The 9th Day of Christmas

On the ninth Day of Christmas, the family gave to Tate:

9 different readings of the same book!

Tate loves to be read to, particularly from a certain counting book. Nothing fabulous about it but he will randomly bring the book to you and sit in your lap for the story.

(the pictures are all from different days over the past 2 weeks)

Today was no different: he started off the morning by bringing the book to Spencer in bed and snuggled up for a good morning read. And then throughout the day, he kept bringing that book to us. No matter where we put it (or hide it), he finds it and immediately wants to read it. We probably read Tate this book more than 9 times today, but I lost count!

The 8th Day of Christmas

On the eighth Day of Christmas, my marriage gave to me:

8 years with Spencer.

Ok, so today isn't our anniversary but we have been married for 8 years and today is Spencer's birthday. So I  just combined the two.

I love this guy! I am glad that I married someone I love to spend time with and who can make me laugh even when I don't want to.  Spencer is so good with our children and they are so eager to spend time with him. They adore him! I love that he strives to do what's right and set a good example for others, especially at work. He is always sharing little bits of the gospel with them. He can be such a goof sometimes, but he has a strong spiritual side that I have learned to love and appreciate. 

I am thankful that we could spend his birthday together and hope he knows how much we love him.

The 7th Day of Christmas

On the seventh Day of Christmas, Moody Elementary gave to Spencer:

7 (plus 8) singing kids at a school Christmas party

Spencer was able to go to Ayden's class party and got to experience all the fun and chaos that can be!

Ayden's teacher, Ms. Isdell, also teaches the piano so she takes every opportunity to get them to listen to and sing to music. So they sang Christmas songs as a class. Ayden was not that enthused. The song is set to BINGO and says "who is the man in the big white beard? Could SANTA be his name-o"

The 6th Day of Christmas

On the sixth Day of Christmas, I made for my Taters:

6 pages for a quiet book.

Tate isn't the most reverent child at church so I decided to make him a book to help.

buttons and peek-a-boo numbers

zippers and buttons

peek-a-boo letters and peel the fruit

I just used left over scraps from a baby blanket I made Tate. As usual, I didn't have a pattern, I just went for it. So some things turned out great and others not so much. But the whole purpose is for Tate to have a quiet book so it doesn't have to be perfect. Merry Christmas little dude.

The 5th Day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas, my family gave to me:

5 perfect birthday moments

Today is my birthday and my family gave me a wonderful day.

1. I was woken up at 7:30am with a finger poke to the forehead (from Ayden) to breakfast in bed. Ayden and Ellie had prepared breakfast for me: a waffle with strawberry jam, strawberry yogurt, and bowl of cereal (common things I eat for breakfast). They sang out "happy birthday, mom" and then before I had time to react Ayden snapped a picture. (I refuse to post it, for my own dignity) This was the kids' idea. Spencer was at the temple for an early session and Danielle had already left for work with instructions to let me sleep in for my bday. But they had other plans, and I'm so glad. It was one of the best birthday presents I've ever had.

2. It has become a tradition in our house to do birthday posters (homemade, hand drawn) and the kid were so excited to make sure I had mine!

3. While drawing the pictures, Ayden said because he was writing the number 28 so many times he kept thinking he should be writing 828. And he said, "but Mom would be really old." And Ellie goes "uh, she'd probably be dead."

4. Spencer made my choice of dinner. And prepared it all, I didn't help with anything. He wanted me to relax and not have to do anything. During dinner, I made a comment (don't remember what) and Ellie goes "Mom, you crack the crap out of me." We were all so confused and finally figured she meant "you crack me up"!! the giggles didn't stop for awhile.

5. Spencer and the kids made me a special birthday treat: Jello Chocolate Mousse. They made me go upstairs and wait for my surprise. I loved this birthday treat for several reasons: it's chocolate! and Spencer told me he picked this one because #1 he had a coupon and #2 it was 110 calories. Love it!!

I love that Ellie is plugging her ears

Right before bed, Ellie said "Mom, I looked out the window and wished on a star that you would have the best birthday. Because I love you."  It was the best birthday and I love my family so very much. Thank you.

The 4th Day of Christmas

On the fourth Day of Christmas, my family gave to me:

4 uninterrupted hours with my hubby.

We went to do some shopping while my sister stayed at home with the kids. It was so nice to just be alone and to spend time together.  Spencer has a crazy work schedule and we don't get much opportunity to do things without kids. But tonight we left around 7:15 and when we got back the kids were in bed so we still had the rest of the evening to spend with each other.