ChRiStMaS!!!

A whole month of no posts!! It feels like a year. Blogging about this past month feels very daunting. I just uploaded all my pictures to blogger last night and there were over 100! Yikes. So just a warning, if you've been missing the Stephanie love, you're about to get smothered in it. :)

OK, from the top!

The plane ride out was awful. Just plain awful. You can't pay for pre-boarding unless it's 36 hours in advance, so I was stuck getting on after the A's. Which wasn't too bad, and I got a seat for Weston since it wasn't a full flight. He even slept in his carseat for about an hour. That's where the good news ends. Collin was completely uncontent with his DVD's and whined and complained nearly the whole time, wanting to get off. He kept saying, "I go to Rusty's house. I just wanna go to Rusty's houssssse!" He fell asleep for maybe 45 min. then woke up cranky as all get out. Then he had to go to the bathroom. This is all right when we hit bad turbulence and the fasten seatbelt signs came on. I made my way to the back of the plane and was told to sit down by the stewardesses. When we finally got in the bathroom/closet, the toilet was making loud, sucking noises and Collin FREAKED. Like screaming hysterically, clawing his way up my chest kind of freaked. Thankfully a stewardess held Weston while I tried to force him on the seat. (Cuz now he says he has to go #2 instead of just the easy #1) Well after a complete meltdown, and surely touching other people's urine, which is strewn about, he doesn't go #2 and is beyond consolation. I kept telling him we couldn't leave until he stopped crying because no one else wanted to hear his ugly noises. Finally, he stops screaming loud enough, that I felt I could leave the bathroom, but when I turn to open the door, I see that it is swinging wide open already. Grrrreat. When I retrieve Weston, the stewardess wryly comments that "someone isn't happy". Ya think? I really never want to do that again. However, when we started descending into Phoenix and I saw the mountains, I could feel my spirits lifting! We were home! Now I just had to get both boys in the double stroller and go pick up 4 pieces of luggage. While waiting next to the carousal, an older lady came up and was doting on Weston, then pulled her son/friend/husband over and made him look at him too. Suddenly I realize the man is muttering something almost under his breath, and I start catching phrases like. "Lord and Jesus... bless him... keep safe... accomplish thy will..." I'm thinkin', is that the rosary or something? Then the lady leans in and proudly tells me with a, your welcome kind of smile, "He's a pastor." Oh wow.  

Not long after, Jeffers and Marcie showed up to bring us home. My parents were gone to Craig's band concert, but Shelley and her fam came over to greet us! I was almost as excited to see a pile of the most delicious Tia Rosa burritos lying nonchalantly on the island, being treated like they weren't the most delicious things ever. I pounced on one, mmming and ahhing with each bite. You'd think I'd never had refried beans before. We chatted all night, while Collin ran around with reckless abandon with his cousins. Yes, the plane ride was worth it. (Even though I hope to never do it again.)

Trav flew in four days later on Friday night and was in time to make it to one of his family's Christmas parties, and both of mine. Saturday night we went to the Hatch party where you bring 20+ small gifts to exchange. We brought 24 toothbrushes and mini toothpastes with a little note that said, "Hope your smile is bright this season" Bwahahah. We're hoping to already get ourselves a reputation for cheesy, dentist quips. Sunday night was the Udall party at my parent's house.

Here's Reindeer Weston getting ready to boogie.

Afterward, we got a shot with all the Udall cousins... just missing a few. 

Then on Tuesday night was the Lindblom party at Jill and Evan's house. There is always a talent show involving lots and lots of kid piano numbers and solos but this year we also got to see a little {Footloose} line dance by Jill's uninhibited nanny! I for one, loved it. Go Keisha.

I love family parties!! They are as much fun as actual Christmas day. Seeing all my cousins is good motivation for me to have more than 2 children. Because, you see, right after that (Wed.-Fri) Trav was gone, yet again. He drove to New Mexico to check out a few dental practices and I think those days will forever be knows as the time Steph almost scheduled her tube ligation. Needless to say, I was glad when he returned. And all of a sudden, the next day was Christmas Eve!

We finally made it to the dead animal store (Bass Pro Shop) to see Santa and Collin seemed to like his little elf just as well. This is what he did when we told him we wanted a picture of him with the elf.

Collin was SO excited to see Santa and tell him he wanted a sword for Christmas. He was all smiles until we tried to get him off Santa because he didn't understand why Santa hadn't produced the sword yet! And Weston.... well Weston was just thrilled to see the man in red. I don't know why I get such a kick out of seeing my kids scream in terror. But it's great!

That night we had a family party with just Trav's immediate family at his parent's house. We are also expected to produce a talent for the talent show and now we finally have a kid old enough to sluff that off on!! He sang a beautiful rendition of Jingle Bells. (I don't know why his hair isn't done. Bug)

He was the most cooperative 3rd Wise Man ever. 

After the nativity, word got out that Neil was trying desperately to pull out his loose tooth. I guess he wanted Santa and the Tooth Fairy to meet. Trav was called in to assist and I got squeamish. Brave Neil! After some blood and time and still no tooth, it was determined it wasn't ready to come out. It didn't break loose for another week!

Then the traditional Christmas pajama's were handed out. I'm amazed at the time Paula puts into sewing things like this. We are always excited to see the new fabric for the year... I think I heard jokes that this will be dubbed the {psychedelic/80's Christmas}! Trevor sports them well. :)

Then we didn't know whether we should shield our eyes or take note, as Wayne came in and started pulling down his pants! I guess he had managed to get on every pair of pajama bottoms that Paula has ever sewn, and was ready to showcase them. Something tells me Paula didn't know about this. :) I don't even know how many there were, but at least 6 or 7. We were just glad he remembered which pair were the last ones to keep on! I think we'll be laughing about this for a long time.

Then we headed back to my parent's house to make gingerbread houses and have homemade hot chocolate (for that terribly cold weather Arizona deals with).

Ours is an igloo Target at the North Pole. .can't ya tell?

With Christmas on a Sunday this year, we started off the day with church! Collin got to open one present before we left and what do you know... Santa brought him a sword! (Which he used to stab Lane with all through sacrament mtg.)

There was a lot of wrestling and crying going on as we tried to get everyone organized to start opening presents. This will be one of my favorite memories ever! Rusty was wailing about not getting something or the other and when it was finally given to him, he didn't even open his eyes or stop his wail, he just went straight from crying into a distressed, "Thank Yoooooou!", not missing a beat. Hysterical. 

It took me forever to find all of Collin's presents. And man did it get expensive. NOT! Thank you dollar store. 15 min. and $10 later, Collin had a big pile of fun toys to open on Christmas morning. But the sword was still the fav.

He was also surprised by Grandma with a super cool {non dollar store} ship!

"Santa" stuffed our stockings with some classics... gotta love Mary-Kate and Ashley!

We haven't exchanged gifts with each other in a long time, but the washing machine recently retired Trav's phone so after a bunch or research and a good deal, Trav's wildest dreams came true... he got (Lampoon's drum roll please) the I-phone. His new baby. So I decided he could "get me" (I buy things for myself... no returns that way..ok, usually) some brown boots! Also under the tree were a couple mysterious items that "Santa" brought for me. Maybe to ease his conscience?? :) I was pleasantly surprised by the earrings and bracelets. I later found out he had some help. Thanks Meg! Jewelry is always fun.

My mom loves Caesar Chavez but hates dogs. Go figure.

The apron and cheese were some funny things Christopher gave my parents. 

Weston was not left out! He got one present from Santa ... I love the simple life.

After all the presents were opened we snarfed on Dad's biscuits and gravy and waited for Elder Davy to call!! We got to talk to him for about an hour and it was so fun to hear his voice. We just crowded around the speaker phone in the office and riddled him with questions. Then Grandmother came over and when it was her turn to ask him something, she got all choked up and couldn't talk. Who invited that lady anyway?! I think she got all of us misty. That boy has more than just Grandmother wrapped around his finger. I sure miss him. 

Well then it was time for the grand event. My mom has organized a fun way for us to "win" our money each year as married folk. First it was scavenger hunts, then trivia games, and this year marked the first Minute to Win it games! We would take turns doing boys vs. girls, so here is the first game that the boys did. You had to stack all the cups into a pyramid then take them down with one hand. 

Then us girls took turns trying to throw the most marshmallows through a Christmas wreath.

I was TERRIBLE at this next one! Stacking nuts with a candycane. I was shaking like a druggie getting clean. Jael won this one with her super steady doctor hands!

Dropping clothespins into a jar from your nose...

Scooping cotton balls into a bowl.....

Surprise, surprise, we were the WINNERS!!! Haha, gotta give Shells a hard time. :) We have decided that we have won every year because we are the poorest and fate is kind. Trav is also just dang good at games. I don't know why he hasn't gotten himself on a game show to get us out of debt. Forget dentistry, bring on Price is Right!

The beauty queens needed a nap after all the excitement.

The evening was spent at the Evans' where more presents were had... I love Collin's face here.

Someone knows him well... fireman anything is always a hit!

Here are the "triplets" enjoying a snack. I guess Weston already had his fiber for the day.

Here is the whole Evans clan in their new duds! I sure love this family. 

It was a wonderful, {spoiled rotten} Christmas as usual. I was so happy we got to be home for it. It just wouldn't be the same without our whole family. We're so lucky and grateful. 

Now just two more GARGANTUAN posts to go before I'm caught up!!! Aren't you excited?! :)

Backtrack!

Well, I thought I was done! Guess not.

Before leaving for AZ in December, we said farewell to friends with the Shaw's annual Ugly Sweater Party! This has been a fun tradition and I will miss it. We have a lot of junk in our basement thanks to the White Elephant exchange, but I wouldn't trade the memories! This year we went home with the creepiest, wooden monkey with flexible appendages. Collin LOVED it. Seriously, it was his best friend for a whole day, until he snapped his leg off. Good bye voodoo monkey!

Here are the stylin' ladies!

 And our sexy counterparts!

(Carolyn won {Ugliest sweater}. It was magnificent. Had a sewn on train AND jingle bell.)

 For the record...

Here is our Christmas card. I will miss Rachel's designing skills next year when it's time to pick out a card. Thanks Rach!

Pre-Christmas

Right now the entire family is sleeping (literally everyone) except me. And this has been the scenario for all Sundays the past couple months. It's crazy frustrating! I can't remember what it feels like to not be tired, and yet the one time I can snag some extra sleep, I just lay there with my thoughts racing.

Tomorrow afternoon I board a plane with my two munchkins to visit AZ, and I'm SCARED. I don't know what I was thinking, flying with two small kids by myself. Collin will probably be fine with the DVD player (I bought some new Curious George and Caillou DVD's), but Weston just started crawling and I don't think he's going to be happy staying in one spot for 6 hours. He also woke up yesterday with a nasty, runny nose and hasn't quite been himself. I've decided to pay the extra ten dollars to preboard and hopefully get the first row of seats with extra leg room. Maybe I can lay a blanket down and Weston can have some space of the floor to move around.

I think this is the least prepared I've been to come home for Christmas. I've been working hard on my to do list, but here I sit at 4:30pm on Sunday and loads of laundry are dirty, the bathroom needs to be cleaned and the kitchen floor needs to be mopped. Christmas cards haven't been addressed (but thanks to Trav, they are stuffed and stamped) and I have a kitchen table full of Christmas treats to be delivered. Nothing is packed and I just realized I have expired Benedryll (yes, I'll be bringing that on the plane just in case.... the pediatrician said it's perfectly safe so please don't judge). I should be thankful on two counts... I thought I was getting mastitis on Thursday (confirmed by my doctor), but it seems to have gone away with no need of antibiotics, and Weston scratched his eye (like eyeball) on Wednesday and saw the pediatrician, but that also seems to have healed with no need for a pediatric eye doctor visit (didn't even know those existed until now).

It's good to remember blessings because life has felt kind of overwhelming lately and I don't know that I've taken much joy in motherhood. Travis has been studying for his board exams and I've felt like a single parent in many ways. And I am the WORST "single" parent in the history of ever. I get so cranky doing everything by myself. And Collin has energy like I've never seen before. Since we are spending much more time indoors, he gets rather stir crazy. He begs me several times a day to go "dance in the basement". (imagine in a whiny, pleading/demanding voice) What this means is that I turn on the I-pod to blaring music and walk around the basement next to him while he runs back and forth, climbing on the chairs and walking on top of them until he gets in front of the small table. He subconsciously rubs his belly with his right thumb, then extends his left hand for me to help him jump onto the table. Then he launches himself onto the couch, only making it with his chest, his feet on the floor, then repeats his routine. He will do this for half an hour straight if I let him. And if I try to do lunges back and forth or anything out of the routine, he yells at me until I step back in line. Between our "dancing" and watching Pink Panther (his latest obsession) our days are quite boring.

But Trav took his exams last Wed. and Thurs. and things nearly instantly have gotten better. :) Now we just hope he passed!

In other news...

I went through my picture files and found some of us at the last UB home football game the week before Thanksgiving. It was pretty chilly, but I got a free soft pretzel so it was worth it. No, actually it was my idea to go. I think football games are so fun and we sat right behind the band, so that was even better.

 The traditional ornament exchange party was this week and this was the ornament I made. I cut up scriptures from Luke 2 and decoupaged them on a clear ornament then doused in glitter. I thought it turned out really pretty and hopefully will be forgiven for crafting up a page of the Bible.

I got a new do! I lost about 6 inches, cut bangs and added highlights. My hair was ridiculously long. Like Rapunzel long (or 8th grade Stephanie long, as Trav put it) so this was a big deal for me, even though it doesn't seem like anything drastic in the picture.

 This week, Collin disappeared then started calling for me. I could tell his voice was coming from the bathroom, so I opened the door, looked around, then was puzzled because I couldn't find him. Then I looked down and laughed out loud. He thought he was super funny. Only, then he's done it two more times and conked his head pretty good trying to get out, but tipping over instead.

Also this week, I guess he was going to the bathroom when he noticed the toilet bowl brush and asked Trav what it was. Trav told him it was used to clean the toilet, to which Collin responded, "Oh, Mommy cleans toilet. Not boys." So Trav said, "Well, boys can clean toilets too." But Collin wasn't buying it, (I mean, in all his 2 years of life, he's only seen Mommy clean toilets) and kept arguing, "No, Daddies don't clean toilets, only Mommies clean toilets." Again, Trav tried to tell him that boys and Daddies can clean toilets too, but I guess Collin was never convinced. How would he believe something he's never seen? :) I thought it was pretty funny. At least he knows Daddies can do dishes.

Something else kind of funny that happened this week was, I was in the kitchen and Collin had disappeared for quite some time (at least 5 solid minutes), when I heard him start to scream. And this was a scream that you know something is wrong. It actually scared me. I started heading toward the voice, yelling, "where are you? where are you?" and his hysterical, truly terrified scream was making me start to panic. I didn't know what to expect when I found him, but the pit in my stomach was not a good sign. I ran into the office and saw him sitting on my computer chair and realized the problem. He had inadvertantly started the printer and it was groaning and churning, ready to spit out a paper and probably sounded like a monster... that he had awoken. I scooped him up and he was trembling and still crying like he was about to be eaten alive. I had to chuckle. The things that scare kids.

 On a final good note, my Sunday School lesson is done for the day (always a HUGE burden off my shoulders) and I have 3 weeks of family filled fun awaiting me! I can't wait to see my family. It's been a whole year since we've been home and most everyone hasn't even met my nearly one year old "baby". Whatever happens on that plane will be worth it. AZ here I come!

Toddler Bed

I have DREADED this day. Almost as much as I dreaded potty training. I have heard nothing but frustration and heart ache from parents who upgrade their toddler to a {big kid bed}. But it had to come. Weston does not deserve a portable bed for his entire first year of life. And perhaps more so, we do NOT deserve to have a baby right next to us in our bedroom for a full year. I have a patient husband.

So after a new paint job, this Craig's list beauty got a new owner. I wish I had taken video of when we showed it to him. Giddy is an understatement. It was like we had given him a puppy. He was SO excited to sleep in it. He got all tucked in and after explaining that he should NOT get out of it, we said goodnight and shut the door. And he didn't get out once! He fell right asleep and in the morning we heard him calling for us and he was just sitting patiently on it, waiting for us to get him. It has now been 5 nights with ZERO problems. How did we get so lucky?! I'm sure he'll eventually realize there, in fact, is no red lava flowing under his mattress, but until then I am counting my blessings! (And the days until Weston sleeps through the night so he can share a room with Collin in his very own crib. We are on day 3 of crying it out. I think it's close).

P.S. The non-matchyness of his bedding is due to his unadulterated love for the blanket that Aunt Shelley made for him. I'm pretty sure it's going on his mission with him. 

Christmas Decor

For FHE this week, we put up Christmas decorations. I thought it was pretty selfless of me to share this activity with my 2 year old, knowing full well he would be half destroyer, half helper. Ok, make that 80/20. He didn't disappoint. But what's Christmas if not to share with your kids and get them excited?

Trav and I were both distracted, hanging up decorations when we realized Collin had put Santa on the shooting range. He's using a picture frame stand as his weapon. I think it was the most fun he had all night.

 And as usual, this sweet one, just quietly enjoyed all the activity going on around him! As of this week, he is officially mobile! Before, he was getting around via scoots, pushes, rolls and the occasional crawl, but now he's doing the whole enchilada! I really wish I had gotten video of the pre-crawl methods though. He'd use his helmet as an anchor, plant his head down ahead of himself, then wiggle his arms and legs to catch up to it, then repeat. I was dying!

 This photo is for Grandma Evans! We have had the {pass around chicken} for the year, so when it got pulled out with the decorations, Collin was all too thrilled to have a new hat.

Face Mask

This kid will turn anything into a gun, bat, hat or face mask. He loves to dress up. One of my headbands was his latest disguise for the week, as he ran around playing super hero. I think the fluffy flower makes it especially menacing.