Gotta love them!

Lillian is at such a fun age. She is learning new words every day and trying to copy what we say or at least points to the correct person/item we are talking about. She and Jocelyn are interacting more and more and can sometimes just play and laugh in their room together for a good 10 minutes. I know this seems small, but it really helps that I'm not on full time entertainment committee and really important for them to work things out amongst themselves. Jocelyn is really a good big sister most of the time which I really appreciate! After reading a book this week on Sibling Rivalry (Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish) I am feeling armed and ready to promote a positive, healthy relationship between my children :) If I can just remember and apply everything I read...I'm sure this will be a life long project.

Friends & Family Rock!!

So the best part of the holidays was being able to see old friends and family that were in town. I was able to have a mini "groupie" lunch with some high school friends while our kiddos played together. I got together with another friend as her and her husband were visiting from Denmark (didn't pull out my camera for this one unfortunately-she has a cute baby bump), and got to spend some quality time with my sibs and parents. We love when we have family come to visit us! My brothers Nate and Brian and my sister Kelsey (the three singles that go to USU), as well as Nate's Girlfriend Tausha came to visit us this past week and we had a blast. Exploring Point Lobos in the best weather while we got to see whales spouting on the horizon and a group of dolphins not far from shore was amazing. This as well as eating at a local pizza joint and attempting to see tide pools at Natural Bridges were some of the highlights. A grand total of 4 butterflies at the monarch sanctuary, and full price instead of free day at the discovery center were some of the low points. We had such a great time showing them our new house, playing games, eating on the patio, watching movies on the projector screen, etc.

The Hack Job

The picture doesn't do it justice...
While we were in Dixon over the holidays, Jocelyn snuck up to my parents’ bathroom one night and whacked her hair off pretty good with some scissors she had obtained. As my brother Nate reminded me, it could have been worse had she done her bangs, or continued on to the other kids, etc. As it was, she hacked off both sides (leaving about 5-6 inches of hair on each side and leaving the back long). It was a 100% mullet hair cut! She came downstairs and showed me during which I freaked out. I pulled it together shortly after and we talked about how the next time she wants to cut her hair she needs to have mom or nana cut it, or we can take her to a salon. As Lara reminded me, It’s no wonder why she thinks that okay. It’s true…I’m always cutting/trimming my hair and I went to the salon to get mine cut this week so haircuts were in the air…My brother Brian had also asked me to cut his hair that week and we had been choosing different hair styles and talking about haircuts quite a bit. I had told her we might need to cut it like a boy hair cut since she whacked it so short and she was very concerned about that. The next day, after my mom and I fixed it (And by fixed I mean that it looks like I took my 3 year old to the salon and asked them to give her a 90’s mom hair cut), she was so relieved and told me “Look, Jocelyn is still a girl! I don’t have a boy hair cut! Thanks mom.” We are now rotating between two different hairstyles that actually work with this hair cut and waiting impatiently for it to grow out again… Probably me more than her. I had been wanting to get family pictures taken this month, but that will now be put on hold a little longer…

The Stockings Were Hung...

Better late than never, right? So last month when Jared had evening meetings/commitments three nights in a row, the girls and I headed up to my parent's house to see my younger sibs who had come home for Christmas and to use my mom's sewing skills and tools to make a tree skirt and some stockings. I had found one that I liked on Amazon but after refusing to pay that much, I decided I would try to make my own. I couldn't do this, of course, without my mom's guidance, patience, and assistance. I'm a very amateur seamstress. With her help and the help of Nate, Brian and Kelsey as they helped out with my poor neglected children during my sewing frenzy I was able to finish all that I set out to do. My mom also made sleeping bag covers for the girls sleeping bags they are getting for Christmas and we made a bag for the extra table leafs so they don't get the spiderwebs and dust on them in the garage. Overall, I felt like we were heroic for getting all that done despite the fact my kids overdosed on frosted flakes and graham crackers throughout the duration of the trip. Worse things could happen, I guess. We also were able to go to the local Christmas tree farm and pick out a tree for my parent's house and do the "sleigh ride", ride the "reindeer" and get the apple cider and popcorn and warm ourselves by the fire. I Heart Holidays!