New Zealand Nativity

A friend told me about this little presentation of the Nativity that a church in New Zealand did.  Ross LOVES it.  He wants to watch it again and again and again.  It's quite sweet, spiritually educational, and fun.  :)  Merry Christmas!

 

Early Christmas Presents and Christmas Ships

Well Ross thought his gift to us last year was so good he just couldn't wait to give it to us this year - so we got an early Christmas present...the flu!  Poor thing had a fever for almost 3 days and couldn't keep anything down the first day.  BLAH.  He lived off of juice, popsicles, water, and crackers for a while and is just barely starting to get his appetite back.  

Steve is SUCH a good dad.

It snowed the day Ross got sick!  We couldn't even go out an enjoy it!  It had actually snowed more, but it melted a bit too fast.

Watching Cars for the umpteenth time.

Steve was a star and slept in the rocking chair with him the first night while he had his episodes of throwing up.  Mom made appearances to clean up the after effects each time.  Having three terrible nights' sleep has reminded me how not excited I am to be getting up with a newborn multiple times - though this time I'm sure those times will pass eventually.  The first time around with Ross I didn't believe anyone that I would ever get normal sleep again.  
Ross was babied and spoiled for three days...and seemed to think that was the way life should be from then on.  He was allowed to watch Cars at least four times all within three days, eat his food on the couch, take as many baths as he wanted, and be held whenever he wanted.  Now I think he's just milking it in desperation for the last few weeks of him being our only child.  Personally I'd prefer his want for pancakes at 6:30 in the morning rather than him being sick for three days like this.  
We had a lot of plans for this Christmas break - we had even written out a schedule for everything we were going to do and arranged for a babysitter so we could go see the Hobbit with our friends.  Sick children seem to throw all of that out the window.  Instead we really haven't known what day it's been and have taken turns keeping Ross entertained through his misery.  
Tonight we were going stir crazy and decided to do at least one of the things we had planned on doing so we ventured out to Portland.
We attempted to see the Christmas Ships that sail around the Columbia and Willamette River.  We got there and saw the few they had - which were very fun.  Ross was entertained for about two minutes and couldn't decide what he wanted after that and was quite upset about it.  As we left - quite early - Steve and I decided to console ourselves with a VooDoo doughnut.  Their blueberry cake doughnuts are the best - so we got two and an extra each for good measure (which we had immediate eater's remorse once they were eaten - but at the time they were delicious!).  Merry Christmas! :)  

The Christmas Ships Parade!

Ross hanging in there for us.

Family pic! I'm just about 37 weeks with Ruby...she is SO welcome to come anytime after Christmas. :)  P.S.  My husband is a handsome devil!

A fun whale

Ross's favorite was the firetruck ship!

A Plane

Santa in his sleigh

This was before he was sick - enjoying a nice green smoothie

Sweet boy!

Shrinky Dinks and 12-12-12

I felt I should document this momentous day of 12-12-12.  I didn't do it for my birthday last year for 11-11-11 on the actual day - so here's to making up for it.  
To celebrate 12-12-12 Ross just was too excited to stay asleep - so 5:30 was when he decided to wake everyone up.  He was freezing when I checked on him so I snuggled him up in his blanket with me in the rocking chair (since I'm almost 36 weeks along and practically a walking furnace) and he warmed up pretty quick and went back to sleep.  The only problem was that I couldn't get him to stay asleep in his bed - the little stinker.
We celebrated some more with green smoothies and eggo waffles - I worked so hard on those waffles. :)  Poor Steve celebrated by taking two finals today and studying his brains out for his last one that's tomorrow.  Not the most favorite way of celebrating - but hey - to each their own.  
Ross let me celebrate by him taking an over 3 hour nap later on - hallelujah!  I took that time to take a nap myself (I'll remind you I'm almost 36 weeks along...and being the ripe old age of 29 as well - this body has some wear and tear).  
Anyway - we had a decent rest of the day.  Ross was quite pleasant and we took Christmas gifts around to our neighbors and friends (sporting my new Phil and Ted stroller of course). :)  We finished off our celebrations by having cereal for dinner (I get the awesome mom award for that one - I'm sure Ross at least thinks so since he LOVES cereal).  Don't worry - we had some fruit and other somewhat healthy sides.  

Happy 12-12-12!

Ross isn't so much into posing for the camera anymore - he just wants to look at the pictures.

Trying to get at the camera.

Just out of reach!

Caught before he could move!

Playing with the nativity - note the safari animals attending.

CUTE face.

On a side note - we made some shrinky dink ornaments on Sunday for our Family Night activity which was SUPER fun.  I highly recommend them - and will be a great tradition for our family.  Steve did them as a kid, and turned into a kid all over again when we did them together.  Oh how I love that man.  
Anyway - Happy 12-12-12!  I wish you all a dozen of whatever your hearts desire!

Shrinky Dinks!

Drawing and coloring the ornaments.

Our pre-baked finished artwork.  Steve has become somewhat delusional from all his studying for finals...see if you can notice what's wrong with his ornament. :)

Ross loved the hole punch that came with the kit.  We had to borrow it to actually punch the holes in the ornaments...the tears show how unhappy he was with that - he soon got it back though.

Watching them bake was pretty fun - they fold, bend and twist while they shrink all within a couple minutes.  Sweet!

The camera might be cooler than the oven though.

Our finished products! 

     

Life As We Know It Right Now, Christmas Prep, and a Possible Nesting Bout

Well after Thanksgiving I get super excited for Christmas, so decorations go right up and Christmas music becomes the new norm.  I don't decorate before Thanksgiving - because, in my opinion, it's a bit of a cop out for Thanksgiving, but I can't say I haven't listened to Christmas music before Thanksgiving either.  It was on my mission in Nottingham, England with a favorite companion of mine - Sis. Cotter - that we both got what we like to label "the plague" - how fitting for England right?  We got miserably sick for about 5 days straight, and when you're on a mission and don't have any TV or movies to distract you from your misery - you only have your music (which you're already sick of anyway because nine cds only can last so long before you go crazy).  Anyway - I had always been rigid in not listening to Christmas music until Thanksgiving was over, but it being the middle of November and me ready to pull my hair out from being sick, bored, and SO over the music we had, I relented.  To make a long story short, we did eventually get better, and we avoided insanity by enjoying some Christmas tunes.  Since then I haven't minded Christmas music in November, and even this year pulled it out about a week before Thanksgiving - go ahead - judge me all you want - I can take it.

SO - to ring in the Christmas season, we explored around for a Christmas tree, decorated the house, and went to the festive Forest Grove Lights Parade on December 1st.  All of it very fitting for getting us in the mood of Christmas.  
As for the tree, we dragged our temporarily bachelorized friend Jed (who's wife was visiting family) with us to check out a U-cut tree farm.   He was nice enough to pretty much entertain Ross while we trekked up and down the hill looking for a tree. Being in Oregon - it gets dark pretty quick these days in the north - and by the time we got to the place, light faded fast, and the prices weren't our favorite (though they trump Utah tree prices by a landslide - a benefit of living in FOREST Grove where you don't have to water your trees).  We decided to delay and go another day.  In the end we went to a tree lot and got a grand fir tree which smells divine!  We still have yet to decorate it since Steve is on the brink of insanity with finals preparations, but I'll post pictures once it's done.

Hunting for the tree...blurry style - and no we didn't find one here.  Did you know most tree farms have to trim their trees down a ton since they apparently grow too fast here?

Jed and Ross - trying to go without the flash.

Steve's classmates threw me a baby shower since we're having a girl - it was super nice and they were so generous.  We'll have one WELL dressed little girl for sure. :)  Ross LOVED the balloons - and loved how they glowed next to the lights.

The Lights Parade was the epitome of Oregon - complete with a down pour of rain.  That doesn't scare Oregonians away though - no no - you don't even need a raincoat in these parts.  I suppose the rain here is like the air you breathe - you don't really notice it all around you and life goes on.  Ross thoroughly LOVED the light parades - particularly since there were big trucks and tractors all decked out.  He was wearing his winter coat and looked JUST like he did last year - a little chubby puff ball.  We all got a bit soaked, but loved it all the same.

Transfixed on the light parade.

Ross's dream come true - big trucks decked out in lights!

They had lots of these trailers with people waving from them.  I was a bit confused why none of them caroled though...I mean really?  It's Christmas!  We did have cheerleaders and dancers performing in the rain...though not to Christmas music.

Ross wouldn't look at the camera for anything.  We were quite impressed with how all the parade people weren't phased by the rain at all.

Ross kept saying "again!" after this truck passed...like we could rewind it for him.  Too bad we don't have that super power - only at home with the TV when he wants to watch the tractor part on the movie Cars over and over.

I think my favorite parts of the parade were the rest home mobiles that drove by - the windows were all tinted with all the old folk inside...not waving - probably just staring at everyone on the sidewalks.  this was the best pic we could take in the rain.  Hilarious though!

Ross is growing like crazy - last week he got about 5 teeth come in and since then has had a much bigger appetite.  Hot dogs are his new favorite thing (thankfully I can still get him to eat veggie burgers, green smoothies, and plenty of fruit to make up for the not-so-good food he loves that I let him have every so often).  Whenever Steve is at home in the mornings, Ross gets extremely possessive of him...to the point of having to share bowls of oatmeal and sit close together.  That kid sure loves his dad. :)

Daddy's oatmeal is always better than you're own.

Ross keeping close tabs on dad so he doesn't skip out to school or anything.

Enjoying...or had been enjoying - some yogurt.

We have lights on our tree - but that's it right now.  Ross has been doing pretty well leaving the tree alone - he likes when we give it drinks and turn on the lights though - let's hope decorating it won't ruin it!

Steve has taught Ross how to "sleep" complete with snoring.  Here they are practicing.  Ross is really good at it. ;)

No Ross isn't really sleeping...just trying to "wake up!" now.

He is VERY good at saying please and thank-you.  The idea of patience in between those has yet to come, but he says them nonetheless.  I can't help myself from laughing whenever he's playing with a friend and snatches their toy saying "Tank you!" in a very happy voice just like Steve and I do to him when he does something we like...then we have the conversation that you can't just take kids toys even if you say thank-you in the happiest way possible.  Still funny though.  
We've been singing Christmas songs to Ross lots.  His favorites are Deck the Halls - since every time I get to the fa la la la las - I tell him to do it, and he says "la la" back to me each time - as well as Jingle Bells since he gets to shout "Hey!" after the sleigh parts.  He'll chant "again!" endlessly every time.  If you start to sing another Christmas song - he'll stop you cold turkey with "all done!"  
He still obsesses over trucks, tractors, planes, trains, and cars.  We always have to "dig" and "dump".  If you're acting sad he'll also give you a big hug and tell you you're "happy!" again.  LOVE that boy.  He still loves to help everywhere around the house.  Tonight he helped make chocolate chip cookies - all the dumpings of ingredients were his job.  Emptying the dishwasher is a piece of cake now too.
Yesterday morning we realized that Ross might be sensing his days of only childness are coming to an end.  He woke up continuously in the night and then decided at 6:30 that morning he was "hungee" for "lunch" (which is what he thinks all eating times are apparently) and wanted "pancakes" for breakfast.  Still being parents to an only child, we gave in - and all had a delicious breakfast and Ross was happy.  I think I'll always remember that morning with him.  Even if he's a stinker - he's just too precious.  
He tries to distract us from bedtime by pleading for more books and stories or wanting to play blocks, or needing a thousand drinks before he goes to sleep.  Whenever he's doing something big, holding something big, eating a big bite, or seeing something big - he always proclaims "A BIG!..." and finishes it with whatever he's referring to.  You have to imagine it with him attempting to make his voice big too - low and loud.  HILARIOUS.  
I have lately gotten a bit of a nesting bug going on/sleeping bug.  I alternate between wanting to do projects (recover a glider, make a Christmas tree skirt, put together Christmas cards, make Christmas PJ pants, find a dresser for the baby, etc. etc. etc.) or organize and collapsing asleep on the couch when Ross goes down for his nap.  I'm 35 weeks along...which is CRAZY.  Little Ruby is just growing like a Christmas tree in Oregon (they grow quite fast you know) and rolling and poking around all the time.  Have I mentioned how I love feeling the baby move when I'm pregnant.  It's really my favorite thing.  I'm proud to say I'm still exercising twice a week thanks to my friend Kim who swaps babysitting with me, and I'm trying not to let my sweet tooth I've redeveloped get the best of me.  

So I FINALLY joined the Phil and Ted stroller club!  We found one for a great deal on Craigslist from a nice family who have three kids now.  I'm in love and heaven all at the same time.  Steve was super impressed with it too. Ross, as you can see, think it's pretty sweet too.  Don't get me started on why this stroller is so cool - I'll just say it's a double stroller with the ease of pushing one - and having multiple positions the seats can go in according to how old your two kids are. :)

 So in the picture below is a glider a friend gave me since they were moving...and in my nesting obsession I ventured to recover it.  I've never done something like that, but the nestingness took over.  I'll post pictures later.  I'm quite pleased with myself to be honest. :)

I wanted to see if our rain cover would work for the stroller, and after I got out the stroller - this kid wanted to get in and KEEP the rain cover on it...then he told me to "go!"  We did a few laps around our kitchen and family room until he wanted to go outside.  We tested it out in the rain - and we still love it.  I love that Ross likes it too.  Woot woot!

If you look behind Ross there's another seat there for a second kid. :)  Also -you can take that second seat out and use it for the front while lowering the other one to be a little flat bed for a newborn.  Absolutely brilliant.  It folds up nice and flat too - which is great for our little car.

Steve is just studying away looking forward to this time next week when he can relax and enjoy the holidays with us.  We were talking and he told me how school has been turning him into a hypochondriac - which is hilarious and half true.  I get text messages from him  a few times a week with warnings/reminders/demands of things to do/not do/avoid/not let Ross do/check Ross for, etc. after he learns them in class.  He also starts having "symptoms" too.  His professor joked to him how after you're done with school, you seem to get more healthy. :)  Steve continues to balance his time well and give in to Ross and my pleadings for attention too.  He works so hard and we love him so much!

Now to just get through the next week of half single parenting and Steve getting through his finals.  We can do it! :)   

Thanksgiving, Forts, and Wishbones

Well Thanksgiving turned out with a nice full house, lots and lots of delicious food, games, and some seriously delicious pie.  Thanksgiving seemed to sneak up on us this year.  I realized about a week before it came that it was going to come with or without our knowledge.  We invited a couple to come over but assumed everyone else had already made their plans.  Lucky for us - there were a few others who it seemed to sneak up on too so we snagged them to come join us!  

We did it fairly simple style - but I was quite proud of my Happy Thanksgiving sign...that I mooched and printed off, but I think I did a pretty good cutting out job and stringing my sign together.  My dollar store leaves were a lovely touch too in my opinion. ;)

Our very own Canadian! ;)  Well - pretty much American, but she had to be teased nonetheless since Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October. :)  P.S. Her daughter Paige is ADORABLE.

I won't lie - I love having Thanksgiving at my place because that means some serious leftovers.  We did the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes and everyone else brought their delicious sides that filled us all up completely.  We had the Jepsons, Moores, Jaggis (who I borrowed a few pictures from since I only took like 4!), and half the Steenblik clan over.  I was wondering if people were going to go crazy in our little place, but we borrowed a table from the church and everything seemed to work out great.  The kids ran rampant up and downstairs happily and seemed to get along for the most part - always a plus.  The funny part was that the kids were all boys running around too!  Ross joined the ranks after a little while of observing - mostly just running after the rest of the clan with whatever they were doing.  He did really well.
This was the first year I did a turkey by myself - I was a little paranoid of it being defrosted and cooked in time, but it worked like a charm thanks to oven bags - hallelujah!  I made a couple of apple pies and pumpkin pies the night before so that wasn't a worry, so it was really just stuffing and mashed potatoes I had to worry about.  
After we ate and loosened our belts a little (I was fairly satisfied with how I controlled myself) we played a few games - a fun version of charades and another fun game called "Hey Hey" that involves rolling dice and writing numbers to 100 before everyone else.  It got a bit intense, but our Candadian/American Kendra took the victory. :)  Afterwards we had some AMAZING pie made by the Moores that topped us all off.  We were enjoying ourselves, but kids' patience was starting to wear a little thin so we packed up and all went our ways to deal with our turkey comas and kids. :)  
When we looked to see what we had to deal with for aftermath - it was practically nothing!  My friend Rebecca pretty much washed all my pots and pans - I had to literally put in a few dishes in the dishwasher and we were done.  If clean up is like this after Thanksgiving - I will GLADLY host it every year!  

Ross wouldn't smile for the camera so we stuffed that cute little mouth full of ice cream. ;)  That'll get a smile!

So we think Ross is already getting girl crazy.  I was holding Paige and Ross was getting jealous so I was trying to keep him happy by leaning Paige into his face and telling him to give her a kiss. (Which of course consists of him putting his face on you just with an open mouth.)  He laughed when I did it, and then got a very serious look on his face and said "Again!"  So we did it again...and then he demanded "Again!"....he really liked kissing Paige!  Her dad started to have words with Steve about his son getting his hands off his daughter. ;)   Little bum... :)  I guess the dating talks will have to begin early!

We even had an indian visit. ;)  Julie and Carson enjoying some delicious pie.

Games - Nate was pretty good at charades - but the girls still won - woot woot!

We put famous/common names in for people to act out...I think the Hulk was in there about 5 times - and Mr. Bean was a bit hard. ;)

The Moores brought an apple berry pie, pumpkin pie, and a chocolate pudding pie - yum!  The Jepsons brought an amazing pumpkin roll too which I had never tried.  I definitely ate way too much pie, but very much enjoyed it. :)

Tim the expert pie maker.  Pie is a serious business as you can see!

Maybe going for seconds?

Jack enjoying a roll...the rolls were to die for and you can never have too many rolls at Thanksgiving. :)

Yummy pie!

Anyway - we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were so glad to share the holiday with friends.  So much to be thankful for!

So Steve introduced Ross to forts last Sunday...Ross was enthralled.

And so was Steve. :)

Steve wanted to sleep in the fort, and Ross had other plans.  Though Ross learned how to imitate snoring which is hilarious and adorable.

In the end Ross really liked tearing down the forts.  Surprised?  The whole reason Ross EVER likes to build things or put them back in a bag or bucket is to be able to destroy it after.  ALWAYS the best part.

Saturday morning - keeping warm with the now cold mornings.

LOVE these faces!

Sometimes Ross has issues eating in his highchair and I just don't have the energy to fight it...Also - I'm 33 weeks along...and VERY pregnant.  Now we're getting to the stage where EVERYTHING else looks pregnant too - blah!

Please disregard the prego face and look at the cute one sitting on the counter. :)

Steve saved the wishbone from our turkey - he had high hopes for getting his wish this year.  I apparently won last time. :)

And my streak continues!  Woot woot!

Ross was the judge and confirmed I won.  Also - he looks ABSOLUTELY adorable in sweater vests.  I love getting him ready for church. :)

Steve trying to petition the judge to review the outcome...Ross won't budge. :)