Over the hill and through the woods........

DISCLAIMER: Sorry to all those who have heard this already, but it's too great to not post on the blog with the pics.

We had a fun adventure to the cabin for Christmas. We made it through half of Cedar Mountain with no problem until we hit Kane county who apparently is against plowing. Here's the difference.

Yep, the first picture is what it looks like plowed, so you can imagine the scariness of the not plowed parts. Philip was white knuckled the whole way. When we finally got to the cabin, the road was completely covered, so there was no way we were going on it. It was dusk and snowing, so Philip decided to run to the cabin, open it up, turn on the heat and water heater and head back with skis, snow attire and a sled to haul our stuff. I geared the kids up and consolidated the bare necessities into 1 bag.(THANK YOU Annie and Anneli for lending us snow clothes because they would have froze without it)
When Phil got back it was completely dark and the snow was really coming down. Ben started a fever somewhere outside of Vegas and was not doing so well, so we were really worried how we were going to get him to the cabin without making it worse. Luckily Phil brought a huge jacket so he carried Ben in the Baby Bjorn and zipped him inside his coat.
I loaded up the sled with our necessities, carried Amelia on my shoulders and pulled the sled. It was slow going. I was trying to manage walking in 18 inches of snow with no light or snow boots while pulling a sled and carrying Amelia, who was screaming because she had snow on her mittens and was scared because "it's dark in here". To say the least, I was holding Phil up, who had skis, a light and my sick baby, so I told him just to take Ben to the cabin and then come back for us. I attempted to stay in his tracks, but it was so dark, it was hard to find them some times. I kept going thanks to Amelia's little words of encouragement like, "don't fall mommy" and "mommy's so strong". I thought, if pioneers could do this wearing dresses, puling handcarts and having no warm cabin in sight, I could do this. We managed to get two thirds of the way when I heard Phil calling out to us. Amelia kept yelling back, "hey dad. What you doing". We met up and I was happy to hear Ben was able to stay asleep the whole way and was now happily sleeping in the warm cabin. I was so glad Phil was there to pull the sled the last part, because getting up to the driveway is the hardest and the driveway has the deepest snow. Phil decided he wanted to make 1 more trek to the car that night for Amelia's medicine and a few other things we were worried about leaving in the freezing car all night. (soda bottles that freeze and explode everywhere!!, expensive electronics, Amelia's baby and blankies) And I think he was so hopped up on adrenaline, he needed to do it one last time. It sounded fun until he hit that dreaded driveway again, and thought, "I've made a terrible mistake", but he made it. All in all, it was a crazy idea, but it all worked out. No huge problems, just a lot of sore muscles and wet clothes. For the rest of our visit, it was a fun adventure to trek to the car (in daylight, with snow clothes and skis or snow shoes) and see what we had done. Our last day, they plowed the road so even Amelia walked out. It seemed so cowardly. These are pics of us leaving but you get the idea of us coming.

Christmas at our house

We celebrated Christmas this morning since we will be gone on actual Christmas day. We started off by waking Amelia up to her snowflakes. Then we brought her out to open presents. She had a good time opening everyone's presents. In this collage you can see her helping all of us. If you could hear the sound of her showing Phil his gift it would be, "woooeeeeee". Unfortunately we were not videotaping this one burst of excitement. All other videos had little to none of the emotional outbursts we were expecting and hoping for. She is very meticulous about unwrapping gifts (and always has been). She rips little bits at a time, slowly and softly, as you can see in the top right pic. She made sure Ben didn't eat the wrapping paper because, "that's gross, buddy". She had a good time and we managed to do all this, eat, shower, dress and be at church by 9. I say that's a good morning. Merry Christmas to all. (Now I must help Phil take down the tree so we don't have to do it when we get home!!! I feel a little bah humbug taking the tree down BEFORE Christmas)

Let it Snow

Philip had a great idea last night to make some snowflakes and hang them in Amelia's room for when she woke up this morning. It turned out pretty cool and she loved it.

Ben's Eating Cereal

I love this series of pictures. Amelia insists on feeding Ben if she sees me do it. I like how wide she opens her mouth to show Ben. What a good teacher and Ben loves everything Amelia does. They could entertain each other for days. He is her real life doll for feeding, changing, inserting pacifiers, burping and wrapping up. If she could carry him around, she would. Although she has just realized that she can move him around by grabbing his feet and dragging him. He mostly thinks it's funny, but it's not helping his bald spot or dry skin on his face.

Quote of the Day (a few days ago)

The Subaru died last week, and every time we go past it Amelia has to remind me 50 times, "mom's car's broken". A couple days ago, she asked me if we could go to Costco. I told her we couldn't go because daddy has the car. She looks at me all accusingly and says, "mom's cars broken. Mommy broke it." I immediately said, "No I didn't" then laughed out loud because I felt the need to defend my honor to a 2 year old.

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth

This is Ben's theme song this year. Today Ben cut through his first bottom front tooth. He's been gnawing and drooling and whining for a couple of weeks now. I thought teeth were a little early, but when I saw and felt his lump a couple weeks ago, I was preparing for the long haul. With Amelia, it took months of swollen gums to cut 1 tooth. This kid fusses a few days and whines a little and boom, there's a tooth. Can I request that all my other kids be like this, or should I just end on a good note?!?!?! Look close, this was yesterday and you can kind of see his gummy lump. Today's it's a tooth. Congratulations Benjamin!!

"I'm a fix the tree"

This is Amelia "fixing" the tree. It is fake, so when you pull it out of the box it needs to be fluffed up. She climbed up next to me and tickled the tree limbs telling us that she's fixing it. She was very encouraging telling me how pretty and fancy it was every time I put anything on it. If you ever need an ego boost, I'll lend you this one.

I am getting a little worried

So, as you all know a few posts ago I brought to your attention Ben's little rebellious side. Well, what you don't know is this happens quite a bit. I usually delete them or just ignore it because he is just a little baby, right?? Well, yesterday he did it again, and so I went back and found the ones I still have and put together this little collage for you all to laugh over. Keep in mind, I know I have deleted multiple others. Coincidence?? I also looked at Amelia's baby pics and I couldn't find or recall any of her doing this, so does this mean something about Ben?

I am thankful for nature and pie

We celebrated our Thanksgiving outdoors. We went on a nice walk in Temescal Canyon in Malibu. We enjoyed a nice drive up the coast. It was such a clear day you could see for miles. We stopped at Leo Carillo Beach. Amelia enjoyed throwing rocks and we walked around some tide pools with lots of starfish. We ventured home. I whipped up a nice meal and we ate. Amelia enjoyed having sparkling cider in a fancy cup. She loves being fancy and this cup topped the fancy list for her. She held it fancy and made sure after every sip to smack her lips and sigh. Since it was Thanksgiving, we didn't fuss to much that her dinner mostly consisted of that drink, some bread and some dairy free pumpkin pie. (yes it's possible and delicious)

Notice anything about this picture??

Hope I don't seem too braggy but.......

Today I got my double jogging stroller and I am so in love with it. After way to many hours of searching for the right one, I came across this brand, Valco. I wasn't totally sold on it until I saw it in person and Philip found a crazy deal on craigslist. It made all the things I don't like (really only the color) easier to deal with when I know now I will be able to tote my kids around the park, neighborhood, zoo and maybe even the stores near my house comfortably and safely. It fits through my front door and because of it's 4 wheels, it is shorter and turns easily. You can turn these knobs on the front to adjust the wheels for walking or jogging. For any mom's or stroller enthusiasts, you can check out this youtube video all about it's features. Their website isn't the greatest, but you can check it out at Valco's site also. I love the toddler jump seat you can add later and Amelia has already deemed the little zip off storage bag her "stroller purse". I just got back from a ride in the park and it is fun to push. So glad I got it and I can waist my time on being outside with it now.

2 things

Amelia says 2 really cute things right now I have to share. We were reading the Snowmen at Christmas book and she refers to Santa Claus as "Sandy Claus" (Sandy is Phil's boss) How appropriate. The second, she got a little poster at the zoo trick or treat with an ad for the animated movie Madagascar 2. If you haven't seen the ads, they have a bunch of animals on it including a hippopotamus. She also has this pocket quiet book that has a page where it says "H is for Hippo" Now she calls it an "H-a-potamus" and I love driving around and she yells out, "I see an H-a-potamus".

Go Mama

After the election, Philip was trying to get Amelia to say Barack Obama. Her attempt has led to calling him Go Mama. Last night I had the news on and there was a clip of his acceptance speech and Amelia starts yelling, "GO MAMA!! GO MAMA!! I see him. I see GO MAMA!!"

"chatstip"

We have been struggling with Amelia sleeping through the night, in her own bed, with the door closed and lights out, and without screaming for a little over a month now. We finally have made some progress and we are making a big deal about it with her. Yesterday was the first successful morning after a full night of "staying on my bed all night" so I rewarded her by taking her to the $1 bin at Target. She picked out this.

This was the perfect reward for a few reasons. One, she loves using my chapstick and I have various ones around the house and I will open them up to find big chunks dug out of them or a mysterious wetness to them. Gross.
Second, I love Dr Pepper. (usually diet, and caffeine free for pregnancy and nursing) Amelia always wants some, so I have to dissuade her by telling her it is special juice just for mommy. I have regretted this when she has loudly exclaimed in public things about "mommy's special juice" when soda is around and it makes me feel like people are wondering what really is in it to make it so special. So now she has her special juice chapstick.
Third, it is wide mouthed and pink, so she can get the proper coverage with one application. At first we thought she as having a reaction to it because of the pinkness around her mouth, but we soon realized it was just the excess application.
Fourth, it doesn't taste like Dr Pepper (that would have been way too good) but it does taste sweet, so she puts it on and then licks it right off and repeats until, with much drama, I take it away until next time she sleeps all night. At this rate, we will be able to have a few months worth of rewards for sleeping through the night. I just hope we aren't needing to do this that long.

Thinking of Thanks

I guess this is that time of year you contemplate things you are thankful for. I keep thinking about this so I guess I have to share. I am always amazed at how things work out. Just when I think I can't possibly bear another day of motherhood without having an epic mental breakdown, my children sleep through the night and wake up with smiles, hugs and kisses, "I love you's" and laughs. When I am struggling with the loss of my milk supply and it seems that there is no chance it will come back, and I am concerned about just giving in to the epic cost of formula, Philip gets a little incentive pay that covers the cost perfectly. When I am concerned about a health issue with Amelia, I meet someone with a personal experience that is a wealth of knowledge and comfort to me. When I have lost all hope that I can find nutritious, tasty and safe meals for Amelia, she decides her new favorite food is hummus. When I really need a friend, I get a phone call from someone. These all seem like silly small things, and at one point in my life I would have rolled my eyes at listening to a stay at home mom complain that her major concerns are cooking dinner. But these small things add up to a large reprieve from my day to day endeavors to be a better and happy person. You can chalk it up to luck, karma, chance, life or anything else, but I believe it is blessings and I am so thankful for them.

And you know I like to have a pic on my posts. This one is an oldie but a goodie.

A little taste of our photo session last week

Some of the final product
Not too shabby

Amelia's Quote

This morning while Phil was getting ready for work and playing with Amelia, she lifted up her shirt and said, " raisins please". It took a few times for us to realize that what she really wanted was Phil to blow raspberries on her stomach. We both had a good laugh. Hope you do too.

Collages Galore

Yes there are an abundance of collages on this issue of blogging, but there were so many good ones it was hard to choose so I just used them all. Ben is grabbing his toes now and it is so adorable.


















We attempted to get the kids pictures taken last week and it was a disaster. At least Amelia's portion. So this is our half-hearted attempt to make it right at home and that was just as disastrous, but these were a few fun ones.

Tricks, Treats and Snakes

On Saturday, the zoo had a Halloween party. You got to go trick or treating in different areas for candy, toys and stickers. Since it has been in the 90's, Amelia had to shed some of her costume and after the first station of trick or treating, we shed everything but the hat and bag. She really loved walking up and down these stairs clutching her bag. Stairs are her new obsession ever since we went to the cabin. Much to her disappointment, our apartment has no stairs.


Amelia touched an albino rattlesnake. She actually asked to touch it, but by the look on her face, she was second guessing her decision once she got near it.




This was the last trick or treat station and the volunteer had a crow puppet that squeaked. I hope you can see in this picture that she was more freaked out by that squeaky toy than a rattlesnake. If this picture had audio, you would hear, NO! NO! NO!.

Trick or Treat Preview

On Friday we went to our ward's annual Trunk or Treat. Amelia was a witch and Ben was a pumpkin. (I didn't get any pics of Ben there so you'll have to wait until the real Halloween, but if any of you remember, it was what Amelia was 2 years ago) Amelia had fun walking around saying trick or treat and collecting some "Amelia friendly" goodies. I made her costume so that she can use it for dress up later and I am so happy that she loves it. It makes all my efforts worthwhile. And I love this pic because you can see her red socks which was a cute touch.

Pow!!

I got these shirts for fun for $1 at Target and I didn't read the tag that said they are 3-6 months. Too big for Ben and too small for Amelia but still cute because they fit their personalities. A Mommy's boy and a little monster (at least right now) Whenever Ben wears his, Amelia can't get enough of saying "I love Mommy" so I like to put him in it when I need to hear her say she loves me.



I like this pic because it looks like Ben is socking Amelia right in the cheek and she is laughing about it.

Halloween Fun

We went to a pumpkin carving party tonight. I made soft pretzels shaped like fingers and toes. (Thank you Martha Stewart) They turned out pretty yummy and totally gross looking which was perfect. We carved a cute little pumpkin and Amelia enjoyed running around holding hands with her little buddy Kalia. We had a really great time (thank you Everitt's) and are so excited for Halloween to come now.

Dracula??

I have been working on some fun projects this month. I made this at the cabin for Amelia's dress up collection. It is a reversible cape. I figure it will serve as a number of different looks for all our kids, so it was a great staple to add to her dress up stash.

Conference and puzzles (pronounced pooz-lays)

We enjoyed being lazy while listening to conference. We managed to finish a hard puzzle thanks to Phil, Will and Megan. Ben was held non stop. Amelia got to follow around grandpa and "help him". All in all it was a relaxing nice trip. Made us rediscover our love for the cabin, cold weather and the cost effectiveness of the Prius.

Crazy Uncles

What's a cabin trip without a little brotherly competition, eh? Slapping games and rock throwing contests. All of which Amelia cheers on delightfully and bestows the lucky winner with a squeeze.

Licking the Beaters

After Annie and the kids left, I decided to make some more cookies while we were waiting for Phil and others to come to the cabin. I let Amelia lick the frosting beater for the first time. She couldn't get enough of it. She got every last drop of that frosting off with her little tongue. I was rather impressed by the way she could make her tongue get all those hard to reach places. It kept her busy for about 20 minutes then jumping off the walls for another hour.

Some of the Cutest little kids

So here are some of my favorite pics of the kids. I wish I could have gotten one of all of them together, but these are still really cute. you have to zoom in on Spencer's picture to see his adorable little face. Thank you Nikon camera.