Christmas Pictures

Merry Christmas! I thought I would post a few pictures of the festivities at our home.

Last night we lit the candles on the German Christmas Nativity Carousel and read the Christmas story from Luke 2.
This morning, the girls found that Santa came and brought them princess dolls!
And, here is our own "Little Red Riding Hood!"
While the winds was blowing (and still blows), we decided to take Daddy's Elmo Kite for a fly.

I AM SO EXCITED!

Okay, I know I should be in bed, but could not go until I post this! I am just so excited!! I just finished making Lydia a Little Red Riding Hood Cape for Christmas! She loves that story and I can't wait for her to put it on! When I was sick in bed, after the strict quarantine was lifted, she would come up to her "grandmother's house" with a basket of food to help her get better!! Yes, she would bring me goodies and leave again. What a cutie! I know there will be many hours I will have to lay ill again!! ;)

The picture doesn't do it justice... It will be much cuter when she is in it!!

A Whole Heap

I have felt buried the last month! I have had the stomach flu twice in December! How cruel is that? I don't remember getting the flu for a long time. And to get it once and then again 2 weeks later is NOT FUN.
Hopefully we are all out of the woods. I count my blessings that the rest of the family didn't get it and that Curtis is such a great husband and father to take over running the household when I have been down and out!

I have had things to post, but haven't done it in SO long. So, this will probably be a LONG post to catch up.

Have you ever taken your child to the store looking like this?

One day Lydia asked if she could wear her bucket to Walmart. I told her it was fine. You can tell who has ever had kids or likes them because they just smile. In fact, one man in the parking lot said, "Oh, that brings back such great memories! Our son used to wear a bucket everywhere!" I am glad that it made his day! I just kept smiling at people and got some pretty weird looks. :) You know, you pick your battles! There is no reason why you can't wear a bucket hat to Walmart. I will think back on those days and smile, too.

The other day Lydia had made a contraption from a box, a foam pipe insulator and pretend food. She said it was a SNOWFLAKE MACHINE. If you fed it pretend food it would make you hot and warm snowflakes to eat! They were DELICIOUS! I love her imagination! I never know what will come next!

On Monday, I went into Salt Lake and Katie and Braden watched my girls for me while I went to an appointment. Katie took the girls to the Salt Lake City Cemetery to see Pres. Hinckley's headstone. They talked about the separation of body and spirit. Lydia told me later, "Mom, I saw headstones!"

Katie said that Lydia said to her, "Do you know what? Babies can talk!" Katie agreed and Lydia went on, "Maren can talk. She speaks Spanish. That's why we can't understand her!" Then went back to Katie's place and Katie told Braden the story. Lydia listened carefully and added her, "Yeah!" and "She does!" If I knew Spanish a little better, maybe Maren would have fewer tantrums! :)

When we were at Katie and Braden's another day Lydia was playing with Katie's tea set. Braden asked her what she was making.
L:"Something."
B: "Is it Jello?"
L: "Yeah."
B: "What flavor?"
L: "Water flavor with spicy ice cubes!"
I have never tried that recipe!

While I have been sick laying in bed, I have heard the girls and Curtis downstairs and missed being with them! Curtis has relayed some funny stories. Our neighbors brought us some delicious bonbons. I had cut one in fourths the night before to share. I guess while Curtis was distracted Lydia found the bonbons! She is always good to take 2 treats, cause she needs to share with Maren! So this is what he found:
Guess what? Later that day, they found them AGAIN! They enjoyed them! Curtis said there was only one left! Gotta love holiday treats!

Maren is our climber! She gets on anything! We she can climb on the kitchen chairs, then to the table. She enjoys making messes and scaring me! After she has poured pepper all over the table, I decided it was time to remove all the kitchen chairs. Now, we have the pleasure of sitting on folding chairs to eat and put away before our little climber gets into trouble! She seems pretty fearless.

When we were decorating the Christmas tree for the first time, Lydia would put the ornaments on and Maren would follow right behind with exasperated sounds, "Ugh." "Ooh." She was taking them off as fast as Lydia could put them on! She very systematically threw each one down on the floor. Needless to say, our tree is pretty much naked 2 1/2 feet down! :)

Turkey Woman!!

Lydia went to a friend's house the other day and came home with this!!!
She said, "I am the turkey woman now!"



Today was "Ground Beef Day." When it goes on a good sale, I stock up! So, I had about 35 pounds of ground beef, which turned into 2 meatloaves, 66 meatballs, 12 "yummy hamburgers", sloppy joes, and a bunch of cooked ground beef with onion ready for quick meals!! It is a lot of work, but saves a lot of time and money later on! I am glad that it is finished!! My house will probably smell like ground beef for a week!

Colds and Projects

We have been fighting colds for the past week. Curtis had it bad this weekend. He used 2 1/2 boxes of Kleenex in 2 days!! Needless to say, Maren had plenty of time to see how to blow your nose.

While we were staying in, I tried to get some projects completed. This one has been in the works for a while. I never could seem to have the few more minutes to finish. But, here it is FINISHED!!
Of course, Lydia needed one too!


I have more projects complete, but they are TOP SECRET Christmas projects. That will have to wait for a later date.

Lessons from Little People

Last night in family home evening we had a lesson on responsibilities. When I asked Lydia what my jobs were she replied, "Mommies need to pray." SO TRUE! I need the help from heaven every moment of the day!

On Sunday during our journal writing, I asked Lydia what she would like me to write in her journal. This is what she said: "I want to do the right things that Heavenly Father wants me to do."

Our Laptop Lyddie

Happy Halloween!

Lydia was so excited for Halloween this year! She remembers going trick or treating at Daddy's work. This year Maren got to join in on the fun. Lydia was Madeline and Maren was a fairy. Here are a few pictures from our exciting day!
Maren was SO tired by the time we got her in her costume, we didn't get a picture of her standing. She spent most of her time sleeping in her costume!

A Long Time...

I have had a hard time keeping up with everything but wanted to write a few cute things down before I forget!

My cousin came to visit from Arizona a week ago. It was fun to be with her. We were running errands and she would sit with the girls in the car while I would run into various places. She asked Lydia what it meant to be patient. Lydia replied, "That is what grownups say, 'Sit down and I will get it.'"

Lydia was playing downstairs and I was upstairs trying to get Maren down for her nap. It was fairly quiet and then I could hear Lydia playing with her tools. Then, I hear: "WAHOO!! YEAH!!! Move that bus! Move that bus! MOVE THAT BUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Can you tell we watch Extreme Home Makeover? :)

Have you ever tried to clean up a puddle from a potty training 3-year old?? Well, we just got home from a particularly trying time at church, everyone was tired and hungry. I had asked Lydia to go to the bathroom and get her clothes changed. She didn't go. Needless to say, she was playing in MY room standing on a box lid when I heard "the rain." So, I quickly carried Lydia off to my tub and told her not to move. But I still was not quick enough---Maren was already playing in the puddle!!! So, I quickly grabbed her to go wash. She thought it was fun playing in the water! After she was clean, I put her in her crib where she wouldn't cause more trouble. Meanwhile, Lydia is yelling to me, "Mom, there is pee everywhere!!!" Really??? So, I ran back to get Lydia's wet clothes off, but she kept saying, "No, there is pee everywhere! I can't step down." Like a little more pee on her foot would do more damage!? So, she stood on my bath pillow and got her wetness off. Maren is in her crib screaming loudly to get out. And I was running downstairs to get the necessary equipment to sanitize and clean up. Yeah, it is funny now, but at the time- not so much.

Ever teased a cat?

Bathing Maren is like teasing a cat with a red laser light...Let me explain. Every time Maren has a bath she gets the bar soap out of the soapdish and then proceeds "chasing" the slippery soap in the tub! It is quite funny watching her go for it. After a while, she will catch it. Then, with both hands holding it like a sandwich, she puts it in her mouth for a bite! She usually eats some before I can get it away from her! She doesn't seem to LOVE the taste of it. I don't know why she doesn't spit it out! She always wants to eat it!! Yuck!

I guess the soap in the mouth parenting trick for naughty words won't work for this child!!

Prayers

I love to hear the prayers of children! It seems that you really get a glimpse into what Heavenly Father sees with their sincerity. You also get to know what is going on in their little heads!

Lydia's prayer today was: "Bless Mommy to do her jobs so well and do her hair pretty and my hair pretty."

The Playhouse

It is time that I put some pictures up of the almost-finished PLAYHOUSE!! Curtis did a WONDERFUL job building it! It has already brought many delightful tea parties!

Peekaboo!

Sweet Prayers

This is the girls the other day before we said a blessing on the breakfast. Lydia decided that she would fold her arms a different way. Notice that Maren is copying her. This is what Maren does anytime we pray now --except the times she is too starving to pray and must eat instead :) .
Tonight Lydia said our family prayer. It is moments like these that I understand why the Lord tells us to become as a little child. In her prayer she prayed for Maren "that she could do all the things she wanted to, that she could walk, and bless my mom and dad with their work to do."


Curtis was outside digging yet another hole (for flowering plum trees now) and tossing the sod into the trailer. Lydia informed him, "Daddy, that is loud like my mom."
"Your mom is loud?" Curtis asked.
"Yeah, with her pans... like this." (There was a motion of hands pounding together.)

Scripture Study

During family scripture study we always save Lydia a few verses to repeat. So, we were going along and she would repeat the phrase we would say. Sometimes, instead of repeating, she will just say, "Yeah."

Example:
Mom or Dad: "And it came to pass..."
Lydia: "And it came to pass..."
Mom or Dad: "that he..."
Lydia: "that he..."
Mom or Dad: "dwelt in a tent."
Lydia: "Yeah."

Cabin Cousins

Our Newbold family was invited to a friends cabin today. We had a great time, especially the cousins!

Daddy likes them!

We were outside playing with the girls by the new playhouse. I was sitting on the grass and pulling weeds and helping Maren get places when needed. Lydia was going down the slide with daddy's help. Curtis went somewhere and Lydia came to talk to me. She said, "Dad is always pulling weeds. He loves weeds!"

Maren and Lydia

Maren has 3 teeth coming in right now and has started walking! She can take about 4-5 steps before sitting down! Here comes TROUBLE!! :)

Lydia is our family fashion consultant. She loves to tell us what to wear and to make sure that we match. The other day all the girls were in pink pajamas and she asked her dad, "Do you have pink pajamas?" Daddy didn't match. Well, tonight Lydia asked what color of jammies Maren was wearing. I told her green and she didn't like that answer because she wanted them to match in pink. I put Maren's pink PJ shirt on. The pink PJs are still a little big in the pants, so I put on her green pants. When Lydia saw her she said, "No! I want her in pink. This is NOT working!"

Maren's Mess

Could someone this cute

Do something like this?


YES! She did it!
(Don't ask me how, I just heard the crashing of glass. I don't know how she did it! No, she was not hurt, scared or upset during or following the incident.)

The blocks are in time out.

Lydia brought me the basket of bristle bloacks and said, "Mom, the blocks are in time out." I asked her why and she said, "Cause Maren throwed 'em. Set the timer for 3 minutes." Can you tell someone is familiar with time out?

Dad, This is a...

Today Lydia picked up a napkin and said, "This is a wipe stink."

Canoe Fun

We went up with cousins to take some canoes out on Kaysville Pond. Lydia and Curtis had a fun time rowing and finding sticks and reeds. Maren and I enjoyed our time on shore looking through mail order catalogs!

"I would rather be in that boat or somewhere air conditioned."

I growing your hair!

Lydia had a friend over today. They were playing with the cash register. Her friend took the barcode scanner and said, "I growing your hair." She scanned all around Lydia's head!

Best Friends

Today the Shermans came to visit. Lydia was so excited for "her friend Spencer" to come! She prayed for him and his family for days... (Grandma Porter got booted out of the prayers a day after she left--Lydia prayed for Grandma Porter, Grandpa Porter, and her cat Murphy before Grandma came for a sleepover on Friday!)

Well, Lydia and Spencer had a good time playing in the playhouse, with sticks, water guns, etc. They even had some sort of disagreement. We only saw part of it from the house. Spencer had his arms folded looking the other direction. Lydia would turn to him and grab his hand and try to calm him down. Then, he would turn away. True to life!

When they said goodbye tonight, they embraced and Spencer got out of it and said, "Wow. That was tight."

Carson and Maren enjoyed playing as well as scooting and standing. Thanks for a fun evening, Shermans!

Barbies, Naps, Dresses

Today I was taking a nap and Curtis was watching the girls. I guess he decided to take a nap on the floor where the girls were playing. Maren was banging pots and pans in the toy kitchen and Lydia was playing with her Cinderella and Prince magnets. Curtis said that he heard that Cinderella and the Prince went for a walk. This is the conversation that followed:

Cinderella: "What do you want to do today?"
Prince: "I want to try on your dresses."
Cinderella: "You can't try on my dresses. They are mine."

Cinderella starts trying on dresses and says,
Cinderella: "Do you like this one?"
Prince: "No."
Cinderella: "Do you like this one?"
Prince: "No."
and so on...

Later, Curtis was upstairs with Lydia and they got to playing Barbies. He is a GOOD SPORT!! We have lots of girl Barbies. So, they were all moms. Curtis' girl Barbie inquired, "Where are the fathers?" The reply, "Oh they aren't around." Maybe I should invest in some men Barbies so Curtis doesn't have to play the girl all the time and we don't have a bunch of single mom Barbies trying to raise all their Barbie babies alone.

Food Bank and Perfection

Tonight I was trying to clean up the dinner. I was sweeping the floor and Lydia said, "Mom, come clean up Maren's Food Bank!" She pointed to a pile of food that had fallen from Maren's highchair during dinner.


In Family Home Evening on Monday, we were talking about Agency and that we could choose. We talked about choosing to follow the perfect example, Jesus Christ. Lydia then said, "And these are my perfect parents!" Curtis and I laughed. We will need to remind her of that in the future! ;)

Catch Up!

Well, I have not been very good at keeping up with the blog lately. So, here are a few highlights(Sorry, it turned into a bunch of highlights):

Today was Maren's 10-Month Birthday!! She is breaking through her first tooth and is working very hard to walk. She took a step today and is getting braver every time she tries. So, in celebration, we had a Finger Foods Dinner of Maren's favorites. We didn't use utensils. We had chicken nuggets, tater crowns, diced fruit (grapes, bananas, mangoes, apples), and water. Maren loved it and through her "You're Special" Plate on the floor when she was through. (Sorry, I thought all the pictures were cute. It was hard to decide which one to add.)


Lydia needed a kleenex today and tried to get one herself. She couldn't reach it, so she said, "Mom, can you get me a bless you. They are too tall for me!" I asked her, "Do you a tissue?" She said, "Yeah, a tissue."

Yesterday, I went with a Young Woman to our Stake Standards night. They had a panel of Stake Leaders to answer a bunch of questions the youth submitted. One of the questions was, "Why do we pray?" I came home and asked Lydia. She started telling me about what we do- fold our arms, close our eyes, and the words we say as well. I probed some more and part of what she said was that "Heavenly Father wants to know our heart, cause he loves us." What insight from a 3-year old!

Lydia likes looking through catalogs. The other day she found an electronics one that came to Curtis. She started looking through this boring, black and white catalog and asking me what things were. She saw a power supply and said, "I think Dad would like this one!" Funny girl. I bet Daddy would have been entertained watching me trying to explain things I had no clue about!

On Friday, I put Maren down for a nap in her sleep sack. It velcros at the shoulders and zips up the front. I could hear her playing up in her room for quite some time. I went up to check on her and found a little girl standing up in her crib proud as can be. Her sleep sack was right where I laid her. I have no idea how she got out! Houdidni!

At lunch the other day, Lydia asked, "Is my daddy eating his dinner?" I told her that he probably wasn't eating yet (since he is a man of routine...12 noon). She thought about it a little and then said, "I think he is saying a prayer."

On Wednesday, Maren climbed up to the kitchen chair and then walked with it, pushing it from the dining room to the bathroom! She is trying to use anything to walk with. We have a little car she pushes around, a hippo walker thing, and she uses the bar stools as well! At lunchtime, Lydia wanted a sandwich and said, "I want ham and turkey on rye!" We never have had rye bread. I wonder where she heard that one.

Lydia LOVES reading books! Last Monday, we read The Little Red Hen and so we took the opportunity-- we made wheat flour in our new grain mill and made homemade wheat rolls! What fun! Lydia sometimes slips and calls the book, The Little Red Chicken. Cute.

Lydia played for hours one day with Pink Playdough. She made birthday cakes, clown noses, and mountains for her plastic army guys. (The red army guy is the mother, in case you were wondering).

Lydia was having some nose troubles one day and I asked her if she needed me to help her blow her nose. She replied, "No, it is not working!"

Chest Hair and Strangers

The other day, Lydia saw Curtis' chest hair. She touched it and then said, "I don't have hair on my chest." It is a good thing she doesn't have chest hair!



Every time I go outside to get the mail, garbage can, or take a dirty diaper to the garbage, Lydia reminds me, "Be careful and don't remember to talk to strangers!" I am glad that she looks out for me!

Before I forget...

One morning, Lydia was playing with her stuffed lamb. She was cuddling it, feeding it, etc. and then said, "My lamb is going to grow up to be a chicken!" (I would like to see how that happens!)

Maren and Lydia were taking a bath the other night and Maren grabbed a washcloth and scooted close to Lydia. She proceeded to scrub Lydia's face for her! I wish I had my camera! It was so cute. I am amazed at all they take in and know how to do at 9 months old!!!

Maren is loving Patty-A-Cake these days. You just say the word and she starts in at it! Lydia wants her to do it again and again. Then, she makes requests like, "Throw it in the oven higher, Maren!"

We were driving home from Salt Lake one evening and Maren was tired of being in the car. So, I put one of my hands back for her to hold. I felt her little hand hold on tightly to one of my fingers and she soon calmed down. Then, I felt more hands holding mine. It was Lydia. Maren started shaking her head "No" and swatting Lydia's hand away. I guess she wanted my hand to herself!

We went to a Demolition Derby last weekend out at Deseret Peak. We told Lydia we were going to see crashing cars and she was asking about it all day. Maren would clap and clap. It was really cute. Lydia saw everyone eating and asked for a snack because she was hungry. I followed the rules and didn't bring them in. So, Curtis being a good daddy took her to get something. Lydia came back with a big hamburger. That girl ate the WHOLE thing!!! She was hungry! She loved the crashing cars!

For Curtis' birthday, since Lydia had been telling him all week what she got him for his presents, I decided that I would have some sort of surprise element. So, we wrapped his gifts and then I went outside and hid them. Then, we gave him GPS coordinates to try and find his presents. Lydia said to her dad, "Thanks for having a treasure hunt, dad!"

Sleeping?

Maren was supposed to be taking a nap. She just kept crying. This is what I found when I went back into her room.

Dad, Do you want to know?

I guess Lydia asked Curtis last night out of the blue, "Dad, do you want to know what your birthday surprise is?" Of course Curtis replied "Yes." So, she told him it was a big red flower. That is what she has been telling me all week is what she would like to buy for her daddy's birthday. It is so hard to keep secrets when you are 3!!!

You love this!

Last night Curtis was watching Lydia while Maren and I were gone. Lydia found the Barbies and said, "Let's play this! You love these, dad!" "You want this one? You love this one. " I think she was trying to convince him that he was having fun!

My Baby is my best friend!

We were working outside last night and Lydia said, "My baby is my best friend!" It is rewarding to hear your child say her best friend is her sister! I am so glad that they are friends!!

Menagerie

Here are a bunch of different snipets of what has been going on.

Lydia has been riding her trike more and is getting much better at it. ( I asked Lydia what she wanted to do tomorrow and she said, "let's go for a trike ride!") She and Maren have been playing cat and mouse. I would get a video, but my two hands are occupied with Maren's. It is pretty funny watching them, but boy I get dizzy going in circles. Lydia runs and runs and by the time Maren and I get anywhere close, she is going the other direction.

Here is Lydia dancing with her prince.

Today Lydia was playing with one of her three pet dogs. She informed me that her dog was thinking...thinking about her bath and bedtime.

Who needs a shredder? Just borrow our baby!

Curtis was painting the playhouse and then Lydia said, "Now, I need a bridge that goes over the river to the front door and a garage for my pink car!" (She doesn't have a pink car. She pretends she does.)

The other day, Curtis was "foofling" Lydia and she said, "That's what dogs do." (If you don't understand what foofling is, you will have to ask Curtis for a demonstration.)

Dry Spell

I hope this doesn't jinx me, but Lydia was dry all night long! She didn't have an accident at church either!! Yeah, Lydia! You are doing great!!!

Spontaneous Field Trip

We were coming home from Lydia's last day at swimming lessons today and as we were driving past the fire station, there were some little boys with a firefighter squirting water from a hose on one of the trucks. I slowed down for Lydia to see and stopped since their was no traffic to let her watch. Well, the fireman waved me over, so we turned around and got out at the fire truck. Look what Lydia got to do with Fireman Kirk:

He gave us the full tour of the new building, the trucks, etc. What fun we didn't expect to have today!

We got back in the car and Lydia asked where we were going. I told her we were going home. She said, "Is daddy home?" I told her, "no, he's at work." She responded, "Oh. That's too bad." Thank you Daddy for going to work each day to provide for us!!! We love you!

Mom, I think I can...

We were leaving swimming lessons the other day and got to the parking lot where I reminded Lydia that she needed to hold my hand in the parking lot. She did for a second and then said, "Mom, I think I can hold my own hand."

Who is Your Prince?

Curtis and Lydia were in the bathroom waiting for Lydia to do her business. They began talking about what would be happening the next day:
She was going to swimming lessons. "Swimming with Brooke....and Tyson!" Lydia said "Tyson" with a glimmer in her eye. This is the conversation that followed:
Curtis: "Is Tyson your prince?"
Lydia: "Nooooo."
Curtis: "Is William your prince?" (William is a boy in the class and our ward.)
Lydia: "Noooo."

Then, the conversation went onto other things and then Lydia wrapped her arms around her daddy and said, "Daddy, you are my prince." Well, that was the clincher! I think that melted her daddy's heart! What do you think he will make her after the playhouse??? Will he give in and paint something pink for her?

Babies and Boot Camp

Well, Boot Camp continues. I haven't posted in a few days...they have been a little rough. There has been rebellion on the 3-year old's part. Today has been pretty good though. She even went potty at nursery in their child-size potty!!

We were all doing things and Maren was playing....we just didn't know she was playing in the Petroleum Jelly! Yup, Curtis found her with her fist in the jar. She had it all over her face, legs, arms. She was a shining girl! I was going to try to take a picture, but we were all covered in jelly! At least Nursery Jelly with baby scent doesn't smell bad. I think she will keep us going, especially since she really wants to walk and is very curious about EVERYTHING she can get her hands on (that is nearly everything)!!! Silly baby!

Our Potty Princess

Well, she we are still working on it, but making progress in Lydia's potty training. She has some funny ideas sometimes. She insisted wearing her pink princess boots would help her go the other day!

You go girl!!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, America! We love you!!

Today we had Curtis' sister's family and his parents out for a BBQ and canoeing on Stansbury Lake. We had a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures from our outing.

Howdy, Huck!