Christmas Crumbs

Before I get the last of Christmas put away I wanted to post a few little things from the month of December that didn't make it into any other post. First was that my parents came to visit us for 6 days (yay!). We were so glad they were here, especially Clark who got to open a present every day that Grandma was here. Next is a couple snapshots of the kids doing their work: Lana opening cabinets and Clark (aka Superman) raking leaves in the backyard. Third, Clark and I made Christmas cookies together (ones that he can eat). I let him operate the mixer, pour in the ingredients, and cut out the cookies. Last, we made some new ornaments for our tree. My favorites are Clark's painted works. Not pictured are the handprint ornaments of each child which were ridiculously frustrating to make but worth it since I'll treasure them forever!  

Lana's First Party

Since I was a bit buried in Christmas preparations on Lana's first birthday--two days before Christmas--we postponed her celebration until yesterday. It was a small party, with just our little family as guests, but still sweet. We started off with a little game, borrowed from Elder Perry, that we've done with each child so far on their first birthday. We place some food, a toy, some scriptures, and some money across the room from the child and let them select the item that most intrigues them. Lana waffled between the toy and the cupcake, but eventually chose the toy. According to Elder Perry's words, the toy represents the need to take time to add to one's personal worth.

Moving right along with our party we sang to Lana and had cake. I made carrot ginger cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting, allergen-free (recipe by Cybele Pascal in the Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook), so Clark could be included. Lana enjoyed the singing, but wasn't sure what to make of the cake. She dipped her finger in the frosting repeatedly and smeared it around awhile before trying any. She's not a real eat-with-her-hands kind of girl so I wasn't surprised at her dainty approach. 

And of course no party is complete without her famous crazy eye face (which I didn't notice she pulled until I uploaded the pictures!). Clark wasted no time in putting away his cupcake, then offered to help Lana enjoy hers by feeding her some. 

Even with help she didn't do much damage to her cupcake but she seemed to enjoy a few licks of frosting. Too bad she didn't eat more cake--they were delicious if I do say so myself! After cake we had a few presents and went on a walk. Happy first birthday, sweet Lana. We sure love you, little one! 

Christmas at Home

Merry Christmas! We made some sweet Christmas memories this year. Last night we spent the evening with cousins. Things got a little rocky after that. Steve (who was not feeling well) and I had a bit of a late night and Lana was up several times during the night with a stuffy nose and mild fever. Clark came into our room in the morning the back way, bypassing the whole gift setup. I suppose he forgot about the presents? It was great for me anyway because I got to see his reaction when he walked into the living room.

I made the kids a teepee as well as matching Christmas pajamas. Clark didn't want to take his PJ's off so he wore them all day. Lana wasn't feeling well but was in pretty good spirits anyway. Clark's favorite toy of the day was the loader from Grandma B. Since Clark can't read yet I made good use of our misprinted Christmas cards: I cut them up and taped the face of each gift's owner on it. Clark had no trouble figuring out which gifts were his. He was also very helpful in opening everyone else's gifts. 

Lana was most interested in opening the doll from Grandma B. She was really excited about getting it out of the box and in her frenzy stood up without holding onto anything. After realizing that she could stand up unassisted she did it several times throughout the day after that for a couple of seconds at a time.  

With all our families elsewhere for Christmas we spent the day here by ourselves (just like last year!) but we got to Skype with, call, and Facetime our siblings and parents. Although we were very tired, and some of us were sick, it was a wonderful and relaxing Christmas. One of my favorite parts was seeing the kids in their matching outfits. (I may just have to make more pajamas next year!) One of my least favorite parts was late last night when Steve and I were trying to assemble a bike that was poorly machined (as in the pieces didn't fit together at all). We finally had to bag the whole thing and decided to get Clark a bike another time. One that works!

Christmas Babies

We wish you a Merry Christmas Eve!

Lana is 11 months

This little lady is full of personality! If you ask her questions she'll "respond" by either shaking her head no or nodding yes. Whether or not she knows the difference between the two is irrelevant--it's just cute to watch her respond. If you talk about her hair she'll brush hers with her hand. One time I was holding her (as usual) while doing Clark's hair and I forgot to do hers so while we were walking away from the mirror she reached up and rubbed her hair to remind me to do hers! so cute. Whenever she's looking at herself in the mirror she'll start opening her mouth really wide and closing it repeatedly. She loves to point to things and talk about them. Especially after naps. She points to the window and tells me about the construction she was watching outside. One of her favorite toys right now is the musical vacuum from Grandma B. She pushes the buttons and dances to the music. You wouldn't guess it because of her petite size, but Lana is an eating machine. But not finger foods--she will only eat puree. When she starts screaming after the last bite she needs more food ASAP! She always growls during every meal too, like a little bobcat. Speaking of animal sounds, while listening to music in the car she'll sing along like the high-pitched meow of a kitty. She's learned to hold her own while playing with Clark and will screech when he takes something from her. She loves to giggle and be silly, but she also can't stand not being held by or within 1 foot of me. She likes to walk while holding my hands and just started cruising along furniture this last week.

This is her most common sitting position: one leg bent and one leg out to the side. She's also really into doors right now and opening and closing books.

Trimming the Tree

Part of the magic of Christmas is helping to decorate the Christmas tree. I love watching Clark get excited about each ornament and deciding where to put it. After we hung the ornaments the tree was a bit bottom heavy but Clark gave me permission to do some redistribution. We also stuffed a few clear ornaments with shredded paper (Business Week pages just for Steve). 

Thanksgiving 2013

This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house with three of Steve's siblings. It was nice to have a full house--7 adults and 8 kids--though it was a little rough since we're not up to speed yet on furnishings and there are still a few boxes lying around. We had the important stuff, though: food, lots of food, including two smoked turkey breasts from Rudy's and 8 half gallons of Blue Bell ice cream. The kids all seemed to have a great time running amok and we had a few activities to keep the adults entertained, such as: the turkey trot, smoothie competition, Jim Gaffigan, Rockets game, golfing for the men, shopping and cupcakes for the ladies, Wii dancing, and we all took turns taking family photos. 

As mentioned, we ran the turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning as is the annual tradition. Steve volunteered me to represent our family in the 5K since he recently had ankle surgery. It was freezing, I might add: just a mere 38 degrees. I ran hard but wasn't able to clench this year's family title, just a lot of muscle soreness.  

Most memorable moments from this year's Thanksgiving festivities include: Helaman blending up pecan pie (and threatening to blend a host of other things), Steve's attempt to fix a leaking toilet that ended in a cracked tank and flooded bathroom, nobody going out shopping early on Friday (???!!!), kids + crushed ice, numerous references to an Indian wedding, butternut squash soup, seeing every toy we own...all at once, and having occasion to break open my second box of china. We're glad everyone could come! Clark keeps wondering when all his cousins are coming back.