December: Snow, Santa, and One-Year-Old Baby Jesus

This past December was a typical holiday month for us. We started to get the cold weather and out came our hats and coats. It was fun seeing Kendrick in the same gear that Ammon wore years ago.

Our front yard

View of part of our backyard

View of the front drive way

I was THRILLED when we actually got a decent amount of snow! Usually, when it does snow here, Maple Valley gets one teeny-tiny inch that quickly melts. This snow fall we had a good amount - enough that we could actually play and enjoy what I've missed by moving away from Utah.

Eager to get our fun in, I told Lydia she was skipping the first half of school to have a snow day with me. I was the cool mom for one morning as we heard all the other kids getting on the bus and we continued throwing snowballs in the backyard.

I felt like a little kid again as we stomped around in the white stuff. I love the snow. Especially at Christmas time, it adds such a magic to the season and I was loving it for days.

When Lydia told me she had never made a snowman and didn't know how, I was shocked! My kids had not experience childhood before this day!

Cue snowman making instructions. I showed the kids how to roll a smaller snow ball until it became bigger and bigger. Their eyes grew at the same rate as the balls of snow, "You can just make it grow by rolling it?!"

Ammon loved packing the snow between the different snowball levels, in order to make the stay together. He would bossily instruct Lydia that her packing job was not up to par. Of course, he was the first to cave and start crying that his feet hurt because they were so cold. I had to cut him some slack because we had already been playing outside for a couple hours, and we were on our second model of snowman (due to a collapse when trying to stick the face rocks in)

Lydia stayed out to finish the snowman job while I headed in with Ammon to join Kendrick, who had been inside crying at the back door for the last half hour. (He didn't like the cold and I couldn't set him down in the snow, so he lost out and I was a super un-cool mom for him that morning as he sat in the house crying by himself) After we exhausted ourselves in the snow, I drove Lydia to school and took the boys and myself to what was left of exercise class. One of the best mornings this year, for sure.

A couple weeks later, after warmer weather came back and rain set in, Mr. Frosty (as dubbed by the kids) was feeling pretty Greek.

With the fake creepy-ish Santa that dances and sings

Christmas parties abounded in December and the kids had a blast at Brigham's work Christmas party. They swam in the boss' pool and made amazing surprise Christmas gifts for us, with the help of the boss' wife. Because my mom works for the same company as Brigham, my parents and brother and sister were at the party as well. Prime rib, a gift exchange, and letting the kids enjoy swimming made it a successful night.












The Ward Christmas Party was in the same week and the kids were able to sit on Santa's lap .

Each year our church puts on a Nativity for the community. Members bring all their different nativity sets and put them up in the gym decorated with hundreds of Christmas trees. Live choirs and musical numbers sing in the chapel, and other rooms are set up for dress-up pictures, treats, artwork, and children's activities. It's a HUGE, beautiful production that lasts for three days and takes thousands of hours of work and volunteers.

Another huge part of The Nativity is the live nativity at the back of the gym. This year, they were short on babies so they asked if we would be willing to participate and have Kendrick play baby Jesus. I laughed, knowing that he is a bit too old to play the part, but decided an old baby Jesus is better than no baby Jesus.

And though it was comical that our baby Jesus was sitting up on his own in the manger, and would babble and stare at all the guests, a special feeling and awe was felt and expressed by us and visitors. Many people stopped to take pictures with us and to say how sweet Kendrick was. The reverence and respect was tangible.






It is true that much laughter was heard when Kendrick kept attempting to stretch his arms to free his hands of the sleeves that were much too long.  It made him appear as though he was preaching a sermon to his people.

Our older kids played their parts for a half hour before we let them escape to the children's room to make crafts. Of course, I had to hear, "Has it been a half hour yet, Mom?" about thirty times from Ammon before the half hour was up. But he was an adorable shepherd, and Lydia a beautiful angle, while it lasted.

Talk about reason for the season.

My favorite part of The Nativity was a special ending of the art section. The Nativity committee had constructed a classroom to be the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. You never would have known it was a classroom, it was done so well. With walls and ceiling draped with sheets, an empty bed, empty linens, soft glowing lights, and even the smell of spices that would have been used to clean and preserve Christ's body, the Spirit was SO strong it was unbelievable. I could have spent much longer there than I did, but already the tears flowed and my heart grew to bursting. I know so many people that were touched by the empty tomb. It was truly special.

That experience, and playing the live nativity, really set the tone for December. I enjoyed reflecting on my testimony of Christ, his birth, ministry, death, and resurrection as we participated in the events of the month celebrating the baby who changed everything.

Wild One

It seems it was just last month that this little man was born.

He was my little monkey man when he was born, with his curly dark hair, heavy brow, and wide nose. As he changed and grew, I realized his personality would test me more than my previous two and I started calling him my wild child. So when I saw this Wild One outfit on Amazon I was sold.

And slowly a little theme and party began to come together. I was just going to have family come over for his cake and presents, but then I realized, it's more fun if more people get to watch him destroy a cake. And when I was exercising at a friends house I noticed her room had a bunch of decorations that fit the theme perfectly. She let me borrow them and I made a couple more easy decorations, and soon we had a simple wild-themed house to party in.

The feathers and the tepee were borrowed, but I made the arrows, cupcake toppers, and cake topper.

It was my first time making a smash cake, and I baked it in a formula can (thanks Pinterest). It turned out perfect. I also really liked the frosting idea that was a pudding/whip cream mixture. It was less sticky, not so sickly sweet, and held up really well without melting or running as it sat out.

We had a wall with a picture of Kendrick every month since he was born. My mom said it looked like a funeral, but I loved putting together the wall and the decorations. This last year went by so fast and it was nice to see how he has really grown each month to the little boy he is.









All of the decorations were so simple, but it was more than I've ever done before. I'm not really a party planner/decorator person and usually we just have pizza, open presents, and eat cake. Kendrick sure got spoiled (not that he knew or cared).

As for the actual party, we first opened presents. My favorite was the hat that I've been preparing him for, for weeks. Oh my goodness it's cute! He's been a hat hater and usually cries whenever I put them on. But when I saw this hat and imagined his face in it, I had to have it. After ordering it, I knew I had to prepare him so he actually would wear it. So for weeks I put hats on him ALL the time. He would fuss and try to pull them off, but I would put them right back on. And it worked. He doesn't love them, and he especially doesn't love the fur under his chin, but he wears them!

Yes, I torture my children for my own amusement.

After presents we had a lunch of roll sandwiches, oranges, carrots, chicago mix popcorn, and cream puffs.


And then cake!

Kendrick wasn't sure at first, but he loves his food so we all thought he would really go for it. But his shyness got the better of him. Everyone staring and encouraging him to go for it put too much pressure on him and he just lost it. That little face puckered up and he let out a wail with his hand just sitting in the frosting of his cake.



We realized our mistake and all pretended to ignore him until he slowly got into it.

He started by only poking the cake and licking off his finger. Then he began to get little pieces, and soon he was doing pretty good.

We eventually all moved back to the living room from the kitchen to sit down and conversate, and I scooted Kendrick so he was nearby and let him take his time with his cake. He ate about half of it. I figured it was job well done in his own way. Then he crashed hardcore and took a three hour nap. Turning one is hard work.

While he napped we watched funny you-tube videos with friends and talked and had a great time.

This boy is such a joy to all of our lives. Lydia and Ammon just adore him (too much sometimes) and he is a silly, playful little boy. Here are some of the stages he is in:

• He could walk if he wanted to, but he is too chicken and immediately falls to his knees if he even THINKS you're about to let go of his hand.
• Because he wants to walk so bad, but is too chicken, he will walk on his knees to get to you.
• Kendrick loves balls and books most out of all his toys. He will bring you books all day and loves making animals sounds, especially the horse and sheep. Chasing and throwing balls keep him occupied for quite some time.
• Kendrick loves a good chase. Whether you chase him or he chases you, he squeals in delight.
• His favorite foods are plain baby cereal and bottles and he loves vegetables like asparagus and green beans. 
• Kendrick also loves the dishwasher and pulling dishes out to suck on them and "helps" Brigham do the dishes all the time.
• He is so smart when it comes to spitting food out. He knows just how to make it so you can't put it back in. He sticks his tongue out and continuously blows a raspberry when you try to put the food back in so the air and tongue in the way make it impossible. Stinker!
• He is the WORST napper ever. But that's nothing new.
• He already cries if he's told no and throws fits when things are taken away from him. None of my other kids did that, and I find that I don't care for it.
• When he gets my phone or other things he knows he's not supposed to have, when you notice, he just holds it in the air above his head so you can take it away from him.
• He is a great talker and makes tons of sounds and tongue actions. He also waves for bye bye and night night and claps.
• He is 24 lbs and in size 3 diapers. He's in about the 60th percentile for both height and weight. His head size is still big, but not near as big at the 70th percentile (down from 96th!! hahaha!)
• Kendrick has 8 teeth and is getting three more molars already. And he is a biter! ugh.
• Kendrick is super cuddly and loves being sung to while he is held. I LOVE it! He also gives kisses. Wide-open mouthed kisses that are sweet and slobbery.
• His hair still curls when it gets wet and he has the longest eyelashes and puckeriest lips.
• He's deathly afraid of umbrellas and the shower curtain.

Being busy with older kids has made this last year flow by and I just can't believe this day has already come and gone. I love this little miracle baby with all my heart and our family wouldn't be the same without him. He's our spunky, handsome, smart little boy. Happy Birthday Kendrick!!

And I know you haven't seen near enough pictures of him, so here are his one year old pictures for you to enjoy.

Tappana Times: Things I'm Thankful For

November is a month I try to spend reflecting on the things I'm grateful for. I have SO many blessing to count, but I'll just name a few here.

First, I'm grateful that this boy turned 11 months. Because that means I get one more month before my baby turns one!

I usually try to delete my pictures down so I don't have a million of Kendrick on the same day in different poses, but each of these capture his personality in a different way so that I had to include them.

He's at such a fun stage. It took longer with him for me to really be able to enjoy a particular age with him, but I'm loving this one.  He's trouble, but fun to watch explore. He's clingy and needy, but SO cuddly - oh I love that. He loves chasing and being chased and his burp rag. Naps are still questionable, and he's super shy. He's getting good at throwing fits but his squeals of excitement, especially for his siblings, come often.

 One thing I want to remember about this age: he is the cutest eater. I don't know what it is, but I could watch his fat, dimpled hands pick up food from his tray and then his chubby cheeks and puckered lips bounce as he chews, all day. I may sound weird, but I'm not the only one in this house that feels that way. We all just sit and watch him eat and adore him. When he spits out food it's literally one of the cutest, funniest things I've ever seen. I'm going to be in trouble when I have to train him to eat what's on his plate, because no matter how hard I try, I can't help but laugh as his little tongue darts in and out until all the food is out and then blows a raspberry to really make sure it's all clear, all while making this guttural sound of disgust. You probably have to be there, but it's hilarious.

Besides Baby Kendrick, I'm grateful for these two:

They are both so helpful, so silly, so smart, and such lights in my life. And boy are they good looking. Ammon is really starting to find his groove in Kindergarten and his handwriting is awesome for his age. His sense of humor just kills me. And Lydia only got raving reviews from her teacher. My favorite was that she is just so KIND. Now that makes me proud.

I'm grateful for my body. This picture doesn't do it justice, but I was playing basketball with my family and my brother's friend, Carter, who is big and tall and skilled. I decided I was going to get the rebound no matter what, and went up against Carter. Bad idea. My middle finger hit the ball and then I was in a world of pain. I thought I broke my three middle fingers at first, the pain was so bad, but after a few hours I could tell my middle finger was just jammed. It swelled up twice its normal size (that's what I was trying to take a picture of, but you can't really tell) and the entire finger was black and blue and green and yellow and purple and red for a couple weeks. I looked and felt really really bad.

When my hand got cold, that finger would go completely numb, and it would often go white. It still feels a little stiff and hurts when I use it to pull my shoes on. But, three weeks later, I was back on the court with my family, killing it at tornado and poison. The body is an amazing thing!


I've also been grateful for my calling. I'm the young women's sports athletic director for our ward, and I've been loving it. I felt a lot of pressure at first because, while I love watching and playing sports, I'm not actually skilled and I don't really know how to coach, but it's been a blast.

Our young women's team even made it to regionals, and while the competition was tough, it was fun to be part of it. Basketball season is next!

I'm grateful for cookies.

Especially babies and cookies. Cookies are delicious.

In fact I'm grateful for food in general.

It tastes good, it keeps the body going, and it allows us to have Thanksgiving feasts with friends and family.

Thanksgiving was good this year. Turkeybowl, where I caught my first kickoff return and had a blast. Games and conversation and food. Time with my niece Amelia and brother and sister-in-law.

Like I said, I have a lot to be grateful for.

One last person I'm going to express gratitude for is this birthday boy.

He's been working so hard and he comes home and still puts in time to take care of things with the family. He still tells me how beautiful I am when I just woke up or stayed in my greasy hair and sweats all day. He LOVES his kids and is a smart, handsome, kind-hearted man and father.

I'm grateful that I can finally listen to Christmas music and that we have twinkling Christmas lights to cheer me up during these dark, gray winter days.

I loved watching my kids (kids here means Lydia and Ammon. Kendrick mostly just whined because I was ignoring him) decorate the tree this year and the glee they had in their eyes and voices. Though, when they turned their backs, I had to hurry and re-disperse their ornaments all clustered in the same spot.

We've got some fun Christmas surprises in store for these three and I CANNOT wait.

I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of it I get to be with these people for forever.

 The grace, healing, knowledge, promises and hope the gospel message brings is the greatest blessing in my life.





I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and that you were able to reflect on some of the things that you are blessed with as well.