TMT: Jesus is my friend

I read Philippians Chapter 4 last night to the family before bed. I LOVE this Chapter... go read it people it's great. Two verses that I really like are:

 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

On that note, I was helping Ty zip up his jacket yesterday while he was getting ready to go to the store with Matt. Ty, for the first time pointed out a picture of Jesus that we have hanging in our entry way. It's called Christ the good Shepherd by Simon Dewey

He said "Look mom, Jesus!" 

I said "Yes, that is Jesus, good eye." 

Then he said "What's he doing?" 

I said "I'm not sure what he is doing in that picture, probably watching over his sheep." I thought about explaining it further but I lost him during that sentence.

Then he came back with "Mom? Jesus is my friend." 

I replied with a big smile, "Yes Ty, Jesus is your friend, he will always be your friend." 

We have not really talked about things like that before. I am glad he is starting to understand all the scriptures, prayers and songs we sing. One of his current song favorites I think speaks volumes with him is "I'm Trying to be like Jesus"

1. I’m trying to be like Jesus;

I’m following in his ways.

I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.

At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,

But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

Chorus 

“Love one another as Jesus loves you.

Try to show kindness in all that you do.

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,

For these are the things Jesus taught.”

2. I’m trying to love my neighbor;

I’m learning to serve my friends.

I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.

I try to remember the lessons he taught.

Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:

Chorus 

“Love one another as Jesus loves you.

Try to show kindness in all that you do.

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,

For these are the things Jesus taught."

Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938

© 1980 by Janice Kapp Perry.

Cruisin'

Here is her first time trying,


We've got a cruiser on our hands here... she LOVES this thing. She'll crawl over and get up on it herself now. She walks around everywhere with it. Well until she runs into something and whines until someone sets her straight again.


(Don't mind the unkept appearance, she didn't want her hair bow or pants on anymore)

She'll also finally scoot along the couches and attempt to take a step between Matt and I. We'll see how it all goes. I think she'll be walking before she turns one. Matt doesn't think so. Either way our little lady is growing up!

The lady is 10 months!

As of a few days ago, the little lady is officially 10 months old! Also, I am pretty sure that her two younger cousins born in July and September that are bigger than her. Eeesh.

Okay I KNOW! She is a peanut! Got it! She eats like nothing I have ever seen though so I don't know where she puts it. Haha With out further adieu, here she is the little miss herself.... Maylee!

I tried a few different things with the lighting and back drop for the pictures.

So I was getting a lot of this, instead of the usual big grin. Oh and a lot of this...

Yes when she cries the world has come to an end... she has one good scream/cry thing going on these days. 

I put her down for a nap to cool off a little... when she woke up I started getting a ton of this!

Blank stares...so of course I started getting more animated then she is used too then I got this,

the slightly amused face. Then I just gave up hoping I got a decent shot already. Of course when I get in a little closer is when she warms up a little bit. 

 Oh and I get this look all.day.long.

She's probably just watching my every move. Then when the camera is about to be put away she gives the best smile of all, the scrunch face smile. :) 

It's actually the worst I know but it's the face she makes right after she fake laughs. You haven't been insulted until a 10 month old throws you a fake laugh followed by the fake smile. Then you KNOW you aren't amusing at ALL. 

I think she is cutting a ton of teeth right now, her nose is a faucet and she has been waking up every hour the last few nights. I almost got her to fall asleep in my arms for the second time last night... but then she woke up and squirmed and wriggled until her Dad took her and worked his magic. She just doesn't ever fall asleep for me! She also loves to play. She knows when you are about to take something away that she isn't supposed to have because she'll try to crawl away from you as fast as she can, which is fairly fast these days. Ty is still her big brother and he makes SURE everybody knows it. No one can bug her but him and boy do these two know how to push each others buttons! BUT thankfully for the most part 9 times out of 10 they play nicely with one another. Most of the time I am telling Ty to be gentle then realize that Maylee isn't whining she is squealing with laughter while wrestling with Ty. Gotta love her. 

Woot Woot! Congrats!

My little brother Colton proposed last night to his lovely girlfriend Maddy, and she said YES! Let's hear it for the Happy Couple!!!

Can't wait for the big day you two! 

She's a keeper, she'll round out the family so none of us ride alone at Disneyland :) Way to go little brother, way to go.

P.S. I have been letting Ty call Maddy, Aunt Maddy, for a while now... good thing it's finally sticking haha

Maylee standing

This lady is a goer and a doer. She crawls and zooms everywhere after me, Ty and her Dad. She likes to wrestle with Ty. She has been standing up then letting go of whatever she using to support her for a while now. The other day while Ty was still napping and I was getting dinner ready, Maylee played in the kitchen. I swear she is waiting for food to hit the floor so she can quickly go over and gobble it up. I have to be SUPER CAREFUL about it... Matt calls her a little crab because her fingers are like little pinchers ready to get at anything!



I turned around at one point to grab a new utensil and Maylee was standing in the kitchen with nothing else around! I didn't know she knew how to do this! I hurried and grabbed the camera but she sat down before I could get a picture. So I kept rolling in hopes that she would do it again.

She never did but if you help her she'll stand on her own for quite sometime.

It's so weird to see such a little thing standing on her own like that! Sorry the picture is dark and blurry. I wanted to snap it fast so my camera didn't have time to auto correct.

She's mostly like this though...

Then Sunday while I was making dinner Ty and Maylee found a new game they liked... I remember doing this myself as a kid.

I am so lucky that for the most part these two play well with one another. Maylee can take A LOT before she gets riled up these days and Ty is learning how to share and play WITH someone instead of BY someone.

Lastly I think the young Sir has caught Bieber Fever. After Matt and I watched the Justin Bieber movie on Netflix a few weeks back and I added a couple of his songs to my Youtube play list. Whenever "Baby" came on Ty would come running. He likes the music video and sometimes dances (more like runs in circles and jumps) when it's on.



Not a day goes by now that I don't hear "Mom, the Baby Song please?" Can you tell how much he loves it? He wont even move his eyes from the screen. Sheesh. HAHA Good thing I don't mind it or I might go crazy. Oh and I know that day is coming when my kids LOVE some show or music that I can't stand! I'll count my blessings now.

TMT: Prayer, the Soul's Sincere Desire

In the bible dictionary under prayer it reads:
Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.


A few weeks ago I had to get to a few different places and be home by a certain time. I was short on time and HAD to get these errands done. Adventures with the two kids is difficult for me, and I avoid doing grown-up errands with just me and them at all costs. Most of the time I either wait for Matt to come home from work, or go on the weekend, or we go as a family so it's man to man defense instead of zone. 


This day I had to take the kids with me. I went to the bank and the grocery store, last was the library. I was returning some books. All I intended to do was return and leave. One of the books that needed to be returned was a much beloved train book. We had it for a while. I got the kids out of the car and we hurried over to the return slot. I tried to sneak it, but of course Ty noticed the train book being returned. Panic ensued immediately. We were already running late but I made a split decision. I told Ty that we could go pick out another book in the kids section. Usually he takes a LONG time to do this and wants to play. I don't know why I decided to let him look for a new book.


While we were walking over, Ty said "Mommy Ty 'nother train book?" 
I said "Sure Ty, lets see if we can find another train book." 
I knew there wouldn't be, since the book we had just returned was the only train one I had ever seen. In my head I said a quick sincere prayer that Ty would find a book, be happy and we could leave shortly with out a melt down. 


I seriously almost cried when Ty walked right over to the children's section and the first book he picked up was "I Love Trains!" Hallelujah! He grabbed it and said, "Oh! Ty's train book, let's go Mommy" It was amazing. I had combed those shelves over and over for months for new train books... with no luck. 


I got back in the car and said a prayer of thanks a few times that there was a train book at the library that day. 


Seems silly to almost cry about a little train book. I felt the Spirit telling me when Ty picked it up that God knows me, he knows my children, he knows their wants and needs and he'll help raise them too, all I need to do is ask. I find these tender mercies happening almost on a daily basis reminding me that when I pray with sincere desire for help more than likely Heaven Father will pour out his blessings. If it concerns me, it concerns Him. If I feel the need, nothing is too small or trivial too pray about. I am not forgotten and there are many blessings in store for me and my family if I have faith, remain worthy, and pray my little heart out. 

Hair time with the little lady

I got my haircut last month and I HATE HATE HATE it. The lady just went a hacking and it is so awful. I am going to have someone fix it sometime... there are crazy uneven choppy layers with about 2 inches left on the bottom. It is seriously the second worst haircut I have ever gotten. Serves me right for going to a random place. I need a good referal or a trip to Utah and have my cousin fix it for me! Plus I need to color my hair again but I want to do something a little different. We'll see when I ever get around to doing something with it. In the mean time I have been doing my best to cover up the fact I am sporting a hack job. I think I have done fairly well with it. Every morning while I do my hair Maylee is usually hanging on my legs. Yesterday I decided I should try to do Maylee's hair too. 

So here is the deal, Maylee DOES have hair. It's actually pretty long too. ONLY ON THE TOP THOUGH! 

 Yeah, just looks silly really.

 That right there is the only spot she has long hair, the rest is still growing in. I don't think the lady will have enough hair for a pony tail until she is well over 1.

 HAHA he one inch little pony tail sticking up... haha It's just like my hair was when I was little too, really light and thin.

 Yep we'll stick with headbands a hair bows for a while I think. 

 Maylee LOVES the camera. She gets upset when I put it away. So I took some pictures with her. 

 She was looking at herself in the mirror instead of at the camera. Plus my little feathers are finally growing out from after having Maylee. Does that only happen to a few or all pregnant ladies? I lose my hair big time then it grows back in all wispy for a while. 

Anyway, I made this headband. It was an idea that Kristin found on Pinterest. It was SUPER easy and I had all the stuff on hand. I had the young women make them for our activity last night too. I think they liked them. I had the camera out so I could take this picture for the YW.

 I put the camera away, then May got upset. So we took more pictures. I seriously can't get enough of her cheeks! I just love them! 

 SO sweet, my little lady, i just love her!

Last one Maylee... we took about 30. She must have been seeing stars by the end of our photo shoot! 

Snow Day(s)

It's been snowing here in the great Northwest the last few days. 

Saturday it snowed a nice amount but didn't stay around.

I asked Matt to take a picture of me in the snow. He took this one then said "wait I think I need another one."

Yeah then he did this... wonder why Matt doesn't man the camera often? Haha

Monday Matt had the day off, it was delightful! The kids woke up to THIS! Maylee was wondering what the stuff was I think...

Ty was excited to tell her it was SNOW! It didn't stay around long though and never amounted to much.

Flash forward... last night we got a healthy dose of snow, then it snowed more over night... Ty woke up when Matt left for work and came into our bed. He was so excited about all the snow! I told him I was not getting up was going back to sleep. I woke up and hour later and I found him like this lying right next to me.

He slept until 9 a.m.

I however got up with Maylee... this is how I find her almost every morning.

She stares into the hallway waiting for someone to come get her. She doesn't cry in the mornings, she just waits.

Once Ty was up, he wanted to play in the snow we got overnight. School was cancelled for all, Matt was hoping work was cancelled. He was late getting out the door and it took pretty long to get to work.... he was the only one that was late. No Snow Days for work I guess... lame. Haha.

It was raining by the time we got outside so the snow was quickly turning to slush. Ty didn't mind. We dressed him up in what snow gear we had, including some hand me down boots from Cousin James.. they were WAY too big but they worked out great. Ty liked them.

Maylee was actually happy being outside. She stayed really warm inside my coat and her snowsuit.

I stomped out a heart in the snow. Ty just liked looking at his "feet-prints". I was wearing gloves, then Ty decided his hands were cold and asked me for mine. So he wore my gloves. Ty also noticed our next door neighbors didn't add any arms to their snowman. He insisted I add some. Luckily our neighbors didn't mind and welcomed Ty's suggested improvement.

While the weather is cold outside, which it actually hasn't been up until now... were talking low 50's and sunshine, we have been hanging out inside.

Ty wanted a picture with mommy. Then he wanted one with May too.

She just woke up from her nap and kicked her pants off somehow...

In other news, Matt has been practicing with some guys from work who put together a flag football team. They signed up for the winter league and Matt was thrilled. Then they found out that not enough teams signed up so they have to wait for Spring, probably March and April, to play. Matt was bummed. Since we've been doing Insanity he has gotten much quicker he says, like pre-mission quick. He wanted to break some ankles on the football field. For now he'll just have to stick with playing Basketball at church on Saturdays and sometimes on the week days. He even (FINALLY) bought some new basketball shoes on-line (Thanks Steve) and he should get them on Monday. He did a bunch of research on the best shoes and ended up choosing some type of Jordans. Glad he is finally allowing himself to buy a decent pair of Basketball shoes. He has had cheap ones for years. I am sure i'll do a post on them when he gets them he'll be so excited.

ANYWAY back on topic. Moral of the story is,watch out all ya'll across the country, the winter weather is coming in a big way this week!

Some Syrup

A kind and generous family that we go to church with offered Ty this table for his trains. Our friend had heard of the emotional distress it caused on Ty when his sister crawled over and ruined his tracks. With the addition of his bridge expansion pack he got for Christmas his is SO happy now to have it mostly out of reach from his sister.

He always wants her to come over and stand by the table, but not to touch anything, just to watch him play. Yeah you try explaining that to a 9 month old, it a'int happening son. It is the PERFECT addition to his train obsession however.

Ty thought he was so funny the other day running around with a box on his head...

We thought it was pretty funny too actually.

Yesterday Ty started yelling to me "Rocket mom Rocket!" I said "No Ty no shows." (Rocket is what he calls Disney's Little Einsteins) He said "No mom LOOK a ROCKET!" So I came over and looked, he drew a ROCKET!

Pretty good huh? It's the oval with the two dots in it FYI. He was real excited. He has also been showing interest in drawing faces. He'll draw a big circle with 3 circles inside and a line for the mouth. I think it's about time I devote a little more time to teaching him more preschool stuff. Luckily I have a wonderful aunt Chrissie that works at a preschool and she gave me a MILLION ideas. I can't wait to really get started on some of them. He already recognizes T's and Y's everywhere. He thinks if he sees one letter that they all say Ty... he'll come running up and say "Mom Look, T Y Ty! T Y Ty!!!" Haha at least he knows what a T and a Y look like, they are everywhere believe me. We are working on him learning how to write his name now.

The kids got to watch another movie... I love that Ty thinks it's a special treat now to watch a show. This movie was "Emporers New Groove" Hilarious I tell you. Disney is genius, entertains the kids AND the grown-ups (wait did I just call myself a grown-up? What is THAT all about... I am not even in my late 20's yet! That doesn't classify grown up status does it?) 

Lastly for Family Home Evening on Monday night we neglected to plan a game ahead of time. However, I saw some glowsticks in the closet and stole the Wu's family favorite idea... Glow Stick Dance Party! 

Don't mind my singing and the fact that you really can't see May... on my camera when I replay the video you can... anyway as you can see Ty LOVES it. We did about 5 songs and Ty was running marching and dancing the entire time. Matt and I took turns running around with him and holding Maylee. She had a pink stick and you could barely see it. Mine was Orange, Matt's was Yellow and Ty's was Green. 

The best part at the end of the night was putting Ty to bed with the glowsticks. When I went and checked on him before bed he was clutching all four glowsticks. Cute. Good Idea Wu's, once Maylee gets more mobile it bet it will be even more fun. 

TMT: Lessons from a two year old

A week ago I was having a rough morning. I was trying to get the children dressed quickly on our way to an early Dr.'s appointment. Ty was being a bit of a stinker and at one point he said "MOM GO-DURT, NOW!" and pointed his finger to the kitchen. I was none too pleased with that attitude and we had a talk about being nice, employing the word please and using a kinder tone. He amended his order and then asked "Go-durt please mom?"

About 15 minutes later Maylee of course has a messy diaper right when I am ready to walk out the door. I was trying to change it quickly and I said "Ty can you get me one of Maylee's diapers? Please?" He turned to go then turned back, he looked at me and said "Thank you for saying please mom." He got the diaper and came running back. He handed me the diaper and said "See? Ty nice."

I grinned from ear to ear. Our little talks DO sink in! Then it reminded me that it is JUST as important for me to be nice, employ the word please and have a kinder tone in talking to my children as it is for them to use it with me. Thanks for the reminder little buddy.

Harold B. Lee said,
"Strengthen your family ties and be mindful of your children. … Be sure that the home is made the strong place to which children can come for the anchor they need in this day of trouble and turmoil. Then love will abound and your joy will be increased." 


Then he shared an experiance,

"I had an experience that taught me something as a grandfather. It was the night of [a Church] dance festival up at the stadium, and my daughter’s two oldest … were giving her a lot of bad time, as she called it. So I said, “How would you like it if I take your two boys up to the stadium to the dance festival?”

She said, “Oh, Daddy, if you’d do it, I’d be so happy.”

I didn’t know what I was getting into. … As that spectacle began, I didn’t know there was so much difference between a seven-year-old and a five-year-old. The seven-year-old was entranced by that spectacle down on the football field. But that five-year-old, his attention span was pretty short. He’d squirm and then he’d want to go and get a hot dog and he’d want to go get a drink and he’d want to go to the toilet, and he was just on the move all the time. ...I tried to pull my grandson here and there, trying to make him behave. Finally, that little five-year-old turned on me and with his little doubled-up fist he smacked me to the side of the face and he said, “Grandfather, don’t shove me!” And you know, that hurt.  ...my first impulse was to take him and give him a good spanking; that’s what he deserved. But, I’d seen his little mother do something. I’d seen her when he was having a temper tantrum and she had a saying, “You have to love your children when they’re the least lovable.” And so I thought I’d try that out. I had failed in the other process.

So I took him in my arms and I said to him, “My boy, Grandfather loves you. I so much want you to grow up to be a fine big boy. I just want you to know that I love you, my boy.” His little angry body began to [relax], and he threw his arms around my neck and he kissed my cheek, and he loved me. I had conquered him by love. And incidentally, he had conquered me by love.^" 


That will be one of my life long goals, to live in such a kind, loving way that by example and by nature my children will also. I will conquer by love! (okay that sounded a little hippie-ish huh?)  


"There is beauty all around
When there’s love at home;
There is joy in ev’ry sound
When there’s love at home.

Peace and plenty here abide,
Smiling sweet on ev’ry side.
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there’s love at home."
Lyrics LDS Hymns, Love At Home

Kids Lately

Maylee is our little scavenger. If ANYTHING, I mean ANYTHING falls on the floor she is zooming over and eating it. I have to be super fast with clean up or this is what I end up with, chocolate all over her face.

Ty and Maylee play around with one another, most times nicely. Two weeks ago I heard them laughing really hard in Maylee's room. I don't know what they were doing, they stopped once I came around with the camera.

If Maylee isn't playing with toys she is looking outside... or maybe at her reflection in the window, not sure... but she likes it right there.

A few weeks back all our teams lost... Bad... Matt needed to cope so he put six Stroopwafels together and grabbed a gallon of milk. Afterwards he felt much better haha. There is nothing six warm Stroopwafels slapped together can't fix :) 

The kids LOVE taking baths with one another, they could play in there for.e.ver. 

Funny Maylee is wearing the same outfit... 

We did a TV detox (and we still are) from over the holidays. So many cartoons, movies and SHOWS that I about went crazy. Since we got home from my parents house the kids have only watched 2 movies and 2 TV shows in an entire week. Just the way I like it! This particular day Ty asked to watch the Lion Movie and I said yes. He immediately started jumping for joy! I think I caught him of guard with that answer. He has almost stopped asking to watch TV or movies since he knows the answer is most likely No. However, this day, I popped  in The Lion King and Ty made sure he and May both had appropriate stuffed animals as their movie watching companions. May had her cat, Marie, and Ty had his Lion. 

Last Friday I think it was, as I was changing Ty's diaper, he jumped up and said "No mom!". Then he took off for his potty. He does this often with no results, but we encourage him to sit if he wants. He went and came running back saying "Mom look, NO MOM LOOK! Ty went pee pee in the potty!!" I went and checked, sure enough he DID! I was thrilled and so was he! I think both of us may have been surprised. He picked out some candy (Thank goodness Santa brought some since I would normally not have anything) and he got to wear Thomas underwear for a while. 

After two more accidents though we put back on the diaper. He still sits on his potty a lot but hasn't gone since. We're taking it easy with the potty training, I think when he decides to do it, he will. He is pretty close. Next month I am going to dedicate a lot more time to it if he hasn't already trained himself. 

While in Hawaii we picked up a Ukulele for Ty for Christmas. He likes to play on it. The other day he yelled from the back bedroom, "Mom! Ty a Cowbee!" then he came running around the corner and said "Picture mom, Picture!" I heeded his request. Funny that he thinks Cowboys play music... must be all those country tunes we like to hear. 

Ty's new favorite phase is "What the HECK?" Don't know where the HECK he got that phrase (seriously I don't, I don't say that often if at all and neither does Matt) we're working on getting rid of that one, it's not OUR favorite.

Matt and I are doing the 60 day Beach Body Insanity work out together. Pretty fun stuff, should kick our rears in gear... I somehow got a case of tendinitis in my left wrist from it however, must be all those push ups. I took Saturday off, with lots of phone calls to "Dr. Nate" (Matt's brother who just finished his Physical Therapy schooling) ice and Ibuprofen I am ready for another tough week. 

Anyway that is what the kids (including Matt and I) have been up to as we get right into 2012.

9 mo. Stats no syrup, sorry

We took Maylee in for her 9 month check up. We went to a new Doctor and a new office with our new insurance. It was hands down better. Nicer facility, better staff (they spoke English as a first language, yes I am a bit of a snob that way, I would like to understand what the Nurses are saying) and the Doctor was Phenomenal! I went on recommendation from a dear friend who has three children that all see him.

Maylee did great too! Normally this is the age babies start getting weary of strangers but she was just fine with Dr. Mason.

Stats:
Weight: 15 lbs 1 ounce 2nd Percentile
Height: 25 1/2 inches 2nd Percentile
Head Circumference: 41 cm 1st Percentile

Typical May, she is teeny but proportionally teeny. She still fits perfectly in most of her 6 month clothes. 9 mo. clothes are still quite large. She'll get there. She has two top teeth and two bottom teeth. I think 5 and 6 will grace us soon on the top as well.

She got shots yesterday too. She wasn't a fan but she got through them.

We got through the appointment by me holding Ty, while the Dr. or Nurse held/worked with Maylee. I kept reassuring Ty everything was okay and that these two people were nice too. It was not great, but better. Hopefully we can continue improving that situation as well.

ANYWAY Maylee crawls around, through, on top of anything she can. She'll eat anything she can get her little fingers on or if we are eating ANYTHING she wants it. Doc said we could start feeding her everything except Peanut Butter and Honey. So I think i'll try a little Yogurt with her, I bet she'll LOVE it.

She pulls herself up on everything, getting my couches wonderfully sticky and messy, but sometimes she even lets go and stands for a few moments. The girl is well on her way to walking before her first birthday :) She LOVES to play with Ty and laughs her head of with him. She is still quite smiley to most people. We just LOVE her!

Anything like me post follow up

I was filling out a ton of paperwork for transferring our children to a different insurance company and a different pediatrician. It was a pain, I was frustrated and it was apparent by my furrowed brow and hurried scratching of my pen on the papers. Ty had been begging for attention but I just HAD to finish filling out these papers. 

All of the sudden Ty yelled "Mom! Mommy! Where's Ty's fingers?" 

I looked over to see his hand pulled in his  long sleeve shirt. He had a big smile on his face, I said "What? Where are your fingers?"

He said, as he pulled his hand out of his sleeve, "Oh there they are!!" 

I smiled and started laughing. Matt was in the kitchen making himself lunch, he heard Ty doing it. I said "Matt where did he get this?" I thought for sure Matt showed him that one. 

Matt said "I don't know, but that right there ensures he is mine" We both laughed and Ty continued his magic trick for quite some time. 

Just like his Dad I tell you, just like him. 

Happy New Year!

For New Years weekend we headed down to Medford, the weather was nice, Matt had a day off so we thought "Why Not?"

When we got there my parents had some presents for all of us... Ty and Maylee got a new book and some new little cars, I got a MARBLE rolling pin (I am thrilled about it) and Matt got some remote control cars. 

 Maylee liked cruising around my parents house, the steps though weren't her favorite. Matt tried to help her learn how to get down. She ended up like this and just screamed until I took out the camera to take a picture. Is this girl trained to smile or what!

New Years Eve we went to Dinner at Black Bear Diner to get some good grub and then we went and saw the new Sherlock movie after we put the kids to bed and a sitter came over. The movie was good, I think better than the first.

When we got home we waited for a while then pulled out fireworks and headed a few houses over for about 10 minutes to light off fireworks at the Schmidt's.

We had the big ones, so it was fun. We only did 4.


"Kiss me at midnight dance until the morning light party into the new year, all of our friends are here and when the time is riiiiiggght kiss me a midnight." If you know what song that is and who sings it, you win. :)

Wait a second who kisses with their EYES WIDE OPEN? Haha

 We came home after those 10 minutes to find Ty crying, terrified and walking around the house. Poor kid must have awoke from the fireworks, which if you remember from 4th of July he isn't a fan of quite yet.

He got to join in on our Sparkling cider however.

 Nice Mom and Dad haha.

 New Years Day we went to church, made belgian waffles and bummed around the house.

On the 2nd we worked out in the morning, watched a ton of Football and went over to the gym at our church to race our new remote control cars. They are tag cars with lasers that shoot one another... it was really fun! If your car is shot 3 times it goes haywire for a few seconds then shuts down until you go get it and reset it. Ty was getting his shoes on to go, I think he chose the wrong shoes.

 Matt set up books for a course. My moms goal was to knock over all of Matt's books.

 I told Ty to say cheese, he didn't care he was watching "The little engine that could" on my moms Ipad for the 10th time. May, I didn't even realize, was looking at the camera until I looked at this picture a little later... funny girl.

 Dad got really good at banging all of us up. The last hour or so we just drove our cars around trying to hit one another. Racing remote control cars is serious business you know.

We left for home last night around 7. It wasn't a bad drive since we got to listen to the Stanford vs.OSU game on an AM frequency. Too bad Stanford didn't win, I sure liked Andrew Luck. Hope he does well in the NFL.

Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend with tons of great food, friends and family. We just love living so close to Medford so we can visit so often.

Now on to the everyday grind and putting all the holiday decor away. My January calendar is quite bare too, not much to look forward to for a while. I better get planning something before those winter blues set in!