Twelve Days of Christmas

Early in December we received two boxes filled with 12 mailer bags from Aunt Lorina.  The instructions said to open one bag a day beginning December 13th.  Each bag contained a Christmas-themed story and a treat that went with the story.  The stories helped us remember the true meaning of Christmas, and the treats were fun surprises.  Some of the treats were gingerbread-flavored poptarts, lifesavers, ring pops, Christmas tree brownies, cow tails, a pooping sheep (it pooped brown jelly beans...really funny), dollar candy bars, chocolate coins, etc.  This fun Christmas activity made the days leading up to Christmas that much more fun and kept the spirit of the holidays in our home.  We love Aunt Lorina and appreciate the effort she went through to make Christmas so fun for our family.

Christmas Eve

We went to the Bates' house for Christmas Eve again this year.  We had lots of delicious appetizers and treats.  We did a white elephant gift game thing and had fun visiting.  We read our traditional Christmas books before going to bed and the girls opened one gift.  They received new pajamas this year.

The 3 kids in their Christmas pajamas.

All beautified and ready for fun at the Bates' house!

After Santa did his business Christmas Eve night.

Bath Video

Here's a cute video of Levi getting into his bath/sink.  He usually grins so big as soon as his feet hit the water.  He wasn't as smiley in this video as he usually is at bath time, but you get the idea.  



Levi in his Bumbo Video

My friend Amy is letting us borrow her Bumbo until Levi outgrows it.  They didn't have these things when the girls were little.  Apparently it's a seat for floppy babies before they can sit up on their own.  The only problem we have with it, is Levi's thighs are so chunky that we can barely get him out of the thing.  We probably won't be using it much.  Glad I didn't buy one!  Levi isn't smiling in this video because he was tired and ready for a nap, but he's still super cute.  Thought I'd share.

Blessing

Levi was blessed by his dad on Sunday the 9th.  Levi was super crabby just before we left and I was worried he would cry during the blessing, but he just slept. 

The blessing was perfect.  Landon blessed Levi with knowledge...knowledge of how much he is loved by his family and by his Heavenly Father.  He also blessed him with other stuff that I can't remember, but it was very focused on coming to the knowledge of the Savior and the love of God.  I loved that it wasn't a "fortune teller" blessing, which includes everything we want Levi to accomplish in life (mission, marriage, etc.).  If he understands the love of the Savior, he will choose the right and have a blessed life.

Nana got to meet Levi for the first time!

Nana brought a quilt made by Aunt Jeanette!  It is BEAUTIFUL!  I love it.

The back is minkee fabric!  It's heavy duty and will hopefully withstand an active little boy in years to come.

I created this little play area for Levi.  He lays on a boppy covered with a blanket under a little play-yard we bought with a giftcard from the kids in Landon's 3rd grade class.  He spends lots of time there and usually produces a poopy diaper while he's laying there kicking and batting at the toys.

Hanging with his sisters, learning how to become a world-class couch potato like the rest of us!

Wish I could figure out how to eliminate the red-eyes on our crappy camera!

Christmas Classic Ballroom Competition

Saturday was the Christmas Class ballroom competition.  The girls did awesome!!  Lauren won four ribbons and Emma won two.  Nana came to town to watch, so it was even more exciting for the girls.  We spent about 7 hours at the high school sitting on the bleachers watching them (and lots of other dancers).  Landon and I took turns holding Levi while he slept.  It was tiring and painful!  I had to feed him in public, which is challenging.  Luckily Landon scouted out a couch for me twice, and once I fed him on the bleachers in the back.  Overall, it was a fun day and we were so proud of the girls.

This was Lauren's first competition.  She didn't want to even go!  But after she did so well, she's excited for another competition.

Lauren has the flower in her hair.

Emma is experienced at the competitions by this point.  She won 2nd place in the Mambo and 3rd place in the Waltz. 

Lauren placed in every dance she did...(2nd, 3rd, 6th and 8th) cha cha, paso doble, waltz and swing.

Lauren was happy to wear a bun and makeup!  She loved how she looked.

Update and Out of Space

I just found out that I'm using all the photo space that blogger will allow.  I'm going to have to look into how to fix that. 
Thanksgiving break was great, even though Lauren began throwing up at 5:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning and continued to be sick for 5 more days.  She had a fever and threw up for about 2 of those days.  She managed to hit the floor and all of her bedding, more than once.  Landon and Emma helped with Levi and I was able to feel more productive than usual, so I enjoyed the break.  Landon didn't work drivers' ed. the whole break, which was great!  We're all so burnt out on all the hours he works.  We miss him and he's exhausted all the time. 
We found an American Eagle navy, wool peacoat for Emma through the facebook garage sale website.  It is soooo cute!  It was only $20!  She's always wanted one, and she looks so cute wearing it.
Lauren is funnier than ever.  I've started letting her watch some Saturday Night Live skits after I've skimmed through them to make sure they're appropriate.  She also likes to watch some the sitcoms we watch (after I've previewed them).  She gets the jokes and has a great sense of humor. 
Levi is growing and changing every single day!  He just started wearing 6-9 month clothing and he isn't quite 3 months yet.  He loves smiling his huge smile and has stopped being so fussy in the evenings.  He eats almost every hour during the day, but usually will sleep 2 to 3 hours at a time at night (depends on the night).  He is starting to bat at toys, but isn't ready to grab them yet.  He still doesn't really control his hands too much.  He likes to sleep on his stomach, which scares the crap out of us because of SIDS.  We've always put him on his side to sleep, but now he automatically wiggles onto his stomach to get comfortable.  I've begun putting him on his back, but as soon as I walk away, he wakes up.  We're trying all kinds of tricks, but the guaranteed way to get him to sleep is to let him sleep in our bed, which happens most of the time. 

OK, looks like I figured out a way to show pictures without using space.  I made a slideshow.  I didn't have time to make captions, so just figure it out.  There's one picture of our Thanksgiving dinner that Landon and Emma made.  It was delicious!  Enjoy the pictures!