Christmas 2009: Part 2

On Christmas Eve we had a huge dinner with my family. It was fun to be together will all my brothers and sister for Christmas.

Lilly sitting at the kid's table with Savanna and Brinley

After Dinner we decorated sugar cookies and played Christmas Bingo.

Lilly dumped half the bottle of red sprinkles on her one cookie

Then it was time for the kids to open their present from Grandma and Grandpa. They gave them cute pajamas and pillows that my mom had made.

Lilly got right down to business

Since we stayed up so late on Christmas Eve, Lilly didn’t wake up on Christmas day until 9:00! It was amazing really. When she woke up the first thing she said was, "Did Santa come?" She had been asking me this every morning for weeks so I was really excited to tell her "Yes, he finally did!"

She ran downstairs and was so excited to see what Santa had left her.

Of course her favorite gift was her $1 lipgloss!

Lilly favorite part of the day was giving everyone the presents that she picked out at the dollar store.

Giving Great Gran her present

Lilly spent the rest of the morning playing with her toys, and everyone else's.

In the afternoon we followed all the boys over to my dad's shop to play some basketball.

It was coming to the end of our stay in Idaho and it still hadn't snowed enough to use the snowmachines. So instead, we pulled the kids around with the four-wheeler. They all had a great time.

Gus's killer outfit (he forgot to pack his winter clothes)

The next day was Sunday and it was time for us to leave and drive back to Utah to spend a little time with Gus's family. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone knowing that it will be another six months before we see them again. Lilly especially loved spending time with them. She loved all the attention and love she got from her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. She also had a great time running around the house with all of her cousins.

She (or I) insisted that she take one more picture with everyone before we left. So here they are:

Lilly and Grandma

Lilly and Grandpa

Lilly and Uncle Brayden

Lilly and Uncle James

This picture of Lilly and Savanna was just too cute

Christmas 2009: Part 1

Wow, where do I even begin?

Usually when you go on a long trip it is fun to go, but even more fun to come home. Well, not this time.

Sure, it was a long vacation but I must admit I was SO sad to leave. I wasn't ready to come back to my normal life. I felt genuinely happy being at home with my family, and it was hard to leave.

I think I was so happy because I didn’t have to be around anyone or anything that reminded me of losing my twin boys. It’s hard to believe that it has been six months since my feet were knocked out from underneath me, and I can’t really describe all the different emotions I’ve felt during that time. Some people have wondered why I’m not over it yet, others don’t even talk about it anymore. And then there are some who still stop by to cry with me. The feelings from that July afternoon are still so real for me. That pain is so real. But for three wonderful weeks back home I was happy. Genuinely happy. And it felt good.

Here’s Part 1 of the festivities:

Lilly and I flew into Salt Lake City on a Friday morning and spent the night at Gus's parent’s house. Susan was a wonderful host (as always) and we were happy to be able to see Grandpa and Grandma Calder who were also there visiting. The next day we went over to my sister’s house and stayed the night, and then on Sunday we rode with my brother and his family up to Idaho.

One of the first fun things we did in Idaho was go to "Bethlehem" which was actually in my dad's shop. He transformed the shop into a Bethlehem-esque scene for the youth and primary in the Ward to experience. It was SO fun! There was dancing, food, a nativity, goat petting, various kid stations with fun games, and "The Light of Christ" playing on a big screen. Everyone was dressed up including my dad, who came as Caesar himself. It was a good time.

My Grandma and Dad

My Dad, Lilly, and my Mom dancing

Lilly had a great time playing with my youngest cousin Harley (who is 2 years older Lilly) and my brother Daniel's two girls Brinley and Ashlan.

She also had a great time hanging out with my younger brothers. Whenever we would come in the door she would yell, "Boy's I'm home!" She also loved greeting them with a big hug at the door after they got home from school.

At the end of our first week in Idaho we packed our bags and drove back to Utah with my mom and grandma to watch my niece, Savanna, perform in the Utah Valley Nutcracker. Savanna did wonderful and it was fun to go and support her. She is just growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday that she was calling me "Momma Jenny".

While in Utah, my grandma and mom stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool so the kids could all go swimming. Lilly loved swimming with Grandma, Megan, and the kids.

 
After all the festivities in Utah we drove back to Idaho. My sister Megan and her family drove up to Idaho a few days later and the real party began!
 
Lilly loved playing with her cousins but especially Megan's dog Rocco. She loved tucking him under her arm and carrying him around the house. We asked Lilly who her favorite cousin was and after a few minutes to think about it she said, "Rocco!" I guess we can count him as a cousin.
 

 
A couple of days before Christmas the kids decorated gingerbread houses. Lilly pretty much just ate the candy and squeezed frosting all over everything while I did all the work. We bought the premade kits from Costco this year and I must say they were just horrible. We had roofs and walls caving in all over the place (Lilly's house stayed up the longest thanks to my mad skills).
 

 
That night we had a family party with my dad's side of the family. We had a good time with family and yummy food but the best part came when Gus showed up. He flew in that morning and then hopped in his mom's car and drove to Idaho to be with us! Lilly was SO excited to see her daddy. She snuggled right up to him and wouldn't let go.
 

First Snow and a Visit With Santa

We had our first snow storm of the season last week. Lilly was so excited! She put on her coat, hat, and mittens and was out the door. I didn't get any pictures of her doing "snow angels", but she had a great time rolling around in the snow.

Since we are going to miss our Ward Christmas Party this year I decided to take Lilly to see Santa at our clubhouse. She wasn't scared to sit on his lap, but she was too scared to look at him. He kept trying to talk to her and give her a bag of candy but she just sat there, looked the other way, and played with her fingers.

Well, we're off to Idaho and Utah for three weeks. I'll blog about the trip when we get back.

Thanksgiving 2009

The day before Thanksgiving Lilly participated in the Turkey Trot. A friend in our ward put it all together and it turned out so cute! Lilly was so excited to run and she laughed throughout the entire race. They also had a cupcake walk, a bean bag toss, and face painting. It was a really fun day!

Early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day, we drove down to Gus's Aunt Patty's house in Richmond. It was fun to be with family on Thanksgiving. Aunt Patty and Amy were so sweet to entertain Lilly. She had a great time writing on their marker board, eating tons of candy, running wildly through the house, and playing games.

Growing And Growing

Lilly had her three-year-old wellness check-up on Wednesday. We switched pediatricians and we're SO happy that we did. Lilly loved the nurses and the doctor made Lilly feel so at ease. When she got her flu shot she just sat there and didn't even flinch. Afterwards, I asked Lilly if the shot hurt and she said, "No, it kinda tickled". That's typical Lilly for you, there's not much that can get her down. We found out that she's in the 90th percentile in height and 75th percentile in weight--one big girl!

Lately, Lilly has been VERY curious about where things come from and how things are made. She is constantly asking me "Where does broccoli come from?", "What are socks made of?", "How are noodles made?", "Where does paper come from?", and on and on and on. We have checked out some books at the library that have helped. She is such a little sponge, just soaking up everything she can.

And I just have to share one more story - today Lilly saw a picture of the Salt Lake Temple and we had the following conversation:

Lilly: "There is the temple."
Me: "Ya, thats the Salt Lake Temple. That is where mommy and daddy got married."
Lilly: "Did I get married there too?"
Me: "No, but when you get older and find a really nice boy you can get married there too."
(Lilly thought about that for a moment...)
Lilly: "Hey I know, I will marry daddy and you can marry some other guy. Don't worry we'll find you someone."

Our Big Three Year Old

Lilly is now a little girl and not a toddler. It makes me a little sad that my baby is growing up so fast. But it is so fun to have someone around all the time that acts like a little adult. She is always saying and doing things that make me laugh. Here are a few of the things she has said lately:

Gus and I were arguing over who got to sit at the computer and Lilly said, "Will you guys just share! Daddy can have the computer first and then mommy can have it after he is done!"

At the beginning of October, Lilly started saying "Oh, I want that for my birthday!" over everything she saw on TV or at the store. Then when my birthday rolled around she started saying, "Oh, I want that for YOUR birthday". She is very smart.

Before Gus and Lilly left to go on a walk, Lilly said, "Daddy, I need a water bottle so I can get thirsty."

A few days before Lilly's birthday we were all in the car and Gus and I were discussing things that we could get Lilly for her birthday. All of the sudden Lilly said, "Um...I'm right here!"

Lilly came up to me one day and said, "Mommy, today I am having a baby. I said, "Wow Lilly thats great!" And then she said, "But Mom, a baby is a BIG responsibility!"

For Joy School the children were asked to bring in a pet or at least a picture of a pet they liked. I asked Lilly if she had any pets she could take to school. She replied with a grin, "Yes, my daddy!"

Lilly was looking through a picture book of all her of her relatives when she stopped on her Grandpa Arnold's picture. She snickered and said, "I love that guy!"

We were getting ready to go to the store and Gus looked at Lilly and said, "Lilly, go get your clothes on." She looked at him and said, "I can't. I'm watching football." Gus couldn't have been happier.

During the last session of General Conference, Gus and I were hanging out on the couch listening while Lilly played dress-up. During President Monson's talk he said, "We're all in this together." Lilly looked up in astonishment and said "did you just hear the Prophet, he said 'We're all in this together' just like High School Musical!" At least she was listening.

After a small trip to Michaels, I buckled Lilly into her carseat and then got up front. I started looking through my bag for a treat for Lilly when I heard someone tap on my window, there stood a policeman. I opened my window and the policeman said, "I just wanted to say thank-you for strapping your little girl into her carseat. It always makes me happy to see people strap thier little ones in because there are many that dont." I laughed and told him "your welcome". After he left I looked back at Lilly. She was sitting there with a freaked out look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I am SO glad I had my seatbelt on. He would have taken me from you! That would have been so scary." She talked about it all the way home. Lets just say I dont think Lilly will fight me about being buckled into her carseat ever again.

One morning I woke up to Lilly yelling, "Cockadoodledoo!" over and over. I walked into her room and asked her what she was doing. She said, "Waking you up!"

Halloween

This year for Halloween Lilly wanted to be a princess (wow, big suprise there). She added some wings out of her dress-up box at the last minute and insisted that she wear them. So, she became a fairy princess and I was just glad the wings matched the dress.

We started out the day by going to the Ward Trunk-or-Treat. We ate chili, listened to a fun storyteller, had our faces painted, and of course trunk-or-treated. Lilly had the hang of it this year and actually was excited to say trick-or-treat. She loved going to everyones trunks and getting candy.

Later that night we went to a friends house for a Halloween Party with lots of yummy food, fun toys, and great friends to hang out with.

After that party we swung by our good friend Wendy's house. Lilly LOVES Wendy and used to beg me to let her sit by her in Sacrament Meeting until our ward was split. Wendy actually bought her the crown she wore with her princess costume. We had fun hanging out at their house and then swinging by a fun pumpkin patch where there were tons of insanely carved pumpkins. It was dark and the music was scary, so Lilly was a little freaked out but we had fun.

To end the night, I took Lilly to a couple of Wendy's neighbors because Lilly just wasn't done trick-or-treating. She was a little sad on the way home because she wanted to stop at every house to get more candy. It turned out to be a great night.