Christmas/post Christmas road trips/ the NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2017 was so much fun. Crew being 1 year old didn't quite understand much of what was happening but he loved being with people and was a little trooper taking naps in random places on Christmas eve and on Christmas day. He got this stuffed Lion from my mom which he is OBSESSED with and tons of new cute "brain" toys from his grandma peg. I got him a lot of boring books haha but he actually really loves books. I think he'll end up liking them. Grandma Pat got him blocks, a sports toy, and tons of other toys. He was SPOILED. And I have no clue where it will all fit in my house. He'll love it though.

We had a new Christmas dinner with assorted soups and salads and wheat rolls. We are all trying to eat healthier which we all need to be so I'm glad for that. We also got to present this hilarious video we filmed at the crack of dawn in 2 degree weather in Snohomish in hick clothes for my grandpa and it was well worth it. It was actually super fun creating it haha. OH and I almost forgot! We got to talk to TANNER! It was the best. I felt bad for him cause he got to watch the video we made without him :( but he comes home SO soon. I can't wait for the gang to all be back together again. And for him to get to hang with my baby and meet him in person finally. It'll be the greatest. ALSO, Jake taught Crew how to walk and he took like 5 steps by himself. <3

Post Christmas road trips were super great! Except for the time on the road haha Crew is just at that hard age where he doesn't love being rear facing in the car for 5 hours. Makes sense. We headed to Ephrata the 26th which was only supposed to be a 2.5/3 hour drive. It took FIVE (crying face). Luckily Crew (who was sick like 24 hours earlier) was an angel. He slept for like two hours and just hung out after that. We ate in Ellensburg at The Palace (not the best food we've had) then went to Ephrata. Such a tender mercy that Crew was good for that. 

In Ephrata we got to say goodbye to a family friend of Damon's (Tucker) who is headed off on a mission soon. He's going to Ohio (near Tanner). We, of course, ate at TimeOut which didn't disappoint. Then we got to hang with Mag, Anna, and the Hansen crews. It was good seeing them all! Crew slept better there than he did over Thanksgiving which was nice. 

After Ephrata, we went up to the Lake. It's a pretty drive! It was a super relaxing time there. Just my parents and us three. Crew had a hard time sleeping there which was extra hard on Damon because Crew mainly only wanted him at 3am and 6am (sorry Dame). I got a lot of rest actually! haha Except on the day Dame needed to drive us home (i'm not that mean). One of the days we drove to town to rent a movie and we had to stop 3 or 4 times for families of DEER! It was so cool. I really love the wildlife up there. Unfortunately, we saw one deer... well one half of a deer out on the ice with its guts exposed. The next day we drove the quads out to see it and my dad drove on some thin ice and (we thought) almost sunk in the water but I guess it was super shallow anyways. It was scary then, super funny now haha. The next night Crew had a nightly waking and I heard this meow moan sound. I look out the window and have Dame come check it out too. We spot an animal on the ice. Wow I sound like I'm the narrator to Planet Earth right now haha. Anyways, we see this animal and assume its either a coyote or a cougar. Which we think most likely killed the poor bambi still chilling on the ice (that will soon turn into the lake water we let our children swim in). Hopefully other animals will take it away from the water for us. 

It really was a fun trip though. The ride home was pretty good! Crew slept all the way to Wenatchee which is about 2.5ish hours which was really nice. Then we ate at this super good place called McGlinns. It was SO good. I got this BLT thing and Damon got this yummy chicken burger and we shared the most amazing Peanut Butter Cheesecake pie. It was so delicious. Crew had a harder time after that in the car but we finally made it home! 

New years eve is tonight! Goals for me: not as many sweets until the Cruise (except on my birthday of course), and to get more mentally and spiritually healthy. Goals for Damon: enjoy life with the family even more. Goals for Crew: LEARN TO WALK haha He actually made such good progress this last weekend at the lake!

12.31.17

its almost CHRISTMAS

It's almost Christmas and I thought my little guy would be walking by now! hahahah I think its so funny how fast he crawls and just how fast he gets anywhere. He slides down the stairs seriously so quicky. He straightens his arms and legs and just slides on down. I try to get him to practice walking and he just bends his knees to crawl haha. He walks more with Chelsi than me! Thankfully, he is starting to stand all by himself so I think he is getting closer. We have a family trip planned in January and we thought for sure he would be walking but who knows honestly haha.

Lately I've been trying to get all healthy and whatnot. I did not realize how much nursing was helping me out with staying small! Once I stopped nursing I gained like 5 pounds super quick. Hopefully I can lay off the sweets but its SO hard this time of year. It's also hard trying to determine what is and isn't healthy. All the sudden meat is like bad for you according to some people! And the world renowned What the Health Documentary says that eating 1 egg a day is as bad for you as smoking 5 cigarettes a day. I still eat eggs, and chicken, and I'll probably still eat ground turkey too! We'll see if I get lung cancer.

We are almost all done with the little sickness that hit our ENTIRE family. It'll be perfect timing for Christmas!

winter sickness

Crew came down with a sickness a couple days ago. He had a runny nose then that night we went to WildLights at the Zoo so that probably didn't help much. Whoops. He loved it though.

Ever since I heard that uncured strep can be really bad for your lungs, I've brought Crew in to make sure he only has a cold and not strep. This time when we brought him in, the nurse took the test by choking him with a cotton swab and he threw up! It was so sad. Already not feeling well with a fever, cough, and runny nose and then he threw up. Thankfully the strep test came back negative! I caught the same sickness and my throat is super scratchy so I'm glad that I can be at rest that it isn't strep.

We were planning on heading over to Ephrata to see Damon's family this weekend. We like to go over there to celebrate the holidays with them before Christmas. Unfortunately, the pass was really really snowy. We just aren't willing to risk taking that dangerous drive. It worked out because I doubt they would want us there anyways because we all got sick! 

This Christmas season has been good so far. We got to bring warm cookies over to the neighbors with a Light the World Card the missionaries gave us, we got to feed the missionaries chicken pockets and peppermint bark, we got to write letters to some people we haven't talked to in a while, we sent out Christmas cards, we got to bring Crew to visit Santa, we brought some clothes to the DI truck, I got to take my friend to her OB doctors appointment who actually ended up having her baby that day, and since then, we've been sick so hopefully once we get better we can continue making this Christmas season special.

Crew has brightened my Christmas season so much. It has been a rough couple months due to some personal trials but his little scrunch face smile just lightens my world every time. He is such a little dancer too. He dances to all of his toys that make noise, to tunes playing in the store, and to anything we put on. He in particular has really loved when I play Taylor Swifts country albums haha. 

We can't wait to talk to our missionary in a week and can't wait for him to come home in MAY!

12.18.17

oh my ... personality has arrived

My little sweetie is now only a little sweetie when he wants to be. He has opinions now! When he doesn't want to be held by you he will push your face away (pretty much hit you in the face). When I tell him "no no" he doesn't know what to think of it. Sometimes he laughs at my reaction to it and does it again. Sometimes he gives me the very intense eyebrow glare. I'm not sure what to do with this guy. I think maybe I should just ignore him but thats not really teaching him anything about "hitting."

Most of the time Crew is really happy! He is seriously so hilarious lately. He has another new face where he pushes his lips together and tries to blow raspberries. He doesn't really hit that much anymore (I wrote that first paragraph a week ago).

He is getting more and more mobile too! He will stand for a couple seconds and will really scale the furniture.

Sleep is going semi okay! He recently has changed from two naps to one nap. He has been sleeping pretty well at night too so I'm hoping he is now comfortable will a longer wake time. (He's been sleeping through the night ever since he was about 1 years old).

He loves climbing the stairs, going in a room, and closing the door. He is still OBSESSED with his dad. He loves going outside and looking at lights. He's the best.

Lately, we haven't been up to much! Crew and I did some swim lessons. He was so fun! He loves the water.

We did go to Ephrata for Thanksgiving. Traveling during the day was a mistake. Crew really did not like being in the car seat for that long. He didn't take a nap in the car until the last 20 minutes of the trip either. We arrived to Ephrata and it was great. Night time wasn't too bad. He slept for an hour or two in the pack and play but then was up throughout the night. He ended up sleeping with us which didn't last too long. It wasn't as bad as it sounds! The next day was good too! I made a pie with Peggy and dinner was yummy. We ended up having to leave that evening because it was going to snow on the pass the entire night. Traveling at night was the way to go! Crew almost slept the whole time but woke up a couple times upset. It was a lot better than the way there.

We went for a little walk around the neighborhood to show Crew the Christmas lights. Crew LOVES looking at them. He's so cute.

12.06.17