Day with Dad

These last two months Rob has been very busy with work. He hasn't had much free time to spend with the family. So we were excited that he had the day off yesterday, and we took advantage of it. We met Aunt Ashley and Uncle Matt at an amusement park that was decked out in holiday decor. The weather was a little chilly, but we bundled the kids up in their winter coats and sipped hot chocolate while we walked around the park. We enjoyed a musical with classic Christmas carols, a music-timed Christmas lights display, a few thrill rides and a bread bowl with hot potato soup. Drew braved a few of the kiddie rides at the park: He rode on four trains, a helicopter and a speed car. He really liked the carousel with horses, but we ran out of time to ride on it. We all had so much fun the time got away from us and we didn't leave until the park closed at 10. Drew and Hailey were real troopers and were still smiling when we left.

The only down side to yesterday is it has put both Rob and me in the Christmas mood today, yet we haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet. I'm ready to pull out the Christmas music, but am willing myself to wait until next weekend.

catching zzzz's

Until recently, Drew has always been great with naps and bedtime. He didn't fight or complain about going to his room to sleep. Shortly after turning two, though, his love for sleep diminished. For him it is now all about delaying the inevitable for as long as possible. One of his tactics is avoiding lying down on his bed by lying down elsewhere such as the floor or even the glider. He'll sit down on the glider and ask to be "tucked in" with his blankets. He then wants his toys piled on top. It never looks very comfortable, and I'm amazed he actually falls asleep.

Little Stinker

I've heard many people comment on their children's differing personalities. So when I brought my second baby home, I was prepared for her to be different than Drew. The two of them are alike in many ways (calm, cuddly and quick to smile are just a few similar traits), but Hailey does have her distinctions: she is messier than Drew ever was both on top and bottom. Unlike Drew, Hailey goes through a few bibs and a couple of outfits each day. If I keep her outfit clean from spit up with bibs and burp cloths, she is bound to get it on the other end with a blow out. A few days ago, she had the biggest blow out I've ever had to change. It was half way across her back and up to her shoulder blades. Thank goodness for Shout and Simple Green.

Pictures

And here are Hailey's glamor shots. Which one do you see decorating a wall?

Pictures

We did a photo shoot at the house today. We used to do them often when Drew was younger. But because of Rob's busy schedule and the increased difficulty in catching two kids on camera instead of one, we haven't kept up on the pictures. These are some of the keepers and I'm hoping to get at least one of them printed for our wall. What's your favorite? (The last one is from a few months ago-if you were wondering why his hair is shorter.)

Finding fall

Rob and I have always enjoyed the beauty of nature. When we were dating, we often would find an elevated spot and together watch the sun set. While we were living in Missouri, we looked forward to the early morning country scenery we would drive through enroute to the temple. On these trips, we would often point out to each other objects that you could find in a photograph, for instance an old silo with a tree growing out the top or a rusted crane broken and sitting in a field next to a ditch. Together we have seen some beautiful landscapes, but many that we have seen don't compare to what we've experienced here this fall. Because of the multitude of trees on the surrounding hills, the changing leaves created a patchwork effect of different colors. Everything was so beautiful. We had to share some of it with you. Rob took some of these pictures at a nearby nature preserve, one in upstate New York, and one at a covered bridge near a neighboring town.

An unexpected compliment

Earlier last week while doing my hair (it was one of the rare weekdays where I fix it instead of putting it in a pony tail) my flat iron stopped working. I didn't think too much of it and went about the day. However, yesterday being a Sunday (a day I almost always do my hair) I plugged in the flat iron and it still didn't work. I looked in the mirror and my hair was sticking out all over the place. Aside from putting it up in a pony, I didn't know what to do. I grabbed out my curling iron that I've had since high school and probably haven't even used since then. (I'm amazed I still had it and better yet, knew where to find it!) With the curling iron I tried to fix the sticking out portions of my hair, then used hairspray to keep them in place. It helped a little, but I was starting to feel self conscious about to go to church. Now out of time, I figured I wouldn't look in a mirror while at church and I'd just forget about my hair.

Having two kids to manage during church helped me accomplish my morning resolve. I completely forgot about the broken flat iron and the terrible hair day until a visitor gave me a very unexpected compliment. In the middle of our conversation she said, "you have beautiful hair." Her remark gave me a big boost and reminded me that often we are too hard on ourselves. What we see as flaws or weaknesses can actually be beautiful and beneficial to others. The challenge is looking beyond ourselves and seeing where our strengths and weaknesses can actually be useful.

At age 3 months

Some friends from med school visited us a few weeks ago. Their first response to seeing Hailey for the first time was she looked just like Drew. As the mom I've always seen a difference, however for kicks I looked at some of Drew's pictures at age 3 months. What do you think? Can you tell they are siblings?

Recommitted

Those who know me know that I'm terrible in keeping up with emails, pictures and as you can tell my blog. I selfishly follow other blogs, but don't take the time to update my own. As of now, I'm recommitting myself to blogging. It's about time I give back by sharing our family happenings, although they aren't always the most interesting things to read about. If (or I might have to say when) I fall short of my commitment, don't feel bad about reminding me to post. Hopefully I can do better than the current 6 months or so posts.

So this morning I really wanted pancakes for breakfast. However, I don't like to go to the effort of making them unless Drew will eat them as well and when I asked him if he wanted pancakes, he said "no pancakes." As you may know Drew is an awful eater, and breakfast seems to be when he eats the worst. I went ahead and started making them anyways, and he wanted to help. So while he was on the stool helping mix the pancake batter, I thought to do chocolate chip pancakes. He got so excited when I pulled out the chocolate chips at breakfast time. Then when I served the pancakes up with chocolate in them, he acted as if I just gave him some of the candy from the Halloween stash. It was the best he has eaten at breakfast for a long time.

I wonder how other breakfast foods would taste with chocolate chips; perhaps chocolate chip oatmeal.