2 Sabbaths ago, there was no rest for the weary. We were tired after getting back from Newport, but we got up early and headed to Conway for their annual Christmas program. No surprise – it was a 2 hour long service (as it always is), but it was very nice too. Tyson had his debut for his singing career and sang the chorus of “Count Your Blessings,” while my grandmother played the piano. She had played it as a piano solo and then stopped and asked Tyson to come sing it. I did not think there was any way that he would do this, but I was planning on going up with him and I would help him. As soon as we got upfront and he got the mike in his hand, he started singing away – before the piano had even started! It was so funny and everyone laughed. (Unfortunately, we did not get that part on video) Then he started over with the piano and he sang it without any stage fright at all! It was the cutest thing! I was so proud of him! We stayed for potluck and then our friend, Heather English, got rebaptized. So we had her baptism program, followed by a reception. It was very nice, but it was almost 5 PM by the time we were leaving the church and we were exhausted. Both boys fell asleep almost immediately in the car. We had wanted to go to a few stores in Conway Christmas shopping, so Heath ran in and I stayed in the car with the sleeping boys. On the way home, we stopped at the Pizza Barn and got pizza. Tyson was so exhausted when he napped that he peed his pants, so we had to do an impromptu change at the Pizza Barn. There was supposed to be the start of an ice storm that night, but we really didn’t have anything too much, so that was good.
I love how he claps for himself!
Westin couldn't be outdone! It sounds like he is saying "Jeee..." - like he is trying to say 'Jesus!' Then he laughs and sees if everyone is seeing what he is seeing on the screen - it was so cute!
On Sunday we had a nice breakfast and then had a busy afternoon. We dropped my car at Valvoline for an oil change and tire rotation and then the 4 of us went Christmas shopping in town. Mostly we were shopping for Westin and Bode. I had done most of my other shopping online, but we were looking for a few toys. We had the hardest time getting presents for Westin. It was a real shame. Tyson gets everything first and then Westin doesn’t really need anything…not clothes or anything. It was awful. We felt terrible, since we wanted to get Westin nice presents of his own, but literally we couldn’t think of one thing. Finally, we went to Kohl’s and they really have some great toys, so we got a few things there. We also went to Walmart and then Market Basket. I avoid Market Basket on Sundays like the Plague, but with our trip to Newport, I had missed our grocery day. We paid for it, since this was the Sunday before Christmas, but what are you going to do? Tyson fell asleep while shopping again and peed his pants again. I guess I have to start putting him in a sleep diaper every time we go anywhere in the car! Sunday night I finished unpacking from Newport and started packing up to go away for Christmas.
I love this - he loved the bowling set that we got for Bode and insisted on carrying the huge thing through Kohl's! Little did he know that we got him & Westin one too!
You can't really see this - but there are literally 30+ trucks lined up in the Shaw's parking lot, just waiting for the horrible ice storm & power outages to start - but it never did anything thankfully in our area!
Monday I worked and Sonia & Amanda (who had just arrived with Levi via train from Nebraska on Saturday night) came to babysit. Something funny happened on Monday morning during breakfast. Kelly, you will appreciate this! Out of the blue, Tyson asked, “Why did Caleb poop in the pool?” (Caleb had a little leak out of his swim diaper in Newport) Seriously, we did not even talk about this at all! I don’t know how he came up with that one – 4 days later! It just shows you how kids do not miss anything at all and they remember everything! I had remembered how horrific Tyson’s behavior had been at Newport and I decided that Tyson had to go back to taking naps. I told him in no uncertain terms that he would be up in his crib for at least an hour and that he had to take a nap. What was his response? He took a 3 hour nap and didn’t give me one bit of trouble! I had a busy shift on Monday and didn’t get to bed until 5:15 AM, which was a bit rough.
Tuesday was Christmas Eve and I was exhausted after my shift and 5 AM bedtime. Heath got up early and when Ty got up at 8 AM, they headed to Home Depot. Well, I was so tired that I kept sleeping, figuring I would just sleep until Westin woke up. Next thing I knew, it was 11 AM and I woke up and Westin was STILL SLEEPING!!!! That has never happened! Heath said he did go to bed later than normal, but not crazy! Unfortunately, us sleeping in meant that we got a late start at packing up to go to the Edwards’ house. Between naps, breakfast and lunch, and keeping Westin out of the toilet and trashcan…we weren’t all packed up until about 5 PM. We had wanted to go earlier, but that just didn’t happen. We were going to be gone for 5 days straight, since we were going to my parents for the weekend, after 3 days at the Edwards – so we had to pack a lot of stuff. Because of this, we were taking 2 cars. This is my argument for getting a van! We can’t fit everything during the holidays! Well, let’s be honest, the biggest reason for us taking 2 vehicles was that Heath was taking his truck, so he could bring his ATV to his parent’s house. Since we were taking 2 vehicles, I talked Heath into taking the boys and leaving and letting me clean up the kitchen and pick up a little, so we didn’t come back to World War III at our house. He agreed, so I spent about an hour doing just that. Then I started the trek with the dogs. It was heavenly, since Westin spends most trips with me, screaming at the top of his lungs. He will throw his binky (with the binky strap) out of his car seat and I can’t do anything while I am driving…while Heath, on the other hand, can reach back with his super long arms, find the binky and put it back in and we are back to quiet bliss. Well, my blissful trip was interrupted with Heath calling me asking me, “Did you know we were supposed to make supper tonight?” No! I did not know this! I was very upset, since I was not going to arrive at the Edwards until after 7 PM – obviously too late to start supper. We had told Sonia that we were going to make vegeburgers one of the nights, but what I didn’t know was that Sonia had told Heath on Monday that we would do the vegeburgers on Christmas Eve…and what no one knew was that Heath had his “selective listening” on and had not heard this! So Sonia threw together a whole huge meal quickly and we had a great meal on Christmas Eve. The boys went right to sleep together without a problem that night!
Wednesday was Christmas Day and we had the most excited child on the planet! Tyson was beside himself. He was so cute! He came upstairs to wake me up and asked, “Mama, you come downstairs and open Christmas presents with me?” Westin seemed excited, but was definitely more into the boxes and the bows! We had a great time opening gifts and then came the chore of picking everything up! The adult boys (and Ty) managed to sneak some ATVing in during the afternoon. Then we had to get dressed because we had company coming over! Greg & Raphaelle came to have Christmas dinner with us. We had a spread of bread bowls, 3 kinds of soup, and 2 kinds of salad. Then we had, literally, 10 different pies for dessert. Talk about a feast! The boys went to bed that night without any trouble again, but Ty said, “We gonna open Christmas presents again tomorrow, Mama?” Oh, it was terrible to have to break his heart – but at least I could tell him that Christmas was not over yet, since we would be having another Christmas at my parents that weekend. That helped!
"Oh! This is for me! You don't say!"
Trying to do his balance beam
Loving the boxes more than the presents - as a normal 1 year old does!
Getting geared up in his new winter jacket
Pure Christmas joy!
Thursday was the day after Christmas and Sonia & the 4 of us went to Portland for a good portion of the day. We went to the mall to exchange a few things and then they dropped me off at Goodwill (alone, I was in heaven!) while they went to Cabela’s and Mardens. Then we drove back to the Edwards and stopped at the grocery store on the way home for some supplies. I was wedged between 2 sleeping boys and so Heath & Sonia went in for me, which was great! We had gotten a few inches of snow throughout the day on Thursday, so the driving was a bit slow, but we made it home safely! That night we made the vegeburgers and they seemed to come out well and I think they enjoyed them. We were going to watch a movie that night but everyone was exhausted, so we went to bed fairly early (except me, of course). Ty had a little more trouble going to sleep that night, but Heath laid down with him for awhile and then he went right out. Westin was a rock star with his sleeping, as usual.
Tuesday was Christmas Eve and I was exhausted after my shift and 5 AM bedtime. Heath got up early and when Ty got up at 8 AM, they headed to Home Depot. Well, I was so tired that I kept sleeping, figuring I would just sleep until Westin woke up. Next thing I knew, it was 11 AM and I woke up and Westin was STILL SLEEPING!!!! That has never happened! Heath said he did go to bed later than normal, but not crazy! Unfortunately, us sleeping in meant that we got a late start at packing up to go to the Edwards’ house. Between naps, breakfast and lunch, and keeping Westin out of the toilet and trashcan…we weren’t all packed up until about 5 PM. We had wanted to go earlier, but that just didn’t happen. We were going to be gone for 5 days straight, since we were going to my parents for the weekend, after 3 days at the Edwards – so we had to pack a lot of stuff. Because of this, we were taking 2 cars. This is my argument for getting a van! We can’t fit everything during the holidays! Well, let’s be honest, the biggest reason for us taking 2 vehicles was that Heath was taking his truck, so he could bring his ATV to his parent’s house. Since we were taking 2 vehicles, I talked Heath into taking the boys and leaving and letting me clean up the kitchen and pick up a little, so we didn’t come back to World War III at our house. He agreed, so I spent about an hour doing just that. Then I started the trek with the dogs. It was heavenly, since Westin spends most trips with me, screaming at the top of his lungs. He will throw his binky (with the binky strap) out of his car seat and I can’t do anything while I am driving…while Heath, on the other hand, can reach back with his super long arms, find the binky and put it back in and we are back to quiet bliss. Well, my blissful trip was interrupted with Heath calling me asking me, “Did you know we were supposed to make supper tonight?” No! I did not know this! I was very upset, since I was not going to arrive at the Edwards until after 7 PM – obviously too late to start supper. We had told Sonia that we were going to make vegeburgers one of the nights, but what I didn’t know was that Sonia had told Heath on Monday that we would do the vegeburgers on Christmas Eve…and what no one knew was that Heath had his “selective listening” on and had not heard this! So Sonia threw together a whole huge meal quickly and we had a great meal on Christmas Eve. The boys went right to sleep together without a problem that night!
Wednesday was Christmas Day and we had the most excited child on the planet! Tyson was beside himself. He was so cute! He came upstairs to wake me up and asked, “Mama, you come downstairs and open Christmas presents with me?” Westin seemed excited, but was definitely more into the boxes and the bows! We had a great time opening gifts and then came the chore of picking everything up! The adult boys (and Ty) managed to sneak some ATVing in during the afternoon. Then we had to get dressed because we had company coming over! Greg & Raphaelle came to have Christmas dinner with us. We had a spread of bread bowls, 3 kinds of soup, and 2 kinds of salad. Then we had, literally, 10 different pies for dessert. Talk about a feast! The boys went to bed that night without any trouble again, but Ty said, “We gonna open Christmas presents again tomorrow, Mama?” Oh, it was terrible to have to break his heart – but at least I could tell him that Christmas was not over yet, since we would be having another Christmas at my parents that weekend. That helped!
Getting ready
Playing at the Mall - singing "Wheels on the Bus" in the school bus ride!
That’s it! I hope to get another blog out soon, so I will be all caught up! Happy New Year!
A few more random Christmas pics to close!
I love how they have the same expression!
"Wow! Great!" was the expression heard over and over
1 comment:
I always liked Christmas, but then when we had kids...oh man, it's just heaven! SO much fun to watch the anticipation and joy :) Thanks for sharing the videos! So funny!
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