Amy's Off

Well, my sister has now left for the Missionary Training Center, where she will be for the first few weeks of her mission. If you're curious about what an LDS mission is like, I will be posting her weekly letters on her blog at this address:

http://sistercollyer.blogspot.com/

We miss her already, but are so excited for and proud of her.

Solids

So we finally started Hannah on solids today. She has had a bad cough, and diarrhea, so it wasn't hard to decide rice cereal would be the starter. She did really well...especially at first. After that she thought it was fun to blow raspberries whenever I put food in her mouth. Rather messy.
Which reminds me of a conversation that took place as I was giving the girls a bath the other day. It went like this.

Hannah: ::::blowing raspberries::::
Mom: Hannah, are you blowing me raspberries?
Addison: Blow them at me Hannah! Blow them at me!
Hannah: ::::blowing raspberries:::::
Addison: :::chomping on the air::::: yum yum, I love Raspberries, thanks Hannah.

I just about died laughing.

Anyway, back to first-time solids. Yes, they went very well. What do you think Hannah, did you like them?
I'll take that as a yes.

6 months

This month Hannah:

Rolled over on her stomach while she was sleeping (nap and night)...fortunately she hasn't for the past few days.

Rolled over IN her baby bouncer.

Began to sit pretty well when supported.

5 months...a little late.

Well, in my defense, I did have the swine flu when Hannah turned 5 months old...but I haven't had it all month, so I don't have an excuse for how late this post is.

Thanks to my brother Eric for the pictures. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have her 5 month old Minnie picture.
This month Hannah:
Really perfected the raspberry
Started grabbing her feet when I was changing her diaper, and now they regularly entertain her.
Moved toy from hand to hand
Started babbling even more.

When she wakes up I'm taking a 6 month Minnie picture, so hopefully I'll have a new post sometime tomorrow. :o)

Our Christmas Tree

It really is a miracle the tree got up this year at all (I'm heading to California in less than two weeks and will be there through Christmas) let alone by December 1st!We did a family night on the real meaning of Christmas (using the story I posted). It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. Keeping a 3 year old entertained is tough work, even when you have lots of visuals. But today I heard her asking Amy (who is in town until Saturday), "Why is the ornament blood?" As Amy tried to explain to my three year old what a symbol was, I rejoiced. Something did get through to her!

Getting the Christmas Tree

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, Bart's family heads to the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree. Here are some of the highlights from this year's adventure:

These two handsome mountain men.Bart showing Addison deer tracks.

By the way, on the way home from Moab this was heard in our car as the sky out side darkened:

Addison: "Mom, I'm trying to peel my eyes for deer, but I can't see them in the dark!"

I'm so glad I told her to "keep her eyes peeled" for sheep the other day.Family time.This AMAZING looking tree!Watching the three boys attempt to get the tree tied down securely on the roof.Addison: "Mom! It's too bright, I can't smile for you!"

Ahhh Hannah, you're such a good baby.

The True Meaning of Christmas

So every year I try and find this story about the true meaning of Christmas, and I never can. I FINALLY (After MANY long hours of looking) found it. So I'm posting it so I can just find it online next year when I want it. Hopefully you'll enjoy it too.

The True Meaning of Christmas

I had a visitor last night and this is how it happened. I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise downstairs. I opened the door and to my surprise, Santa Claus stepped out from behind the Christmas tree.

I started to ask Santa what he was doing when I noticed tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager soul we all know.

Then he answered me with a simple statement, "Teach the children," he said. I was puzzled - What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement, he brought forth a toy bag from behind the Christmas tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said again, "Teach the children - teach them the old meaning of Christmas, the meaning that Christmas nowadays has forgotten."

I started to say, "How can I?" when Santa reached into his toy bag and brought out a SHINY STAR.

"Teach the Children that the star was the Heavenly sign of promise long ages ago. God himself provided a Savior for the world and the star was a sign of the fulfillment of that promise. The countless shining stars at night, one for each man, now show the burning hope of all mankind."

Santa quietly hug the star on the tree and drew from his bag a glittering RED CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT. "Teach the children that Red is the first color of Christmas. It was used by faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all the people by the Savior. Christ gave his life and shed his blood that every man might have God's gift of Eternal Life. Red is deep, intense, vivid, it is the greatest color of all. It is a symbol of the gift of God."

Santa hung the red ornament on the Christmas tree.

The deep green of the FIR TREE was a perfect background for the ornament. Here was the second color of Christmas.

"Teach the children that the pure green color of the fir tree remains green all year round," he said. This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is the youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature. All the needles point Heavenward, symbol of man's returning thoughts toward heaven. The great green tree has been man's best friend. It has sheltered him, warmed him, made beauty for him."

Suddenly I heard a soft tinkling sound..."Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the BELL, it should ring for man to return to the fold - it means guidance and return. It further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord."

As the soft tinkling of the bell faded into the night, Santa drew forth a candle. He placed it on the table and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast a glow about the room. "Teach the children," Santa whispered, "That the candle shows man's thanks for the star of long ago. Its small light is the mirror of starlight. At first, candles were placed on the trees. They were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. The colored lights have now taken over in remembrance."

Santa then drew out a gift. He pointed to the large BOW and said, "A bow is placed on a present to remind us of the spirit of brotherhood. We should remember that the bow is tied as men should be tied, all of us, together, with the bonds of good will towards each other. Good will forever is the message of the bow."

Santa drew from his toy bag a CANDY CANE and said, "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane represents the helping hand we should show at Christmas time. The candy cane symbolizes that we are our brother's keeper."

As Santa looked around the room, he had a good feeling and he knew that I had learned many things tonight.

Last, but not least, Santa reached into his bag and brought out a HOLLY WREATH.

He said, "Please teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love and never ceases, stops, or ends. It should remind us of all the things of Christmas."

The last thing Santa said as he opened the door to leave was, "PLEASE TEACH THE CHILDREN THE OLD MEANING OF CHRISTMAS."

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Bart's family this year. Here are some pictures of the event:

The lovely table courtesy of Bart's sister Rebecca.

Mommy and Hannah anxiously awaiting dinner.

I absolutely love this picture of Hannah. She looks so delicate. Her eyes are so blue and her lips are so pink. I just love it.For how excited Addison looks to eat, she sure didn't eat much.Daddy carving the Turkey.Hannah really enjoyed her spoon.And in case you were wondering, this is how Addison eats rolls.Every year Bart's family does a white elephant gift exchange. This was by far the best gift:

I just know Levi has been trying and trying to get pregnant. Hopefully this ovulation predictor will help him out with that.

Turkey Bowl

Today I begin my Thanksgiving posts with the turkey bowl. The boys played football with some other families in the community at the lovely Grand County Highschool field. I don't know that a Turkey Bowl has ever been played at a more beautiful location.Addison was quite excited.Until she realized Dad would be playing with other people and not her.Ahhh...way to make it all better daddy.And back to the game....catch it Jacob! Catch it!Way to block Sam!Op! Don't hit the kid.And it's a breakaway.We girls were naturally entrhalled with the game and gave full attention to it, not to socializing and talking amongst ourselves. Nope, no socializing at all...The little girls, on the other hand, appear to actually be watching the game...go figure. :o)

Say What?

So last night in bed Bart was reading an art education journal for his class. Suddenly he exclaims, "I have NO idea what this article is about." I haughtily think, "Silly boy, doesn't understand a simple art education journal abstract. I have my masters in accounting, I'm sure I can understand it." So I tell him, "Read it to me." Here it is:

"This article explores prosthesis as a metaphor of embodiment in art-based research to challenge the utopian myth of wholeness and normality in art and the human body. Bearing in mind the correspondences between amputated bodies and the cultural dislocations of art, I propose prosthetic epistemology and prosthetic ontology as embodied knowing and being in the world to challenge the disabling, oppressive prosthetics of mass mediation, and to enable the creative and political agency of fragmented, limbless bodies. I discuss the historical origins of "prosthesis," its use as a rhetorical augmentation of language and technological augmentation of amputated bodies, to suggest that the visual language of art disrupts and extends beyond the dialectical closure of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis through the divergent interconnectivity of prosthesis. Within the context of art education, prosthetic pedagogy is characterized as performances of subjectivity that intersect, critique and extend beyond academic, institutional, and corporate assumptions to enable the creation of new and diverse understandings through art practice."

Yeah, I was lost after the first sentence...in the middle of the first sentence actually. Apparently knowledge in accounting doesn't transfer over to art education.

Is it just us, or is this paragraph rather difficult to decipher? If I had $50, I'd give it to whoever could explain this to me. Since I don't, if you can explain it, you'll have the reward of feeling really smart.

P.S. Janae, what is that website that rates what level of education your blog is? I'm pretty sure mine just went up a few grades.

P.S.S. Bart really wanted this post to just be, "This is the type of stuff my husband reads before he goes to bed..."

My Daughter was NOT supposed to do this!

She has been playing with scissors since she was like 18 months old without incident. Then today, she's playing with a play dough set thing that has a monkey that grows hair. She asks, "Mom, can I have the scissors so I can cut my monkey's hair." I foolishly see no harm in this and get her her little kid scissors. The next thing I know she has cut not only the monkey's hair, but her own as well.If you look closely at this one, you'll see that she cut the hair going into her little pony tail. Not the pony tail itself...well, part of that too, but the hair GOING FROM THE HEAD TO THE RUBBER BAND!!! It was seriously like less than half an inch long!Three years of growth. I was going to cry...I still feel like crying!And to make matters WORSE, we haven't gotten our family pictures for our Christmas cards yet. I think I might just find a family picture from Hannah's blessing and use that.

Anyway, so I called my friend Candace, who cuts hair, and between my sobs, begged her to help. She did a pretty good job.Now the real problem is that I genuinely believe that only a professional can tame this girl's hair. There is no way I can get it to look like that again. This is what it will look like from now on:Crazy.And in case you were wondering what Hannah was doing while all this was going on:

She was trying to escape from her baby bouncer.

Sigh. It's been a long day. Today I am NOT grateful for scissors...but I am grateful for Candace. :o)

You guys are good

1&3 Hannah, 2&3 Addison. :o) I agree Rebecca, Addison looks a TON like Bart. Especially the eyes. I didn't realize their eyes had a different shape until I put these pictures together.

P.S. I have a HUGE thankful post in process...but I think I need to back down my every day thing. I am making a lot of Christmas presents this year, and am realizing I only have like three weeks before we head off to my parents house, so I've been SUPER busy with that.

Baby Challange

Alright everyone, it's baby challange time. Of the pictures below, which ones are of Hannah, and which ones are of Addison? Bart, I especially want to know if you can tell. :o)

#1#2#3#4

Parents, Grandparents, and Family Friends

Here's the big long post I was telling you about. Like I said, I no longer am even trying to get every day, but I had started this, so I figured I'd finish it.

Okay, so I was going through our wedding photos to find a picture of my parents, and I found some awesome pictures that brought back awesome memories, so most of these pictures below are from our wedding reception in California.
So first of all, I'm SOOOOOO grateful for my parents. You know how, as a kid, when you're mad at your parents you sometimes wish you had different parents. Yeah, I never did. Even when I was mad at them, I wouldn't have traded them for the world! My mom and I clashed a TON in high school (looking back I realize it's because we are so much alike, but then I felt like we were NOTHING alike), but even with all our fights, I wouldn't have ever changed her for the world. When I moved out of the house, we seriously just became best friends!!!


I remember one time I was having a hard time with something in college and I had asked a friend for advice. As I was listening to her, I realized that what I was asking her about had an indirect effect on her, and what she was telling me was a little self serving. I don't think she was consciously doing it, but she was definitely giving me advice that would be best for her, not necessarily me. Then I called my mom, and as she was giving me advice, I realized that she had absolutely nothing but my best interest at heart. It made me SOOOOOOOOOO grateful for her.


She's also been so great with my friends. My Friends always loved to be around her because she genuinely loved being around them. She's such a friendly, social person. I love her!!!


I used to joke that my mom was the reason people would come over and my dad was the reason they would stay. My dad can get deep into conversation on just about any topic! He's a great person to talk to. He's level headed and can give awesome advice. My friends used to come over all the time to ask him about whatever was on their minds. He would work insane hours, and then come home and play with us all we wanted. Even though he worked a ton, I never felt like he put us 2nd. I remember calling him when I was in KINDERGARTEN to tell him mom was being mean, and he took the time to talk to me and make me feel better. (I have no idea how I knew his number when I was in kindergarten, but I did). He was also the mediator between my mom and I all through high school. I LOVE my dad.


And now, both of them are AWESOME grandparents. Addison LOVES being with both of them! Whenever I'm talking to them on the phone, if she finds out who it is she demands to talk to them right then! My dad loves reading my kids stories and playing with them. My mom is soooo sweet with them. And every time we see her she has some new outfit or toy for them. We don't see her that often, so it's really not that much, but it's soooo cute when I get a call from my mom asking if the girls have this or that or if I think they'd like something she's found at the store. I have a feeling this may not happen quite as often as we get more grand kids in the family, but I guess that's one of the advantages of being the only grand kids. :o) They're AWESOME grandparents.


Which brings me to the next thing I'm grateful for. MY grandparents. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is my Grandpa Collyer. In addition to being quite, and dignified, and pensive, he is sooooooooo cute with his grand kids. He reminds me a lot of my dad...or I guess it's my dad that reminds me of him. I LOVE watching his face light up when he tells me of something that one of his grand kids did. He's so cute!

And this is my grandma Collyer. This is one of my favorite pictures of her too. Her personality just shines in it. She's happy, social, strong, and proud of her family. I can't think of a time that I've been with, or talked to my grandma when she hasn't told me she is proud of me. And that means so much to me! If she's proud of me, I must be doing something right!!! :o)
She's also a little sassy and headstrong. She told me this story of when she was pregnant with my dad. Her father in law, who was from England and was VERY proper, was accompanying her to a doctor's appointment. He was also very old at the time. But he insisted that she not go to the doctor's appointment alone. He also insisted on opening the door for her & escorting her. She said that she remembered him getting out of the car with his cane and kind of hobbling to the front of the car, and having to take a rest at the front of the car. Then he walked across the front of the car and had to take a rest at the other side of the front of the car, then he slowly got to her door and opened it. Then he took her arm and insisted on escorting her. I'm listening to her thinking, "Oh how cute." But she was thinking this was just so ridiculous, she was perfectly fine and could get there by herself a lot faster. Te he he. Sassy lady. She's so funny.

She also used to play softball. She was the pitcher, and she used to pitch, and would bring all her small children to the game to play. Having kids wasn't going to stop her from doing something she loved. AWESOME. I love you grandma.

These are my grandma and grandpa Timms. I just got to go down and visit them last week (The Tuesday before Thanksgiving.) It was GREAT! My grandpa is just so handsome. When I think of big band dancing, I think of him...I'm not entirely sure why. I know he loves to dance, and I know he loves big band music, so I guess I put the two together. He's always so happy to see me too. It makes me feel very loved.Teresa, his wife, is AWESOME too! My grandma Dorothy had a stroke when I was very young, so my memories of her are mostly after that when she couldn't communicate very well and do very much. I treasure the memories I had of her, but because of the stroke we just couldn't interact much. We didn't get to see much of my grandpa when he was married to Dee, so I didn't have many memories of her from before she died either. Teresa makes up for all those years of not really having a grandma on this side! She's amazing!!! She's friendly, outgoing, an amazing cook, a spiritual giant, fun, has the patience of Job, and just about anything else you could want in a grandma. I love her soooo much!

And finally, family friends. As I mentioned, I was looking through our reception photos for pictures of my parents, and I came across several pictures of some family friends that I just treasure.

This is Jim (and his wife Suzie in the background). Although I have always been close to my grandparents, they both lived relatively far away. Jim and Suzie were our surrogate grandparents that lived close. Suzie even came and watched us kids when my youngest sister was born. Jim is an amazing architect. He's designed many things including the HFAC, the revolving restaurant at LAX, and several princes homes in Iran. He's an amazing person.This is Doug. Doug was famous for giving all the women he knew these great hugs! He always decorated his home with incredible Christmas decorations (like we're talking working trains and Ferris wheels) and then would sit out several times during the season and be Santa for neighborhood kids to come and sit on his lap. I have several memories of singing "Santa Baby" to him. It was awesome. He and his wife Judy are amazing people.

When I first went off to college, a few months into my first semester, my roommate yelled back to me that I had a phone call. When I got on the phone it was Doug. He said that he had just been thinking of me and was calling to see how college was! I talked to him a little bit and told him about classes and roommates and boys. When I hung up, I remember I was soooooo happy! It seriously just made my day that not only was he thinking about me, but that he would take the time to call and see how I was doing! It was sooo sweet!!! Doug passed away last year, and going home just isn't the same with out him. I feel like there's a hole in the community now that will just never quite be filled. I sure miss him.

This is Mike. He, his wife Karalee, and their girls are good friends with our family too. Mike and Karalee grew up in Spanish Fork, so they were really excited when they found out we moved there. Mike is a doctor, so whenever there was something wrong with us kids, my mom would call him first to see what he thought. Bart also loves Mike. When we lived with my parents for a summer, Mike took Bart to a dodger game. I think they bonded there because ever since he has just always loved Mike. His wife Karalee is amazingly creative. She does amazing things with...well...just about anything. One of the things on her incredible resume is helping to decorate Disneyland at Christmas time...no small task!And this....THIS is Doyle. Ahhh Doyle. I must let the pictures speak for themselves for a minute, then I'll tell you one of the millions of stories we have about Doyle.Ah Lindsey, we've all felt that way around Doyle from time to time.Doyle with Karalee and their oldest daughter Ari.Doyle and Mike...Leonard, I'm sure, is thinking, "Who the heck is this crazy guy!?!"Okay I'll tell you the story now. (It kind of fits with the picture below.) ;o) When my parents first moved to La Crescenta, my mom was SUPER pregnant with twins. Their first day at church, Doyle came up to them to find out who they were. When he found out they had moved into their ward, he turned to my mom and said, "All right!!! Another foxy blond in the ward!" My mom thought, "Who the heck is this guy?!?!" It turns out he was the Bishop. He also went on to be in our stake presidency later. Oh Doyle. You are the spice that brightens up our sometimes otherwise bland world.And these...well, these are all kids I used to babysit...including a few of my siblings. This was seriously one of the most awesome things anyone has ever done for me. All growing up I loved Sleeping Beauty. When I was little it was the first movie I ever remember seeing in the theatre...at least I think it was the theatre, I was very young. When I was older, I loved it because I loved sleeping in...just kidding...sort of.

Anyway, at my reception, they announced they had prepared a surprise for me, and all of these kids I used to babysit got up on stage with bells, and played the theme song to Sleeping Beauty FLAWLESSLY!!! I have played those bells before and that is NO SMALL TASK!!! It was amazing. As they were up there concentrating on the music in front of them, I pictured them getting together at Evelyn's house (who is another family friend and, I KNOW, is the reason they played so flawlessly) working for hours practicing to get every note right. It seriously just meant sooooooo much to me! I don't think I could have asked for a better surprise.

This is just a tiny list of all the family friends I could put up here. The determining factor was pictures I had, which really isn't the best filter, but it was the one I had, so I used it. I am so very grateful for family friends who make me recall memories like these soooo fondly. I'm pretty sure there's an old saying that goes, "Friends are the family you choose." I'm grateful for all the "family" that just makes my heart swell when I think of them.