Christmas Eve

After a week and a half of snow (and no snow plows in our area) we hadn't had a lot of time to get out and finish our Christmas shopping. I was so glad to have a few hours in the morning to all go out together and get everything done. The roads weren't very icy thanks to a little bit of a break in the cold, but there was a lot of it on the roads. It's funny that I had to move to Oregon to use snow chains. I never even saw them used in Utah. But after a fun time shopping we were ready for Christmas. One of Hailee's favorite things is to go shopping with Todd and I for gifts for each other. She loves being in on the secret and I think it helps her not get too commercial. She still gets excited about getting toys, but she gets just as excited about giving presents. She loves picking out presents, wrapping, and watching us open them. She has gotten much better at keeping secrets.

The other thing we did on Christmas Eve was make cookies for Santa. Hailee had so much fun.

We made a great team, I frosted the cookies and she put the sprinkles on.
I loved how serious she was about the sprinkles. She knew exactly what colors she wanted where.

Before going to bed we read the Christmas story in Luke. When Todd was done Hailee said, "let's read another one of baby Jesus." After reading the account in Matthew she wanted another story. When Todd told her that was all the baby Jesus stories she said she just wanted a Jesus story. It was quite sweet.

Then it all that was left to do was leave the cookies and milk out for Santa and go to bed. Hailee said, "Mom how am I suppose to sleep?" As I was helping her to bed, I couldn't help but remember the days when it just seemed impossible to sleep. She was a little disappointed when I told her Santa wouldn't come if she was awake, he was hoping to see his sleigh. As she was going o sleep ever little noise would wake her up. "Oh, is that Santa" "No Hailee that is your dad feeding Roslynn." She was always a little disappointed to find out that it was usually Todd or Roslynn that were making the noises. After a million questions about Christmas she was finally on her way to dream land.

Family Traditions

So this is our first year to celebrate Christmas as our own little family. I have to say it was kind of weird to not be traveling, but after seeing the messy roads it was nice being home safe and warm. We decided that we would start establishing "our" family traditions. We have been deciding which family traditions we would be keeping, changing, or starting new.

One of my favorite family traditions is on the Eve of Christmas Eve (so the 23rd of December) we sleep under the Christmas tree. It's the night we get to play games, get new pajamas and then fall asleep in the front room watching a Christmas movie. I like spreading it out a little bit and it's always fun to add an extra day of celebration.

Hailee wanted to know if she could sleep "under" the tree like this. She thought that would be more fun. Once we got out her princess sleeping bag she was fine just sleeping so she could watch the movie. She did request the tree lights to be off (she always likes it really dark to sleep) once the movie was over and it was time for bed. My family used to keep them on all night.

We ate breakfast for dinner. This is one of Todd's family traditions. We did however change the night to be the night of our sleepover. It was a lot of fun, Hailee thought it was great to eat breakfast for dinner.

Hailee's new pajamas. Of course I tried to get her and Roslynn in front of the tree. After about 10 pictures this was the best we did. Dogs+a hyper 4 year old...not a good combination.

Hailee getting ready for the movie. I couldn't get the DVD player to work (ever since we got DirectTV it hasn't worked in the front room) and while I was waiting for Todd to see if he could get it working this was our conversation...

H: Mom how come it won't work?
N: I don't know Hailee I just can't get it to work, we need to wait for your dad.
H: Is it because you have a baby in your tummy?

I guess I've been blaming too many things on the baby. But then again maybe that is the reason I can't get electronics to work.

Hailee waking up to new snow in the morning she was so excited. "Dad get up it's Christmas Eve and it's snowing!" I have to say that if you would have told me we would have a white Christmas in Oregon I would have laughed out loud. Who has ever heard of this much snow here. The news said the last time it snowed like this was 1968.

First Time for Everything

So in all he years I lived in Utah I had never had Church canceled on me, I would have never guessed in a million years that our first winter in Oregon they would actually cancel church because of snow. It is actually the first time (that I remember at least) that they canceled church for me. My sister in Wisconsin's church was also canceled (not a rare thing there at all) and when I called my mom she was wishing they canceled church because she had to give a talk.

Snow in Oregon is quite a funny thing. The first couple of snow storms we've had this week have been very entertaining. On the news all they talked about was all the snow, and coming from Utah the storms here would have been considered quite light. I understand that since it rarely snows here they aren't really prepared for it when it happens. However yesterday when it started snowing and snowed all day I was getting a little impressed. This morning when we turned on the news it was funny to see them trying deal with all the messy messy roads. At one point we saw two guys standing in the back of a dump truck and manually shoveling out sand on to the road. To say the transportation department of Oregon is struggling to keep up is a little bit of an understatement.

Hailee of course was just dying to get on into the snow. We let her go out for a minute. We were surprised to find almost 1/2 an inch of ice on the top of the snow. (When I measured the snow underneath the ice we had about 6 inches.) I was glad Todd was home and I could just sit on the sidelines and take picture, that is how I like "playing" in the snow.

Todd removing the ice so they could get to the snow. It was amazing to see the size of chunks you would lift up. Walking in the stuff was very funny as well.

Roslynn of course loved being outside. I didn't put on her coat because I didn't think we'd be out that long. When I brought her in because I thought she was getting too cold she just whined and whined until I let her go out again. Her favorite game is to catch the snow balls, which works perfectly for Hailee, because she loves throwing them. Here are two of the best pictures of her "catching" the snow balls that Todd was throwing.

I love this one of her biting the snow ball and it exploding. Todd and Hailee had such fun throwing them. Roslynn is so much fun to play with outside.

Hailee picking up chunks of ice. I don't think I've ever seen freezing rain before, it was really interesting.


"Hailee can you turn around so I can take your picture." "But mom, I'm playing"
Roslynn's version of "But I'm playing." Two little peas in a pod.

Hailee's new favorite game in the snow is shaking the tree. She thought that was so much fun. Roslynn was just intrigued but it falling down like that.

I don't think we'll be going anywhere today.

Mom, it does snow a lot in Oregon

These are the words that came out of Hailee's mouth today as we had more snow today. As we were leaving Utah we explained to Hailee (who absolutely loves snow) that it doesn't snow very much in Oregon. As of today she now thinks her parents are liars, because obviously it does snow a lot in Oregon. It really is quite funny to see everyone just shut down when it does snow. They haven't had school all week and I don't think they are going to have it tomorrow as well. The most surprising thing is how crazy people are about driving inthe snow. Now I understand that it's not something they do all the time and the roads are quite bad since they don't have snow plows in Hillsboro. You would think that would make them extra cautious, but in reality we've found the opposite. Luckily I haven't been around too crazy of people (just ones that like to follow to close, or drive a little fast) but I have seen evidence of some really crazy ones. There are signs of cars spinning out all over the road, front fences that are smashed, and tire marks on the grass. These are all on streets that are 25 mph in the best of circumstances so I really wonder how you jump a curb. Funny stuff.

Well yesterday Hailee was very excited to wake up to some more snow and this time it was perfect for building a snowman. Roslynn didn't really know what to think about this idea. First she came and took a bite out of it as we were building it (for some reason she likes to eat the snow). Since it was a little difficult to get a big bite she decided to pounce on it and break it up. After that we had to watch her so she didn't get to close.


It started raining on us as we were finishing up and I forgot to take a picture of the finished snowman. So when I got up this morning I took a picture. From this picture it looks like we made a very sad snowman, but yesterday when we made him he was quite happy. The rain just made his face a little droopy so he looks sad.


It snowed a little more today, although for most of the afternoon it was nice and sunny. Tonight when taking Roslynn out Hailee had to go and catch some snow on her tongue. I've decided you have to be born where it snows to really love being in it.

Am I really ready?

So today I decided to get a little surprise Christmas shopping done for Hailee. Todd was working from home for a little while and the roads were all nice and clear from the sunny afternoon. While I was getting ready to go Hailee asked me why she couldn't go with me (we always go shopping together). Here is our conversation...

N: Hailee because I need to do some surprise christmas shopping
H: (Eyes start to glow and she get a big smile) Oh don't tell me, I want a surprise.
N: Okay, I'll be back soon.
H: Are you going to Toys-R-Us?

Well in fact I was headed to Toys-R-Us but the bigger surprise for me was that I don't know that Hailee has ever been to a Toys-R-Us before so how she even knew that is where I was headed was a surprise. I wonder if she knows what I got there too.

When I got home I was greeted with a big hug and asked...

H: Mom where are the Christmas surprises, are they in the car?
N: Hailee I'm not going to tell you where they are.
H: Okay let me guess, I think they are in the trunk, don't let me see okay.

At least she still likes surprises and she can't get into the trunk on her own. I'm going to have to start being a little sneakier. I thought I had at least a couple years before I had to start getting tricky.

On the way to pick up Todd she said.. "Mom, when you are wrapping my Christmas surprises you need to tell dad to take me on a walk or something." Thanks for the help, I guess she thinks I need a little help in keeping the surprise.

The Polar Express

Monday we went to Mount Hood to go on the Polar Express. We didn't tell Hailee we were going because we weren't sure that we were going to be able to go. When we first scheduled it there was nothing on Todd's schedule and it turned out that this week is his absolute busiest. Well he finished his meeting on Monday night at 6 and we were out the door to catch our 8 o'clock train. We weren't sure how bad the roads were going to be with the snow (and the fact that I don't think Oregon owns a snow plow to plow the roads), but we made it on time.

Hailee fell asleep and we decided to wait until we got there to tell her where we were going. She cried for the first 15 minutes of the train saying things like "I don't want to go to the North Pole." "Don't get on the train" "I don't want to go on the train" etc..... We felt like wonderful parents dragging our crying child on a train. I just knew that she would wake up and be happy. She is like Todd and it takes them a little while to wake up. Once they brought the cookies she was happy and so very excited to be on a train.

She loved watching all the snow covered Christmas trees (she informed us on Saturday when we were picking out our tree that Christmas trees only grow where it snows). I was just thankful that she was finally happy and enjoying the ride. It took a lot of work to get us there.

(Side note: Why is it when she is sad she wants mom, but as soon as she is happy she wanted to sit on dad's lap. I guess that is just how things are.)

The conductor checking our tickets.

Hailee was so pleased with her ticket.

"Look it's the North Pole."
Visiting with Santa and getting her Christmas bell. Overall it was some great family time and we all enjoyed the train ride. Hailee did ask me after the train ride why Santa's elves didn't have pointy ears. Ah, she is thinking way to much about things.

Two Peas in a Pod

So I've decided one of the reason kids always want a dog is because they both get excited about the same things. Sunday morning we got up and when I was taking Roslynn out I saw that it was snowing. I told Hailee and she ran to the window to see. Roslynn on the other hand was out the door and running around in the snow so excited. Monday we went out to play in it. It was freezing cold and windy, but Hailee and Roslynn didn't care at all. They both played until they were too numb to move. Hailee threw snow balls at Roslynn (Roslynn thought this was the best game, she kept trying to catch them), Roslynn and Hailee ate the snow, and they both had so much fun.




It took some major convincing to get Hailee and Roslynn back inside. (I was ready after about 5 minutes.) Finally I told Hailee she could bring some snow inside to play with. The snow was really dry so we couldn't really make a good snowman, so Hailee decided to make a little snowman. Now this is my kind of snowman making, we got to sit in a nice warm house and make little snowmen. Only your hands got a little cold and it just took a few little beads to make cute little snowmen (or in this case a snow woman and snow baby).

It's officially official

I thought we needed to post a little happy news from our family. Todd is officially graduated with his MBA from BYU. This semester he needed to finish up 6 classes that he missed parts (or in some cases all) of. It has been pretty crazy moving, starting a new job, and getting all of his classes done, but he is all done. HOOORAY! Now he just has a crazy month and a half at work and things should settle down a big (cross your fingers). He has his first quarter close all by himself (well without the previous person that had his job to help) as well as a replan. End of the year is a crazy time for work but things are going well. We are so proud of him!

Thanksgiving

We had an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving. We love having family still fairly close by here in Oregon. We got together with Todd's Uncle David's family. We all met at his cousin Dave and Laurie's house on Thanksgiving day. We had a wonderful dinner and I think it's the first time I haven't really done any cooking at all for a while. I felt a little guilty, but everything was so wonderful it was hard to feel guilty for long. Dave and Laurie were great hosts and we all had a great time. All of Uncle David's family was there (minus one son-in-law), and Hailee loved playing with her cousins. (I'm not sure what they really are to her since they are Todd's cousins children, I'm not very good with all that genealogy vocabulary.)

We didn't get any pictures since excellent planning on our part left us with dead batteries in our camera. When I finally did get batteries I did discover about 30 pictures like this one below. I guess we found the culprit.


Anyway back to Thanksgiving. The next day we all went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound Washington. It is a huge indoor water park/hotel that is heaven for kids. Hailee had so much with all her playing until she collapsed. They also had little "magiquest" things the kids were doing. Jennie, Darci, Sophie, and Hailee (aka "the girls") went around on these mini scavenger hunts. The went all over the hotel making screens/pictures/and sculptures come alive and tell them where to go next. Jennie and Darci were so great at involving the little girls and were so cute with them. Hailee was in heaven. The first night Todd went with them on all on their little scavenger hunt. He said that towards the end she got so tired that she couldn't even walk with them. Todd carried her and asked if she wanted to go back to the room to which she quickly replied, "No I want to play with my cousins."


The next day we got to see Santa Clause and his Elves sky dive in. When we told Hailee that Santa was going to jump out of the plane she was so confused. "Dad Santa doesn't use an airplane, he has a Sleigh and reindeer." The plane had to circle around a bit before they jumped out and Todd kept telling Hailee he was going to come out all the while Hailee kept telling him he wasn't. It was hilarious. A few nights later we were talking about writing her letter to Santa (because when she sat on Santa's lap she couldn't decide what she wanted) and she said she needed to write two letters "one to tell him the things I want and one to ask him why he jumped out of a plane instead of using his sleigh."

Hailee's surrogate cousins (at least most of them that were there).

After all that excitement it was time to go home. Hailee was so sad, but so extremely exhausted at the same time. She wanted to color in her Wolf Lodge coloring book, 10 minutes later she was completely asleep with the marker in her hand on the coloring book. I don't think she could have had a better time. We had so much fun. Thank you Uncle David and Aunt Bev for such a great time.


Jennie taught Hailee how to make a "hand-print" turkey. She has been busy making them ever since.

Hailee's Ready

Whether we are or not, Hailee is definitely ready for her role as big sister. Last week we baby sat a 7 month old little boy. Hailee was SO excited before going over. I was curious to see how long her attention span really would last with a baby. Well for 1 1/2 hours she played with, read to, and cleaned up after this cute little guy. After about 1 1/2 hours she settled down and started working on her "homework," but any little squawk from the baby and she was right over to hand him a toy or smile at him. On the way home she said, "Mom I wish our baby was coming sooner." The picture above (sorry for the poor quality it was on my camera phone) is Hailee reading to the baby. She wanted him sitting on her lap. They both seemed to have a great time. I'll say one thing for this little baby we have coming, he's going to be so lucky to have such a great big sister. Hailee is getting all ready for her new role and can hardly wait.

The Zoo

Ever since we moved here and Hailee saw the sign pointing to the zoo she has been wanting to go. We finally got on the ball and became good parents for the day. Hailee has never been to a zoo and she was so excited.

I didn't quite capture the excitement, but she just couldn't wait to get in and see the animals.

The Oregon Zoo has a baby elephant and Hailee has been waiting so patiently to see it. Since it is a fairly recent thing there were lots of people at the exhibit. Hailee got a top row seat and was so excited to finally get to see that baby elephant.
This is the picture she got from the top. Why is it that little versions of things are always so much cuter than the big version? It was fun to see such a little elephant.

Hailee loved seeing all the animals and talking about them.

The had a really fun Lorikeet exhibit. For $1 you can buy some nectar and go in and feed them. Hailee was excited until while she was holding the nectar one came flying really quick at her. After that she decided that Todd could hold the nectar.
They were really funny little birds. At one point Todd tried to pass the nectar cup to me and the one that was drinking squawked and grabbed the cup so he couldn't move it away.

Getting home. Hailee was exhausted and had such a fun day. Lukily she woke up when we got home so she went to bed at a normal time. As I was putting her down for the night she had a million more questions for me...."Mom was the hippopotamus pregnant" "I don't think so" "It looked like it was pregnant." (Glad to know I'm looking like a hippopotamus to her.) "Mom can giraffe's get pregnant" "yes" "Can lions get pregnant?" "yes" "and on and on and on. First thing she wanted to know when she woke up on Sunday was if we could go back to the zoo.

At the end of the day we got Hailee a little stuffed seal. It was so cute to see how excited she was. So now when she goes to bed it has to be baby Averi, Seally, baby Sally, and Paddington bear. She took this picture of her bedtime friends. I have to say her bed is getting quite full and since there are so many of them they are either getting lost in the middle of the night or she is rolling over them and waking up. We've got to narrow it down to one or so I think.