Goodbye 2012

Here we are again.  It's the end of another year.  This is the time when we look back on the previous 365-ish days and see what has changed, for better or worse.  For our family, 2012 was a big year! It was filled with firsts, accomplishments, changes and adventure. 

In January, Jonah turned 8 years old and was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Also in January, I caved and we got a dog.  He's a miniature schnauzer named Henry.

In February we took the kids on their very first trip to Disneyland!  They still talk about it at least once a week and we can't wait to go back. 

In August, I finished up the last semester of my Bachelor of Science degree in Family Life Studies.

 Also in August, we moved from Magna to St. George.  It was a hectic, whirlwind of a move, but we made it and we really like it here. 

And in October we added sweet Abram to the family!

It really was quite the year.  Looking forward to 2013, we really don't have any grand plans like we did for 2012.  Nate's parents gave us a National Parks year pass for Christmas so we'll be exploring as many as we can.  Other than that, the plan is to just go with the flow and enjoy this beautiful, crazy thing we call life. 

Happy New Year!

Abram's Blessing

We had Abram's baby blessing this last Saturday, December 29th.  Rather than bless him in sacrament meeting, we decided to do it at the clubhouse here at our townhouse complex.  It was really nice to have our family and some friends there and to be able to visit immediately afterwards.  Nate and I were really surprised and touched by how many came to show their love and support for our family.  Those attending included: My mom, my sister Sarah, my dad and step-sister Allie, Nate's parents and sisters, his brother Andrew, Grandpa Barnum, Uncle Dean and Aunt Kat, Nate's cousins Micheal, Elizabeth, and Rebecca and their families, Uncle Dan and Aunt Julie, Bishop Jones and his wife Jean, and our friends the Hightowers. 

Abram looked so handsome in his little white outfit and he was in a great mood!  Nate gave a sweet and simple blessing and then we all had some food and did some chatting. 

Four generations of Barnum men.  From left to right: David (Nate's father), Nate holding Abram, Andrew (Nate's older brother), and Odean (Nate's grandfather)

This one's a bit blurry, ugh.  This is our little family with our parents, siblings, and Grandpa Barnum.

Our handsome boy! 

Proud parents!  Can you tell that Nate was a little tired of having his picture taken?  This is his "take the picture so I can stop smiling" smile. 

Making the cut!

Jayne was born with beautiful, naturally curly hair.  As it's gotten longer, the curls are just at the bottom and it has gotten more and more difficult to comb out.  Since our little wild woman doesn't like to have her hair braided and barely lets us put it in a ponytail, the tangles can be quite a challenge.  I've put off cutting her hair because I really didn't want to see the curls go.  She gets so many compliments on how beautiful her long, curly hair is. 

However...fighting with her every day to try to brush it out was getting exhausting for both of us.  So, the other night after her bath we were sitting down to start tackling the tangles. Jayne started crying and I looked at the mess of hair before me and finally decided that enough was enough.  I asked Jayne if we should just cut all the tangles off.  To my surprise, she said yes! 

We put her hair in a low ponytail and I chopped it off.  I did my best to make it even.

The next day, we went to Great Clips and had them clean it up and add some layers.  Jayne loves it!  No more ratty tangles!

Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful, laid back Christmas.  As per our policy, we'd stayed home on Christmas Day.  It wasn't hard to do now that we live farther away from family.  The kids all got plenty of fun gifts, including new bikes, and we enjoyed a surprise visit from Nate's brother Tyler, his wife Rebekka and their son Quinn. 

Nate worked hard to get the bikes all put together on Christmas Eve.  We had a close call when we couldn't find the right size tool, but after some digging it turned up.  Phew! 

Jonah with his new bike.  This kid loves to ride!

The girls have matching bikes.  Neither of them has learned to ride a bike before, hence the training wheels.

Lilly asked for a "teddy bear as big as me!"  I think the one Santa brought is pretty darn close.  She named it Giant and drags it all around the house to cuddle with.

The kids with their cousin, Quinn.  Yes, he is their only cousin.  Since Tyler is in the Army, we hadn't seen them in about three years.  The kids had a ball playing together and Nate and I loved visiting and catching up with Tyler and Rebekka.  I wish I could say that it won't be another three years before we get together again, but they're moving to Maryland in a month or two and they'll be there for a few years. 

Aunt Rachel sent the kids some new slippers for Christmas.  Jonah was particularly excited that the slippers so perfectly match his new pajamas!

Abram got lots of fun new toys! This cute elephant is also from Aunt Rachel. 

Lilly and Giant, love at first sight!

This picture about sums up our day.  I just love watching the kids play together.

Teacher Gifts

So, you know how lots of kids, well really it's probably the kids' moms, get their school teachers cute little gifts for Christmas?  They tend to be handmade or a gift card or something thoughtful.  Well, I've never really been one of those moms.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my kids' teachers and am so grateful for what they do.  I've just never been the type to think ahead and get or make something for the kids to give them. 

Well, it was the night before the last day of school before Christmas break.  It's bedtime.  The kids are ready to go to bed, they're just waiting for me to finish feeding Abram and then it's off to sleep.  Jonah and Lilly are in the kitchen getting crafty, as they often do, when I hear the following:

Jonah: "Let's make something for our teachers for Christmas!"
Lilly: "Okay."

About ten or twenty minutes later they emerged from the kitchen, faces beaming, so proud to show me what they had made for their teachers for Christmas.  Are you ready for this? 

Lilly made this beauty.  It's Sacajawea with pencil arms. Yes, her dress is made of toilet paper and parts of a plastic grocery bag and the pencils are Halloween ones.

Jonah made a fish in a fishbowl.  He suspended the fish from the lid so that it would look like it is swimming, but there wouldn't have to be any water in it.

Part of me was screaming, "You can't possibly let your kids give these to their teachers for Christmas gifts!  Not when they'll be getting all kinds of lotions, gift cards, and cute little mugs with apples on them! You're such a slacker mom!"

 But then I realized that these are the best kinds of gifts.  Something they thought of and created all on their own for someone they love. 

Lilly proudly put a bow on top of Sacajawea and presented her to her teacher.  And because she has such a wonderful teacher, Lilly was told how beautiful the doll is and how thoughtful it was of her to make it.

  Jonah, on the other hand, decided at the last minute that he really just wanted to keep his creation.  He has a wonderful teacher too, but sometimes you just can't part with your really cool fake fish in a jar. 

Christmas lights on a Sunday night

Last Sunday evening, we decided to take a little stroll around the town square by the library and enjoy the Christmas lights.

Jonah's Christmas Play

At the kids' school, the entire third grade put on a Christmas program.  Jonah's part was a "reindeer rapper".  His group did a little dance to their song "Hip Hop Reindeer".  The program was called "North Pole Diaries".  They performed twice at school, once for the afternoon kindergarten classes and once for the rest of the school.  They also did a parent performance last Wednesday night.  We got there early enough for front row seats.
It was fun to watch.  Jonah is a very serious performer and I don't think he smiled the entire time.  He gets so focused on remembering the words and doing the right actions that smiling just doesn't happen.  I tried to get a video of his song, but Abram started fussing and wiggling. Nate was working and I just don't have enough hands!
I did get a picture of him in his costume. 

The girls wanted to take a picture on the stage.  This was the day after Jayne's tonsillectomy, hence the pajamas.  

After the program, we got some ice cream cones and headed over to pick up Nate.  Jonah was so proud of himself and his classmates for remembering all the words and doing so well. I was glad to finally know where all these strange songs that my kids had been singing for the past few weeks had been coming from.  Jonah sang them so much at home, that the girls knew all the words too!

Jayne's Tonsils

On Tuesday, December 18th, Jayne had her tonsils and adenoids removed.  You may remember the lovely abscess she developed in her throat during a particularly nasty bout with strep that landed her in Primary Children's Hospital for four days this past July.  Since then she has been sick several times and often complaining of a sore throat. 
We decided to take her to an ear, nose, and throat specialist who was recommended to us by some new friends in the neighborhood.  She wasn't sick on the day of her appointment and the doctor said that her tonsils were huge and he could only imagine how large and sore they'd be when she was ill if they were that big when she was well.  He said that she was sort of on the fence as far as absolutely needing a tonsillectomy right away.  He recommended it, but also said we could wait it out and see how she does for the next six months or so. 
With Nate's history of illnesses and his experience with waiting to have his tonsils removed until he was an adult, we decided to just go ahead and have them taken out now rather than have her endure more sickness.  Plus, if we're being honest, we've already met and way exceeded our $3000 deductible for this year and figured we should do it now when it will be the least costly for us.  Knowing our luck, a few months into the new year she'd be sick again and we'd need to get them out. 
I accompanied Jayne to the surgery center that morning.  She was the first on the schedule, so we had to be there at 6:45AM.  We'd talked about the surgery and my mom had sent a really cute book called "Goodbye Tonsils" which we had read several times.  The thing Jayne was worried about most was the "poke" when they put in the IV.  She was so relieved to find out that they wouldn't be putting the IV in until after she was asleep. 
The whole surgery took about 30 minutes and we were home by a little after 9:00.  Jayne did great with her recovery.  She hardly fussed or cried at all.  She was just tired and wanted to be held. 
Now, almost a week later, she's doing well.  Her throat still hurts a bit, but as long as we stay on top of her pain medication she does great.  She's getting tired of "soft foods", but we're holding out on the crackers and pretzels for a few more days at least. 

All ready for her surgery!

Resting at home.  Grandpa and Grandma Barnum and Aunt Emily came to visit and brought her this soft, cuddly teddy bear.

Fun in the snow

Now that we live in southern Utah, winter is an entirely different ball game than what we are used to.  We only need coats in the early morning or late evening.  We no longer own a snow shovel and can get in our an in the morning without spending 20 minutes de-icing it.  While Nate and I are thoroughly enjoying this warmer version of winter, the kids are missing the snow. 
Of course, for them snow is all fun and games.  They play in it, make snowmen and snow angels, and even enjoy helping clear off the vehicles and the driveway.  So now that it's almost Christmas, they have been asking about playing in the snow.
 Last Sunday we decided to take a drive to Pine Valley so the kids could play in some snow.  It took us a while to figure out where we had packed away all of the snow clothes, hats, and such.  It was a beautiful drive and the kids had a great time playing in the snow. 

This look says it all.  Nate simply does not like snow. 

These three on the other hand.....LOVE snow

Jonah taking aim at me with a snowball.  He used to love bombarding me with snowballs while I tried to shovel the driveway.  Of course, I always retaliated. =)

The girls tried to build a snowman, but they ended up with more of a snow "mound"

It was great to be able to go play in the snow and then come home where it's not quite so freezing cold and there's no driveway to clear.  It also helped us get a little more in the mood for the upcoming holidays. 

All I Want for Christmas....

Lilly is sporting a new smile these days.  She has been in a tooth-loosing frenzy these last couple of months!  When she noticed her latest loose tooth, she came to me and said, "Not again! I'm not going to have any teeth left!"  Luckily, new ones are already starting to grow in. Until then, she can sing that age-old classic, "All I Want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" and maybe the two on the bottom as well.