Joy in the Journey: December 2011

Look at me, only a month behind now...and catching up fast...just wait til you see all these pictures pretty much all from November. We made the trek to Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with Tennille and Clay. My mom and dad went too because Brinley is getting baptized. So, twelve hours in the car with one stop to eat ain't bad for two kids...and we survived without blood clots Tennille!! The dvd player saved us and Axel was in heaven. He got to watch movie after movie without his pesky parents saying, "No, go play" Needless to say he went through withdrawals when we came home. He loved playing with the cousins and seeing Gramma and Gramma (grandpa) yes, he calls them both gramma which I'm sure my dad is thrilled about. Which Axel is also going through withdrawals about. Now every time he doesn't get his way or gets in trouble he runs to the front door and cries out "Gwamma Gwamma" over and over. Then it will switch to "Daee, Daee" (Daddy) Sorry, he is at school and your grammas are too far away to save you now. I don't have to even mention the name he doesn't call out...Mom...of course. Maybe it would be different if I was the one gone all day and came home at night to play. But no, I am the discipliner, the dictator, the punisher, I am also the cleaner, and the chocolate milk giver, and the story reader and so on but all of that leaves his mind and only the first three names remain to echo in Axel's mind. But we do have lots of fun, even if he forgets that so easily. Grady had become Mr. Destructo the second over the last month. Nothing within his reach is safe. Just when Axel stops taking the balls off the Christmas tree Grady has begun. I told him no over and over and would walk him back to the tree to return the ball and he kept thinking it was a game. So, I said No again very sternly and just tapped his hand. He immediately dropped the sucker in his mouth, and started a hyperventilated cry. He broke out in red blotches on his face and wouldn't calm down for nothin. He was heartbroken and so was I. Crap, Axel wouldn't have even blinked an eye at that....he probably would have slapped me across the face. But one wrong look to Grady and he was a basket case. Hopefully he won't do too much wrong because I don't think I could mentally handle that heartbreaking scene again! :) Oh the joys of parenting....they do realize it is all a guessing game right...I keep thinking, "when are they going to find out that I have no idea what I am doing. I am just a fraud, a mother pretending that I have knowledge and experience." Luckily the Lord is on our side.

Tennille gave them froggie towels, which they both love. Thanks T. (Of course Axel wouldn't cooperate for a picture but know that he was a super hero frog in this get up)

I know there is sleep talking and sleep walking but how about sleep eating? He fell asleep eating a ritz cracker. The video of it is hilarious but blogger won't let me post videos anymore.

Oh yeah by the way I turned twenty-seven last month. Hoo raw! We went out to dinner...betcha can't guess where!! Check out Grady's face...he is happy to be there.

He crinkles his nose when he smiles and laughs. It is so cute. Now, he growls like a bear cub all the time. Eli calls him Bear cub because of the new habit.

These are aprons I made out of white shirts for Alex and his companion. I used iron on paper for the name tags. They turned out pretty spiffy and were so easy.

Axel posed in the picture too. I caught him putting his car in the sleeve pocket of the apron. I'm sure Alex would have liked to find that surprise.

The man in the yellow hat. Grady found it at Tennille's and wore it a lot of the weekend. Goober. He actually looks pretty darn good in it.

I made pies. They are my Great Grandma Hansen's recipe. That is exactly how she used to decorate them, so I was trying to make them authentic but my sister pointed out the resemblence. What can I say my fam is preverted.

The Thanksgiving dinner. The quote on her wall is "the fondest memories are made when gathered around the dinner table." I thought it was perfect. How is it that Thanksgiving used to be so exciting when you are little. You watch the parade, play all day and wallaa dinner is served. But when you are older now you are the one in the kitchen all day getting a sore back and feet and wallaa dinner then DISHES. Such a different perspective. But still a wonderful holiday. I am so thankful for family and food in abundance. Plus working in the kitchen all day around people you love makes for unforgettable memories.

The classic picture of dad and Tennilles look of disgust over something in the background.

He didn't find anything wrong with the pies. :)

We raked leaves for Tennille. What servicable people we are. Axel was a trooper he hung in there and helped the whole time.

What a beauty.

And to include a snippet to illustrate Tennilles sense of humor. Yes they have a toilet on their deck...a toilet. (I could telly you that they are redoing their bathroom or let you believe that they are the ultimate white trash or that they are brilliant because they have a toilet at their utter convience....doing your business while watching the kiddos play....a perfect scenerio)

Matching bandaids. Brinley got a leaf raking blister...Axel is a sympathy bandaider.

Playing with Aunt Tennille...yet another glimpse of Tennille's masked personality. Quiet, shy Tennille to the world but to her family her true hyper, butt pinching, wrestling, high-pitched-singing self is revealed.

She hypered Axel up right before bed. I bet you can't guess how long it took him to come down from the ceiling and from bouncing off the walls.

They go out for Chinese the day before thanksgiving. So here we are buffeting it.

Axel found something he would eat...ice cream. That is after his tantrum display because we initiated operation One Bite..meaning he has to try one bite before he can leave the table...the one bite was of pizza for crying out loud. Its a sad tale. I have no idea how he is gaining any weight at all. His picky eating qualities might just be the death of me.

I sure enjoyed my buffet of grapes and jello. ha ha that is Grady's plate.

Tennille Brinley and Clay and the back of my moms head.

There's the front view.

Axel loves his gwamma!

Yeah I know I am behind...what of it? So, I don't want to spend hours on the computer, what of that? So, I am lazy what of that? :) Well, here is our Halloween festivities. We picked out our pumkins carved them. Axel didn't dig in like we would have hoped turns out when we showed him the guts he gagged, cried and ran away. Later he got up enough guts to come back with us assuring him we would put pumpkin guts in his face and stuck pins in the pumpkin...yes, pins. That was his contribution. They went trick or treating in the cold as Buzz and Woody. Axel really liked the getting candy part. So, did we for that matter....what of it? :) Grady sat in the stroller with a red nose and a coat and blanket while every house called him a she and had no idea he was Buzz...so much for all my hard work in getting his outfit made and put together...not like it was too hard just white clothes and colored electrical tape. Anyways, I thought they were pretty darn cute and it was fun to actually take them trick or treating!