Christmas Happenings

I think it goes without saying that December is a very busy time of year, so I hope all will excuse for my lack of any recent updates.

We started off the month picking out our tree, which was beautiful and just maybe a little too big for the size of our living room, but I loved it still.

Aaron's mom came down for FHE and helped us decorate.  Note to self and any interested: when inviting others to help decorate your tree: string the lights first.  That part takes just a little more time than the fun it offers in return, especially if you are 3.

 Adelyn's preschool put on a little Christmas program and she was VERY excited for it.  She only wanted to listen to her CD while in the car and kept talking about singing, so I thought I'd show you the difference between her "practice" time:



And then the actual performance.  I'm so glad that we had my family all come to watch!!  But for her first time up "on stage" we weren't too concerned, just entertained.

We also had a fun ward Christmas party, complete with Santa.

And a really fun Elder's Quorum party, complete with Ugly Sweaters.  That Pink Special you see on the right just so happens to have won the contest that night--a gift certificate to Goodwill!

Aaron's brother came into town and before we managed to get him and almost all of Aaron's and my entire families sick with the worst stomach flu we have seen in a long time (a memorable Christmas for sure), they managed to have a great time at the Seahawks Christmas Eve game (despite the ridiculousness of the loss).

Then of course we had Christmas itself, which apparently we took more videos of than pictures, but I won't bore you with more videos.  I loved that we got to go to church Christmas morning and stop right in the middle of opening presents to focus on the birth and life of the Savior.

These pictures got out of order and since I already have wasted too much time trying to arrange and rearrange all the above photos and videos, I will leave them be--anyone else having trouble with the new and "improved" blogspot?!?!

But in addition to all of the special happenings of the Christmas season, December also brought Barett his first taste of real food:

And his first time rolling over.  As he is a bit larger than your average kid (20 lbs at his 4 month check-up), it took him a bit longer than the average four months, but he is rolling like a champ now and it's quite entertaining to watch the little chunk move around.

Man I love my kids and my family and am grateful that we had a great holiday season this year and were able to spend so much time together.  Now on to the new year and it's resolutions!!!

TIming

I guess Black Friday afternoon was not such a good time to schedule family pictures after all...

SNOW!!!!!

The week before Thanksgiving we actually woke up to some snow.  Of all days, luckily it was a Saturday, so we headed right out to the giant hill by our house for some serious sledding action.

Those of you who actually live in wintery climates will probably laugh at the amount of snow that excites us and sends us sledding, but we've got to take it where we can get it.

And of course we had to make a snowman--northwestern style with pine cones for eyes and nose.  This was Adelyn's first time making a snowman, and to be honest I can't say that I have made that many more myself!

Aaron felt we ought to take the snowman on a ride on the sled so he wouldn't feel left out.  And I must say that he looks like he's having a great time.  Right?!

I am sure you are all wondering where our new little babe was through all of this...snuggled up and sleeping soundly in the stroller.

Rolling in the Deep

First of all, I have to tell you that there was something huge that I forgot to tell you about in the last post.  Are you surprised?!  While we were in Seaside, Adelyn lost her binky and was forced to go to sleep without it for probably the first time in her life.  We have tried a few times unsuccessfully to get her to give it up, so this was a good way to give none of us the option to change our minds.

And she did!!!!  We had a big celebration with some Blizzards the next day and praised her up and down for being such a big girl.

 

And when we came home and she found two other binkies in her bed, I was worried she would want to go back.  But she said she was a big girl now and asked if she could throw them in the trash.  Hallelujah!

 

Anyway, I had to share the big milestone.  The video is not any kind of milestone, but pure entertainment.  The past few months Adelyn has gotten really into popular music and here she is singing along to her favorite song.

When do I get my regular brain back?!

If you are like me, you look at blogs for the pictures more than the stories, but even knowing that about myself I have to share with you some details of our Halloween experience.  I think I have lost my mind...we went over to my sister's house to get the girls ready for our church Trunk or Treat and wouldn't you know...I forgot the COSTUMES!!  She lives about 20 min away and I turned around to get them about halfway there.  So when we arrived to her house 15 min late, I realized I STILL forgot Adelyn's dress.  What?!  After I already went home to retrieve them?

This of course made us late for the Trunk or Treat.  The announcement was to be there at 6:15 to park and it would start at 6:30.  Since we were still making it by 6:30, I thought we'd be okay.  No.  It was OVER!  Completely done.  What Adelyn has been talking about all month, we missed because of my serious absentmindedness.  People were in their cars driving away when we pulled up. 

What were these kids doing?  Just sprinting from car to car?  The few cars that hadn't left yet were all out of candy.  This was after Barett had screamed the whole 20 min to my sister's and back.  All that for nothing.  But they looked so cute so I got over the drama and we just trick or treated at a few houses on my parents' street and our street and Adelyn was still in 7th Heaven.

  Here they are: Beauty and the Beast.

 I was thinking maybe it was just a really bad idea to go out of town the weekend before Halloween when I should be getting all those things in order, until I remembered the list of things that I forgot for the trip as well! Aaron had some work in Oregon and we thought it would be fun to go with him and do a little adventuring...see how we could handle a trip with a family of four.  Well I totally failed the test so it may be awhile before we attempt it again. 

I forgot to pack:

my wallet

my phone charger

 Adelyn's medicine

extra waters (7.5 hours to get there!)

my iPod (it's touch so its games keeps Adelyn enterained in the car)

my swimsuit (after I made sure Aaron packed his)

Psych DVDs to watch after Adelyn went to bed (okay that one not essential, but still nice!)

Seriously, where is my brain these days?!  I thought once those pregnancy hormones left that that forgetfulness would disappear.  At least Adelyn found a way to entertain herself on the drive down...I thought this was so precious.

His work was in Coos Bay and this was near there at a State Park and the rocks behind us were COVERED with seals and Sea Lions.  We stepped out of the car and all you could hear was them barking (is that what it's called?).

We drove up the 101 on the way back and saw all sorts of the goodness that is the Oregon Coast.  It was nice because there was always somewhere pretty to stop that could entertain Aaron and Adelyn while I fed Barett.  I can't say the same will be true for our next drive to Idaho! Here we are at The Devil's Churn. 

We spent the last night in Seaside because Aaron's brother was in town on a surf trip.  This beach is just so pretty!  Goonies, anyone?!  

Aaron took Adelyn to the aquarium during yet another Barett feeding time and did a little feeding of their own.  This is some live Adelyn action for those of you who live far away.

Despite my flightiness and countless hours in the car in a mere four days, we had a great time and managed to make it home in one piece. I love that we live in such a beautiful place where we can just hop in the car and be someplace awesome.

Anyway, aren't they just irresistable?



Seven Weeks Already?!

When people ask how we have been adjusting to the newborn life, what we've been up to, how we've been feeling etc, my response has a common theme that I think is accurately summed up by the following two pictures:

WE ARE TIRED!!!!

I remembered that newborns wake up around the clock to eat, but I didn't quite remember what it FELT like. It pretty much feels like what a imagine being a zombie feels like. Maybe that's what I should be for halloween!

However it is not without its rewards...would you just look at this little guy??!?! Thought it necessary to share some of his first smiles photo session.

Here is one from Adelyn's first smiles...do they look like siblings or what?!

I'll leave you with this one of him seeming to wave goodbye to the camera. Yes, I know, he's a chunk and a half!! And I thought Adelyn was a big baby. He puts her to shame at over 14 pounds already. Love it love it.

Barett's Blessing

Aaron's family decided to come Labor Day weekend to meet our latest addition, so we decided to make it a real party and have Barett's blessing while they were here.

Aaron's asked his grandpa to bless Barett, and he made his way here all the way from St. George to give a very tender and thoughtful blessing. We really appreciate his sacrifice and the wonderful spirit he brought with him.

I forced all the family into taking pictures afterward and I thought I'd share so you could see what everyone is looking like these days. Here's all the Andersons that made the trek. Thank you so much for taking the time to do so! I'll post more pics of your visit on facebook so you can have them if you want them.

Then we have the Curlette Clan

And the Barias as well. For those who didn't know, those two families are where Barett gets his name: Baria + Curlette!

And of course we had to take a four generation picture...ya think there's a family resemblance there or what?! Apparently the record for this sort of pic is seven generations living in one family. I'm not thinking we are going to beat that!

Thanks again to all of you who took the time to be there with us on this special day for our family. I feel very fortunate to have such good friends and family relatively close by. Love you guys! I'll leave you with the star of the show actually awake.