What a month! I’m finally catching my breath.
On December 1st our elf on the shelf came back with a note for the boys and some Christmas puzzles.
The next day Dane’s dad, Bobba, drove into town and my mom flew in. We went to our ward’s (amazing!) Christmas party that night.
The next day was Atticus’s birthday and his baptism day.
My sweet mom offered the opening prayer and Bob gave the best talk on baptism. I managed to share some thoughts about the Holy Ghost. His friend, Easton Berry, was also baptized and confirmed.
It was a very busy but wonderful day.
Prior to all the baptism preparations Atticus opened his birthday card. He finally found out about the birthday surprise we had been keeping secret for months: a trip to Disneyland!
After a very memorable weekend he was ready to go. On Monday, he and Dane drove to California and had the best time. I got tears in my eyes on multiple occasions as Dane sent us plenty of videos to show their adventures.
That evening they went to the beach. Atticus had never seen an actual ocean so he made the most of the freezing cold water.
The next morning they got to Disneyland bright and early. It was a very full day.
They loved so much of it but said their favorite part was the Rise of the Republic ride and the Incredicoaster.
Day two was spent at California Adventure.
Their favorite ride was Guardians of the Galaxy.
They ate all the food and treats and rode everything they possibly could. The next morning they drove home and were home that afternoon. It had been a quick but unforgettable trip.
Hinckley, Lucy and I had a lot of fun while they were gone. We had some friends come over to play and their first day at Disneyland we went and played at Uptown Jungle.
We definitely missed them and were so glad when they got back. I was proud of Hinckley for being so stoic. He really didn’t act jealous the whole time.
The same day that Atticus returned he, Hinckley and Lucy attended the birthday of our favorite twins. It was chilly but they had a blast! 
That weekend we had some of our favorite friends over for dinner, hot tubbing and we all joined in for a live nativity.
The next week was spent reading plenty of Christmas books (we LOVED Letters from Father Christmas and The Life and Adventures of Santa Clause!) and doing Christmas activities.
The next weekend we got to go caroling with some friends, which is one of my very favorite things. One neighbor took this video.
All through the month the boys (Hinckley especially) kept seeing things at the store that they wanted to buy or add to their list. I found that the best way to keep moving was to take a picture of them with it “so they wouldn’t forget.” These are just a few of the pictures we took.
Then things fell apart for us. The day before my birthday our little Lucy, whose voice had been kind of funny for a couple days, woke up from her nap with very rapid, shallow breaths. She hadn’t had a fever, hadn’t coughed, and didn’t have any congestion/boogers so we hadn’t realized what was happening. Things kept getting worse.
When she woke up that evening distressed and with breathing more rapid than ever I rushed her to the ER. They got us in pretty quickly and I learned some important lessons about croup. I never knew you could have croup without a cough!
They gave her a steroid shot and a breathing treatment (epinephrine) and then we had to stay for a few more hours to make sure it didn’t have any adverse effects.
We got home at about 3:30 AM. I was exhausted and still worried sick about her. Thankfully, she came around after several more days of careful watch and care. My sweet husband posted this later that day.
Even though I was exhausted my birthday was wonderful. My boys surprised me with a breakfast salad. I laughed so hard I cried when they proudly showed it to me and you better believe I ate every bite. It was delicious!
I got some very thoughtful gifts and Dane did everything.
And that evening we had a special treat with my side of the family. All of us got on a zoom call and took turns sharing a favorite Christmas memory. It was wonderful.
We got some of our favorite food from a Greek restaurant we love and then a friend surprised us with a full meal- which we gratefully ate the next evening since almost all of us started to get sick that day (especially me.)
Sure, it was not necessarily an ideal way to start and end a birthday (with sickness) but I already treasure some of the memories.
Even though almost all of us were getting sick, Christmas Eve was wonderful. The most memorable parts were writing Christmas poems with the boys and setting up luminarias. They were just beautiful as we celebrated the birth of the Light of the World.
Then came Christmas morning. Even sickness couldn’t completely rob us of the joy and magic of Christmas.
We were all disappointed that we didn’t get to go to church that day but we had fun and tried to focus on the Savior as much as we could.
It was a memorable Christmas, that’s for sure!
Lucy didn’t just have a hospital visit this month. On top of the crazy messes she made she managed to lose my credit card! Thankfully we were able to cancel it and all is well but I now have a new hiding spot for my purse.
She also started saying she was “sared” (“scared”) whenever it was time for bed. She doesn’t complain much but we did end up putting a night light in her room.
She also threw her biggest tantrum yet at Target a few weeks ago. She had thrown a giant pack of play dough in the cart and when I took it out she went ballistic. The seatbelt didn’t fit her so I tried to keep her down with my hand while pushing the cart. It was a losing battle. She wasn’t afraid at all. She kept jumping out of the cart. Finally another shopper took pity on me and offered to check out my items while I held her. I was so grateful. We haven’t had a repeat episode but you can bet that I’m on my guard when we we go near a store now.
My favorite development has been singing. She has lost so much of her inhibitions when it comes to singing this month! She knows ”Away in a Manger,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,“ “We Three Kings“ and many other songs now. I just adore singing with her.
Hinckley speaks:
(“Thanks for being so good at the store. You were great!”) “I know. Atticus told me before he left (for California) that if I wasn’t good I’d get a fist in the face.” (Said in a chipper voice.)
(A couple minutes later when Lucy started throwing a tantrum in the car) “Lucy, if you don’t stop you’ll get a soft fist in the face.”
(”Hinckley!”) “It’ll be soft!”
(”Here’s your underwear.”) “Don’t talk about underwear! I don’t want people to know I wear underwear!” While we were putting away laundry, just the two of us.
The day after Christmas Atticus got to go shooting with a real gun for the first time. He did very well, which came as no surprise.
Atticus lost a bottom tooth this month. It was especially memorable because it was the first tooth he has pulled out by himself but also because he gave me the money that the Tooth Fairy gave him the next morning for my birthday. It had the sweetest note attached, saying, “…it might not seem like much but it’s special to me because the Tooth Fairy brought it for me.” That melted my heart.
This month his status as a “true believer” in Santa Clause was definitely put to the test. While at a play date with an older friend his friend told him all he ”knew“ about Santa. The mom reported that she heard Atticus finally burst out, “Cade, I don’t want to hear any more of your nonsense! Santa is real! You’ve got to believe!”
This might be his last year as a believer but, boy, it was a good one.
Our official “home school” has been spotty this month but man have these kids progressed in writing!
Hinckley and Atticus wrote Buddy the Elf faithfully almost every day and the elf wrote them back. Hinckley went from knowing most of the alphabet to knowing every letter and how to write it. It was amazing how quickly he progressed! And Atticus also wrote more than he ever has.
We also spent a week studying Greece (here are our Grecian urns) and the last week of the month studying Italy and Ancient Rome.
We read a Magic Treehouse book (Hour of the Olympics) and a whole bunch of Daulaire’s Greek Myths.
After reading about Michael Angelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel I thought it would be fun to simulate his experience. He did it for four years, after all. Surely we could paint something… Atticus made it for about two minutes before he said his back hurt and he hated it. Hinckley lasted longer… maybe five minutes or so, until he made a mistake that made him rip up his paper. Lucy probably could have done it all day. I tried it out for only a minute or two before giving it up, as well. It wasn't just uncomfortable!- it was so difficult to adjust to the angle. It definitely gave us an appreciation of the great artist’s experience.
Welcome 2023! We have just a month and a half or so before our baby boy comes and joins us. We can’t wait!
Welcome 2023! We have just a month and a half or so before our baby boy comes and joins us. We can’t wait!
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