Christmas Report

The Monday evening before Christmas we had our third annual Christmas Nativity Play with our friends, the Millers. This year it was just our two families, which ended up working out quite well because it was more calm and I think the kids better understood what they were doing. Aubree played the role of Mary and it was hilarious to see her pretending to be pregnant. I rolled a blanket up to stuff her stomach and to stop it from falling out she had to keep her hands on her belly, which really added a note of realism to the scene. Bryce made his actorial debut as a shepherd. Although he looked very handsome, by the time it was his turn to participate he had pulled off his costume. All went well until Mary and Joseph both wanted to hold baby Jesus. A small tugging match ensued and even one of the visiting shepherds got involved. Ultimately, Joseph won out. Poor baby Jesus.
Our Christmas celebration was fun and quite drawn-out. When we got up Christmas morning Aubree discovered a little-girl sized bike in the living room. When we asked her who she thought it was for she shrugged and answered, "the mailman?" Uh, maybe she was still a little groggy? She jumped right in to opening the stockings. First she pulled everything out hers then "helped" the rest of us open ours. With little delay she turned to the presents. Initially she wanted to open the gifts in rapid succession. I began to worry that she wasn't giving each gift the thought and appreciation that she should and I thought we'd be done opening presents very quickly. However, she opened a magnetic ballerina doll and decided she wanted to take a break to play. We stopped and had breakfast. Then we opened another couple presents and took a break for showers. The rest of the morning continued in that slow manner until Aubree announced, "I don't want to open any more presents. Let's finish tomorrow." So, we heeded her request and finished opening the remaining gifts on Friday.
Overall it was a very enjoyable few days. Aubree seems to enjoy her new bike and loves all of her gifts. Grandma Winters gave her a new princess dress and Aubree wore it all Christmas day. Grandma Graff sent a Garden Girlz house and we started growing Aubree her very own (very little) garden. We got a lot of great new books, games, and toys and I think we've got plenty to keep us occupied for quite a while!
This was Bryce's first Christmas, and as you might expect from a nine-month old, he was more interested in the boxes and wrapping paper than the actual gifts. Aubree was more than happy to help him open and play with his gifts. More than anything, I think Bryce is enjoying having his Daddy home to play with him (Aubree and I are enjoying that as well!).
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Prima Ballerina

Yesterday Aubree went to her first (real) dance class. She's always loved to dance and in the last few months has been especially enthralled with ballet. We found a book series at the library called "Angelina Ballerina" and have read and read and re-read most of them. Those books, in addition to the few dance-related books we have at home, led Aubree to declare that she wants to be the "prima ballerina." She twirls around the house on her tip-toes and practices her arabesques, attitudes, and plies. While dance is certainly not anything I am familiar with, I jump at the chance to encourage Aubree in any area she shows a passion. So, we took the plunge and signed her up for a beginning ballet/jazz class at the local community center.
There were about 5 other little girls in the class (Aubree's friend, Cheyenne, also signed up and it was her first class too). Unfortunately, the regular teacher was sick so there was a fill-in. Aubree participated immediately and really tried hard to follow the lead of the other girls and the teacher. The substitute didn't seem to take into account that Aubree had never been there before. She gave instructions like, "show me first position," without teaching Aubree what she meant. Again, Aubree managed to figure most things out by watching the other girls.
About halfway through the class the girls took a break and Aubree came over and said, "it's just too hard, I don't want to do it anymore!" Poor girl. In addition to the new terminology, people, place, and dance techniques, there were also supposedly simple demands that Aubree is totally unfamiliar with. For example, the teacher told the girls to "go stand in line." Aubree's never been in a situation where she's had to stand in a line by herself. She didn't quite understand the concept of going to the back and staying there while others take a turn (she figured it out quickly though). Perhaps it would have been better to go once and just watch. You know what they say about hindsight!
After a short discussion, Aubree decided to go back and finish the rest of the class. Thankfully, they spent most of the end of class in a less-structured manner and Aubree had a great time running and dancing around. She talks about "next time I go to class," so I think she's still excited and willing. The next class is in 2 weeks so we have a lot to practice and talk about before then. Hopefully being more prepared will make it a much less stressful and more enjoyable experience. Regardless, we'll reevaluate in a month.

Blog Hog

Most of my posts lately have been about me, me, me. That's going to change right now!

First, let me start with the happy news that both kids are now healthy. Hurray! I did end up taking Bryce to the doctor because he wasn't getting better and his fever kept returning. Turns out in addition to the the regular cold that Aubree had, Bryce had a secondary bacterial infection in his throat. The doctor said that's fairly common in little ones and prescribed Amoxicillin. The medicine worked so quickly and so amazingly well that I dubbed it, "my new best friend." Within just hours of taking his first dose, Bryce was smiling, eating, and jabbering again. What a relief. By the way, Bryce now weighs more than 19 pounds.
Now on to more exciting things...The last couple weeks have been jam-packed with fun activities, most of them Christmas related. I've lost count of how many times we've seen Santa. I think the most in just one day is three; maybe he's stalking Aubree? Aubree certainly doesn't mind getting to see Santa so often, but she has begun to classify them as "pretend Santa's" (like the scary, needs-to-stop-smoking Santa at "Breakfast with Santa" [see picture on the right]) and "real Santa's" (like the amazing Sea World Santa and the surprisingly realistic Mall Santa). She tells him she wants a bike and a Little People castle for Christmas. The bike Santa will probably bring her. The castle? Probably not.
We finally did manage to get our tree decorated. Aubree "hepped" Mark set it up a little while after Thanksgiving and it stayed in it's undecorated state for quite a while. One evening, with tears in her eyes, Aubree lamented, "our tree will never be decorated!" Oh, the power of guilt! I decorated it that night after the kid's were asleep and Aubree was appropriately thrilled the next morning. "It's beautiful!" she cooed, "I love it so much!" She's a pretty easy kid to please and I certainly appreciate her enthusiasm. I'm feeling somewhat grateful that Bryce has yet to master crawling so I don't have to worry about him pulling ornaments off the tree. Aubree's always been great about leaving the tree alone, although she does like to stand and stare at the lights and the ornaments.
Immediately following my 5K race last weekend they had a "fun run" for kids. At the last minute Aubree decided she wanted to participate with her friends, so we signed her up. It was 1/4 mile and Mark went with her, but she didn't quite understand the "run" part. She did seem to enjoy it and it warmed her up a little on a cold (for Florida) morning. If you look carefully in the picture below you can see her special mittens (okay, they're socks, but she was adamant that she had to wear them because it was "so cold.")

Cheyenne, Megan, Aubree, Caden, & Ella

After the morning race we went to the annual kid's Christmas party for Mark's work. This is our third year going and definitely the most fun just because Aubree is now old enough to really participate and enjoy the activities. She played in the bounce houses, got her face painted, did a number of crafts, and played carnival games. Bryce was cold and tired, so he didn't have that great of a time. Maybe next year.
That evening was the Titusville Christmas parade. I think it's really strange to have a parade at night, but one of my friends commented that she thought daytime Christmas parades were weird because, "you can't see all the Christmas lights." I suppose that's a valid point. The main thing I noticed at this parade is that almost every entrant throws candy to the crowd. It's crazy. I don't think the kids even looked at the floats, cars, or other participants because they were too busy chasing down candy and filling up their bags. Aubree came home with more candy than she got from Halloween! Anyone want loads of sugar? We'd be happy to donate. Seriously, what are we going to do with all of that?!? Aubree and I agree that the best part of the parade was the drums from the marching bands.
Earlier in the month we also attended the "Ward Christmas Party that wasn't." We had a feeling that it would be bad so we intentionally showed up a little late. It was scheduled to begin at 6 pm and when we pulled into the parking lot at 6:20 there were about 7 families standing outside the doors. "The doors are unlocked," they indicated, "but no one is here and nothing is set up. We're just waiting for Bishop to decide what to do." Ward members had been asked to bring a dessert to share, so those of us who were there went into the cultural hall, pulled out a table and a couple chairs, and ate our treats. No Santa, no music, no decorations, nada. Excellent.
No worries - we've had no shortage of parties this month. On Tuesday we invited some friends over for our traditional gingerbread house decorating party. I'm lazy and the kids are little, so they're really graham cracker houses. The older kids actually spent time and effort decorating their houses, but Aubree and her same-age friends were way more interested in eating the decorations. Precious few of the candies provided ended up on the house. On the right is a picture of Aubree's house. It did have a traditional peaked roof initially, but it collapsed and we decided to give up the fight have a flat roof instead. After the party Aubree informed me, "it's not a gingerbread house, it's an old lady's house (think "Hansel and Gretel")."
In summary, we're having lots of fun. I love this time of year and I hope my kids do too. I know most of this post has been focused on Aubree because she's big enough to be involved in all these activities, so a quick note about Bryce - he needs a haircut! For such a young kid, he has an amazing amount of hair. We've buzzed it six or seven times but now I think I'd like to try a different kind of haircut. Any suggestions or advice on cutting boy's hair? (His hair is NOT baby hair, it's thick and full).

A Cold Day in Hades

12/13/08 - A day I never thought would happen. I completed a 5K!!! I even have pictures to prove it. Granted, our time isn't the greatest, but that's not the point. In fact, the night before the 5K I noticed I wasn't nervous and when I pondered that, I realized that "race," in my case, is really a misnomer. There was no sense of competition for me, I just wanted to see if I could actually run 3 miles and we did! The fastest person in the "race" finished in just over 15 minutes. Wow! In case you're wondering, no - we weren't last. :)

Juliana, me, & Jenni

Wise No More

In one week I have to get my wisdom teeth removed. Booooooo. I've put it off for a very long time but I can't avoid it any longer. In addition to the fact that I absolutely HATE going to the dentist (okay, technically this is an oral surgeon and I got in trouble at his office for referring to him as a "dentist," but I hate it just the same), getting my wisdom teeth out will be additionally complicated because I am still nursing Bryce.

When I went in for a consultation visit and discussed this with the oral surgeon he indicated that I wouldn't be able to nurse for 3-5 days. When I balked at that amount of time he explained that for sure I couldn't nurse for at least 24 hours because of the IV sedation (there's no way I could make it through getting my wisdom teeth pulled awake and thankfully at this office sedation is standard practice). Then he explained that I'd have to wait 24 additional hours after taking any major painkillers. I asked if any of his patients didn't take the major painkillers after surgery and he gave me such an incredulous/confused look that I wondered if I'd somehow misspoke. After a moments hesitation he stammered, "most patients want the painkillers." Yikes.
What to do? What to do? Bryce has never taken a bottle, so I figured I'd better start getting him used to the idea. Here is a picture of the first (and only) time he has had a bottle. He drank about an ounce before deciding he didn't want to be bothered. I planned on being more consistent with this process; I even called the lactation consultant at the hospital to inquire about renting a pump for a month. The lactation consultant, however, scoffed at the idea that I couldn't nurse for such a long time. She insisted, "my c-section mom's nurse right away." I tracked down the specific drugs that will be in my IV (4 of them!) and so far it seems that I should only have to miss one feeding (we're still making sure on the last drug). That won't be too bad, right? Much, much better than 3-5 days!

PS I'm still not planning on taking the "major" painkillers. I've never taken them before and have managed pretty well. Please tell me I'm not totally crazy and will be all right. Oh, please no horror stories, I'm just barely keeping my anxiety at bay as it is.

Christmas Questionnaire

I saw this questionnaire on the website of one of my extended family members and kept thinking about it. I love all things Christmas, so I figured I'd take a moment to fill it out. I think it's really interesting to read other's responses, so feel free to copy and use in your own blog (and no, I'm not "tagging" anyone).

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, I think Christmas wrapping paper is beautiful! I used to spend a lot of time making each present look extra special with bows and ribbons, but now they just get wrapped.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I prefer real trees, but they just don't make sense economically, so we have a boring fake tree.

3. When do you put up the tree? We got the tree out on Thanksgiving, but it's still sitting in the box in the family room. Maybe we'll get to it this weekend...

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day

5. Do you like eggnog? Um, not sure. It doesn't sound very appealing so I don't think I've had any since I was a kid. I think I liked it then...

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Baby Sitter's Club books

7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad

8. Easiest person to buy for? Aubree (note to self, "Must Stop Buying Aubree Presents!")

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Several! My favorite is a Willow Tree nativity that Kira gave me a few Christmas's ago. I love the simplicity of the figures.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Usually we mail our Christmas letters, but we're WAY behind this year (haven't even taken our family pictures yet), so the letter may end up being posted on our blog.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Every year on Christmas Eve Santa would come to our family gathering and bring each person one small gift (that Grandma Graff picked out). My cousin, Christie and I had a standing "Ugliest Gift" contest to see who's dollar store trinket was the worst. Usually it was a tie.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? “The Gift.” The church movie about the little boy who gets up early and does all the chores on the farm for his dad.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Mid-Summer, and I wrap the gifts as I go so sometimes I'm just as surprised as the gift recipient come Christmas morning!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I plead the fifth

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? EVERYTHING!

16. Lights on the tree? White lights.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I would love to travel to be with my siblings, but with all the weddings we've had lately, we've ended up staying with just our little family the last few years (and this year too), which is also fun.

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes. Although I think "Donder" is a very strange name.

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Umm, Santa.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning!

21. Favorite thing about Christmas? I don't know if I can narrow it down! If I have to, I'd have to say the focus on the three most important things: Christ, family, and friends. It's such an uplifting time of the year.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That it goes by so quickly.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Blue, gold, and silver.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Repeat of Thanksgiving (minus the pumpkin pie)

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Skechers mules, advent calendar, cookie cutters,

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Kira

Cats, Spiders, Whales, and a Sneaky Fox

I've realized I'm not very good about blogging about events or stories as they occur. I've also decided that, at least for now, I'm okay with that. Hope you all don't mind the hodge-podge posts, because that's the best I can do for now (maybe I'll make a New Year's Resolution to blog more frequently so I don't end up with crazy-long posts all the time).

*Sick. Again. and Again. I hadn't realized that having two kids meant illness lasts at least twice as long. Aubree seems to be nearing the final stages of the illness she got almost two weeks ago; all that remains is a lingering cough and an occasional runny nose. Bryce, however, is in the thick of it and he's miserable. When I took Aubree to the doctor when she first got sick I asked about Bryce - "What should I watch for? How should I help him if he does get sick?" The doctor said, "you're breast-feeding, right? He'll be fine, he won't get sick." Grrrrr.
* Our Thanksgiving holiday was great, very low-key and relaxing. We had Thanksgiving dinner with our friends, the Crooks. Even though their kids are significantly older (15, 13, & 8), Aubree LOVES to play at their house. Josh (13) and Amanda (8) cater to her every whim. Aubree has also decided that she adores their two cats and followed the kitties around the house. Thankfully the cats are very patient and calm!
* The day after Thanksgiving we decorated the house for Christmas. Well, we at least got out all the decorations and got a few things set up. Unfortunately there has been very little progress since then! Aubree especially liked decorating her very own little tree (with a little "hep" from Bryce). If I weren't blogging right now I'd be trying to get our big Christmas tree set up and decorated. Hopefully soon.
*I decided NOT to venture out on Black Friday. I did find some good deals online and that is SO much better than trying to fight the crowds or tow along two little kids. However, I did go to CVS at midnight Thanksgiving morning (their Black Friday started early). Let's just say "I *heart* CVS." I got all you see below for -$20. I love it when they pay me to shop at their store! Plus, there was nobody else there.
*That Saturday we went to SeaWorld (yes, again! We've definitely got a lot of use from our year passes). To be honest I'm a little Sea-Worlded out. I've seen all the shows multiple times and find myself getting bored. However, we did have an experience on Saturday that ranks way up high on my all-time favorite SeaWorld experiences list. We went to the underwater viewing area for the Orca whales. That's always amazing to see. Just as we were getting ready to leave a mother whale and her baby came swimming in. The mother swam right up to the glass in front of us and stopped. She stayed looking at us for almost two minutes - the only thing between us was the glass. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue and turned sideways, like she was talking and playing with us. It was AMAZING! The whole time her baby was right under her. Spectacular. I can't even describe it adequately! I wish I'd had my camera with me.

* I love that as Aubree gets older her imagination expands, but it also has a dark-side: fears. The other night Aubree had a nightmare. I'm sure she's had bad dreams before, but this was one of the first times when she remembered and could articulate a little of what happened. Apparently the fear mongers in this dream were spiders. For the rest of that night and ever since then, she's demanded, "don't let the spiders into the house!" This evening her big concern was Swiper the Fox (from Dora). Here's an expert from our pre-bed conversation:
Aubree: "Mom,what if Swiper comes?"
Mom: "Swiper's not real, honey."
Aubree: "But what if he is real?"
Mom: "Well, we'd just say 'Swiper, no swiping.' Plus, Swiper never hurts anyone."
Aubree: "But what if he takes my toys?" (Gasp...quiver in her voice) "What if he comes on CHRISTMAS!?"
* Speaking of going to bed - for three years Aubree refused to allow any blankets on her while she sleeps, regardless of how cold the night gets. Sometimes she would let us put socks on her feet before she went to bed, but she'd usually pull those off during the night. On really cold nights, I'd sneak in her room and put a warm blanket on her, but within minutes she'd kick it off. Concerned for her well-being, I'd repeat this process over and over throughout the night. In the mornings she'd be curled up in a ball, but claimed she liked being "cold and shivery." About two weeks ago, this all changed. I have no idea why (maybe because she was sick?), but she decided she wants to be "warm and cozy," and asks for no less than two blankets to be tucked all around her. Out of habit, I still go in to check on her and she's always wrapped up snuggly warm. Hurray for small miracles! One less thing to worry about...
* A couple weeks ago Aubree was watching a Dora video.
Dora instructs, "say 'backpack.'"
"Backpack," Aubree responds.
"Louder!" says Dora.
"BACKPACK!" Aubree yells.
Then we hear an echo, "baaa-paaaaak." Aubree and I both turn around - Bryce? No, couldn't be. Hmmm, maybe it's just a fluke.
"Say 'backpack', Bryce."
"Baaa-paaak!"
Holy Smokes! The kid's first word is "backpack." Sure, he has zero idea what a backpack really is, but he can approximate the sounds very closely. Since then he's also learned to babble "mama." Love it!

This and That

We have big news - we adopted 4 kids!

Okay, so that's just Mark reading bedtime stories to Aubree's friends before a parent game night. But we really do have big news - last Sunday Mark was released as Elder's Quorum President! Phew, that is a very demanding calling and it's amazing how much "extra" time he has now. Three weeks ago he was called as Ward Mission Leader, so he'll still be plenty busy.
Here are some other happenings:
*Mark and I went out to see the movie Twilight last night as an early Anniversary celebration (7 years!!). The audience was packed full of teenage girls who screamed nearly every time Edward made an appearance. I think the audience reactions (over-reactions) were almost more entertaining than the actual movie.
* Aubree was sick again yesterday. She woke up complaining that her head and her stomach hurt, and she had a fever and bright pink cheeks. Poor girl. She gets sick on occasion, but she'd never mentioned a headache before and that, coupled with the fever, had me more concerned than usual. I ended up taking her to the doctor who determined that she had an infection in her throat (thus her "head" hurting). It's not Strep or the Flu, and she's much, much better today. At one point I was trying to get her to be careful about what she was touching (or at that exact moment - licking). I told her not to get her "germs" on things. "Germs?" she questioned, "like Germ-any?"

Bryce and sick-Aubree

* Bryce has been so sweet lately. He loves to give me huge, open-mouth kisses on my cheeks. Well, it's either kisses or he's trying to eat my face. He's given Aubree a couple kisses and finally conceded to give Daddy a kiss this morning.
* Bryce loves to eat. It never ceases to amaze me how much he can pack away. He easily eats 2-3 times what Aubree ate at the same age. I'm having a much harder time making his baby food than I did with Aubree. Part of the reason is because he goes through it so much faster, but more because Aubree came "of age" in the spring/summer when fruits and vegetables were plentiful and inexpensive. This time of year it's difficult to find the variety of foods I'd like to feed him, so I've had to buy quite a bit of baby food. I hate that! I don't think it tastes nearly as good and it gets costly - fast! Just a quick FYI - the papaya baby food tastes like throw-up, yuck!
* This is related to Bryce's eating, and I'm starting with a disclaimer (per Mark's request): **Warning, the following paragraph deals with bodily functions** Now that that's out of the way - Bryce is quite the impressive pooper. The volume is substantial, but what's truly amazing is that 8/10 times he only poops when he's lying on his changing table and I've taken his diaper off. Since we're cloth diapering this is especially helpful. I just put a diaper underneath him, hold his legs up, and let him do his business. When he finishes I dump the poop in the toilet and put on a clean diaper. It's SO much nicer and easier than trying to wipe squished poop off his little bum. Thanks, Bryce! (Side Note: Mark didn't want me to write about Bryce pooping. He doesn't think it's quite appropriate and he's afraid someday it will be embarrassing for Bryce. I figure, most people who read our blog either have kids or aren't bothered by poop-talk [or both] and, until Bryce can regale us with funny comments, I'm a bit limited on what I have to write about. Sorry Bryce!)
* But, since we're on the topic...the other day Aubree's friend Ella came over to play. I came in the house a few minutes after the girls and found them in the bathroom. Aubree was using the toilet and Ella was standing nearby. Aubree informed me, "Ella's the mommy." "Yep," Ella agreed. Aubree continued, "Ella's the mommy so she can wipe my bum." To which Ella quickly (and wisely) responded, "Uh, I don't want to be the mommy anymore!" If only it were that simple!
* Changing the subject - I finally registered for my 5K. It's official, I'll be running December 13th at the Reindeer Run in Cape Canaveral. I am so grateful for my friends Jenni and Juliana because together we've been really consistent about our training. We're to the point where we run 2+ miles now!!! I know I've come a long way because I've caught myself thinking things like, "once I get past 5-7 minutes of running it gets so much easier," or "that wasn't so bad." To be honest, when I have those types of thoughts I sometimes look around to see if someone else is whispering in my ear.

Petition

To the powers that be:

Please,
1) Add one additional week to the month of December (preferably before Christmas), and
2) Add one additional hour to each day (of course, this hour should fall under the "children sleeping" part of the day).

Who's with me?

PS I will write a real blog soon...in the meantime, here's a short video. I was trying to take a picture and didn't realize the camera was on video mode. The kids were doing a good job posing. Too bad none of the actual pictures turned out!

Q&A with D&A

Dad: Why does your Dora doll have so many bald spots on her head?
Aubree: That's just the way Heavenly Father made her.

Dad: Where do raisins come from?
Aubree: From grapes!
Dad: That's right, but how do they turn into raisins?
Aubree: The fairies touch them with their magic wands.

Dad: Can I have a piece of that candy?
Aubree: No. You wouldn't like them.
Dad: Why not?
Aubree: Um, they're made of sour cream.
[the one food she knows Dad doesn't like]

Photo Tag

I'm not totally sure how I feel about the blog "tag" games, but this one seems innocent enough. Here is the fourth picture in my fourth picture folder.
This is Aubree at about 11 months old. Not too exciting, but she has beautiful eyes!
I tag Mom (since Kira already tagged her and she hasn't put up her 4th pic yet either).

Halloween

Aubree changed her mind (she does that a lot) about what she wanted to be for Halloween. As you can see from the picture to the left, she decided to be a ballerina for the ward Trunk-or-Treat party Halloween night. Of course she met no resistance from me in that decision, but I want to make it clear that I didn't suggest or otherwise try to influence her choice! We have a book about a little girl who is a ballerina called "The Silver Slippers." As we were getting ready to go to the ward party Aubree brought the book to me and said, "Mom, I need to show you something." She turned to a page where the little girl is preparing for her big show and said, "See Mom, ballerinas wear make-up. I'm a ballerina and I should wear make-up too." I thought she made a good case, so for Halloween only, I put on a little make-up. She loved it! Aubree has amazingly long, beautiful eyelashes and I've always secretly wanted to put mascara her on just to see the effect and I figured this was my chance! I didn't think she'd allow me to put the wand that close to her eyes, but she kept very still and Wow, just Wow! I'm very jealous - I wish my eyelashes were even half as amazing as hers! Aubree took the book with her to the Halloween party and showed anyone who stopped to talk to her the page where the little girl put on make-up.

At the last minute I found a lion costume in Aubree's old clothes for Bryce to wear to the party (I'd been looking unsuccessfully for the silly thing for weeks; it wasn't until I gave up and started looking for something else that I found it.). Of course, Bryce slept in the wrap the entire party, so although I have no witnesses, I can assure you he looked really cute. Aubree had a wonderful time playing the games and walking around to all the cars getting a bag full of candy (her favorite treats were the lollipops, which is great because I like the chocolate best!). The Young Men in the ward set up a Haunted House, but Aubree wouldn't go through because it was "too dark." Now that I have kids I don't like the scary side of Halloween at all!
Aside from the Halloween festivities, I'm happy to report that Aubree has completely recovered from her illness and Bryce seems to have escaped unscathed. I was not quite so fortunate, but at least I had a more mild version than Aubree. I was only sick one day and it happened to be on a Sunday, so Mark took care of everything! I think I ended up sleeping off and on the whole day, which is an unheard of luxury (too bad I was sick and couldn't totally enjoy it). I definitely think being able to rest made it possible to recover very quickly. A million thanks to Mark!
* The other morning I found Aubree wearing Bryce's sweatshirt (see the picture on the left). The amazing thing is that, except for the arms being too short, it fits her pretty well (and yes, it fits Bryce perfectly!). Since the sweatshirt fit so well, I had her try on a pair of Bryce's pants. See the cute capris she's wearing in the picture? Yep - Bryce's pants.
* Speaking of Bryce, one of his favorite things to do it it rock himself back and forth in his high chair. I think he likes the squeaking noise that it makes (Bryce is a huge fan of making loud noises), and I finally managed to get it on video.

Not Fun

I made it three years, but my good fortune has officially come to a screeching halt. It's something every mother eventually has to deal with; perhaps it might even be considered a rite of passage. Certainly not pleasant, but surprisingly bearable. Yes, yesterday I got to clean up my first vomit-covered bed and child. Ewwwwww. Poor Aubree - she was begging for a nap (I knew there was a problem when she asked to go to bed) and about half and hour after she fell asleep I heard a panicked and choked-off, "Mom!" I hurried to her room, pushed open the door and saw her lying with puke all around her and she was still throwing up. In a half-second hesitation I quickly ran threw a list of possible responses:

- Go to the kitchen and grab a bowl? (No, that will take too long and she needs me.)
- Immediately go to her side to comfort her? (No, I have to have something to contain the continual spouting.)
- Grab a towel? (Yes, that will work.) - GO!

Thankfully Bryce was also sleeping so I could more easily help Aubree. It was really gross, but I was impressed with how calm Aubree stayed. I was also amazed at how much vomit someone so small could produce. It covered her sheets, pillow (I threw the pillow away!), blankets, bed railing, wall, and even the boxes under the bed. Thank goodness for clorox wipes and washing machines!
Aubree spent most of the rest of the day resting and drinking water. She didn't want to eat, but seemed to be feeling a bit better. In the evening she went to bed easily, but woke up crying for me about an hour later. Fearing a repeat of earlier in the day, I sped to her room with a bowl in hand. However, I think Aubree was half-delirious and in a lot of pain. She kept flapping her arms and pointing around and saying weird things. I tried to hold her, but she jumped out of my arms and flapped around the room crying. It was really starting to freak me out because she wouldn't (or couldn't) respond to me appropriately (Mark was not home - he was at a meeting at the Church). Just when I began to get seriously concerned, she calmed down and came to her senses. Her stomach still hurt a lot and she threw up again not too much later. She ended up spending the night in our bed (thankfully she didn't throw up there!) and is a bit better today, but still not 100%.
I hate when Aubree's sick. It's horrible to see her so miserable and to be helpless to fix the problem. I just hope Bryce doesn't get sick too, because as bad as having a sick preschooler is, having a sick baby is even worse!

October

I LOVE this time of year! Hurricane season has passed (big sigh of relief!), the weather is cooler (by "cooler" I mean in the low eighties), and there are so many fun things to do (so much that I don't have time to blog about it). So, here's a review of the month:

* G'ma and G'pa Winters came down to visit for Aubree's birthday, for "Family Day" at the Space Center, and to see a shuttle launch. Unfortunately, both Family Day and the launch were scrubbed. Aubree's birthday was not cancelled, so they came anyway and we had a great time. We went to SeaWorld a couple times and enjoyed all our favorite activities there. Bryce really liked the Shamu show, "Believe." During their visit we also visited the KSC Visitor's Center, the Astronaut Hall of Fame, and the Police Hall of Fame. Of course, Aubree loved having her grandparents at her beck and call. She convinced Grandpa to follow her typical weekend morning routine with Dad ( i.e. "cereal with no milk, watch a movie, and paint"). That allowed me to sleep in a little bit with Bryce, so no complaints from me!
* After the grandparents left we kept busy with a myriad of fun activities. We had our weekly Cub Scout meetings (I am a Den Leader) and one week we made Bat-o-Lanterns. Aubree helped me paint all the mini-pumpkins and make the example. She and the scouts had a lot of fun creating their own bats.

* We invited Aubree's friends Ella and Cheyenne over to make princess garland crowns. It turned out to be more of a momma-craft, but the girls got to choose the crown and ribbon colors and loved the final products. Aubree wore hers all around town the next day and enjoyed all the comments and compliments she received.
* Last Saturday was the Library Halloween party. Anyone want to guess (without looking at the picture) what Aubree wanted to be for Halloween? You're right - a princess. Don't worry, out of the 50 other girls at the party, only about 40 were also princesses. I told Aubree that next year she can choose something (anything!) other than princess. Regardless, she looked adorable and had a fun time listening to the story tellers and playing with her friends. As for Bryce, hmmmm, I still haven't figured out a costume for him (I still have a few days, right?). He didn't seem to mind not being dressed up.
* Before we left for the Library party I asked Aubree to pick up her My Little Ponies. She did not comply and we were running late so I insisted, "Aubree, you need to pick up your ponies before we go to the party." She scowled and sternly replied, "I don't want you to be the stepmother!" Thanks Cinderella.
* Saturday evening we went the the second annual Halloween party at our friends the Dokos' home. The kids all went in costume (although upon arrival Aubree promptly took off her dress and spent the evening wearing Cheyenne's dress-up clothes - she changed outfits no fewer than 5 times), and we had crafts, a mini haunted house, a Halloween themed dinner, and cookie decorating. The Dokos' went all-out; it was a fabulous party!
* During dinner at the Dokos' party we ended up eating on the porch with just our family and Megan Miller (age 7). We joked with Megan that since she was eating dinner with us that meant we were adopting her and she would come live with us. Megan played along with the joke and made plans to share a room with Aubree and so on. All in good fun, right? Well, when the party was over and Megan went home with her own parents Aubree was inconsolable. She cried and cried, "But I *sob* ever wanted *hiccup* a big sister *wail*." I guess that will teach us to joke with a three-year-old. Sorry Aubree!
* For Family Home Evening today we went to a local pumpkin patch. Really it's just a bunch of pumpkins thrown on crates, but it's the best we've got and Aubree liked it well enough. It took her about 22 seconds to choose a pumpkin then we dragged her around taking her picture.
More assorted stories/info:
* The other week the kids and I went over to visit our neighbor, Mary Jo, as is typical. Mary Jo commented that she had just polished her coffee table. Aubree likes to rearrange the doilies and other knick-knacks Mary Jo keeps on this coffee table, so we told Aubree that table was cleaned and ready for her to decorate. Then I got busy helping Mary Jo make some phone calls. In the midst of this Aubree came looking for stickers, which we gave her (again, totally normal). A few minutes later when I finished helping Mary Jo, I found Aubree in the living room "decorating" the table with stickers. Thankfully Mary Jo is very easy-going and the stickers came off fairly easily. I couldn't even be upset with Aubree because it was really my fault. She did a great job decorating, I just need to be more careful with my word selection!
* Bryce is getting better at moving himself around. He still can't crawl, but he can scoot backwards (which frustrates him!) and in circles. He's learned how to fake-cough and to grunt and he thinks those are really fun sounds to make. He also really likes to pinch and he's really strong. He especially likes to pinch soft skin like my neck, lips, or boobs - Ouch!!

Future Ballerina/Bargain Shopper

Aubree and I were discussing tights last night, such as those she occasionally wears to her "dance class" in our living room. She explained that she has white ones, and black ones, and pinks ones too. When I asked if she had any purple tights (I must have been thinking of leotards), she replied, "no, dad, but we can buy some." A moment later she followed up her initial response with this revealing recommendation: "On clearance!"

Three!

Miracle of miracles - both kids are napping at the same time!!!!! I have no idea how long this peaceful bliss will last, so I figure I should take advantage as best as possible and try to catch up with our family's blog. I'm impossibly behind, mostly because we've had company (G'ma and G'pa Winters) here the past two weeks. I'll start with the most important event - Aubree's third birthday!

Aubree's birthday was October 9th. I felt like the day snuck up on me; I can't believe my baby girl is now three! I wish I could say that the day itself was filled with fun and special activities, but the truth is much less exciting. First we had a doctor's appointment for Bryce with the ENT (who says that Bryce just has a partial tongue-tie. For now we'll just watch it and we have another appointment in 6 months). After the doctor we had to make a stop at Wal-Mart to get supplies for Cub Scouts. We had a den meeting in the afternoon. How's that for a fun birthday? Aubree was a great sport. She chose to wear a fancy pink dress and told everyone she saw, "it's my birthday - I'm three now!"
We did do some fun things. For example, Aubree really enjoyed helping me make her cake. Before mixing the cake I reminded her, "Aubree, don't stick your fingers in the batter." She replied, "Mo-om, three-year-olds don't stick their fingers in batter!" Also, Grandma and Grandpa Winters arrived that afternoon and were able to have dinner and cake and ice cream with us. Please note the color of the cake - Aubree was adamant that she have a PINK cake (the frosting is pink, the cake is pink, and even our ice cream was pink). When it came time to blow out the candles, Aubree got a little nervous. Last year she burnt her nose when she got a bit too close in her blowing excitement, and she didn't want to repeat that performance. I tried to capture the moment on camera, but Aubree refused to try to blow out the candles while the camera was on her (see the clip below). Shortly thereafter my camera ran out of batteries - Oops!

As you might expect, Aubree also really enjoyed opening her presents. I made her wait all day to open them so Daddy could be there too, and she was extremely anxious to find out what was inside the packages. We got her a kite, a Hooked on Phonics Pre-K set, and water-colors. Grandma and Grandpa Winters brought a big box full of goodies including: the Noah's ark Little People set with lots and lots of assorted Little People people, animals, cars, and props, Dora videos, cool socks, new dress-up clothes, and so much more! It was hard to get Aubree to go to bed with so much new stuff with which to play. Grandma and Papa Graff also sent Aubree a fantastic pair of ViewMaster Binoculars (the kind that uses the slide reels, but it also works as regular binoculars).
Aubree is such a wonderful girl and I thank Heavenly Father every day for the blessing she is in my life. The last two days she's repeatedly asked me, "Mom, do you know I love you so much?" I don't think that's a question I could ever get tired of hearing. Aubree is extremely observant and learns quickly. She's kind and loving and really tries to do what is right. She's an amazing big sister and a big helper to me. Her primary teachers tell me that she is a leader (Here's a quick side story about nursery while it's on my mind: a month or two ago in nursery the teachers were handing out fruit snacks. They asked Aubree to come over and get her snacks. She answered, "no, bring them to me." The teachers insisted that she come over and get the snacks, so Aubree turned to her friend and said, "Ella, please bring me my snacks." Ella happily complied. So, yeah - sometimes Aubree thinks she's the little princess). Each day brings new adventures and funny stories and, again, I am SO thankful for the opportunity I have to be Aubree's mom.

Loose Ends

Here's a summary of the latest goings-on:

* I have been really good about going out jogging/walking three times a week for the last two weeks. However, on only the second day out the jogging stroller got a flat tire. What appeared to be a setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Mark put two new tires on the back wheels and pumped them up to the correct pressure. The next day when I took the kid's out in the stroller I was amazed at how easy it was to push! I could push with only one hand, which I never could have done previously. I felt much better when I realized that my first-day-of-training pathetic-ness was partially because I was really having to push the kids, rather than just roll them along. It's been much better since we got the new wheels (thanks Mark!). In case you're wondering, no - I still don't like to run, but I consider it a victory that I don't dread the morning workouts.

Bryce & Aubree and Ella & Raelyn (our training buddies)

* Sometimes when Aubree is playing with her baby dolls she pretends to nurse them. Monkey see, monkey do. For a while, though, her baby-du jour was a beanie-baby dinosaur. She matter-of-factly told Mark, "you can't nurse a dinosaur - they bite." A few weeks later Aubree's friend Ella came over to play and brought a doll. When Ella left, she forgot the doll. Aubree was distressed when she realized this and claimed, "Mom, Ella's baby is crying because she's hungry!" She quickly wrapped the baby up in a blanket, grabbed a bottle, and sat in her rocking chair feeding the doll the bottle. Then she told me, "I have to give her a bottle because you can't nurse other peoples' babies!" I'm glad Aubree has such a strong grasp of nursing do's and don'ts.
* I've started to try to do a little bit of preschool with Aubree. My original plan was to have a "theme of the week," but I think it will work better to have a theme of the month. This month's theme is Space. My friend found an AMAZING website (learningpage.com - you'll have to set up a free account) that has great lesson ideas, worksheets, cutouts, etc. From that site and pulling ideas from a few others we've been doing a mediocre job learning about the stars, moon, planets, astronauts, etc. We checked out a lot of books from the library on the topic and visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex when they had their annual free entrance weekend for Brevard county residents. Yeah, Aubree liked the playground best, but she also thought the space shuttle was neat. We saw a 3-D I-Max movie about landing on the moon. Aubree liked it until it looked like dirt was being thrown into her face. Then she cried, "I don't want to watch this movie!" and wouldn't put her glasses back on. I guess it was just a bit too convincing. All in all we've been having a good time. I think Aubree's favorite thing we've done was making a telescope out of a paper towel roll.

Aubree looking through her telescope

* Last Thursday I took both kids to the doctor for their well-child visits (Aubree's 3 yr. and Bryce's 6 month). Aubree weighed in at 28 lbs. even and was 36 3/4" tall. Supposedly that puts her in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. Bryce weighed 16 lbs. 12 oz. (50th percentile) and was 27 1/2" (90-95th percentile). Aubree loves going to the doctor because they give her lollipops. She definitely wasn't disappointed this time; over the course of the visit they gave her FOUR (after the first two I made her put them in the diaper bag for "later"). Aubree also had her first eye exam. She held a cover over one eye at a time and told the nurse what shapes she could see on the poster at the end of the hallway. Granted, she answered the nurse with slightly more than a whisper, but it was just loud enough for the nurse to hear and Aubree did awesome! Phew, what a relief. Mark is basically blind, so it's nice that (at least for now) Aubree's vision seems very good. The rest of the visit was blessedly routine.

Bryce & Aubree @ the doctors' (Aubree in her paper dress)

* The tip of Bryce's tongue is slightly heart-shaped. I noticed this shortly after he was born, but never thought too much about it. I figured it was just one-of-those-unique things (like if one's earlobes are attached or not). For some reason, the night following the doctor's appointment, Mark decided to try to look it up on the Internet. He didn't find much, but it got me wondering so I did some searching. I came to discover that a heart-shaped tongue tip is a sign of a tongue-tie, which means that the frenulum (the skin that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth) is too tight. It's a minor birth defect that might result in difficulties with articulation and a few other problems. Of course we realized this right AFTER the doctor's appointment! Regardless, I made an appointment with an Otolaryngologist (ENT) for next week to find out how to proceed.