All I Want for Christmas

Ben's other front tooth finally fell out today!! It has been hanging on by a thread for the past few days. He was biting Will's arm in the car this afternoon and his tooth came out on Will's sleeve. I guess that is what you get when you are being rude to your brother :) Ben gave the tooth to Mark, but he dropped it and now it sits somewhere under the driver's seat in my car. We cannot find it. Hopefully the Tooth Fairy can find it somewhere. This happened to Will with a tooth (he swallowed it), and he wrote a note explaining what had happened to the Tooth Fairy. Yes, the fairy came through and still left a surprise under his pillow the next morning. So, that is what Ben will need to do. He didn't remember about it tonight before he went to bed, so he'll have to do the note tomorrow.

I am so excited that it finally snowed tonight here in Salt Lake, although I'm not ready for the cold. It was so fun to watch the kids playing outside, throwing snowballs and watching Max in awe. He loved it. He had snowflakes all over his curly locks! This is really his first experience with snow because he was too little last year to remember. It is so great to watch all of his "first" experiences. We love our boys!!!

Visit with Santa

Saturday night, I had to run to the mall to pick up some jeans for Will. That kid goes through jeans. Mark keeps threatening me that he is going to take Will to Sears and purchase some Toughskins. Seriously, they maybe last a month. I was talking to my sister the other day about this and I actually looked up Sears on the internet to see if the still make them. They DO! I couldn't believe it. They aren't the ugly ones from my childhood - you know the ones. No way would I ever buy my kids Toughskins. Sorry, Sears and sorry if I've offended anyone. That is why I work at the Gap - soley to keeps my kids (Will) in jeans (and sometimes stuff for me).

Anyways, our kids were begging us to see Santa. You know the drill. So, we walked down to where Santa sits and there wasn't even a line. Mark and I were thrilled.

They each sat on his lap and Will was first. Will asked for Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii. We have it on XBOX 36O, but apparently we need it for the Wii. Ben asked for a Sonic game for the Gamecube and Max wanted nothing to do with Santa. Max was more interested in the ball they had to distract the other children who were going to get their pictures taken. So, I think Max is getting a ball from Santa.

It is so funny. Will is asking for the most expensive presents. Ben is asking for a game that Santa will probably have to find used somewhere and Max could care less. If only they stayed little forever....

Christmas Tradition

One of the traditions in our family was started a few years ago, and I have heard of other families doing the same. Each year we take our kids to pick out their own ornament for the family tree that is in the basement. Tonight was the night and our family night activity. We loaded up the family truckster and headed off to the Christmas store at Gardner Village. We've had all sorts of ornaments from trains and horses to Yoda. But, my most favorite are the Smores ornaments. They are so fun! When I was pregnant with Max, they had a pregnant Smore, so of course that had to be mine that year. This year, our choices were:



Mark - golfing smore
Lisa - Nutcracker girl
Will - Mouse King
Ben - Football smore
Max - baseball (he grabs the bat/ball anytime we are in the garage)

I always write the name and year on the bottom of the ornament so we'll always remember. It makes getting out the ornaments so fun! We laugh and reminisce about the choices of the past.

It's Broken :(

The radiology report from Max's accident is in... He has a linear fracture through much of the distal phalanx. You can tell from the picture that it is the finger tip. I have to keep splint on for the next two weeks. Luckily, he is being really cooperative about it all and is very happy. He is such a doll. We love him very, very much. He is such a fun little boy, so sweet all of the time.

Max is the first of our sons to have a broken bone. Hopefully he is the last!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I hope that everyone is having a very happy Thanksgiving. We had a great day. I clogged our drain with sweet potato skins and paid a rooter guy $120 for a job Mark could have done. That was fun! We were invited to the Cannon family Thanksgiving at the Cannon Mortuary this year. Yes, I did say mortuary. Mark's uncle is a mortician. I used to think it was weird, but I don't anymore. It is a great place to hold family functions. Mark's 87 year old grandmother played the piano for us. She did such a wonderful job!



We had the best dinner. Scott (Mark's brother) fried the best turkey. I made a salad and the best (if I do say so myself) sweet potatoes. They have 2 cups of sugar in them - so what's not to like.

Afterwards, we went up to Mark's parents and hung out with our family. The kids played karaoke and had a ball.






Max is doing better with his hand. He's ripped of the bandages a couple of times today, but we just keep replacing it. It looks so sore, the poor little guy. We're just keeping him on the Tylenol with Codeine, which seems to be helping him with the pain. And, he slept through the night, which I wondered if he'd do. He usually does, but I thought maybe he'd be uncomfortable.

I am so thankful for my little family and all of the joy that they bring into my life. I am so very thankful for my sweet, loving husband and all that he does for me and our boys. He is a great father and husband. I am so thankful for our health, that we are both healthy and have three healthy little boys. I am so thankful for our families and all that they do for us, our friends and neighbors. I love them all very much!

I'm sitting here watching Gray's Anatomy as I write this post. Why so gory tonight?

My Little Climber

Max is at that age where he climbs on EVERYTHING. Tonight, we had a plumber at our house and we were both talking to him in our kitchen. All of the sudden, CRASH! My kitchen chairs are very heavy and top heavy. If anyone happens to be standing on them and face the back of the chair, it tips over, if they lean hard enough. Max did it a while ago while I was cleaning out one of my lights and was using the chair as a ladder on the carpet. Nothing happened then, but this time was bad. He landed on our hard tile and smashed his left ring finger and right middle finger. There was blood drops scattered about. His left finger was bleeding and getting swollen. He was bleeding in his mouth. I was a maniac! This happened about 6:00 and I was supposed to work at the Gap at 8:00. I called and told them I wouldn't be able to come. We rushed Max over to the KidsCare and they x-rayed his left finger, which was the worst of the two, by far. Mark had to hold him down during the x-ray, which was difficult. He can be so strong! I thought for sure it was broken. How could I have let this happen? I was devastated. My little almost 18 month old, he was inconsolable.

Great news, the fingers aren't broken :) They gave him some Tylenol with Codeine, which calmed Max down considerably. His little finger (left) is all wrapped up with a stint. He is doing well now, fast asleep. He is such a darling little boy. Everyone at the hospital thought he was so cute and was so sweet to him.

Either of his fingers are broken, thank goodness! Hopefully he has a good night and sleeps well. Poor little guy...

Why is it???

Tonight, we went to Payson for dinner with my mom, Steve and all of us kids (his and us). They had an amazing spread of food and it was all wonderful. They fed us steak, king crab legs, pork roast, mashed potatoes, twice baked potatoes, shrimp, shrimp cocktail, salads, and about a dozen types of desserts (I know I'm forgetting to mention some items). Steve still has his house in Payson and my mom still has hers in Sandy. They stay in Payson on the weekends.

Well, while driving home on I-15 near Provo, "Suzy"(all names have been changed to protect the privacy of the innocent) announced that "she" had to go to the bathroom. You know the kind, screaming, panicked and dancing all around their car seat. We had my grandpa in the car, and I'm sure that he was amused. I was yelling to Mark just to pull off the freeway, as I could sense the urgency in "Suzy's" voice. No, Mark exited the freeway and was pulling to the gas station, when "Suzy" said "oh no". Crap. I knew what had happened without a confession and I was mad. I made "her" sit in it the whole way home. We had to drive to Murray to take my grandpa home and then back south to our house. Gross. Our whole car smelled like pee.

Why is it that they give you no warning? We had just left Payson ten minutes before. Couldn't "she" tell that "she" needed to go to the restroom? Couldn't "she" hold it? Why can't kids hold it? "She" knew we were so close, but I guess that was too far. Mark was angry. I laugh now, now that I know the pee stayed on his clothes and his easy to clean car seat. Nothing got on my car, so I was relieved. It's always something!!

GO UTES!!

So, we managed to go to the game yesterday. We didn't arrive early, like we have in the past, and we struggled to find a parking space. We should have known just to go do something else. But, we finally found a space and went to the game with all three kids in tow. I'm sure the people that sit around us just cringe when the see us coming. Actually, I'm sure that we are highly entertaining, but not necessarily to the people that sit on the row in front of us. With Max kicking their backs, touching them and Will and Ben acting like crazy boys, they are glad to see us leave.




This is how Max was when I tried to get him to sit on my lap. I was so frustrated, and so was Mark, that we left at half time. I was finished!



Next year we are upgrading our seats and only buying two, for just the two of us! After the game, we went to dinner at the Pub at Trolley for their delicious french onion soup. While sitting at the table, we called every neighborhood babysitter we could think of to tend. We needed a little break and I wanted to do a little Christmas shopping. We finally got someone and left as soon as we could get the kids situated! It was so nice to have a break after a crazy afternoon with our kids.

Silly Monkey

Max and I were playing today after his nap. He opened the door and we were kissing each other through the glass of the sidelight. He makes me laugh so hard and is so much fun. I sure do enjoy my one on one time with him when the boys are at school. But, I think this may be turning him into a mama's boy. He sure loves his daddy, too!



Warning: Cute Cheek




His diaper wasn't completely covering him. Sorry is anyone is offended, but I doubt it :) He slept with his diaper that way - I didn't manipulate, I swear!

Will's First Book Report

Will had to complete his first book report tonight. I'm sure this will be the first of many. (I didn't tell him that). He was supposed to do it on a mystery, so he chose the first Harry Potter. He was all gung ho drawing the picture, but when it came to the writing part - he was a huge stinker! So ornery and rude - he gets that way at night when he is tired. Don't we all! I basically wrote it out and he copied in his own handwriting. He wanted just to use what I had written. But, Mark (always relating to movies) referred Will to Back to the Future when George is doing Biff's homework and Biff reminds George that he needs time to recopy the work in his own handwriting. Will understood and wrote it out verbatim.

Tomorrow he is supposed to give an oral report in front of the class. I wish that I knew what time he was going to do the report, I would love to be there or be a fly on the wall.

Broken

My dishwasher has been broken for about a week, and this is what I am forced to use. The part that it needs is $189, plus labor. It has been on order for almost a week and should have been in today. I tried to convince Mark that I needed a new model (ours is only about 3 years old and still very nice), but he thought $300 was better that $1000. Bummer!! I'm sick of my dry, cracked hands and want my dishwasher back. Plus, I learned on the Today Show this week that you use more water washing by hand than by using your dishwasher. See, I'm just trying to be more green.

New Glasses

Isn't he such a handsome boy?!?!

We were able to pick up Will's new glasses today after school. He was so excited to finally be able to read. They are really cool frames with small flames on the side. When we picked them out yesterday he couldn't really see because his eyes were dialated. He was so bugged about that because he couldn't read. I had to help him do his homework last night by reading everything to him and show him where to write the answers. This boy LOVES to read. He is half way done with the 3rd Harry Potter book and reading the 5th at the same time. He is only in second grade! My mom gave him her 5th book yesterday, and he is so excited to read that, he is reading them both at the same time. He asked for the 4th and 6th for Christmas from my mom. When I lay him down at night, he turns on his lamp and reads. He reads in the car - any moment he can. I'll know for sure that he is his father's son when he starts taking books into the restroom and the laptop, yes laptop. Ask Mark about that one. I think it is so gross. His laptop is broken, so he uses mine. Gross!!

He and Ben are so smart (I'm their mom)!! They definitely don't get that from me. Thanks Mark!

Will is going to be getting braces in about six months. Just on the front four teeth. The Dr. says that this will be phase one. His teeth next to his front are coming in sideways and he may need to get that extra skin between his David Letterman teeth clipped. Those two side teeth took forever to come down and are now about halfway down. As soon as they are in all the way, he'll get braces! I can't believe he is growing up so fast. I makes me sad :(

A Good Day

Ben came home from school, so excited to show me this...



Yeah, his snaggletooth is finally gone! Apparently he was playing outside during afternoon recess and he bonked his head on a bar of the playground equipment. That loosened his tooth enough that he was able to just pull it out of his gums. He is so dang cute, and he talks so sweet (small lisp) with his tooth gone . He is so handsome! Now he can sing "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth", but, I don't think he really cares about getting them for Christmas. He'd rather have something else, I'm sure!!

It is so great when their HUGE new teeth start coming. They look so funny! I have some hideous pictures of me from elementary school with huge, bucky teeth! Thank goodness for braces and that my head grew into those teeth! (See what I mean by looking at Will's picture in the above post.)

Sorry Kami, but I had to steal your picture.

I cannot believe that next week is Thanksgiving. It seems like it was just summer. Mark and I were talking the other day about how fast time goes now that we are getting older. I don't want my kids to grow up. I tell them all the time that I want them to stay just the way they are - forever!

Today was one of those days that you are in your car for what feels like an eternity. I got ready early this morning and took Max to my sister's house. They are getting ready to start a huge remodel on their home in Sugarhouse. They are tearing out walls, adding rooms in the attic, moving their kitchen and making it larger and making a huge master with a big bathroom. They now all share a tiny bathroom on the main floor. It will be a long process, so they are renting another home in the area. Well, the movers came today to pack up their belongings, so I went to help with my little nephew Charlie who is almost 8 months old. He is so cute and we had so much fun with him. We went for a walk and played with toys and even helped box up a few things. She is cleaning out - so they loaded my Tahoe and her Volvo SUV full of crap for the DI. We were in the drop at the DI for what seemed like forever! There was only one man helping us unload our two cars and there were about 4 cars lined up behind us. I'm sure they weren't happy :)

I am usually home for Max to take his one and only nap during the day. Boy, do I love that time. I can get so much done or be lazy, whatever I want! Well, I drove around for a bit so Max could fall asleep. But, before that I ran to Campo and bought an end table for our family room. I love that place! They have such fun pieces of furniture and not the typical RC Willey stuff that a lot of people have.

So, Max finally fell asleep after a quick lunch of Crown Burger. I had to be at the school to pick up the boys because Will had an eye doctor appointment. I tried to make the boys be quiet, because Max had only been asleep for forty minutes. But, as soon as they slammed their doors shut, he was wide awake!

Will has a lazy eye and has worn glasses for about one year. We tried glasses when he was three and I was supposed to patch his eye for three hours a day. I bought all kinds of patches (sticker patches with pictures, pirate patches) but nothing worked. He wouldn't budge. I gave up! So, after failing his vision test at school in 1st grade, I decided to be a better mom and find a new doctor closer to home. His last was up at Primary Children's and it was so depressing to go up there and a long drive. Well, his new doctor told me about drops that I can put in Will's good eye that actually dialate his eye for two weeks. We've dropped his eye five days out of every week for the past year and it appears to be working. The drops dialate his good eye, so his lazy eye has to work (while wearing glasses).

Right before Halloween, Will misplaced his glasses. We couldn't and still can't find his glasses. We have no idea where they are. So, if we left them somewhere and you've seen them, let us know. They are bound to come up now, because today after his appointment, I bought Will new glasses. I tried to threaten him that he'd get his glasses for Christmas if he didn't find them. Am I mean or what? I just hate forking out $200. I guess they did almost last a year, so that is pretty good for a little boy who leaves them in the grass, on the tramp, in the tree house or on a shelf in the garage. I've found them everywhere! I've called all of the places we like to eat and visit, but nothing! I had them check his prescription to see if it had changed and the doctor ended up having to dialate his eyes. So a 1/2 hour appointment turned into an 1 1/2 hour appointment. Max is so busy, I was ready to ring his neck. Seriously, I wonder why I'm not a size 0 with him around. When he sees me coming to get him, he laughs and runs! He is a total MONKEY!! Last night he was jumping from the ottoman to the couch. Well, I wouldn't call it jumping, more like falling onto the couch. His toes stayed on the ottoman, and he scooted back onto the ottoman on his belly to do it again. He laughs when I chew on his ears and rub my lips on his lips. He is so delectable!

We went a visited my mom at her school, bought Ben new sheets at BBB and stopped by the jeweler to get my rings cleaned. They look so pretty when they are clean. We met Mark for dinner at Barbacoa (one of our faves), went to Harmon's (Mark is on a diet and had to get some stuff for him), and we even got stuck in the evening traffic on I-15. I have to admit that I am so glad that I don't have to drive home in that every day. Mark usually leaves his office at four, so he misses the brunt of it. It was unusually bad today because of an accident on the off ramp. I'm finally home (7:00) after being gone since 9:30 this morning. Crazy day. I hate days like this, but I did get a lot accomplished.

Back on the subject of Thanksgiving. I can't believe that there are people out there with their Christmas lights lit with all of the blow up decor out and up now. It's been that way for about two weeks! I have to admit that our lights are on our house. Mark put them up while he was off in October. But, we haven't even turned them on. Nope, not us, not until the day after Thanksgiving.

Wheeler Farm

Today we went to Wheeler Farm with my mom. After shopping a little, we stopped by Kneaders and grabbed some lunch and headed off to the farm. We ate our lunch there and visited with the animals. The boys always love going there and seeing the animals, especially Max. Everything is so new to him and he loves making animal noises to the animals. It pretty much is his "barking" noise, but he is learning new sounds every day. I love his age - he is so much fun!! It is amazing all of the new stuff that he learns everyday. Will and Ben go back on track on Monday. I am sad to have them back to school. They are so much fun to have around. But, now I can shop for Christmas because Max is a great secret keeper :)

The Snaggletooth

We've been referring to Ben's left front tooth (my right) as a snaggletooth for the past couple of days. We weren't sure what it meant so I googled snaggletooth today and Wikipedia had many definitions listed. The one I thought was the most applicable was "A tooth that is broken or not in alignment with the others". He refuses to let Mark pull it out (I won't touch it) and says that he "isn't ready". It is barely hanging on by a thread. Today my mom asked if Ben had lost a tooth because of the huge gaping hole next to this little tooth. He hasn't lost it yet - it just has moved closer to the other front tooth and looks ridiculous.

Both of his front teeth are loose! We could be singing "All I Want for Christmas" to him all day long, but no. He is being a chicken. He's already lost his two bottom front teeth, so he knows how it feels. But, NO!!

Max is at it again...

No, we aren't potty training Max yet. He just has this fascination with the toilet. I have these little rocks from Pier 1 in my bathroom and he loves them. He loves to plop them into the water.

I was fixing breakfast for everyone (my kids are off track) and Max comes into the kitchen with wet arms. Gross! I knew exactly where he'd been. I immediately took off his pj's and washed his arms. I then went into the bathroom to assess the damage and threw him right into the tub. I try to keep the bathroom doors shut, but sometimes I forget. I can always tell when he's been there by the droplets of water all over the toilet. It is a good thing Kerstin came yesterday, so my toilets were somewhat clean!!

I'm IT!

My friend Becky tagged me, so here goes...

* Each player lists 6 little-known facts/habits about themselves.
* At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1) I am really anal about laundry. I hate when there are dirty clothes sitting in their closet (yes, I have a pantry cupboard with four laundry baskets inside - and yes, everyone sorts their own laundry). Therefore, my washer/dryer get a lot of use. I hate folding/sorting and putting the laundry away. Mark usually tackles that job!

2) I hate coming upstairs from our basement, especially at night. I always run up the stairs (sometimes with a little scream), thinking someone is going to grab my foot or me and pull me back down. I've done this since my parents put my room in the basement. Don't tell Will this, he sleeps down there :)

3) I hate Wal-Mart and will not for any reason shop there. My friend Lacey told me that they started making pudding pops again, and upon searching all the local grocery stores, was forced to go to the new SUPER one in Draper (first time since it opened). There, I did find the pops, and bought all that they had, so I wouldn't have to go back there any time soon. I requested them from Harmon's, but haven't seen them yet. Dang, and we are almost out!

4) I married my high school sweetheart after his mission. I dated a lot while he was gone!! I wasn't one of those girls who sits home and "waits".

5) I sleep at night with either my favorite down pillow wrapped around my head or my sheets/blankets pulled up, covering my ears. I've done this since I was little and afraid of spiders climbing into my ears. Now, my ears are used to this and they get cold if I don't. I also do it so Mark has to get up with the kids, because I can't hear!

6) I'm so anal about my house (shoes off, the light switch thing-see Kami's tag, toys in their place, dishes, papers and everything else) that I wonder if my kids like living with me. I hear that you should just let kids be kids and who cares about the material things, but I can't do that. Mark says (as he is helping me write this) "I would add that you can't sit down and relax until all of the above is done and nobody else can either". I guess it's bad!

Now, I tag:

Aileen
Brittany
Courtnie
Lacey
Melanie
Sherine
Mindy
Melissa

Have fun!!!

Want Some Cheese?

Just now, as I was trying to get ready for the day, I heard some commotion in the kitchen. All of the sudden, Max came walking into my room with this...

I buy the sliced Tillamook cheese from Costco and had just given Max a slice as a snack. Well, apparently he wanted more. He was eating the whole chunk - paper and all!

Apparently he wasn't finished and he even started to take it downstairs to munch on. I had to finally take it away - not wanting cheese all over the house.

Daylight Savings

I used to love this time of year, when the time changed and I got an extra hour of sleep. It was so great! Now that I have kids, and especially Max, it doesn't happen. The kids wake up an hour early, we get tired an hour earlier, but don't go to sleep and it gets dark so darn early. I guess there are some pros to this...we could put our kids to bed when it gets dark - at 5:30!!

That reminds me of a friend and a night they played the meanest trick on their his brother....

Brandon was having a friend sleep over, Brian. And, all day they had been prepping Brandon's little brother that the next day was going to be the "darkest day ever". They said "when you wake up, it will be dark, when you go to school, it will be dark and when you come home it will be dark". "Just think how much fun it will be to play outside at recess IN THE DARK."

The family had all gone to bed and the two friends adjusted the clocks. Around two o'clock in the morning, the brother's alarm clock went off and he went into the kitchen for breakfast. There he found Brandon and Brian eating breakfast, just like normal. When he was ready to leave for school, they let him out the door - out into the dark of night. A few minutes went by and suddenly the phone rang at their home. The dad answered the phone and to his surprise, it was the parents of the little brother's friend. They were wondering why his son was ringing their doorbell in the middle of the night. (He always went to pick up his friend for school.)

Brandon tells this story so well. He shared this story with me years ago, and I think it is so great. I laughed so hard! Isn't that a mean thing to do - but so funny!