An End to An Era

This has been a whirlwind of a week for all of us! I up and decided to potty train Cole this week. It was terribly cold outside. We were going to be homebound and miserable anyway. So why not?

I feared potty training in the greatest way because, let’s face it, I wasn’t super successful with the first child. Sweet Kate has always struggled with it due to her constipation issues and such. My sweet neighbor emailed me an ebook that explains how to train in just 3 days. I was doubtful, but followed it the best I could. In short, I owe this author my life (maybe that’s a little drastic; but my sanity, at least). He was pee-pee trained in 3 days, while the poop took 5 days. And it’s him that tells me when he needs to go; I don’t even have to ask. I think that’s pretty amazing!

With potty training, I had him throw his diapers and bottles into the garbage (which I later pulled out and hid away;) Then we switched out the crib for a big boy bed. Whew!! That’s big stuff for a boy who liked being the baby, and for a mom who liked having him be the baby. The bottles were the hardest thing to say good-bye to, but he’s now gotten over it, and is happy with Big Boyhood. I, on the other hand, am struggling a bit with it all. I’m so proud of him, but want to cry every time I see that tiny person sleeping in that big bed. I can’t believe there are no more babies in this house:’(

 

Cole, the underwear model:

                         

Old bedroom (shown off by the old, Baby Cole):

New, Big Boy Bedroom:

          

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve was cold and snowy! Kate did everything she could to help Santa find his way. She sprinkled a reindeer feed composed of delectable oats and sparkly sequins all over the front lawn (which the birds proved to love the next morning). She also set up a very nice cookie, caramel and
Coke plate because, apparently, Santa prefers Coke to milk.  These things definitely drew in Santa, and his many wonderful presents too.
      

Christmas gets sweeter and sweeter each year. The kids’ expressions and excitement make the morning so much more lively and memorable! That being said, this year Santa surprised the kids with a BoUnCe HoUsE! The parents thought this would be a jaw-dropping, poop pants-ing, unforgettable, who cares about the other presents, amazing surprise. We had the camcorder all queued up to catch their astonishment and…NOTHING. They took one look at the thing, and ran over to the wrapped presents. Huh. Totally not the reaction we had envisioned; it’s just too bad the video camera wasn’t recording the looks on the parents' faces;) The kids blissfully opened their presents, and eventually moved onto the bounce house. They’ve since spent hours on end in it, with endless screams and bounces. And we’ve loved how quickly it blows up and takes down. Maybe they were just so shocked that it took a few minutes to sink in?      

       
     

Another noteworthy part of the morning: Dave had been telling Kate for over a month now that she was going to get coal in her stocking. She didn’t believe that. Dave managed to find some chocolate coal just for her and strategically placed it in the top of her stocking with with the label of “coal” hanging out for her to see. Guess what was the very first thing she saw? Those tormenting letters: C-O-A-L. As her eyes welled with tears, we quickly explained that it was just chocolate coal and that Santa was being a tease. She was relieved, but can you believe he has such a twisted sense of humor?

 

Early morning bedhead:

Needless to say, we had a very, merry Christmas. Our house is once again fully stocked with too many toys and lots of smiles. I feel very blessed to have such a one, hard-working Santa to provide these things for us, as well as two little people in our house to enjoy them. And, of course, we’re very grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the reason we get to celebrate and enjoy this perfect time of year.

Christmas Parties

The Blackhurst nativity topped off the season because:
A) the newly, engaged couple was forced into playing the roles of Mary and Joseph
B) the oldest cousins also (begrudgingly) took part in the nativity
C) clever Dave thought he was hilarious (and he was) when he tagged ALL of the old kids in a pic on Facebook. So classic!

The talent show, dinner, and gifts all went down perfectly. Kate was pleased with her girl Legos, and Cole thought his Hot wheels wall track was, “AWESOME!”

***
The Nelson party was certainly praiseworthy too.

We were the proudest parents ever when Cole held the Christmas star high into the sky during the nativity. We knew he wouldn’t rock a costume (and he didn’t); but boy, did he raise that star for all too see!

            

My two, angelic babies

Santa crashed the party, and scared Cole to pieces. But in the end, the kids were all smiles. Cole thought his Dinosaur cars ruled, and Kate adored her brown-haired, blue-eyed doll that matched her perfectly. Both kids could not wait to get home and try them out! What great parties we had this year!

Zoo Lights

Let me tell you about Zoo Lights. It involves the following things:

• super far away parking
• longest lines ever to get in (unless you’re brilliant like us and order tics online)
• lots of lights…not so many animals (2 to be precise)
• frigid temperatures; frigid temperatures so cold that even the rank small reptiles building seems like a nice, cozy place.

…those are the bad things. Oh, and Junior, who refused to wear gloves and a hat, until later being tricked into wearing them; that was bad too.

 

Now let’s talk about the good things:

• savory mac n’ cheese at Corner Bakery
• sipping hot apple cider as we strolled along
• hand-warmers inside gloves
• Cole oohing at the lights
• Kate holding my hand to keep me warm
• getting into the car just moments before my fingers would have chipped off from the cold

 

An okay night. Not one I’d soon do again, but festively memorable, nonetheless.

2012 Santa Pic

We found this year's Santa pic to be...

...somewhat similar to last year's;):

 

Love my babies AND their very different personalities!

Seasonal Stuff

Skippy the Elf made his long journey from the North Pole back to our house. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find new hiding places and poses for the little guy, but traditions aren’t always convenient. The other morning Kate awoke to find that Skippy had drank all the syrup. Immediately, the tears started streaming and Kate wailed, “But Cole needs syrup for his waffles!!!” After reassuring her that we had brand new bottle in the pantry and that elves need to eat too, she forgave Skippy and moved on with her day. It was nice to know that she cares about her little brother, though.

Whobilation: Kate’s kindergarten teacher continues to amaze us. She held a Grinch party and had all the kids dress as Who’s. Kate came home and said, “Mom, I need to dress up. You can just sew me a costume.” She obviously doesn’t know her mother very well. Sewing for me never entails the words, “JUST sew;” more often it’s words like, “Crap. Shoot. RRRRRR!!!” as well as far worse words. We made the best of the situation and found stuff around the house that worked. I stuck wires through her braided hair and even made a head-band. Look at me! But even more so, look at her! She was one darling Who.
              
               

Not to be forgotten; we’ve added some new additions to the kids’ ornament collections...

For Kate: Rapunzel. It’s actually the ornament she wanted last year, but due to high demand and little supply, we had to wait till this year. Kate was Rapunzel for last year’s Halloween. For one whole year (until Brave came along) Kate strutted the Rapunzel dress and shoes around the house, sang along to her Rapunzel karaoke CD, fell asleep to the Rapunzel sound track, and then this year, had herself a Rapunzel birthday party. I’m pretty sure Rapunzel earned herself a spot in the ol’ ornament collection.
For Cole: Dinosaur. Was there another choice? Well, cars (but that will likely serve as next year’s ornament). Cole, too, has been obsessed with Dinosaurs since receiving some from last year’s Christmas. In months past, you could rarely find his fists without a Jurassic creature lurking inside. He finds his dinosaur helmet to be super cool, and when it comes time for getting dressed, Cole has one DEMAND: “Dinosaur shirt.” It would be nice to dress him in the new clothes we buy him, but it’s kind of cute (kind of) to see him totally satisfied sporting his worn out T-Rex shirts.

Letter FROM Santa:
Miss Kate can always be found making books or writing letters. It’s just her thing. The other day she wrote a letter to Santa. We helped her put a stamp on it, and off it went. For some reason, the parents expected no reply. Well, imagine our shock when the Man in Red replied to Kate’s letter just a few days later. Did anyone else know that Santa did that? That was kind of a fun freaking awesome surprise!

Snow Time:
Oh, sweet Cole. We’ve discussed this before, but this child hates new things (he’s certainly related to his Grandpa Lyle). We bought him the new coat, which he HATES; hence, he wears the old (too small) one.  We bought him some new Sketchers. Has he worn them even once? Nope. The old shoes he lovingly terms as his “tiny ones” are all he will squeeze on his feet. He got some Lightning McQueen socks which you’d think he’d love. And he does. But will he WEAR them on his feet? No because they are “new.” The same thing goes for church clothes (hates anything but jeans and t-shirts). And the thing that chaps Cole’s hide more than anything else…snow gear.
So it snowed rather heavily this weekend. Dave offered to take the kids out sledding, and from past experience, I shrugged, “Good luck.” It was probably an hour long battle trying to get him dressed (no surprise since this has happened before). In the end, he wore his too small coat, with no gloves and no snow pants. We did, however, trick him into wearing a snow hat, by pulling out his dino helmet and ever-so-carefully sliding on a snow hat at the same time as sliding on the helmet. Uggghhhh. Why????? Anyway, it was nice that Cole could finally experience sledding, even if it only lasted for two slides down the hill before deciding to make a Hart’s run.


And last…Sissy had her big Christmas singing recital. She looked absolutely adorable in her formal dress, and her confidence on stage made my heart swell as always.
       

(L)With her teacher, Mrs. Delayne; (R)Loves from Daddy:

         
And, finally, Miss Kate stealing the show:

 

Thanksgiving Weekend Trip

The Blackhurst family (meaning Dave’s siblings and parents) wanted to do a little family trip for Thanksgiving. After researching many resorts, MUCH discussion, “actual” family meetings, bookings, cancellations, and re-bookings…we only made it as far as SLC. But a hotel anywhere still means a lot of fun for a kid, at least for our kids. So here’s a little overview of our night away…

Our room’s view at the Marriott Downtown at City Creek, quite stunning actually:

Candy windows @ Macy’s:

Train assembly line @ Deseret Book:

The lights @ Temple Square:

                 

The grumpiest kid in the world that was super angry about having to wear a “NEW” coat all night and could only be happy once he got a lollipop and attention from cousins (but we still love you, Cole):

“Take a picture of us acting sleepy, Mom”:

Breakfast Buffet at the Grand:

Family pic in front of a Christmas Tree:

Kate’s wish list to Santa:

(Dream lite, Brave Bow & Arrow, Innotab game, girl legos, Barbie head, Books that is easy for me to read:)

 

Other highlights: Not sleeping a wink that night due to one little boy who shall not be named, Cheesecake Factory dinner (always makes me happy), Swimming in the pool (Cole preferred the Hot Tub), and hot cocoa…all things adding up to a night of fun and adventure.

Thanks & Giving

A couple of pics from Kate’s Thanksgiving feast at school. There sure were a lot of cute pilgrims, and I, for one, was certainly thankful that I could come be a part of it all.

                     

The right pic is of Kate and her friend, Victoria. And did you notice Kate’s roll? Carrots and turkey sandwich. Tasty.

***

It was our turn to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Blackhursts. That party always consists of MANY PEOPLE and much loudness (in a good way…sort of;)

A few pics from the party…

Question…is this odd behavior?

How about this? He’s eating lint! And this is not uncommon for him. He says the word “lint” frequently throughout his day, and loves nothing more than picking the lint balls from his blankie and Grandma’s rug and eating them. It’s quite the act of generosity when he offers the rest of us lint saying, “Wint. Eat it.” Hmmmm…

Ah…the white elephant gift exchange. Kate scored a magic kit that is tragically missing the hat and and wand necessary for almost EVERY trick in the kit. Cole, well, he got a Hotwheels car and M&M’s; although, not rightfully so. When his older cousin, Jaxon, unwrapped the car and candy, Cole quickly demanded that they be his. Lucky that Jaxon is the loving, peace-keeping cousin that he is.

 

We’ve got lots of things to be thankful for, although our kids are definitely high up on the list!

Where the Fun Doesn’t Stop At Only 80 Bucks a Pop

Disney On Ice with the Williamsons: Cole was mesmerized. Kate couldn’t help but burst into song. Dave was duped into buying yet another $20 snow cone. And I enjoyed fried cheese curds. Good times had by all. Thanks for the invite Mark & Tish. May there be many more viewings of giant monkey men to come!