Live Nativity

This year our family was asked to portray Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in the live nativity at our church Christmas party. Peanut had to sit this one out. We had suggested they hang him from a wire and he could be the angel. They smartly turned us down on that but I can envision it would have been great, in a "The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever" kind of way. Anyways, Cashew played his role splendidly, for no crying did he make through the entire presentation of music and speakers.

All joking aside, it was a wonderful experience and I'm happy we had the opportunity to do it. It allowed me a beautiful moment to reflect on the reason for the season, the Savior, Jesus Christ, while I looked into the sweet face of my own amazing little child.  I don't think I am anywhere close to being a Mom that could raise the savior of the world, but I sure will try my very best to give Peanut and Cashew all that they deserve.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

So, joy to the world, the Lord has come! I am forever grateful for my brother, Jesus Christ and for his sacrifice for me and for the joy that I find through doing my best to live by his example.

 Merry Christmas everyone!

Long Overdue

Cashew is now just about 3 months old so it's only appropriate that I will now be giving you his two month update. :) This little guy is just a joy. He's so smiley, another fantastic sleeper, and loves to be held and snuggled. I can't tell you how much I love my house full of boys.

At his two month check up he was something like 13lbs. 6oz. and 23" long (I'm shooting from the hip here with my memory. The sheet may have blown out of the window of the car. I don't know.). He's sprouting like a weed! This little guy sleeps 10 hours a night regularly and today has coincided his long nap with Peanut's one nap. Hallelujah! He also has finally decided that he will take a bottle. But only a special one...a ComoTomo Natural Feel Bottle, which we have affectionately deemed "the boob bottle", because that's what it looks like. It is what it is.

Peanut is also loving his little brother. He wants to hold him, build bridges over him, pick him up (much to my terror), kiss him, smack him, take his binky out and put it back in, take his socks off and put them back on, yell his name at the top of his lungs and make sure that I do not leave him in his room if he is crying.

Peanut is just oh so helpful in his own special way. He likes to help me cook...although I don't get much done other than having to clean up after his excitement. I got to be a part of a cookie exchange this week and he was allowed to add some ingredients for me in the molasses cookies. Here he is trying to add more ginger and cinnamon to the now empty bowl. "I pour it. I mix it. I DO IT!" Don't worry ladies, I did make him wash his hands...at least three times.



In other big news, we had what we call a BANISHMENT this weekend. A friend of mine and I sent our kids and husbands to one house and we stayed at the other, for 24 hours, to get projects done. This is an idea I recommend to all. It was fabulous and very successful, although I'm fairly certain we needed at least three or four more days to get everything done. Husbands are you up for a January repeat? :) 

Well stay tuned because we sure do have some catching up to do on here!

What's this girl to do?

So I'm come to a cross roads here with this blog. I have been officially notified by Google that I have used up my quota of photo space. As I deliberate the options of how to fix this problem, I realize that I am blogging even less than usual. So I figured I'd write a few stories to tide this over before I, A) Open a new blog, B) Have to go through and resize/delete old photos, C) Just pay for extra storage. Any votes?

Well last week was one of the busiest weeks we've had in a long time. Monday started off the week strong with...drum roll please...Peanut locking me out of the house. We had just enjoyed a pleasant lunch with Rob after Cashew's 2 month doctor check up and had arrived home after dropping Rob back off at work. I took Peanut inside (I don't like him running free so near the road) and somehow without even realizing it, hung up my keys before I went out to get Cashew out of his car seat. As I tried to turn the now locked handle I see Peanut looking at me with a big grin on his face out of the little window at the side of the door.  He of course has no idea how to turn the lock the other way again, and after 10 minutes of me pleading for him to open the door and trying to explain in a variety of ways a toddler may understand, he starts asking me, "Mommy come inside?".  Then he goes and gets my keys off of the hanger and hangs them on the closet door handle, then the front door handle and finally on the garage door handle as I watch helplessly from outside. The horrible catch here was, we are still a one car family so Rob wouldn't have been able to get home any faster than about 40 mins, and unfortunately the friends we had given a spare key to, happened to be out at dance class 20 or so minutes away. So 20 minutes it was. She kindly pulled her daughter out of tap class and bolted to save me, while I continuously knocked on the door and rang to doorbell to keep Peanut in the entry way and not running upstairs and out of sight until we were rescued. Bless her and bless my Dad for talking to me while this all went down. And thank heavens for the absolutely gorgeous, sunny, warm, unusual November weather we had that day while I was stuck on the porch with a 2 month old baby.

Now one would think we were out of trouble by that point, but no. This is Peanut we are talking about. After we are safely inside he bolts upstairs, rips an entire Christmas pop up book to shreds, and as he is running down the stairs to tell me, he falls and barrel rolls down at least the second half of the stairs, landing flat on his face on the hard wood. I screamed ran over and, of course, there was blood dripping everywhere. Luckily we ended up with just a bloody nose and nothing broken. Following that realization I complained profusely to myself that I now had to clean all those clothes and that there was blood on my new white shirt. So I sat down and ate a cookie.