Over the River and Through the Woods

Grandmas are pretty smart. My grandma bought a Super Nintendo, proving her Mensa membership to us grandchildren by one mere action.

What better way to endear your grandchildren to you than to take the legs off the foosball table and play with them? (See the video below)

We're all enjoying a little Christmas vacation with family. We've assigned Wes to be the official "enthusiasm demonstrator" on this trip. Natalie has the assignment for next trip. Be watching for that video. Old cheer uniforms may be involved...

Birthday Bowling

On Monday we went bowling to celebrate my 27th birthday! Check out the pics below:

The birthday girl!

Bruce

Steve hammin' it up.

Tyler showing off.

Brian was taking all the pictures so this is the best one I got of him.

Christie (goes with Bruce)

Jonelle (goes with Steve)

Andrea (goes with Tyler)

Wes was great and just walked around while we bowled.

My 3 to the 3rd birthday cake before it was lit on fire.

Blowing out the candles!

At home with my kiddos before opening presents.

Me and my girl celebrating into the night!

Holiday Hustle!

Want to run a 5k? Sure!

In Michigan? Sure!

In December? Why not?

You may think we were crazy, but we were crazy along with about 700 other people. With a high temperature of 31.7 degrees and a low of 11.5 degrees, how could we go wrong?

This picture was actually taken after the race. I was quite proud of myself for finishing under 35 minutes since I had a baby 9 weeks ago and then carried one for 9 months before that and then 9 months before that I had another baby and then carried that one for 9 months before that. Confusing I know, but suffice it to say, I haven't had a great workout in a while but I feel pretty awesome about yesterday. And I feel very, very sore...

When can I do it again?!

Andrea, Brian and I all ran the race together. I definitely slowed them down, but we had fun! We got free flashing Santa hats and reindeer antlers and everyone comes out all dressed up in holiday gear. There were all ages of people and even a few dogs! There's was quite a bit of wind and we got pelted with icy rain for part of the race. You know it's cold when the water you pick up along the trail has a layer of ice in it. Once we were running, it really wasn't so bad though.

Andrea's husband Tyler was a trooper and got to practice being a dad of 3 carrying Sydney in the Bjorn and pushing Wes and Hayden in the stroller while we ran the race.

Sydney slept the entire time. She was nice and cozy in there. It helped keep Tyler warm too!








Hayden, Tyler, Sydney and Wes - the Super Troopers!

After the race there was a parade in downtown Dexter. Here's Brian trying to get Wes excited about the fire truck. The parade was very disappointing. Notice how red Wes' hands are! Poor kid! (Sorry Mom, I know...He did have gloves, but they just wouldn't stay on.) Brian was also missing his hat and gloves so they were both freezing.

I wanted to get the boys' picture with the Nativity Scene (while they're still allowed in Michigan...and no, we didn't see any Atheist signs) but Wes was totally beyond done at this point and just wanted Brian to hold him.

We had a lot of fun though! The Hoopers came over after and we ordered Jimmy John's ("Subs so fast, you'll freak!") and had white hot chocolate. Let us know if you want to join us next year!

A Miracle, Indeed!

We have entered a new phase in our little Sydney's sleeping life thanks to a tip from Julie (my sister's sister-in-law) on the Amazing Miracle Blanket. I ordered it from Target (with a gift card, yay!) and I kept telling Brian that our little lady would sleep through the night as soon as we got it. He was skeptical, but I kept trying to have a Postive Mental Attitude. :) So the results?

Night 1: 9 hours and 13 minutes

Night 2: 7 hours and 48 minutes

Night 3: 8 hours and 8 minutes

Night 4: 7 hours and 38 minutes

Night 5: 8 hours and 5 minutes

(with a little wake up from being cold, I think)

I used to love the Kiddopotamus (as demonstrated here by Wes) but he never really consistently slept through the night until he was drinking whole milk at night (yep, at a year). He'd usually do 3 days on then 3 days off. Hopefully we're not jinxing Sydney by posting about it!

And I'm sure you're wondering how I knew exactly how long she slept each night. Well, Brian found a website via the Wall Street Journal called Trixie Tracker that keeps track of feedings, diaper changes, sleeping, pumping, medicine, etc. There's a free 2-week trial and then there's a charge, so I'm checking it out to see if it's worth it. It's been pretty handy so far!

Sydney turned 2 months on Wednesday and thus had her 2-month check up and shots. :( I got my flu shot so I could be empathetic. Here are her stats: weight - 11 lbs. 6 oz. (67%); height - 23.31 inches (85%); head - 15.55 inches (71%). She's doing well and looking great!

Unfortunatey, the nurse thought I was 19 - seriously. She was pretty surprised when I told her I was going to be 27 on Monday. I knew I looked young for my age, but a teenager? Hmmmm... Apparently I need to wear more make up or "older" clothes or something.

Also: Congratulations to Marti and Shawn on their cute baby boy, Jack, who was born Thursday and is exactly 9 weeks younger than Sydney! Check out his hair!

Brian and I were planning on taking a video of Sydney laughing but as soon as we turned on the camera she just started smiling at it. She might be a born performer! (It is in her genes, after all.) I tried playing our little game at the end to get her to laugh, but she didn't quite do it. We'll have to try it again sometime.

We also got an early Christmas present for Sydney. It's sort of for Wes right now, but we are already getting him something else. Plus Sydney can use it someday, too. I've been wanting a little chair for Wes for a long time, but I've had a hard time finding one that I liked (i.e.: one without SpongeBob all over it) that was in my price range. However, thanks to a great tip from my cousin Miranda - who got her son a cute little recliner - I found exactly what I was looking for at Big Lots. It was the style and color I wanted (it's a dark brown) and the price I was expecting. So if you're in the market for toddler furniture, that's a great place to check out!

Growth Spurt?

For some reason on Friday, both of my kids were super sleepy. Wes fell asleep in the car at 4:00pm after having spent a couple hours apparently playing in his room. Brian and I were both sure he had fallen asleep at some point. We were wrong! Here's the poor kid in the carseat totally crashed the second he got in it. I waited in the parking lot at the store for a half hour so he could get a little nap.

Here's Sydney at various times throughout the day, totally unable to stay awake. Normally I lay her on the couch and it helps her wake up, but she was totally out. I don't know if she was going through a growth spurt or what! She didn't eat much more than normal though...

And here is Wes awake hiding under the Christmas tree.

And here's Sydney with Mom Friday night after having slept all day! (Don't worry, thankfully she didn't stay up all night.) She doesn't look super happy though!

My Happy Family

I feel like I'm constantly behind in posting pictures and I'm really not taking that many anyway. I need to be better about that! Sydney is 8 weeks today. She's having more awake time which is always fun (as long as it's not late or in the middle of the night). She's a sweet little girl. Also, I did stop breastfeeding in the first month for those who were wondering. I just decided the cons outweighed the pros for me this time. But I'll give it another go next time!

Brian holding the kids in their pjs. Wes loves his milk and takes his sweet time enjoying it before he goes to bed.

Wes helping Brian make some cookies. He's a great helper.

My boys.

It's December in Michigan! Wanna come visit? :)

Sydney's playtime with Dad.

Here's the link in case the video doesn't work.

It is so easy to get Sydney to smile. I love it. She's so happy (unless she gets whacked by her brother or thinks she's starving). She's really patient too. She's a sweet and sensitive little girl. This video is mostly for the family who has to wait a few more weeks to see Sydney.

Here's the link in case the video doesn't work.

tHANKSgiving 2008

This year Brian and I hosted Thanksgiving for some MBA friends. Brian did the turkey and I did a few other things and then the Hoopers did the other half of the food. We also had Thomas and his girlfriend, Daniela, who are both from Germany so this was their very first American Thanksgiving! That was extra fun!

Our little family at the end of the night.

Hayden and Wes. They didn't eat too much, but got to play a lot!

Sydney fell asleep right as we started dinner. Next year she'll be able to eat her own Thanksgiving!

Brian, Daniela, and Thomas. Tyler is getting food.

Andrea and me with the pumpkin pie I made. This was the second attempt - the first one ended up on the floor! :/

Waiting...

So right now I'm waiting for my daughter to fall asleep so I can go to sleep. I'm feeling very tired at the moment - and it's only ten o'clock! Since I'm awake, I thought I'd post some pictures.

Wes likes to play around Sydney when she's on her play mat. He actually does a pretty good job of watching out for her and not stepping on her or anything - unless he wants attention...that's a different story. This time he was giving her kisses even. It was pretty cute.

Brian likes to get in some Sydney cuddle time when he gets home from school. She seems to enjoy it even if he is multi-tasking.

And the bigger picture... Brian usually has to deal with a little Wesley crawling on him whenever he's trying to hold Sydney. Wes definitely loves his dad and wants his cuddle time too!

Baby Cuz I'm a Thug...

Wes gets pretty upset when his dad has to go to school - or leave to anywhere for that matter. So to console him, I always ask if he wants to watch a show. Luckily he likes shows more than his dad! (But just barely.) Brian put one of his beanies on Wes before he left the other day and I thought he looked like a little thug. Pretty cute.

Sydney's a good little smiler for her mom and dad. She's actually been smiling since about 2 and a half weeks (seriously). She has a lot of smiles when she's fed and not super sleepy. It's pretty cute! I think we have another little social butterfly on our hands! Here's the link to Wes' first smile if you want to compare.

A Beautiftul Day to Vote!

This afternoon after Brian got home from class, we took a family walk over to our polling location. It was a beautiful day - highs in the 70's - so it was very enjoyable. I remember in 2000 and 2004 doing exit polling at BYU and I was in a sweater and boots and a coat and I was freezing. Today was a much better voting day. It was actually my first experience voting in live person since I've always done absentee voting. We didn't even have to wait in line and the kids did great!

This is a picture of our polling location. Can you see a McCain/Palin sign anywhere?

Lots of signs, but we're definitely living in a Democratic community, so no signs supporting the Republicans!

Here's our little family at home with our "I voted" stickers.

In other news...

We finally gave Sydney her first bath. Yah, after three weeks...

Our cute little kids having a bath together.

Halloween Firsts

This year was Sydney's first Halloween and Wes' first opportunity to collect candy. Fun for both of them! :)

We dressed Sydney up as a "kitty-cat" and Wes was a "doggy". (This is what we call them when we ask Wes what the animals say.) Brian and I chose not to dress up this year. We had enough else to think about!

Our cute little family getting ready to go to the Ward Halloween Party on Wednesday.

Sydney and Wes. Wes gets a little unsure when we try to take pictures of him and Sydney together.

Wes' first trick-or-treating experience at the church. They do an indoor door-to-door instead of a trunk-or-treat. Smart idea in Michigan! :)






Wes caught on quickly and Brian loved taking him around from door to door. They had a great time.

Checking out his trick-or-treat bucket - it's Darth Vader, by the way.

Enjoying his sucker with Grandma Hanks.

Our sweet sleeping little kitty.

On Friday morning there was an MBA Kids event where the kids dressed up, met the business school dean, had crafts, pizza and other fun things. Here Wes is getting his tied dog balloon.

Grandma Hanks is helping Wes make a little ghost craft.

Here are Andrea and Hayden (the lion) and Jonelle and Carter (the jack-o-lantern) and the MBA Kids party. My other friend Katie and her son James are in the background. Katie's having her 2nd baby today!

Brian and his baby girl.

We had a birthday party for Brian on Halloween since we knew neither our friends nor us would be out trick-or-treating with our young (or no) kids. This is the cake I made for Brian for the party. (Thanks to Dad Swensen for the idea from so many years ago!)

Brian and me with his awesome graveyard cake.

Blowing out the candles (again)! He's 28, not 82, by the way. :)

We painted pumpkins as an activity. Some people had already headed out by this point. Too much partying for one day, I guess! :)

Grandma Hanks has been a huge help this whole week and definitely was at the party! She took care of Miss Sydney so Brian and I could entertain the guests.

Wes and Brian with his painted pumpkin.

Wes helped Brian carve this scary pumpkin face for Halloween. Brian's doing a good job mimicking the face, I think! :)

This is a non-Halloween picture. This is Sydney on the awesome blanket that Grandma Hanks made for her. She made one for Wes when he was born, too. I look forward to getting this blanket and the one from Great Grandma Smith when I have a baby. I think it's so cool to have something handmade from someone who loves them so much! Isn't she talented?