Our amazing friends/neighbors are moving on Thursday. We are super sad to see them go, but also very happy for them and the direction they get to go in life now. Change is hard, but it is good and I am sure they will love it where they go and love moving up and on in the world! They let me watch their girls this morning while the heavy stuff was getting loaded in the moving truck. I am really going to miss having Brooke and Abby over to play! They have got to be the sweetest, cutest and funniest little girls in the world! I don't even want to think about how sad I'll be the first time Matthew asks to play with Brooke after they're gone! This is just a little movie I took of these two monkeys playing playdough and singing along with cookie monster! Matthew and Brooke always get along so well. The worst fight we had all morning went like this (yelling at the top of their lungs)

Brooke: "MATTHEW!! SIT OVER HERE NOW PLEASE!!!"

Matthew: "NO THANKS BROOKE!! MAYBE IN A MINUTE!!!"

Oh, and then there was the time that they were hugging each other so hard they toppled to the floor laughing hysterically.

Matthew's never going to have a best friend quite as wonderful as Brooke.

I'm not sure I see the resemblance....but "look mommy, I donald duck!" What an imagination! I just wish he'd keep his clothes on! We're still battling out that one....it's not as bad as it used to be thank heavens.

I forgot to post this pic with our Christmas stuff!!! This is what Curt gave me for Christmas! Isn't it beautiful?!!!!!!!!!! He picked an AMAZING and PERFECT gift for me! Gorgeous!! Thanks sweetie!!! I'm still working on names for the horses though....Something this awsome needs names!

Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day and they were surrounded by those they love. We sure had a great day! I've said this before, but Christmas just gets better every year. I thought I loved the excitement when I was little, but it is 50x better with my own little one (I can't wait until we have Christmas with all of our kids in the years to come). This morning I was so excited I could not stay in bed after 7, so I went downstairs and got myself a bowl of cereal and made sure to make plenty of noise to wake Curt and Matthew. I couldn't stand the anticipation! I was worse than a 6 yr old!

We couldn't ever find our stockings!!! I thought I knew right where they were at, but I was wrong! By the time we realized it it was too late to go buy any. So we used a soccer sock, a wool hunting sock, and one of Curt's long black church socks!!!!!! Oh well, Matthew didn't care because it was still stuffed with candy and toys :) Next year I will be better prepared!!!

Here's our poor tired faces after finally getting done helping Santa wrap the presents and put them under the tree late Christmas Eve!! Here's some pictures of a few of Matthew's gifts. Thank you everyone for the gifts!

Christmas really is a magical time of year and I am so grateful for the opportunity it gives to teach Matthew about our Savior and how wonderful it is that he lived and died for us!!! I said to Curt today that I am going to really miss the Christmas music. I wish the radio stations would mix in a few Christmas songs here and there all year long to help turn our thoughts to Christ, because it is more than just one month a year that I am grateful for what he did.

....

This evening we had a wonderful dinner with family and friends! Thank you Chris, Kim and fam (including your sis and her hubby), Bryan, Brittany and fam, and my parents for joining us for such a fun time!!!
We love you all! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I heard a cool thought on the radio (the John Tesh show on 97.3 where I listened to all my Christmas music) about making a new year's goal. It said to not only think of a resolution and commit to it, but to also write it down because

...

"thoughts become words, words become actions, and actions become habits."

...

If we want to make a good habit of our new years resolution it really helps to write it down and put it somewhere where you will see it every day until it is truly a habit! I think I'll try it this year!

Santa's Cookies

I remember making sugar cookies some years at Christmas with my mom when I was little. Matthew loves so much to help me in the kitchen with everything that I thought he would like this too. And that he did!

This picture is hilarious. It kind of looks like Matthew is in trouble, and he could be for all I know, but I don't remember. Curt was the master decorator!
Well, Matthew was a pretty good decorator too! The prettiest thing he decorated was himself though. He had to have a bath immediately following this activity!

Here's a sample of some of the cookies Curt and I frosted. This was way fun and definitely a tradition we'll keep! I mean, come on, Santa needs cookies tonight too!

CANDY!

Today we finally got to make our gingerbread houses! Except they were graham crackers...

Here's Curt and Matthew working hard!

Here's Matthew's finished product :) He had fun with the frosting and ate 3 times the candy you see here!!!

This is closer to what it looked like before it got overloaded with frosting, and before the candy was first placed and then eaten!


Me and my log cabin

This is Curt's awsome creation. I told him it reminds me of a cute old fashioned schoolhouse.

Little did I know after I took his picture he still had one more finishing touch! Look at that snowman! Matthew asked "where's the snowman's magic hat?" He has been obsessed with Frosty the Snowman lately. He watched it about 3 or 4 times today!!!!

We added the houses to my meager Christmas decorations on our entertainment center :)

Oh, and I forgot to put this up before, but a few days ago I mentioned how much fun Matthew had making the snowflakes and Curt said he wanted to make some too! He made a whole bunch and Matthew had a blast putting daddy's snowflakes up on the window with ours the next day! Matthew said "Daddy make BEAUTIFUL snowflakes!!"
They are pretty awsome honey! The best part though was spending that time with Curt. Too bad Matthew was already in bed when Curt got the idea to make them. I laughed so hard I was crying!
I am loving our vacation from school!!!! We have so much more time to spend together!

This is the best Christmas Season yet!

The First

My ward Relief Society made these a while ago for enrichment. I wasn't able to be there but they still gave me a kit the next Sunday. I don't really know if this is how they're supposed to look, but I sure had fun making it!

My FIRST project since I got out of school! There will be many more to come!!

(I got to use an early Christmas present from Curt - a hot glue gun! So much fun!! I have wanted one since I was about 7 yrs old)

Christmas Pictures

We've got some fun Christmas Pictures coming!!!

Ok, I have them, but I can't show them to you until after I get the cards out.

I hope I'll get them in the mail on monday!

Thanks Brittany!!!!

(and no, the pic of me in front of the amazing snowmen that Curt and Matthew made while I was taking my very LAST final on Thursday will NOT be featured with the cards...sorry)

Plan on it!

Hailey Colette

will be joining us on

February 4, 2010

via elective cesarean

(unless the doctors for some weird reason can't schedule that day for me...Yesterday at my appointment they said it should work fine. We'll know for sure in a couple of weeks at my next appointment after they have scheduled it with the hospital.)

I can't wait!! I am just so excited but I have so much to do to get ready for the little princess!

School is out now and I am ready to bring on the PROJECTS!!! Keep checking my pregnancy blog for more details about baby stuff.

6 weeks and 5 days left!

Mmmmmmmm

Hot, hot....Hot CHOCOLATE!

Mug of hot water

3 HEAPING scoops of cherry chocolate

1 generous scoop of french vanilla

1-2 scoops of frozen whipped cream

....

What more do you need?

He called himself the "Pink Panther" and made me follow him around singing the theme music for 10 minutes!!

Ice Fishing and Snowday!

Curt got to go Ice Fishing yesterday with our friend/neighbor. They had a good time and caught some pretty awsome fish and Curt said it wasn't even that cold! This is the massive Rainbow trout that Curt brought home and cooked up for me last night. It was DELICIOUS!

kind of gross, but this is what Matthew did when I told him to smell the fish in the bucket.
While Curt was off fishing Matthew and I had a lot of fun in the fresh snow! I actually got him to wear gloves! Only after he had been playing in the snow for a while and his hands were cold and I threated to make him go inside if he didn't. I even had to go as far as take him inside and shut the door before he believed me. Then he wore them and I think he'll be far more likely to wear them willingly in the future. He saw how fun it was to throw snow at mommy without even getting cold hands!! The one downfall with these glove was when snow stuck to them he would get upset. He has some slick mittens but he has a hard time handling the shovel and broom with them on. We'll get it worked out! Hurray for progess though!!!

FINALLY!! A Matthew Project!

I have been meaning to do this project for a long time now, but school has been crazy! It's a tradition for Matthew and I to always put snowflakes on our window. The past years he was too little to really help much, but not this year!

This was actually the first time I REALLY let him use scissors. You can see how happy he was! Then we colored them for a little while until he was ready to put them on the window.

I got out the tape and would give him pieces and he put the snowflakes on the window however he wanted.

Somebody was out shoveling our freshly fallen snow-covered walks. Matthew pressed his nose to the glass and watched that for a little while.

Here's the happy projecteer! He was so glad to finally get to do something fun with me! I can't wait for school to get out and we'll do this kind of stuff all the time! One more week.

Ward Christmas Party

We had such a great time at the ward Christmas party this year! Matthew actually LIKED Santa!! Which is really saying something if you had seen how animated Santa was- quite the entertainer (Thus the "Uncle Sam: I want YOU" pose. Sorry Santa, you were nice but this was the best pic I had of Matthew. I really need a better camera).

School is finally almost over! I took my first final today! I only have some more online work in two classes and then 2 more finals next week in my on campus classes and I'm DONE...for a while until I decide to go back (next fall? maybe in the summer? 10 years? who knows) Curt on the other hand has TONS of tests and final things next week! It's a good thing he's smart!
8 more weeks until we have Hailey. I think we are planning a scheduled C-section hopefully some time around the 5th of Feb (1 week before the due date).

I have a lot to do before then!!!

Hard Worker

Whatever he's doing, he's always working hard! just don't mention to Matthew that he's UNDOING everything that daddy did! He thinks he's being really helpful.