Month: December 2010

    a silent night

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    It’s 10pm on Thursday night – the Eve of Christmas Eve. Ben took Benji to go see “A Christmas Carol” at the Hale Center Theater and they are still gone. I put the kids to bed but Rose just wants to be held. She screams if I put her down but snoozes happily if I’m holding her… I just want to hold her. Sometimes after putting the other kids to bed I hold Rose the rest of the evening and we fall asleep together – I don’t like being that unproductive at night but I LOVE holding this little baby. On Tues and Weds I read a book and the whole time I read I held her – I love baby stage.

    I just went up to check on Packer and he is wide awake – this is the guy that usually hits the pillow and is asleep within 5 minutes but he said that he is waiting for Benji to get home so that he can sleep. How cute is that? I love this little family.

    Before bed I took some time to really play with Cali and Packer since they knew Benji and Dad went to do something fun. We played animals in Cali’s room – pretending to eat and sleep and swim… Cali loves the pretending to eat part which is awesome cause she’s gonna love her Christmas present :). Then we moved to Packers room at his request and continued the fun with more animals. It was a simple 30-45 minutes but I could tell that my kids loved the attention. I used to “play” more often, then they started playing better with each other and I always have something else to do BUT I want to make “playing” a priority again.

    Benji and Ben are home! Excitement is in the air. They are talking about the Door Knocker on the way in – I’m sure that is just one of many questions that Benji will have as he processes the play. Good Night.

    Categories: General

    My Big Girl

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    I love seeing how grown up Cali has gotten lately. She has turned into a jabber box and loves to be ‘helping’.

    Cali 2 years in the Mothers Lounge

    CALI - 3 months in the Mothers Lounge

    and ROSE - 2 months in the same chair

    Categories: Cali, Rose

    Traditions!

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    We love traditions around here. And Christmas Time is especially full of traditions for our family. Today was the annual trip to Cabelas with the Nettesheim cousins. We wait in line to see Santa and take time to look at the fish and other animals. This year they had a shooting game and the kids are always up for an elevator ride. Packer and Cali and Ben ended up going without the other half of the family this year because Benji had a birthday party at the exact same time this morning so he had to decide if he was going to go to Cabelas or the party. After much deliberation he finally decided that since he had seen Santa 3 times and told him what he wanted then it would be OK to go to the party. We were supportive of this decision especially since he has missed every party that he was invited to this year… and after Cabelas we all meet up at CJ’s for lunch so Rose, Benji and I got to see and play with the cousins there. I forgot to send the camera with Ben so this is our only picture but Udine said that I do favor my family so I feel the need to post this one with him in it…

    Netty Adults finishing lunch

    Another awesome tradition is that Ben’s parents send each of the kids a new ornament each year with their name on it. Ben’s grandparents did this for him when he was young so he came into our marriage with 18 ornaments from his childhood and they all have special memories attached. It’s really fun for the kids to get the package in the mail and then hang their new ornaments on the tree.

    New Ornament

    Pure Joy

    Another tradition we have is baby chillin on Dads stomach -Rose is getting so big and I am just trying to hold on to this time when I can just hold her and cuddle and she doesn’t want to play or stand or wiggle – I feel like she is growing to fast…

    Tummy Time/ Daddy Time

    This Christmas week will be full of many more traditions and I am so looking forward to them all. I do love this time of year and now that all shopping is done I can just enjoy it We got to go listen to the morning kindergartens sing on Friday morning. Benji gets so excited that you just have to smile. This year he got his dad to come in and read “Snowmen at Night” for the class and he got to bring in cupcakes to celebrate his half birthday. It has been a busy/fun week for him. Ben and I also went to his work party this last week where Ben got to participate in a”Dance Off”, lets just say that I haven’t laughed that hard in a while and he did the best ‘worm’ of his dancing career (and I believe someone captured the dancing on video and it may be found online). And to top it all off I am officially playing Basketball and Soccer again! I had a basketball game on Thursday night and a soccer game last night and I am LOVING it. I do need to document that in my soccer game I tried running a little too fast and ended up flat on my stomach tripping over my own feet = new years resolution – start running and get back in shape. Anyway, there is excitement in the air and we are soaking it all in. Merry Christmas Week to all.

    (I put this all in green and red so maybe it can count as our Christmas letter – a tradition that we are behind on this year )

    Categories: Nettesheim

    My Sleepy Baby…

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    Does NOT want to sleep today!! I don’t know what her deal is but she is determined to stay up all day. She is usually just a normal sleep a few and then be awake a few kind of girl but yesterday she slept and slept…

    and slept...

    Sleepy Monday

    and today she is wide awake, cat napping here and there in my arms and wide eyed when I put her down.

    Wide Eye Tuesday

    more Bright Eyes

    Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a little more sleepy time.

    rose - 2.5 months

    And as long as she sleeps at night then I really CANNOT complain… It is 10pm now – and she is starting to fall asleep on her own so we should be good to go.

    Categories: Rose

    Can I get a Little MORE Time PLeaSE?

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    Is time FLYING or what? it’s flying for me. Seems like I can’t keep up with anything.
    Lets see – since my last post we have…

    finished our Christmas Shopping.

    attended a Wassel party.

    had joy school dress rehearsal.

    had the water pump replaced in the van.

    spent a night with cousins at an amazing Park City cabin.

    taught our lessons at church.

    made an appearance at the Johnson family Christmas Party.

    attended the Joy School Christmas Pageant Party.

    and lots of little things in between 🙂

    The amazing cabin! It was very big and very beautiful. I loved the heated floors! Fireplaces in each room! Bathrooms in each room! and just having room to put kids to bed and stay up late chatting with family!

    our loaner boy at the cabin! Packer often plays by himself when there is an excess of cousins. He doesn't seem to mind.

    It snowed while we were at the cabin. It was beautiful. We explored a little and made more snow angels and the older ones did some sledding. Then we jumped in the hot tub!

    2 year olds and their Dollies! These are the 2 year old cousins. They are all super cute and fun!

    ready to decorate the gingerbread house

    Ben makes gingerbread houses every year...

    and every year the cousins love covering them in candy! They get loaded pretty good by the time everyone gets a hand in decorating.

    I can hold my head up - kind of. Rose is getting so big and is definitely one of our best babies - she is usually happy and always a good sleeper. I am loving it and loving taking time to just sit and hold her, I wish I had more of that time.

    JOY SCHOOL - Lucie, Lance, and Packer! Sam didn't make it in the picture but these 4 have had an awesome time at Joy School.

    Cali was quite the little shepherd girl

    Benji got to be a wise man also!

    Santa came to the joy school party! Packer cannot decide what to ask Santa for - he decided on cars this time and then went to check his stocking the next morning to see if the cars were in there 🙂

    Benji is consistent in his asking. He would like a pillow pet, Ultimate Ben 10's, and a video game.

    This is as close as Cali would get to Santa. She has been scared to death of him both times this year - Maybe when we go on Saturday the third time will be the charm and she'll want to sit on his lap.CanÂ

    Categories: Jana

    CALI is 2

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    Monday December 6th was Cali’s birthday! She is 2, but if you ask her she doesn’t have a clue how old she is or what you are talking about. Early in the day we told her happy birthday and sang to her but she just got mad at us, so it was a normal, fit throwing, time-out-going day until dad got home from work and we brought out the presents!!!

    We finally have girl toys!

    and she loves her doll

    looks like Christmas but it was just 3 little birthday gifts

    I have been told that Cali might not appreciate all of the crying, whining, fit throwing pictures of her that have made it on the blog BUT that is reality and these super cute super happy pictures are also a reality for her – Sometimes she can be super cute and fun…

    She loved her Elmo cake!

    and playing dollies with Aunt Kelsey

    BLOW

    Family Pic! another one - we are doing good 🙂

    I don’t love December birthdays but… thats what we got. Cali was my easiest/best delivery. She came on her own, the night/next morning after her due date. She is my toughest child right now but we can’t imagine our family without her. My mom says Cali reminds her very much of me at that age 🙂 I am ready for the terrible 2’s – lets do this!

    When she wants out of bed she’ll yell, “knock knock mom”.

    At bedtime she needs her 4 special blankets, her sippy, and “wrap me up”.

    She usually wakes up grumpy, loves to do whatever her brothers are doing, can read books for hours, enjoys our mornings with just the girls, is obsessed with her aunts, constantly tells me to stand up when I’m holding her, and always has her hair in her face.

    Categories: Cali

    argh

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    So before I do a beautiful post about Cali’s 2nd birthday I need to vent a little.
    I took Cali and Rose to the Dr. this morning – Cali for her 2 year and Rose for 2 months. Packer came, so I had the 3 little ones and was 5 minutes early for my 10:30 appointment. On the way there my van started dinging at me and the temperature warning light came on so I looked down and watched the temperature jump as high as it could go and the car kept dinging at me. I kept driving and looking and listening for signs of overheating BUT right before I made it to the Dr.s office my gas light came on and the temperature light went off and the temperature gage came down to midway between hot and cold. So… I went to my Dr appointments and brought the owners manual in with me for reading material.
    Now to make a long story short. I expect to wait 10 minutes at a Dr.s office, 20 minutes is normal, but 50 minutes!!! Are you kidding me? 50 minutes after my scheduled time plus I was there 5 minutes early because I wanted to get in and get out. I have a kindergartener to pick up at noon… So my kids were getting very unhappy by this time and we still had to do all of the doctor stuff and shots and this whole time I just kept thinking that I was here for a well check – a well check up – we were not sick or needing to be there, just trying to be a responsible mom and get immunizations as scheduled and… after being in the nasty waiting room for an hour we probably brought home everything from the other 20 patients that were not there for well checks and were seen before us!! Anyway, we finally got in to see the Dr ( AND then I called Ben in the middle of a meeting and he had to leave and reschedule his meetings and go get Benji from School because our morning at the DR’s office was LAme and we could not get home in time) and the Nurses FINALLY came to poke the girls in the legs (maybe they should do over the counter immunizations!! I would be happy to poke the kids at my convenience compared to what I went through this morning.  And at 12:05 we were finally done. Cali ended up getting an antibiotic for her ears and hopefully we won’t be going back until the next well check.

    The only good news is that the van ran fine on the way home, no light on, no dinging, no High on the temperature gage – no mom with 3 little kids ages 3 and under stuck on the side of the road. BUT – is something wrong with my car?? is it an electrical problem? Thermosat malfunction? or am I going to be over heating again soon?

    I feel better now. Thanks for listening blogging world.

    Categories: Jana

    Baby Blessing

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    We blessed Rose on Sunday morning December 5th, during the North Field 4th Ward Sacrament Meeting! She looked beautiful in her little white dress that my mom made for her and she didn’t cry during it at all – she was perfect. It was a really good blessing day with lots of love and family. I was touched that my Grandpa made the extra effort to be there even though it was early. And it was neat to have so many of mine and Ben’s brothers there to participate in the blessing ( Ryan, Joel, Brady, Pete, Matt, and Udine). PICTURES…

    Rose 🙂

    Full Dress

    Great Grandpa Arden Johnson with me and little Rose

    Poser - one of the few shots without her Pacifier

    Proud Parents

    Rose with HER siblings

    Rose with MY siblings

    The Gaming Table

    Big Smiler

    We had an awesome day. Sorry to the Nettesheim’s that I am to used to having around so we never remember to take any pictures 🙁 And we missed Grandma J and a few others that couldn’t come. I love baby blessings and the peace and strength that they bring. I am grateful for the authority of God on the Earth. Priesthood power is real and it blesses my family daily.

    Categories: Rose

    2 months old

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    This little girl has had a cold for half of her life! PLEASE GO AWAY.

    She is the best little sleeper that i have ever had. She is always in bed before I am – and then she only wakes up around 5am, for a short 5 minutes and then back to sleep until 8! She has been doing that pretty much since birth. I am a lucky mom.
    Rose was a perfect little traveler over thanksgiving. She gives big smiles now and we love her to death. She will be getting blessed at church in the morning! We go to the Dr next week so we will have stats then.

    2 months old

    almost a smile

    starting to fill out her car seat

    Categories: Rose