Not Quite the Memory I was Hoping to Make

Christmas lights are one of the things that I love most about this time of year.  The warm memories of visiting the lights on Temple Square and the candy displays in the ZCMI windows downtown still bring a smile to my face, and I want to provide my kids with the opportunities to create similar memories of Christmastime.  So when I read about the Christmas light display at Lakemont Park, I knew that we just had to make the 45 minute drive to see the lights.  Christmas lights on the lake!  Train displays!  Christmas music!  What could be better?  Surely the long line of cars to enter the light display is a good sign, right?  I guess I didn't realize that when businesses have an opportunity to sponser a Christmas lights event, you might get Christmas displays like the one pictured below.

We got to see a weight-lifting Santa display sponsored by the local gym, Santa driving cars that he purchased from the local car dealer, and Santa driving a team of Clydesdale horses pulling a Budweiser sleigh.

On a positive note, Grant and Sadie loved the tunnel of lights and the train display.  So maybe they were able to create some happy memories after all. 

A Visit with Maureen's Goats and Sheep

Maureen's sheep had new baby lambs in November, and we took a few hours on a Saturday to make the long drive to visit the baby sheep. Grant was so excited when I told him we were going to see the sheep and goats, and he told me in his matter-of-fact way, "I want buy sheep."

Pretzels are the treat of choice among the sheep.  Check out the horns on the ram!

Grant fed the goats dry leaves.  In fact, both the goats and the sheep enjoy eating fall foliage.  We can't wait for Spring when new baby goats and sheep will arrive at Maureen's home!

Grant also loved chasing Maureen's cat on the front porch and barking at Maureen's rather large dog.

Twelve Days to a New Year and the Perils of Crawling

Sadie perfected her scoot just before she turned seven months old.  Now my wiggle worm is getting into every thing and shows no fear.  Unlike her older brother, she will climb up anything, crawl over or under anything, and climb into anything.  We love our happy little girl.

Catching Up

Now that the semester is over, it's time to blog!  So here is the goal for my neglected blog readers . . . the Twelve Days of New Years.  That's right, twelve consecutive days of blogging.  Obviously, this theme would have been much cuter if I had thought of it one week earlier . . . but I definitely did not have time to blog last week.

Learning to be 2

Cookie Sneaking

Grant helped me make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I put the cookies on the rack to cool, but Grant decided he couldn't wait to eat the cookies and helped himself. Unfortunately, his first cookie-sneaking experience didn't fair so well (for mom) and he ended up dropping the warm cookie onto the floor. Dropping the cookie on the floor presented only a minor set back for Grant who just sat on the floor to eat the rest of the cookie.

Birthday Celebrating

This birthday was all about things that go: train set, train cake, and bike (plus a Thomas blanket and Thomas movie). What October birthday would be complete without some snow (like 6 inches)?Big-Boy Sleeping

We transitioned Grant to a "Big-Boy" bed, which means learning how sleep without falling out of bed, how to wake up mom in the middle of the night ("Mom get out bed"), and learning how to sneak down the stairs when I should be in bed. A two-year-old's logic is somewhat mysterious: Grant refuses to walk down the stairs during the day and will stand at the top of the stairs asking "carry you?", but somehow he is more than capable of walking downstairs at night after we have put him to bed.

Dinner Negotiating

Grant: How about ice cream?
Mom: No. How about carrots?
Grant: No, carrots all gone.

Sibling Laughing

Sadie rarely laughs for mom. Sadie sometimes laughs for dad. Sadie always laughs for Grant.

Halloween Trick-or-Treating

Sadie dressed as a ghost but skipped the trick-or-treating. Grant hasn't stopped exclaiming "It's Halloween!"

A Champion Sleeper and a Soon-to-Be Champion Sitter

Afternoon church is not compatible with napping. Not only are we at church during Grant's nap time, but the drive home tends to lull Grant to sleep at 4 pm. This Sunday was no exception. We transferred a sleeping Grant from the car to his crib after church, expecting him to wake a couple of hours later. (We've learned from experience that keeping Grant up until bedtime when he misses a nap can be torture for the parents --- and probably Grant as well.) But Grant did not wake up. Nat woke him around 9 pm to change his diaper and clothes. Grant went right back to sleep. Given the fact that he went to bed at 4 in the afternoon, I thought that I was in for an early morning. The picture above was taken at 8:30 am Monday morning right before I had to wake Grant up. He sleeps like his dad.
Sadie is growing up way too fast. She's rolling over and scooting around the floor and is very close to sitting on her own.
I love watching my children interact with one another. Sadie adores her older brother and carefully watches his every move. Grant is very concerned for his little sister and makes sure that she has everything she needs. His concern for Sadie is captured in the picture below where Grant is graciously sharing Fox and fixing the music on Sadie's chair. Bath time on Sunday was particularly memorable. Grant has decided that he must help mom give Sadie baths. Interestingly enough, he has also determined that he himself no longer needs baths. Grant responded to my comment that it was time to bathe Sadie by running into our bedroom where Nat was watching Sadie and exclaiming, "Sadie bath!" while trying to pull Sadie off the bed. After a talk about not trying to pull Sadie off the bed, he excitedly ran to the bathroom while I got Sadie ready for her bath. Grant would laugh and talk and splash as I bathed Sadie; Sadie laughed, talked, and splashed back at Grant. I love watching the two of them interact and communicate without any intelligible words. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and dirty boys must bathe.

Rolling and Slightly Balding

Sadie's 4 Month Stats
12 lbs. 9 oz. (Weight)
24 1/4 in. (Height)
40.0 cm (Head Circumference)

Sadie starting rolling from her back to her stomach when she was 3 1/2 months old, and today she started rolling from her stomach to her back. She has no teeth, but lots of drool. Her favorite pastimes include smiling, flying on her stomach, cooing, laughing, and looking up to her big brother.