November is Over?? It's over!!

 

 

I can't believe it's December already

(mostly because of the stupid warm weather in NV,

which has been 10 degrees warmer

even than it usually is here... ugh!).

 

But anyway, I normally just try to make December last

as looooong as I possibly can so it will seem like

that much more Christmas time.

 

Well this year, I'm kind of hoping it flies by.

I'm pretty much ready to have this baby boy

come home from the hospital for Christmas

and be done with this belly and all the

bathroom trips and leg cramps!

(As many of you know, I want a bunch of kids,

 

like 8 or so, but man, I hate being pregnant.)

(36 ish weeks)

 

Anyway, our Thanksgiving was really good,

different- being away from WA or ID for the first time-

but still good.

We got a day or two to spend some time with

the best dad and hubby ever!

 

We got invited to Garen's ("rich") cousins' home

in Las Vegas, and got to see Grandma and Grandpa McKenna.

Lainee and Garen even went swimming in their sweet OUTDOOR pool!

That's a big deal because HeLLo... It's the end of stinkin' November

and 75 degrees out. Boo.

 

Anyway, then I tried a little bit of Black Friday shopping,

but there was nothing on a huge sale that we really needed.

Despite that, I ended up finishing pretty much all

my Christmas shopping that day.

By that Saturday, we had our tree up,

and as of now, all the presents (except Santa's of course)

are wrapped under the tree.

 

(four stockings!)

 

 

We  went to our ward Christmas party on Friday

where Lainee got to sit on Santa's lap

and was way too shy to tell him what she wants,

but just sitting there was a huge step up

from last year's horrified screaming fit!

This year.^

 

Last year.^

(with our old neighbor Nora)

 

We also attended an ugly sweater Christmas party on Saturday,

thrown by our good friends Dayna and Craig.

(don't have pics yet but I will get them soon hopefully.)

 

 

...Now what???

 

Lots of baking, indulging, and listening to Christmas music

while we wait I guess.

 

I have a Doctor appt. Wednesday afternoon and

hopefully that's when we'll find out if we're still

okay to plan on inducing a little early.

If so, we only have like

2 1/2 weeks left!!!

 

Yay!

 

 

Some people's kids......

MY KID came visiting teaching with me today

and the girl I teach has a little boy named Jonas,

who was so nice to let Lainee play with him

and share his toys.

 

They were outside playing and Lainee found a purple one of these:

 

 

Then, as kids tend to do, she found the little bit of dirt

the family had around the garden...

 

Jonas comes inside and says "Mom there's dirt on me."

She asks why and he says Lainee.

She brushes him off and he goes back.

He comes in again and the same conversation happens.

 

So I go to find her and she dumped dirt

not only all over Jonas' clothes and hair,

but all over the patio,

and her own clothes and hair.

 

What the... She's such a girly girl

I wouldn't usually expect this kind of dirty mess,

especially at someone else's house.

Luckily no one was mad at us but

needless to say I was a little embarassed

and had Lainee apologize.

 

Sometimes....

why?

Cousins!

Lainee has been both spoiled rotten

and lonely like crazy

for the last two years because

Garen and I are both the oldest child

so none of our siblings had kids.

 

BUT now... As you know, she's got

a baby brother on the way in six weeks,

but she also just got her first

(not one but TWO) baby cousins!

 

Baiden was born a few weeks ago,

and Kennadie was born just a couple

of days ago!

(wish I had pictures)

 

 

 

We don't get to meet them until after Christmas,

but we are all soo EXCITED they're here!

 



Pierced Ears

BIG news!

 

Six weeks ago yesterday, Lainee got her ears pierced...

I know I know. She's pretty little and I always swore

my girls wouldn't have their ears pierced until they're

 at least 8 or 10 years old but, this 2-year-old of mine was

always talking about how she wanted

holes in her ears like Mom's.

I kept telling her "when you're bigger" and

 she kept telling me "I am bigger."

 

Needless to say she eventually talked me into it

 (I know that makes me look like a huge push-over)

and really what is our reason for putting an age on it?

Just so she could clean them without help?

I didn't mind helping her clean them after helping her

make sure her teeth were brushed every morning and evening.

 

The day we had it done, she was back and forth

on whether she was really going to do it.

We had a serious discussion about how it would hurt,

and that she would have to let me help her keep them clean, etc.

The discussing and debating resulted in...

a teeny pair of sterling silver, aquamarine studs.

 

After the first one went in, she freaked out a little

and I had to hold her and explain that she would

only have one hole if we couldn't do the other,

so she took a second sucker from the lady

and let her finish piercing the second ear.

By the time her dad got home that evening,

the dramatic part was over and she was in love with them.

 

Anyway our six weeks is up!

So yesterday we got to go to the mall and pick out new earrings!

Her favorites were dragonflies so those were the first ones she had me put in.

 She could not be more excited!

This morning while talking to herself in the bathroom mirror she said

 "mama called the doctor and the monkeys said... MY EARRINGS!!!"

 haha.

We got a taste of fall!

...just not here.

We have been in Washington with my family for the last week or so and, although everyone else was bummed about the rain, I actually kind of enjoyed being cooled off for a few days!
We went to celebrate Jordan and Ariel's wedding (which we missed because it was in North Carolina), so it made for a busy week since the reception party was in my parents' house,
but it was GORGEOUS!

The bride and groom greeting guests.

Opening gifts int the middle of the clean-up mess after the party.

 

My two wonderful grandmothers.

Lainee and her sweet flower in her hair.

Some decorations. (I painted the letters on the door.)

Trying to get some pictures of the downstairs before the party.

beautimus centerpieces arranged by my Grandma Hill.

Soups, rolls, bread, pumpkin cupcakes, crunchy no-bakes, caramel apples,

looking all pretty, and tasting even prettier.

Lovely. My mom did such an awesome job!

But I think she, Jordan and Ariel, and the rest of the family

are happy to have it all over and just settle down for a while.

 

~MORE PICTURES~

of what we did and didn't do

while we were there.

 

Lainee helping Grandma wash the outside of the windows and doors.

This is what she calls "Grandma's little beam for me."

We didn't have much of a costume since we didn't

have alot of room to pack one on the plane,

but I think she's a pretty cute little witch anyway!

Trick-or-Treating with her buddy Kimball the skunk.

We usually get to see Kimball and her mom Chrissy

while we're in Moses Lake and I'm so glad Chrissy is

married to Kent just for that reason!

 

It wasn't the most exciting week other than trick-or-treat

and the reception but it's always the best to spend time with

the family.

 

The day before we left to come back here,

Lainee woke up with a super croupy cough

so we've been dealing with a fever and the Croup

but it's good to be back in our own beds.

 

There's no place like home.

(Home where my mom and dad are,

and home where my hubby and kid are.)