"Is today Christmas?"

A month or two ago, Abby started asking if it was Christmas.  At first we told her it wouldn't be Christmas till it started snowing, well, when the snow finally arrived, then she started asking if it was Christmas again.  So we changed our reply to "we have to wait till the Christmas tree is up."  Well once she started seeing other houses with lights and trees up, the same old question came up again.  I guess she's a little anxious for the Christmas.

On friday, we put up the Christmas decorations.  Abby's been saying that daddy needs to put up the Christmas lights for weeks, so we figured it was time to get a move on.

I was nervous that Lexi would either try to climb the tree, or pull every ornament off.  However, she kind of freaked out and it appears she is scared of the tree.  She doesn't even venture very far into the front room.  We might totally luck out and not have to protect the tree from being destroyed.

Giving Thanks

My list of things I'm so very grateful for this year:

• Family!  Of course.
• the Gospel
• Our home
• Our health
• Cam's awesome job
• And so much more!

The girls on Thanksgiving morning

Cam offered to make the pie this year.  It was a yummy apple pie, baked in a brown paper bag.  Weird, I know.  But it turned out great!

Cam's Mom brought stuff for the girls to make turkey hats.  Abby's not really loving having her picture taken.



Some "Hand turkey's" we made with the girls hand prints.  Also a list of things Abby is greatful for. 

 This year we spent Thanksgiving day at our house.  Cam's family came over and we put the finishing touches on the feast that was prepared.  The usual activities were in store, eating, visiting and playing games.  I love this time of the year.  I'm so excited for the holiday season to have officially begun.  Last year, we kind of breezed through the holidays because we were so busy anticipating the birth of Lexi.  This year, I plan to fully absorb every second of the holidays!

Announcing...

baby #3.  Yes, I am pregnant, again.  And I know what your thinking "didn't you just have Lexi?"  And the answer is yes.  Right now, my official due date is May 23, so if you do the math, Lexi will only be about 16 months older than baby #3.  Scary!  It appears that this little baby desperately wants to join our family here on earth, and isn't going to wait any longer.

I went to the doctor last week for my 12 week check and the nurse wasn't able to find the heartbeat with the Doppler , so we got an ultrasound.  Yay!  Hearing the heartbeat is all good, but actually seeing the baby gives me a whole other level of comfort.  I've pretty much gotten over the morning sickness and the overwhelming exhaustion, and thankfully, it wasn't bad at all this time around.
 

I'll be honest, I'm a little freaked out!  Hopefully, Heavenly Father will pour down some blessings of patience, because I have a feeling that our lives will change drastically with this little addition.  But we are going to welcome this baby with open arms and tons of love!

Lexi, on the move

Lexi started crawling about a week ago. The days of setting her down, and knowing that will still be in that same spot when I get back are over. She knows right where to go to get all the toys out, and has already discovered the stairs. It will only be a matter of time till we have to break out the baby gate. I got the camera out the other day to try and get a picture of Lexi crawling, and didn't manage to get any decent shots, she was just not cooperating. Abby, however, was desperate to get some pictures taken of her being cute. So here is a crummy shot from behind of Lexi crawling, and a few of the girls posing.

 

Lexi totally clawed Abby's face the other day, so she has a nice little scratch. 

Happy Halloween!

Earlier this week we carved pumpkins.  This is the first time we've done it with Abby.  She wouldn't touch the inside of the pumpkins.  We wanted her to help clean out the goop and seeds in the pumpkin, but she wouldn't even go near them.  She was so cute, she kept saying over and over "I love pumpkins" and "Thank you, Daddy".  She was bouncing off the walls with all the excitement of just carving pumpkins.  Then we took them outside and lit them up with candles, she loved that too.

Abby is a fairy, but she says she's Tinkerbell.  Lexi is a little bee. 



Cute little bug!




 We did our trick-or-treating on Saturday night.  One the perks of living in Utah, everyone celebrates on Saturday rather than Sunday.  The night started out a little rough.  It was pouring rain for most of the afternoon and early evening.  Around 6pm we got the girls in their costumes and headed out the door with our umbrella and we figured we would get soaked.  But miracoulusly the rain had stopped.  Abby practically ran from house to house she was so excited.  We have talking to her all week about how you have to say "trick-or-treat" at the door to get the candy.  I honestly didn't think she would, though.  She can be so shy and timid.  And when we would talk to her about it, she would say "how about if I just be quiet at the door".  But she ran up to each door, and said "trick-or-treat" each time, then "thank you, thank you".  Lexi rode around in the stroller, but she totally picked up on the excitement and let out a few squeels of joy.  It was still pretty cold outside, so we just went around the block, hitting maybe 20 houses or so.  When we got home, we had hot chocolate and popcorn balls while we watched the Shrek Halloween special.  It was such a fun night for everyone!

One of the greatest joys of having kids, is watching them experience all this fun and excitement.  I think that is one of the reasons that I suffer through vacations by myself, and cold nights walking around the neighborhood.  I woudn't want to miss seeing the girls smiles and giddyness, it is so priceless.  And I know there is tons more in store as we have officially started the holiday season.

San Diego

Last weekend, Abby, Lexi and I went to California with Cam's sister, Are and her family.  Sadly, Cam had to work during this trip too, so he stayed here in Utah and worked on bringing home some bacon.  We left Friday and drove from about 5am till about 5pm to get to California in time to have dinner with Cam's grandma.  Unfortunately, it turned out that we missed her, she left a little early for a senior retreat of some sort.  So, the next day we went on to San Diego where Cam's sister Cynthia lives with her husband Alex and little girl Emma.  That night, the men watched all the kids, and us girls had ourselves a night out on the town.  Actually, not really.  We went to dinner.  But it was nice and peaceful. 

Sunday, we went to Sea World.  It was a blast.  Abby enjoyed the kid section that was totally Sesame Street themed and of course Shamu.

Monday, we took a trip to the beach.  It was drizzly and overcast the entire time we were there, so, we didn't get in the water, but managed to collect some pretty rocks and sea shells.

We had so much fun, but in the last couple of trips I've taken, I discovered, it is SO much easier when Cam can travel with us.  Lexi just doesn't do well when we are away from home for a long time, she gets really clingy to me and cries whenever I'm not holding her.  That makes showering and many other daily tasks very difficult.  But we survived, with a lot of help from Are and Will, of course.

At the hotel.  It was right along the harbor.  Abby loved the balcony.

A penguin at Sea World.  Apparently, he terrified Piper.

A little toddler area in Sea World.  Lexi got in on the action for this one.

One of the kids rides.  It's a teacup-like ride.

A mermaid.  Abby was so lucky so meet her, mermaids have been one of her obsessions as of late.

Touching the sea stars.

At the beach

Everybody except for me and Lexi.

Here's Lexi, in her main mode of transportation while in California.

Lexi, 9 months

Technically, she is 9 1/2 months.  I have just been so busy lately, it's taken me awhile to get this update posted.  I can't believe she is already 9 months old, you know what that means?  Less than 3 months of formula!

She is:

• getting so big, literally. We weighed her at home a week ago, 22 lbs. Oh, my goodness. No wonder my arm gets so tired carrying her after only a few minutes. But her little fat rolls and chubby cheeks are so cute, so we don't plan to put her on Jenny Craig just yet :)

• getting up on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth.  So, soon enough, she'll be cruising all over the place.
• able to feed herself with finger foods.

• loving bath time.  It is absolutely her favorite time of the day.  As soon as we start to run the bath water, she is screaming and kicking with excitement.
• teething, again.  She will have 6 teeth once these two break through.  Sadly, she is horrible while teething.  She doesn't eat well (so, it's quite a mystery as to how she got to her 22 lbs), sleep well, and isn't too happy while awake.  I also noticed today that part of her gums are black and blue, which I guess can be a sign of teething.  Poor little girl :(  So, that's six down, only about fourteen more to go.
• super charming.  She smiles at everyone.  Finally, she is getting out of her shell and is getting more comfortable around people other than Cameron or I.
• completely attatched to her pink silky blanket.  I have tried to get her to sleep with other blankets, and it just results in no sleep and lots of tears.
• finally sleeping through the night without a feeding.  She has been stubborn, and has never really slept through the night.  I decided it was time to pull the plug and force her to give up the middle of the night bottle.  It's taken a lot of sleepless nights, letting her fuss and cry till she finally fell back asleep.  Many nights it took at least 2 hours till she was asleep again, I've been a walking zombie the last week or so, but it's finally paid off!

• loving to stand.  She would rather be up on her two feet than anything else.  She still needs to be supported all the time and has practically no balance, but it's what she loves.