Gideon 8 months old

Little man is 8 months. He eats more food than any baby I remember, even Asher! He is growing every day. He loves to nurse and cuddle Mommy. He understand almost everythign you say to him. He tries very hard to catch up to his siblings. He loves the dog and cat. He had his very first ear infection this week and he handled it well, except for not sleeping! He is cruising on furniture, saying Da-da! and giving kisses all the time!

Christmas Day

 The kids actually slept in a bit for us. They were so excited in the morning from sneaking looks over the balcony. Delaney was gloing on and on about all the things under the tree! We made them line up on top of the stairs.

 Then the chaous began. Each child gets a stocking with a pop and candy and a small item. They alos get a want (unwrapped), and a need, wear and read. They get one gift from mom and dad and one gift from a sibling. That is plenty! It makes for a long morning.....

 Gideon got a chew giraffe and a new ball

 Tristan got a GoPro! Camera

 Mara got a bike for Julie

 Asher got a huge package of DS video games

 Laney got Doc McStuffins Lambie. She named it Sweetheart Lollipop.

 Laurie got a new bed for her American Girl Baby and a new drawing pad

 Nigel got loads of little figurines. He loves to carry around little dolls.

 Melina got an Ipod.

 Laurie and Laney each got Anne/Elsa accessories and a new dress

 Asher got some camo!

 Mara and her new books

 Melina with some books

 Tristan got a trench coat

 Nigel and more figurines

 Gideon was so happy and excited the whole time!

 Daddy got a new coat and some blender bottles

Mommy got new trouser socks, scarfs, jewelry, scrapbook pages and a new book to read

 Micah and Sarah's family sent snow building blocks, snowball makers, and more snowman pieces!

And, by the end of the day we all crashed!

So sad that this is our last Christmas in this house. I have loved living here and I love our front dining room/ Christmas room. I hope we can create something similar in the new house!

Flashback to our very first Christmas in this house:

Dec 2008

 For a second I had to remind myself the little boy is Asher not Nigel, and The girl in pink pajamas is Mara not Laurie. The baby is of course Delaney, 6 days old!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is my favorite Day. Even more than Christmas Day. When I was little we would go to my Grandma Faye's with my Mom's whole family and open presents, have turkey dinner, watch the nativity, put on new jammies and go to bed (but not very well) with so much anticipation of the day to come. Josh and I have tried to keep that same spirit alive, mixing his and my traditions and creating some of our own.

First we always decorate Gingerbread houses. Then on Christmas Day they can munch on the candy and then I throw it away,

Secondly, we have always invited the missionaries. Every single year we have lived in Iowa except those we traveled to be with family, the missionaries have come for dinner. We eat Chinese. Josh's family has to Chinese so that we can celebrate the coming of the Wise Men from the East (and Mom doesn't have to cook).

Third, we also have family or friends. Our really good friends the Matlocks, celebrated with us this year. I think this is the third year we have had Christmas with them. We love the Matlocks. They have 4 girls: Brenna 11, Ellie, 9, Lucy 7 and Cici 5. 

Fourth, a new tradition, we open a gift from Chippy our Elf. Chippy brought Elsa last year and this year he brought snow man supplies. He arrives every year the day after Thanksgiving and leaves on Christmas Eve. Chippy also brought snowman stuff for the Matlocks and new tshirts for the Missionaries. (Raygun shirts that say "Des Moines. French for the Moines.")

 Fifth, we watch the Nativity by the Church. It is on the same DVD as Mr. Krueger's Christmas. We also have a little lesson about the Savior (our big lesson is done all month long in a series of FHE's and service projects).
Sixth, we open jammies from cousins. Usually we open from the Stubblefield cousins and open the Price cousins on New Year's Eve. But this year we switched because some packages got delayed....

 All ready for Christmas Eve

 Tristan, 13 years

 Melina, 11 years

 Ciomara, 9 years

 Asher, 7 years

 Delaney, 6 years

Laurel, 4 years

 Nigel, 2 years

 Gideon, 8 months

Then after putting out cookies and milk and reindeer food, the kids go to bed, and Mom and Dad have a wrapping party with Santa. Santa arrived a little after midnight. Mom and Dad were excited but exhausted. Christmas is hard work! ;o)

Nigel's Broken Elbow

So we have had a rough week of sleep. Who am I kidding?! We have had a very rough almost 3 years of nighttime sleeping!!!! I though Mel was a bad sleeper. THE WORST. But Nigel has her beat. I am not even sure why I try to sleep at night since I know I will just get up a dozen times and that makes me more grouchy than just staying awake. Plus for the last 3 years I have had terrible back pain. Terrible. I know I need to loose weight and 2 pregnancies so close have not helped, but seriously the more times I get up at night, the more my back hurts in the morning and doesn't feel better till about lunch.  So when I wake up to nurse or put someone back to bed for the billionth time, I have to shuffle my feet and bend slowly.
Anyway Tuesday morning he got up for like the 4th or 5th time at 430. I was exhausted. I eased out of bed, shuffled down the hallway where he was screaming. I took his little hand and led him into the room. I fumbled for the pacifier because I didn't want to turn the light on. I stuck it in his mouth. Then I carefully lifted him up to lie him in the bed. My back ached, he arched his and tried not to lie down. I basically lurched forward to drop him in the toddler bed and in the meantime he braced himself with his left arm. I hear the POP!!!!!! I panicked. I lifted him back up. I took him to Josh crying that I broke his arm. Josh checked him and and he seemed ok, but when Josh put him back to bed he started to cry. I could see with all the light on that his arm looked a bit deformed. I put him in the car with Gids who was now awake and took him to the ER. The verdict: Broken ELBOW. I. AM. THE.WORST.MOM.EVER. I am so sad for him. They splinted it and then we went back later in the day to see the ortho and get a cast. They said it was a clean brake. No growth plate involved. Its a fracture at 45 degrees upwards toward the upper arm. We have the arm bent and casted into a salute across his body. He is totally cool with it and can do almost anything with his broken arm. He puts his toys in the sling and carries them around! The most trouble he has is holding a clunky cup!
4-6 weeks it should be healed. Craziest part of the whole story? For the first time in his whole life he slept through the entire night the night after it happened. Entire night. Did I sleep. NOPE, but that is another story...

I should add that we had just been to the ER Thursday night/Friday morning...just a mere 4 days before Nigel for Melina. Tonsillitis. Throat swollen, abscess on the left tonsil. Monday the doctor told us to finish the antibiotics and after 10 days he will see her again. If infection recurs, tonsils come out. JOY! I knew there was a reason we had so much money left on our flex-spend this year...2 ER visits and 2 doctor appointments in less than a week!