Merry Christmas

from our family to yours!

21 Months Old!

I am constantly surprised by how old Aiden is getting. At 21 months old, he keeps us very busy. He is sometimes an incredible helper, and sometimes…

Well, he’s broken four Christmas ornaments so far this year. They are all reparable, but still… thank goodness for super glue!

He uses things in unconventional ways…

He loves to be silly. He is happiest when he has a room full of people paying attention to him as he runs around, dances in circles, laughs in a strange way, etc.

He is very active. Whether he is running or walking, crawling or climbing, throwing or rolling or jumping… he’s on the move. This makes it a challenge to sit through church, and I am so grateful to our patient Nursery workers for being so sweet to our crazy little boy amidst all the little girls in there.

Aiden has a new favorite song. Sometimes he will smile at me and say “Toes!” Then as I sing “Head, shoulders, knees and toes,” he mostly just grabs his toes and tries to sing along (ah eh toes! ah eyes! etc.), ending with NOSE! It’s pretty hilarious to me.

Seeking Creative Solutions

Dear Blogosphere,

Our bathroom is nearly complete. We have to do a little painting, put the baseboards back up, and remount the medicine cabinet.

Sadly, our medicine cabinet, which has never matched the bathroom, still doesn’t match the bathroom. I like it, but it’s a completely different color from our other cabinetry (notice it on the floor on the left below).

So, here’s my question for you: Is there a way to paint or stain or otherwise make this cabinet match better? Or should I not care?

Comments welcomed.

One More Day Touring the Bay

We went over four bridges on the bay this week. This, of course, was our trip over the Golden Gate.

We hiked around Muir Woods to see the redwoods and enjoy some of God’s beautiful creations.

I’m not sure why, but Aiden loved this exhibit. I loved that there was a little Asian boy reading the plaques (dates representing when the rings of this old tree grew, labeled with events like the Revolutionary War) and asking his dad, “So this tree watched the Americans fight the British? Dad, really?” I didn’t hear his dad’s answer, but I was impressed the tiny boy had a general idea of the Revolutionary War even though he didn’t seem to see that a CA tree would not see that particular war...

After Aiden landed on his knees in the mud, he walked around like this, saying “Ick!” Even after we wiped off his hands, he was worried about his pants and walked for awhile without bending his knees so the pants wouldn’t touch his skin, and he kept staring at the mud spots. It was so funny; maybe he has a little of me after all!

The temple lighting was Saturday night, and we went to see it after the initial rush. It was beautiful, as always. I love to look at the lights and the beautiful temple and the nativity and feel how much our Heavenly Father loves His children to bless us with so much.

The perfect ending to a great week: Fenton’s ice cream. Have you seen the Disney movie, Up? We were tempted to sit on the curb with ice cream cones, but it was FREEZING outside. We certainly enjoyed our ice cream inside though.

Spending Black Friday Outside

We spent the morning in Santa Cruz, at the beach and driving along the coast, past the lighthouse with the surf museum. We ate lunch at Flames, and the BYU students joined our ward’s youth at the temple that night.

Aiden was dying to take off his shoes and socks and walk the beach… until the water actually washed up over his toes. Then he wanted UP, UP, UP!

This otter swam so close to the pier we were on! It was awesome.

I was a little bummed to see that the mall was CRAZY. There was no parking anywhere remotely close, and there were more parking attendants and police here than at MLB games. Well, close, you know. I don’t feel like I missed out though.

Thanksgiving

We had SO MUCH delicious food for Thanksgiving, and it was SO FUN to see a bunch of friends and family! I’m so grateful to everyone, especially my mom, who put together such a delicious meal.

Aiden warmed up to everyone pretty quickly. I’m thankful to have a little boy who will hang out with other people and isn’t afraid of people he doesn’t see every day.

Our visitors from BYU… I’m so thankful they could visit!

Naturally, Aiden would do anything but slow down for a picture. I’m grateful for him anyway. He brings lots of joy to our family.

Some of us went to see a movie that night while others stayed in to watch a movie while Aiden napped. I am grateful Isaac let me go out for a fun outing without my boys—it’s nice to have some girl time sometimes.