Milestones

It has been a big month for the boys. Here are some pictures of a few of their milestones.

#1 Jack's tooth finally fell out. He had been sure that it would fall out every day for a few months. Before I even had a chance to post this picture, he lost the exact tooth on the opposite side. The tooth fairy has been busy at our house.

#2 "Where's Logan?" I say this about 100 times a day. The kid loves to hide under beds, in drawers, etc. On this night he had pulled out his toy box and climbed right in to play. We watched him play like this for almost 1/2 hour.
#3 I couldn't stand Logan's baby mullet or the long hair growing over his ears any longer, so we took Logan in for his first haircut with Jenna at the Hair Zoo. She is awesome and all of my boys love to get their hair cut at her shop. Here are some before, during, and after shots. The after shot is not very good, but his hair looks so cute. He looks like a little man now. Our baby times are flying by as we get closer and closer to Logan's first birthday.

He's a Keeper!

You can buy happiness, sometimes...

This little boy was having a bad day. He didn't know why and neither did I. While at Target, I wandered past a stuffed Yoda. The very same Yoda I searched for but never found for Christmas. The Yoda that slipped away and has bothered me ever since. I drove Sam in his shopping cart with his sad eyes and his sniffy nose to an aisle all by ourselves and showed him something special that I was going to buy him. He was so excited. He hugged and kissed Yoda and plopped him next to him in the front of the cart. He did not let go all night long and he never stopped smiling. After his bath he insisted on wearing his Star Wars - Clone Wars p.j.s and carried around his Star Wars blanket. I asked him if I could take a picture, and he was thrilled to comply. Now that is a happy kid. Total cost $19.99. So worth it!

Penske + Boys = Happy

Our first week back in our old ward was an exciting one for Jack. The primary announced an activity where the kids were to make a car out of a card board box. They would bring the car to the church on Saturday and watch a movie. It was just like a drive in movie. Jack was THRILLED with this idea. He came home from church and spent several hours making these plans for a Penske truck just like the one we used to move up here. When I saw his plans, I had to laugh. In this way, Jack is just like me! I also sketch my plans before I start any of my projects. We both also enjoy lists and charts. It is fun to watch him pick up some of my tendencies. Here is a picture of the plans. My favorite part is the supply list ("ordinary box", yellow spray paint)
These plans hung on the fridge for a few weeks, then last weekend we constructed our master piece. I quickly took control of Jack's project with a few sketches of my own. I informed him that he better get used to his crazy mother taking over things. I mean, he will soon be a cubscout and if you think he gets to earn all of those things on his own, you are crazy. His poor face fell, and I told him I was just kidding (kind of). We actually worked together and he was very open to my suggestions as long as I followed the "plans". We were a little crunched for time, so it was not very extravagant. Jack loved it!!! We made it a double seater, so I did not have to make another car with Sam. Here are some pictures.

While Jack and I were building the car, Sam and Logan enjoyed an empty box that we had used for "parts".
The boys had a lot of fun at the activity. They had popcorn and watched a movie. When I arrived to pick them up, Jack had begged for some tape and was in another room "making some repairs". He also informed me that EVERYONE asked if they could climb in the back (of course it opened up), but he did not let them, because it would break the truck. An ordinary box sure can make a little boy happy.

Embracing Change

Here are words that have been used to describe me:

Control Freak

Type A

Red Personality

Bossy

and I am sure that are many more that people use under their breath. I have known all of this for a very long time, and I have learned to use my "freakiness" to my benefit. I understand my limitations and try to grow in those areas. I have used my strengths to do all sorts of good things, and I laugh at myself A LOT. While it is true that I have to write grocery trips on my calendar, I will not go to the store without a list, and the thought of my husband surprising me with an unplanned get away gives me anxiety to the point of wanting to puke... I have made some improvements lately. I let Jack pick out his own clothes, comb his hair, and walk to school with his friends. I even let him make mistakes on his homework and turn them in if he does not want my help. These were big steps for me, and I didn't die.

I actually like changes, as long as I can plan and somewhat control said changes. So when my husband's dream-job turned out to be anything but a dream, and we were faced with sudden, huge, seemingly unmanageable changes I was sure that my head might actually explode. Instead, I have been able to stay calm, breath, and adapt. Who knew? Here is a quick update on what is going on in our lives right now.

• I went back to work full-time. For those of you reading this that have no idea what I do, I am a business analyst for a software company out of SLC/Denver. I have been working from home since Tyler went to law school (almost 8 years). I had been part time since Sam was born (3 years). I am now working 8 hours every day.


• We gave our renters notice, moved out of our rental in Meridian ID and moved back into our house in Post Falls ID.


• Jack had to change schools again this year. He is extremely resilient - luckily he got that from his dad. He has found all of his old friends and is so happy to be back.


• Tyler is starting his own firm up here in Coeur D' Alene Idaho and also in the process of getting licensed in Utah and opening up a firm in Ogden. When everything is up and running, he will be commuting between the two a lot. We may even get to move to Utah when the market is such that we can sell our home up here. In the mean time, we are enjoying the space, the beautiful trees, and being back by our friends. I can't wait to pop into my favorite scrapbook store and start staying up 'til midnight with those crazy ladies.


• Logan turned 9 and 10 months during this time and is ever changing. He is so close to walking - letting go of furniture and propelling himself forward. He just needs his legs to catch up with him. He has 4 teeth and is still very busy. He is a little boy on a mission. A very naughty mission. Still darling and still loves his mommy! I cannot believe he is almost a year old.


• Sam had to leave his beloved pre-school. He keeps asking me if Shelly (his teacher) is here yet. He also pretends to call his friends on the phone and it is breaking my heart. The move has been the hardest on him, but he is starting to come around. I will find him something here soon, so he can get back in school. He is very smart and really enjoys learning. He loves to "read". He has memorized several books that he will "read" to us at bed-time. He still talks in a cute little boy voice, and I love listening to him say things like, "Mom, I yike yogan's yizard."

Confession

I am eating Ben and Jerry's Fudge Brownie ice cream while I watch the Biggest Looser. Do you see a problem with that? It is a big problem for me. For some reason, me watching Biggest Looser = me eating crappy junk food. To make me feel worse, my mom told me once how much she loves the Biggest Looser and that she used to do the treadmill while she watched. Seriously??? I wish that was the effect it had on me.

p.s. I am out of ice cream, please send more chocolate.

Traditions

I loved reading Kierste's and Andee's family traditions; it is fun to see how many are the same as ours. Here is a list of our family traditions during the holidays.

1. Putting up the decorations the day after Thanksgiving, or as soon as possible after Thanksgiving.

2. Planning and making handmade Christmas cards. Crazy, too much work, but I love it.

3. Taking 5 million pictures that look like this.

just to get one that looks like this and can be included in the Christmas card.

4. If we are in Utah, Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving with the girls to see how close we can get to being done in one day.

5. Visiting Santa. I love the horrible pictures we end up with most years. If at least one kid isn't crying, why bother. When we lived up North, we also took a yearly cruise to the North Pole to see Santa. It was a family favorite!

6. Advent calendars. We have a beaded tree ornament, and a felt Christmas tree that is as close to the one my Mom has that I could find. We also have a new one from my mom that has scriptures for each day.

7. Christmas books every night. If you need a fantastic book for Older kids and adults alike, check out my SIL's blog. The Red Ranger Came Calling is mine and Tyler's absolute favorite. Jack liked it this year too. We have a great collection, because my mom gives a new wonderful Christmas book every year. We love that!

8. On Christmas Eve, we open a new pair of PJs (Ballard tradition) and a new ornament for each of us every year. We also have all of the ornaments that Tyler got every year of his life with his parents. It has been a fun tradition to adopt from his family.

9. Christmas Morning, we have pull-aparts and juice. Yummy

10. After Christmas we go to Utah to visit our family. We always have a Ballard/Edwards party with my mom's sister's family. This party is full of traditions that have been going on since we were kids. Some we still do, and some we just remember. This party used to be the Whitney Party on Christmas day at my Grandparent's house. We always ate and opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Aunt Sandra used to make the girls night gowns and matching doll night gowns. They were amazing and now she does it for the little girls. I am as excited to see them open them as they are. Grandpa also gave us an envelope from the bank with a little money in it, and Grandma gave us each a box of orange sticks. We would wait for a call from my Aunts Barbara and Gayleen when they lived in Florida and we would pass around the phone and visit. When I was a little girl, this was my favorite part. I felt so grown up talking "long distance". Funny how cell phones have changed that concept. We would also get boxes from Barbara from Florida. One year we all got Florida t-shirts. They were our favorite shirts that year. Then we play the game where you wrap presents up really tight with lots of duct tape and newspapers and roll dice to get a chance to open them up fast before the next person rolls a double or seven or 11. At the end we have a few rounds where you are allowed to steal presents from each other. This game was fun when we were kids and still just as much fun. Our gifts are all $5 but there always seems to be something that everyone fights for. For fun, we have a separate game for the kids, so that they don't cry when Uncle Don or one of the other grown ups steal their gifts. We spend the rest of the night visiting. Our family has grown to include lots and lots of little grand kids. I like to imagine what Grandpa and Grandma Whitney would think to see how their family has grown so much. I am so grateful to my mom and Aunt Sandra for continuing this party. It is a really big part of my holiday memories. We are having this party in the church gym this year, because we have grown so much - we definitely would not fit in Grandma's living room anymore.

11. While we are in Utah, Tyler's family also has a family party with his brother, sister and their families. Luckily his brother has a few girls, because the rest of the grand kids are all boys. This party can get silly and loud. The favorite game for the kids is digging through a big bag full of newspaper and wrapping paper to get toys and treats. We are still changing this party around to find our favorite traditions. We went bowling last year and are going to try that again this year.

I love the holidays. Hope all is well with all of you. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all of that stuff!