A handmade Christmas

Ever notice that on all those blogs (and on Pinterest I assume -- I'm going to join one of these days), they make it look so easy to handmake stuff? Like you can just whip it up.

Well, I "whipped up" some stuff this Christmas to give out. I have the backache and needle-poked fingers and stress-headaches to prove it. But I enjoyed it. And I hope the receivers enjoy the gifts! Note -- this was all before I knew I was getting a sewing machine, or I would have waited for sure!


I got obsessed with scarves there for about two weeks, and made a few for myself and others. My mother-in-law helped me on her sewing machines at her house.

Then my mom sent me a picture of the cute stuffed snakes she was sewing, and Max wanted one, so I tried it out. I ended up making 4: one for Max, Ben, and their cousins Jane and Emily. But I had Max and Ben help. Yes, I gave them needles. Why not share the labor -- I mean, teach some small motor skills and hand-eye coordination?

I crocheted a BYU hat for my brother Joe.

And, what I'm most proud of, this rose throw for my little sister Rachel. She saw something similar on Pinterest. This took hours of hand-sewing and glue-gunning.

After Benny saw me take this rather artistic picture, he wanted to borrow my iphone and take a picture, too. I had to giggle when I saw his night-night also carefully placed for a picture:

Now that I have my machine, I'm going a little crazy. I've made two more scarves (well, only one that's wearable. Let's just chalk that first one up to "getting-to-know-the-machine"). And I have dreams of aprons, fabric headbands, pajama pants, skirts, who knows!

Happily busy

What a fun Christmas we had. I have such a sweet, thoughtful family!

Look at these amazing quilts my mother-in-law made for the boys. They opened them Christmas Eve and love sleeping under them.


Andrew loves it when Papa has a toy or treat to share.



On Christmas morning I tried to get a lovely picture of the handsome boys dressed for church. It didn't work so well. Andrew was ticked! (He's trying to get to me right there). It was such a lovely meeting, and the children all sang a song up front.

As for the presents, well, I'm pretty sure Santa got the right things for each boy! Benny got his own scooter:

Max got a remote-controlled car:

And Andrew got his own name train (it's a tradition).

(No, we don't let him hang out sleeveless. I let him eat jello as part of the Christmas dinner, and he got it all over his shirt.)


JB's presents had a theme -- the Jazz, and cooking. That's a new digital cooking thermometer.

And me -- well, when I opened the box I started to cry. Some would say burst into tears. My in-laws (and JB was in on it) got me a sewing machine! Here I am with it all set up and trying it out.

The boys didn't want to fall asleep last night because they wanted to play with their new toys. Same for me, too!

We wish you a healthy Christmas

We are happy this Christmas that things seem to be getting better for those members of our family who have been having some physical trials lately.

Last week Papa got both knees replaced.

Andrew loved the perfect-sized ice chips at the hospital. And the treats Nona had in her purse.

Papa is doing much better every day, with the right exercises and such great care from Nona. She's such an example to me of patience and concern.

We always have Aunt Sarah (JB's little sister) in our hearts -- because of her heart. On Tuesday she underwent surgery and got a pacemaker (read about it here). Max kept calling it a peacemaker. We hope this means the start of a new, healthier chapter in her life!

We also have been praying for Uncle Seth (my little brother), now home from his mission, because his back has not been feeling well ever since he had a bike accident in Indiana. He kept serving through the pain. Now he's trying to figure out what to do next with his life!

And then Uncle Bart (JB's little brother) got hurt playing basketball (read about that here). It's no fun to see him in pain, either.

Thankfully all of My Three Sons haven't needed any stitches or casts or things like that, even though they sure wrestle and jump and fall like they want to go to the ER. We do have some stubbed toes, sniffles, coughs and the rest going on this winter. But we can get through those.

Soooo big!

Andrew-chunker-Drewbers-baby-boy is now one year old!

I gave him his first present Sunday morning. It's his own snack bowl, so he won't steal the other babies' snacks at church.

We had cake and presents after Sunday dinner at Nona and Papa's house. Those helpful older brothers assisted in blowing out the candle and opening his presents.

A first birthday wouldn't be complete without losing those clothes and smashing a piece of cake.

On Monday he had his 12-month checkup. He's 30.25 inches long, which is the 67th percentile (but he wiggled during the measurement) and he's 21 1/2 pounds, which is only the 27th percentile! He has dropped in percentile again, so the Dr recommended we try to plump him up. Whole milk, cheeses, nut butters, etc. We have immediately started working on that.

Now that he's a year old, I can start to wean him. But this baby more than my others is very attached to nursing. It's going to be a challenge! We may just keep going for a while....

Andrew is just such a joy, despite his lingering stubbornness to go to sleep on his own consistently. He claps, points, says mama, dadda, and "more." He loves to be read to, and to share whatever you are eating. He is great with that pincer grasp at putting anything in his mouth. He stands by himself, and he took two steps on his own Saturday night and again tonight! But each time I squeal, or the boys yell "LOOOOKKK!!!" and it scares him and he sits down.

Don't grow up too fast, baby.

Santa!

My radio station sponsored a night at Zoo Lights last night. We bundled up, oohed and aahed over the lights, saw two of Santa's reindeer, and saw the big guy himself!



I took the baby back, and Santa visited with Max and Ben for a while.



Can't wait until Christmas.

Perchance to dream

We've been trying to have Andrew put himself to sleep for 13 days now. He's slloowwwly getting better at night, both in putting himself to sleep and in not waking up in the middle of the night. Some times are better than others. For example, after letting him fuss for a bit the other day I heard him get quiet. I snuck in and saw this:

Melt your heart, that does.

I'm convinced he's napping less. He squawks and squeals in his crib and finally catnaps for 15-20 minutes, then he's refreshed for another round of "Get me outta here!" I wonder if he's the type of baby that doesn't need a morning nap any more?

I miss how we could just tuck Benny in bed with his night-night (blanket) and binkie and he'd sleep for hours. This baby thinks I'm his binkie and my hair is his night-night.

Look who is 4!

Four years ago this sweet, precocious, maddening, darling, smiley little boy came to our family. How glad we are for our Benny-boy.

We had a party on Sunday to celebrate. I'm always happy with the size of my house...until we entertain. In the picture below, there are seven more people not even in view.

Benny loved getting new Cars things, Legos, and flashlights.

He requested an airplane cake. I tried being just like Cake Boss. Max and Ben were very impressed!


JB did point out that I can also make a whale, just in case that's ever wanted!

Brothers!

JB's brother Jeff was here for the whole week of Thanksgiving, and we had so much fun with him and loved meeting his girlfriend, Melissa.

Look how handsome these two brothers are.



Jeff had presents for the boys -- new shoes that I swear make them run faster and jump higher and look cooler at school. And he brought this awesome outfit for our baby and he took perhaps my favorite picture of the Drewster-boy:



Isn't that just hilarious?


Benny loves Jeff:


Benny loves to poke the baby, as evidenced by this picture taken by Jeff:


It just cracks me up that he captured the moment that shows what goes on in our house everyday.

We had great food while they were here visiting. Ham last Sunday, fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with my mother-in-law's roasted turkey (as soon as it comes out of the oven I stand by it and sneak pieces when she's not looking), JB's smoked turkey that makes my mouth water, and all the delicious sides like grilled corn. JB also smoked a salmon for Saturday lunch that I still dream about.

Now who can visit over Christmas and help us have good eats and good company again?

Round 3

Ooohh I want to run home and smush those cheeks with kisses. JB just sent me this picture of our baby this morning. His message said, "He still loves us!"

You see, last night we started our third attempt at sleep-training. Not only are we trying to get Andrew to learn to fall asleep on his own (without me nursing him or without JB holding him and patting his bum (which Andrew loves. (And so do I, tee hee))). But we are also trying to get him to be OK sleeping in his crib.

He has not only been ending up in our bed in the middle of the night, but lately, he's starting in there, too. It's just easier when you are soooo tired. But, despite how cute he is to cuddle, he's crowding us out! And we are not getting much sleep. He ends up making the middle part of a capital H between us, kicking, rolling, and snoring when he has a cold.

So, we are trying again and it's hard. He just stands there and sobs and sobs. We go in every 5-7 minutes and pat him and reassure him and lay him down, then he pops up again. He drifts off to sleep holding on to the edge of the crib.

Last night he woke up at 1 AM and at 4 AM right before I had to leave. I went to the room and nursed him in the rocking chair each time (I can't help it. What if he's hungry? Though at 11 months old, he's probably not). Then he slept in until 6:45, which was great for JB.

So, I think if we can stick to it this time, with a routine, and with consistency, we may be able to do it!

(I pledge not to be a softie this time. It's for the best, right?)

Crazy boys in the can

In Salt Lake City, we no longer have leaf bags. You have to cram all your leaves in to the brown garbage can to take to the curb. So, sometimes you need a little help with that cramming.


I wasn't there -- but I hear JB had quite the amusement park attraction going on, by tossing the boys up and in. Rumor has it they were squawking, "Again, AGAIN! MYYYYY TURN!"



Such good helpers.

Holy teeth!

It was inevitable, I suppose. After years of growing up with fluoridated water and great genes, it appears I can no longer escape. I now have to be numbed and get a cavity filled. Perhaps two. Sob.

Here's the other big sob -- Max has 3 cavities that need to be filled! Already it begins.

While I'm dreading the day of the procedure, he's not. He came bouncing out of the chair and told me, "Guess what?! I have cavities just like my friend Madeline!" (Oh young innocence).

Think of us both next week!

In the meantime, I have taken over brushing Max and Ben's teeth again. Just to be safe.

I went to the barber shop, shop, shop

To get Andrew's hair cut off, chop chop.


My 10 1/2 month old baby's hair was getting shaggy. Mullet-like. We've never had a baby need a haircut this early. So, we took him to the $5 dollar barber shop and they put this widdle wobe on the widdle guy.

Ahhhh, feels goooood.


Feels interesting! What is going on up there?



All done! So handsome!

(look behind me in the mirror and you see the camera flash and JB holding it)

A Utah Man

JB just got home from the Utah-UCLA game, where he had on a gazillion layers and blankets to protect against the snow. It's hard to believe just one week ago he and his dad were in sunny Arizona for the Utah game there, and to visit his brother Jeff.

It was gorgeous during the day, but when the sun went down it did get a little chilly (I think this is JB's favorite picture of his dad).

They had some good eats (as always) in Phoenix and Tuscon.


They also got to meet Jeff's girlfriend Melissa, and her family. I can't wait to meet her at Thanksgiving!


A trip to Phoenix would never be complete without a hike up Camelback Mountain. Look at that view!

JB was gone early Friday morning through late Monday night. Four days of single parenting for me. I took Friday and Monday off work (because who is going to come over at 4 AM for me to go into the radio station?), and I really had a nice time with the boys.

I liked taking them to school in the morning and getting little kisses goodbye. I liked poking around the house with them and hearing their stories. I got stuff done around the house and I wasn't grumpy-tired like I can be sometimes.

But we missed daddy a lot, and especially missed his cooking. Our meals consisted of hashbrowns, chicken nuggets, quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches. On the last night I tried boxed stuffing with peas in it. Those leftovers are still in our fridge.

Crochet away

The turning of the weather made me reach for the yarn and crochet hook again. One can never have too many hats!

My hat from last year, and a new earflapped hat with bear ears on top for Andrew.

A monster hat for Andrew (it kept him cozy enough to fall asleep!)



Candy corn hat for my new nephew Caleb.

(professional photographer I am not. That's the couch)

Strawberry hat for my friend Autumn's baby girl:

A Utes hat for Benny (he's singing the fight song below. Bless his daddy-loving heart.)


Now he's asking if we can play baseball. I reminded him of the incident (even though it was technically Max who threw the ball that time).

And some video taken by Max on the day I crocheted Benny's hat outside. Notice how I have to rescue Andrew from Benny, and Max's narration -- he points out the bush. And the other bush. And the other bush....