Like Christmas!

Family

On the 23rd we spent the whole day with all the cousins at the Harper's house where we played games, made and decorated cookies, and made ourselves pretty for family pictures. I got to go shoot shotguns with Chris and his brothers, the older cousins came too since it was only a short walk to the wood yard where they were and took some turns before I walked them back to the house. Family pictures were scheduled that night at a fancy barn so in the early afternoon I started my hair and most of the girls all had fun getting ready together. The barn was big and had plenty of places to take pictures and for the kids to run around playing tag and getting some flush to their cheeks. After the girl's bedtime, I cooked a batch of muffins while Chris went to the gym for a quick workout and to pick up more milk, eggs, and muffin mixes.

Christmas

On Christmas Eve, I stayed behind with the girls and one of my sisters-in-law to cook and set the table for breakfast while the rest of the family went to clean the church. We had a breakfast casserole, 3 types of muffins, bacon, and fruits with hot chocolate, milk, and juice to drink. After we had our fill, we rearranged the sunroom so we could all sing songs and listen to some stories before presents. All the kids got gingerbread houses that we got out and decorated a little later, there were games we played, puzzled we've put together, and plenty of books. By the end of the day, everyone had either gone home or to the other spouse's family to celebrate another Christmas and we were the only ones here for a lazy real Christmas Day where the only thing we did was go sledding. Chris and I made Christmas an event for the girls on Christmas Eve instead of opening presents twice when everyone would be gone, it would have been hard to stop them from opening all of theirs as well.

Claire

She is enjoying our vacation so much and always finds fun things to do no matter where we are visiting. On Wednesday, when we went to the temple, they stayed with their cousin's grandparents and made some friends there. At Grandma's and Grandpa's, they like to bring the cat in to cuddle, play with toys downstairs, or play in the sunroom pretending to exercise on the machines. There is so much to do at her cousin's house that she has no problem finding games with friends and toys all around. It is fun to see how well she plays with her cousins and listens instead of trying to boss anyone around like she does at home. She is always so excited to do the things we are doing like when we decorated cookies or the gingerbread house.

Shay

It is so unfair that she is so cute and also such a stubborn stinker butt sometimes. Her beautiful blue eyes melt my heart whenever I'm mad at her for throwing a tantrum and screaming because we don't have what she wants. The last 4 nights have been the best on our vacation so far and she has been able to sleep through the night in her own bed. She constantly asks for things we don't have like Cheetos, a yellow balloon, to go to a swimming pool, and doesn't forget about them anymore, just keeps bringing them up. No matter how many times I tell her we don't have the things she is asking for and explain why she still gets more and more upset about not getting what she wants. Luckily she is getting better at finding her own games with toys or playing with her cousins like getting piggyback rides!

To Look A lot

 Nevada

We were able to find a lot of fun things to do while we were in Reno and the surrounding area. We went to Virginia City on Monday and walk around the old town with wooden sidewalks while it was snowing outside. We went into a store with the owner and her dog that the girls connected with and played with as I looking for a souvenir. She told us about the museums and we went to This Is The Way Museum that was just opening when we got there. Then we went to get some fudge and decided we didn't want to get stranded so we headed back to the hotel and saw a rainbow on our way home that lasted until the last little bit so we were able to say hi and Claire had us roll the window down to sing to it. The snow followed us and we woke up on Tuesday to a few inches so the girls went out to play, Claire made tons of snow angels and when Grandma came outside, they made a snowman. We searched for an indoor pool and found a rec center that wasn't too expensive and went during their lap swim to teach the girls how to kick their feet with a noodle under their arms. Then we were able to come back for an hour of family swim and ended up being the only family!

Idaho

The drive to Idaho didn't seem so long since we had the first 3 hours done last week, but it was so long because the girls kept getting bored and wanting to stop. Once we got here they immediately went downstairs and dumped toys out on the ground to find their old favorites. Chris helped bring all our stuff in then had to go check on his guns that have been "so lonely" and I worked on organizing and settling in. We opened an early present from Chris' brother Mark and his wife Alyson, under their direction, so we could use them while we were here. We got matching PJs! First time wearing a one-piece PJ in my adult life and they are warm and comfy. We've visited some family, had some family come to visit us, went to Lava Hot Springs, and attended a Fireman's dinner party where the girls got to see Santa! I joined mom in the choir at church today and was lucky the director is so great at his cues because it was easy to follow along and it felt wonderful. We also have a stake concert tonight that has a few numbers from every ward that I will sing in too.

Claire

4 is the perfect age to go on trips because she isn't cranky from not taking a nap during the day, is excited about anything we tell her is happening, and sleeps really well at night even though we aren't home. She did amazing when we went swimming and was controlling her direction when we had toys to play with during our second time swimming. After we got out it was close to bedtime and she was saying she was so tired she kept laying down on the bench and made daddy carry her to the car. Shay was tired too but she liked screaming in protest instead of laying down. Claire worked on a sandcastle in a horseshoe pit and found leaves and feathers to decorate it with while Shay had a stick for hers. They got to wear their new pretty HANDMADE dresses from Nana Nila in our Sacramento ward, and they loved matching each other! At church, Claire was excited to meet new friends and got a candy cane and a night light with a picture of Jesus on it from the Primary.

Shay

She was watching me get ready to leave for a grocery trip and decided she was coming with so she has her baggy PJs on and her new beanie. While we were waiting in line she jumped on the paw prints down the aisle to keep herself happy and was really good at helping put things in the basket and listening. I'm glad she likes her face mask even though she still asks for her binky when she gets extra upset, they were a fun idea and both girls want them when they go to bed. When we went to the firehouse to feed Grandpa Bell one day they were playing "fall asleep on each other" on the floor after seeing the firetrucks and ambulances got boring. She gets tired during the day and falls asleep if there isn't anything exciting going on which makes bedtime harder because she isn't as tired and keeps Claire awake. She also gets out of bed and wants to cuddle with us in our bed, but it's only a size full so there isn't enough room!

It's Beginning

Prep

We have been counting down for a while getting the girls excited to go see Grandma and Grandpa so this week was each day getting closer! I had the help clean and put away the outside toys so they were safe in the shed, eat up all the extra food so it wasn't lonely. With the things I had to do for our ward Christmas party decorating, I had them distracted so I could wrap utensils and gather my decorations. I spent plenty of time planning everything I needed to get done so I wouldn't forget anything and it made Friday decorating and then leaving for vacation to go smoothly. Although I'm sad I missed the party I was very happy with how beautiful the gym looked for everyone who would be there enjoying it! I was very grateful for the help I had and look forward to hearing about how great it all went.

Landing

We are taking a mini-vacation in Reno Nevada for the next week with the Bell grandparents before our Christmas in Idaho with the rest of the siblings and family. We already went on a Santa Train in Carson City yesterday that Claire was the most excited for and was very persistent to ride while we were waiting. We got a picture with a stationary train that was in a movie, and then we went out to eat at a grill that was suggested by our train guide. We were going to go swimming after getting home and the girls had fallen asleep on the way home but the pool was closed and we ended up doing a puzzle in the hotel. They like to go outside even though there isn't anything that exciting around the resort, but Claire went for a walk with Grandma and Shay took a walk with me. There is a gym here that Chris and I checked out and got time to sit in their sauna afterward which we haven't been able to do since Utah.

Hello December!

Claire

This week, both girls have been finishing their coughing and sickness out, so they are 100% again and get to play and have fun. I've been working on felt animal crafts for weeks now, I started with drawing the shapes on freezer paper, tracing them on felt, cutting them out, and now finally got them glued together. I had planned to give them as Christmas presents, but the girls begged to play with them as I was finishing them. They don't like that I put some in bags to be presents for other people, but such is homemade crafts! Claire has started recognizing her own name because she we have been asking her what word she sees for mom and dad. She has a problem with thinking she already knows what the word is and not spending time sounding it out and actually reading it. I don't know how long she has been dreaming, but this week was the first week she has ever told me that she is dreaming! She woke up and explained how I punched a bad guy in her dream and daddy was there too with Baby Shay and then said, "I love dreams" and it was so awesome!

Shay

There was more sunshine this week and we have been trying to keep up with raking the leaves and found that we needed to cut our grass...in December! California is so crazy. The girls helped daddy rake and pick up the leaves then Shay started off pushing her bubble lawn mower as I was mowing. She gave Claire a turn and still wanted to help so she pushed on my butt to help me with the big mower. It was nice to have good weather and the rain came and ruined it on Friday! Shay is now back to falling asleep for a nap during the day or falling asleep 1-2 hours before bedtime and I have to try to not wake her up while getting her ready for bed. She wanted me to write her name on their church drawing pads when daddy was doing it for Claire, then she helped decorate it. They are such cuties but I still have to shush them a million times during sacrament meeting. It is so hard to understand her since I've been getting used to how good Claire talks that when Shay is missing so many sounds I have to interpret. It feels like she knows what she is saying so confidently and is annoyed that she has to tell me a million times!

Blessed and Thankful

My Girls

The are just totally funny sometimes and do the weirdest things. Claire was cuddling next to me on the couch and started petting her bottom lip with her hand and said they were soft, then Shay came up and started licking her hands thinking she was doing the same thing Claire was doing. Just so goofy. I'm trying to get Claire to dress herself now (should have started forever ago) and she can put the cloths on just not the correct orientation. We got a gingerbread house as a present and the girls were so excited when I told them that we couldn't even wait one day to build it! They barely waited through our video call with my family before they convinced us to make it with them, and they loved it! Claire has also asked for so many things in the past week that I am glad we didn't get her talking to Santa because we would end up with a moving puppy, a moving kitty, and new roller skates for Christmas! She made cars makeshift roller skates then asked me for shoes with wheels which I told her were called roller skates.

Thanksgiving

This was our second year spending Thanksgiving away from our extended families because it was impossible for us to travel when Chris has school. I practiced my meal prep for future Thanksgivings and made the butter horn rolls recipe my dad always makes, the sweet potato and deviled eggs recipes my mom always makes, and the gravy recipe that my father-in-law always makes. If I knew a recipe that was special to my mother-in-law I would probably make that too, but I need to experience more Thanksgivings there! We just bought a ham instead of a turkey since it was just us and we prefer ham anyway, and I tried a new pineapple sauce to eat with it. Didn't forget the potatoes, stuffing, and pies either! I bought us sparkling cider and eggnog to top off the meal and we all sat down to eat together saying the reasons we are thankful. The girls liked the rolls the most and ate some of the ham and sweet potatoes, then shared one deviled egg between the two of them. They also thought the sparkling cider tickled their nose.

Sadly Sick 

It has been a very sick week and lonely because we didn't want to spread around any germs so daddy stayed home from church with the girls today. They both started getting sick on Wednesday evening and woke up with pretty bad sounding coughs that have lasted through today. The worst days were Thanksgiving and Friday where Claire took some long naps while Shay took two naps each day and Chris and I worked hard to get enough nutrients and liquids in them to get better. They've had more energy and less coughing so they are getting better and my heart doesn't have to break every time I hear them being miserable and coughing. I've learned that they do not like soup and although Claire would eat what I fed her, I couldn't get Shay to even keep it in her mouth! I pretended the broth was medicine and was able to get a little in her so replenish her electrolytes and felt less worried afterward.

To the Dentist!

 Claire 

We had an eventful week with more days of sunshine and being able to go outside and play in the sun again. We also went to the dentist this week for the first time, and I was thinking it was really late to get started with Claire, but her teeth have always been really good. She has larger gaps and it makes it hard to floss, but we have always brushed her teeth and recently started using an electric toothbrush to get them even cleaner. She was excited to go down the hall, sit in the big chair and meet the nurse. In the end, they both got a sticker and went around behind the desk to say goodbye to the receptionists, having no sense of boundaries or off-limit areas. It was so much excitement that she ended up taking a nap for the first time in a loooooong time! She was also excited to help with any project I start but I can't post about them yet because they are Christmas presents. Let's just say I think the tye dyeing turned out awesomely! Claire has been being a princess for the past two weeks and started wanting to only wear her dresses which consist of one that fits and one that is definitely a size too big.

Shay

She was much more wiggly when it was her turn to be in the dentist's chair and only sat still for the cleaning because she was able to hold the suction in her mouth. The nurses were so great with them and kept her excited about sucking the water and toothpaste out. Shay was the main reason we went to the dentist because her teeth have always looked like they collect more plaque and need more attention. She had a little growth that the dentist said might have been from when she fell and hit her mouth (which she has done far too often!) so we are going to get it x-rayed to make sure there isn't anything too bad about it. This little girl always pretends to be a kitten and even hisses when she is in cat form. Her favorite show is PJ Masks and sings along with the theme song and acts out Catboy's parts sometimes. She likes sandwiches and toast but she stuffs an entire piece in her mouth then has to sit chewing for 10 minutes just to swallow, so I've started cutting them smaller and now she eats two at once...I don't know what to do with her sometimes.

Decorating

 Claire

She comes up with such fun things to do throughout the day that it is hard to catch up with it all as mom and get her to do the things I want. I never have to plan arts and crafts time because play dough is one of her favorite things to ask for and play with. She also likes showing off her song "I am a child of God" and naming colors on her rainbow being able to identify light and dark colors too now. I like it when she shows off what I teach her by reading words! It is exciting that she can recognize the ones we practice a lot like cat and dad, but she doesn't like working for new ones as much. Rewards let her do what she wants, like playing with bubbles, but then they come down like rain and have to use their blankets to cover up.

Shay

I am impressed with how good Shay is at picking up certain parts of songs, she has known the ABC song for a while even though she mumbles the 'lmnop' part. She started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when we were setting up Christmas together and knew a lot of the words, just like being able to sing "Rain, rain go away" fairly accurately. She wants to sing with Claire, but Claire usually says no but that will probably get better soon. She had started to have a stuffy nose early this week because it has been getting cold and I haven't been on top of making sure they are dressed warmly before going outside. This week has been better so now the habit of putting shoes and coats on is hopefully established enough that they remind daddy when he takes them outside. 

Decorating

I am rationalizing that I can decorate this early because we are going to be gone on vacation for most of December and I want to be able to enjoy my own decorations before we go. I shouldn't have to rationalize, but I always thought it was important to focus on Thanksgiving before Christmas, and this year I have fully accepted that I don't want to! I want to make this a full holiday season and decorate with lights right now! Claire and Shay loved it because they were in bed when I started doing our fireplace mantel and then did the tree together this morning. We watched Polar Express while we decorated and daddy lifted the girls up so Claire could put the star on top and helped Shay put ornaments higher on the tree. We have it elevated so most are out of reach but they are good about not taking them off now, I'm just worried about our friend that comes.

New November

I was bad at taking pictures this past week but I forgot to have our professional pictures shared on the blog and had only done FB thus the pictures...

Claire

She discovered her neighbor this past week over the fence who stands on their trampoline and shares toys by trowing them down to her and then they try to give them back by standing on our little chairs. The next morning she wanted to go out there first thing and call out to have her come play again but I kept telling her that its cold in the mornings. Our week has been pretty uneventful besides taking down Halloween decorations and Claire always wanting to help with things. She has enjoyed earning candy when she eats all her regular food and is learning how many different types of candy there are now that we have a bigger varity. I've hid some away to become Christmas candy for our advent calendar that I'm realizing we might not use very much unless we pack it on our trip to family this year. 

Shay

She seems to always be the one who asks for baths and usually any time of day, but she is also the one who poors dirt on others to cause the need for a bath. I can see her frustration when I ask what she is saying over and over again because I can't understand what she is saying which happens because her sounds aren't super developed. Although Claire still calls her baby Shay sometimes she is getting so big and they aren't very different in their height and weight or how much they eat. They are still different in their preferences where Shay likes milk still and Claire likes apple juice, they have different shows they like and toys they prefer playing with. I think they like having things that are all their own and to argue with each other which solidifies their interests as different.

Season

It is fun to think about this season for many reasons, but mostly because it makes me feel excited about the holidays coming up and start planning about thinking of others. Chris really likes the rainy overcast days we have had over the past month and I've enjoyed stealing to wear his sweaters. I also like seeing the pictures in memories about getting engaged 6 years ago and that makes me think about how wonderful my life has been over the last 6 years with Chris. We have been blessed with such a wonderful life together and as we were having a movie night watching Fireproof it was apparent that we are extra blessed with how well we have learned to communicate and have the Lord in our lives.