Be Careful What You Teach Your Kids...

Whenever Ryan plays Lego's, his favorite part is destroying whatever gets built. Bryan has encouraged this, and we've always thought it to be really cute when he knocks down whatever contraption has been created and started laughing his cute little belly laugh.

Well earlier this week I went to the Carter's store, and while I was looking around I sat Ryan at the Lego table. After a while another little girl came over who was probably about 3 1/2. She started building something (a castle, according to her), and all of the sudden I hear Lego's falling and that cute little laugh. This was quickly followed by the sound of the little girl crying. I went over and saw exactly what I was expecting. The little girl's mom explained that Ryan was little and he wasn't trying to be mean, and I apologized. Suddenly his destruction didn't seem quite so cute...

My Sweet Angel

Bryan snapped this picture of Annie and I napping the other day. I haven't taken a lot of pictures of her (or anyone!) lately, but I think this one captures her sweetness. She is SUCH a good baby--so mellow and happy. Now that she's smiling and cooing, it's even better. I absolutely adore this little girl--she is my saving grace on hard days, and just looking at her always brings a smile to my face.

Ryan goes to Nursery!

Ryan turned 18 months on January 1, so the next Sunday he got to start going to Nursery at church. He absolutely loved it! When we took him in, he sat down at the table and waved bye-bye to us. He absolutely loved being in with all of the kids and getting to play and color. Yesterday didn't go quite so well--the poor baby has a ton of teeth coming in and is less than happy about it--but it's fun watching him interact with other kids and experience new things.

I remember when it seemed like forever until he'd be in nursery, and I can't believe it's here already. These little sweeties grow way too fast!

Zoo Lights

After two failed attempts, we were finally able to go see Zoolights the weekend after New Year's. Ryan loved the lights, and the night we finally went was perfect--not too crowded and not too cold. Annie, of course, slept through the whole thing.

The lights were absolutely incredible--over 2 million of them! I took lots of pictures, but because so many of the displays incorporated movement, the pictures just didn't do it for me. It was a fun way to spend an evening, and we're planning on making it an annual event.

How fast can you type?

76 words

I found this on my friend Greta's blog, and since I love these little tests, I had to give it a try!

Our Best Christmas Yet

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This year we had a very enjoyable, low key Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we went to Bryan's parents house for Italian food and a white elephant gift exchange. Afterwards we headed over to our friends the Kastanis's to read Luke 2 and a really cool book that they read every year called Red Ranger Came Calling. This is the second year we've gone over there for Christmas Eve and we're grateful that they include us in their annual tradition.

Christmas morning we slept until around 9:00 when Bryan woke Ryan up and rounded up the rest of us. Ryan absolutely love his kitchen that we had set up the night before, and for about an hour and a half, we couldn't even get his interest enough to open any other gifts! We took our time opening the rest of the gifts, and Bryan made us a fantastic breakfast.

That afternoon we headed back to Bryan's parents for steak and crab legs, and to open the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. Ryan got a really cool Little Tikes fire truck that we cannot keep him out of. That night we went back to the Kastanis' to exchange gifts and enjoy some more dessert.

All in all, it was a fantastic couple of days. Having Bryan home for 4 days made it even better. And of course our greatest gift this year, our sweet Annie, was the icing on the cake.

Mesa Temple Lights

Ryan is completely fascinated with Christmas lights, so last night we decided to take him to the lights at the Mesa Temple. He absolutely loved it, and was completely unphased by the cold weather (cold by Arizona standards, I should say...). He also really like the nativity and listening to the story of Christ's birth.

Miss Annie was snuggled up in my front carrier and slept through the entire thing...surprise, surprise!

Grammy and Papa Come for a Visit

Earlier this month my parents came out for a visit to meet Miss Annie (and to see the rest of us, too). We had a great visit, and Ryan had a super fun time with his Papa. The timing couldn't have been better--they were here when I had to go to the hospital with my little kidney stone episode. The kids were able to stay at home and I didn't have to worry about them. When we got home at 4:00 a.m. and I could barely stand up because of all the medication they had pumped through me, my mom willingly kept Annie with her through the night so I could get some rest.

Yay for Grammy and Papa!

All I Want for Christmas...

...is good health for my family and me.

In the last week we have had the following:

~A night in the emergency room when I had another bout of kidney stones.
~A random episode of vomiting, compliments of Ryan.
~Results from a CT that show I have a cavity filled with fluid above my jaw joint. I go to an oral surgeon tomorrow to see what that's all about.
~An impending ultrasound, probably tomorrow, for Annie who hasn't had a significant bowel movement since Tuesday.

We are blessed in many other ways, for which I am extremely grateful. But health issues suck. Especially when it involves your kids. I know in the end we'll all be fine, but for now it's a little unnerving.

Hopefully this coming week Annie and I will get our issues resolved and have a healthy, happy Christmas. We wish the same for all of you.

Some New Photos

All bundled up and ready for bed. This little girl's hands and feet get SO cold, so we try to keep her nice and warm.

Sleeping in the "stick 'em up" position, just like Ryan used to do.

Annie's first Thanksgiving.

Not quite Christmas card worthy, but still pretty cute!

So as you can probably guess, I've been keeping pretty busy with Ryan and Annie. There's not too much to report--Annie is a complete gem and I'm far more rested than I ever would have guessed I would be at this point. Ryan has taken well to his sister and she seems to like him as well.

Hope you enjoy the new photos!