December started by jumping straight into the Christmas
festivities! I had been trying every year since we moved to Utah to get a
permit to cut down our own Christmas tree like I did growing up, and every year
I failed. This year I was determined to get one, and I did! I was so excited!
We met Jess and Aaron and my parents and went out and hiked around and pulled
the kids on sleds to pick out the best tree to take home. It was so fun and
brought back so many great memories. It was a little bit bare and not as
beautiful as the store bought trees, but it had so much character and it was
ours. The kids LOVED it and I hope to do that every year.
Our sweet Amelia Rose was blessed on December 6, 2020. She received a beautiful blessing from her daddy and was given some wonderful promises. She was told that she would have strength to overcome the many challenges that she will have in this crazy and tumultuous world (this made my mom heart SO nervous), that she will find her own testimony by learning how the spirit speaks to her, that she will be strengthened and guided by the Spirit as she learn that, and that her family will be strong in the gospel. She was also blessed that she would understand that challenges, trials and tribulations are not everlasting but are stepping stones to a higher understanding. Finally she was told to share her testimony through her example and she would bring many souls to Heavenly Father, that she is a special and strong spirit, and that she will do beautiful things in this world. We sure are smitten with our Lia and are so grateful to have her in our home. In her blessing circle was Papa, Josh Marx, Michael Barrus, Kyle Barton and Bishop Charlesworth.
For each baby of mine I like to do a little photo shoot with
them for their first Christmas. Lia has been the one that was the youngest
during our photos, so she could only lay down haha. But she is so sweet and we
got some good pictures of our beautiful Christmas angel.
Emilie moved to Morgan! That has been a fun treat and we
went over to her house for the kids to decorate some Christmas cookies. We had
a great time hanging out and catching up.
We made it out to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point! My
membership was about to expire so I wanted to get some things in before that
happened. Everyone was having a great time and we had great weather, and then a
horse bit Della’s finger when she was trying to feed it. It was really sad and
she was so scared and hurt that she was screaming, which made Lia scream and
Henry was freaking out yelling/asking how he could help. I was very overwhelmed
so we left in a hurry haha. For a few days after that Della kept saying that
she never wanted to feed another horse again and that she didn’t even like them
anymore. Poor girl.
Charlie showed up again this year! We weren't sure if he would make it because of Covid-19, but he did. He did all kinds of crazy things this year and kept the kids on their toes trying to find him every morning and see what he was up to in the night.
We had one more participant in our annual gingerbread house
night this year! It’s crazy to think that Rusty and I used to just make them alone, and
then we slowly have added a whole little crew. Lia loved sitting up in her
Bumbo chair and felt so important to be included in our activity. Henry was old
enough this year that he did it mostly all alone, and Adeline sure had a lot of
input that she gave on exactly how she wanted her house structure to be done
before she could do whatever decorations she wanted haha. I love this cute
family of mine!
We’re still going strong with our outdoor hours and spent a
lot of time sledding this month. Surprisingly, Henry is FEARLESS on the sled
and we had to tell him to come down the hill a little lower so he wouldn’t be
so high up. He doesn’t mind jumps at all and wants to go as fast as he can. Where
the heck did this come from? Della went down a couple of times and decided she
didn’t really love it. She would do little hills but that’s all she cares for.
Christmas is always such a fun day, and the ages of my kids is perfect for the Spirit and Magic of Christmas. They loved getting the cookies ready for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer. I loved watching them come down the stairs in awe and sheer joy to see what they got! Della got make up, Henry got walkie talkies, and Amelia got some wooden toys. Later Della got some dress up shoes and did not want to keep going until she got a dress to wear with them haha. Luckily for me she was getting a new dress, but she was a little upset for a while about it. And then when she found it she just sat in her chair being a princess and quit opening presents. She just didn't care any more.
The day after Christmas we left for Bear Lake! It was crazy to leave right after the kids got their new presents, but they got to pick a few to take with us and we were so excited to go. The weather was a little dicey as it was snowing and icy on the roads. On the way up to the driveway Dad jack-knifed in his truck with the trailer on it. Luckily it was okay and they just unloaded the sleds at the top and then took the trailer back down the hill. We had such a good time here at Bear Lake! Mom watched the kids one day so Rusty, Dad and I could go snowmobiling for real. I got to try all kinds of things I don't normally do. We also went out to eat at a cute place, did a 1,000 piece puzzle, took the kids sledding and snowmobiling, watched shows, took baths in the big jetted tub, and ate more food.
Henry's Highlights
- Loves playing Battleship
- I told him that we were going to give teddy bears to the kids in the hospital for Christmas and he asked how many teddy bears and I said ten. Then he said, "That is great! But... I don't think I have enough money to buy ten." He is so sweet.
- I come out to Christmas music blaring every morning haha
- We talked about serving each other and putting straw in the manger. He really took it to heart and has been doing the sweetest things for all of us, especially setting our PJs out and putting blankets on our beds
- He is really loving Legos right now
- I told him that I was sad that I couldn't play guitar anymore because my string was broken and he said, "Oh!! I have a great idea for you for Christmas!"
- He lost his first tooth!! Dec 5
"Dear Tooth Fairy Is it OK if I first tooth and you still give Love Henry" We missed a few words but I think she got the jist. :)
Adeline's Adventures
- "I don't believe it!"
- Call me "your majesty" when I ask her to do things haha
- "Gate" for "great" all of the time
- Is so into lipstick and Chelsea gave me some for her and it's all she wants
- Della has decided unequivocally that she will not grow up but that she will be a little girl forever
- "Yippee kai yay!" I have no idea where she heard that haha
- She always wants to be the queen and says "Keen"
- She says "Bay" for "boy"
Amelia's Updates
- December 17: First laugh! I was dancing like a weirdo with her on my lap and then immediately called Rusty on a video call to show him and Lia just clammed up. But he got her first giggles on video on December 20.
- First time swimming
- This month she learned how to blow bubbles from Papa!
- She has become very fascinated with her hands. She sucks on her hands and always has them together like opera hands
- She is SUPER interested in food
- Lia always has lint in her little hand folds
- She LOVES the wooden teether she got for Christmas. She is chomping on everything she can find right now, her teeth must be coming in!
- 3 months
