Presents, Presents

These pictures aren't chronological of Christmas morning... if you scroll to the bottom of the post and go up, there are only a few out of order... however, it doesn't really matter.  Unless, of course, you want to be surprised with what's inside the packages... :)

We had a special request by Ethan's sister E that if "there's any way possible" we could be there for Christmas morning, she would love it... when the AF informed us that our plans of leaving for Utah after Christmas were no good, E's dreams came true... we spent Christmas morning with the Woodys and fun was had by all.

I caught this moment after all the gifts were opened but before all the other siblings came over.  Nothing quite says Erin like snapping a self-portrait in a mirror... of course, the huge mirror capturing me capturing the moment only adds to the hilarity.

We usually run around all Christmas day back and forth between parent's homes and never really feeling like we get to hang out... this year was different, thanks to my family for changing their plans.  We were able to spend a fun and relaxing time all morning before Ethan's siblings arrived.  We ate yummy waffles (thanks T!), set up all the fun toys, and even got to play one of our new games.  The boys all got a big toy set, a costume and some books.  The following are pictures of their fun that morning.

For those of you wondering who this masked crusader is, he's Eon Kid and he has the power of the Iron Fist... a random show we found at the library that my kids really loved.  We found this costume at ROSS for under $5!

LIke I said before, fun was had by ALL.  I loved watching Jane get excited about her gifts... Scott was kind enough to purchase this hat from my etsy shop and Jane was very surprised!  It was cute!  Thanks for your support Scott and Jane, like always, you look beautiful!

Christmas Eve after we got the kids in bed, Erin pulled out this game her employer had given her earlier in the day.  The Office DVD game.  She was pretty excited, it was so cool with little Office character cut-outs and all.  She was going through it pretty thoroughly and Ethan and I both had interesting expressions as she did.  When Ethan left the room I informed her that I had bought the same thing for Ethan...  when he opened it he gave a little chuckle.  Little did I  know then, that he had purchased The Office Trivia Game for me!  It was an Office Christmas all around.  We've played the trivia game twice now and it is so fun! Thanks Babe!

Scott and his Christmas Socks.

I had to wrestle Levi to keep him from opening his and others' gifts before we were ready.

You can't see it, but its called Pure Seduction.

Erin's pretty excited to open that gift!  Thanks Woodys for sharing a fabulous day with us!

Santa Stopped By

I'm not big into Santa, but he does fill the stockings with fun treasures for the kids.  I was amazed at how long it took for the stockings to get "old" no one seemed to notice a tree full of gifts waiting to be opened. 

I don't know how I captured this moment so perfectly, but I'm sure glad I did!

These swords will see many, many hours of play.

If you ask Jonas what he got for Christmas, he'll tell you, "A Big Lollipop!" very excitedly.  These were great because they're made of marshmellows, so they get all the fun of a lolli, but not nearly all the mess.  And they're so cute...

Christmas Eve for the Hollidays

Growing up, Christmas Eve was even more anticipated than Christmas morning for me.  I absolutely loved going to Grandma and Grandpa's house with all the cousins, aunts and uncles.  I loved the food.  I was still so eager for the next morning.  It was the best!  All of the kids slept in the same room each Christmas Eve (until the older boys got all "scroog-y" on me).  It was the highlight of the holiday for me.  My parents have continued this tradition with their kids and grandkids.  Ethan's family (with HIS grandma and cousins and aunts and uncles) has always had a Christmas Eve party too-actually the first year I went to the party it was on the 26th-but usually.  This has made for an exceptionally busy Christmas Eve, but we try to do it every year we can... I didn't get my camera brought into the church for the Call party, but it was lots of fun with lots of traditions... $5 gift game, great food, and a nativity.  Levi was the comic relief to this year's nativity, wearing his costume like (what else) a cape and running/flying around the stage.  Bryant had a major break down when his gift got stolen from him, we're talking MAJOR.  Someone finally took pity on him and took his new gift so he could steal the "good" back (thanks, Kim-the-Boy!).  It was GREAT to see so many of Ethan's aunts, uncles and cousins and to introduce Eliza to Grandma Call.  We love you all so much!  Glenn, could you send me some of the pictures?

I did remember the camera at my mom and dad's... good thing too, since I was the only one!  Here we are remembering the reason for the season.  Bryant was able to take his turn as Joseph this year.  Eliza just missed the cut on being Baby Jesus.  Jonas, had had enough nativity at the Call party, so he watched... 

As you can see, Levi's picture is blury... he's always on the go.  This picture tells so many stories... There's A nursing and telling Dalton to do or not do something.  There's H consoling Skye during a breakdown while letting Lucy do her hair (a much better aunt than me-although I did let her do it once this trip, that's a first for me!).  And then there's Lincoln and Levi, each trying to keep his costume on while wreaking havoc...

No dog fear for this guy... HOORAY!  I am so glad we're past this phase in my older boys' lives.

Jack meet Eliza.  Eliza, Jack.  These two were born a couple weeks apart.  A told me she thought Jack was chubby and gaining a lot of weight... until she met Eliza.  Either way, he is a cutie!

Two of my favorite people!  I love this picture! My dad made the grandsons each a wand on his lathe (which I have no idea how to spell).  My mom made all the granddaughters a beautiful necklace, plus she knitted 9 (I think) sweaters/vests for some of the family.

Here are 9 of my parent's 17 grandkids... won't be long until we have to have our party at the church too!  What cute kiddos, we miss them!

If you want to see more pictures of my parent's family, I'll be posting more pictures on our family blog.

When We're Helping We're Happy

My family decided they wanted to do a service this Christmas.  We weren't sure what we could do and the decision was made that it wasn't replacing Christmas gifts for anyone, so it couldn't cost too much.  Kari and I talked about going to a homeless shelter or a nursing home and spending some time with people there.  Kari made some phone calls and came up with this awesome plan.    

There are some families staying at St. Anne's shelter, the kids don't really have other kids to play with.  Kari called Home Depot and asked if they would be willing to donate some items from their kid "workshops" and they were very excited to help with our project.
Not only did they donate the supplies, but there were 6 employees on hand to help the kids build two toys.  We were there to help too, we planned on the kids building some and then leaving them at the shelter, but there were so many that Home Depot left they told our kids they could keep the ones they built.  
Unfortunately, of the three families at the shelter, only one was able to make it to our workshop.  The others were all pushing strollers and if you were in Utah the week before Christmas, you can imagine what a hardship that must be.  They were stuck in the snow.

The kids that were there, though, had a great time.  They were so cute and so much fun.  After all the toys were built, we played games that Adrienne brought.  Don't Eat Pete was a BIG hit!  With the kids and the adults.  
The family we got to work with was so kind and they were so humble.  I think if I were in their situation, I would have a lot of pride and resentment, but they were so great.   They have five kids from age 2 to 13 and they were great kids!  The mom and dad were so friendly.  It really inspired me to be better. With all my family that was able to make it and all the Home Depot employees we outnumbered the family at least 3 to 1.  We had a great time and were able to teach our kids some important lessons, most importantly to show Christlike love to everyone.  What a great way to celebrate His birth!  Thanks Kari, Adrienne, and Home Depot for going the extra mile to make it a success and thanks to everyone else for coming and helping.  It is something that I will always remember and cherish.

Home Sweet Home

We made it home!  And despite Levi's best efforts to ditch us at the hotel at 3 this morning, all four kids made it safely home as well.  Thanks for all your prayers getting us here.  Thanks also to all the wonderful family we were able to see and spend our happy holidays with, it was super!  More to come... I just need a moment of relaxation or two.

Comfort and Joy

I'd like to tell you all a story.  This story begins on Sunday when my visiting teacher asked if she could come by on Tuesday around noon.  That worked for me, I was planning on making all my Christmas candy, so I could just stay home all day and have at it.  Now, my visiting teacher is one of those really classy ladies.  She is always dressed extremely well, very put together.  She has a beautiful house, which has alway been clean whenever I've happened to drop in.  She'd be very intimidating if she weren't so nice.

Yesterday I was busy with Christmas stuff.  So my house was kind of a disaster (but only kind of) :)  The kids had a hey-day breaking up corn chex all over the kitchen floor (granted I was the one who spilled them in the first place) and I had the best intentions of sweeping up.  But it didn't happen quite yet.

Jump to this morning.  I had invited some friends over to make candy with me.  One was able to come but only for a few minutes.  So, I cleaned the house up, worked out, and showered before she came by.   I was just wiping the counter when she showed up... I hate sweeping before I wipe the counter, because then I inevitable end up dropping stuff on the floor.  So, no sweeping was done when she got there.  But its OK, because this friend has seen me in worse messes and I know she still likes me. :)  We made the yummy peanut butter chocolate candy that is SUPER easy to make and chatted for a bit and then she was off.  

I get a phone call from my visiting teacher (remember she's coming over around noon), she asked if its OK for her to come by in a few minutes.  I guess it was about 11:25.  That was fine though.  She did say, "No cleaning, though OK."  Luckily, I had cleaned my kitchen that morning so I could work in a clean area.  At about 11:29 I was washing a couple pans and a cookie sheet so I could make my yummy toffee, when my water turns off.  That's odd, I'm pretty sure we paid our bill... even stranger still I can hear water running still...I open the cupboard under the sink and am instantly drenched from the knee down as water is shooting at full force.  I quickly saved some things from getting water damage and then...

I got down on my soaking knees and tried to turn the knob to turn the water off. It won't budge.  It feels really old too, like if I try too hard it might just break off.  I am now beginning to freak out.  So, I did what any sane person on the verge of a break down does... I call for help.  Ethan's cell phone (his lunch starts at 11:30, perfect timing!), no answer.  I call my dad's home, no answer.  I try the knob again, nothing.  I call my dad again, answering machine.  I even tried my father-in-law, voice mail.  Each time I hang up the phone I'm yelling, "NO!"  "C'mon, pick up!" I know what some of you are thinking... just go turn the water main off... the only problem is I don't know where the water main is.  That is precisely the reason I'm trying to get a hold of someone who should be able to point me in the right direction.  Meanwhile water is filling my kitchen very quickly.  

I call my dad's cell phone and (hooray!) he answers. My dad is the best. He knows everything and can help me in crisis mode more than anyone save Ethan.  Trouble is, my dad doesn't know I'm freaking out and he (accidentally?) hangs up on me.  Why is no one helping me?!  I am totally desperate at this point and get down and sprayed in one last attempt to turn the knob and get this water turned off.  I DID IT!!! I was so excited when it moved, but the water pressure didn't decrease until I'd been turning for a few seconds.  Finally I got the water turned off and I stand up, turn around and finally let myself break down.  There is water at least an inch deep in 3 out of 4 corners.  Just then, my phone rings.  Its my dad.  I started to sob, "I was in a crisis and I needed you!"  Luckily, he loves me despite my craziness and helps me think about what needs to happen next.  I called Ethan again to see if he could come home because I needed his help. Then I ran up to my neighbor's house to see if by chance they have a shop vac.  As I'm walking out the door my visiting teacher pulls into my driveway.

I waved and continued on my way.  I asked Susan if they have one and they do, she's just not sure if it works. Last time she tried it, it sprayed stuff out one hole.  She called her husband to ask if it works and said she'd bring to me if it did.  OK, next step.  Kristy and I start using towels in a feeble attempt to mop it up.  We've got all the towels from my bathroom on the floor.  Then we start using dish towels and ringing them out when Susan walks up with the wet/dry vacuum!  She's still not sure if it works, but we try anyway.  IT WORKED!!! Hooray!

So, Kristy cleaned up the corners while I sucked the majority of the water.  We were a little worried about the washer, dryer and fridge, but decided that it was a job for Ethan to worry about.  Lo and behold, in he walks!  He finds the popped pipe/tube and will bring a new one home tonight.  So, I don't have a kitchen sink or dishwasher until then, but how thankful I am that it wasn't worse.

The moral of the story is, sweep your floor on a regular basis because wet chex are pretty gross to clean up; know where your water main is so you can turn it off in an emergency and finally do your visiting teaching... you never know when it might save someone in crisis!   I'm thankful for a good visiting teacher who gave me comfort and joy today!

Levi Language

As some of you know, Levi is having hard time finding his words.  So much so, that we took him to a speech therapist for an evaluation.  The evaluation went well, and we learned that he's not terribly behind... but he is behind.  Apparently scores below 90 are considered to be needing help and he scored an 88 on expressing himself.  He's above 100 on his understanding which explains, to me, why he gets so frustrated that he can't talk.  He knows what he's trying to say, but just can't make his mouth do it. The same frustration happened to my Grandpa before he died, its sad on both counts.  The frustration is actually why we went to the speech therapist, my pediatrician didn't like the sound of his unhappiness.

Basically, since Levi has been making improvements and since he's so close to the cutoff, she suggested that we watch his progress and do another evaluation in 2 months.  After that we'll be able to determine if he really needs to be immersed in a speech program.

So in an effort to be able to truthfully answer all the questions I'll be asked in 2 months, I want to keep track of what he's saying.  I will hopefully remember to do a "progress report" each week.  If you notice him saying something (I talk to a lot of you, right?) that I don't mention here, please remind me.  I would like to be as thorough as possible.  

I know I don't really need to publish this for the world to see, but its the easiest venue for me to keep track, so if you're just really not interested, I won't be offended if you just skip over it. :)

Levi currently uses mostly one syllable from a word.  That syllable is generally a vowel sound, though he's using more consonants lately.  An example of this is when he says the prayer, he says, "ea ah" (meaning Heavenly Father) "ee" (please) "oo" (food) "Jee I Ame" (Jesus Christ amen).  It gets confusing for me in cases like "on" or "off" as they have the same vowel sound and I have no idea which one he wants, these are the instances when he gets very frustrated.  

He is using more consonants and currently uses "B," "D," and "M" in most words.  He can even say, "May Bah" (mail box) which was one of the first double syllable words I noticed a couple weeks ago.  He says "no" and "no" (nose) but I don't think he uses the "N" sound any more than that.  He says "JoJo" very frequently and "Jee" (Jesus), but "J" sound is usually very soft almost with a "z" at the beginning.  I have to have him repeat himself a lot.  The words he uses that have "P" in them are very jumbled, but I think he does use the sound a little bit, its just usually the only sound that he does for the word, so peanut butter becomes "pa".  

I know he CAN do the "S" sound, but he only does it if I make him say every sound of a word.  He never really uses it in a word, its only a sound he makes separate from any word he's using.  He does use "Y" quite well too, he says "you" and "ye" (yes, though he is usually a no boy) :)  And finally, he can use "Z" but rarely has occasion to.  

So, really he's using about 9 consonants and only 3 or 4 of those regularly.  

He has started to use more than one word, forming simple sentences like "ja ah me" (jacket on me).  So he's progressing that way and we're excited about that!  I just worry about him and want to be able to communicate with him so that the frustration factor in both our lives can be lowered!

He's such a fun little boy, I just know we'll all be happier when there isn't this barrier between us!

4 month check-up

Can you believe 4 1/2 months have already gone by since our angel baby girl was born?!  It is so crazy how time flies.  Anyhow, I took Eliza into see the doctor yesterday for her 4 month check.  It was supposed to be a "well child" check, but since she's sick we'll just call it her check up.

She is doing great!  And growing, growing, growing like all my cute, chubby babies.  Here are the stats:

Height: 24.41" 45th percentile

Weight: 16 lbs. 13 oz. 95th percentile

Head: 16.73" 75th-90th percentile

She is doing great developmentally as well.  Some of the things she is currently doing: 

• rolling from front to back
• rolling from back to front
• cooing
• giggling (she's ticklish, its so cute!)
• grabbing things
• sucking her right thumb, chewing her left index finger
• smiling lots and lots (its the best!)
• sitting for a little bit by herself
• looking around all the time
• sleeping through the night (about 9:00pm to 8:00am)
• putting things in her mouth
• loving being held in standing position

She is such a happy, mild-mannered baby.  I don't know how I got so lucky!  She does cry, of course.  She does not like it when I eat onions!  She's also getting to the point where she wants more attention and to be held more.  Lucky for her, she is adored by all of us, she doesn't fuss much.

She has been sick for a little over a week.  She has had a bad cough and when I took her in, he said he was concerned she could be at risk for pertussis. I wasn't too concerned about her cold, she just had normal symptoms, goopy eyes, runny nose, etc. but the cough was disturbing her sleep a bit and it seemed to be getting worse.  So, we have to give her an antibiotic for 5 days and then we'll get her immunizations.  Other than that, she is perfect!

I can hardly wait to introduce her to our families in a couple weeks!  

Happy, happy Thanksgiving!

For as much as I hate Halloween, I  love, love, LOVE Thanksgiving!!!  We got a new computer and I'm still trying to figure it all out... so if you want to view these pictures in chronological order, just scroll down to the bottom of this post.  I'll put the captions under the pictures, so its easier to follow.

There you have it!  A delightful family holiday at Sea World.  We had so much fun with friends and especially just being together... the kids even slept well the last night in the hotel!  On the way home we stopped and did some shopping... I got 4 shirts, 2 pair of shorts, and a pair of shoes for me, 3 shirts for the boys and a pair of shorts for the boys all for... $21.38!!!  It was awesome!  We had SO MUCH FUN!!! I can hardly wait for our next one!

After unsuccessfully dropping his fish twice, Jonas finally succeeded in getting the fish into the dolphins mouth! It was truly an unforgettable experience, I just love dolphins.

Here was our playful friend.  He was so much fun!

The last thing we did, and definitely the most fun we had was feeding the dolphins.  It was so cool.  We got to touch them and one was just performing for us and playing.  He kept spitting his fish out so we could pick it up again and feed him again.  Some of the dolphins would spin for fish, others would just beg... just like dogs.  It was so cool!  I think Bryant fed the most.

We rode the Paint Cans, not to be confused with the tea cups.  Levi loved this one and tried to hold on, but gave up and just nestled in Jonas' armpit with the happiest little look on his face.

He caught me taking his picture... don't you love his pose?

Just like Jo could play in the sand for hours, Bryant could climb forever and ever and be happy.  

He seriously could have played there for hours and hours, we had to pull him away.  I sat and took video and pictures to try and capture who he is. I liked this shot, this is Jo to a T.  Though I wish I could have captured him doing snow angels in the sand... I was trying to be inconspicuous, so none of those ones turned out.

Eliza was also content to sit and wait for her brothers to move on.

At this point, Jonas was ready to go home.  He is really a home body.  The other boys were more than happy to play at the gigantic playground.  When I reminded Jo of this alligator he could play on, he perked right up and was content for a long, long time.

Ethan and I took turns on the ride, Great White.  It was the first time I've ever ridden on a coaster where you get buckled in at the shoulder instead of the waist... the boys were pretty sad they weren't big enough.  Ethan came down from this one and said he felt like someone had put his "insides through the blender."  I felt like the harness kept me so secure that it wasn't scary at all (unlike the Steel Eel) though when I came down I felt like my equilibrium was all out of whack.  It was a lot of fun, though it would have been more fun riding it together.

Ethan and I went on the Steel Eel and had a blast.  It was our first time ever riding a roller coaster together.  We always have had the kids with us at amusement parks so have had to take turns.  I really thought I could die on that one.  I left my seat down every hill... whew! It was scary, but awesome!  Ethan took Bryant and I took Jonas on this log ride.  It was pretty fun, my friend Brandi says things aren't as scary if you get wet, so she even went on this one! 

Day 2 was filled with fun too!  We planned on  meeting up with our friends when the rides opened, so we decided to make a stop to visit Santa to give the kids something they wanted to do since they were going to be spending a good portion of the day waiting around for mom and dad.

I love the look on her face in this one... this is Levi's latest thing to grab faces and force you to look at him. 

On our way out to the car, I couldn't resist snapping some cute shots of my wild animals.

As you can see we were right up front, about 5 rows back... right in the thick of the splash zone!  It was great being up so close to the animals, even worth living in fear of being drenched... but we managed to stay dry through the whole show.

The last thing we did on day 1 was see the Shamu show.  It was awesome!  I can't imagine what an intimate relationship the trainers must have with the whales, but it seems pretty incredible what they can get them to do.  Not just jumps, but letting the trainer stand on their backs or noses, pushing them through the water, they do a lot.

At the shark house and aquarium we saw a special visitor.

After lunch we went to the Beluga theatre and saw a show called Viva!  It was incredible!  One of our favorites of the whole trip.  There were dolphins, belugas and people doing the most amazing acrobatics I've ever seen.  It was so much fun to watch... there was no emcee, it was just a matter of watching for the next surprise, let me tell you it is surprising what some people and animals can do!

One of our little monkeys having fun on the railing.

The next item of business what lunch, while we waited we watched the alligators and turtles... there were a few turtles catching a ride on the back of the alligators.  It was kind of funny, so I had to snap a picture.

After we had our fill of the sea lions, we called our friends to see what they were up to.  We met them at the Sea Star Theatre for a showing of The Polar Express 4D.  I'm not sure what makes it "4" D rather than 3D, but it doesn't matter.  I have to admit that I have never read this book or seen the movie... though I enjoyed the story.  

The big one was sleeping in the window and every time he moved, Jonas looked a little worried.

After the show, we watched the sea lions and seals for a bit in their tank/habitat.  The boys enjoyed climbing on the cave walls (of course).

We next headed over to the Sea Lion Show... it was pretty cheesy, but cute.  They had a couple sea lions, an otter, and one gigantic walrus (he played the part of St. Nic).  It is simply amazing what they can train these creatures to do.

If you noticed any of the pictures as you scrolled down, you realized we spend Thanksgiving at Sea World!  We had a blast!  The first order of business was to ride the Shamu Express.  That got things started just right...