Owen

I know everyone says it, but I can't believe how quickly this past year has gone by. My little buddy is already 1! Owen has made such a difference in our family. He is so much fun to play with and is usually so easy going and chill. Some fun things about Owen are:
*He loves to read books. When he was 3-4 months old he would throw fits whenever we opened a book and I worried that he would hate books. But he loves books! His favorite is ABC Look at Me: Feelings, he starts giggling and smiling whenever he sees that book.
*He doesn't like loud noises. He screams whenever I vaccumn or use the blender. When we went to Dollywood over the summer, we thought we would take a relaxing ride on the train. But everytime the train whistle blew Owen would just scream and scream, calming down right in time for it to go off again.
*Owen loves his dad. Whenever he hears Reid opening the door when he's coming home from work, Owen just takes off as fast as he can crawling or now walking to get Reid.
*His favorite food is maccaroni and cheese, he loves it, especially with peas!
Happy Birthday Owen, we love you so much!

Christmas came a little early

Because of our upcoming trip to Utah we decided to open our presents and have a little Christmas celebration before we left so a) we wouldn't have to lug all of our presents across the country and back and so that b) we could have a quiet, simple Christmas celebration of our own before the craziness of our trip and ALL of my family together.
So we woke up early Sunday morning (5:30, I couldn't sleep even though it wasn't really Christmas I was too excited to sleep), opened presents and had yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we played and played, then Owen took a nap and Brooke had a special bubble bath, then we went to church, then we played and played and ate and ate.
Brooke got a Belle dress up, a wooden princess doll with magnetic clothes, a food set, and an animal viewer (those binocular things where you can see the different pictures, Reid and I both remember them from when we were kids)from her grandparents and princess dominoes from Aunt Amber.
Owen got a music set, a fireman doll with magnetic clothes (yes, I know this was kind of more for Brooke but that's the way it goes), a corn popper that you walk with and an animal sounds book from grandma and grandpa. We had such a wonderful day together.
It is so wonderful to watch their faces and see how excited they get about everything, kids are so fun!

Christmas Fun

We've been busy getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the great holiday season. Here are some (or a lot) of pictures of what we've been up to.

The day before Thanksgiving we went to the Fantasy of Trees with some friends. It was so pretty and fun a great way to get into the Christmas season.



Last week we got a little snow. Reid and Brooke (mostly Reid) built a snowman, wnet sledding, and built a snow castle all within like 3 1/2 hrs. you have to move fast around here as it was all melted by that night. Owen loved the snow and had a ball playing in it, Brooke not so much, our Utah trip is going to be interesting!


We've made lots of treats with the intention of giving them all away, but mostly we've eaten them. We also had some friends come over and make gingerbread houses. Brooke had a ball decorating hers. I was surprised how well she did at decorating the house and not eating the candy. But as soon as she was done true to her nature she immediately said "so, can I eat it now?"




For our ward Christmas party they had all the kids dress up as different characters from the Nativity. The nursery kids were the manger animals and Brooke wanted to be a camel. It was an interesting costume, but she knew what she was even if no one else did. It was really cute having the kids act it out and they all loved it.

We also went to a Christmas parade with some friends. I love Christmas parades even if they are really cold. This one is especially great because they give out a TON of candy, just what we need really! Anyways we all had a good time.




Whew! That is a lot of stuff we've been doing! I hope you guys have all been busy enjoying the Christmas season as well! Merry Christmas!

She just couldn't wait

I was feeling so proud of myself, our tree was up and decorated, our presents were all bought and wrapped, I had everything under control. Until Reid and I were talking in our room and I noticed that Brooke was being particularly quiet I went to check on her and caught her opening the last of her presents and some of Owen's too. I was so upset, I started crying and freaking out about how awful this was. It was so sad, we had spent so much time trying to get the perfect things for her and now we didn't even get to see her open any of them. So I threatened her that we might have to take all of the presents back to the store and then I not only did not take anything back I went and got her another present, that will teach her right:)? I just want to be able to see her open one present that we gave her for the first time, is that too much to ask?
I must have really freaked Brooke out because she won't even talk about it. After we took the presents away she started asking Santa to bring her one of the things she had opened.

Christmas Books

I mentioned last year that one of our favorite Christmas traditions is wrapping 25 Christmas books and then opening one each night in December. We just got started this year and I thought I would share some of our favorite Christmas books.

The Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
This is probably my favorite Christmas book. This book wonderfully captures that holiday feeling of people coming together regardless of what faith they are to help each other. Reid and I both cry everytime we read it and while our kids are not quite old enough to understand it yet, Brooke still listened and seemed to like it. It is an amazing story, about a Jewish couple that lost each other during World War II and how a Preacher and his son helped to reunite them one Christmas in Detroit. Oh, I am getting teary just writing about it. I love Patricia Polacco's books and this is definitely one of my favorites. I also like The Tree of the Dancing Goats by her for Christmas.

Christmas Oranges by Linda Bethers and Ben Sowards
This is a classic Christmas story and I am sure most of you have heard it, but the illustrations really get me with this one. It is a beautiful book with a wonderful message of giving.

Pippin the Christmas Pig by Jean Little
I don't have many Nativity stories so I really like this one. It is about a pig who feels left out because he didn't have a part in the first Christmas but through his kindness all the animals in the barn are able to see what Christmas really is about.

Bear Stays Up For Christmas by Karma Wilson
This is one of Brooke's favorites. It is a fun story about a bear who is trying to stay awake to celebrate Christmas with his friends. I like the message of friendship and sharing and Brooke loves identifying all the animals.

Bless You, Santa by Julie Sykes
We have a lot of these simple little Santa stories by Julie Sykes and Brooke loves each and everyone. This is a fun one about Santa having a cold and how it affects Christmas Eve.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
I honestly had never read The Polar Express until I was in college and I fell in love. I get chills everytime I read it. It so perfectly catches the magic and wonder of Christmas.

So what about you guys? What are some of your favorite Christmas books? I'd love to know as I am always on the lookout to add to our collection!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a great day! We stayed home and got to celebrate Thanksgiving, just with our little family. In the morning, Reid ran a 10k and did awesome! Brooke and I did the fun run and Brooke loved it. Then we came home and got dinner ready. I got most of our Thanksgiving recipes from the Pioneer Woman and man were they good, that lady can cook! We had some delicious stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, caramel apple pie and pumpkin roll. Then after dinner we all took a nice long nap and then set up our Christmas tree. It was such a great day, we had so much fun together, I certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

Half Marathon

Reid and I ran a half marathon this morning. The actual race didn't quite go as I was hoping. We were hoping to be under 2 hours and we came in at 2:20. I am pretty dissapointed because we had been feeling so good on our runs, last week we ran 11 miles in 1:25. But mentally I was not really with it today and I just never got going. My sweet husband could have done so much better, but he stayed with me and kept me going. But we finished and it was kind of fun! Anyways, getting ready for this race has been so fun. We have really loved running together, we both agreed it is one of the funnest things we've done together. And we are so appreciative to all of our friends who watched our kids so we could go on long runs on Saturdays, you guys are the best!

Get the Job Done

I had been thinking a lot lately about making Brooke a job chart, but I didn't want to do one that we constantly had to be putting stickers or checks on, I was wanting something that she could be more independent with and this is what I decided on. I took pictures of Brooke's six jobs: get dressed, make bed, brush teeth, set table, clear dirty dishes, and clean up toys. Then I made two magnetic hooks one for her jobs and one for when they are done, so when she finishes the job she just switches the picture over. We've been using them for about a week and I really like it. I feel like she understands more that these are her responsibilities and she has to do them before she can play and she is able to do her "job chart" by herself.
So now I'm wondering about a reward. Should we pay her for doing her jobs (I'm thinking a dollar or two a week), or should she be learning that helping out is just something that everyone needs to do? Is this a great opportunity to start teaching her about money or would it just make her think she has to get paid to do anything? I'm not really sure where I'm leaning on this, any thoughts?

Getting A Ride

I bought this little push/ride hippo several months ago at a garage sale and I forgot we had it until this week. I got it out and Owen has been going crazy walking around with it. Obviously, Brooke also had to find a way to get in on the fun and they have been having a ball taking turns pushing each other up and down the hall.

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! Brooke and Owen had so much fun this year! Brooke was a tooth fairy and a bear and Owen was a lion, pretty scary huh?