2012 letter

Our Christmas letter:

Nathan:

Nathan celebrated his 30th birthday in February by going on to a comedy club with friends, having a special birthday lunch, and a birthday dinner with family including a chocolate fountain. Here is the video Sarah made to commemorate the milestone of 30-years-old



He is still in the bishopric in our ward (3 years now) and still works at Contractor Plan Center (7 years now). He continues to build his photography business Oregon En-vision photography and has had several major photo shoots and video projects this year. He also made videos for the church including filming and creating a presentation for our Stake's 40th anniversary, heading the camera crew for the multi-stake youth conference and creating a dvd for that, and doing small video projects in our ward for the young men and women.

Sarah:

Sarah also turned 30 this year and celebrated with a dinner party and two custom made chocolate cakes (one made by a teenager in the ward and it was the best cake we've probably ever had). She spent her time taking care of the kids and trying to record as much of their childhood as possible through pictures, video, scrap booking, and writing down the cute things they do and say. She developed some back issues with this last pregnancy, which has been helped by visiting a chiropractor, but she still has a weak back. She improved her cooking/baking skills this year and developed several dishes that actually turn out well every time. She learned how to make homemade bread and rolls and canned pears for the first time. She also helps with Nathan's video projects and supports him in the other activities he does, as well as keeping up the with the never ending task of trying to keep a home clean with three little mess makers living in it. You can see her favorite pictures she's taken this year here. (The folder of pictures goes all the way back to 2007, but the top ones are from this year)



Jared:

Jared turned 5 this year. He got his first two-wheel bike and loves the freedom it brings. He also made friends with the neighbor kids this summer and they spent a lot of time running back and forth between houses. He started kindergarten in the fall. He likes school and is excited about writing and spelling and learning how to add numbers. He has also made lots of friends at school. He's behind in school academically and maturity-wise, so he will be repeating kindergarten. But we're not totally surprised, since Nathan also repeated kindergarten. Also, Jared is the youngest kid in the class, since he only turned 5 a few weeks before school started. He continues to be a very intense kid, very expressive with all his emotions and preferences. He absolutely loved all things Captain America this year. He also continued to be a very affectionate kid.

Here's Jared's milestone video when he turned 5:



Kayla:

Kayla turned 3 this year. She discovered that she loves disney princesses and dressing up in costumes. It was not unusual for her to want to wear a princess dress instead of regular clothes at least once a week, if not every day. She was potty trained this year. She had a little difficulty getting number #2 down, but she is now fully trained, even at night. She continues to love animals, especially dogs and cats. She has a couple stuffed ones that she carries around everywhere. She really wants a real cat, but mommy doesn't, so we settled for visiting other people's cats. There's a family we know with lots of cats and who had a litter of kittens this summer and we visited them probably 9 times in the month of September, just so Kayla could hold and play with the kittens. She also loves farm animals and loved when we visited a local pumpkin patch this fall that has barn animals. Now that it's Christmas time she always points out the animals that are in the Nativity scenes she sees. She is a very sweet considerate, empathetic and affectionate kid.

And so as to not leave her out, here's a video for Kayla from this year. I have plans to make her one about being 3 year old. The song is super cute, so stay tuned.



Logan:

Logan started the year off as a tiny newborn and is ending it as a wobbly toddler with a big appetite who wants to do everything his brother and sister can do. He's very social and cuddly. But the best way to summarize his first year is through this video:



Here are Logan's other videos: First month



2-6 months:



7-12 months:



Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Nutella instead of frosting

I was putting together this Christmas goodies plate and didn't have frosting for the gingerbread cookies so I used Nutella and thought, "this is a great idea." It works like frosting, but is more nutritious.

Sorry the picture is grainy. I didn't realize the ISO on the camera was up so high. My husband was filming a play last night and didn't move the settings back. Of course, I've already given that gift plate away so I can't take the picture again.

Rapunzel sun on the ceiling of a girl's room

Nathan painted this on Kayla's ceiling in August. But it occurred to me that I should post in on pinterest, since it's pretty cool

Jaredisms and Kaylaisms I've collected since spring time

Jared was teaching Kayla how to write her letters. Besides the praise I heard from him like "great job!" and "you did that perfect!" and "awesome, Kayla," I heard him say "Is it cool that the J and the K are next to each other? It's like they're brother and sister like you and me!"

Kayla had a sucker and it got stuck to my pants as I walked by her so she said "My sucker took a bite out of your pants!"

We were doing a scripture study before bed with the kids and Nathan was telling them about how Heavenly Father takes care of us when we ask for help and Jared got really serious and said "He's really good!" Yes, yes He is

I was making a stir fry and Jared was eating the peanuts that I was putting in and he suddenly said in a surprised voice "These peanuts taste like peanut butter!"

Kayla was telling Jared not to eat too many cheetos because he would get a tummy ache and she said something like "If you eat too many you'll get a tummy ache, so be careful with yourself!" It made me laugh.

There was a fly flying around Jared's face and he was trying to slap it, but ended up slapping his face.

While he was in one of his super sweet moods, Jared was telling me that he thought I was pretty. And that was Kayla was pretty. Then he said "You're my two favorite girls!"

Kayla was coloring in a princess coloring book and she told me that one of the princesses was trapped in the castle that wasn't very pretty! Oh no, not a ugly castle!

Jared was talking about an assembly at school where there was a fire fighter demponstration and he said "I wish daddy was a fire apartment!"

I was asking Jared if he had a 1st grader buddy at school (because I heard that was going to happen) and he said he had a bathroom buddy that helps walk him to the bathroom. His name is Jack. Then Jared said "I like his face. And I like his whole body!"

Kayla was playing with a little toy phone and she told me that it was ringing. Then she proceeded to do both sides of the conversation. It went like this:
"Hello?" (and then to me) "It's the Wilsons" (the house where we visit the kitties), "What's up?...The kitties are running away!...Oh no!...They're coming to your house!...Oh, then we will keep them here and take care of them...um.. okay...Good bye!"

We were talking about the acorns and how the squirrels eat them and Kayla said she wanted to pet a squirrel. I told her that they were in the trees and she said "I will just wait here until an animal comes into my arms!" It made me laugh.

Kayla saw the moon in the sky this morning and told me it looked like an egg.

Jared was telling me about something really animatedly and he said "A long time ago, like last night..." It made me laugh

At one point we were playing on the hay swings and I took some pictures of Kayla on a swing. Then I put the camera down and went on a swing myself. Kayla picked up and started taking pictures of me! She even looked at the display screen and said "aww, adorable" just like I do.

Conversation:

Kayla: Mom, did you know that daddy made some food for us? For me and Jared.
Me: Yes, I did
Kayla: That was nice!
Me: Yes, it was
Me: But sometimes I make food for you too.
Kayla: (non-committal) Yeah
Me: But it's more impressive when daddy does it, huh?
Kayla: Yeah!

The sun was in Kayla's face so we moved behind some trees and she said "The sun is hiding from me now.

She got to ride on a merry-go-round for the first time (they're only in older parks) and she was calling it a "ride" like at an amusement park. I spun it pretty fast and she said "I'm going faster than the whole world!"

Jared has been excitedly telling everyone he's 5 now. Tonight, though, he said he was "A whole hand!" It was cute.

I got some gas in Vancouver and had to pump it myself. When I got back into the car Jared asked "Are you the gas guy now?" He doesn't know about the different state rules.

Kayla: "You're an adult"
Me: "Yes"
Kayla:"And I'm a kid!"
Me: "Are you going to be an adult someday when you grow up?"
Kayla: "Uh huh. And when I grow up I'm going to be a mommy!"

Jared was looking at his hands and said "this one is my owie hand" (it has a scratch on it) "And this one is my freckle hand!" Then he wanted to know which one we liked better.

Jared was telling me he was Captain America and he said "My name is Steve Rogers." Then he looked concerned and said "But my name is Jared too!" It made me laugh.

Jared was telling me about the superhero "Hawkeye" who is an archer. He was telling about the arrows and how he put them on his back. He pointed over his shoulder and said "They go in a... a.." So I said "It's called a 'quiver'" and he said "They go in a call-iv-er. And then he can shoot them with his bow!" It made me laugh.

Nathan told Kayla that he didn't want her to grow anymore. That she needed to stay the size she is now. She replied with "but I want to grow!" when he asked why she she said "So I'll be big enough to go on the monkey bars!" It was cute.

Kayla was playing with her little plastic cinderella high heal shoes. She came up to me and said "Do I look beautiful?" so I said "Yes, you do!" and she said "I'm wearing my cinderella shoes" and then she walked away with a clumsy little "clop clop clop." It was adorable.

Jared was teasing Kayla in the car with his little stuffed shark. He was telling her that it was biting her and it'd make her cry. I yelled at him and said if the shark bit her again I was going to take it away permanently (they've also been fighting over it). He said "sorry" and I told him to never let the shark bite her again. He responded with "never ever ever? That's a really long time! I'm not sure I can do that!"

Jared excitedly told a couple of the neighbor boys that Jesus is more powerful than all the super heros plus he's real!

Kayla: "You're cute"
Me: "Aw, you're cute too!"
Kayla: "We both cute... because we're girls"

Jared wanted to go outside and ride his bike, but I couldn't go out there becuase Logan was sleeping upstairs so I told him I couldn't leave and he said I should stretch out my arms like fantastic 4 or a really long snake so I could be outside and inside at the same time. That was pretty clever.

Kayla told me a story that went like this:
"Once there was a little girl, a called, me!
And she fell in the toilet! Is that silly!! ::giggle giggle"

Jared offered FIL something (probably food) and said "You can have this because you're my person!" He got a kick out of that.

My neighbor was out on her porch smoking while we were getting in the car and Jared looked at her and said "You know, smoking is not healthy!" It was embarassing, but she responded with "I know! You should never start!"

We were in IKEA Jared sat in one of the cool swivel office chairs. He leaned back and put him hands behind his head and said "I like this chair. I think I'll be the boss" then he held out his hand to Nathan and said "Here. do you want some money?"

Jared: Do you want me to be the prince?
Kayla: Yeah, and I can be the princess!
Jared: And we'll be friends?
Kayla: Yeah!
Jared: I love you!
Kayla: I love you too!
And then they proceeded to hug each other until they fell over. Cute!

We were having lunch and I said I loved the crackers we were eating. Kayla said "I love them too!" and Jared said "I love them 100!" I suppose that makes sense after "I love them 2!"

I yawned and Kayla said "you look like a hippo!" You know, because they open their mouths so wide.

I wanted to Jared to pick up some game pieces that were one the floor. So I said "I need a super big helper!" He said "what?" and a pointed to the floor and asked "what do you think I need you to do?" He picked up his Captain America mask that also happened to be on the floor and asked "put my mask on!?" It made me laugh.

I was talking to Kayla about how when Logan gets bigger she can teach him how to do things because she's the big sister. She got excited about that and started listing the things she'd teach him. It went something like this: "I'll teach him to walk, to get toys, to brush his teeth, to go to bed, put on princess dresses.." It was adorable.

Skeleton baby, One Halloween to another

Logan was a skeleton last Halloween in uteral. And he can be a skeleton this year too. :)

Apple Muffins

I started a new thing with this year's apple harvest. Instead of just making applesauce and apple pies, I'm making a bunch of apple muffins and freezing them for easy breakfasts. I've made 8 batches so far. We've eaten a bunch of them, but I'm starting to get tired of them so they're all going in the feezer now. I'm going to love having this option on those mornings when I want something filling, but don't want to cook anything for breakfast. The secret is the yogurt, it makes them delicious!

The recipe is originally from allrecipes.com http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Apple-Yogurt-Muffins-Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 ozs vanilla yogurt (1 cup)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsps milk
• 1 apple
• 1/3 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, egg and butter. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold in chopped apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Making clipping nails fun for a child

Pinterest idea:
Clipping finger nails is another grooming thing that can be a battle with a toddler. So I got my kids involved with the process by only clipping the fingernail part of the way so they could peal it off themselves. It means it takes longer, but it's not a battle anymore! Kayla actually asks for me to trim her fingernails now!

Rinsing a toddler's hair

Pinterest idea:

Kayla hates to have her hair washed because the suds get in her eyes when I rinse it off. Even with no-tear shampoo, she resisted for quite a while. It made bath time a battle! I tell her to look up so the water will run down her back, but she didn't trust me. So I put these stickers on the ceiling and now I tell her to look at those while I rinse her hair. It took a few times, but now she does it willingly. Bath time is much easier these days!

Shoe shelves

Pinterest idea:

We were given these shelves for free and didn't have a use for them at first. So we decided to put it in our front entryway for the shoes. Before this the kids' shoes were in a cardboard box by the door. I like this much better!

MIA

I haven't been keeping up with this blog lately. It's been a hard adjustment for me going to three kids, especially since Jared and Kayla are so young still. Maybe when Jared's in school (this fall!) and Logan is sleeping through the night I'll feel better, but for now I'm tired and overwhelmed most of the time. So I'm going to cut some things out. One of which is this blog. So I don't expect I'll be keeping up with it for a while. I do have my journal though, that I try to write in daily (I usually miss a day or so each week). It's here: http://smileygoldfish.livejournal.com/
I think that's important. But for now I'm just going to use this blog to post some of my ideas to pinterest.

Logan's first month video

I finished the video for Logan's first month! Enjoy!

Mud puddles

We've gotten a lot of rain lately. It's cold and gloomy, but it does make for fun mud puddles! My favorite thing to do this time of year is to take the kids to our local trail through the swamp and let them play in the puddles. So far we've done it twice in the last month. It takes a little bit to coax the kids at first because they complain about being cold. But then they always have fun!

Dimples

I discovered that Logan has dimples! He smiles so easily these days so they're easy to see. And I think they're totally cute. I also think it's cute the way his ears stick out!

It's funny because a few months ago I didn't know what he looked like at all, but now that face is engrained in my mind and on my heart!

First braids

Kayla's hair is getting longer and I'm starting to be able to do more with it. A couple weeks ago I braided it for the first time. It's hard to do with such short, thin hair, but I think it looks so sweet!

Logan's birthmark

Logan has a birthmark on his right foot. It's a hemangioma and really freaked me out because it grew larger and darker over a few days and then didn't go away (I thought it was a sore that wasn't healing). But apparently that's normal for that kind of birthmark. I should have remembered that since I have one too. It may fade away over his lifetime, but I still have mine, so he might have it forever. I think the bottom of the foot is a pretty good spot in the grand scheme of things.

Nathan's birthday

Nathan turned 30 this month! That's a big year so I wanted to make it a big birthday.

First he got a note every day for the 30 days leading up to his birthday with one thing I love about him. Next, we went out to a comedy club with some friends. Then he had a birthday dinner with his family complete with a chocolate fountain. And then on his actual birthday his office got decorated, he got tons of birthday messages on facebook, and we went out to lunch together for some crab!

Ans finally; Nathan's 30th year video! Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's day we had a cheese fondu for dinner as well as this awesome cake that Nathan's co-worker made. The older kids' made Valentines for their grandparents and for the first year Jared wanted to give one to a friend. Next year he'll be in school so that'll be a much bigger thing. Also, I dressed Logan up as cupid because I can.

And last but not least, the kids all got their pictures taken for V-day

Kidisms - funny things the kids have said/done

Jared was eating a plum and offered me some by saying "Try some!" so I took a bite and he said "Does it taste like happiness?"

Jared was asking me about who my family was so I named everyone. He always loves going through everyone, especially when I get to him! Then he said "Do you know who the big family is?" I said I didn't and he said "the whole world!"

One day Jared asked: "mommy, are you a kid?"
Me: "Nope I'm an adult"
Jared: "But if you play with kids you can be a kid!"
Such wisdom

Jared said he was going to pretend to be a doctor so he poked my arm with a toothbrush and then put a sticker over it for a bandaid. I thought that was cute.


Kayla was playing with a little hand held broom and was telling me that the bristles were "fickles."

Kayla was playing with this little bus toy with a Barney driver. She told me it was an ice cream truck and that I needed ice cream. Then she ran over to it, crouched down, and told Barney "mommy needs some ice cream please!" It was cute.

One morning around 3am Jared woke up from a nightmare. When I asked him about it he said there was river coming from our bathroom and it carried him away. But then he asked if Jesus could get him because He can walk on the water!

I accidentally scratched Jared with my fingernail and he said "you almost took my blood! I want to keep all my blood!"

And along the same lines,I was walking over Kayla who was lying on the floor coloring and I accidentally stepped her. She said "mommy! I'm not the carpet I'm a kid. You should not step on me!"

Kayla was being really cute and mothering. She was carrying around a doll and saying "shush" and patting its back. Wonder where that came from? Also, when I was nursing, she asked if I would put Logan on her so he could eat her tummy too.

Kayla wanted a "rescue rope" from the show Diego so I gave her some yarn. Then she'd "rescue" stuffed animals from a box including yelling out "pull pull!" She would also put the stuffed animals in a basket and spin them around and then ask them if they were having fun.

Jared was playing with a balloon tied to a string one morning and said; "I'm going to swing this balloon around and I'm not going to get tired!" Of course after a few minutes he stopped and said "pfew, I'm getting tired!"

Jared and Kayla were playing a Christmas gift game. Jared would take a wash cloth and cover up a small toy and then tell Kayla he had a present for her. Then she'd uncover it and they'd both giggle. Then she'd take the wash cloth and cover up a different toy and offer it to Jared. It was funny to see how excited he'd get. It was an amusing game to watch.

Logan at 2 months

What Logan was doing at 2 month old:

- cooing and squeeling
- Smiling socially
- Can see a lot farther (at least 5 ft)
- Gets excited when he hears mama's voice!
- Is starting to be interested in toys
- Can hold his head really steady while being held
- Can hold his head up to a 45 degree angle while on his tummy
- Suck on his hands (although he hasn't quite discovered his hands, they're just conveniently there sometimes)
- "Stands" with support
- Still likes to have his diaper changed
- Still doesn't like pacifiers much
- Wants to be held all the time
- Prefers to fall asleep in a sling while being held

Logan at 1 month

What Logan was doing at 1 month old:
- Wants to be held or cuddled all the time
- Is best soothed by having his back patted
- Is starting to push down with his legs and trying to hold his head up
- Smiles spontaneously
- Grunts a lot!
- Blow bubbles
- Coos
- Grips with his hands randomly
- Seems to like having his diaper changed
- Gets really fussy in the evenings
- Gets the hiccups at least once a day
- Wakes up about 3 times a night

My favorite jammies

I got these baby pjs for my baby shower when I was pregnant with Jared. But he was a summer baby and they were too hot for him to wear. I loved them though, so I put them on him once and took a picture. Then Kayla was a summer baby too, so she only wore them once or twice (it was not as hot that summer). But Logan is a winter baby so he got to wear them at least 8 times before he grew out of them. I love those soft jammies!

First of all, I've taken way too many good pictures of Logan to post them here. It'd either take too long, or would be too hard for me to choose which ones to use, so instead, I'm posting the link to the set of his first month that I have on flickr. I have very much enjoyed being able to photograph a newborn over the last couple weeks! http://www.flickr.com/photos/smileygoldfish/sets/72157628615470429/

Logan got blessed on Sunday. Both sets of grandparents were there as well as Steven and Raime. Neigher my brother Russell or Nathan's sister Tera could make it, but it was still a lovely time.

Nathan must have been distracted by bishopric duties, because when it came time to give the blessing he'd forgotten how to start it. But he recovered and gave a lovely blessing.

Five of us took notes, so I'm pretty sure we got it all:

Dear Heavenly Father,

In the name of Jesus Christ, and by the authority of the Melchezedik Priesthood, which we hold, we take this infant in our arms to give him a name and a blessing. And the name he shall be known by on the records of the church is

Logan Nicholas Webb

Logan, at this time, I would like to bless upon you, as your father, with knowledge. I bless you with knowledge that you have loving parents that care for you. You have an older brother and an older sister to look up to. That you may see the trials they go through and their accomplishments and joys. That you may learn from them and, apply them to your personal live.

I bless you with the knowledge of your savior Jesus Christ. That He has blessed you and everyone with the wonderful gift of salvation. I bless you that you will accept Jesus Christ as your savior and his sacrifice on your behalf. I bless you to be strong in the gospel and to strive to choose the right with knowledge of truths and consequences.

I bless you to be a missionary and to find an eternal companion to be sealed to for time and all Eternity in the house of the Lord.I bless you with the knowledge of your Heritage to know your grandparents and their faith, and also your mother and your father and their faith.And these things we bless you with in the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

It was also a big Sunday because Jared gave a talk in church. Everyone came to the primary to watch, so he had 7 extra audience members. He did great and even did some of the talk on his own from memory. He definitely doesn't have a public speaking problem!