Indiana Christmas Weekend

With us heading out to Utah and then Oregon in just a few days, we enjoyed our own little Christmas as a family of 4 this weekend.

Christmas festivities included visiting the huge Christmas tree on Purdue Campus.

As well as the giant gingerbread house. Brycen loved it...well, all except that we wouldn't let him eat it.

Notice where his little hand is.

Brycen making sure Cian stays warm. Please ignore the spit-up that he promptly did right before I took the picture.

Brycen helping Mommy make Candy Trains. I remember my mom making these for my elementary school classes growing up. I decided to make them as a 'Thank You' for those that came to my baby shower a little over a week ago. Since Cian arrived 3 days before the initial baby shower was planned, it was postponed for a few weeks. It turned out to be perfect. Lots of chatting, snacking, and present opening. I told them not to bring anything, but they did anyway. And the gifts were perfect: diapers, wipes, burp clothes, 2 new outfits, personalized gifts for "Cian"--things that you can use no matter what number child they are. We have loved them.

And...the advent calendars. Brycen has quite enjoyed both the chocolate and cloth and velvet one. The cloth and velvet calendar is one Bryce's mom made and every day, you take out either a object or character to make up the Nativity Scene. So fun.

And then our first, Christmas Day (Sunday). We had a nicer meal Christmas Eve with one of Bryce's co-workers, over to join us. And then on Christmas Day, the traditional Christmas Pajamas were opened as well as stockings, and a few gifts we gave each other. Brycen recieved a bag of Clementines and 2 huge grapefruit in his stocking and you would've thought he was in heaven. Our kid LOVES fruit.

He also received a remote control Mader (from Cars), some DVDs, and a work bench that he helped Daddy put together.

The fun thing this year with Brycen is that he understands so much but at the same time, not. The big box that had his workbench in it, sat wrapped by the tree for a few weeks and Brycen never even attempted to unwrap it or bother with it. He basically saw it as another piece of furniture and it took quite a bit of explaining and directing him for him to realize it was a gift. "Brycen, go grab your last gift. The BIG box. RIGHT there. UNDER your hand". Daddy still had to go point it out to him and when he comprehended what it was, his eyes got so big. It was fun.

He wore himself out and he didn't even realize it. He fell asleep sitting up, on the ground. His eyes would close for a few minutes, his head would bob, and he would wake up temporarily and say, "Mommy, I don't like being dizzy".

Eventually he gave out.

And left Daddy to this.

And Mommy to take pictures. Among my gifts, I received a beautiful pearl necklace, bracelet, and earring set, a watch, and a new camera. My last camera which was given to me by my parents 5 Christmases ago and I have taken thousands of pictures with, has slowly started dying on me. But I loved it. Basic, easy, fast, and dependable for nice quality pictures so I got the exact same camera, but much improved over the last 5 years. A Kodak Easy Share and the love for it continues.

Daddy also received a watch, among other things such as gloves, a razor, and a stainless silverware set, service for 8. He has wanted one every since we got married and some Christmas, obviously, several Christmases from now--we may have a family big enough to use them all. :)

The rest of the day was filled with church, fruit smoothie and brownie making, sitting around the fire, singing, playing, and watching the Nativity movies on LDS.org.

Loved spending the day with my cute little family but we are looking forward to seeing alot more family here in a few days. Merry Christmas!

Party Surprise

When we attended the Annual Ward Christmas Party at church last Friday, none of us knew it was going to be anything, extra-ordinary.

I was sitting at a table chatting when friends, waiting for it to start, when I saw a group of people approach Bryce, kinda sizing him up with their eyes as they approached. Now all week, the talk of Santa appearing at the party was a hot topic and I just knew (even though I was too far to hear) that it is what they were discussing with Bryce. And Bryce being Bryce, I also knew he would be up for it--without even a slight hesitation. It's just his kind of thing. Where as with me, my first thoughts would be, "What about my family? My poor wife serving up dinner with two kids all by herself?"

As they bolted for the door, I called after Bryce and gave him a,"what about us?" look. He knows me well and is luckily pretty smart because he then asked his group of people, "could we do it after we serve up dinner?" That question alone got Bryce back on the good husband list. :)

Apparently the suit runs alittle small and was just perfect to turn this man:

Into this:

Notice: the soccer shoes. My friend later told me that her little girl said, "Mom, that Santa couldn't have been from the North Pole because he had soccer shoes on". Pretty observant children. If we had known before arriving at the church that night, we could've planned better.

But the kids still loved him. Our Nursery calling sure came in handy enabling Santa to call alot of the kids by name, making him even more believeable.

Now in the past, Brycen had been absolutely terrified of the Santa man and made it clear that he had no intentions of sitting on this man's knee this year when I asked him if he wanted to, after Santa entered the room. However, after eyeing the candy canes (and the line had grown huge) he completely changed his mind.

So...we waited our turn, got to know our line neighbors extremely well, and finally got our chance.

It was probably a good thing we were one of the last to see him since after this family shot, it basically gave away who Santa was, but it was so fun.

And even though Santa spoke to Brycen just like Daddy always does, referring to Mommy as Mommy and Daddy as Daddy; Brycen must have been too caught up in the moment because he never caught on. Even after getting off his lap and giving other children a turn, I turned back to look at Santa and while pointing, said to Brycen, "Was that Daddy?" And Brycen's reply was, "Daddy, where?" Haha.

While we waited for Daddy to be done, Brycen refused to leave my side saying that he was scared of the "lion". It wasn't until later that I realized who the lion was...Santa and all his hair.Pretty cleaver conclusion for a little boy that never knew (understood) who Santa was, until now. Since the party, he has learned though.

And he now understands that Daddy was Santa, but it wasn't until a near terrifying experience when I was quickly leaving Brycen with Santa in the dressing room so Mommy could feed and change a screaming Cian, turned into a happy one because Santa took off his facial hair and hat and Brycen exclaimed (while giggling), "Daddy!"

Definitely a memorable night for us all. :)

Precious Cian

Cian did absolutely wonderful for my friend who started up her own photography business and was looking to practice with some babies. And like always, I love looking at the pictures.

The Ds

Dentist and Doctor. The thought of both give me the goosebumps. Always have. Always will. So when you factor in my kids going to these, I'm a stressed nut case. And Brycen went to both last week.

He has always had teeth problems. Some of you may remember a year ago when we had a procedure done that required him being put to sleep so he could get caps on some very decaying teeth. Well, one of those very expensive caps came off back in April and so naturally, we took him back the dentist that performed the procedure to see what he could do--we were really looking for a refund or reimbursement of some kind. Nothing. Well nothing and a child that is terrified of that man (I had to hold him down and pry open his mouth) and really any person in the dentist and doctor-ry fields.

Well fast forward to last week and Brycen's teeth progressively getting worse to the point that he complained one was hurting him, so we knew it was time to get him checked out again. My stomach immediately turned into a knot as I researched our options since we don't have dental insurance. We had gotten a flier in the mail for $39 cleaning and x-rays for every member of the family so I decided to call them up. I was due for a cleaning as well. And since no matter where we go, it seems like most dentists charge a $50 fee to tell us what they think--we might as well get a cleaning out of it. No way were we taking Brycen back to the other guy.

The nice thing about this time a-round is that Brycen is older and can be reasoned with. He tried everything he could to get out of it to the point that he told me his tooth no longer hurt him and he would rather stay home alone with the cat. But after some explaining and bribery (he could pick out an Elmo movie at the library afterwards if he showed the dentist his teeth...we go to the library and do this weekly anyway but it worked for him :), Brycen went to the dentist and did GREAT (well, as long as I sat in the chair with him)! Cleaning, flossing, fluoride, and half an x-ray (most dentists don't even attempt any of these things until 3 years old) he did perfectly--the x-ray was the one that goes around your head and naturally, he freaked out. But who doesn't. I was sure proud of my little man and he was too. And blessed are the people that not only do their job, but.... are great with kids. The dental hygenist was so so good with Brycen. She went above and beyond her call of duty to explain to Brycen what she would be doing and tell him constantly that he was doing a good job. He will proudly show you his new toothbrush, sticker, and toy.

But since this was just a family dentist and we weren't able to get use-able x-rays, they referred us to a pediatric dentist for further examination and definite requirement of sedation for the work Brycen's teeth needed done. So, we headed to the next dentist, the next day. Over the course of 24 hours, I heard lots and lots of good things about this dentist and felt pretty good about it. Brycen, once again, did great and the staff was so good with him. After they examined him, the dentist helper offered to take Brycen on a walk to the toy room (he gladly went, he only does this when he feels absolutely comfortable) so that I could talk over the options with the Dentist. After talking and deciding to take his recommendation of keeping an eye on Brycen's teeth and waiting 6 months until Brycen is older (they really aim to keep the dental experience positive for the children since it is basically, a lifelong experience) and can sit in the chair by himself, I found Brycen playing trains with the helper lady. He was in heaven and asks to go back. I was rather impressed with the whole experience.

After two back to back days of dentistry, a doctor's appointment was scheduled the very next day. Busy week. Brycen has been complaining for months about dizziness. "I don't like dizzy, Mommy" is a phrase I hear 10-20 times a day and usually I tell him to sit down or a I hold and comfort him. It never lasts long but it was time to get it checked out (Brycen actually requested it). During prior doctor visit discussion, Brycen asked, "Doctor fix Brycen's dizziness?" and when I told him that he would try, Brycen became okay with it. The doctor is conveniently located 2 blocks away and it is the one I had Cian start seeing after he was born. I have been very impressed with him and knew he would do a great job with Brycen. Brycen needs people that will make him comfortable and this Doctor did just that. After examining Brycen and ruling out ear issues (which would have been nice to just have an easy answer and cause for the dizziness), he ordered Brycen to leave a urine sample and have EKG done to detect any heart issues. Brycen did awesome! He first, loved the idea of peeing in a cup and has since told me "he wants to go to the doctor and go potty"--haha! And having 10 stickers placed on his body as part of the EKG procedure helped distract him from the fact that he had to lay on the table without Mommy, and then he had to sit still for 30 seconds...an impossible amount of time to a toddler but he was successful after a few tries. We should hear the results of it sometime this week and we also scheduled a visit with a neurologist. So, we will see what happens. Meanwhile, Brycen continues to say that he is dizzy daily but now follows it up with wants to see the doctor so the doctor can fix him.

I love, love that Brycen is currently comfortable with Ds since I have a feeling that he is going to be dealing with them often.

One of his favorite library books this week. "Just Going to the Dentist".

Brothers

I am still amazed at how good Brycen is with Cian. He is always kissing him, hugging him, and asking where he is (first thing in the morning, during naps, etc.). We had friends over for dinner last night and at one point, Cian was being held and Brycen approached my friend and told her, "You can't take him home with you, he's mine". Haha!

And as much as I want this to last forever, I have a feeling it won't. Boys will be boys. So I find a need to document as much as I can, while I can :)

Brycen was comforting a crying Cian. At times (almost always since Cian usually only cries when hungry) when Brycen's comfort isn't enough and Cian keeps crying, Brycen will say, "Mommy, hold Cian please!".

If Cian begins crying in the car, Brycen will say, "Almost there Cian. Almost there". Isn't it just perfect??!! I LOVE it!

Watching Clifford together one day. Brycen loves being near Cian, always.