Christmas 2010

It was a super good Christmas this year. It was just fun. It was fun being together- just our little family. It was nice not being pregnant or nursing (it's the first Christmas in 4 years I can say that). It was nice not to have to hassle with busy airports and suitcases! And it was an especially fun year for Madi. This is the first year that Madi really got into the whole Santa thing- adding a completely other element of fun and anticipation. Her first letter to Santa was written before Halloween (just to give you an idea of how excited she's been), and I think she's written a couple other's since.

Madi's 1st letter

Madi started singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town December 1st and has been bursting with excitement everyday since. Thankfully she was also just as great about remembering the real reason we celebrate- wanting to read Christmas stories from The Friend, talking about Jesus' birth, begging to go to the temple, singing all sorts of primary Christmas songs, etc. It really was a magical month.

Christmas Eve we celebrated with our good friends- the Lundell's. For dinner we had Spencer's fabulous sea scallop, clam, and sweet italian sausage cowder (served in french bread bowls). Yum Yum Yummmmm! Then after dinner we acted out the Nativity. What a riot! It was such a fabulous cast this year- thanks Lundell's for joining us!

We ended the evening with a tradition from Spencer's grandma - a white birthday cake for Jesus' birthday. The kids sang happy birthday to Jesus, blew out the candles, and then we all enjoyed white cake with peppermint ice cream.

After we were completely stuffed, the Lundell's left and I don't think I've ever seen our girls get ready for bed faster. We read The Night Before Christmas and put both girls in bed. Luckily I remembered our cookies and milk before Madi was fast asleep. I figured Elle wouldn't really care, but we got Madi back up to help us set out Santa's cookies, chocolate milk, and another letter.

Christmas morning the girls we up by 6:45am and ready to go! Madi's first request was to check the cookie plate to see if Santa came.

HE CAME!!

Then to the tree we went for stockings.

Before Madi and Elle could make a meal out of the candy, bubble gum, and fruit snacks Santa left, we took a break from stockings to go eat some breakfast. This year we made "skiers french toast". Spencer loved it, I really liked it, Madi thought it was pretty good, and Elle thought it was just ok. We're still experimenting with the Christmas breakfast we want as our family's traditional Christmas morning breakfast.

After breakfast we headed back to the tree to open some presents from Santa. Aside from Madi insisting that the cradle was for her, I think the girls were pleased with what Santa left. At one point while I was in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast, I hear Madi say to Spencer, "Seriously Dad, you're taking a long time with my toy. I wanna play with my toy." What can I say, Spencer's a kid at heart!

Following Jenkins' tradition, we only opened gifts from Santa and didn't return back to the tree until later that afternoon. It was super nice having the rest of the morning and afternoon to relax. We played several rousing games of Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Candyland. We also watched movies, took naps, wrote a thank you letter to Santa (well, Madi did), ate lots of treats, played with Madi's new dress-ups, and read books.

Hungry Hungry Hippos- the perfect game for everyone!

Writing a thank-you to Santa- totally her idea!

We returned to the tree around 3pm for more present opening. Spencer played Santa and handed out the gifts while we took turns opening (youngest to oldest). Madi was given a designated blanket to sit on - a rule made for Madi who really got into the present opening and wanted to help everyone open their presents.

Madi's been wanting a bathrobe for quite some time now (she was seriously envious of my bathrobe for the longest time), so she was more than thrilled when she opened this present:

Elle got a new baby, a "Fur Real" duck, lots of books, and was set for the day!

After Madi opened a "Beauty and the Beast" paint book from my grandparents, present opening pretty much ended. All she wanted to do was go paint a picture. With Elle deep into rocking and feeding her baby, Spencer and I exchanged the last few presents and then enjoyed some quiet time together. What a fabulous Christmas day we spent as a family. Although we did Christmas on our own two years ago, Madi was still a baby and didn't quite "get" the magic of Christmas yet. This year, it was so much fun creating that magic and seeing the excitement through the eyes of our girls!

California Weekend

It was a busy weekend for the Jenkins family. And aside from Grandma Jenkins- Madi, Elle, and I were the only ones not in attendance. It was sad. I tried not to think too hard about it, but of course all day on Saturday I kept doing the time difference calculation to figure out what everyone was doing at that very moment.

The events I missed:

#1 Jocelyn and Michael were married Saturday morning. I sent Spencer with my camera and video camera, giving him instructions to document well (with hopes of it helping me feel like I was there). Unfortunately it rained the entire weekend so he didn't get any pictures outside the temple. This was one of the best he got from the reception. Jocelyn looked beautiful (loved her dress!) and I'm looking forward to meeting Michael sometime soon!

#2 Saturday evening (after Jocelyn and Michael's reception) Spencer was sworn in as an attorney by a close family friend, Hon. Randy Wilkinson -- a Superior Court Judge in Orange County. Luckily, we got it on video tape so I wouldn't miss it. It was short and sweet, but I really enjoyed watching it.

#3 Sunday morning my newest niece- Ashley Terry- was blessed in the Camarillo 2nd Ward.

It was hard not being there, but I made sure to stay busy the entire weekend so not to get sad about missing out on all the fun!

17 months

This picture of Elle just cracks me up- I love everything about it:

1) the binky (if she can see it- she has to have it)

2) Pink Baby at her feet

3) favorite books to the side

4) purse around the arm

5) cowgirl hat on

6) no socks (she hates wearing any type of sock-which totally drives me crazy since our floors are so dang cold).

7) zoning (which she does anytime a Dora or Diego is turned on)

If her giraffe, blanket, and sippy cup were also present, I'd say it was a pretty perfect picture to describe Elle's favorite things at this stage of life. She's such a funny girl these days. I'm really trying to break her of needing all her comfort items with her all the time. I'll usually take out her binky when she gets up and throw it back into her crib, but for some reason she always ends up with her blankie and giraffe in tow (maybe cause she can pull those through the slats on the crib.

She's a very determined and persistent little girl and I hate to say it, but she usually gets what she wants (not always- just usually).

My favorite thing from this past month is probably Elle's desire to communicate- she tries most words we tell her to say and through signing and/or one word requests and answers, she's pretty good at communicating what she wants/needs/ etc. Her new words (or things she says a lot):

-"Uh Oh!!"

-"Up"

-"Nana" (banana)

-"Mama" (she's all of a sudden become obsessed with calling me "mama"- before it was just "mom")

-"shoes" (she loves shoes- especially trying everyone's on, getting our attention, and yelling, "SHOES!")

-"peak boo" (for peakaboo)

-"cook cook" (cookie) usually followed by "Numm Nummm!!"

Anytime I ask Elle, "what do you say?" (hoping for a thank you), she (99% of the time) always responds with, "PEAS!" I don't understand why "thank you" is such a tough one for her.

Some things I love:

* Elle's not as much drama as Madi was at this age.

* She doesn't whine or complain when she's not feeling good, throwing up, diarrhea, or has a majorly stuffed up/runny nose (all of which we dealt with this month).

* She always wakes up super happy from short naps- like in the car (cranky wake-ups drive me absolutely crazy).

* Hearing all her animal sounds (which are pretty accurate most of the time).

* Watching her play alone.

* How she loves getting into Madi's toddler bed to read stories- she always looks like such a big girl.

* Listening to Elle try to say a prayer.

Things that drive me crazy:

* Her need to hide things. I'm constantly searching for her sippy cup or a binky at nap time. Spencer and I have found her things in the weirdest places (razor cases, vases, tupperware drawer, etc).

* This one doesn't drive me as crazy as the hiding things (it's more scary than annoying), but Elle also just likes to hide herself. Sometimes we'll find her in a dark closet all alone just hanging out. Once it took me several minutes of looking, calling her name, searching every room, running up and down the stairs to find her.

* Waking up at 6:30AM no matter when I put her to bed. I try really hard to ignore her and leave her until 7am, but it's so hard when I can hear her calling, "Mama, maMA, MAMA!! "

Sickies and Holiday Highlights

I had big plans this week and good intentions of being very productive. But then the puking started. So, I changed plans and let Spencer take the car for the day. One day turned into three and now- aside from visiting our mailbox and a quick Target run this morning, I haven't left the house since Sunday. I'm going a little crazy, but the dang cold actually makes me not want to leave the house. Luckily the girls have been great. Surprisingly, Madi hasn't been as dramatic about the whole thing as I thought she would have been. She's actually pretty lethargic- sleeping like 14 hours a day, laying around in the mornings, watching more tv than I'd like, but is also super concerned about the doctor's orders. I got off the phone this afternoon and Madi says, "What'd the doctor say? Can I have milk, or no?"

Madi never naps anymore, but this week she's napped once, if not twice each day! No matter how big they get, I think I'll always love watching my kids sleep.

As for the rest of us, Elle was actually the first one sick- throwing up last Tuesday night. Her sickness lasted no more than 24 hours so I thought maybe that would be the end of it. Five days later when Madi threw up, Spencer started getting nervous- he's a total wuss when it comes to sickness and puking. He doesn't want to hear it and if he smells it, he'll puke too. Just the thought of getting sick has given him a nauseous stomach all week. So it's been me taking care of the sickies. I'm just lucky that it hasn't hit me yet. Being sick as a mom is the worst.

I wanted to start baking on Monday but felt bad doing it with Madi and Spencer on restricted diets-for the record, Spence put himself on the restricted diet due to his own paranoia, not because he was actually sick! So I put off starting the baking till today. It's just not as much fun doing it alone though. I had invisioned blasting the Christmas music, rolling dough, putting Madi in a apron, and letting her help dip peanut butter balls and decorate cookies. What really happened: I turned on my Christmas CD, brought out the aprons, started rolling the sugar cookie dough while talking to Madi, and then it got quiet and she was asleep. So, I baked alone. Luckily Spencer got home at a decent hour and spent the night helping me dip peanut butter balls and frost & decorate sugar cookies. Spencer really gets into the decorating- it's pretty entertaining to watch!

Even though this week we've been homebound, last week was pretty festive:

Sunday was the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional- always seems to put me in good spirits and the right frame of mind for the holiday season.

Monday during FHE we discussed our gifts for Jesus this year. We wrote em down, put them in a box, wrapped the box, and put the box under the tree- up in the front where my mom always insisted on keeping our gift to Christ each year.

Tuesday a package from Potterybarn arrived- Spencer surprised me by ordering a tree skirt for our tree with "The Jenkins" embroidered on it. Such a great surprise!

On Thursday Elle and I joined Madi at preschool to make gingerbread houses. This is a tradition Becky grew up doing and I loved every minute of it- maybe even more than Madi.

Before:

During:

After: All the houses made

Thanks Becky for sharing this tradition with us! We had such a fun time!

On Saturday we spent some much needed family time. We went over to the Rio in the afternoon to pick up a few things and who should we see but Santa himself! The girls went crazy- waving out the window and yelling his name. So we parked the car, put the girls in the stroller (luckily it was one of the warmest days that week), and went to find Santa. We were in luck- they were giving free horse drawn carriage rides along the boardwalk with Santa! And there was NO LINE at all! What a treat! And of course the one time I really wanted to have my camera with me- I didn't!

It was a fun outing- seeing Santa, then listening to a high school's a cappella ensemble and choir preform in front of the big Christmas tree down on the Lakefront plaza.

Then this past Sunday we were planning on heading over to the temple for the festival of lights, but rain, cold weather, tired and sick kids ruined our plans. We'll just have to go next week.

Until then, I have to get through a long, lonely, husbandless weekend. Spencer flies out to LA on Friday (I don't even want to talk about how depressing it's gonna be to not be at Jocelyn's wedding with the rest of the family) and won't get back until Monday evening. Thankfully I've got something every night he's gone- it'll be the only thing getting me through this weekend.

The countdown begins

A few days ago I started a post which began something like this: "It's the most wonderful time of the year. . . Christmas! I love everything about it- the music, the smells, the traditions, the gifts (giving and receiving), the foods, the baking, the decorations, etc. etc. I love how it starts as early as the end of October (when Madi wrote her letter to Santa this year) and lasts all the way until the first week in January (when we usually take our tree down)."

I added a little more about what we'd been doing this past week, saved it, and never returned. But now I'm back a week later to add something I don't like about this time of year. The RUSH! Every year I tell myself the same thing- that I'll be finished with my Christmas shopping no later than November. But every year it's the same thing- finishing on Christmas Eve, or when I'm really good- the Eve before Christmas Eve. This drives me crazy! And every year I never know what to get for Spencer (is it just me and my picky husband, or are guys super hard to shop for?!?).

Then there's Christmas cards. I did them two years ago and with a great deal of help from my mom, they turned out so stinkin cute. Then last year I was so stressed out about making another cute card (with the ZERO creative talents I posses) that I never ended up doing one. I figured the people who really care about me will read my blog and those are the same pictures I would put on a Christmas card anyway. I absolutely love getting Christmas cards in the mail, but it always adds a teensy bit more stress to my already guilty conscious of not having done one yet. Take for instance the one I received in the mail yesterday from my sister-in-law (loved it Lindsay!), who just had her FIFTH kid a mere 3 weeks ago. Talk about over-achiever!!

Thank goodness for Amazon though. I've decided it best to turn there for shopping this year (especially with the free shipping I get with our "prime" membership)! I'm really trying not to let myself get stressed this year and to focus on the true meaning of Christmas (of course I say this every year, but still always manage to get all worked up over the little silly things- Christmas baking, delivering goodies, choosing the perfect gift for grandparents, etc, etc).

But to end on a positive note (how my initial post started a week ago), the girls and I (Spencer's barely been home this entire week) have really been enjoying ourselves . . .

* On Monday I pulled out the Christmas decorations, blasted Christmas music, filled the Christmas candy jars, got our Christmas tree (Spencer did this one), and put the lights on (Oh, and Monday was the day I started this post. It obviously was an awesome day- made me completely giddy with excitement for the Christmas season)!

* On Tuesday Madi helped me hang Christmas ornaments (this was super fun)!

* On Wednesday the girls worked on Christmas coloring pages while I made a Christmas tree advent calendar for Madi, and even got some presents wrapped.

* On Thursday an old high school friend came to hang out with her adorable little boys for the afternoon (not at all Christmas related but a LOT of fun). Thanks Melissa for the great visit!

* On Friday the girls I were out most of the day doing shopping for Spencer- some Christmas related, but most church related (he was getting ready for a big stake young men's camp-out this weekend).

* Then today Spencer spent the entire day running the YM camp-out while the girls and I went a little stir crazy at home without a car. He got home just in time to load up and head off to our ward Christmas party. We had this little bet going on the way over as to whether Madi was going to sit on Santa's lap or not. Spencer bet that she would be too shy but I said she'd walk right up, introduce herself, and give him a great big hug at the end. Guess who won?

That's right! I know my daughter all too well. Madi's been talking about seeing Santa for quite awhile now. I knew she was gonna love spending time with this guy!

As for Elle, I knew she was not going to want to have anything to do with Santa. But Spencer wanted her to sit on Santa's lap anyway. Every kid's gotta have that crying picture with Santa right?!

Ward Christmas party down, but a whole lot more fun to go~

21 days until Christmas!

North Carolina Thanksgiving

Growing up, my family always spent every Thanksgiving holiday in Ontario, Oregon with both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (60+). I have such fond memories of sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's, hanging out with cousins, eating more rolls, mashed potatoes, and desserts than my stomach could handle, preparing and delivering some knock-out performances at the Butler family talent shows, and smashing into huge candy-filled pinatas.

But then I grew up, got married, moved away, became an adult, and Thanksgiving took on a whole other meaning. Spending the day cooking in the kitchen is not my idea of fun. Let's just say, Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday. But, aside from the things I don't like about Thanksgiving (spending the majority of the day cooking foods I don't even really like, eating all day long, and them feeling like I've gained 10 pounds), I've decided the holiday is really about what you make of it. The best part about Thanksgiving is getting to spend time as a family. This year, Spencer took off Wednesday, so we had an entire 5 day family vacation! It was awesome. But to make it even better, we decided to drive down to North Carolina and spend the weekend with the Calhoun's. It was fabulous getting to hang out with my sister and let my girls hang out with their cousins. It was fun feeling like I was creating memories for my girls like the memories I had as a little girl. We might not have had a pinata (but two years ago we did) or a talent show (I think we should start doing this Tish), but we sure had a complete blast being together!!

Taken Sunday morning just as we were about to leave. Elle wasn't feeling good and was having kind of a rough morning.

Just a few of the weekend highlights:

- Thanksgiving morning trip to Bojangles for Boberry Biscuits (every time we go to North Carolina, we see the billboards for Bojangles and Spencer always says that "this trip, we're going to Bojangles." Well, he finally got his wish! Thanksgiving morning, Curteis and Spencer piled the kids into the car for a Bojangles run.

- A delicious Thanksgiving feast. Spencer even fell in love with sweet potatoes-thanks to the Calhoun secret recipe! And Tisha seriously thought of everything, from the decorations, to place settings, to ways of simplifying the cooking.

- Little to no arguing between siblings or cousins (you might remember the arguments I documented in this post).

- Kayaking (Spencer and Curteis)

- Morning runs with Tisha

-Nature hikes for the older kids with their dads- complete with log walking and rope swinging (see video below of Madi's bravery)

- A backyard for the kids to play outside for hours. Madi loves exploring- it'll be so nice the day we finally get a place with a big backyard!

- Museum of Natural History (loved this)

- Riding the zip line out at Will and Pargie's (see below videos)

- Black Friday Shopping ONLINE!

- Hanging out with the Gertschs until 1AM!! (Thanks for the awesome visit Matt and Doreen. We've sure missed hanging out with you guys.)

- Three nights of hanging out with Tisha and Curteis

Our Thanksgiving table

Tisha's cute name settings

The adult table

The kids table

Elle loved playing with Sam. At just 9 months old, Sam is as tall as Elle and weighs 2 or 3 pounds more!

The zip line- Madi insisted on going first of the kids. Here she is getting harnessed in.

The pull back. . .

And the LET GO!

The tricky part was at the end when Madi was supposed to throw the rope down for Spencer to pull her back in. The rope got stuck around her leg and Madi wasn't able to shake it off her arm. She was flipping out and Spencer was yelling to get her to let go of the harness and untangle the rope, but luckily a few of us remained calm. I suggested trying to reach the rope with a long stick which worked and Spencer was able to pull Madi back to safety. Once she was unharnessed, Madi excitedly talked about her fun on the zip line and I'm sure she'll go again on our next trip to NC.

ME on the zip line!

Madi braving the rope swing across the stream.

Thanks again Calhouns for the awesome Thanksgiving weekend! We love you guys!

Thanksgiving Daily

This year, for the month of November, I started a Thankful Box (pretty sure an idea I read about in The Friend). I've wanted to do this with Madi ever since she was born, but she was never really old enough to get into it until now. Basically, everyday we'd write down at least one thing we're thankful for. It was so much fun reading them all today that I had to record some.

I'm thankful for (in Madi's words):

- Purple baby's hat because it keeps her head warm and it protects it from the rain and wind and the storm and the storm clouds.

- My kitchen because I can make lots of dinners for Mommy, Daddy, and Elle.

- My crayons because I can color with them and make beautiful pictures and I can make a picture for Grandpa Al and Boppi and Gram and Papa.

- Windows, cause they're special to me so I can see outside.

- Food because it makes me strong and healthy.

- My cousins so I can share my things with them.

- My piggy bank so I can put my money in it.

- I love my heater because it warms my room and it warms me up and it warms my toys up.

- My princess bib because it protects my shirt.

- My artwork, and that mommy hangs it on the wall.

-My highchair because I can sit in it and eat in it.

- My Gram Baby is special to me because she loves me and I love her.

- Washing things, because I love washing windows and doors and that guy who painted our door (we got some painting down on our townhouse this month).

- My church bag because I can put it on my arm and I can put my fan in it and put it on the floor when I'm done walking.

- Our dresses so we can twirl at church and we can walk reverently at church.

- My Ariel phone because I can call people and say hello. And then the other person says hello.

- My blocks, cause I build with them and I love them so much.

- Penny (her lambie), cause she's special to me and I sleep with her and I sing with her and she sings with me.

- For Elle because I love her and she loves me.

- My backpack because it's special to me because there's scissors in my backpack for me to cut stuff out.

- My beautiful bedroom.

- Art projects because they're really really good.

- Mommy and Daddy, because you're special to me and I love you.

Anie's thankful for:

- 2 crazy girls who keep my life far from boring.

- Bananas and peanut butter (together)

- Quiet time which sometimes= naps for mama!

- Big, comfy, warm, snugly bathrobes for the cold nights and mornings.

- heaters

- living a 15 minute drive from the temple

- awesome baby-sitters

- a husband who makes me laugh.

- the Internet

- hugs and kisses from Madi, Daddy and Elle

- water (for drinking, washing, cooking, cleaning, etc)

- 64 degree weather in November, trips to the park, walks around the pond, and good friends to spend time with.

- Bath and Body Works plug-ins, so my house can smell yummy and festive all day long.

- my camera

- our car

- Having a sister live a short 5 hour drive away.

- A three year old who understands repentance. After pushing Elle to the ground, followed by a stern pep talk, Madi quietly retreated to her bedroom, knelt down on the floor and said the sweetest prayer- asking Heavenly Father to forgive her for being unkind to Elle and for help in being kind. Its moments like these that bring tears to my eyes and make me extra grateful to be a mom and being able to raise my children in the church.

Spencer's thankful for:

- Passing the California Bar!

- Pumpkin pecan cheesecake season at the Cheesecake Factory

- family traditions

- daddy-daughter dates

- fall football games

- good books

- When Madi is nice to her sister Elle and helpful and obedient to her Mommy and Daddy.

- The power of prayer and fasting

Results are IN . . .

After a long 3 months of waiting, a torturous week of not knowing, a sleepless night of anticipation, and the longest day ever- feeling nauseous, anxious, and stressed- Spencer logged in this evening to get the results that could either bring complete relief or deep depression.

He insisted on checking alone, but I snuck up the stairs to listen at the door and wait. Sure enough, just as I expected, I heard the sigh of relief. The door flew open and his face said it all! Congratulations Spence- all that hard work paid off! A huge celebration is in order!

I wasn't sure where to look at first, just read the sentence below his name.