Santa's Workshop

Our ward Christmas party this year was Santa's Workshop. It was mostly for the kids and held in the morning, which I loved. Usually it coincides with other holiday parties we are invited to, which sometimes prevents us from being able to go. Plus, my kids are the most well behaved in the morning, so we didn't have to deal with cranky, tired kids. They had a few different stations set up: ornament building, card making I believe, and cookie decorating. We never made it past the cookie station. Brody was having too much fun.

His finished product.Once he was finished, it was time for Santa to arrive. We had been prepping Brody for this moment because we have never actually been close to Santa. While standing in line, he was perfectly fine, possibly a tad timid. And now the moment has arrived and it is our turn to sit on Santa's lap. . . . . . . And here are the classic pictures. Brody hugged John for dear life and buried his face in John's shirt. Then there is Piper. She was completely calm until I passed her over to Santa and then she went ballistic. We created quite a scene. Everyone seemed to love it though.Once he calmed down and had his ring pop from Santa (good choice Santa - those are Brody's favorites) it was back to the table for more cookie decorating.Brody went a little crazy with this toppings on this one. Luckily, he never really ended up eating it or I would have had to suffer through his severe sugar detox.After the party, we headed up to John's uncle Doug's house for the Brown Christmas brunch. Everyone was already there when we got there. We had a lot of fun visiting with all the family, including the Davis' who we don't see very often. The food was delicious too and thanks to Sharon for making it all. Afterward, we spent some of the day at John's parents house before heading home and relaxing the rest of the day. It was all a fun start to the holiday season!

Barbara Thelma Yelvington Boyd 1919-2009

On Saturday, December 5, 2009, my Grandma Boyd died at the age of 90. Two months shy of her 91st birthday, which is on February 5. We were all so lucky to have her in our lives. She was a wonderful example of charity and love towards all people. She was an amazing mother, grandmother and homemaker. Grandmother was a very well known baker of pies, cakes, and her infamous divinity. I think I remember that most about her. She made many of our families wedding and grooms cakes. We all laugh as we remember her traveling with cake layers stashed in her suitcase or on her lap. She made our groom cake for our wedding that everyone raved about. I will always remember her visits to our home in California growing up and the times my sister and I flew to Florida to visit her and the family. We always had so much fun. I was lucky enough to talk with her Thanksgiving week before she passed. I am so glad that she is now reunited with my Grandpa Boyd and her family. I can't wait for the time when I can see her again. Love you Grandma!

I flew out to Florida the following weekend to be with the rest of my family. John was kind enough to watch the kids all weekend. I traveled all day Friday with a layover in Dallas and finally meet up with my Dad, and brother and sister in Orlando as they had just flown in from Utah. That night was the viewing and, after not being able to find the funeral home because we lost the directions (thanks Lindsey!) and listening to my crying nephew Easton, we finally made it there at the very end of the night. Normally, viewings are very sad affairs, but it was wonderful time to be reunited with all my family again.

Lindsey and I were fortunate enough to sleep at my Uncle Bill and Aunt Anne's house, where as the rest of the family mostly stayed at my Grandma's house. While we may have missed a lot of the late night girl talk, which I would have loved, we had uninterrupted nights sleep (well, maybe just me since Lindsey had her 4 months old with her), amazing breakfasts each morning by my Uncle Bill, bathrooms all to ourselves, and wonderful company. That was enough to convince my brother to come stay with us. Thanks again Bill and Anne!

Saturday morning was the service at her church building. I was completely fine emotionally up to the point until all of our family were gathered one last time before the service. I lost it. I think it was the time when I really realized that she will no longer be with us here on earth again. The service was beautiful though with so many great talks. I remembered and learned so many wonderful things about my Grandma. It really made me to reflect on my own life and the legacy I want to leave. I vowed to be a better person and to not be afraid to try anything. It seemed that was the kind of women she was, not afraid to do it herself, which is why she was so successful at so many things.

After the service, Dennis, Lindsey, my dad, and I followed the procession in our car to the grave site. That was definitely an adventure in itself, or at least we made it one. Just think 20 to 30 car precession line driving about 20 miles an hour amongst busy roads= a great Seinfeld episode. :)

My sister Lindsey and I.This is a funny picture. It looks like my brother Dennis is posing in front of this headstone, but it really wasn't that way. The grave site wasn't as close as it appears. Too funny. Cousins Zan and Michelle, Lindsey, and Aunt AnneMy cousins Ashley and Caitlyn.My "cool" cousins John and Brandon.My cousins Angie and Darby.Cousin Paula and Michelle.After the memorial, we went back to the church for the amazing and delicious luncheon that awaited us. It was like Christmas, the food was that good. It turns out the women in her ward took recipes from my Grandma's cookbook and made them all. I thought that was a wonderful idea for a tribute to her.
Just some of the laughs we all had together. I have quite a few cousins if you haven't noticed already. Not one of us brought our spouses or children (except Lindsey) and we had so much fun. It was like being back 20 years ago.Denny, my dad and Easton.Uncle Richard and my dad having a laugh.

And there is my Grandma Boyd working away at the the desert table.The beautiful bouquet from all of the grandkidsSome of my beautiful cousins Angie, Jen, and Darby hanging at Grandma's house.

Jen and cute Easton. He definitely got all the attention being the only baby around.

Grandma Boyd was also a great painter. This one is one of my favorites of hers.

Each of us were able to take one of her paintings home among other things of hers. I love the one I have that now hangs above my kitchen table. I think of her whenever I look at it.

All About Brody

Brody is one funny kid. He cracks John and me up all the time. He is quite the talker too and at times will talk your ear off. Here is some of the funny things he has been saying lately.

-"Oh, I got it!" - He says it like he is asking a question and does so almost after everything we talk about.
-"Stop it!" - whenever he doesn't like something.
- "Last night" - He is learning the concept of time and thinks that everything was "last night" or even "last week".
- "What Mommy/Daddy what?" We hear this a lot when he wants to know what we are talking about. Then you have to look at him and repeat it loud enough or he will keep asking it.
- "Because" - Almost every answer is this.
- " I so excited!" He loves this phrase probably because we ask him if he is so excited where ever we go that he has caught on.
- "I want that for Christmas" - Too bad it is already over, but I will remember that for next year Brody.
- Another funny thing he does is repeat whatever we have just said to him, but slower and in the form of a question like his brain is trying to process it. It is pretty funny.

Now with Piper in the picture, not all the attention is on him, so when I praise her or scold her, he is right there to imitate it. For example, when we practice Piper's walking he always wants to do it too and walk for us. Here in this picture, John took a picture of Piper hanging out in the fridge and Brody had to do the same. He was so excited, as you can see.

With all the BYU games we have been to, watched, and listened to this past season, Brody has become very familiar with it all. He loves to chant "BYU" like at the games. It is more "BIU" though. He gets so excited too. And every time he sees football on TV he says, "There's uncle Denny!" He loves to wear all his BYU clothes too.

Some other things about him:

-He has become more of a picky eater, which drives me nuts, but he still has some of his favorite loves. Taken from Entertainment Weekly, you can see what is in and out for 2010.

In
ramen noodles
hot dogs/corn dogs
nuggets and fries
cheese
spinach
frozen peas
tuna sandwiches
broccoli
tortillas and cheese (aka Quesadillas)
corn chex cereal
most sweets of any kind
orange juice
chocolate milk
strawberries

So 5 mins ago
spaghetti
green beans
all dishes with tomatoes and onions mixed in
carrots
oatmeal
bananas
applesauce

Still Out
hamburgers
apples, oranges, pears
salad
potatoes (mashed, baked, or the casserole kind)

I don't let him have everything on his IN list on a regular basis, but I am still happy that there are some good foods that he does love. It just makes it hard to make dinners that he will eat without giving in to his pickiness. I am trying to live by the philosophy that if you don't like what is put in front of you then you wait for the next meal. It actually does work because once he knows that I am not making something else then he usually will eat a bite or two and then be done. It is definitely hard thing to do though.

-He still is as active as before and loves to be outside. When I take the kids out running with me. I have been getting him out from the jogger and racing him up the big hills. He loves it and it allows him to get some good exercise too. I want him to learn to love being outside and exercising. It is great for the body and mind and our moods.

-I can tell he is getting older because is much more focused than ever before. He can sit for a bit and color without moving to the next thing in a matter of a few seconds. He loves to draw pictures too and I think he does a really good job, to the point I can kind of tell what it is without him telling me. This is an area I love, so it is fun to see him enjoy it too.

He really is just a good kid and so kind to Piper. I love to see them play together and laugh together. He is a great helper too. He loves to give hugs (not so much kisses though) and wrestle. We are so happy to have Brody in our family and love him so much!

Piper's Year End Review

The first week in December, I took Piper in for her one year doctor's appointment. I am happy to announce she is right on track and staying steady on her normal growth curve. She is still my skinny mini. Here are her stats:

Height: 30 1/4 inches (80 %)
Weight: 21 lbs 10 oz (54%)

The toddler stage has begun too. She has to follow me everywhere and is mostly found in the kitchen playing with the fridge magnets or under my feet wanting to be picked up while I am in there cooking. She is a much bigger whiner and so much clingier than Brody was. I hear that really doesn't change with girls. Great.

If I open the fridge, she is the first to make her way in. It is one of her favorite places.

By far, her biggest problem is the toilet paper. Often we have big wads of toilet paper just laying around. We all know (Brody included, he is the best at closing the doors and tattling on her) to keep the bathroom doors closed around her.

Who can resist this toothy grin! Since her birthday, she has added one more tooth to the bottom left side and with very little irritability. Woohoo!

But above all, she is still our sweet little baby girl who LOVES to cuddle and give kisses. She will give you little smooches right on the lips if you just ask. It is so cute! I wouldn't trade that for the world! She loves her big brother too and is always trying to play with him. They usually play great together and for that I am grateful.

Other things to note:

-Piper still has trouble saying "Mama", but she has no problem with "Daddy" and will say it whenever he enters the room. I don't mind, since I know she can't living without me. I still feel loved. She also has her various sounds that to us sound like really words. Whenever she points at things, she says "dis" or "dat" and whenever she sees Brody it is always, "Dee". She is also into copying some words we say and I swear she says "BYU" whenever Brody is chanting it.

-She loves to talk on the phone and will really use anything as one. She will pretend she is talking to John and says, "Hi Daddy!" everytime.

-She is much more into girlie things and loves to hold her little Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck figures and new baby dolls.

-She is a good eater and likes most things I put in front of her, but is already becoming more picky and opinionated. She will close her mouth shut and shake her head from side to side when she doesn't want something or when she is not ready for it. She is a huge lover of Cheerios, much more than Brody was, so they are stashed in my diaper bag in times of need.

-She is great at screaming when she wants something or you to pay attention to her. Can't wait till that one ends.

-She refuses to keep any bows or flowers in her hair for very long unless she is distracted and then you can get about a good 10 mins out of her before she realizes it is there and rips it out.

-Piper stands really well without assistance, but refuses to make walking her primary mode of transportation. She has recently gotten to 10 steps without falling. She loves to walk with us holding one of her hands or her walker and has gotten really fast. I think she is so close to getting there though. I guess she is just a cautious little girl. Not a bad thing.

-Church is a little harder these days and she will scream when we don't let her crawl into the aisles. We have had to pull her out much more than before.

-She is a great smiler and loves to laugh. Brody loves to entertain her too and I often hear them laughing in the car while driving. It is a wonderful thing to hear.

We can't imagine a world without Piper in our family. She is a wonderful little girl and we are so lucky to have her.

Christmas Pictures

While at my parents house we tried to get some good pictures of all of us and possibly for Christmas cards. I thought this one turned out really well and made Christmas cards out of them. When I got the cards in the mail they were awful! The picture was all pixilated. It looked so bad there was no way I was going to send it out. So sorry no one got any from us. I LOVE getting Christmas cards, so I hope you keep sending them our way and maybe next year we can get them out to all of you. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas has did we and are enjoying your New Year!

We also tried taking some of all the Pitta grandchildren and of course it took quite a few takes.

But we finally got a great one.

Then some of the two newest grandkids, Piper and Easton.Before Thanksgiving, we took the kids to Target to get their winter pictures taken. It took two different sessions to get all of these. We had a traumatic experience the first time of driving to Target and forgetting Brody's shirt on the hanger in the house, went back to get it, were 20 mins late for the appointment, the kids both feel asleep while driving, we got there and woke up Brody and he had a major meltdown. Piper was a very shy, but after she warmed up a bit, she was all smiles. This was the only one we got from that session.

The next week, we went back in the first appointment of the morning and everything went perfectly. Here is a few from that session.

At the last minute, John and I decided to try for a family shot. I think it turned out pretty good.