The Most Important Part

Lots of people have asked "How is Virginia?" and to be honest my answers vary depending on how the day has been going. I would be lying if I said I wasn't homesick. I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss familiarity. But as the sweet lady behind me in church said after I gave a talk and mentioned leaving all of our families back in Utah, "But sweetie, you have the very most important part of your family right here with you." And so I do.

I will be eternally grateful for this most important part of my family. We went out for lunch on MLK day. It was the first time we have ever attempted to take all four kids out to a sit down restaurant. Much to our surprise they all did fabulously and we had a very enjoyable experience. As we sat and talked and ate my heart was bursting with love for the sweet little people that I get to call mine. They are smart, and curious, and just darn hilarious. They keep me busy and they keep life full. And the best part is I get to do it all with my very best friend.

 

Oh how I love this man of mine. Anywhere he is is home for me. 

He is the one who can calm my fears and talk me down off the I am going crazy ledge. No matter the problem he is there with a reassuring hug and a calming "It's going to be fine." He has been with me from "My roommate just got married at the courthouse and moved her husband into her room!" to "Addison's poop is greener than grass and Brielle hasn't pooped in days!" He is my sounding board, and my picture hanger. He is my kindest judge and my fiercest cheerleader. He makes me better.

There is something simply beautiful in the way we just fit. He is the grounded to my crazy and the gathered to my scattered. If the last 6 months have taught me anything it is that we are stronger together. Life can be challenging, there is no two ways around that, but it always seems more surmountable when we face it hand in hand.  

So here is to the husband who got up 3 hours before me on Saturday to clean the house and start the laundry before I woke up "just because". The daddy who makes my girls squeal with glee when he walks in the door from work.  The guy who still makes my stomach flip and my cheeks blush. The dad who knows answers to little boys questions like "what is the slowest growing thing on the earth and why are flamingos pink?" The man who fulfills all of his responsibilities for work, church and family without a word of complaint. The nintendo guy who can beat Bowser every time. The door knob fastener, picture leveler, paint taper, propane tank filler, do it all-er guy we could never do without. YOU are the best part of Virginia, and as long as I am here with you it's going to be just fine.

 Here is to surmounting the newest adventure with all of the most important people by my side. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The best 6 of you

Dear Brielle,

   You are 6 months now, and I feel like the tighter I grasp to these passing days the more fleeting they become.

I have a hard time believing that half a year has passed since I heard your perfect tiny cry and yet it feels like you have been a part of my heart for eternity. But then again, I suppose you have. I lose many moments of my day staring and your perfect little face and taking in the wonder that you are.

At 6 months you are tipping the scales at 17 lbs 8 oz (80th percentile) and you are 27.5 inches long (over 95th percentile) You are tall and beautiful and perfect. You recently had your first illness and it was a whopper. You had RSV and an ear infection all at once and I spent many hours watching your chest rise and fall. 

You have woken up from that sleepy newborn stage and have a constant desire to explore everything in your reach. Each new sound pulls your eyes and you pass your toys from hand to hand with great curiosity. But my most favorite time is when your eyes find me and you break out in your 100 watt"I know you" grin.

You are a pro at sitting and eating. You can roll over if you must but you don't care for it much. You have liked every food you have tried although plain carrots weren't your favorite. When I steamed carrots mixed with corn beans and peas, however, you ate them right up. Peaches seem to be a favorite fruit although you like applesauce and pears as well.

You love to snuggle your favorite purple blankie, and I don't blame you. It may be the softest blanket ever created. You are easily consoled when you're upset as long as that blankie and a binkie are present. You like to be part of the action and hate to be left alone in any room.

You are beautiful. All babies are I suppose but you seem to possess an extra dose of beauty. That is the first thing everyone who meets you says. "She is such a beautiful baby!" Usually followed by a comment about your eyes or bow. :)  Our new ward here in Virginia is obsessed with you and we hear whispers of admiration all through sacrament meeting from the pews behind us. One particular sweet grandma makes a point to come up every week to talk to us and tell me you are the most expressive baby she has ever seen.

I would keep you just this way forever if I could. The thought of you getting just a tiny bit bigger everyday tears at my heart. I would keep a baby in my arms forever if I could and you are too quickly trying to leave them. So I hold you tight while I can and give those silky soft cheeks 1 million kisses a day.

If I could only hold on to 6 things of you just the way you are they would be 

The way you tap your hand against me while you nurse til I give you my finger to hold. 

The way your watch your sisters so intently as if you are trying to learn exactly how to be like them.

The way you flail your arms and squeal when I come to get you from your crib.

The way your face lights up and your mouth starts to work when you see your bowl of food.

Your perfectly porcelain skin and plump ruby lips.

The way you open your mouth and giggle when I snuggle my nose into your neck.

Thanks for six months of you my sweet baby.

xoxo- mama

Christmas

Christmas morning came early. Especially after the late night, but we were all giddy as we headed down the stairs and the squeals of surprise and delight made the late night hours more than worth it. We spent the morning lazily opening presents one at a time and enjoying each one as we went. It was perfect. I had all the best intentions of taking pictures but honestly I was kind of in a haze sitting on the floor trying to stay awake after only 2 hours of sleep. 

Santa and grandmas and grandpas made sure these kids had more than enough to enjoy.

I did capture a picture of a few of the favorites, 

Taycee and Addison got this doll house. ( Which may or may not have come all disassembled and was the main culprit for the ridiculous bed time the night before)

This was far and away The Boost's most favorite present. She lived in it for the next week. 

Brielle loved her new baby toys and was quite content in the high chair playing with the crinkle letter A

Kaden's favorite present was actually a present that Chris wrapped and put under the tree to me. A Wii U. Which is ironic considering that I had vetoed that present idea for Kaden. I guess next year I need to be more specific.

All was merry and bright, the kids were happily playing with their new gifts and then the big Christmas surprise showed up at the door....

Darn that Christmas Magic that swoons me and convinces me to do things that I would never in my right mind do in any other circumstance. 

I am not a dog person. Or I guess I more correctly should say I *wasn't* a dog person. I HATE fur on anything, it disgusts me. I HATE the smell of dog it makes me gag, when my children come in from playing outside and have that lingering twinge of dog smell I make them sit opposite me in the room. And I love a home that smells of warm vanilla or baked apple pie. I didn't see that happening with a dog in the house. Chris on the other hand insists that it is cruel to get a dog you never intend to let in the house. He insisted that if we ever got a dog it would be a house dog. He also insisted that for a dog to be a dog it had to be at least 10 lbs otherwise it was just an oversize rat. There was NO way I was having a large dog in my house. Which is why we decided a dog was never in our family's future.

Kaden had been begging for a pet. I had said no, over and over. I have a severe cat allergy Chris has a dog allergy it rains too much here to have bunnies.. yadda yadda.. you get the idea. Kaden is a good kid who has a very tender heart and about 2 weeks before Christmas he very sweetly but sadly ended our pet discussion with this "Okay mom, I understand, I guess I will just have a fish." And that night I started researching puppy options.

Did you know there is such thing as a dog who doesn't shed? I gather that is common knowledge but I didn't know. Ha. Also, if you bathe dogs regularly they don't have that yucky dog smell I loathe so much. A dog and a yummy smelling house can coexist. Who knew? After lots and lots of researching we were leaning towards a Havanese, but their price tag made that a hard purchase to make so it was back to the drawing board and we finally settled on a Morkie. (Maltese Yorkie Hybrid) I was so back and forth, one day I would say lets do it, the next I would say absolutely not. I was driving Chris nuts, I think he secretly was more excited about a dog than the kids were. I had talked him into waiting til spring, maybe Kaden's birthday. The kids had no idea we were even considering it so it wasn't like anyone would be disappointed. And then 2 days before Christmas I broke down and Chris came home from work to find me frantically looking at puppies online. The next morning (Christmas Eve) Chris made the 2.5 hour drive and picked up our newest family addition. 

 

We kept her in our bathroom upstairs and made an effort to keep the kids downstairs the rest of the day. We did so good, they didn't suspect a thing until right before bed when I asked Taycee to grab me a comb (thinking she would go in her bathroom) but she ran into my bathroom. The poor girl got the fright of her life and she ran down the stairs saying "HOW COME THERE IS A DOGGY IN YOUR BATHROOM!??!" I paniked and ran upstairs to intercept her before she could give the suprise away to the other kids. I am not sure how much she saw or if the dog was just barking at her before she opened the door. But  when I came upstairs saying "shhhhh"she said "Oh is  that just a surprise toy doggie for daddy?" so I went with it and said "yeah" so don't tell anyone. And she didn't. 

We were relived when we made it to Christmas morning without any other discoveries. 

The kids were in heaven. I think they said "Oh my gosh!" 300 times. Along with promises to take such good care of her. Kaden was quite concerned about Daddy's allergies and we had to reassure him several times that this puppy was hypoallergenic and daddy would be fine.

The Boost has a love hate relationship with the puppy, as in she loves the puppy and the puppy hates her. Can't imagine why...

The kids finally decided on a name, Phoebe. She was Sophia for a good part of the day, then she was Prancer (this pup prances around like no ones business) Lexi Bear entered the name game for awhile but in the end Kaden declared "her name will be Phoebe Sophia Christopher Clayton, but we will call her Pheebers for short." And so in a matter for 24 hours I had 5 kids (2 babies, and 2 potty training). Curse you Christmas magic.

* As a side note, we got really lucky with this pup. She has been awesome. She has had minimal accidents in the house and was going potty outside day 3 of having her home. She is very patient with the kids especially Addison, and leaves the baby alone even when she is laying on the floor. 

Here are a couple other pictures from Christmas day. 

Taycee is a puzzle lover, so we built the one she got for Christmas together.

These pictures are compliments of Chris's parents via facetime.

It was a very merry here in Virginia and a testament to the truth that "home" truly is wherever your heart is. 

xoxo- us.

Twas the night before Christmas

It's hard being away from family for the Holidays. Especially when you are so use to being surrounded by lots and lots of family. Chris and I wanted to make sure that we made our Christmas Eve fun and exciting for the kids so they didn't feel like they missed out even if we were far away from our usual fun family activities.

Our Christmas Eve started with a surprise breakfast from Jimmy. He got up early before the kids woke up (which in this house is earlier than he would have liked too) to bring special fixins straight from the North Pole.

The kids were pretty exited...

Especially when they saw that it was a breakfast full of sugar. ( No wonder Santa has a weight problem) He did manage to squeeze in some fruit.

They think that Jimmy is pretty much the bees knees when it comes to elfs. They were sad it was his last morning at our house. 

Addison didn't care at all for the doughnuts and went straight for the fruit. She is my kind of girl.

We made a last minute present decision and Chris spent a good portion of the day buying and then hiding said present. (which will be explained in the next post)

Christmas Eve we ordered pizza and had root beer floats. This was far from what my intended plan was, but after stressing about time and making "the perfect" dinner, Chris pointed out that the stress of it all was ruining the whole idea of our fun family day and the kids would prefer pizza over ham and Augratin Potatoes anyway. So Christmas Eve dinner was pushed to Christmas dinner and pepperonis were enjoyed all around.

After dinner we opened our new Christmas jammies and got to work making Santas cookies. Our grocery store was sold out of red and green M&M's and they were a must have for the cookies so I bought a bag or regular M&M's and Kaden and Taycee went to work separating the colors.

One of the most favorite parts of the night was the impromptu dance sessions to Pandora Christmas music. The kids were spinning we were all laughing and for a few minutes it didn't even seem like we were that far away from home.

My cute Boost

Cookie and Christmas Jammies what more could you want?

They also got slippers to go with the jammies.

After cookies we ended the night talking about the Savior and the Holy Night that it truly was. I was so impressed with Kaden and Taycee's sensitivity as we retold the wondrous circumstances that surrounded that silent night. Every year I am overcome with joy and wonder as I think of the thoughts and emotions that must have been in the hearts of us all as we watched our Savior be born that night. I am sure I was just as grateful then and I am now that he came to this earth to fulfill such a selfless and divine purpose.

With Kisses and Cookies the kids were off to bed so Santa could get to work. (and work he did til almost 3 am, next year all toys will come assembled) There was an extra magic to the eve as it was our first time being Santa on our own. We were giddy as we set up each new surprise and we imagined the look on faces when they discovered the treasures Santa had left. When we finally fell into bed exhausted from the day I felt content (even if it was for only 2.5 seconds before I passed out from exhaustion).

Christmas Eve had been a success.

Traditions

This was the first year we were away from family for Christmas. We usually spend the days leading up to the Holiday with family doing the usual Christmas traditions. This year we decided to start a few of our own traditions.

The Saturday before Christmas we had a "Christmas Extravaganza" Each person put 5 dollars into the pot (20 dollars total). Then we teamed up Daddy and Taycee vs Mom and Kaden. We played 9 different games and whatever team won each game got to take some money from the pot. 

Graham cracker towers. Using 3 graham crackers and 1 baggie of frosting each team had to try and build the tallest tower. Daddy and Taycee won that one, mom and Kaden couldn't quite get ours to stand. 

We had a Christmas Card blow one person from each team took a straw and had to be the first one to blow their card off the end of the counter. Kaden won that one and got a dollar from the pot.

Pin the nose on Rudolph

How many ornaments are in the jar? Taycee guess right on. 9.

Christmas Memory. Each team had 30 seconds to memorize the contents of the box. Who ever could remember the most items won. Both teams tied with 6 items.

Build a snowman. Each team had 1 roll of toilet paper, 1 pair of scissors, 1 roll of tape and 4 pieces of construction paper. Using only these materials they had to turn one team member into a snow man. We face timed grandma and grandpa to be the judges. It was a close vote but Kaden won. Taycee thought wrapping daddy in toilet paper was pretty much the greatest thing ever.

We also played "do you see what I see" where both kids had a piece of paper and using the shapes I described had to try and draw the same picture I was drawing. I drew and Angel and Kaden won.

Christmas ABC- each team had 5 minutes to come up with a Christmas word that started with each letter of the alphabet. - Mom and Kaden won.

We had a marshmallow toss where the kids each had a bag of large marshmallows and had to try and get them in their partners bucket that was attached to our waste. Chris and Taycee won that one. 

We ended with a quiz about the events of the Saviors birth. 

In the end Taycee won 11 dollars and Kaden won 9. After the games were over we took the kids to the store and they got to use the money they won to buy a present for each other.
It was a fun day and a great tradition to start!