During the Christmas break, Darren (with the help of his best firend Darin) took Trevor and two of our nephews tubing at Snoqualmie Pass. They had such a great time. Here are some of the highlights from their trip in picture form.
Click to enlarge the picture
I just have to make one quick comment about this last picture. One of the perks of having a boy is that they are pretty good at just going off someplace and peeing in the woods. After going pee Treovr didn't come back and so Darren asked him what he was doing and Trevor responded that he was in his beautiful place. He told Darren that it was his beautiful place because the trees looked pretty with all the snow on them.
Three years ago today, after a very long and scary labor Trevor was born and my life has never been the same.
Here is a list of things I love about Trevor...
His wit. A couple weeks ago he told me that I didn't like apple cider like he and daddy did because I don't have a penis.
How affectionate he is not only physically, but he frequently tells me, "Mommy, I love you".
His talkative nature. Sometimes it drives me crazy that he talks so much, but most of the time it is nice to be able to have a conversation with him.
The stink-eye. That frowny, skeptical look he gets when he is either displeased or unsure about something.
His perfectionist tendencies. Trains go in the yellow bin, trucks in the blue, etc.
He has started climbing in bed with me when he wakes up in the morning and we get 10-15 minutes of snuggle time before he says, "Mom, I want breakfast".
His imagination. Quite frequently I will hear tales of his encounter with a bear or how his toy spilled a glass of milk and had to clean it up.
He loves to read books and that makes my heart glad.
Lately, Trevor has been enjoying playing a computer game called "Plants vs Zombies". It is adorable to watch him clicking away with the mouse and hear him talking about the zombies.
Because Trevor will be three years old by January 1st, he has officially graduated from Nursery and is moving up to Primary and will be a Sunbeam starting this Sunday. Last Sunday they had a little graduation ceremony, complete with Sunbeam necklaces and graduation caps. I got a tear in my eye when I saw him in his cap.
All during the month of December the big kids have been visiting Primary during singing time to get a feel for how Primary works. Trevor has learned a lot of new songs, "Once There Was a Snowman" is his favorite.
Last night before bed I gave Trevor a haircut fit for a birthday celebration. He insisted that I take a picture of his "handsome new hair".
Two months ago we went to IKEA and I told Trevor that he could go play in the balls. I knew you had to be potty trained to go into the Kid's Club, but I didn't know that you also had to be at least three years old. He was heartbroken and has been talking about going to IKEA for his birthday ever since. Today his wish came true when my sister-in-law and my best friend joined us for a birthday date and lunch at IKEA.
Three years old today my life became infinitely more: more joyful, stressful, hilarious, loud, and best of all more perfect. Trevor you are a stinker and a delight. I love how you help me set the table for dinner and get diapers for Austin. You make me proud to be your mom and I love you bunches.
On Christmas Eve, Austin turned 8 months old. This month he has really started to babble and use his voice to show his pleasure and often his displeasure. He also likes to mimic Trevor when he is screaming/yelling. Some times he gets so into talking that if he is sitting he falls over...
He is still super smiley and besides grinning at people his favorite past times include chewing on things (he's not picky either; he'll chew on anything he can get into his mouth), kicking his feet, jumping, rolling over the second I put him on his belly, and talking, like I mentioned above.
Austin seems to have little interest in rolling or crawling to get things that are out of his reach. I'm pretty sure this is my fault since I don't give him enough time each day to practice. In my defense, Austin does have a sneaky and mischievous older brother who waits in the shadows for any opportunity to whack his brother when I am not looking. This means that Austin can only be down on the floor playing when I can be there watching.
We are still swaddling Austin at naps and bedtime. We have tried weaning him from his comforting straight-jacket, but he will have none of it!! The good news is, he will sleep up to a 10 hour stretch at night and take a 2-3 hour nap. The bad news is he is getting strong and most nights will come un-swaddled at least once and refuses to sleep unless I go in and re-swaddle him.
Happy 8 Months Austin! You are such a joy and I love watching you grow up.
**Remember 28 days ago when I said I was back....well, I lied. Hopefully now I'm back for good. The good news is that since I have been making an effort to be more present in my own life and spend more time with my husband before January 4th when school starts again, I have spent less time on the computer. Good for my family, bad for my faithful readers. In the spirit of the season, please forgive me.**
It's two days before Christmas and we have done a lot of fun things to get ready for the big day. For Family Home Evening a week ago we had another family over to make Gingerbread houses. The dads helped the boys and the moms got to make their own. By the end, I think Trevor had more candy in his belly than he did on his house, and the smile on his face tells me that FHE was a huge hit.
We also visited Santa Claus for a quick picture and the traditional telling Santa that you've been a good boy and asking for what you want most in the whole world under your tree on Christmas morning.
For Trevor is was "a HUGE Fire Engine!!" And Austin, well staring that that jolly guy in a red suit seemed present enough for him.
After church on Sunday the boys looked so cute all dressed up so a snapped a quick picture of them. **sigh** I love these little boys.
On Tuesday we took a drive up to Bellevue for Snowflake Lane. There were drummers and characters to take pictures with, free suckers and a million people. Before leaving for home Darren and I grabbed a slice of Adams Peanut Butter Cheesecake to-go.
Then, yesterday we trekked into downtown Seattle to the Sheraton hotel to see the Gingerbread house display. When you ask Trevor what we did yesterday he'll tell you, "We drove in my big truck with Grandpa Hales and Grandma Cheri and Daddy and Mommy and me and Austin to see the Gingerbread houses and I wanted to eat them all gone because I like treats and trucks and I was sooo hungry." And he'll say it just like that. One big long run-on sentence with no pause for a breath. And then when I get that dazed look in my eye and a slight smile on my face he'll say, "I talk a lot huh Mommy??" And I'll reply with a big smile, "Yes Trevor, you do."
Santa fishing from atop a candy boathouse.
The backside of the boathouse had a mosaic of the Space Needle and a sea plane and the Fremont troll carved into the side of the mountain.
This tree house was sculpted from krispy treats and was Darren's favorite.
Go Huskies!!
This was by far my favorite Gingerbread house. It was perfectly done and made me wish that I had some connection that would allow me to help build one next year.
It's been a fun month and we are all ready and excited for Christmas.
Best wishes to you all and have a Merry Christmas.
It has been a rough couple of weeks, but I am back and better than ever.
On this Thanksgiving morning I am grateful for the family and friends who have been so supportive of me. I am also grateful for modern medicine and that Heavenly Father has inspired man to create medications that helps heal our bodies and minds. I am grateful for my sweet little boys who bring joy and inspiration to my life. And for my husband who never gives up on me, as tempting as it may be at times.
In an effort to make it easier for you to keep track of me once I go private (either tonight or tomorrow) I have created a second public blog that you can add to Google Reader. The new blog is: mindynhalesupdate.blogspot.com
After I am done publishing on my private blog I will head over to mindynhalesupdate.blogspot.com and post only the title and a link. That way when you open up Google Reader you will be able to see when I have updated. It's genius right?!?
Thanks again for being such loyal readers and friends.
It was all my fault. Austin needed black socks to wear with his costume and I just happened to have some black RIT dye and an extra pair of white socks, so I dyed them on Saturday night.
Sunday morning we were running late for church and the socks weren't quite dry yet, but I put those newly dyed socks on his little feet anyway, slapped on his shoes and we were off.
After the sacrament it occurred to me that maybe those recently dyed and still wet socks were dying his feet black. And I was right...they were.
He went bare foot for the rest of church and I thought to myself, "this will make a great story for the blog."
In an effort to prepare for Christmas and his birthday, Trevor and I went through all the toys in his room and he decided which toys should go to "the boys with no toys". Sometimes he needed a little coaxing, but for the most part he willingly donated about 15% of his toys.
Most of the ones that made it in the donate bin I was more than happy to see go, but some toys I had grown sentimental over, like some trucks he got from a friend, a bunny he got from great-grandma, and a truck from grandpa. But he insisted the the boys with no toys needed them, so off they go.
We also made a considerable donation to "the moms with no clothes who are skinnier than me".
Sunday was Austin's 6th month birthday (I know that today is Friday night and I feel really bad about not getting this up sooner.)
This has been an exciting month for Austin. He found his toes and his screaming voice, had his first and second trips to the ER, he became a master at rolling over and a champion eater of solids foods.
Austin and Trevor love to play this game called, "Let's Make Mom Crazy" wherein they take turns yelling at each other in their most high-pitched voices. This game is most fun when played in the car and it does drive me crazy, but at least they are having fun together. Austin looks up to Trevor and if something is funny to Trevor you can bet that Austin will start laughing too because he wants to be just like Trevor.
Austin is still just as happy has ever, but he is starting to develop a pushy little personality. He wants what he wants right when he wants it, and in a 6 month-old, it's adorable (except for the screaming part). I'm interested to see how this character trait develops as he gets older.
Austin, you are such a cutie and so kissable. You see the world through rose-colored glasses and I wish I could be a little more like you.
A month ago my aunt and I started planning a surprise 50th birthday party for my dad and today was the big day. We pulled off an awesome party that made all the time and money more than worth it. My dad had no idea until we all yelled, "Surprise!"
All the yelling startled Austin and my poor baby started to cry.
Aunt Cheryll had dad all decked out in some birthday bling. She stabbed him twice pinning on his button. (The jury's still out on whether it was an accident or not.)
I forgot to take pictures of the memory wall we created, but it featured several stories with pictures to match. I also created a slide show of pictures and had some 80s heavy metal playing in the background. Someone else brought pictures of dad when he worked for Belnap. There was a picture of him wearing holey overalls and carrying at least a 5 foot sheet of glass while smoking a cigarette!!
For his birthday cake I tired a new recipe and made an orange dreamsicle cake with a fishing theme. It was the details that made it special, like the Coke can and the "no fishing" on the dock (my dad is a rebel and a rule-breaker). Like all great cakes, it was a lot of work but worth the effort.
We had a great turnout of people. Here are pictures of my dad and some of his friends who came to the party.
Jake (fishing buddy and former co-worker)
Mark & Mike (former co-workers)
Rich "Swannie" (former co-worker)
Tina (cousin)
Derek (childhood friend from church)
Dave, Scott & John (childhood friends)
It was so nice to meet my dad's friends and see people I remember from my childhood like the 3 guys pictured above. Seeing my dad so happy makes me happy.
After the party died down we took a family picture to celebrate.
Happy 50th Birthday Dad. We all love you a whole lot.
It's two days before Christmas and we have done a lot of fun things to get ready for the big day. For Family Home Evening a week ago we had another family over to make Gingerbread houses. The dads helped the boys and the moms got to make their own. By the end, I think Trevor had more candy in his belly than he did on his house, and the smile on his face tells me that FHE was a huge hit.
