Snow, Snow, Snow

We have had lots and lots of snow dumped on us the last couple of weeks.  It has been a few years since we have had snow storms like this.  We have spent most of our time inside doing lots of reading, playing, puzzles, movies, singing, naps, cooking, marching, and dancing.

We did enjoy a couple afternoons outside when the snow died down a little, the yucky air pollution and inversion were gone,  and it warmed up a tiny bit.  The snow was perfect for making a snowman and a little sledding hill on this day.

We came up with some makeshift snow clothes for Lexi and she enjoyed sitting outside in a sled and watching Brigham play in the snow.  This is her on the driveway with snow piled a good 6-8 inches higher than her head in the background.

Brigham loved watching dad throw snowballs, even when they were being thrown at him.  He kept asking for more.  It was fun to watch him try to walk around in the snow that was up to his knees.  He loved being outside again.  We had a hard time getting him to come back in.

January

I think January is my least favorite month.  We spend most our time avoiding going outside the house because of the inversions and single digit temperatures.  And when we do go out, our shopping trips sometimes end like this, reminding me why I don't get out much.

So we have tried to get a bit creative around here and find new ways to entertain ourselves.  Brigham loves his music, and we listen to a lot of it and sometimes make our own music.  He loves to help me sing songs.  One of his most requested is currently "Up on the Housetop" and "Jingle Bells".  Apparently two year olds don't understand that those songs are just for Christmastime.  He also continues to call anyone with a long white beard "Santa", including Dumbledore, Gandolf, and Lorenzo Snow.

This girl must be going through a growth spurt.  All of a sudden she is a big eater and tries to eat everything she can find, even things that aren't food.  She crawls around eating crumbs from the floor right after she has eaten a big meal.  She is actually starting to fill out some of those 6-12 month clothes that have been too big for her.

Brigham still loves his "Sessy" and often wants her to be sitting next to him or playing with him or wrestling with him (which consists of him laying on top of her or rolling her around on the ground).

One of the highlights of my month was spending a weekend at the City Creek Marriott with these lovely ladies.  We had lots of yummy food, went to the jacuzzi, braved the snow storm and freezing temps, did crafts, shopped, stayed up way too late, and had such a fabulous time with each other.  I sure am grateful for my crazy fun family.  Thank you to Dixie and girls for all your planning and Aaron for watching the kiddos.

I leave you with one of my favorite pics of the month.  This is what happens to baby hair when you have to run your heater  a lot.  Makes me smile every time I look at it.

2013

We started off 2013 with a couple of sick kids.  It started with Brigham who threw up on New Year's Eve and spent a lot of the day on the couch, sometimes cuddling with baby sister.

So Aaron volunteered to stay home with the kids while I celebrated with the Bodell clan.  We had an early New Year's Eve party with a photo booth, yummy food, and an exciting game of "I've Never."

Brigham shared his sickness with Lexi and for a few days she spent much of her day like this.  She was so exhausted and just wanted to cuddle and sleep all day long.

She seems to be mostly better now, except for the whole teething thing.  She is ten months old and into everything.  She likes to climb over and under things and into tight spaces.  She can stand on her own for 5-10 seconds at a time and walk when she is holding on to things.  I am trying to not be too sad that she is growing up so fast.

Brigham is loving the new play room we made to house all the toys.  He is also enjoying Lexi's Christmas presents more than she is.  His Cars have taken over the castle (along with many other areas of the house) and he loves to sleep with Woody, Jesse, and Buzz in bed with him.

He also loves to listen to music and is developing strong opinions about what music.  His latest favorites are Disney soundtracks.  One day I made the mistake of finding the Dumbo soundtrack on Spotify and he became a little obsessed.  Any time I turned on music he insisted that I switch it to Dumbo.  He would run around to Casey Jr, get scared during the part where Mrs. Jumbo gets mad and is taken away, and would pretend to be an animal in the Circus Parade.  I have recently gotten him to expand his musical tastes and listen to the Jungle Book soundtrack.  Now he asks to "march" each morning and we listen to the Elephant March song while he gets on all fours and marches around the kitchen.  Then he asks for "nessities" and dances around like Baloo and Mowgli including the parts where they taste the pears, scratch their backs on the tree, and float in the water. I'm posting a video below.  It's a few minutes long and you have to go to the actual blog to watch, but in case you are interested...

Merry and Bright

 We had such a wonderful week of Christmas celebrations.  We had plenty of time to relax and spend time with family doing all sorts of Christmassy things.  The Davis family arrived Saturday and we kicked off the celebrations with cheese, chocolate, and carmel fondue.  So yummy.

 We took the kids to the Shops at Riverwoods to see the lights, Santa, and the horses pulling the carriages.  The kids were big fans.  They were running all over the place, dancing to the live music, and laughing at the jingle bell harnesses on the horses.  It was pretty fun to watch them.  Then we had a little gift exchange for the cousins.  They were so excited to finally get to open some of those presents under the tree.

 On Sunday we went to my parents' ward for their annual Choir Christmas program.  Their choir is led by a professional choir director at BYU, so they always put on a great program.  We maybe didn't get to enjoy it quite as much as we have in years past, with five kids four and under sitting on two rows at the front of the chapel, but it did help us feel a little bit more of the Christmas spirit.

We spent the afternoon cooking and then had our ham, potatoes, and apple pie dinner with Grandpa Bodell and the Stanton/McCorvey family.

 After dinner we attempted our first Hicks family nativity with the grandkids.  This little lady made a perfect angel.

 Brigham was a pretty good shepherd for a few minutes, long enough to take his sheep and lay it on top of the baby, but he wasn't too interested in making an extended visit to the stable.

 It ended looking something like this.  Memorable for sure.  Maybe we will try again next year.

 Sunday night and Monday morning we got snow!  And quite a bit of it.  So we headed out to go sledding on Christmas Eve afternoon.  Brigham LOVED it.

 He loved walking around in the snow and didn't mind walking up the hill, usually holding grandpa's hand, after each trip down.

 After sledding it was time for hot chocolate and decorating Christmas sugar cookies while listening to Christmas carols.

 On Christmas morning, Brigham woke up to see that Santa had brought him a train table.

 Santa remembered Lexi too.

 Then we headed down to Provo for the rest of the day where we opened lots of fun gifts, ate lots of good food, and spent time playing with our new toys.  The kids loved their new Toy Story toys and grandma's new play kitchen.  They played with that thing for hours.  The adults and kids loved playing Just Dance 4 on the wii as well as some competitive Disney Trivia.

 We are so incredibly grateful for this time of year that we have to celebrate the birth of our Savior and think about what his life and teachings mean to each of us.  We loved the extra time that we have had to spend with our family, and we are so very grateful for the many blessings that we enjoy.