Colton's in Sunbeams and Preschool!

Colton is now in Sunbeams!  This was the best smile I could get out of him before 2:30 pm church without a nap.  Gonna be a long year having church that late...

 

 

Dylan looked dapper too:

At Ms. Mandy's Smarty Pants Preschool Open House last week (Mandy was the other Primary Presidency counselor when I was in that calling): 

Today was the 1st day.  Rogan and Colton get to be buddies and classmates.  Carra brought Colton for me since I wasn't up to driving yet post surgery:

The cute little weekly Early Literacy class.  I didn't take this picture, but I'm sure the other kids were happier than they looked:

 My little guy's growing up fast!

End of 2015 Update

They had college team day at school right after my last update.  Naturally, Dylan went as a Duke basketball player:

Colton: "I'm on the Army team!"

 Autrey made kettlebell weights out of balls, concrete, pvc pipe, and glue:

 32 lb basketball and 14.5 lb soccer ball:

 The Garage Gang gettin' it done: 

I PRed at 205 lb deadlift (up 30# since May), 155 lb squat (up 30# since May), 110 lb bench press (Up 25# since May):

My girls, post workout:

Running group:

 Our favorite turkey, Ms. Marissa:

We went to Gavin Parker's wedding right before Thanksgiving.  The Westfield boys:

My nap buddy.  I've been too busy to nap with Colt as much as I would like to lately, but it's a good day when I get to snuggle with this little cuddle bug:

Colt and I went to cheer Dylan and the other kindergarteners on in their Boosterthon fun run:



I got a kick out of the last part of Dylan's homework and sent this picture to Mimi:

Some words of comfort, especially since I just had my surgery to remove my uterine septum on Thursday and I hurt all over.  It has been a long 2 years for many reasons.  But I will continue to press forward and smile and make the most of the hand I've been dealt.  If I focus on the good I know that even in my tough times I still have a pretty good life and I'm never alone:

Dylan 6 year stats:

 

height: 48.4 in, 95%

weight: 58 lbs, 95%

blood pressure: 98/67

size 6/7 clothes and size 1 or 2 shoes

 

*In November, Dylan was so congested and had blown his nose so much it was bloody and scabby.  My new friend, Danielle Bakic, gave me some essential oils samples (lavender and melaleuca in coconut oil).  We had all also had sinus and breathing trouble for a month.  And that is how I started up with doTerra oils. 

 

*Dylan was singing Frosty the Snowman and it sounded like he sang "...with a corndog pipe and a button nose..."

 

*During the Reindeer Romp we were maneuvering through the crowd and got stuck behind some slow people.  Dylan looks to the right and says to me, "We can squeeze up there.  Think skinny."  I shouldn't say that to him anymore, but the way he used it on me was funny.

 

*Dylan gave a talk in Primary entitled "Jesus is the Savior of the World".  I held the pictures for him and helped him with his words.

 

*D: "Can we have hot chocolate?"

  Me: "Not tonight."

  D: "But that's what we do in our family (during December)."

  Me: "You're right.  Ok."  He knows of my weakness for family traditions.

 

*The Hecht's are moving and gave us some of their China.

  C: "What are those plates?"

  Me: "They are breakable plates."

  D: "They are CHINESE."

 

*Dylan avoided pooping at school because he didn't trust himself to wipe without me "double checking".  Then he had an accident in November during the last 10 minutes of school when he tried to hold it until he got home.  I stopped double checking for him so he had to do it himself all the time and he hasn't had a problem since.

 

*D: "They kissed.  They're married?!?"

 

*One of his Legos had thrusters.  He was saying flusters/frusters, but G-ma got him to say thrusters.

 

*D: "G-ma, what's your middle name?"

  G-ma: "Kaye."

  D: "G-ma Kaye Miller."

 

*D: "Miss Hunter has The YouTube Internet."

 

*Dylan got the BAM Award (most improved) for his class at the 2nd 6 weeks school assembly.

 

*Dylan accidently called the pilgrims penguins instead. 

 

Colton update:

 

*C: "I love tech-a-nology."

 

*Talking about flu shots with Colt:

  Aut: "Was Dylan brave?"

  C: "Yes."

  Aut: "Were you brave?"

  C: "No."

  Aut: "Did you cry a little?"

  C: "No. I cried a lot."

 

*After I ignored Colton's whining, he stopped and said, "I don't get what I want when I whine."

  Me: "Bingo."

 

*Me: "Stop faking it."

  C: "I'm REALing it."

 

*Looking at G-ma's pillows on the chair: "My bum hurts.  I need to sit on something fwuffy (fluffy)."



Christmas

Our Christmas cards for 2015:

I let the boys draw on the kitchen cupboards for the 1st time.  Ever.  It was a big deal for me. But I ended up liking it:

Running in our 1st Reindeer Romp.  Dylan held my hand as we maneuvered the packed crowd and finished our mile in 13:45.  Autrey and Colton finished in 15:20.  Colt jogged half of it and rode on Aut's shoulders for half of it trying to catch up to us:

 

Crossing the finish line:

 

Colt was young enough to run for free, but he insisted on having his own "official" number:

Dylan: "Santa!  I ran the whole thing without stopping!"

With the reindeer:

Playing in the snow globe:

New Batman ornament to represent 2015 (our Halloween costumes):

Cookies with Santa at Dylan's school:

Emmet was there too:

Tony Chestnut enlisted the help of his T-Rex friend to repel and draw a self portrait on the cupboard:

 

Fun with my minions:

1st school project with my kindergartener.  Kind of fun to be on the parent side of these projects:

With Elf, Ms. Lori, at Parents as Teachers:

 

At our ward's Christmas party (Colt was home sick since he had thrown up the night before):

Kindergarten Polar Express Day with Matthew:

Class party with Miss Hunter.  We gave her pear body spray and a note that said, "Merry Christmas to a "scent-sational" teacher.  We love you "pear-y" much!" I crack myself up.

We made R2-D2 cookies at Danielle Bakic's house at play group.  They went perfectly with our family's Star Wars Christmas theme:

I have a video of them opening up their Storm trooper and Darth Vader Legos from G-ma and G-pa, but it is too long to post:

They loved the Star Wars Pez dispensers, G-ma!

Mimi and Papa drove the boys early to Ruidoso.  Aut and I drove Christmas Eve after work, got about 5 hours of sleep at a hotel in Brownfield, then arrived around 7 am Christmas morning. Hayley was still sleeping:

The boys loved their new size 11 and size 2 boots!

Me testing out my new Nikon D3300 camera (Aut got 50% off on Black Friday) on Colt's new Legos:

 Playing out in the snow:

 Clearly the kids loved the headlamps Papa gave them:

 Boys in their Star Wars jammies with Maggie:

 

 

Another snow day. This is when the tubing began:

 Tommy got turned around going down the hill and ended up with his butt in the air and his face in the snow.  He was a good sport:

Video of Colton tubing:

Video of Dylan tubing:

 Video of Colton tubing:

We got snowed in and lost power one night in the rental house up in the mountains.  Autrey and I slept with the older kids on mattresses on the floor in front of the fire place so they would stay warm.  The kids slept ok.  Aut and I, not so much.  It was an older, loud house.  The kids were all up in the morning around 6ish so we made a cartoon cave out of mattresses for them to hang out watching tv while everyone else in the house slept:

 At Nana's saying goodbye before we headed to Las Cruces for a few days.  We ended up waiting to eat at El Sombrero for Mona's birthday for 1.5 hours, after they had said it would be a 30 minute wait.  It's the only place worth waiting that long!:

 From the top of the mountain behind the rental house.  You can see the house down below:

 

 Post hiking hot tub fun:

Video of Polar Bear Autrey swimming:

Video of Maggie, totally unphased by the freezing water.  Girl's got ice in her veins:

Video of Dylan shrieking at the cold water:

Video of Colton being dunked:

Maggie and Hayley got 3 different cute matching dresses.  I will get the pictures Allyson took on her camera from later:

 Back at home, playing with the assembled Legos from G-ma and G-pa:

I love sending and getting Christmas cards.  I think I am going to have to revert back to the tradition my family had growing up of taping the cards to the back of the front door.  Or I need a bigger fridge to fit all the overlapping cards.  A fun problem to have!

Speaking of traditions, Maggie had asked us to send her our family traditions.  She ended up making a cute gift out of them for us.  Here is what I had sent her in an email:

 

-Autrey's childhood memories:

*Opening presents in Houston before driving to Ruidoso.  In Ruidoso the kids would go look at lights on Christmas Eve while Santa came, then they opened the presents as soon as they arrived.

 

*Eating Mexican food, Aunt Jeanne's fudge, and eggnog on Christmas Eve at Nana's.

 

*They used to go to a Christmas tree farm to pick out and chop down their own real tree.

 

*Watching the movie Christmas Vacation.

*Playing in the snow/skiing at Nana's.

*Looking at the lovely luminarias in New Mexico.

 

*They did Secret Santa, anonymously dropping off bags of gifts at the door step of a needy family. (My family did that, except we dropped off smaller gifts to many families.  And we dressed in all black, sneaking up to the doors with ninja moves to avoid detection. We called it Ninja Santa.)

 

-Shilo's childhood memories:

 

*We used to "sew" popcorn and cranberries on string as traditional garland to go around our Christmas tree as decoration, while watching Christmas movies and talking as a family.

 

*Christmas Eve caroling and delivering cinnamon rolls to the neighbors.

 

*Watching the Luke 2 video on Christmas Eve.

 

*The youngest child in the family got to take the baby Jesus from the nativity and have it "sleep" in the room with them.  When we were little, my sisters and I all wanted to have baby Jesus with us on Christmas Eve so we all started choosing someone's room and sleeping in there together (and did until we got married).

 

*When we were a bit older, on Christmas morning we didn't leave the bedroom until mom and dad came down.  They would bring Egg McMillers (homemade Egg McMuffins) and OJ to the room for breakfast in bed before we all went to see the tree together.

 

*On Christmas morning we opened gifts up one at a time, from youngest to oldest, so we could see everyone else open their presents and the reactions to what we gave everyone (and so present opening was less chaotic and lasted for more than 5 minutes).

 

*When we hung our Christmas stockings (that mom made with us) we also put out a white stocking for Jesus.  When we were a bit older, each family member would write down 2 goals/resolutions on paper to put inside the stocking as "gifts to Jesus" for the upcoming year. It was fun to read the previous year goals before putting in new ones.

-Current Family traditions:

*Going to see the Christmas lights in downtown Grapevine.  Also going to the ICE! exhibit and indoor sledding at the Gaylord Texan Hotel with Mimi and Papa.

*One of my favorite days is the day we put up our Christmas tree with our little Polar Express train around it.  After the boys play with the train we watch The Polar Express movie and drink hot chocolate and cuddle together. It's the best.

 

*We do the Elf on the Shelf tradition.  Our family's elf is named Tony Chestnut.  He isn't mischievous, but rather adds an element of fun to the weeks leading up to Christmas.  We have even found Tony reading the Luke 2 story in the Bible and doing service around the house to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. 

 

*Each year we get a new ornament for the tree that represents the year.  This year we got a Batman ornament to remember our family Halloween costume fun.

 

*Getting new Christmas jammies.

 

*Running in the school district's Reindeer Romp.

 

*Watching the 1st Presidency Christmas Broadcast Devotional together.

 

*Either driving to New Mexico with Mimi and Papa to see Nana or flying to Utah to see G-ma and G-pa/Millers/Holdaways.