2019 :: week 50

December 8

I momentarily freaked out when I went to check on the boys Sunday night. Elliott wasn't in his bed! At first glance I didn't notice him in Will's bed, but when I turned my phone flashlight on I easily spotted him. Elliott likes to cuddle. Unfortunately he moves a lot while he sleeps, so he is not an ideal bed mate. I debated whether or not I should move him, but moving him seemed riskier than leaving him. Will is a pretty active sleeper himself. It ended up being fine, but we won't make a habit out of it.

December 9

Speaking of active sleepers, Miles is getting much more active himself. He struggles to make forward progress so he often gets his legs stuck in the slats. Also, Anthony and I met at the hardware store over his lunch break Monday afternoon and finally bought our Christmas tree. We did not mean to put off getting a tree, but between our staycation the weekend after Thanksgiving and a tree shortage at Costco we were nine days into December without a tree. Sometimes it pays to procrastinate--they had discounted everything to 75% off and we got our tree for $8.75!

December 10

I really wanted to get a good Santa picture this year for Miles' first Christmas. If I have learned anything in my ten years of being a parent on Christmas it is that you must not procrastinate getting the Santa picture. The farther into December you wait to get "the picture," the more likely you are to put unnecessary stress on your marriage and alienate your children. This year I took the kids right after school three weeks before Christmas and it was perfect. I didn't make Tony come so I didn't have to expend any marital capital (in fact I may have earned some by not having him come!), and because it was so fast we had plenty of time to play with the toys Bass Pro set up to entertain the kids. The kids asked Santa for Nintendo Switch games (Will), accessories for her Our Generation doll (Lauren), and a baseball glove (Elliott). Miles just observed.

December 11

Wednesday morning it was my turn to host our ward preschool group. I had my reservations about joining, mainly because mornings are valuable to me as far as getting stuff done. Once I take Elliott to school in the afternoon my day is a series of timers alerting to me when I need to go pick him up,  then pick up the big kids, and then taking them to their various after school activities. Often, if I don't get it done before noon I won't have time to do it until after the kids are in bed. That being said, I have really enjoyed meeting with friends and doing simple activities with our kids. It has forced me to be more social and helped Elliott overcome some of his anxieties about being apart from me.

December 12

It was super windy when we walked to school Thursday morning. I was talking to Will and his hair was standing straight up! Lauren dropped a paper and was chasing it down when I took this picture. Thursday ended up being a pretty crazy day. After hosting the missionaries for dinner, I headed to book club at Bethany's (we discussed Protecting the Gift) and Tony hosted two of his former co-workers to sauna.

December 13

The little boys and I spent the better part of the school day at Wonderscope with my friend Tara and the boy she nannies Friday. It wasn't crowded and we visited most of the rooms. An unexpected bonus was a table full of donuts, which gave us the energy we needed keep going. Elliott thoroughly enjoyed the art room. Here he is posing in front of his painting of Alex Gordon #4.

December 14

Saturday evening Anthony and I were double booked. Our ward Christmas party was scheduled for the same night at his company holiday party, thankfully the church party started earlier and the work party went much later, so we were able to attend both. I had a great time at both and was particularly touched by the singing at the ward party. In addition to doing a sing-a-long, the children dressed up and sang songs about the birth of Christ. Lauren got to be Mary because she was the first girl in the room when they were handing out costumes, not because her dad is the bishop. Elliott refused to get dressed up, but he sang along loudly from the audience. He also requested more Christmas carols than anyone else during the sing-a-long. He takes Buddy the Elf's advice to heart, "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."