Fun Stuff

In recent news:

Makelle's pigtails finally have a "tail," albeit, only an inch long tail, but still we are making progress in the hair growth department, and she looks pretty cute!


Corbin has learned how to play the xbox with his Dad. Caleb hasn't really played since his brother, and gaming buddy, moved back east, but Corbin discovered the Ultimate Alliance video game with a bunch of action figures on the front and asked Caleb to teach him how to play. He was surprisingly good at maneuvering that guy around and could mash random buttons with the best of them during a fight, so now Caleb has a new gaming buddy.


Corbin is at that age where he likes to phonetically spell out words and is starting to write things on his own... only he HATES writing with a passion and is borderline horrible at it, so he has recently become excited to discover Microsoft Word.


For those needing a translation, he was making a list of his favorite things, "I like books" and "I like my mommy" he told me he was planning to type "I like TV" next, but got distracted when his sister asked me to read a book and he wanted to join in... it is number one on his list after all :)

Sweet Tooth

Corbin has never really liked desserts or had much a sweet tooth. He honesty likes graham crackers more than suckers, that is his idea of a treat.

For example: Tonight after eating his dinner Corbin wanted to know if for dessert he could have some Grapenuts... with a little bit of honey :o ! I don't think that kid is normal.

Makelle however, is definitely a sweets girl! Oh my gosh she will eat anything with sugar she can get her hands on. And her hands are getting into more and more things lately.


I made a small batch of brownies and set them up on our counter, where I thought they were out of reach. While I busy in the other room she dragged the stool out to the kitchen climbed up to get them and sat down to eat a little treat.

We are going to have to keep our eyes on this one!

Potty Training

The past month or so Makelle has been at point where if you take off her diaper and let her run around naked all day she will go potty in the bathroom everytime. We have yet to have an accident, except once when I forgot to leave the bathroom door opened and ignored her calls for help until it was too late. Oops.

Being morning sick and trying to get through the Holidays I was too lazy to start actual potty training though, so I just let her do whatever she wanted. Some days she would be in diapers all day and some days she would undress herself and run about naked.

So with the holidays behind us and starting to feel better during the day time, I bought Makelle some underware and juiceboxes (my neighbors brilliant idea for a reward system that makes them need to go even more :) and we started in today. At first she just kept taking them off and trying to run about naked still (I probably shouldn't have let that go on for a whole month, but oh well). But eventually she has kept them on and dry all morning, and already gone potty four times... we may need to buy more juice boxes!

Snowboard Trip

The week between Christmas and New Year's we went down to Southern Utah to spend some time with the Millers. We all ended up staying in a cabin up at Brianhead together and Corbin got to go snowboarding for the first time. He loved it!

We started out making him practice on a little hill by the parking lot and after he got good enough to go down and balance mostly on his own, Caleb took him up the lift and they rode down the bunny hill together.


We spent the rest of the week playing games, watching movies, reading books, visiting with family... all the typical relaxing vacation activities.

We wanted to take the kids out sledding the last day up there, but we decided to just hurry home and get back before the New Year's Eve drunk drivers hit the roads in full force and so that we would have time to do something fun to celebrate the New Year.

Then Corbin and I got carsick (well mine was morning sickness enhanced by motion) and threw up, plus the kids didn't get the most sleep that week staying up late playing with cousins and new toys so instead we got home, unloaded the car and the kids and I were asleep by 10:00. Lucky Caleb has such a fun wife! So he stayed up and did his own thing and watched the ball drop for us :) Yay 2011!

Santa Came!

This year was the first time we stayed at home with just our little family for Christmas morning. It was divine.


Makelle got a doll and was beyond thrilled, she has toted that baby around with her ever since. She clearly doesn't understand the whole "Santa" concept and has no idea where it came from, but boy does she love that doll. Sooo girlie! Although I have to say we discovered it has an "on" feature that will make the baby cry until you give it its pacifier and when we tried to show her she started whimpering and backing away from it until she finally screamed and threw it on the floor. So I guess she does have some of her mother's lack of feminine traits in her :)



Bean got a cool Buzz Lightyear, that can do practically everything that the one in the movie can do (except come alive when we turn our backs... or does he?). We coordinated well with Santa and also got him the movie and he keeps asking if he can write Andy's name on the bottom of Buzz's foot. Not his own name mind you, he wants it to say "Andy," just like the movie.


His dad also got him a lightsaber so that they can imagine themselves as intergalactic warriors now as well as the regular earthling ones :) He loves that it changes colors when you hit stuff with it and we just love that it makes battle noises the entire time it is on. What a great toy!




We had a slow, lazy morning opening presents and eating a giant breakfast, which included half a case of fresh squeezed orange juice, thanks to Caleb. Then we went up to my parents' house and had round two of present opening. We stayed up there all day and the kids played with their new toys while we watched movies and played games.




It was great; best day ever.