Merry pre-Christmas!

You'll never guess who dropped by our house last night! Santa! He wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to play with the presents he brought us before we left for Utah. How thoughtful. He didn't tell Max he was coming because, well, Max doesn't like him. So, this morning, I went out and checked and after I confirmed that he did in fact, stop by, Blake and I told Max that he had come, dropped off some presents, and already left. Reiterating over and over that he was no longer here. We finally convinced Max to come check it out and in the middle of the family room was a big, sheet-covered present with Max and Jack's name on it. And after opening this present, I think Max may be on his way to liking Santa.

After Max opened it he said, "Oh Mommy! I LUFF kitchens!" And I think Jack likes it too. He is pretty good at banging the kitchen with his ladel. And if he doesn't like playing with the kitchen, he certainly likes pretending to play with the kitchen and driving his big brother mad!
The other big Christmas highlight was the gift Max and Jack picked out for Blake. When Blake came home the night we had bought, wrapped, and put the gift under the tree, Max immediately told Blake about it. "We got you a dung. It's by the tree, by the backyard." Max was so excited and kept telling Blake about the present for two weeks. But fortunately, Blake had no idea what a "dung" was and was genuinely surprised when he opened some nerf "guns." Christmas is so much better with these little kids!

In addition to Santa, we were certainly spoiled by Nanny and Grandpa. How does Nanny always know EXACTLY what to get us! :) Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making us feel so special and loved. This wonderful pre-Christmas makes me so excited for REAL Christmas!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I feel like this holiday season has been so hectic. Not only are we busy getting ready for the big day with all the shopping, partying, traditioning, etc, but also planning and executing two December birthdays. Then, to top it all off, this week a realtor approached me about a client who potentially wanted to buy our house. How nice it would be to sell the house in this market, without going through the headache of listing it, open houses, and lots of cleaning. I feel like I complain a lot about having no parking spot and minimal storage space, but the thought of leaving this yellow house and trying to find something even slightly comparable made me so sad and I have been stressing about it the entire week. Even to the point of nightmares where new neighbors were literally torturing me since my kids were so loud. I love my house and this week I realized how absolutely perfect it is for our family. Today, much to my relief, we found out a sell wasn't going to happen.

What a wonderful time of year it is, amidst all the hustle and bustle, to recognize all our blessings and the One who makes them all possible.

Max's Birthday

Max's third birthday was full of classic Max. I've been having a hard time convincing him that on his birthday he wouldn't be two anymore, but three. Well, I guess the 3s on the door made it official, since when he woke up and saw them, there were no more arguments about it. I kept telling him that for his birthday he was going to get lots of presents, but he didn't want them. (His dad was so proud.) All he wanted for his birthday was to blow out candles. So, blow out candles we did. Several times. Nothing like a mini cupcake for every meal!

We had a little party with Max's friends at his favorite park--the secret park. He wanted nothing to do with the presents, but loved the cupcakes with the Max's on them. He said, "Mommy, these cupcakes have me. They all for me!?!" as he tried to lick each one. Don't worry, party-goers. His fingers and tongue only touched the ones he ate. :) We love our fabulous friends.
Daddy Blake had a full schedule all day, but managed to squeeze some time off for presents and cake. Max was hilarious trying to pick which present to open first. He just couldn't decide. Then, after he finally picked one and opened it, he didn't want to open anymore. He just wanted to play with that one. He only opened that one present on his birthday and I don't think he could have been happier.
This morning we did his birthday cake while Blake was here to see and we've slowly been opening the rest of the gifts, leaving plenty of time in between to play with each one. This little boy makes me so happy. I would so much rather have this than have him toss each present to the side and move on to the next. We have such wonderful family and friends who made this birthday so special for Max. He is one lucky boy. And here's a picture of my favorite three year old holding up three fingers. He came up with this all by himself. One last big happy birthday to Max. I love you!

Happy Birthday Max!

It seems like just yesterday I was writing a post honoring my 2-year old. And now, what seems like a few days later, I'm doing it again. Except this time it's for my (gasp) THREE year old. I love this little three year old so much. Of course, I, his mother, think he is perfect. He is handsome, smart, funny, and just enough of a stinker to make him interesting. This boy seriously gives the best mean looks ("crusties", for you Utahns) I've ever seen. Max always wants to learn something new and picks up on things so quickly. He is definitely not a performer, but can spend hours playing by himself, especially if he has letters. He also loves playing with his friends and is always asking which one of them he is going to play with each day. I love when he sees a friend and they run to each other to give hugs. He is a wonderful big brother to Jack. He is getting very good at sharing his toys with Jack and I love the moments when they actually play together rather than side-by-side, even if the peaceful moments of them playing together don't last long. Max is very caring and protective of Jack. When Jack cries, he tries to make it better by kissing him, hugging him, patting him, and asking him in his baby-talk voice, "Why you sad little baby?" Max loves visiting Daddy at school. He could spend hours shooting the water into little cups and then dumping the water in the sink. He has claimed the computer in the residents' room as his and runs right back there and starts his games whenever we go visit. He likes playing guns with Daddy Blake, and actually, the rule is, he can only shoot at Blake. They have fun running around, hiding from and shooting at each other. Another of my favorite things he does with Blake is "eat" each other. One of them will start out, "I'm hungry!" and soon after they are pretending to bite and chew each other. It took Blake a while to train Max not to actually bite, but now, he is definitely a pro. As for me, well, I think Max is the sweetest little boy ever. I melt when he lovingly pats my face, grabs both my cheeks, and gives me a kiss. We are always arguing over who is the best or who loves who more and he is a nice boy to hold my hand and cuddle with me whenever I ask. I have such a special place in my heart for this little man. Afterall, he is the one who made me a mother and made these past three years the best of my life. Happy Birthday, sweet boy. I love you!

You Better Not Cry

I thought maybe this year would be different. Especially since Max and I have been talking so much about Santa and all the presents and candy he will bring. But apparently Max would rather not have any candy or presents than have this scary old man come into our house late at night. And then I thought, well, I have Jack. Jack will be a good boy. Afterall, while we were waiting in line to see Santa, he was waving at him, smiling, and blowing kisses. I was wrong.
I know I said this last year, but maybe NEXT year, Santa.

P.S. You know you're in San Francisco when there are more dogs in line to see Santa than there are children.

Gage in December

For those of you wondering what Gage's girlfriend looks like, this is the post for you! Gage brought Janay out for a San Francisco getaway this weekend and he impressed her with fabulous accommodations at the BAMSANFRAN Inn. Blake was happy to have a first-timer visit so he could brush up on his "Original Tour" skills. He took us all around, from one end of the city to the other.
And I'm sure Blake did a good job showing them everything between, but I don't know for sure, since this is what Max, Jack, and I were doing--
Other highlights included a pathetic late night game of Settlers (Blake dominated), lots of tastey food, some intense virtual bowling (This time I dominated--Blake wins the mind games, I win the physical ones. :)), Jack's first Ghirardelli ice cream, a cable car ride, and more fun, fun, fun!

We had so much fun with Gage and Janay. No one liked Janay more than Max. She quickly won him over by going down the slide on her belly with him and playing letters all morning. The night before they started their long drive home, we went over to check out the temple lights. Beautiful. We're so happy to live in one of Gage's favorite cities so he will come visit us! Now if he'll just move here...

Our Tannenbaum

This year, instead of making our usual journey down to Home Depot for a Christmas Tree, we decided to support our local junior high and purchase a tree there. Actually, we were too lazy to drive down to Home Depot and just chose the closest tree lot to our house. But we did pay for our laziness. Literally. Since the junior high didn't carry our usual $20 Douglas Fir, we got to go with the more "traditional" (more expensive) noble fir. Actually, I've been dying for a noble fir. I think they are so much prettier, smell better, much less of a mess, and easier to decorate. So, after much debating, we came home with our smallest, yet most expensive tree ever. However, it was almost worth paying the little extra since included in the cost was the service to tie the tree to the top of our car. Let's just say I felt much safer that Blake didn't have to hold the safety rope in his mouth on the way home like last year.

When we got home, Blake got to work stacking boxes under our tree to make it the perfect height. And actually it really is perfect since now there is plenty of room for all the gifts I know are going to be put under there. Jack is in love with the lights and won't leave them alone. They've been pulled off so many times that I've given up on stringing them back on. And I don't even want to start with all the "bah bah bahs" on the tree. I find the ball ornaments all over the house, and slowly our ornaments are moving more to the back and higher on the tree, leaving the bottom third naked. Max was chosen to put the star on top this year and has been very good at helping me guard the tree every time Jack comes near.

Let Christmas begin!

It's Official

Jack is walking more than he crawls now, so I guess it's official. I have a walker. He really was waiting for Daddy Blake. Once we got back to our house, he took off and now he won't stop. I can't get enough of this drunken sailor with his clenched fists and heavy-footed march.

{We took a break from reading stories to take this video. So, when he gets to me and turns around it's so I'll pick him up and put him back on my lap to finish reading. I love him.}

Ethiopia! Part 4--The Tourism

Over the weekend, the group got to go explore the country. They saw one of Ethiopia's most popular tourist attractions, the Blue Nile falls.
Went on a boat cruise of Lake Tana.
Where they saw wild hippos.
They visited an Ethiopian Monastery that housed beautiful Christian paintings from the fourteenth century. Look how touristy Blake looks.
Blake even got to touch (Am I the only one who thinks it's crazy they let everyone touch this?) this Bible from the 14th century printed on goat skin. I think it's so pretty.
And then there were my favorite Blake things. While the bus was taking the group back to the city it broke down. I love that everyone is pushing the bus, except Blake, who is taking a picture.
These are the taxis that took the group around town. It cost about $.40 to go three miles from the hotel to the hospital. Blake paid one of the drivers $5 to let him drive the taxi around town. Both guys were in heaven.
And speaking of hotels, here's a picture of Blake in his deluxe accommodations. Even with the mosquito net, you should see all the bites he came home with.
Ethiopia even has beautiful sunsets.

Ethiopia! Part 3--The Food

Look at #56. Ha--I love it!
But really, for the 4 of my blog readers who have actually been to the Ethiopian restaurant with us, look at this picture. Apparently the restaurant is right on!
They eat this for every meal. Every meal. For those of you who haven't sampled the goodness, it's a basically a thick stew served on top of a large sourdough flat bread, injera. You break off a piece of the bread to pick up the meat and eat it all in one big yummy bite. In Blake's first email he was geting sick of it, but a week later, he admitted that he liked it; as long as there were a lot of rolls to go with it.
For Thanksgiving, they celebrated with a pretty good cake.