Christmas and the end of 2013: A year in review

To start, Christmas was a hit. When is Christmas not a hit with small children being bombarded with gifts?

Vash's "girlfriend" Cora did the cutest thing and I forgot to write about it before. When I was helping in the preschool class, it came time to split into groups. Cora asked if she could be in Vash's group. Well the groups are already assigned and so Mrs. Somers said that she'd change up the groups someday soon so they could be in the same group. So Cora looks at Vash longingly and asks Mrs. Somers, "Someday?" And Mrs. Somers, trying really hard not to laugh, looks at me and says, "Someday, sweetie."

Now it's our inside joke... And it's Totally adorable. 

Little miss is sneaky when trying to avoid bedtime. Down the stairs she'll come asking everything from "Can I have an apple?" to "Can I watch your movie?" As long as she thinks she needs something, it's never bedtime.

Vash reading Fischer a book. He's getting pretty good at making up stories of his own. The other day he came to me crying because, "Ariel is sad .Her true love Eric is with the real Ariel." If it weren't for the fact that Rhyla has two Ariels in her little people set, one with fins; one with legs, I'd have been very confused.

The caption for this photo is simply: These are not the droids you are looking for.

Vash got to perform a Christmas program on the last day of preschool before break. He was the loudest and most animated of the bunch, but my favorite part was when his classmate Gavin high jacked the mic in the middle of the little elf song. Hilarious. Also Hilarious? Vash sang that the boys and girls all "jumped with gwee," instead of glee. And Santa climbs down the "giminy"instead of the chimney.

Also, Santa brought Vash and the other kids a gift while they were rehearsing. Vash got play dough... While he was super excited about it and it provided hours of fun, it also ended up mushed into my carpet... Not sure what we were... I mean what Santa... was thinking. 

This is Rhyla admiring the fishes after coloring all over herself with marker. She really is a sweet thing though. When I asked her what her Christmas wish was, she said, "I wish you and daddy and Vash would be happy."

A ginger bread man Vash decorated. At the church Christmas program, the sister missionaries sang a song and when they came back to sit down, Vash turns to them and says, "That's my girl!" He was obviously proud. Also, at the Christmas party, Vash got to be a sheep in the live nativity. Rhyla was so jealous, she kept pouting, "I'd be a good sheep too!"

She would only sit on the potty if she got to sit next to baby Fischer. Gross and funny, I guess. She loves him though. They made a craft in nursery; it was a paper manger with a paper baby Jesus inside. Rhyla walked around the house with it exclaiming, "It's my baby Jesus!"

Vash requested that I get more creative with their food/snacks. I made strawberry people. 

He told me about another dream the other day; "I dreamed we went to Disneyland and drove the cars."

I hope that dream comes true!

And this is what I got for Christmas. Fischer learned to smile! And it's only getting better with practice.

It's good that the kids are gentle with the baby because they are NOT gentle with each other. Rhyla ran into the kitchen after Vash attacked her and informs me that, "Vash squished me like a tomato!"

See what I mean? This is a smart baby. He'll fake being hungry so that I'll hold him all night. Anytime I try to put him in his crib, he'll spit out his binky, make his snarly hungry noises; I'll grab him, he'll latch, smile, and promptly fall asleep. And we repeat this several times a night. LOL.

Flour faces are so in this Christmas. We watched the Disney Parks Christmas parade and the kids actually really enjoyed it. When the bands came on, Rhyla would ask me what an instrument was and then say, "Look at the drummers! Look at the dancers! Oh look at the horners!"

Vash posing with his not so hidden Mickey. After eating dough, batter, and getting presents, Vash decided that, "Christmas is my favorite life ever!"

I think this is the first time my dad has ever held one of my babies when they were little. Usually he waits until they're walking to pick them up. LOL. Cute, aren't they?

Rhyla was so excited about Santa coming that I caught her trying to sneak downstairs multiple times to sleep on the couch and wait for him.

And he outdid himself, as per the norm. I read the kids The Night Before Christmas, but Vash get asking me if I was sure it wasn't the nightmare before Christmas... Oh Tim Burton.

The kids loved everything, especially their new Lego/Train table. Vash told Rhyla he could build her a "princess castle digger." Rhyla replied, "Ooh, I'm excited you can build it!"

Vash was super excited that they got bedtime "Quo" too. (Quo is how he says clothes. I'm seriously going to miss somethings when he outgrows his speech impediments.)

Peanut remained blissfully unaware of what was going on... and that was ok with me because he looks so darn cute when he sleeps.

In fact, he seemed a bit startled when Vash handed him his stocking stuffer. (That's right I knit that frog!)

Both Vash and Rhyla liked the toys I knit for them too. Rhyla carries her pig everywhere and Vash sleeps with his owl. But he let me know that Snow White is his true love.

More creative snacks. And more speech fun. Vash calls the elevator an alligator. I love it.

The kids encouraging Fischer during tummy time. Rhyla was singing a song about baby Jesus when I loaded them up into the car to run errands. When I asked her nursery leader who taught her the song, she was confused; they hadn't learned a song about baby Jesus. Yep... Rhyla made it up all by herself. 

Love those cheeks. Fun tidbit; when Fischer was first born, every time he pooped, he would throw out his arms and get really startled. Literally, his startle reflex would go off. But now, an older and wiser baby, he braces himself and masters his bowels. Lol. TMI, I know, but I wanted to remember this.

After watching Despicable Me, Rhyla decided she likes the word Fluffy. We were talking about something the other day and she runs in and asks, "Are you talking about my fluffy?"

Speaking of Peanut, he's not so peanutty anymore. He's gained nearly three pounds and grown nearly four inches since birth! Woot for gaining on your siblings!

Rhyla turned three this last weekend and since her party isn't until next weekend, my parents and I took the kids to the Chuck to spend the last of some tokens we had.

My sentimental Vash playing a game with Grandpa. We watched Dumbo again the other day and Vash is now recognizing how sad the song "Baby Mine" is. When it started, he turns to me and says, "I'm gonna lose it, Mom. I'm gonna cry!" Then he bursts into tears. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry too. 

Now that she's three, Rhyla even peed in the potty without being asked! And during playtime too! She's still not fully trained but now she's showing initiative!

Rhyla kicked Me-Ma's trash in this game. It was like 7 to 2. No joke. 

Vash busting out some amazing dance moves. He's actually really coordinated for a four year old boy. Sadly, he just wants to take "ninja dance"... which I think is code for karate.

I just can't get enough of this hunk!

Vash asked me if I liked this house; "Do you like the true lego house? I made it lovely!"

And the last stories for the night?

After reading "Room for a little one" Rhyla complained that there wasn't enough room on my lap. But Vash reminded Rhyla, "There's always room for a little one here!"

And after I cried while reading 'Love you Forever', which I do every time, Vash turns to Rhyla and says, "Ok. You hug mommy and I'll get the pillow. I think maybe she's tired."

Well it's that time of year again...the end of the year I mean. Now I know a lot of people will say that they can't believe how fast it went, or will reminisce about the awesome times had by all. But honestly, this year crawled by for me and most of it was not awesome. Of course Craig getting a job and moving us across the country was nothing short of an adventure, and Vash starting preschool was a fun new phase, and Rhyla becoming a big sister when our sweet Fisch-face was born was incredibly awesome. It's just that learning to be a basically single mother was hard. And lonely. And exhausting and not at all what I thought I was signing up for. But I've learned a lot about myself this year. I've learned that I can handle a lot more than I thought I could. I've learned that Heavenly Father will always pull us through on even the hardest days; days when I just felt too tired, too stressed. Days when I felt inadequate and overwhelmed or just plain sick. Somehow, even when I thought  I couldn't do another day by myself,  I would get out of bed again; get the kids dressed and fed, clean the house, run the errands, get to the appointments, classes, church, fulfill my callings, make dinner, do the bed time routine, and crawl into bed... day after day, night after night, with little to no energy or enthusiasm. But everything that needed to get got done... Somehow, He makes up the difference. No matter what the circumstance is He makes the all the difference.

Anyways...

Best wishes and Happy New Year!

November In A Nutshell: Thanksgiving Fun, Go Fisch! AND December So Far: The First Few Weeks

I have to begin by saying that I actually DID intend to skip writing in November. Why? Well... I bet you can guess but we'll get to that in a little bit.

We started out the month with a whole lot of excitement and anticipation. After all, it was finally baby month! The kids asked me almost everyday if today would be the day. Sometimes, the excitement was just too much to stay awake through.

My two little best buds often went up to the empty crib and pretended our little bundle had already arrived. They'd coo and pretend to tickle, and ask me if they were being "So sweet!"

While prepping for baby and doing our laundry, Vash opened up one of his drawers and found that he had fresh pajamas and underwear. "Mommy! You did my laundry! And I was so surprised."

Lol. I guess I slacked a little too much on my chores the last few weeks. He couldn't remember EVER having that many clean clothes.

My little Diva has gotten into the habit of asking what something is, and then immediately replying, "Oh I love (Fill in the Blank)!"

Example: R: "Mommy is that ice cream?"

Me: "Yes, it's Chubbby Hubby ice cream."

R: "OH!!! I love chubby hubby!"

After watching Bambi or some other heartbreaking film about orphans, Vash sobbed to me, "I don't want to wose (lose) you!" And has since been extra cuddly and loving. Hence, him sleeping in my bed.

And Rhyla has always enjoyed sleeping in my bed so she can ask for back rubs whenever the mood strikes.

For a short while earlier this month, Vash had a pet. After finding this little guy crawling along outside, Vash declared it was too cold and begged to be allowed to keep him. Well, I just couldn't bear his pouty face and so the caterpillar, who Vash named "Coat-toes" got a home in a glass jar. Vash took really good care of him; getting his food, asking if I though he needed water, taking him out for fresh air... But then we got a more exciting addition to our home... and Coat-toes was understandably forgotten. Let's just say I wasn't too broken up about having to release him back into the wild. 

Rhyla is obsessed with pictures of her teeth. Every time I take her picture, she asked me to get her teeth. And ever our parrot, she has begun to quote movies now too. After watching Monsters' Univeristy, I called her name and she corrected me, saying, "Mommy, my friends call me squishy."

We got a bit of early snow this year. Wasn't a lot and it wasn't a big deal... except that we told the kids it wouldn't snow until Christmas. So Vash, who is learning about the seasons and in what order the holidays come in, knew that our baby was supposed to come before Thanksgiving... and if it was snowing that meant that Christmas was here and Thanksgiving had passed. So upon looking out our back door and seeing the snow, he yells at me, "It's snowing! Hey! (Accusingly) Fischer didn't come yet..."

I just love the kids' faces in this picture. You'll notice Rhyla is leaning to avoid the sun in her eyes. She HATES sun in her eyes. Whenever I'm driving and the sun is setting, she asks me, "Are you burning your eyes?"

Miss Diva also cried her eyes out until I agreed to take her for a haircut... at Wal-Mart of all places... She was looking shaggy, so I guess I wasn't spoiling her too much. Craig and I think she might want to be a hairstylist when she grows up. She loves getting her hair played with and playing with hair. Literally, she'll ask to brush my hair and if I let her, she'll do it for like 45 minutes. That's a lot of patience for a 2, almost 3, year old.

A gymnast move gone wrong. I warned her that bending over backwards was dangerous. Just like Rhyla warned me once, "Those chicken shells are Berry (Very) dangerous!"

 I told Vash he had magic hands after he gave me a backrub, and so Rhyla walks up and asks, "Can I have magic too?" Then hurriedly rubs my back to show her skill. So cute...

While Vash was at Preschool and before the stork came for a visit, Rhyla got a lot of one on one time with me; something I'm grateful for and will endeavor to continue to have with all my kids. Anyway, we spent a good deal of that time at the mall; shopping, playing with toys, riding the rides. Once, Rhyla got onto a tall ride, but couldn't quite get down. 

"I need a little help here!" She called. 

I guess I found it funny because it was such a grown up way to say it.

Vash was super proud of his Lego creation. I take pictures of just about every one he builds and send it to Craig. He always wants me to "send it to Daddy" whenever I snap a pick of something he knows is cool or fun. Funny story: Vash asked me to write a letter to Santa. As per his request, it read; "Dear Santa, I want powers to make me feel better when I have a cough with a cold on it."

The Man Of The House taking a "nap". He must be having a lot of vivid dreams lately. Once he told me he dreamed of roller coasters. The other day he told me, "I dreamed that a bird came and ate our pepperoni. Then he pulled my hair out."

These two are just adorable when left to their own devices. While eating lunch, Vash broke up his cookie and then asked Rhyla in what order he should eat the pieces. "Should I eat small or bigger or large?"

And of course, you can't truly enjoy the outdoors without wearing your hats over your face while carrying a big stick. Craig read to these two a lot while he was home, and they adored "I love you forever." They loved it so much that they sit and read it to each other through out the day. But since they can't actually read yet, they tend to just repeat their favorite part of the story over and over. "He grew and he grew and he grew! She crawled to the boy. Back and forth, back and forth. I love you forever, I love you for always. My baby you'll be."

This is a girl that loves to be decorated. She often sneaks into my room, finds my jewelry box, and asks me, "Can I have your pretties?"

And now, the moment you've been waiting for. The most adorable reason to not touch a computer or anything that might distract for even a minute; Introducing Mr. Fischer Samuel!

Because he's my tiniest baby so far, (Though still big as far as babies go) we nicknamed this cutie "Peanut."

He's just the most pleasant and sweet baby you could ask for. I was having to wake him up to eat because he was just content to sleep. Instead of full on crying, he makes a snarling noise when he's hungry. He's a snuggly, happy, patient, little doll that makes contented purrs whenever he's... well... contended. I just can't sing enough praises. 

And the kids adore him. After all, they had to wait such a long time to meet him! In fact, I came home from one of my last check ups and Vash was upset when I walked in with my belly instead of a baby. "HEY! Where's baby Fischer?" They love helping to burp him, singing to him, and encouraging him during tummy time. 

They loved holding him in the hospital. And they especially loved that the hospital staff sent them home with gourmet cupcakes as congrats for becoming a big brother and big sister. Rhyla has just been such a good little mommy to him already. She never lets us call him "the baby"... She always corrects, "He's MY baby."

The other night, I must have eaten something that upset Fischer's tummy and he was fussing a bit. Rhyla crawled into bed with us and kept saying, "It's ok Fishy Fischer. Rhyla's here." Then she'd pat his head and kiss him and sing to him. 

Hands down my favorite picture of Craig with the baby. I was truly blessed to have him home for three whole weeks to deliver and recover from having Fischer. And his break even fell on Thanksgiving, making it the first holiday he was home for since starting this job.

All bundled and ready for home! Funny story: at his first check up he smiled every time we covered his eyes from the bright office lights. Oh, and the doctor thinks my babies are so good looking and healthy, he was already pestering me to have another! The kids have actually started asking if we could have a girl baby now too, but I keep telling them my body needs a bit more of a break. Craig told them to go ahead and put in their orders with Heavenly Father, anyhow!

Now for our Random stuff the kids have said segment:

Vash:

On the haunted mansion; "We have to fly in like ghostest!"

After pulling on a fist of my hair; "I'm tugging your hairs because I love you!"

After some project of his bit the dust; "Epic fail."

While I was cooking dinner; "I smell it and I want to eat it!"

After I heard a loud crash from upstairs: "I'm ok! I just fell off my chair but I'm ok!"

While we watched an SNL skit of a guy screaming his head off; "He doesn't know how to be quiet. I know how to be quiet."

Rhyla:

A few of her chants that she sings whenever she's naked, "I'm a naked girl, I'm a naked girl! Belly, belly bottom!"

When I tried to sleep in one day: "Open your eyes! The sun's up!"

After Vash burst into tears because he ate some hot sauce; "What happened to my Vash?"

While nibbling some broccoli; "I'm eating little trees!"

As we were driving in the car; "Can I make friends with the beautiful mountain?"

As she was falling asleep; "Ice cubes are cute."

Don't you just want to kiss all over those cheeks? That's basically what I spend most of my waking moments doing these days.

Just a fun shot of Rhyla's wild hairs. Craig asked her once if he accidentally made her chilly. She sweetly answered, "No, you make me fine. You're my daddy."

The pirate king here now understands conversations between adults and actually pays attention to them! After giving birth, they instructed me NOT to take baths. Well, out in Arizona that was not something off limits and I love a good soak in the tub: especially when I'm recovering from childbirth. So, I tried to just enjoy my showers but after about four days I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to take a bath. Well, Vash came in as I was getting ready to hop in the tub and he frowns at me. "Mommy, the doctor told you not to take baths." I didn't even realize he'd heard me talking about that!

Rhyla wearing her pretend earrings. The kids heard the expression, "That's the spirit" for the first time recently. Well, they definitely misheard it because they always say, "That's my spirit!"

Guess who decorated the tree this year. 

Yep. All by themselves. That's why some branches have no ornaments and others have five each. I thought about redistributing them for balance, but since the tree didn't fall over when they were done, I've just let it be.

Peanut just being his adorable self. He enjoys looking at the lights almost as much as the kids enjoyed finally getting to put them up. We set up the tree the day after thanksgiving and Vash was peeved that I made him wait that long. We'd be driving and all the houses would have Christmas lights on them and Vash would groan and say, "Mom, the whole world has it's Christmas lights up." Not even five and he's prone to peer pressure...

Rather than stay in bed, Rhyla continues to fall asleep on the stairs. Not sure why. It isn't comfortable. 

Already a mini teenager. Craig let him play a game called micro miners on the Kindle, and he'd sit there just enraptured with it. (Note to self: watch for game addiction with this one!!!) He was thrashing around on the floor the other morning and when I asked what he was doing he says, "I'm stretching my bones so I can get bigger."

My boys. Vash's preschool teacher told me the funniest story about him last month. She said it was time to line up and go home but Vash didn't want to stop playing. Everyone else was in line and Vash was standing in the play area just refusing to go. Mrs. Somers told him that she needed to leave and he had to go home too. So he pouts and says, "Fine. I'll get in line. But I will slither on my belly like a snake!" Then he dropped to the floor and actually slithered to get his backpack and then into line. She said she had to turn away and cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Craig got the kids new coats. Vash was so stoked, he turns to Craig and announces, "Dad, I look awesome."

And of course Rhyla picked out everything pink. She even picked out a coat that's fur lined hood matched her hat and scarf set, despite purchasing them at separate times and stores. She has an eye for fashion I guess!

So as far as the holiday went; We were able to cook a big thanksgiving dinner and were grateful that the leftovers lasted us nearly a week. Always a plus when you don't want to cook and have a newborn.

We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and Vash decided red and green were his favorite colors after watching watching the Rockettes kick around in red and green costumes.

Rhyla, who's having a picky eating streak didn't eat a single bite of anything we made for thanksgiving. True story. I'm pretty sure she survived off cereal and the fresh juices Craig was making with the juicer.

We took the kids to see Free Birds in theaters and, courtesy of a weekday matinee, had the whole place to ourselves. Oh! And we tried Sweet Frog for the first time. I'm basically addicted to that frozen yogurt now...Dreaming of it way too often! LOL.

We went and saw the Christmas lights down at the fair grounds. It was kinda pricey for what you get, but I think we'll do it again next year and just bring more money. I figure the kids will all be older and honestly, the more people you bring, the better the price becomes. (They charge per car, not per person.)

Anyhow, we've had a blast thus far and are ready and set to go for Christmastime! Wishing everyone the merriest!