About 2 months late

Hunter finally lost the neighbor to his bottom front tooth.  Too bad it didn't happen in time for Christmas, he was really looking forward to singing the song "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"!

But he's so stink'n adorable I think he can sing it anyway.

Fashionista

Katie loves to dress up.  Lately I've been teaching her how to match items to put together an outfit.

She's trying.  

It's still a work in progress :)

New obsession

For Christmas, Coleson and Hunter got a few Calvin & Hobbes books.  It seems to have become a bit of an obsession for them lately. Not unhealthy though.  It's quite common these days to find the boys pouring over a page together or laughing about something silly Calvin's being saying.  I love that they're reading together and bonding together.  I see a lot more Calvin books in our future.

Short visit with grandpa

My dad was able to visit with us for a few days after grandma's funeral.

He took Katie pink shopping- which is her very favorite thing to do right now (I know I'm in big trouble).

And read the kids a few stories.

 

 

 

 

And be here for bedtime. 

Grandma's Funeral

Dad came to visit and take care of things and get ready for the funeral.  Luckily we got to spend a few days with him too.  The kids were thrilled to see their grandpa. 
Since my dad's parents aren't members of our faith (though they were strongly devoted in their own church), the funeral wasn't LDS.  It was ok, but there is such a difference between LDS and non LDS funerals.  The eternal perspective is a major component of our beliefs. I feel so sad for grandpa.  He seems so lonely.  He clung to me today and wanted me nearby.  Even though grandma's daughters came, he isn't close with them.  And grandpa and I have always been so close.  Dad says that he's always been a sucker for me. 
It was hard to say good-bye to grandma, but mostly because I knew that grandpa would be next.  I almost can't stand thinking about it. 

Grandma Amelia

You know how you never really know when something bad is going to happen?  It seems like the worst things usually happen when you're not expecting it.
I was at the tire store today getting new tires put on.  I was in the middle of loading up the kids when my dad called.  I usually try to answer when he calls since he doesn't call that often.  But today he was calling to tell me that my grandma had passed away.  She fell 2 days ago at the nursing home and hurt her head and hip.  Then last night she fell again, but her body wasn't strong even to take another fall.  She passed away shortly after.
I had been expecting a call like that sometime.  I wasn't expecting it today.  But I knew when we had visited on Christmas Eve that that would be the last time I saw her.  I had a very strong feeling of it that day.  We had a nice visit.  I remember not wanting to say good-bye.
I went over this afternoon to be with grandpa.  When I got there he looked empty.  He said, "the love of my life is gone."  And although he didn't cry in front of me, in his eyes I could see his complete sadness.  He gave me a ring that he'd bought for grandma 30 years ago.  She worn the ring every day.  I never saw her without it.  He said she'd wanted me to have it.

Thing 5

So we decided it would be kind of fun to keep our little secret for a little while.  It was fun for a few days- just to be the only ones who knew.  But then we decided to let the kids in on the secret.  They were SO excited!!!!
And since we weren't doing anything with our extended families for a bit, we kept it a secret with just the kids for a bit.  It gave me enough time to order these little iron on prints and make up these cute t-shirts.  Then one Sunday night, Jared just sent his family an email with this photo attached.  No explanation.  It was hilarious as everyone started replying back :)

I was wondering how long it'd take for morning sickness to set it this time.  I didn't have to wait long to find out.  It hit HARD.   Maybe hardest of all the babies so far.  I could really only eat Ritz and Ginger Ale (and oddly brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tarts) there for a while.  Of course, I'd try to eat other things too, but that was all I could eat and not get sick.  Even watching food shows made me sick.  I was really pretty miserable for a while.  But Teresa reminded me that it's a good thing to have enough hormones growing that baby to make you sick.  So, here's to the joy of morning sickness!