathaniel getting his yellow-green belt. I'm proud of him for working so hard to pass his test. Sorry it's so blurry, the lighting isn't great and my phone doesn't have a lot of options.


Many of you already know about Brigham's thumb. It was smashed in the door at Aunt Rachelle's house. He was in a lot of pain and here is what it looked like the next day. Again, sorry it's blurry, I took one with the flash and it was over exposed.


This is to give you an idea of just how swollen it is.


The next day, Jaaromy was working from home but had to go to the church office building for his new ID badge so Brigham and I went with him. I actually took this with my phone and I'm really happy with how it turned out.


I have to throw this one in because I think it goes perfectly with the first one. I didn't plan it, he just happened to start climbing up right when I took the picture.
As a side story, we stopped at a McDonald's downtown after Jaaromy got his badge and I was looking for a seat while Jaaromy got the food and was finding a place to sit and right as I chose a table a homeless man sat down across from us. Well, it was too late to move at that point, so I stayed. Jaaromy sat down and I could tell he was a little uncomfortable. We didn't talk much while we were eating since he was looking right at us. Oh, but he talked plenty and stomped on imaginary bugs too. I couldn't understand what he was saying but he'd give a deep laugh every once and a while. As if that wasn't unsettling enough, Brigham also started laughing for some unknown reason. Jaaromy and I were left wondering if we'd missed something. As we were leaving Jaaromy felt like he should say something to him. But what could we say? "Good luck with your hopes and dreams, big guy!" So I just smiled. But hey, it makes a great story.

Thanks for sticking it out with me, sorry it's so long. I know I should have been posting more often. Let's do this again tomorrow!

Flashback

It's been a while since my last post and I honestly can't think of a single thing to post about. I was going to post about how we moved Brigham from his crib to his toddler bed but it was such a disaster that we moved him back. There are some things I just don't need to deal with.

So, since nothing of note is happening right now, I thought I'd share something that happened a long time ago. Lately, I've been going through all my pictures and scanning all my pre-digital-camera ones into the computer. I think I've decided I'm going to put them in a book. I made one for our wedding, I'd like to make one for each of the kids about their first year, and I think I'm going to do one each year we've been married. Or at least since Nathaniel was born since life was pretty boring before he came along.

Here are some picture from our wedding. Many of you might not have been there, some of you might have been there but have no memory of it. (Such as my nieces)


It was cloudy on our wedding day and it even rained a little. The colors aren't as vibrant but at least I could open my eyes.


Here's both our immediate families at the temple. One of my brothers and two of Jaaromy's brothers aren't there. Two were on missions and one was just late. Such a slacker. I like this one because Jaaromy's smile is so big. I'm pretty sure I had to give him a little squeeze on the behind to get him to do that. ;)


Here's the whole wedding party dressed up all fancy like! Aren't the little girls cute? Poor Shaela was 9 months pregnant! Hey, Jaaromy's brother decided to show up! ;) Ha! I tease because I love!


Please excuse the horribly fake smile on my face, it had been a long day and I'd been smiling for 99.9% of it. I thought I'd throw this one in so everyone could see how cute my nieces are. Whitney, Holly, Sarah, and baby Sadie! They're so grown up now. Really, they're all taller than me. Except for Sade but I'm sure that won't last.

I hope you found this portal to the past to be at least mildly entertaining. I tried to keep the pictures to a minimum and just show the best ones, or at least the best representing ones. Maybe something exciting will happen in the present so I won't have to keep looking to the past for something interesting to post. :)

Jonathan's First Day of School

The first day of Kindergarten was Monday. I wanted to post sooner but I've been picking and canning peaches.

This year the boys are walking. Nathaniel was always nervous about walking to school by himself even though he walks home by himself. Well, this year he has a buddy and it's been great.



Since Jaaromy isn't working at the moment he was able to walk with them to make sure they knew what to do. Of course we wish Jaaromy was working but it couldn't have been at a better time. He was able to help both boys through their first days of school.


They're so grown-up, walking to school and everything! They've been walking by themselves the last two days and they always hold hands. Nathaniel is a good big brother.


Jaaromy took this picture with his phone when he got there. He said Jonathan was one of the taller kids in the class. That's a first!

It's so fun to see Jonathan come in the door all pink cheeked from walking home. He's always happy to see me.

Gratitude Campaign

I saw this today and thought I'd share. I know, TWO YouTube videos in two days? Crazy. I am totally one of those people who wouldn't say anything but then would wish I had. Here's a way to do it that's very subtle but very powerful.

Back To School

So it's the first day of school. I didn't take any pictures because it never crossed my mind, honestly. I'm waking up so much earlier than normal for me so I suppose I could blame it on that.
It went pretty well. Jaaromy walked Nathaniel to school so he could get used to walking by himself. He's in the smarty pants class this year with the 5th graders. AND they get to use computers. I'm excited for him, I think he'll have fun. He told me all about it when he got home. I had to ask him specific questions but at least he answered them all. He's getting so big. I noticed it this morning. I don't know if it was the new haircut or what but as I watched him come down the stairs, he was definitely older to me. Unlike most of you, I'm not nostalgic for the past, even when it comes to my children. This morning was no exception. I'm so excited for him to grow up and learn new things and to see what kind of person he turns out to be, if the last nine years are any indication, I won't be disappointed.

Jonathan will start All-Day Kindergarten next week and I get to do this all over again. I'm just as excited for him, too. I'm excited that they can walk together to and from school. Nathaniel is also excited to have a sibling in school with him. All three of my boys will be in school together for one year when Nathaniel is in 6th grade. That will be fun, I think.

Anywho, I saw this commercial at my mom's yesterday and I think it sums up this time of year just right. (I hope you don't mind, Rachel, I totally took my own advice :))



So, as you can see, even though it means waking up way early for me, I'm excited for my boys to start school. Although, I'm not quite gloating like this dad is. Learning news things is always fun!

Jaaromy's Birthday

We celebrated Jaaromy's birthday on Sunday. We were the only ones at my mom's but she made rolls anyway, just for him.
When we got home I made some more of those delicious cookie brownies and the boys made him cards.



Here's a picture of the insides of the cards because they're so awesome.

Jonathan made this Jupiter all by himself on the computer, then drew a balloon, a cake, and a candle with crayons.


Nathaniel has a flair for design as you can see from the first picture. On the inside he drew a picture of the event. He captures the moment quite well, I think.
Here's a close up:


Everybody sang Happy Birthday and we enjoyed our treat.

I don't think I will ever get tired of cookie brownies!

Happy Birthday, Jaaromy! We love you and think you are the Best Dad EVER!