November, Part 6: Preparing for Christmas

Above: Our tradition in our family is to put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. So, that's what we did. We took down all of our fall/Thanksgiving decorations and put up our Christmas decorations. It's hard for the boys to be patient during the time consuming process of spreading the tree branches, putting on the lights, and putting on the beads before they can put on the ornaments. Daniel was also not cooperating today. He took very short naps and wasn't very happy to help with the Christmas tree while strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn. In fact, I would say that he didn't like the Christmas trees one little bit.

Above: The boys did a good job and were happy to decorate the tree. Notice that nice grouping of candy cane ornaments all at Johnny's height?

Above: Didn't they do a great job?

Above: Look at that grouping!

Above: I have a bit of OCD in me, and as a teenager, having this many ornaments on this few branches would have driven me crazy. However, in this case, it just makes me happy. My sweet boys who were beyond excited to put up the Christmas tree were the ones who decorated the tree this way. I didn't do any changing or rearranging to the placement of their ornaments. The tree looked great and they did a really good job.

Above: On November 30th (the Monday after Thanksgiving), we went to eat dinner at the food court at the City Creek Center. The boys didn't slow down at all...that's why this picture is so blurry. This is the best picture I could get under the circumstances!

Above: These wild cousins kept doing their best to run off, but thanks to me, and a very swift footed Aunt Emily, we were able to keep track of them.

Above: Three crazy boys...each boy is his own kind of crazy.

Above: This is the best picture I could get of all of them...silly Johnny and his silly expressions!

Above: On our way back to our cars, we stopped to see this model of The Night Before Christmas.

Above: What a sweet, sleepy guy. His only defense against the cold was to take a nap while attached to the Baby Bjorn.

Above: Nighty, night!

November, Part 5: Happy Thanksgiving!

Above: This is how we lounge around at our house on Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving, we decided to have dinner at our own house. Jeremiah took Peter and Johnny to his parent's house on Thanksgiving in the morning to play with their cousins. I had spent the day before making pies and doing all I could in preparation for dinner the next day. When everyone at Jeremiah's parent's house were ready to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner (at around 1 p.m.), Jeremiah brought the boys home. I had some appetizers (cheese, crackers, meat, etc.) for them to eat for lunch.

Jeremiah watched the boys while I finished up the last of the dinner preparations. This was a little stressful to Jeremiah because Daniel wasn't cooperating as well as he could have, and he was a little cranky.

However, in the end, I served up a fantastically delicious meal that consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, South Cottonwood carrots (my grandpa's specialty), sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, salad, homemade pretzel pie (faux pecan pie since Peter is allergic to pecans), store bought pumpkin and apple pie, homemade lemon "meringue" pie (that was a good idea, but not a great pie, so I made it again a few days later with some changes and it turned out awesome).

Peter would only eat rolls, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Johnny would only eat rolls, turkey, and gravy. However, they liked their respective meals and Jeremiah and I had a ton of leftovers and ate like royalty for the next few days (and froze a bunch of individually portioned meals for the future). They all loved the pie. Once dinner was over, Mom and Emily came up to watch A Christmas Story with us. It was a lovely day, but a crazy busy day too. I think if I ever have a little baby on Thanksgiving again, we will take someone up on their offer to eat at their house! I love having Thanksgiving at our house and having all the leftovers, but with Daniel being a sassy napper and how much work that dinner is, I couldn't ever do it again by myself with a little baby. Even so, it was a wonderful day.

Above: I got some alone time with this cutie pie while the boys were visiting Mimi and Papa. Oh, I just love him so much! Look at those eyes, cheeks, mouth, nose, etc.!



Above: The Monday before Thanksgiving, Johnny had his preschool Thanksgiving Feast. His friend, Eli, got to come over for a play date on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Johnny was in little boy heaven. Johnny and Eli have so much fun playing together.



Above: Here is Johnny'se preschool Thanksgiving feast.



Above: Johnny's teacher took this picture and shared it. I'm so glad she did. Johnny looks like he is having so much fun.





Above: Sometimes my pilgrim can be a little grumpy, but I sure love him!




Above: My happy little Indian (they made Indian headdresses and Pilgrim hats).



Above: Johnny apparently likes being an Indian more than a pilgrim.



Above: See? My happy little Indian.



Above: Happy Indian.



Above: Sad pilgrim. Ha ha! Well, I guess we know whose side Johnny is on.

Peter had a school Thanksgiving feast too, but I didn't go to that and I don't think his teacher took any pictures. Peter came home very happy though and had a really good time.

November, Part 4: Daniel's Third Month

Above: This sweet boy of mine actually enjoys tummy time. You have to do it when he is in just the right mood, of course, but when he is in the mood, it always makes him smile. He likes to look at the world from a different angle.

Above: Daniel isn't quite sure what to think about all of this snow though.

Above: Daniel is smiling like a champ now. He especially loves to give sweet smiles to his mommy.

Above: Oh, look at that sweet guy with the sweet eyes, sweet smile, chubby cheeks, and little dimple!

Above: Daniel isn't quite sure what to think of these toys yet. He's just a little too young to appreciate them yet.

Above: This is my sweet Thanksgiving Day buddy.

Above: He didn't help me much with the cooking, but he made for such a sweet companion that morning.

Above: I was trying to get a picture that showed just the right viewpoint of his sweet cheeks.

Above: Daniel loves to hold his own hands.

Above: This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Daniel. Doesn't he just look so sweet? I was trying to get a different angle for his chubby cheeks, but because I was standing over him, he just looked right up at me and melted my heart in the process. I just love him so much!

Above: Daniel and I had a mini photo shoot before I got him dressed for church.

Above: Posing for a picture with me like this was a new thing for Daniel. I'm sure he will get used to it in time...because I am going to be taking a lot of pictures with him!

Above: Snuggling in Mom's bed is the best.

Above: Daniel sure loves his big brother Pete.

Above: Daniel isn't always sure what to think about Peter's over-zealousness and extra energy though.

Above: This picture says it all.

Above: As mentioned in another post, Daniel was blessed on November 1st.

Above: Here is Daniel talking sweetly and earnestly to me. He has such a sweet little voice.

Above: Sundays sure are exhausting! Daniel is taking a nap on Grandpa Niel.

Above: Look at those cheeks!

Above: Here is my sweet naked baby on Thanksgiving.

Above: Daniel is even cute when he is cranky and crying.

Above: That's a lot of passion for such a little guy. I have come to learn that Jeremiah and I don't make kids that aren't passionate.

Above: Here's Daniel watching Peter play outside in the snow. Okay, this was staged, obviously, but look at that cute baby body!

Above: Daddy sure loves Daniel!

Above: Diaper changes are no fun.

Above: Life is so hard!

Above: Finally coming to terms with it...

Above: Just kidding! He hasn't come to terms with the fact that life is hard, and sometimes you just need a good cry!

Above: My three sons on a lazy Sunday afternoon after church.

Above: Getting ready to see the lights at Temple Square. You have to be toasty warm and covered up when you go outside at night in the winter time!

Above: Oh, but this poor guy hates having stuff on his head!

Above: What a night! Daniel's only defense against the cold was to fall asleep in the Baby Bjorn while we walked around to see the lights at Temple Square.

Above: Night, night world. It's November 30th, and I will see you again when it is December!