Homemade gifts

I love homemade gifts. Every year my mom makes us something for Christmas & I just wanted to share this years gift - a nativity puzzle. I especially love this nativity because it is kid friendly & I don't have to worry when Linc or Hazel want to play with it. I also love it because all of the pieces fit nicely back into the stable (if you can remember how to do it!!) and it is easy to store. My mom actually has had a nativity like this for years & she decided it would be good for all of the kids, so she made one for me & my 3 siblings. I think it was a little harder than she thought it would be, but I know we will all cherish them for many, many, many years. Thanks mom!

Holiday Fun!

We had a busy and fun Holiday week last week. One day while Hazel was taking her morning nap Lincoln and I decided to build a snowman. I hadn't built one since I was a little kid & I did not do the best job, but it's the thought that counts, right?? I kept asking Linc what how it was looking & his response was "Not that good mom." I then remembered that last year Tom helped him build a pretty cool snowman and a snowdog. I am not near as artsy as Tommy is. We did our best though and Lincoln was pretty happy with the finished result.

On Christmas Eve my mom, my dad & my sister and her family came over to hang out with us. While we were preparing dinner the dads took the kids sledding & they had SO much fun. The even went on a few good little jumps that added to the excitement.

Then after dinner while the kids were playing a Christmas elf knocked on the door and left jammies for all of the good little kids. Here they are hoping to see the elf after they all put there jammies on.

We were lucky enough to have my dad stay over at our house so that he could be there to watch the kids open their presents the next morning. Lincoln thought it was so cool that Grandpa had a sleepover with us. On Christmas morning Hazel loved the musical jumping/spinning zebra that Santa brought her. She jumps up and down & laughs with a huge smile on her face.

Santa brought Lincoln a pirate ship and a race car track, but his favorite toy on Christmas day was his new octopus playdoh toy. He played with it for hours that day (and the next).

Then two days after Christmas we had a turkey lunch with my mom & sister again & took the kids to a different park for some more sledding. This time Hazel & I got to tag along & Hazel LOVED it! We put her in this little tobogon sled & she laughed harder the faster you went.

We all went down the hill many times & I thought it was pretty funny when Tommy & Ty went down together.

This is our first year taking Linc sledding & we have now gone 3 times. I know he wishes he could go everyday. He never complains of being cold. No cold hands, toes, nose, etc. He could go forever. So much energy, I wish he could share some of it with me.

We had a wonderful Holiday and are kinda sad it is over. The day after Christmas Linc asked if we could make our house "our house" again. So we took down the tree & almost all of the decorations. He was sad for a minute after it was all gone, but when we moved the furniture back in place he ran back and forth screaming "our house is back to normal! our house is back to normal!". Funny kid.

What a character

Lincoln is such a character. Some days he drives me crazy, but other days he can make me laugh all day at the things he comes up with. Here are some of my favorite things that he has been saying lately:

Linc: Mom, do you have a story from your mouth?? (this means to make up a story, not to read it from a book)


Mom: Good morning Linc - How'd you sleep?
Linc: Good. I had good dreams & nobody stopped me. Nobody stopped me.
(I still don't really know what this means, but he says it every day & it always makes me smile)


He really was having fun in this picture, but whenever I decide I need to "capture the moment" Linc decided he either needs to have a funny face or a REALLY cheesy smile. Gotta love it!

Growing Up

Okay, my little girl really is growing up. Last night after dinner Tommy went into the kitchen to rinse his plate off. I was still finishing up my dinner and Hazel was crawling all over me. I sat her down on the floor and said "Hazel, go into the kitchen and ask daddy for milk". To our AMAZEMENT she did just that!!! She crawled into the kitchen, sat on her bum & signed milk (for those of you who don't know, to sign milk you open & close your fist a few times - kinda like milking a cow). I was so proud of her and thought she deserved a little bit of bragging on her behalf - so here it is.

Family night

Last night we all bundled up took the kids on a Trax ride downtown to look at the lights at Temple Square. Lincoln was so excited about riding a train, but I think Hazel was actually the more excited one once the train showed up. She started waving her hands in the air & screaming with excitement!

Here is Lincoln waiting in anticipation for the train. 15 minutes can seem like FOREVER to a 3 year old...

Lincoln was so excited once we were by all the lights he wouldn't ride in the stroller. He had to walk around & look at everything & try to play with every kid he saw. He is always trying to make new friends. Hazel on the other hand was very chill. She just sat in the stroller & didn't make a sound. I don't know if she was more fascinated by the lights or all of the people.

We topped the night off by having some free hot cocoa at Deseret Book & then riding the train back home. I am so glad we were able to do this before the snow began. I love family nights.

Independence

Hazel has been wanting to be more independent lately. She isn't attempting to walk by herself yet, but she does want to feed herself.

If I try to put food in her mouth she just flails her hands around & hits mine out of the way. She has to feed herself solids & liquids (ie: babyfood, applesauce, etc.) It is VERY messy!! To contain the mess a little bit I put the food on the spoon then hand it to her. I am not ready yet for the bowl of food to end up on the floor.

To let us know when she is done with her food she starts putting pieces of it in her hair. Her hair is normally stiff & spiky when she is finished and the other day there was a large piece of string cheese weaved in there. Oh, fun times!

Family Pictures

For an early Christmas present this year my mom gave us a photo shoot so we could get some updated family pics. I am so excited since it has been 2 1/2 years since our last family picture. Here are just a few of what got. (there are also a couple more in by blog header).

Thank you mom!!!

© Melissa Seamons Photography

Ladybug Party

Hazel had a wonderful Ladybug Birthday Party over the weekend. Due to the size of our house we could only invite a few of the cousins, so sorry to those who didn't get an invite. Winter birthdays are hard because it totally limits what you can do. Thank you to those who did come & cram into our little house - we had a blast! Here are a couple of pics of the kids showing off their ladybug antenna's...

Here are the ladybug cakes I made for the party. The little one is Hazel's personal cake to dig into and I made the cupcakes for the kids that attended. I figured they would each like their own personal ladybug to eat rather than a slice of cake. I am happy to say that they were a hit!

Happy Birthday to you.....
The picture below is Hazel checking out the face of the ladybug...

She is so girly & dainty - she pretty much just ate frosting off of her pointer fingers...
This super sad face was caused when Daddy took the cake away to slice her a peice after she had eaten most of the frosting off - obviously you should never take cake from a baby, especially on her birthday...
But after she ate a little of the cake Daddy cut for her it all turned out happy agian...

Happy Birthday baby! I can't believe you are already ONE!!!

Happy Happy Birthday!

My baby is 1 today!! Happy Birthday Hazel!! I seriously cannot believe it - the last year has flown by. I am so grateful to have been blessed with Hazel in my life. She really is such a good baby. She is almost always smiling, easts almost anything, has a wonderful personality, always falls fast asleep when put in her crib, and many many more wonderful things. Some of you may think that she is a shy & quiet baby - but when we are at home her personality blossoms. She loves to scream, talk, play with the cat & try to copy anything her big brother does. I am loving her age right now, but at the same time missing the infant stage. Here is a picture of her at about 3 weeks old. Oh so tiny!!!! This is how I constantly see her nowadays. She is always attached to my legs & walks around the kitchen with me as I am making dinner (or whatever). Yes, sometimes it is VERY annoying, but at the same time I love that she always likes to be near me.

A Mouthful

2 1/2 weeks ago I posted a picture of Hazels first top tooth. Well, she has been teething like crazy and she now has 4 top teeth that have broken through and she has almost broken through 2 more on the bottom (making a grand total of 8). I think Lincoln only had 2, or at the most 4, teeth when he was one year old. I think her teeth make her look even older than she is.With Hazel's birthday coming up it has made me a little reminiscent of Lincoln's younger years. Below is a picture of Lincoln when he was one. Wasn't he a cutie?

More of Lincoln...

So Lincoln has been such a cute head lately. I have to share two other conversations we had this weekend that put a smile on my face.

Since we didn't have a date planned this weekend, Tommy & I decided to take the kids out to dinner with us on Friday night. On our way downtown I guess it was taking too long because Linc said

"Geez, you think we were driving to China!"

Tommy & I were laughing of course, & when I asked him where he learned that saying he said

"I made it up myself because I am a big boy and I can."

Then on Saturday I was just having "one of those days" and when we sat down for dinner Linc said

"Mom (pause) Dad (pause)...... I love you guys"

It totally put a smile on my face and turned my day around.

What is your name anyway?

When I picked Lincoln up from school on Wednesday his teacher asked me how you pronounce our last name because they are teaching the kids to say their full name. (and it is really amazing how many people mispronounce our last name.) On the drive home I talked to Lincoln about this and our conversation went something like this:

me: Your teacher told me they are teaching you your first & last names at school. What is your name?
Linc: Big boy Zittin'. But some people call me Lincoln!?! (this last sentence was not said as a statement, it was more in the context of "can you believe they would call me that!")
me: But Lincoln is your name
Linc: But mom, you call me big boy!
me: Who calls you Lincoln?
Linc: my teachers

He gave himself the name Big Boy after Hazel was born. She was a baby so he was a big boy. And yes, sometimes when he won't answer to the name Lincoln I will say Big Boy and this will get his attention. He has introduced himself many times to new friends, coaches, etc as Big Boy Zittin'. Hopefully one day he will accept his given name and use it.

Preschool Pictures are in!

Okay, I am not really good at scanning so sorry about the lines that show up in this picture, but I just HAD to share it. I knew his smile was going to be cheesy, but when I first looked at this picture today I was laughing so hard at his cute scrunchy face! I did bribe him with a Rolo candy if he smiled nicely for his picture - and this is the result. It will be so fun years down the road when we look back on pictures & see how much of his personality really does show. He is such a funny kid.

Top Tooth

Hazel sprouted her first top tooth last week. This makes tooth #3. It looks so HUGE to me!! Both of my sisters told me I said the same thing when Lincoln got his too. Hazel is getting so big. She is now trying to walk from one piece of furniture to the next without holding on. I really cannot believe she turns 1 this month!

Pumkin Carving

Pumpkin carving was a little more busy this year with Hazel around. She didn't mind the slime and she wanted to eat the seeds sooo bad. Since we wouldn't let her eat the seeds she had to settle for teh cut out part of the pumpkin to chew on. I know - sound yummy doesn't it :P Lincoln wouldn't even touch the pumkin guts - he had the little poker that came in our kit and all he wanted to do was poke, poke, poke the pumkins. Both kids had a blast and were very excited when we could finally light up the pumpkins.

I carved mine & Hazels pumkins. (Hazel's is the baby Frank obviously)

Tommy carved himself a Jack Skellington (thanks for the idea Megan S.)

And since Lincoln wasn't into even gutting the pumkin, he just put stickers on his. Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!