2016 :: week 1

December 27

On Sunday I subbed in Lauren's Sunbeam class. I enjoyed spending time with her and seeing her interact with her friends. She was very excited when she found one of the "stepping stones" to Christ under her chair and she got to go to the front of the room.

December 28

Jill and Laura joined us for some FHE hoops at the church. It was really fun. We pumped some Jock Jams/Space Jams tunes while we played several rounds of knockout.

December 29

Tuesday was Anthony's last day off. It was also his birthday. Unfortunately he forgot to not schedule interviews, so he had to be at the church from 6:30-8. We had white chili for dinner, then had no-bake cheesecake ready for him as soon as he got home. Anthony is a great guy. Sensitive husband, gentle father, thoughtful friend. I'm glad he's ours.

December 30

The birthday week continued with my mom's birthday Wednesday. We opened presents and then said goodbye to Laura as she headed back to Utah that night. My mom is a great woman. She's wise and my kids adore her.


December 31

We got together for NYE dinner at the Cooks with the Ferrins and Hoopes. We played "the candy bar game" with the kids. I'm not really sure of the name, but this is how you play. Players sit in a circle. Each person is given a brown lunch sack. and contributes a candy bar to the "pot" at the center of the circle. A timer is set for 10 minutes. Using two die, each player rolls the dice, then passes the dice to their left. If a 1 or 5 is rolled you can pick a piece of candy from the pot and put it in your bag. If a person in the circle has the piece of candy you want you can steal it from them, but you have to say their name and the candy bar you want. At the end of 10 minutes you get to keep what you have. Or in our case share with the little kids who didn't get anything. It is actually pretty fun. There was a very sought after King Size Twix. We left around 8 so Anthony could attend the Youth Dance.

January 1

Anthony and I spent much of the day removing wall paper from our dining room wall. I was hoping that this would be a project that we did completed over Anthony's break, but we barely scratched the surface. We listened to Season 1 of Serial while we scraped.

January 2

Elliott has started to reach for things and grab them, which has made the time he spends on his play mat much more fun. It is exciting to see him be more deliberate with his hands. 

2015 :: week 52

 

December 20

Sunday evening brought more Catan. By now all the Crane visitors had arrived. Jill, Jake and Andrew played a few games with Will before dinner.



December 21

Monday night my parents hosted a Christmas FHE Sing-a-long. I love singing Christmas carols. Will sat on Anthony's lap like he was a puppet as Anthony moved his arms to lead the music.

December 22

Anthony was able to take a week off work to relax and celebrate Christmas with us. After traveling 6 of the previous 8 weeks it was a nice and much needed change of pace. Tuesday we ventured into KC to do Crown Center and Union Station at Christmas. Union Station is at its best during the holiday season. We had a great time hanging out with my family and our kids enjoyed being tourguides. Jill and Jake have really mastered the art of the photobomb.

December 23

We played a lot of games. I can't remember who won this one.

December 24

Cousin shot (minus Tyler) on Christmas Eve. Kids make Christmas fun. And it is nice having someone else pushing to open presents early. ;)

December 25

We told Will he could come down anytime after 7am. I just so happened to be feeding Elliott at that time and right before the clock changed to seven I thought to myself, "I am so tired, maybe we could push it to 8am." It was still dark outside and the house was quiet,  but Mr. Punctual AKA Will came bounding down the stairs at exactly 7am. Santa and his Elves were good to us this year. We had a very pleasant Christmas morning. The kids received a lot of thoughtful presents that they really enjoyed using.



December 26

Will got a HANGMAN board for Christmas and chose H-A-N-G-M-A-N as his word the first few times we played together.



2015 :: week 51

December 13

The heavens opened and it rained all day long Sunday. For some reason rain feels so much more overwhelming when I have to get around in my church shoes and clothes.



December 14

Elliott and I ran some errands while the big kids were in school. Elliott was in a great mood and smiled at me every time he caught my eye. I love looking down at the cart and seeing his happy face. He's a pretty great shopping buddy.

December 15

With Will's birthday fast approaching I asked him to draw a picture of some of his favorite things that happened while he was 5. The Royals are well represented of course, but he came up with some other fun memories as well. From the bottom left:  him going down the slide at the pool, him and his cousin Sadie swinging on the swings at the John Family Reunion in Wisconsin, hitting pitches at the Little K, going on the dolphin cruise in Florida, Christmas tree at Crown Center, finishing preschool and starting kindergarten, visiting the zoo and seeing a polar bear and of course his baby brother. He accidentally wrote "BABY BEAR" when he meant to write baby brother, which caused great tears when he realized it. I love this piece of paper. It is so very Will. I love seeing what events stood out to him this year.





December 16

We received free tickets to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunk movie from our cable company. Who knew The Road Chip was the fourth Alvin movie? Not me. I honestly thought it was the only sequel. Regardless, it was pretty cute and the kids had a blast. Even Elliott. Our friends the Hoopes also got tickets and we sat with them. The kids are wearing the red "A" hats that came in our swag bags. I was planning on taking the kids by myself, but Anthony's trip was cut short and he made it home just in time to go with us. It was a fun way to kick off Will's birthday celebrations.




December 17

Will is 6! His birthday was extra exciting this year as his class holiday party held that afternoon. We went out to Red Robin for dinner, then opened presents and had cake with Memaw, Pepaw, Melanie and Leah. Papa and Nana called and were able to participate in some of the festivities too.



December 18

Friday marked the beginning of Christmas vacation. School got out early and my mom and Melanie watched my kids for me so I could run my last Christmas errands. That night Melanie, Leah and Pepaw joined us for dinner and a movie. We introduced the kids to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.



December 19

The Nielsons sent Will Catan (a version of Settler's of Catan for younger players) for his birthday. He could hardly wait to try it out. Anthony and Will played several games and I joined in for a few. I actually like it better than regular Settlers because it moves a lot faster, though there is less strategy. Will LOVES this game and will play with anyone who is interested.

2015 :: week 50

December 6

While watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional Anthony and I stuffed and began addressing our Christmas cards. Unfortunately I didn't touch the cards for another two weeks...December was busier than I expected. And Elliott's sleeping took a serious step back. I felt like the walking dead for a good portion of the month.

December 7

I did a vast majority of my Christmas shopping online this year (as did much of our family). When items arrived I put them in the corner of my room to wrap later. The boxes really started to pile up.



December 8

Lauren looking how I felt most mornings. Elliott stated teething and caught a cold, making for very bad sleep for a good portion of the month. Lauren's exhaustion was her own doing. She routinely sneaks toys into her bed to play with after she's been tucked in. The other morning I found about 30 duplos in her bed.



December 9

It was hard to feel like Christmas was coming when the temperatures were in the high 50s and low 60s for several days in a row. We met up with Will's good buddy and his family at the park one afternoon to take advantage of the sunshine.

December 10

Will is such a great brother. He is so helpful when I need him to be. He grabs burp cloths, helps Elliott with his pacifier and plays with him when he needs some extra attention. As Elliott gets older he looks more and more like baby Will to me.

December 11

I took the kids to the zoo Friday afternoon after we picked up Will from school. I keep mentioning the warm weather, but it was a major factor in our activities this week. It was our fourth visit to the KC Zoo since we got our pass in August and the first time we were able to see the rhino. It was a great visit to the zoo.

December 12

Anthony and I ended up spending all day working in our yard. It was forecasted to be the last dry, warm day for awhile and we had accumulated thousands of leaves in our yard. While we raked, sucked, blew and trimmed the kids entertained themselves with our various outdoor toys.

2016 :: week 4

January 17

The "animal book" is one of the ways we bribe motivate the kids to get ready for bed. When time permits, we read about an animal or two from the book Will got for Christmas. We do that last in hopes of speeding up the steps in the bedtime routine. It has been fairly effective, but Anthony dislikes that an additional step has been added to the night. The kids are always looking to prolong bedtime.

January 18

Lauren has an incredible imagination. She loves to play with figures--Little People, My Little Ponies, animals, Polly Pockets, Lego minifigures, etc. She sets up elaborate houses and towns and will play with them for hours. Anthony and I spent a lot of Monday working on wallpaper removal and other household chores and Lauren entertained herself pretty much all day long. I went up to her room to double check on her a few times and each time she was engrossed in her play.

January 19

 On Wednesday of this week I got to read a book to Will's class. On Tuesday afternoon we went to the library to pick out a book for me to read (apparently the books we own weren't good enough). Will picked out a Wild Kratts easy reader. Not exactly the fun storybook I envisioned myself reading to the class, but I was doing it for him so Wild Kratts it was. Turns out several kids in the class are also big fans of the Wild Kratts so it was a better choice than I initially thought.  Both of the kids really love learning about animals. Will is a sponge with all animal related information. Lauren wants to be a zookeeper when she grows up with Will and Elliott serving as her resident biologist and veterinarian.

January 20

Lauren and I had a difficult time getting along on Wednesday. Will did his best to lighten the mood as we were getting ready for bed. Sometimes it's hard to be four. And 32.

January 21

It snowed twice this week. Tuesday it was light and powdery and melted quickly. Thursday it snowed fat, wet flakes most of the day. After we shoveled the driveway we met some friends on the hill by the school for a little sledding. The big kids had a blast (Elliott not so much). We practically had to drag Will and Soren home.

January 22

Friday was our ward's Soup and Bread Night. I had grand plans to make homemade rolls and a white chicken chili, but then late Friday night I got a migraine. It was the first one I've had since Elliott was born. It was strange how fast it came. I felt perfectly fine while I was out sledding with the kids, but within a few hours I felt nauseous every time I stood up. Anthony arrived home from DC in the nick of time and was able to help with the kids while I slept. I felt good enough to go the ward activity (it was a good one--well attended with lots of good food) but only snapped this one picture of Will pretending to be Elliott as we were getting ready to go.



January 23

Saturday was a day of running errands and getting caught up around the house. We went to a baptism for Katie (the girl I used to work with one-on-one in primary) and on the way home put air in our tires. Our mirror is cracked, but not because we ran into something. I am clumsy and knocked it loose,, then dropped it on the ground while I was trying to reattach it.

2016 :: week 3

January 10

Sunday night we ate a delicious dinner of roasted chicken with my parents. We had ward conference, which means it was a much busier Sunday than usual. Both Anthony and I had meetings before and after church (he had more). My parents really saved the day by helping with the kids so we could both go to our respective meetings. Despite the long day, I really enjoyed church and felt inspired to be better. Anthony spoke about the need to cultivate charity in our lives and in relief society our lesson was about knitting our hearts together in love, patience and tolerance for one another.

January 11

The kids said goodbye to Anthony and he left for his first of many (already scheduled) trips of 2016. The week had its ups and down as all weeks without him do. I implemented a new bedtime routine and it was fairly successful. I am feeling much more optimistic about his upcoming travel.

January 12

Tuesday we met up with the half-day friends at the mall play place. The boys had fun playing together, but it got fairly rough. I find watching boys play together fascinating. They hit each other. And try to knock one another down. And then let someone else do the same thing to them. I was NEVER physical with my friends, but Will and these buddies love to battle--be it zombies, jedi knights, dinosaurs--and have no qualms about wrestling each other to the ground. Lauren and the other little sister that tag along usually steer clear, though the boys are never rough with them.



January 13

Lauren has started wrapping her blankets around her waist as if she was a princess. She loves having a long train and occasionally will drape a blanket over her head too like a bride's veil.

January 14

And just like that he is rolling all over the place. I first noticed him purposefully rolling from back to front about a week ago. Thursday morning I was reading on the couch with him resting on his play mat. I stepped out of the room for a few minutes and had to do a double take when I returned. Where was Elliott?! Only about three feet away from where I had left him. He had rolled over a few times until he got stuck at the couch. He was so pleased with himself. When we made eye contact he gave me his biggest grin.

January 15

Elliott is now eating rice cereal about twice a day, and will really only will eat it if we make it with pumped milk. When I fed him Friday night he would drop his jaw and open his mouth so wide when he was ready for another bite. He has learned the unfortunate lesson from his older siblings that loud squawking is the most effective way to quickly get my attention. There was plenty of that while I was trying to feed him, make dinner and keep up with the big kids' requests while we were waiting for Anthony to arrive home Friday evening.

January 16

The Patriots and the Chiefs played each other for the chance to go to the AFC Championship game. I was hoping it would a repeat of the Monday Night Football game Anthony and I went to in September of 2014, unfortunately it was not. The Chiefs put up a good fight, but it was not enough to stop the defending champs. I compared Tom Brady to Derek Jeter (both hawk beauty products) to make myself feel better, but it didn't faze Anthony one bit. We tried to play Bananagrams with Will while we watched, but it proved more difficult than I anticipated. Will is better at reading than spelling at this point and needed a lot of assistance.

2016 :: week 2

**I know I have missed a few weeks. I have been having problems with my computer and downloading photos.

January 3

The first Sunday of the new year means new primary classes for Will and Lauren. Will is now a CTR 6 with Sister Clay and Sister Paul as his teachers. Lauren is a CTR 4 with Sister Githens and Sister Matos as her teachers. I took a picture of the CTR rings they received because it is only a matter of time before they get misplaced.

January 4

The kids got along so well the last day of winter break. They peacefully painted together for close to an hour while I worked on scraping the wallpaper off our dining room walls.

January 5

Back in the grind. Tuesday marked the first day of the second semester. When I realized the kids had 17 days off I wasn't sure if we would survive, but survive we did. And well. But Elliott and I still enjoyed our quiet morning together after we dropped off the big kids at school.

January 6

Family selfie at McDonalds. We joined one of Lauren's preschool classmates for $2 Happy Meal Wednesday. We usually do playdates with Will's friends, and I am trying to put forth more effort towards Lauren's social needs as well.

January 7

Elliott is starting to really fill out and I love it! He is a much taller baby than Lauren was, so the rolls on his legs are taking a bit longer to show up.

January 8

Lauren is getting very good at getting herself ready in the morning. Unfortunately she still struggles a bit with getting things on frontwards. She struggles the most with legging type pants where there is no zipper and shirts where the design is the same on the front and back. She also doesn't like to fix them. Once they're on, they're on.

January 9

Both Will and Lauren got invited to birthday parties at the same time on Saturday. Anthony took Will and Elliott to the twins party at McDonald's and I took Lauren to her preschool friend Vivian's party at Wonderscope. Both kids were excited for their respective parties, but Lauren's anticipation was almost off the charts. For the past few mornings one of the first things she would ask me was if it was the party day. It was fun to see Lauren interact with her friend. And yes, she did wear the same shirt two days in a row.