Christmas Prep

Leilani was my big helper this year with our 

Christmas decor. 

She actually did a really good job with the tree ornaments and I decided to leave them that way the whole season.  It made me smile.

(p.s. If you're thinking to yourself, "Why doesn't Monica ever put clothes on her children?" because every picture of Leilani these days are of her in her PJ's...well, #1 you pick your battles and #2 my daughter has an imagination like no one I've ever known and she becomes what she is wearing. So to her, these are not just pajamas, these are costumes/dress ups and she is actually being the Zebra right now... so there you go.)

There is something sacred about a lit Christmas tree.  I could sit in the living room and stare at it for hours.  It just brings a reverent feeling to the room.

My mom and dad gave each of their seven daughters this nativity set last Christmas so that while they were on their mission we would still all feel connected because we each would have this displayed in our home.  I thought of my mom and dad every time I looked at it.  They are such wonderful examples to me and our family of service and sacrifice and I am so grateful they chose to serve the people in South Africa at this time.  

My mom has a gazilion nativities and I probably only set up a half gazilion:)

Leilani and I set one out each day.  It was so fun to watch her pick each piece and place it in the scene around the baby Jesus.  She was not confused at all that it was Christ's birthday we were celebrating.

The Christmas/Reverent Room

Gingerbread houses.

We had a hard time getting anything on the house because a sneaky little elf kept eating the trimmings:)  I'm not gonna say who the sneaky little elf was either

Braving the cold.

Family Movie Night. 

This was the real thing!

Targhee pulled out a mattress with pillows and blankets and popcorn and treats.  Pretty fun!

Being Dad's big helper.

We went to Christmas Village on 25th Street for Targhee's mom's birthday.

TJ enjoyed sitting back and enjoying the show in warmth and in style:)  

Luke, Brandon, Gaige, Papa Fuzzy, Grampa Checketts, Jaecz

Bri, Kooper, Leilani, Gramma Checketts, Gramma Fuzzy, TJ and me

Twinner abominable snowmen

Nine Month Old TJ

This little kid is such a doll!

People often comment on how happy he is.

He is so easy going and I'm very grateful for that right now!

He definitely has opinions... for example he HATES laying down to get his diaper changed.  It's pretty ridiculous the fight we have to go through several times a day, but I have learned how to put a diaper on a standing/moving target and am getting pretty darn accurate:) 

If all else fails... just get him naked:)

This kid can EAT!

If I didn't know better I would think he was a 14 year old boy! It is a race to see who can put the food on the tray or eat it faster.

I have no idea where it all goes, though.  

He's not big or chunky, but I get scolded every time the tray is empty, so I try my best to keep it filled.

Let me give you an example

Lunch:

One baby food container of sweet potatoes, potatoes and ham from my plate, cooked carrots, a hand full of baby crunchies (like Cheetos), an entire slice of bread, an entire cutie (orange), and a half of a pear...and he's still looking around for more.  Are you kidding me?

It's pretty amazing! 

I keep checking around his chair to see if he dropped any...nope! GONE! All of it!

His 9 month stats:

Height: 28.5 inches (57%)

Weight: 18.25 lbs (25%)

Head: 44 cm (22%)

All I can say is he must have an amazing metabolism.

(Thanksgiving Day)

Always smiling.

He likes to stand up to everything and lately he's been getting brave and letting go for a few seconds.

(this is what happens when you have a big sister. I fear this is only the beginning)

Bundled up for the great outdoors.
He humors me:)

He loves to chase his big sister around.

She tolerates him for the most part, but if he even thinks about getting close enough to touch her or anything she deems "hers!" then he better watch out! (She's learning).

(playing in their "kitty fort")

(This picture pretty much sums up what daddy time is like:)

The sibling rivalry ring.

He is always on the move and he is not a cuddler.

My "rock-a-bying" before I put him to bed is usually a wrestling match for me to try and get a song in before he tries to jump out of my arms, 

So the most precious time of my day is bedtime when he's tired enough that he will resist the fight and just let me hold him for a few seconds.

He will hum the song with me and I soak up every one of those seconds.

We're so grateful to have him in our family and can't wait to find out what sort of personality traits he continues to develop.

Love you TJ boy! 

Days to be Remembered

They say a picture's worth a thousand words.  How about a thousand things in a picture.

Starting from left to right.

Dishes left from last night's dinner I've been avoiding.

Sippy cups sippy cups and more sippy cups.

A can of green beans from the cannery that NO ONE eats.

A half cut up pineapple.

Lunch remains from Leilani.

The video camera to catch TJ doing "Big Boy" for the first time.

My half eaten lunch that I tried to shove in my face in between feeding TJ.

TJ's lunch remains.

Over due library books.

My 32oz water jug from the hospital that I am STILL using 9 months later.

Last years "Christmas Present" to my Mom and Dad before we found out where they were serving their mission.

A flyer to a marriage and family fireside Friday night.

Leilani's art from nursery on Sunday. 

A blanket that acted as Santa's sled while Leilani Clarice (Rudolf's girlfriend) pulled me through the night sky.

A drum brought up from down stairs so that Leilani could keep the beat to the Christmas music playing in the background.

Toys toys and more toys.

Our "cat" Princess Gato wearing a cape.

A kitchen bag clip and a hair clip acting as alligators.  Careful, they might chomp your fingers.

And a bucket of blocks on the high chair to keep TJ busy while I trimmed his toenails.

And this is just ONE section of the house:)

These are things I am most likely to forget but will probably miss the most when they're gone.

The Letter O

The letter O says "awe" like

Octopus and Octagon

You are so smart, you even counted all the octopus's legs and the sides of the octagon.

They both have 8.

You learned the name of a new animal, an Ox (you're right, it does look like a cow)

and fluttered your wings like an Owl. 

And you already knew exactly what to do with the Olives.

We liked the letter O.

Going on a Bear Hunt

This

is

Bears

He has been a part of our family for a long time.

He used to be white.

And even though he's washed regularly

He only improves from a dark gray, to a lighter gray. 

He's Everywhere.

and yet...

Can NEVER be found!

At least twice a day I go on a Bear Hunt.

He could be anywhere!!

Closets, behind couches, under beds, in toy bins, sitting inconspicuously on the floor...

The other day I threatened to throw Bears away.

Blasphemy!

And then almost on cue he disappeared.

We were stumped.

We looked in

closets, behind couches, under beds, in toy bins, inconspicuous spots on the floor...

nothing.

I was about to say, "Well, Darn it!  Guess she'll have to learn how to do without" but Targhee wasn't about to let that happen.

He decided to check ONE last time

when...

Ta da!

Bears reappeared in the dress up box (which had been checked before).

All's right in the world once again.

It must have been the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

(Cute side note: Targhee slipped into Leilani's room while she was sleeping to put Bears in her arms so that when she woke up she would be so happy:) -I love him and his ways around his little girl who can do no wrong.

The Letter J

Today's letter is brought to you by the "Jar of J"

Since J stands for Jar, we found things around the house we could put inside our Jar.

First were Jacks.

You did a good job of counting them one by one into the jar.

Next were some Jellybeans. Yum!

After that, we were thirsty and needed some Juice.

We took a walk outside to visit our Jack-o-lantern we had just carved for Halloween.

But he didn't fit in our Jar.

And finally we found a Jeep just small enough to put in the Jar.

You were also dressed and roaring like a Jaguar.

We're gonna Party like it's Your Birthday

I've decided there are two approaches to a birthday

1. You take control and make it a good day.  Plan out things that will make you happy and get the gifts that you really want, if you so desire 

or

2. Sit back and let whatever happens happen.  Keep in mind, however, that you must remove all expectations to avoid disappointment.

I chose to take the latter route this year and it proved to be a good one.

My birthday started out with a surprise by Targhee that he had taken the day off work!  That alone made the day 10 times better than I anticipated:)  

My sister dropped by with lunch and a brownie pie.  Yum!!

Presents

This picture cracks me up.  We all seem to be involved in some deep conversation, but considering that I'm speaking with a 2 year old and an 8 months old...that really can't be the case.

After lunch, Targhee took us all down for a day in Salt Lake City

We started at Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park

What a fun little place. I was quite impressed by the birds there, and since we had the entire place to ourselves, we got to spend as much time at each station that we wanted.

Here are some pictures of the birds I was personally impressed with.

a rare type of pheasant

I wish there was something to give more perspective but this vulture was bigger than Leilani!

Black neck swan.  I thought this was beautiful

Peacock

Toucan 

We watched them feed the pelicans. I've never seen them stretch open their beaks before.  It was crazy! These were also huge.

This picture makes me giggle.  TJ's totally acting like he knows exactly what to do:)

And in true bird birthday wishing fashion... I got pooped on!!

I'm trying not to see this as a metaphor for the rest of my year.

"Arial, how you doin kid?  Woah! What a swim!" Naturally this is what Leilani said when she put these to her face:)

Our next stop was the Disney Store.

The Princess of the day

Leilani checking out her Tinkerbell wings

TJ was most delighted by Dori and the Cheshire Cat

We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Again...Yum!

This is how we wait for our food.

And this is what you really go for!

Friday night we had Targhee's family over for cake and ice cream and games.

I asked Leilani what kind of cake I should have and she said, "Pink."

So I did

It was a wonderful birthday and I'm actually so sentimental now (becoming a Mother has seemed to do that to me) that I even shed a few tears of gratitude at the end of the day for all of the love that was shown to me by friends and family.

Thank you to everyone who helped make it special!!