December

December started out with a bang at the end of a busy weekend.  We had just had Thanksgiving twice, with the Binghams on Thursday, and with the Bonners on Friday.  Saturday we went into the forest and found our Christmas tree.  And Sunday, December 1st was Hazel's fifth birthday.

We had a lazy morning with candles in the breakfast cake.  Hazel intentionally blew out only four of her candles, then turned to Jack and said, "The last one's for you, J!" and let Jack blow it out.  I was so proud of her.  That Hazel, she can really surprise you with her generosity and thoughtfulness.

She opened her presents while we FaceTimed with Todd.  I got her a craft kit because the kid is always making something and I thought she'd love some fresh supplies.  I bought a couple totes and stuffed them to the rafters with tissue paper, scrapbooking scissors, sparkly paper, feathers, jewels, glue sticks, you name it.  Most of it was just odds and ends I had in my own craft supplies, but I did beef it up with a few novelties.  She was over the moon, and made three or four projects that day, starting with a sparkly Christmas tree.

I asked Hazel a few questions about herself, and want to record her answers here:

Favorite colors: dark pink, yellow, and turquoise
Favorite movie: Mulan
Favorite animal: cheetah
Favorite song: Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack
Best friends: Eva and Esther, and Olivia and Zack, and Nova and Spencer
What do you like to do outside?  Play in the snow
What do you like to sleep with?  cheetah and lemur
What do you want to be when you grow up? A job to take care of little kids
Favorite food: steak
Where is your favorite place to go?  safari with Daddy
What do you do really well?  art projects
What words describe you?  artistic
Favorite season?  winter - actually, spring
One food you really dislike?  pickles
What makes you laugh?  Things that are funny, like when a clown falls into an egg and can't get out.
What are you afraid of?  pirate dreams
What do you like to do with your family?  FHE treats
What do you love to learn about? animals

On the night of Hazel's birthday, my parents and my brother Chris joined us for a birthday dinner.  Of course, we had steak!  Then we decorated the Christmas tree.

On Monday, we had a friend birthday party.  We invited a handful of buddies from church and preschool over, played some games, made personal pizzas, and opened presents.

Hazel wanted to have her cake at the birthday party instead of with the family on Sunday.  I think it turned out really cool.

Gemma started spending a lot of time standing in December, and shortly after she hit her 11-month mark, she took her first step.

She spent a lot of time pulling off and playing with the ornaments on the lower branches of the Christmas tree.  I couldn't get enough of it, I thought it was so darling.  I was so mad Todd was missing it.  

Santa didn't come to our ward Christmas party (what?!) so we searched him out in the community and went to see him.  Hazel has never let me forget that we didn't go to the church party last year and she didn't ever see Santa.  Apparently, it is a BIG DEAL.  I was surprised that Jack was willing to sit next to him and shake his hand.  

I can't resist. How adorable is this, all three ducks, sitting in a row.

Jack did some weird and naughty things this month, like climbing into the dryer. . .  (Yes, we had a talk about how he could get trapped in there.)

Pouring his own syrup when I was out of the room . . .

And even playing with matches.  No picture of this one, but he did, in fact, light and put out a match while I was rocking Gemma to sleep for a morning nap.  Hazel was at school.  I came out of the room, and smelled it right off the bat.  Jack was very forthright; he'd been laying by Gemma's door waiting for me to come out so he could discuss his adventures with me.  He went to a time-out while I prayed frantically to know how to discipline him - because the boy can't be phased - and was inspired to show him a youtube video of a house on fire.  We stared at it and talked about it and thank goodness, I think the seriousness of the situation really did sink in, and I hid the matches in a new, higher spot, and so far, our house still stands.  Wish me luck.

The kids continue to make little forts with the furniture.  I thought it was nice that they included Gemma.

One day, they decided to play "going swimming."  I thought they were crazy.  There's eight inches of snow outside!  I've got slippers and a jacket on!  Oh, well, it's too much fun jumping off the couch into the "water" to worry about dressing appropriately.

Emily and Doug flew in from Chicago for Christmas, and Chris took the whole week off of work and spent it in Logan, so we had tons of sibling togetherness.  Mom took this picture the afternoon Chris joined us.  We were so excited, we were all just squished together on the couch, snuggling and chatting.

Doug brought his trumpet, and Jack was completely fascinated with it.  

Hazel and Ryan played a duet together.  No, Hazel cannot play the piano.  Ryan is just incredibly loving and patient.

We took a quick jaunt down to Midway a couple of days before Christmas to see Grammie and Poppa. KB helped my kids decorate their gingerbread house.

Hazel proved herself Todd's daughter when she grabbed a salt shaker, poured some into her hand, and licked it up.  Sometimes a Bonner just needs a little salt!

We came back to Smithfield and had the traditional Christmas Eve devotional with my family.  Here's Gemma with my brother Scott's son, Ethan.  Cousins!

I had a hard time (emotionally) setting up Christmas alone.  This month has been really, really hard for me in the Missing Todd Department.

Christmas morning, Jack was the first to wake up.  I tried to get him to cuddle with me and look at books until Hazel woke up, but he decided to go sit on her bed and wake her up himself instead.

All three kids by the tree:

Looking at the Butterfly Stories book Todd wrote for the kids:

Jack got a keyboard that's been really fun for him to play with.  The kid loves buttons and music.

Hazel got her first doll.  It was a shot in the dark - she's never asked for one or even really shown interest in them, but it seems like every girl her age has one, and I needed a $30 something to even her and Jack out.   I can't believe how much she has loved it.  She takes her to bed with her, people.  She buckled her in the car next to her when we went to the dentist the other day.  I'm so glad I got Hazel a doll.

Santa got Hazel an iPod shuffle.  She was completely inseparable from it for the first 48 hours.

Gemma got a ball popper that she really loves to play with.  She hangs onto the ridge and bounces along with the balls.  It's adorable.

Sibling group shot: (top) Emily, Chris, Kathryn, me (bottom) Scott, Ryan

Christmas night, the crowd came over to my place to hang after I put the kids to bed.  We had been taking personality tests, and spent the night discussing the results and gaining insights about each other. It was a cool evening.

Unfortunately, within minutes after everyone left, the stomach flu hit me and Jack hard.

Within 24 hours, Ryan, Mom, and Chris were feeling sick as well, and it was all downhill from there.  Everyone got sick.  While my immunity was down, I caught a cold that I'm still fighting, ten days later. We've hardly been anywhere or done anything. Thank goodness for all those new Christmas toys to keep the kids happy at home!

Hazel and Jack love their new flashlights:

And they've spent hours listening to books on CD with our new CD player.

Thankfully, I felt well enough to host my parents and Emily and Doug for New Year's Eve.  We had cheese night and played games.  The hit of the night was Hide and Go Seek in the basement with the flashlights (Todd's idea).

November Update

I'd better hurry up and post about November before it's too far in the past!  We kicked off the month by raking leaves a few times.  I bought Hazel and Jack little kid-sized rakes so they could help out, and we made a big family party out of it.

Grammie and Poppa (Todd's parents) came up to visit and brought a couple of my nieces with them.  My kids had a blast hosting "the cousins," Shaylee and Carli.

Isn't Gemma darling?

I was really sad on mine and Todd's anniversary.  Special days are hard to enjoy with him gone.  Lucky for me, he had flowers delivered, which helped cheer me up and confirm to me that Todd's thinking of these important dates as well, and wishing he were with us.

We started getting snow, and the kids were excited to play in it.  It's been a lot of work bundling these two up in all their gear, but they're loving it and it's worth it (at least for one year!).

We made a gratitude tree the week of Thanksgiving.  Hazel and Jack wrote things they are thankful for on leaves and taped them to the tree.  Hazel's list included family members, costumes, and steak, chicken drumsticks, and turkey.  Jack's list included the color orange and tape.

Hazel taped together five or six pages of squiggle-line writing, then sat down and "read" her book to Jack.  It was titled "The Three Frog Leprechauns."  She told an exciting story and had us all mesmerized.  It's going to be pretty awesome when she really learns how to write and can record all her fun ideas.  She is a great storyteller.

Gemma has been spending a lot of time practicing standing on her own.  She's also cruising on the furniture a bit.

Hazel and Jack played "Halloween" one day, and I made them hold still so I could take a picture of them in their costumes.  I felt so ripped off that I didn't get a good one on the real Halloween.  It's not quite the same without Hazel's wig, but I still like it.

Todd's been writing stories, then reading them to the kids while we FaceTime.  Hazel and Jack have been so excited to hear his "butterfly stories" when we talk.  The kids drew illustrations to go along with the stories, which I scanned and emailed to Todd.  Todd's turning it into a bound book for them for Christmas.  He is a wonderful dad.

Jack went through a mitten obsession. He was wearing them everywhere!  He wore them all through Sacrament Meeting one day.  I started calling him "Mr. Mittens."

We bought a permit and went into the Cache National Forest to cut down our Christmas tree.  It's not quite as epic as last year's, but it's still pretty tall and beautiful.

Todd also went on a tree hunt, although it was a little different from ours.  He took some other soldiers with him in his helicopter and flew all around, searching for a tree, pretty much any tree.

They ended up with an olive tree, pretty fitting for a Middle East Christmas.

October Review

I love October in Utah!  We spent the whole month soaking up gorgeous, real fall outside, and happily preparing for Halloween. 

We've been playing outside every chance we could get, knowing the nice weather will not last forever. Every day that's been sunny and in the 50's, we've been outdoors.  Winter is going to be rough on us.  

Hazel made milk jug jack-o-lanterns last year in preschool, and asked if we could do them again this year.  I sense another tradition budding!  

Per tradition, we went to a pumpkin patch.  It had an awesome straw bale pyramid the kids loved climbing around in.  Hazel loved jumping from the top.  Always a daredevil...

Jack photo bombed the kid photo, but that is real life.  He almost never smiles for the camera.

We carved the pumpkins afterward, and they lasted a grand total of two days on our porch before shriveling up.  

A week later, we snagged another pumpkin from the grocery store and carved another jack-o-lantern which survived brutal porch life much better.

We made a couple more trips up to the canyon while the leaves were vibrant and the weather was nice. 

Our last trip was especially breathtaking.  We had a grand time climbing rocks and hiking to trees so orange, they looked like they were on fire.  These photos just came straight from my phone.  No messing around - it was brilliant that day.  

Some days, I sort of feel like I'm getting the hang of three kids.  I have to let go of control and accept chaos swirling all around me, while still maintaining consistent standards of behavior.  I remind myself multiple times a day to stay calm, not yell, focus on the kids and keep their needs as my most important accomplishment of the day.  It's hard not to feel sorry for myself sometimes, because it seems so glaringly obvious how much easier my life would be with Todd here to partner up with.  But wallowing in self-pity never helps, so I usually don't stay there for long.  Sometimes I really, really want to.  But most days, if I make sure to snuggle each kid even though I want to get things done, and slow down to give them each meaningful one-on-one time with me sometime in the day, I feel pretty good at the end of the day. Thank you for your prayers of strength.  I'm feeling them.  

Gemma's nine months old now.  She still only weighs 15 1/2 pounds, but she eats well and sleeps fine at night.  I am a little put out that she had to weigh so much when she was born (8.14) if she's going to turn out to be a little chicky.  

She's going through a Mama phase right now.  

We went to a community event called the Pumpkin Walk.  There were lots of carved and painted pumpkins on display.  It was a fun thing to take the kids to.  

After running a 5K while pregnant with Gemma last year, I knew it was something I could accomplish and that would be good for me, so I made a New Year's Resolution to run one again this year.  I ended up organizing a family run to get some of my siblings in on my goal.  We met up at my house a couple weekends ago and everyone participated as they could.  Some walked, others ran.  My dad pushed Gemma and Jack in the double stroller the whole distance.  

Hazel rode her bike, and I jogged alongside her.  I had no idea what to expect from her, and tried to be prepared for a whole slew of situational possibilities.  She said herself she was going to do one loop (1/3 the distance) and then walk the rest of the way. And so I announce with great pride that she accomplished a major goal, and rode her bike without stopping the entire three miles!  I was listening to my ipod as I jogged, and couldn't hear much of anything she said, but she chattered happily at me the whole time.  I occasionally interjected an, "Mmm, hmm, yeah," but that was about it for the most part.  I don't think she noticed.  And she announced afterward that she rode slow so I could keep up with her.  Ha!  (I'm glad she did.)  

We spent a good portion of October looking forward to Halloween.  Jack adamantly wanted to wear Hazel's costume from last year and be Peter Pan.  Hazel was happy to go along with the theme and be Tiger Lily, and she had the idea to make Gemma Tinkerbell.  

I made Hazel's dress out of one of Todd's old t-shirts, cutting the edges and tying strips together to make fringe.  She helped me sew ribbon stripes on, and we added some boots and a dark wig, and suddenly she looked like a completely different person.  It was fun.  

I scavenged most of Gemma's costume from our dress-up box, but if she was going to be a legit Tinkerbell, she needed some green shoes with white puffs.  I searched the web for a tutorial and was surprised to find out how easy it is to make baby shoes.  It was quite fun!

 Sadly, Jack stopped constantly wearing the Peter Pan costume right around the time I finished Hazel's Tiger Lily costume, so although she was in character for days on end, we never really had a good opportunity to take a photo.  Bad went to worse Halloween night when I realized we'd lost half the effect with our jackets on underneath.  Add to that the massive tantrum Jack was throwing before we left to trick-or-treat, because he definitely did not want to dress up or leave the house, and these are the absolute best pictures I have of Halloween costumes this year.  So sad.

I'm holding tight to Jack's arm in this photo to make him stand by us.  Ug.  My brother Chris came with us trick-or-treating and wore Todd's Smee costume from last year.  I was Wendy.  Too bad people kept thinking Hazel was Pocahontis and Jack was Robin Hood.  Oh well.  Funny.