Addicted yet?

Yes I know I've already done a post on Rock Band but it is so fun and it gets more fun with fresh players. We have our FHE lessons on Sunday now and do a family activity together on Monday night...so as you can guess, the FHE Monday night activity was--you guessed it-Rock Band. Allison and especially Cole has SUCH a good time. And here's some fun we had today with Dan's family.

About time

I had Dan cut these letters out like 5 months ago with our scroll saw because it scares me. I didn't end up liking how I traced out the "i" so all the letters were hanging up all painted on Allison's wall in her room but it has been missing the "i" in the middle for months. So finally I got Dan to do some things on my honey-do list including cutting out my "i" ...and letters for Cole's room but those aren't finished yet. So here is the finished product! I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Speaking of errands...

The other day I decided to get out of the house and take both kids with me to run some errands. They did pretty good actually although after leaving Mervyns and getting halfway loaded back in the car, Allison said she had to go potty so I got Cole back out of the carseat, got the stroller back out of the trunk and took them inside. After potty break, I was halfway to the grocery store and realized I left my bag on the hook inside the bathroom stall. I turned around, got the kids BACK out of the car, got my bag, and headed for the grocery store again. Allison was sooo good being my helper that I couldn't resist buying her animal cookies. We got to the car and she asked if she could have a few. I parked the cart with the front part touching my tire and she climbed into her booster car seat and I said, "Let me get Cole buckled in and then I can get you the cookies. But as I went around the back of the car I heard a thump, bump, scape, and as that happened, I reached Cole's carseat and I looked across to Allison's seat and she was missing. So I ran around the other side and she was on the asphalt! She was reaching for the cookies which were in a bag on top and lost her balance and scraped her nose and forehead. I think she hit the door and then the cart on her way out so it kind of broker her fall but I still didn't see it so I have no idea what really happened. I still had Cole in my arms but I just held her while she cried that sad pitiful hurt cry :( I felt soo bad! She was such a good sport though through all those errands. I decided I'd be better off getting a sitter and doing those errands in 2 hours than the 5 it took with the kids. *Sigh*

Pre-preschool

So a few girls and I are getting together with our 3 yr-olds for a taste of preschool and so we started at my house a couple weeks ago. We just do play time, then a book and craft/activity, then lunch. We read Green Eggs and Ham for our book and then we made green eggs! It was really fun seeing the kids get into it...and they actually liked them! Allison now asks for green eggs sometimes when she's hungry. James thought it was a little strange and I swear you would never know that little Rachel is such a big eater. It was really fun and I'm glad Allison will have a little bit of structured time and some friends to play with! Not to mention it will be nice to have a couple hours to get some quick errands done.

Teething sucks

It worked!

Ok--it's a moment in history everyone. Allison is taking a nap with no binky and although she asked for it, when I asked her where they were and she told me the Binky Fairy has them, that was the end of that. The best part about the whole Binky Fairy thing is that I'M NOT the bad guy! Anyway, second part of the history making is that Cole has been taking over a 2 hour nap!!!! Two kids asleep at the same time...what do I do with myself...now that I've folded all the laundry :)

Happy Birthday Allison!

Allison is 3!! Her birthday was yesterday. I can't believe it. Dan and I were talking the other day and he said, "Do you ever look at our kids and think, holy cow we have two kids?!" I totally do that. I think, I'm a mom. I'm a mom with two kids. And now....I have a 3 year old!!! Does that mean I've made it through the terrible two's ???? I know I know...--nice try Krystal.
Dan took a day off from work--much needed I might add, and we surprised Allison by taking her and Cole to Disneyland. We didn't tell her where we were going and she was so enthralled with the new movie she got for her birthday (those Pixar short films) that we finally said to her once we were driving in the parking lot, "Allison, do you know where we are?" She looked around and saw Daisy on one of the pillars and said, "There's Daisy!" We said, where are we Allison?" She got wide-eyed and said, "DISNEYLAND!" We were there not too long ago, but Allison really got into the characters this time, giving them hugs and talking with them. We saw some things she hasn't done before like the Tiki Room and Tarzan's Treehouse, and Mark Twian's Island--she LOVED searching through the caves.
The kids did soo good. The weather was overcast and lightly drizzled twice but it kept the crowds away so we went on most of the kids rides. We left around 5pm and she conked on the way to the car. When we got home, she opened her gifts and it wasn't until today that I realized she thinks all the presents were from Santa. I made the mistake of wrapping all her presents (in birthday wrap of course) and placing them on the edge of the fireplace. So when she came downstairs, she saw the streamers in the family room and the presents on the fireplace. Next year I'll bring them out to her myself when it's time to open them. So














Oh, also last night we left all of Allison's binkies for the Binky Fairy. I saw it on Supernanny. We found all the binkies from the car, the kitchen, the cupboard by her bedroom, and I gave them to her to put in a ziplock bag. I've been explaining to her for the last few days that when she turned three, it was time to give all her binkies to the Binky Fairy and the Binky Fairy was going to take them to little baby girls who needed them. So we went outside before she went to bed and I lifted her up to place the baggy of binkies in the tree. Then she went to bed and I told her the Binky Fairy would leave a present there after she picked up the binkies. She then yelled into the air (prompted by me of course, "Binky Fairy! I put my binkies in the tree! Come get them while I'm asleep and leave me a present!"

So this morning, Dan, eh hem, I mean the Binky Fairy took the binkies and placed a pink gift bag in the tree with a new baby doll inside. It's called the Little Mommy and it talks and pulls her blanket over her head and drinks a bottle, and burps, and giggles. It's really cute. After Allison got up, (and she took a bath with her swimming Ariel doll) we went downstairs to see what the Binky Fairy left her. We went outside and got the bag and as I reached for it she said, "My binkies are in there!" Doh! "No Allison, the Binky Fairy took your binkies to little babies that need them." She then said, "Cole's need them!" I told her he had his blue binkies and that he doesn't really like them anyway. Then we got inside and she started to open it and I said, "What's inside Allie?!" and before she could see, she said, "My binkies!" I was like, noooooooo, look inside! She got the doll out and really liked it but she got over it quick when I kept telling her she had to name the doll and say her name after this sound. And she wouldn't do it so I kept telling her when to say it and it kept asking her to say the name and she wouldn't and then Allison's grouchy face came out. Ugg. Oh well.

I got home late this afternoon from a doctor's apt. for Cole so by the time I picked up Allison is was too late for a nap....which was very apparent by about 4 pm. So we'll see tomorrow how naptime goes with NO BINKY :{
On a lighter note....Cole is taking naps!!!! It was amazing, the other day he took a 1 1/2 hour nap and then a 2 1/2 hour nap! I'm reeeeally hoping it's not just a fluke but the new tactic is to rub is back after we lay him down in his crib and it works AWESOME! We used to let him cry it out but when he'd finally give in, he'd only sleep like 30 minutes. I sadly decided he just didn't nap. I couldn't complain too much because he sleeps soo good at night. But I'm getting a lot more done with him napping. We'll see how the next week goes.

Rock Band

So I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who will be posting about this because this craze is spreading fast. We went to a friend's house and played this game on XBOX called Rock Band. We had way too good of a time and now Dan's wants to go get it. I think the love for this game is spreading so if you have a chance to play it....beware, you'll want to get it too!

Here's Todd and Will rockin' out on bass and guitar.


Matt was our drummer, until I took over.


Dan was of course vocals. He is really good at it and if you watch the following video, you'll see that he really gets into it too. It was quite entertaining. But he almost lost his voice by the end of the night so he took it easy after this one, especially since he had to speak in Stake Conference the next night.

Cole is standing!

On New Year's Eve, Dan put Allison's Easter Bunny ears on Cole and when Cole tried to take them off, he didn't realize he was standing all by himself!

Reunions

Scroll down for some earlier posts and then scroll up to catch up if you wish:)

The morning after Christmas, can you guess where we headed?!?! BACK to San Diego where I met some girlfriends I grew up with, for breakfast.
Then Dan and I did too much sale shopping, and that evening, we went to Matt Carpenters for a sort of Poway/RB reunion. It was my group of friends growing up in high school and we pretty much all have families now! It was a little nuts with lots of kids running around but it was a lot of fun to see faces that I haven't seen in years.









We headed home that night and both kids fell asleep--poor things. But the next day??? Back to San Diego. We visited with Kacy before she left and then went to the a post-Christmas party we attend each year with people we grew up going to church with. The kids all grew up so they stopped having Santa visit but now all the kids have kids so I think Santa might make an appearance next year! After spending a couple hours there, we took our kids to Dan's mom's to put them to bed which went smoothly, and then headed over to another sort of reunion party with some friends Dan grew up with, to play games...our new favorite-dominoes. We got back at 1am to Dan's mom's and after chatting with his mom for an hour, we decided to go to bed and that's when the call came about Shannon in labor. Deep breath. So now we're all caught up and you got more information about my Christmas than you ever wished to know:)

Christmas Day

We used Shannon as our excuse to make everyone come up here to celebrate Christmas. (Well, Dan's family at least.) Shannon wanted to be close to the hospital just in case and we didn't want her to leave the couch. So we had a nice family breakfast at our house. Mom Dobron cooked ham and eggs, and I made my traditional family breakfast--the carmel bubble ring (it's more like dessert for breakfast.) It was really nice actually to have Dan's mom AND Dad, and his wife Jody who joined us as well. Presents were being opened so fast I had no clue what Allison was getting and from whom. But she did get a kitchen from her pappa that we all love!! Even Cole loves it....it keeps him off my leg when I'm in the real kitchen! We also got Disneyland passes! WAHOO! Allison and Cole got spoiled as usual from their Nana. Allison raked in a cash register, movies, Dora Dominoes, a play car with people among other things, and Cole got a cool basketball hoop, a push toy that helps him walk, and clothes to name a few.

We were able to see Dan's siblings open their gifts from us. We made each of them a "cold" blanket. It's made by sewing two sheets together and tying them. We made twin size ones for Nick and Jordan, and a large Queen size for Shannon and Andrew. I sewed them together and then after the kids would go to bed, Dan and I stayed up late tying one each night. We told them it took much blood, sweat and swears to make them. We each pricked our fingers pretty good and at first, Dan wasn't so hot on the task but when all was finished, we were pretty proud of ourselves.



Next stop-my parents'-again. Down we drove another time to San Diego...more presents.
My sister made us this beautiful shadow box with black and white pictures of my parents in the middle and their parents on each side and grand parents. It took a lot of time and effort and is really a present I treasure most. My parents got Dan this frightening survival knife--it honestly looks like a murder weapon--but it has a compass, and secret compartment for matches and you could most definitely slay a beast with it and carve it up for dinner. My parents usually add something to our food storage/survival kit. I think that we're set now with that gift. Anyway, they also helped me get him a new universal remote and I got a beach tote wheeler (yay!) and a cool moving nativity like one my mom has-which Allison LOVES.


We then headed over to my aunt's house in Poway to steal some Turkey. We weren't planning on eating dinner there but dinner got moved up so we went to spend more time with my family. Dan's family tradition for Christmas dinner is Prime Rib so we were going to miss out on Turkey completely. We decided that was cruel so we stole some turkey and some delicious gello made by Leah, but we left plenty of room for our real dinner back home. So off again we went. Back at our house, we had a nice evening dinner at the dining table, while the kids ate in the kitchen. A great arrangement I thought. And then we put the kids down to bed and played a new game Dan got. I fell asleep, exhausted from yet another busy Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve started with a success!!! Allison went "number 2" on the potty. It occured after some tears and this look of fear in Allison's eyes but she was successful...and she got her reward we promised....even though it was 7:30am. ICE CREAM!


Dan then went golfing with his dad and brothers (A Christmas Eve morning tradition) while I raced around the house trying to get everything loaded up to go.

Christmas isn't Christmas without spending Christmas Eve at my mom's. The first time Dan walked into my parents' house when we were dating was at Christmas time. He said he thought he had walked right into the North Pole--or a Christmas wonderland. And then when he met my grandparents...he was sure they were Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause. My parents have been gone the last 2 Christmases so this was long awaited for me. With my parents' addition, they had even more room for the hundreds of nativities my mom has collected from around the world.

While we wait for dinner time, we get to work on the luminaries. My parents' community always has luminaries lining the streets on Christmas Eve. Each household purchases a bag for like 20 dollars and it has a bunch of large, white lunch sacks and tea candles. Then they deliver piles of sad along the streets and you fold the top of the bags, fill them with sand, and then put a candle in it and at dusk, everyone lights the candles and the whole community is just lined with these luminaries. It has been a tradition since I was young and it was fun to watch Allison have so much fun with her cousin Savannah, doing what I used to do. The men of course dread it but they know it's their job each year since the women are in the kitchen.





After we eat (ham, not turkey--an unfortunate realization to Dan and I who forgot that Christmas DAY is turkey.) we gather by the piano for Christmas Caroling and Sleighride piano duets--which don't get practiced all year--just played a few times each Christmas, and solos--one song beautifully performed by Connor's wife, Jody. Then on to the bells. Thanks to James, we each have our own family set.








Then some of us went to look at the Christmas lights and luminaries. I took the two girls and they looooved them.


And lastly, we let our kids open one gift. Christmas PJ's. We didn't do this growing up and I always wanted them so we are doing them each year for our kids.


Of course we couldn't leave until the boys watched the Charger game which had been restricted from viewing by my mother until all the activities were completed. It's nice to have them watch it on DVR. 30 minutes of neglect is so much better than 3!
We headed home while our kids fell easily asleep in the car. But I was sure to do the job myself, of leaving milk and cookies for Santa.

Sunday before Christmas

So my new goal....I say "new" like I haven't had it as a goal before- my goal again this year is to be better about being on time--no early-- to church, which should be easier this year since it's at 12:30pm. Funny thing is I think I did better when it was 8:30am than 10:30am. Anyway, so of course I'm running around Sunday morning and can't even do Allison's hair cute. I guess it doesn't help when you try to do it and accidentally burn her ear just a little and then she won't come within 50 feet of you when you say--"It's time to do your hair!" At least Cole cooperated with the hair doing.
So here is the picture that is taken just for posterity's sake. This is the kids in their cute Christmas Sunday clothes. There I did it.