Family Christmas Book and New Jammies

Here's Addison modelling her new jammies on Christmas Eve after we got back from the Hansen's Christmas Eve party. She also opened the Polar Express which we added to our Christmas book collection this year.

We actually didn't ever read the book this year, we were just trying to keep Addison on a decent schedule and get her to bed so that we could open the elf workshop and slave the night away :)

Sitting on the Potty

Addison received a training potty for Christmas from her Auntie. I put her on it for practice and she calls it "potty" but she has yet to do anything while sitting on it. She will sit up on it for 20 minutes and play with some toys so I figure it's a good habit to start.

18 Months

Addison had her 18 month well-baby visit yesterday and she is doing WELL! She whimpered off and on and whole time we were at the doctors office - from the waiting room all the way through. It doesn't help that she has had a shot every 3 months since she was three months and today was no exception. She full on cried the minute the nurse walked in with the tray. She is smart and observant and if vaccines weren't good for her I'd be irritated that the doctor conditions kids to be terrified from birth :) (No this in not in an invitation to hear how you feel about vaccinating your kids because I truly don't care.)

She did let the doctor use his light to check her eyes, ears, and mouth. She also place the stethoscope so he could listen to her heart and lungs. She is in the 70th percentile for weight and head size and the 75th percentile for height.

She is right on track throwing tantrums, being a picky eater, and climbing and running all over the place. She tries to jump but just can't quite get airborne. She also loves to pray and we bless the food at least 2-3 times every time we eat. We take our prayer cues from her and whenever she stops playing and folds her arms we say a quick prayer. I'll forever be grateful to Jolene for helping me see the light in that area!

We expect a lot out of Addison and she lives up to and exceeds our expectations. She will do most anything you ask her to if she gets to do it herself - but she won't be forced to do most anything. If you ask her to put down a toy and come eat she comes running, but if you rip it out of her hands without discussing it with her then she will scream bloody murder. She is strong willed but easily trained with consistency and she loves being the center of attention.

The one area that Addison is very advanced is in her speech. We have thought that Addison's word progression is normal because she is the only child we have. The doctor said that he looks for about 6 words by 18 months and Addison has about 60. She says little sentences like "where you going?", "how you doing", "what's that", and "daddy go bye". She also says "a cup" and "the spoon" and "my binky". Here is a the list of words I can think of off the top of my head - I'll probably update it over the next few days so we have a good record.

mama, dada, nick, tasha, tay, papa, Kyle, Gay, house, mail, binky, bear, blanket, cup, bottle, bowl, spoon, fork, milk, water, juice, go, baby, duck, cow, truck, frog, doggy, kitty, meow, roof, moo, bird, "chirp noise", pear, apple, banana (nana), teeth, hi, bye, kiss, slide, roar, stop, out, in, up, down, tada, yay, chair, play, piano, please, thank you, phone, hot, blow, eyes, ears, head, hair, sleep, weee, again, off, on, blue, cheese, don't

Her favorite place to go is Nick's house, which is actually Oliver's parents' home, but Uncle Nick lives there. When we turn onto their street she starts yelling his name and get's so excited. What is so funny is that she wants nothing to do with him. She is currently a huge grandpa's girl and will readily go to her grandma as well but she doesn't want Nick to hold her or pick her up. But she calls him by name, knows his street and house, and I think she just know how badly he wants her therefore she won't give in :). She's decided that she's going to call Oliver's dad papa for now and we'll see what name she calls her grandma. My mom goes by Nana, and has since her first grandkids were born, and we don't intend to have more than one in the family. Plus, although Oliver's mom wants to be called that, all of the rest of us HATE IT. My sister and I hate that is the name my mom has chosen and Oliver and his brothers don't like it any better - we still haven't reached any kind of compromise - so we'll just have to keep waiting to see what grandma becomes. We've come to realize that what the first grandchild picks kind of sticks and so Addison has a great responsibility. We have to find something that not only we like, but also Emily & Taylor, and Nick.

Addison is always on the move and really isn't a baby anymore. She runs everywhere and has a very happy temperament when she gets enough sleep. We can't wait to see what these next months bring!

Opening Gifts

Addison loved opening presents this year! She loved to tear off the paper a little at a time and then fling things from the box and squeal "ooooo". She was a little overwhelmed with all the presents - so we opened them over two days. This is her on the second day opening her doll clothes from Nana and trying on the mittens. She dragged her new chairs into the living room so she could sit on her perch like the true Queen of Sheba that she thinks she is. Sitting on the floor is now SO BENEATH HER!

Table & Chairs

For Christmas, we/Santa wanted to get Addison a table and chair set. We looked at several store options and didn't find exactly what we wanted. As I was surfing blogland I found Ana White's rendition of $4 stack-able chairs. Her site is awesome - if you've never checked it out - you should! Anyway, I digress. We decided that we would make Addison's Christmas gift. What started as a December garage project with a space heater running full-blast turned into pure magic on Christmas morning.

We stayed up late on Christmas Eve putting on the last coats of paint (and we still haven't finished painting the clear coat 2 months later!). Plus, if you haven't seen the tip on Pinterest to put a rubber band around your paint can so that you can wipe off your brush, you should try it. There is no paint in the crevice of the paint can, no nasty tacky lid, and we just sealed the can between coats with the rubber band in place - it works wonderfully!

Addison loved the set on Christmas morning (we did make a fourth chair that is red and in our garage - we just push the table up against the wall and so there isn't room for the fourth chair). She could easily climb in and out of the chairs at 6 am Christmas morning - but less than 10 hours later she required a step stool to get in and out of the chairs. I'm not sure if it was the novelty of the step stool or tipping over once that changed her ability. She used the step stool to get in and out for almost a month, but she is now able to climb in and out on her own again.

Notes:
- The chairs cost considerably more than $4. I'm not sure if wood costs have increased, but the wood alone cost about $8 per chair not including the screws/paint/glue/etc.
- The initial start-up cost was also greater because we haven't done any projects like this before so we bought some tools as well.
- We could never have done this project without the Mini Kreg Jig Pocket Hole Kit. It is worth it's weight in gold!
- Wood at Lowes is almost half price compared to Home Depot - however, when I went back screaming to Home Depot :) they honored Lowes prices (but they won't beat by 10% like they do other items because wood is a commodity). Also, Lowes cuts wood for free and Home Depot will only do 3 cuts before charging you. Seeing how each chair required more than a dozen cuts - we actually preferred the service at Lowes - and we are normally Home Depot people.
- Like all good projects - we went to Home Depot/Lowes many more times than we thought necessary! :)

Red Pepper Lollipop

When Addison comes with me to the grocery store she especially is aware when we are in the produce section because she knows so many of the things that she is looking at and she wants to eat them NOW! Unfortunately, most produce is bought by the bound and she can't snack her way through the store. In December (16th), she was having a particularly hard day passing up the bananas (especially because she can't differentiate that she is allowed to eat one before buying from Costco because we pay for the bundle but not at Winco where we pay by the pound). As we were continuing down the aisles it was no to grapes, no to apples, no to the banana, etc. She finally spotted the peppers and wanted one - well that we buy per item so I handed it right to her. (Nope I didn't wash it or anything - the germs are good for her).

She chomped on it through the entire store and everyone thought she was sooo cute - and I was able to shop in peace. She held it and sucked on it like a lollipop and I was happier to have her eating a veggie than crackers or cereal or candy.

After washing her outfit 3 times I was finally able to get the red out :)

Modeling for Nana

Growing up, my mom knitted each of her four kids a new sweater every winter. She has since sold them and I don't have any to cherish - just pictures. This is one of the sweaters my mom made...

When my mom was in town in the fall I was expressing to her that I really wanted a cable knit sweater for Addison to have for the winter. Who knew that they would be so hard to find! I didn't want light-weight - I wanted chunky/could be a jacket if needed - type sweater. We looked at a bunch of stores and my mom ended up buying a gray one for Addison.

As has been true of her entire life, Addison isn't really lacking in the clothes department, but she finally wore her sweater to church on Sunday. The sleeves are way too long still - but that just means that it might fit into next fall too :) I was trying to get a picture of Addison in her outfit and wanting her to model for her Nana who doesn't get to see her. She wasn't overly cooperative - but here's what we got.

The last picture is very typical Addison after church. And yep, she smacked her face into the brick on the outside of our house, just 2 minutes before we were supposed to leave for church. Kids - gotta love their respect of timing!

Laundry Room Makeover - That Really Isn't

We have an extra refigerator/freezer. It has been in our garage but it just doesn't work very well out there. After speaking with some appliance people - it's because the ambient temps in the garage are too hot/too cold and so the fridge/freezer thinks it needs to work really hard or not hard enough. We tried putting it in our basement but it doesn't fit through the doorway at the bottom of the stairs. I had the brilliant idea just last Monday that we should move it into our laundry room. While Addison was spending the afternoon/night at her grandparents Oliver and I decided to give it a try. This is what the laundry room looked like before...

It has a bunch of cabinetry but I haven't really loved it. To me, it feels crowded. I know - some of you have your washer and dryer in a closet and I shouldn't complain - and I didn't say it IS crowded - it just FEELS that way. I hate how it is long and narrow. Anyway - the only thing we use the counter space for is to pile clean laundry. Sometimes 6 loads at a time before we get to folding - so we don't really need the counter space. It just supports our laziness. So we went at it with a crowbar, hammer, screw driver, and exacto knife and it all came out. Don't you just love how the last owners tiled on top of the old linoleum - top quality work people, top quality :)

We then hauled the beast inside (we probably should have measured that it was going to fit before we banged out all the cabinets). We had to remove absolutely EVERY piece that could be taken off to fit it through the door. The thing is gigantic! And even removing every single piece - it did have to get a few good shoves and a gouge out of the door frame to fit.

Here is how it looks now - it isn't a true makeover in that we still need to patch the walls, sand, paint, put up curtains (since we now have neighbors and can't streak through the laundry room anymore), and refinish the cabinets. But it is a start and it is AWESOME to have the fridge/freezer inside. I'm having my first freezer meal cooking day on Saturday - and it is going to be awesome that the freezer actually works!

I would really love our washer and dryer to DIE so that I could get energy efficient ones that fit side-by-side on the back wall under the window but up on a pedestal. And I would prefer open shelves to the cabinets that we have. But that is going to require re-plumbing, re-wiring, and money and there are SO many things higher on the priority list. So, for now, this is where the makeover ends...but it will get a coat of cheery paint in 2012. At least that's in the budget!

January spur of the moment house upgrade - COMPLETE!

From the Mouth of Babes

I have recently been re-assigned in my church assignment. For the past three years I have worked with the young women (12-18) teaching lessons, participating/planning weekly activities, camp, conferences, dance, volleyball, basketball, etc. I now teach the 3-4 year old class (aka Sunbeams) on Sunday. (I'm actually still assigned as the YW Camp Director which I find to be the best of both worlds because I love Girls Camp!).

I have an assigned co-teacher and we rotate and teach the Sunbeam class every other Sunday. This allows us to go to our own Sunday School and Relief Society meetings every other week (blah blah blah opinion as to how it should go - however, that is how our ward does it, and who am I to question the inspiration and direction provided by those in the bishopric and primary presidency - so I'm trying not to mumble).

Anyway, I wanted to share a few of things that the kids have said in our January lessons so I can remember...

Teacher: What does it mean for you to be a child of God?
Sunbeam H: It means I'm Jesus' baby.


Teacher: What makes you happy?
Sunbeam A: When my mom is sick.
Teacher: Well that doesn't sound very kind, why does that make you happy?
Sunbeam A: Because it means she's having a baby and I'm happy when my mom has a baby. Do you think my mom could be sick again soon?

I Got An Email With $102 In It!

Seriously - I really did - and it's awesome.

You see, we get our car insurance policy renewal information by email and I got our bill for our next 6 month premium that is $102 less than we paid last August! I have no idea why it went down and they clearly state that our next premium will be what we previously paid - but I am happy for the relief to our budget - even if only temporary.

Actually, I believe that shopping around for insurance is one of the best ways to reduce your monthly budget. "Because, as every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance." (If you can name that movie we are GREAT friends :))

Anyway, I personally shop around and compare our insurance rates about once a year - or when I'm feeling strapped for cash. I can't do much about our mortgage payment (though I can tell you the going interest rate because I always keep track in case it would be a benefit to me) but I can save on insurance.

I know that some people love their insurance company - and truthfully - if all costs were equal we would go back to State Farm in a heartbeat because we love our agent (he still provides some of our life insurance and our ring policy) and they have great response times in emergencies (we flooded our basement twice and had a fender bender so we can speak from experience). But rates aren't equal and we have saved several hundred dollars a year by switching.

I have no loyalty to an insurance company - I have a loyalty to the hard earned money we have and how it affects my families bottom line. This was actually a really difficult lesson to learn - because I felt a sense of loyalty to an agent or a sense of responsible to help him keep making money. I felt that it was connected to friendship and insurance has always been a loaded relationship for me. But - I finally decided - to get loyal to my family and our finances.

So I shop around - often - I do the work to switch when the savings are great enough. And I love getting an email meaning I have $102 more to spend in February - maybe we will eat out after all!

Learning to Say Thanks

My sister is the best person I know for sending notes, cards, thanks, etc. Rarely a holiday has past that I haven't received of her kindness and thoughtfulness. This isn't a virtue that I inherited but it is one that we want to instill in Addison. So, the Sunday after Christmas, we gathered around the table to make thank you notes for all the people that sent/gave Addison gifts. She did the painting and I wrote a quick little message. As she gets older, she'll be privileged to do both.

I saw a recipe online to make my own finger paint out of flour, water, and food coloring. And since Addison spent more time licking the paint then actually painting - it was good that it was edible. Oliver gave it a taste after she kept licking away and it didn't taste good at all...silly girl.

All I did was add about 2 tablespoons of white flour with a little water to make a thin paste and then added a few drops of food coloring. To make painting extra easy for Addison and her VERY short attention span, I taped a piece of waxed paper to the kitchen table and then every 15 seconds or so I laid a clean piece of paper over her work and "picked it up" creating 20 pictures in less than 5 minutes. I just kept dropping color of paint onto the waxed paper in between each picture and she kept eating and smearing. She was more than done after 5 minutes - but we got enough "works of art" to mail to everyone that loves her so much!

(Now if I could just get my act together and get them in the mail - that would be a miracle. I did buy stamps on Friday night so I'm hopeful. Either way - it's the thought that counts - right? Okay, I know, wrong - so I'm trying really hard!)

Too Good to Pass Up

I wasn't going to share my awesome find from today - but then I realized that millions of people don't read my blog - and those 20 that do should are people I love and they should get a great find too. So, without further ado, I paid $2 for all of the tape below!

Awesome - is it not?!?

Anyway, Target routinely marks their Christmas stuff down to 90% off on January 6th. From some stores it is 70% on January 6th and then 90% off on January 7th. Don't ask why I know that - I'm just an idiot savant I guess.

Anyway, what most people don't know is that anything they got specifically for Christmas they mark down to 90% off - all over the store. So not only can you purchase picked over ugly Christmas decor - but also wrapping paper, bags, plates, cups, napkins, parchment paper that says holiday on the outside, plastic wrap, home decor pillows, and some years even TAPE!

The other secret is that it isn't marked as clearance and it isn't in the Christmas section. So, if you are in the mood to hunt the aisles of Target, there are some great deals to be had. This tape was in the Office Supply section where the tape always is - I just grabbed the ones that said gift or looked somewhat holiday promising and then went looking for a scanner to check. They were listed on the shelf sticker as $2 like always - but scanned in at $0.20! And who doesn't need tape.

I was actually at Target buying clearance shoes for Addison (this is the time of year that Target always clearances their shoe section) and just happened upon the tape. I started at the AF store and bought the above pictured tape and then had to go back to the Sandy Target to return a pair that didn't fit her and they didn't have any tape.

But, if you're out and shopping anyway, hopefully you score some twenty cent tape - and if not - hopefully you can remember my Christmas Clearance secret for next year!

2011 - Never Posted

I have all these things that I wanted to post last year that I just never got around to. Like Addison's 1-year pics...Anyway, this week I'm going to try to get some things from last year captured.

Our big house project last year was transforming our master bedroom. The project was finally completed with Oliver's Christmas gift to me - so I guess you could say it isn't that old of a project. The first pic is what our room looked like when we bought it. Don't you just love the black curtains :) We have window seats in every bedroom in the upstairs and don't need the storage it provides in our bedroom so we decided to turn it into a reading nook instead.

This was Oliver's first time taking out walls, adding electric sockets, adding drywall, etc. I had some experience mudding/taping from my mission (I spent 9 months, 4 hours per week, volunteering for habitat for humanity in California as part of my mission service. I even fell off the roof (which is a story for another day) :) So between the two of us - and a little help from a neighbor - the new reading nook looked like this.

Then, I don't really have any pictures from the painting saga - which included Home Depot mixing the wrong color in the second can and me just thinking it was darker because it was wet. Then taking all the tape off just to have to re-paint. UGH! If you're OCD like me you can still tell in some spots.

But below you can see the new paint color, the little reading nook, and mostly it was to document Oliver's gift of organization to me. We turned the wall when you walk into our room into our little planning area and we actually use it! Because our office is in the basement we weren't really using the calendar downstairs - but this seems to be working.

Also, I tried my hand at DIY artwork for the first time to finish off the wall space in our bedroom. I don't know if you've noticed - but big wall art is EXPENSIVE! So I bought a $9 canvas from Hobby Lobby and used leftover wall paint to paint toilet paper and wrapping paper tubes and make my own 3D art for above our bed. We love it!

Stay tuned for more missing documentation from 2011.

PS The guitar was Oliver's other gift to me (he got it as his white elephant gift from work) so I need to learn a couple of things apparently - because I know nothing about guitars at all!