Spectacular, Spectacular

I love Christmas.  Especially Christmas music.  I start to listen to it the day after Thanksgiving.  Only because Supremo won't allow me to listen to it any sooner.  This year the kids and I put up the Christmas decor.  It was a very stressful day.  I think I may wait for some older help next year.

Noodle decided that we needed a train around the tree, so he went to work putting up the Geo Trax.

We got snow a few days before Christmas, but it melted by Sunday.  We haven't had much snow this year.  I hear it is unusual for this area, but I sort of like it!

Christmas eve pajamas.  I think the Noodle's smile is the same in both photos.  Same with the Chief's.

Christmas day was a great day.  The kids were up before 5, but we made them go back to bed until 7.  They got to go through their stockings and open 1 present.  Then it was time to go to church.  The kids were great waiting until after church to get down to business.  I played a piano solo in church.  It has been 7 years since my last piano solo in front of a large group.  Usually I am so nervous that my hands and fingers shake.  Let me tell you... it didn't happen this time!  This time I was so nervous that my leg playing the pedal shook so violently that I about got the giggles because it was out of control.  I kept going and made it through the whole song without so much as a snort from holding the giggles in.  Whew.  We got home and had lunch.  Then we got to open presents.  The kids had so much fun!

We got wonderful gifts from many family members. One of our favorite gifts came from Aunt Joni and Uncle Rocky.  See for yourselves!

How thankful I am for the Savior at this wonderful time.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

4 Months

I can't even stand the cuteness of this little boy.  He is such a joy.

 Now he's hit the 4 month mark.  He weighed 15lb. 41%  25 1/4in. 56% and a 16 1/2in head 60%.  Overall he still has a little larger cranium than most, but there is a lot of growing that has to happen.  Big head, big brain right?

 He started to roll over.  Tummy to back.  I have yet to actually see it, but Supremo and the kids did.  I kept leaving the room when he decided to do it.

 Still just a chill little guy.  I can't believe how long it has lasted.  He still sleeps through the night too!

 Loves to jump, and jump.

 Love to play peek a boo.  

Loves to sing.  It is so fun to join in with him.  He is all smiles when someone starts a tune, and then he sings along.

When Daddy Comes Home

It has been a busy last couple of days.  A Couple of crazy days.  Yesterday (Saturday the 17th) at 6:30am Supremo started having terrible pains in his tummy.  He went to the doc and has several kidney stones.  I have never seen him call into work like he did and tell them that he wasn't going to make it.  I knew that this was bad.  As of today he is still in the hospital waiting for them to pass.  He will come home tomorrow sometime and this is what we are going to sing to him.

On The 1st Day...

On the first day of Christmas my Savior gave to me...  A Chief to add to the Family Tree!

Happy Birthday Chief.  We love you.  I can't believe you are seven years old!

Nephee

I just had to post this cute little picture of my nephew.  He is now 20 months old and I can't even believe it. I have only seen him a handful of times.

I can't believe how big this little Sheriff is getting.  He's going to be 2 soon!

Diva

Oh this sweet little girl.  She is such a joy and such a silly goose.  Yesterday was a long early Sabbath.  Supremo had to work which always makes things hard.  T-bug and the Diva decided that they needed to wake up early.  Usually on Sunday I get up early and really take my time getting ready.  I like to be in my Sunday best at church and that is hard when you have kids.  Anyway - Back to the Diva.

I fed T-bug his bottle and laid him back down.  The Diva then stated that she needed chocolate milk, and in a sippy.  (I am not a fan of sippy cups, especially with chocolate milk, but desperate times early in the morning call for desperate measures.)  She then proceeded to tell me that she needed me to feed it to her. I told her that she needed to sit up at the table.  She told me she needed me to hold her on the Boppy pillow and feed her.  Finally understanding what she meant,  (She wanted to be fed like T-Bug)  I obliged because that sort of thing doesn't happen forever.  She took two drinks and sat up.  It was time for me to burp her.  She did a fake burp and then said she was all done.  Silly girl.

Naughty

That is what my friend Jess would say about me posting this next little diddy.  You may think so too because you may just find yourself having to give them a try.  This is a little recipe that I invented.  Okay, maybe I wasn't the original inventor, but I haven't seen or heard of anyone doing this.  So if it hasn't been done yet, can I get the credit?  I would love to have these known as another of Sweet Things, Sweet Thing's.  These are A M A Z I N G ! ! !

Anyway, on with the recipe.  (Please note that I am not a professional photographer, so the photos may not be pristine.)

First you take one of these little guys.  Actually, use the big ones they taste better when they are done.

Swedish Fish.

 Then let him take a swim in this.

 Almond Bark.  Chocolate Flavor.

After the swim.  Let the tasty little morsel lay on waxed paper to dry.

Almond bark dries fast so you can begin to enjoy quickly.

I have made quite a few bags of these and not shared them with too many people.  I know that's not nice.  But if you make them you will understand.  Especially if you enjoy yourself a little chocolate, and Swedish Fish.

Recipe:

1 Bag of Large Swedish Fish - I didn't get the huge bag.  Just a small one.

3 Squares of Almond Bark (Melted according to directions)  

Wax paper and a cookie sheet for the setting.

Bottle Review

I love reading opinions on things.  I will search and search an item and see what people have to say about it before I buy it.  So for all you moms out there doing the bottle thing or anyone in search of a bottle for your baby, here is my review of three that I am currently using for my little T-Bug.

Dr. Brown's

These are what I have used the longest.  I like them.  I love that there is virtually no bubble back flow into the bottle.  T-Bug has not been super gassy when he uses these.  The burps come, but they don't sound like a fog horn.  Prices at approx. $15 for 3.  You can get these most anywhere.
The cons:

• There are quite a few pieces to clean.  I like the whole philosophy of less in more.
• A lot of times when you shake the bottle, formula goes up the tube.  That equals leaking.  I am not a fan of that.
• A lot of times I forget to take out the little plastic disk when it's time to feed him. (This is when we travel.)  But I guess you could call that being blonde.

So if I was to give this bottle a rating from 1 to 10 I would probably give it a 7

Avent

I was looking for a bottle with less parts.  On the box this shows it vents, so I was excited. It seemed improved from when I used Avent 8 years ago with the Noodle. There were less parts than the Dr. Brown's.  We gave it a try, and I must say that I am not impressed.  There were so many bubbles.  I was burping little T every 2 ounces.  They weren't just little burps either.  Blow you away kind.  You know the kind that always happens at church when it is quiet.  Maybe it is because he gets the formula faster, I don't know.  It's not my favorite.  Priced at $15 for 2.  You can get these most anywhere.

The cons:

• Lots more bubbles.  Gassy Child.  

On the scale I would probably give it a 4.

Think Baby

I have only had these for well, today.  I am totally impressed.  I used this company's sunscreen for my kids this year and loved it.  Anyway, back to bottles.  The design on these rocks.  The are really slim in the middle and make it really easy to hold.  The vent system comes in the nipple.  Even less parts than the Avent, and way less than Dr. Brown's.  There were no bubbles while he was using it which was what I was looking for.  The coolest thing is, that this company has come up with a way to turn the bottles into sippy cups.  (I'm not a huge fan of sippy cups, but if you are.  It's really cool.)  The call it the sippy cup conversion kit.  Nice.  So you don't have to spend money on bottles and sippy cups.  Priced at $15 for 2.  Thinkbaby.com is the place to get these at.

Here is what it looks like when it is put together.

The cons:  

• You have to order these online where I live.  They don't have any store nearby.

Overall I would give this a 9.  I can't give it the full 10 as I have only used it today.  I may or may not remember to post an update of what I think, but as of today I am liking the Think Baby bottles the best.

Chimney Rock

 My Siwa came to visit and we went to Chimney Rock for a field trip.  It was really cool.  The boys got to fill a wagon just like the pioneers did.  I'll tell you what.  Those people were amazing.  We learned some really cool stuff.

We went up to the cemetery and saw Wee Granny's headstone.  It was cool to be near where ancestors walked.  I was grateful that we went in the late fall because there were signs that said rattle snakes were around.  Yucky.

Tres Meses

Oh my sweet little T-Bug.  He is growing up so fast.  Three months.  Holy cow.  How come pregnancy never seems to fly like kids growing up?

Here is what he has been doing.

• Talking.  He talks to everyone.  We just wish we knew what he was saying
• Jumping.  One of his favorite morning past times
• Sleeping.  Through the night.  Even better than the Diva.  The other day he slept from 5pm to 7am.  I had to keep checking to see if he was breathing
• Smiling.  His grins are just contagious.  I love to see this happy little man
• Grunting.  Still makes tons of noise
• Moving.  He doesn't like to lift his head up during tummy time, but will push himself off the blanket with his feet
• Flirting.  He loves to smile and flirt with the ladies at church.  When he is not sleeping
• Giggling.  So cute.  He usually does it when we clap his hands together

He is just too much fun.  I can't even stand it.

Blessing

Today was T-Bug's blessing day.  It was a bittersweet day.  We we going to have the blessing in Utah, but due to weather it was decided that we should just stay home.  We had our wonderful Branch family step in and help the Supremo out.

Here he is in the most adorable blessing outfit.  My mom made it.  Thanks mom!

I caught this little gem of a grin.

Oh how we love this boy.

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto

Halloween was a great time for us.  Trunk or Treating.   Trick or Treating.  Too much candy eating.  Lots and lots of candy eating.  It got to the point where I just got rid of it because I was eating too much.

So here we go with the photos.  T-Bug in the jumper.  He loves it.  He is a natural.  Just like the other kids.

 We had our kids make their own costumes this year.  I really wanted to be the Peter Pan crew.  (Noodle -Captian Hook.  Chief - Peter Pan.  Diva - Tinker Bell, and T-Bug a lost boy)  When I went to look at costumes I couldn't bring myself to pay that much.  Supremo said that we should let the kids be what they wanted.  I relented and this is what we came up with.

The Princess Robot

 The Primary Colors Robot

 Gold BumbleBee

 Close up of the Diva's body.

This was so much cheaper than buying pre made costumes.  So worth it in the end.  Only the Chief wore his costume trick or treating.