More Birthday Girl

To start the day Kate and I made her cake together. I know it may sound mean making someone make their own birthday cake, but Kate loved it- especially when I let her pour on an entire three dollar bottle of chocolate sprinkles. Mmmmm doesn't it look delicious. She was pretty excited about the cake- well the sprinkles. Then we went with Jake to "Choo Choo Lunch" according to Kate. She has only been to Dairy Keen maybe five times in her life, but has caught on that they have trains there. It is a train themed burger joint where an electric train drives around, and there are trains to ride and play with. Then we went to the library, read books and checked out new ones. In my attempt to not have a crying child on her birthday after that I drove around in a well heated car til she fell asleep so we didn't have to fight about a nap.
Kate has been in love with stickers since last Halloween when Amy sent her some in the mail. Since then she has collected a large selection of stickers- literally over a thousand easily. So we let her decorate paper plates and cups for us to eat dinner off of. It was a simple idea, but she thought it was pretty awesome.
Kate opening presents. It has been a constant stream of presents in our house since Sam was born. Gifts for Sam, gifts for Kate so she didn't feel left out, Easter gifts, Jake's birthday. Presents aren't so hard to come by lately so I wondered if Kate even understood that it was something special.
The thing she reacted most excitedly to was some shoes. She was terrified of a automatic Hello Kitty Bubble Blower (and still is this morning).

We let Kate blow the candle out three or four times. She liked to do it and that way I could get more than one picture. We also showed her how to take a bite out of the cake with no hands.
We finished the day playing with some new things, coloring and watching Madagascar- Kate's pick. I guess we wore her out because she coughed all night and has a cold today. It is funny but even though she doesn't really understand what a birthday is at this point, I wanted her to be so happy and have the greatest day. It snowed a little in the morning so anything super fun like the zoo or even the park were out as options. We made other plans and other than the scary Hello Kitty toy, I think it was a pretty good day.

They say its you birthday!

Kate is two today. What? It is hard to believe. It has been birthday city around here. Sam, Jake and Kate all celebrate their birthdays in a 6 week period. I am the only one who has to wait. Here is Kate today. There will be much more posting about the birthday after it is over I am sure.
Kate at her 1st birthday.

Kate on her first day of life!

A little about Kate at two.

She weighs only 23 lbs..... insane that Sam only weighs 9.5 lbs less than her
She still hates eating obviously.
She also hates sleeping and can easily make it on only 8 hours a day of sleep... no nap
She loves to color and would color all day everyday
She loves stickers, the dog, the library, elmo, princesses, lighting McQueen, hello kitty, trains, bubbles, outside, cooking, cookies, pediasure, Little Nemo fruit snacks, swimming, singing, dancing, going to grandma's, hiding from Dad, watching movies, playing the piano, playing with friends, going to church, peeling crayons,reading, cleaning, hats, boots and necklaces.
She can say anything and everything and makes us laugh everyday. She knows her alphabet and the sounds each letter makes, all her colors and can count to ten (Except for the number seven). It is amazing to me what she can figure out.
We love you Kate and couldn't imagine life without you!

There are a few....

of my favorite things as of late.
1. Easter candy.
I could easily refuse candy the rest of the year (well that is a bit of an exaggeration) as long as I could eat Easter candy. More specifically Cadbury creme eggs and mini eggs. It is almost a tradition that Jake buys me my season supply for Valentines Day- when they are usually first out and then hides them in the house so when I am having a bad day later on in the year they exists to bring some cheer. Often times they disappear before Easter arrives and I buy a second supply. I have even attempted to buy these online in the summer. These are single handedly ruining my attemps to loose the baby weight from Sam.... I should just know better than to try before Easter is over.


2. Adam Lambert.
I have been a fan of his from the start despite AI producer's early attemepts for me to prefer the taste of widower Gokey. My unsympathetic palett told me the unexpected and pure tenor voice of Lambert was a sure bet for success. Glad that the judges are more on board now. Even his more dark version of Walk the Line had me singing his praises (and song choice) all week. I don't vote, but if those that do are casting their votes on the college dorm looks of Kris or the never ending eyewear of Gokey, I hope they come around and vote for this theatrical sexually confused genius instead. I can't wait to see what kind of albulm he will put out and hope it is not too loud for my listenting enjoyment.

3. P90 X.
I am sure many of you have heard of this hardcore workout. Tony Horton and his band of merry muscle men are all the rage right now .Jake and I had seen the informercial, and like every infomercial, were sold by "how to orders" end. We looked online and found that it retails for between 90-110 dollars normally. We found it new from some Chinese manufacture for 40. Almost certain we were going to get a pirater pointing his video camera at a television while his girlfriend talks in the background version, we decided it was worth the risk. We were pleasantly suprised when it arrived new, real and not a knockoff in just days. Yesterday we attempted the Core Synergy disc. It was a hardcore workout as promised, one reason we loved it. Reason 2- We found ourselves rolling on the floor in laugher as we attempted some of the unusal push-ups and situps impossible to such out of shapers as ourselves.

What's Up Team?

The Team has been busy lately. The kids were sick and then I have been showing the house a ton. Almost everyday lately and that can be exhausting leaving no time for blogging.... so we are behind a bit. Here is a quick recap of the past two weeks. Kate and Sam are still getting cuter by the day. Love this shot of Samuel above. It looks like he is shooting me a "whaz up" as he relaxes in his chair. Kate will be Two on Thursday (and is learning how to pose for the camera) and I can't think about it or else it makes me cry. I always say to Jake..." That is 1/9 of the time she will live with us" It is going by too fast.
Sam learned to suck his thumb. and no Sam doesn't always sit in this chair like my pictures may depict.
We celebrated my wonderful Husband's birthday. I threw him a suprise party- fiesta theme, complete with Mexican Food, Mexican Soda, a Pinata, and some sombrero's. I can't believe he is 30 now... and never looked better might I add. I have tons of hilarious pictures from this and really should give it its own post.
We went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was pretty neat, especially for kids of course. Kate enjoyed the dinosaurs but wouldn't go near this shark and is yelling because Jake is taking her near it. How does she know that sharks are scary... just the other day she was in love with them???
I'll try to be more on top of it posting wise, because you all missed out on a ton of fun stuff.
Team -OUT!

Oh the Joy

Number of beds puked on last night by little ones: 2
Number of beds peed on last night by little ones: 1
Number of beds left for sleeping in: 0

I am expecting a thrilling day today.

That was the Fastest Month of My Life

....and the only one of his so far

Happy St. Patrick'S Day from my little Leprechauns

My Handsome Guys!

We blessed Sam on Sunday. It was fun to have so many family and friend over for it. Now that that is over I feel like there is no more slacking for me, my son is three weeks old, so I can't just sit around in my pj's all day because I am too tired to get things done. I sure like this picture of my two favorite guys. Sam always has such a serious face though.... I think it cute.

A Starving Artist in the Making

What does Kate do with her time now that the baby is here. Well she likes to help me still, cook and clean, seen here posing with Dad's hat.
But she mostly likes to color, especially in a coloring book purchased at the grocery store titled "Dreams Come True Forever"- where ever princess gets her prince. All pathetic worthiness- based-on-marriage messages aside, she is enamored with the characters and the truth is she is getting really good at coloring. Yesterday Jake was looking at her coloring book and asked if I had colored something (thanks Jake) no it was Kate. Her are some of her latest works.
How about this beast she drew... from Beauty and the Beast. It has spiky hair just the way I draw him, eyebrows, eyes, and big nose and a mouth. She is not even two yet mind you.
Look at that staying in the lines skill. What an eye for detail.

And a picture to leave with

I had a lot to post... enjoy!

Ten Days

Ten things I didn't expect with two kids under two

1. To fall in love so fast-

With my first it took a while to be as bonded to my child. It was almost instant this time.

2. To have gotten a shower every day-

I may just get showered and return to wearing sweats, but I am pretty impressed just with the showering. Sometimes I even get my hair done and makeup on. I know right?

3. To have recovered so quickly-

This time my body feels almost normal already- it may not look it though seeing as how I inevitably gain 50 lbs or more with my pregnancies.

4. So many people to be so kind-

my mom has been over several days for two to four hours since we came home, not to mention watched Kate while we were at the hospital. My sister amy just came from Arizona- she drove all though the night to arrive at five in the morning, just to start cleaning my house. So many friends and neighbors have made us dinner. We've been home for ten days and only not had dinner two nights from someone- but we had tons of left overs so i still haven't had to break into the frozen dinners I had set. Others have taken Kate for play dates or special little outings..... THANK YOU EVERYONE!

5. To be this sane so far.

Not that I don't break down almost every day at least once, but that is not too bad considering all the changes and hormones. It doesn't hurt that thus far Samuel is a pretty good eater and sleeper. I am a lot less worried this time and I rarely wake my child to make him eat. I followed this advice with Kate and woke her every two or two and a half hours to nurse- making a baby who wasn't hungry- tired and angry and a mommy very sleepy. This time I let him sleep, and have had a few four hour stints at night of sleep.

6. To change so many diapers. Our Sam likes to eat- but that means he has to poop also. His 15 diapers on top of a few of kates and we are up to 20 diapers a day. That is a lot of changing and a lot of diapers. To top it off Sam has a yeast infection from the antibiotics they gave me during labor, so changing him is a five step process of vaseline and ointments. Often we finish just to hear him poop five minutes later. Kate hears him and says- "Baby Sam pooped again".

7. That the schedule in our household would change so much-

Of course I thought we would be waking up earlier, but I also forgot about how newborns don't go to sleep until 11:00 at night. Jake and I were getting quite use to our two hours to ourselves in the evening after Kate went to sleep. It had been easy to spend time together with just one child, but I can see that this may not be as much the case now that we have two.

8. To feel so bad for Kate-

I knew I would worry about her while we left her for a few days while in the hospital and I did. I didn't realize how sad I would feel when she asked Dad instead of Mom to read her a bedtime story, or told me no when I tried to play with her, or how much it would hurt my heart when she goes and sits in the corner to play with a toy by herself when I pick up the baby again to feed him. I also didn't expect the tantrums.

9. For Kate to seem so old-

She was a baby when we went to the hospital, now she is all grown up some how. When I get her dressed I can't believe how huge her arms and legs are, or how heavy she is. I can't believe all the things she can say. She speaks in sentences, counts to ten, helps me around the house. It is amazing how much different I see her now that she is not the baby.

10. How foreign it would feel to have two- Two car seats in my car, two children to bath, two bedrooms with children themed decor. Nowhere to put groceries in my shopping cart because it is all full with kids. With one child, I still felt young, not that far removed from newlyweds with no children. She was my child, but also like my little buddy I brought everywhere. With two, I am a mother. We are a family of four- almost the average size family nation wide, and I feel like a family and that makes me feel a little old.

I knew it was only a matter of time before Kate started "nursing" her babies like me. She is such a Crystal junior.
I saw this on another friendly bloggers site and promptly ordered my own. I had been looking for a "hippie" style sling. I love my Bjorn, but this seems more practical for around the house. It has been helpful even just for holding the new one while feeding Kate. Sam hasn't quite got the hang or love for it yet but it has only been a day. www.sleepywrap.com

Royalties Due!

Did anyone see THE OFFICE last night. A Valentine's episode, but I don't believe it was a re-run. Hilarious- of course as always. Down right thievery-however. Some of you may have heard this story of my husbands. A pre- meeting me romance tale from his BYU days. Donating blood he spots a fair maiden on the gurney aside his with whom he wishes to speak. Plotting his timing to meet her at the post drawing cookies and juice table for some playful banter he decides to pump his fist to fill his blood bag quickly. Calculating his bags completion to be exactly right for this coincidental meeting to occur. Then black. He awakes to find the nurse calling his name. His blood pressure plumeted causing him to faint, when he awoke his blood bank babe had vanished and forever remained a mystery.
Sounds like the writters for the office either know Jake and have heard him tell this tale, or have a bug in our home because this is supsiciously similar to the plot line of the show last night. Don't believe me. You can take a look here.

Sam I Am.

Samuel Jacob Freeman

Ready to head home!
One minute old!


Our little baby boy is here!
After much deliberation he was named Samuel Jacob Freeman
Born Feb 23, 2009 at 9:46 am
8.2 lbs 20 inches long
Perfect as can be!


Meeting our big sister.
First family picture!
He looks a lot like Dad... and Mom... and Kate too.


More details.....
For a couple of weeks I had been having contractions. They usually started up around 7:00 in the evening and would slow down around 10:00 pm. Last Thursday they started around 4:00 pm and continued and got stronger, when they had been about 3-4 minutes apart for about two hours, this was around midnight we headed to the hospital, only to be told to go home that we were not close. I was sure they were wrong since this was not the first time I was going through labor and I thought I knew what to expect. But we headed home and I was able to fall asleep and my contractions eventually went away around 4:00 in the morning. I continued to have contractions all weekend, but not consistent really. Sunday was a slower day in that department. We went to church, dinner at my parents and then came home and went to bed around 11:00. At around 12:30 I woke up, my water had broken. I poked Jake and we hurried to get things ready to go. It really was one of the only days I haven't made sure everything was packed before we headed to bed, mostly because I had not gone to bed having contractions. My mom came over to watch Kate and we left for American Fork. Still only having slow contractions.

We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 or so. My contractions were starting to get stronger by now but still not consistent at all. So far this labor was completely not like Kate's. First of all my water broke which was a whole new experience, and with Kate my contractions were perfectly spaced and measured. I felt like a first time mother. I kept distracted with foot rubs and eating ice until around 4:30 am when I asked for my epidural. Things went a little slowly for some time so they added some pitocin and I got to an 8 quickly, so then the pitocin was stopped. A nurse came back to check me 30 minutes later and said " oh you are having a baby now". She grabbed other nurses and Dr. Ollerton and everyone was rushing around. At my next contraction I pushed for about two or three minutes and he was out. It was amazing how fast it went. Almost too fast to experience it. He cried for a little while, but was happily in my arms soon.

We stayed at the hospital until this afternoon. We were there less time than with Kate, but it was such great time. Maybe because he was born in the morning, or maybe because he is such a good eater, or maybe because I am less anxious and worried, but we were able to rest and the whole time at the hospital seemed leisurely. We were able to nap both days for two hours and got several hours of sleep at night. I felt ready to go home before even 24 hours was up but we had to wait a little while for some tests and things. I am doing really well, up and about, happy to be back home and with Kate. Samuel is a sleepy kid who is great at eating and we couldn't be happier. Kate is excited about the new baby and likes to help with him and hold him for a minute, but she threw a major tantrum this evening when she had to go to bed. It will be interesting to see how things go the next day or so as we adjust.

We feel so blessed so have a beautiful family of four all healthy and happy home together!

Seeking Friend for Help With Hair Identity

My hair is having an identity crisis- Maybe you can help!
As you can see since my first pregnancy when my hair started going brown my hair has had some what of a multiple personality disorder. It has been every combination of short, long, brown, blonde, straight and curly.

The problem: though I would like to have my short very blonde hair all the time, I don't seem to have the time and money it requires to visit the salon for a cut and color every six to eight weeks. My attempt to simlify my hair life by letting it be long and brown has proven unsuccessful- in that I don't feel like myself, look like myself and most my family and friends agree it is just not as good a look for me. Plus in the end I have found it to be just as much work. I have just come to the same conclusion as Rod Stewart- Blondes really do have more fun.
















The solution: I am seeking a new friend. This friend needs to work or have worked in the business of hair, live within a 25 mile radius of me and be willing to cut and color my hair every six to eight weeks free of charge. In exchange they will recieve- well my friendship, appreciation and I would also be willing to watch their children for the day in exchange during which this new said friend of mine would be free to run errands, clean their house or just sip Diet Coke and take a nap on their couch. I know it sounds like I am just posting this for laughs, a little comic relief as I await the arrival or my stubborn son who is yet to make an apperance, but I am serious. Going once, Going Twice.... any takers?

Valentine

Valentine Kate. She will likely be loosing her cover girl position on this blog for a short time with our soon to be exciting arrival so we will leave you with this picture of darling her.

Really Ready!

If there is one thing I have learned about pregnancy and babies is that you can't really plan anything. But it sure would be a nice day to have a baby. I feel prepared and ready today. Everything is in order at our house. My car even has a full tank of gas. I couldn't be more ready. My body doesn't want to grow one more inch, and I am mostly sure that I will stop throwing up once I am not pregnant anymore, although after 38 weeks of throwing up sometimes I think it is a normal part of life. ugggg.


The nursery is all put together. It turned out rather cute if I don't say so myself. Jake says it is too much red for a boys room- because red is a girl color- strange ideas. I had received a few quilts and blankets all blue and red, then I found a bunch of red and blue stripped pillows and baskets on sale at Wal-mart of all places. They even had sheets that matched for super cheap- which I sewed into coordinating curtains. This nursery took a lot less time and money than Kate's- and I think that was a wise choice. I remember staying up until 2:00 am one night anxious to finish sewing all the curtains, pillows and blankets for her room.
We have stocked a closet full of boys clothes. Goodbye to everything pink and purple with flowers and butterflies, hello to reds, blues, yellows, robots, monkeys and dogs. It is a fun change.
The changing table has a months worth of diapers, wipes, lotions, as well as more blue hats, socks and t-shirts.
Our bags are packed- sitting in our room. I actually packed last week when I had some false labor, since we have taken things out, but they could easily be replaced in a moments notice. The bags are still sitting in the corner of our room. Kate's bag even has an hour by hour schedule for whomever ends up watching her. Several friends are on alert awaiting our middle of the night call.
My house has been deep cleaned and at the moment as you can see if rather spotless. There is not even one piece of laundry to be done. I just know when I go into labor, I will not want to leave the house until it is at least reasonably looking. Silly, but it will just make coming home that much easier.

All we need now is to settle on a name and get me walking up a mountain for a spicy food picnic. With my luck, it will happen another day, when I haven't showered yet, my house is a mess, and I have piles of laundry to be done and no bags packed.

She's Mine!

It is amazing to me how much like me Kate is. She looks a lot like me, Jake as well, but her expressions and mannerisms are all learned from me. Jake calls Kate- Junior sometimes, because she is a little jr crystal. Lately two things have made her genetic connection to me even more apparent. The first is her love for ice. Sometimes she calls it gregre and I have no idea why, buy she often asks for it by either name, goes to the fridge and points up. Sometimes she will want some juice with it, sometimes not. She likes to get her cup of ice, sit on the couch and wants me to do the same. The second is her love for cleaning. Today I actually bribed her with it uninentionally. I asked her to "clean up" her color crayons. She got all exctied, nodding saying "okay cleaning". She wasn't excited to clean up the crayons- what she thought I was saying we would do is clean with a spray bottle and rag. So she hurrily cleaned her crayons up and went to the closet where the cleaning supplies are kept. I gave her her spray bottle of "cleaner" which is really water and a rag and away she went spraying and wiping down the fridge, glass sliding door and cupboards. After she was done she asked if she could "seep" with a broom. It is amazing what she has learned the last little while just by watching me.

Kate has it pretty good being an only child right now. She doesn't go to bed until 9 or 10 most nights so she gets to hang out with mom and dad on the couch watching tv some nights eating her new favorite snack- popkey (popcorn). She even knows where to get it in the pantry, tells you to put it in the microwave while she gets a bowl out to put it in.

Its a Shaaaak!

On Saturday we took Kate to the Living Planet Aquarium in West Jordan. The Aquarium was hardly respectable- but Kate still loved it. We had fun just watching her run from tank to tank almost shoving other people out of the way. Her first favorite thing she saw was some little frogs. She went back three times to see them. That was until of course she discovered the shaaaaks! and it has been all sharks at our house every since. Even that night I heard her up in her room talking when she was suppose to be sleeping. A long stream of words she told me " A shaak, a shaak, a frog, ribbit, ribbit, a fish, a jelly, a shaak, ribbit, "kissing sound that a fish makes" etc." when I went to see what she was up to. The next morning even she ran into our room upon awaking and yelled "A Shaak". It is so much fun watching her develop new interests and teaching her about new things.

Bath Tub- My New Best Friend

The number of baths I have taken in my adult life did not exceed 20 until recently. I have good personal hygiene of course, I just never saw the appeal of a bath. Even my morning showers for me were more about efficiency than enjoyment. Well until I became a mother and found that the ten minutes I take in the shower are perhaps the only guilt free moments to myself I may get that day. Then came the home stretch of this pregnancy. With four weeks to go- it feels like the end. I think the only parts of me that are not experiencing discomfort or pain are my elbows. With about 80 weeks of pregnancy under my belt, I still have yet to determine whether I just have really hard pregnancies or are just more of a complainer that others I see and talk to. My shrek feet are back, I can't sleep for more than three hours on one side or it gets bruised, I still throw up five or six times a week, and my sciatica is back making my right leg buckle unexpectedly when I bare any weight on it. Then I tried a bath a few weeks ago to relieve some of my aches and pains. Being a woman I literally had years worth or bath salts, scrubs and creams given to me as gifts or favors that have just been sitting in baskets in my guest baths, or waiting in bathroom cupboards most likely never to fulfill their full potential. Now ever night before attempting to fall asleep, I spend some time in the tub. I am making a dent in that supply of Bath and Body Works products and I don't know that there any more enoyable 20 minutes of my day. For just a moment I feel almost normal.

All in a Hard Day's Work!

It is a pretty rough job being a stay at home mom. While Jake has been hard at work all day what have me and my almost two year old girl done.


We colored....a lot.We watched a movie.

We played with Magnet Princess Dolls.
We played with her pet shop collection.
Of course it is all not fun and games- literally. There is the 30 minute fights over eating lunch, small tantrums when I refuse to draw one more "Beast" and cleaning poop out of the tub when I just didn't get her out in time. But who knew I would grow up and to some degree still do the same things everyday.... except I think Kate has even better toys than I did, especially when I get to pick them out and buy them. And especially when I have a girl who seems to like all things super girly. I wonder if I will enjoy playing with my new son's trucks and boy toys as much? Tomorrow's line up of things to do probably includes more coloring, movies and over and hour of reading picture books. It is hard work, but someone has to do it!

An Almost Perfect 10

Jake and I eat out a lot, well almost always once a week, and have for the last six years for our date night. When we lived in Provo there were so many different places to eat that we made a rule that we couldn't eat at the same place twice. With this rule also came a fun little rating system where we would give restaurants scores based on food, menu selection, customer service, price and value, cleanliness, location, uniqueness, etc. and always a point for something given free with the meal. We didn't hand out good scores too often and nobody really ever got above an 8. But tonight we went out to eat at a restaurant we have frequented since our move here, and I decided they get an almost perfect 10- a 9.5, with a deduction for value as they have raised their prices a bit lately. It is Tarahumara in Midway, Utah. This little locally owned authentic Mexican restaurant serves a combination of food you would expect and also more Indian style Mexican with an adjacent Pasteleria. Some points in their corner include-the owners are so kind and remember us, the place is always super clean, there is a great salsa bar with 20 plus kinds of toppings for your food, there are color crayons and paper on the table for Kate, the food is good and well porportioned, free chips or course, there are often coupons that are even valid on the weekends, and it is usually not to crowded. It is a little different in that there are no waiters- like a Cafe Rio, but it has a much more upscale feel. Yes more points seem to go to things not actually related to the taste of the food. It is not a perfect or properly weighted or completely constructed system. I have mentioned Tarahumara to several people who live around here and are shocked to find that they don't know of it. It is possible that their name throws people off, or people are unsure of more authentic side the resturant offers. Congratulations to Tarahumara for gaining our strange standard unimportant seal or approval.

So it was Christmas

It has been a long time since I have been a-blogging, it was the holidays and I still feel like we are trying to catch up. I don't want to spend to much time trying to catch you up, but here are some of the more noteable things.

Deciding to stay put- Most years we travel to Fresno to see with Jake's family since we don't seem them nearly often enough, but two 15 hour car rides with a teething toddler and being 33 weeks pregnant just didn't seem practical. Making the week super relaxed and comfortable here in our own home.
Seeing tons of friends and family- Because we stayed put we were able to see tons of friends from high school, college, law school, and old wards plus some family who have since left, but returned to the state for the holidays.
Shoveling Surprise- I left the house a day or two before Christmas on a day when it had snowed 8 or nine inches. I came home hours later to see that my driveway had been shoveled. I suspect a kind neighbor who saw me knocking the entrance down so my SUV could clear it.
Christmas Cards and Neighbor gifts- At the start of the month I decided not to do either, it would just add stress and expense to the holiday and as of Dec 7th, I hadn't done a thing towards Christmas so something had to be cut, but as the weeks progressed and we received so many cards and gifts I wanted in on some of those fun things, so did them last minute and had fun doing so.
Scrooge Gifts- In my family we purchase a gift for one person, like a drawing, so Christmas is not so expensive, many people do this. But for the rest of the people we give a Scrooge gift- a gift that costs around a dollar. It is so much fun to see what people come up with, it adds a lot more presents to the gift exchange and only costs 6 or 7 dollars to get everyone. A tradition I am glad we continue.
Our Computer- It seems like with a house and kids, most Christmas and Anniversary gifts are things we need like a new washer or something. This year we bought each other a new computer- Jake even went out on Black Friday to get it. We debated about it for some time, but I am glad we got it. It works so much better than the laptop we have had for six years, it was a great deal, and has some new fun features like a DVD burner.
One trip Shopping- As mentioned before, I got a late start on my holiday projects. About ten days before christmas I got my Mom to watch Kate for two hours, and then left her with Jake for 6 hours. I was able drive to Provo hit ten or more stores- get every single gift I needed, make my neighbor gifts and all without having to stop for diaper changes and snacks. It was so productive and easy, I think I will save errands for when I am alone more often. I saved so much time not making multiple trips, and also not having to buckle and rebuckle a car seat ten plus times.
Kate-Of course nothing was better than watching Kate learn about presents and do her "ohhhhhhhohoh" when she was really excited about something or shout "ChrisChris" It was fun to be around my family, perhaps mostly because they give kate so much attention, and she has so much fun with them. She did get a little bit of a spoiled attitude, not so much because of all the gifts, but because of all the attention. It took a few days to break. She did enjoy all of her new things though we kept Christmas fairly small, she was very pleased and of course loved turning boxes into cars almost as much as the toys anyways.

Now life is almost back to normal, I have managed to take down all the decorations and the tree and we are back to our normal routine. With the holidays out of the way it seems like the baby should be here soon- but we still have six more weeks.