Ward Christmas Party

Saturday was our ward Christmas party. He had to go help out so he was able to take the kids with him while I stayed home with Tad. The kids each got a ticket to the north pole that alloowed them to visit each of the activities.

There was coloring

Ornament Making

And sitting on Santa's lap
And one of Tad, just because he's cute.

Addie's Christmas Sing

The day before Addie's last day of school I was able to go watch her in the Christmas sing. I had told her that I was going to come watch so she started looking for me the second she came in. It's a good thing that my mom and Matt were able to get there early because we were on the second row. Once she found me she was trying really hard not to smile every time she looked at me. It was really cute, they sang "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" and "Jingle Bells."
I was a little worried taking Liam and Tad thinking that Liam was going to be running all over and/or Tad would be fussy. It worked perfectly though Tad slept through the whole thing and Liam loved it. He clapped after every song and stayed right in his seat, which was all the more impressive seeing how kindergarteners were last.

Happy Birthday Kris!

We combined Kris's birthday with Liam's for both sides of the family. I only have pictures from the party with my side though.

Javin winding up to bonk Kris on the head (good thing it was just a card).
After that I took control of the camera for the rest of the presents.

Kris didn't actually get sung to or get to blow out a candle since we did that mainly for Liam so on the morning of his birthday I made orange rolls and put a candle in them. I wanted it to at least feel like his birthday. He was being a goof and blowing out the candle funny to make the kids laugh.

Of course once it was all done Liam started clapping so we were all clapping with him.

Happy Birthday Liam

Given the proximity of my due date to Liam's birthday we really had no idea what to plan in the way of a party. Finally we decided to do two mini parties and combine them with our regular family dinners.

On Liam's birthday I felt bad that even though he didn't realize it was his birthday weren't really doing anything so we gave him the present from us, his own sleeping bag, hopefully when we go camping again he won't sleep on my face anymore.


The day after Liam's birthday we were at my parents for family dinner/family night and added in Kris and Liam's birthday to that. Liam was super excited, he has seen a lot of birthdays and he wanted to sit in a chair and get bonked on the head.
He had the best reaction to his cake ever. He just looked around at everyone with a super excited grin on his face and kept clapping. He never did blow the candles out.

The following Saturday we were down at Kris's parents so Liam got his second party. When we asked if he was ready to open presents he ran to the kitchen and pushed this little yellow stool over. When he got his first present he handed it back to me and told me to open it. He got better as we went on at opening them himself.

Then it was time for cake, take two. He still was super excited and clapped when the singing was over but I think he actually blew out the candles himself this time.

Liam 2 Year

Height: 33 1/4 inches (25%)
Weight: 25.7 lb (20%)

Liam is all boy. I cannot leave him alone for five seconds without him making major mischief. Lately he has been dragging the kitchen chairs all over to get what he wants. The other day we found him standing by the sink saying, "wash, wash, wash." While dumping dish soap in and swirling it around with the scrub brush.

He also learned to open doors the day before I had Tad, I kind of felt like my life was over. As soon as he realized what he could do he came up to me, spit, then said, "time out mom?" Then he took himself to his room shut the door, opened it and yelled, "Boo!" That's one of the hardest things with Liam, even when he is being completely naughty you really have to fight not to laugh at him.

I'll admit that lately he has had an increased amount of time in time out, I think we could blame his increase in tantrums to the new baby. Time out is either the stairs or his room. The other day as I'm in the kitchen I hear him growling, "time out! Don't move!" I came around the corner to see him setting his monkey and bear on the stairs and shaking his finger at him.
Mostly I love the way Liam talks right now. He jumbles his sounds which I think is super cute. Some of my favorite things he says are: dumgops (gumdrops), bunnit (button), ginker (finger), he yells good morning when you open his door in the morning, kankie (blankie), baby cute. He is starting to put together sentences. The other day he came up to me with his hands out and said, "Ninam's baby Tad, cute, have it?"

Tad 2 Week

Height: 21 inches (75%)

Weight: 7lb 7oz (20%)

Head: 36 cm (25%)

We are in full adjustment mode still these days. Tad is starting to have more awake time it's just trying to figure out when he is supposed to be awake. We still occasionally wake up every hour in the middle of the night wanting to eat, or sometimes just wakes up to be awake. Last night he was up for an hour and a half just wide eyed.

The Hospital Stay

To break up the monotony of the hospital stay we had plenty of visitors. Then it was home to the reality of too helpful siblings. Addie and Demzi have been really excited about this baby so it's really not surprising that they want to be constantly holding/poking him. It's their own real live baby doll. Liam tried to just pick him up and walk off with him the first time through the door. Since then he likes to point out eyes, ears, nose, mouth, cheek etc. You have to be more careful with where you leave him sleeping. Liam can climb in the crib and open doors so we've had to invest in a few more child locks.

Tad Keith Benson

Born November 24th 2011 at 10:43am

Weight: 7lb 5oz

Length: 20in

He's Here!

My due date being December 9th it is still crazy to me that Tad is here and a week old already. I was not sure what to plan on with this one. Liam's labor was 2 hrs and 15min from start to finish. If this one were to get shorter then I was sure that I'd be having a baby at home but then I was sure he was going to be a lot longer since that is what I was planning on. On account of my big babies they were ready to strip my membranes at my 38 week appointment to see if they could get this baby to come on his own before my induction date that was set for December 2nd.

I was not entirely hopeful that this would work. They say it only works if the baby is ready and I have been measuring right on or a week small this whole time. My appointment was Wednesday afternoon, Thursday in the early am (3:00) I woke up with my first real contraction. Counter to what I've done in the past though they weren't consistent and were only about 10-15 minutes apart. I lay there timing contractions until about 4:15 when I decided I was going to get up and walk and get them to speed up or stop. By about 5 they were 5 minutes apart but I still gave it another 30 minutes before waking Kris up and telling him I thought it was time to go to the hospital. He asked if I was serious and I said, "I hope so." You'd think by your fourth you'd know but this was a whole different experience to me. I was laughing on the way there thinking they were going to send me home.

Once we got to the hospital they checked me and found that I was at a 4 and had been at a 3 at my appointment on Wednesday so they decided to just keep me. The doctor said as soon as I was sitting comfortably (had my epidural) he would come break my water. Since it was Thanksgiving we had all sorts of delays on that end since everyone was on call and not actually at the hospital so by they time I had an epidural and they broke my water it was 9. It was really quick after that an hour and half later and he was here and perfect.

My biggest fear was that he was going to be too little and that I'd feel guilty having him so early but for 15 days early he was not small. 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 in. So much for measuring small I guess my body just was hiding him some how.

Disney on Ice

A couple of weekends ago Kris's parents took everyone to Disney on Ice. My kids were super excited to be able to go. We went a couple of years ago and Addie has asked a couple of times now when we could do that again. We just got pictures of them waiting for/watching the show. I was a little nervous about Liam, he's still a little young and movies and such don't hold his attention. He was just as intent as everyone else it helps that we had great seats. He struggle coming back after intermission but I almost liked watching him as much as the show. He clapped after everything and was totally excited about it all.

Addie's favorite part was Peter Pan because she said she liked Tinkerbell the best, I think because she flew around.
Demzi's favorite part was Snow White.

Daylight Savings

Daylight savings was rough on this boy. I think for the week following he was waking up at 5 every morning. After day three of this he just crashed one day at 10 (he usually naps at 1) I was trying to get him to wake up so he would still nap later but after ten minutes of trying to get him up I just gave up and put him on the couch hoping the noise of me cleaning and being in there would wake him, it didn't.

The Color Game

Lately every time we get into the car Addie asks if we can play the guess the color game. Pretty much it's I Spy when we used to play this game Demzi was too little/didn't know her colors well enough to participate, but lately she is really funny to play with. The other night as we were playing on the way home from Kris's parents' Demzi was just making Kris and I laugh. One of Kris's turns went like this Kris: "I'm thinking of something that is black, a rectangle and kind of boxy." Demzi: "Our car!" no our car is not black or boxy it happens to be a red minivan. But it didn't matter what the clue was, her first guess was always our car her second guess being her tights. Plus she always repeats whatever everyone else says, when Addie asks what it is and we tell her it's right Demzi asks right after if that is the right answer so she can win too. I have to laugh as she comes up with her clues too, they are usually whatever the person before her has said. Usually she says this without anything in mind and then tells somebody they've guessed it whenever she thinks that they have guessed long enough.

Coloring with Demzi

I love the age when they finally care what they are doing when they color. The other day as we got home from church I asked Demzi what she learned about in nursery. She was super excited to show me her picture saying, "I colored purple since it's a favorite color." So I said, "Oh, purple is your favorite color?" "Well yeah, but it's Jesus' favorite color too mom." I just had to laugh but she had put some real thought into that.
Then there is the coloring in the lines. We have been doing a neighborhood preschool this year and I've noticed that Demzi is more frequently coming with her pictures colored in the lines. Unlike Addie's all green stage Demzi is about lots of colors. This picture she had to come home and finish because she wasn't done and she is very particular about how things are finished.

Halloween Wrap Up

On Halloween Addie was super excited to be able to wear her costume to school. I was excited to be able to go help with her class party. I don't get a chance to go to her class that often with two other kids at home so it was fun to see how she acts in her class and see some of the friends she has told me about.

I got there right in time for the parade.

Then I went to her class and helped out with her party. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of her doing any of the activities since I was in charge of one of the games but she was funny about me being there. When she was at my table she would get shy and try not to smile. Then as the party got over they were telling the bus riders to line up. I told her she could just ride with me since I was already there and she shook her head and got on the bus anyway, she wanted to go with her friends.

Then of course there was trick or treating that night. Even with a trunk or treat and two family Halloween parties my kids were insistent that they needed to go. We let them do our little block, it was perfect weather for it! I remember last year in the freezing cold this year was much better we even took them to my parents neighborhood and let them pick 5 houses. Liam really wasn't sure what was going on but he knew for some reason people were giving him candy. He would walk up to the door, dragging his bag, and then stare at them until they dropped the candy in. Then he'd just walk away, no expression. At least the girls are to the point where they say trick or treat and thank you without prompting. (Oh and never mind the chunk of food in Addie's cheek. She wastes time all through dinner and then she stuffs everything in last minute so she walks around with chipmunk cheeks for the next half hour or so while she works through it all)>

So last random picture, makes me laugh everytime. We had thought we'd get face paint and try to do something to make it look like we'd dressed up. Kris went in and went to work right before our family parties but when it didn't work out as planned he washed it off. He asked if I wanted a picture of it first, the best part is with the flash washing everything out he really looks pretty scary.