Our Fierce, Ferocious and Feisty Daughter

We had a 9 month well-check this morning for Priya Lynn.  Just thinking about writing this post is making me choke up with emotion, so let's get on with it before I ruin the keyboard by flooding it with my tears.

9 month Stats: 

Height 27.5 inches=25th Percentile 

Weight 18lbs 10oz=25th Percentile

Head Circumference 46.75 =95th Percentile

We sure didn't do our kids any favors with the small size genes. 

Let me tell you about this little princess that has full hold of our heart. 

• I love her name.  Her father worried I'd never completely feel her name was right, even though he knew it was.  I didn't help things when I was on morphine in the hospital and called her the wrong name a lot.  That has all changed.  She is a Priya Lynn!  I love saying her name and hearing how eligant, unique and beautiful it is to speak.  I also feel that her namesake matches her well, just like Porter's does and that's how I like it.  Her Daddy found the perfect match for this girl. 
• She is going through a Cowardly Lion phase.  She has anxiety with strangers.  She also has great ability and I think she's often frightened at the situations she gets herself into.  She also HATES to fail and gets embarrassed easily.  Her doctor explained to me that she has a strong personality and based on my description she isn't feeling secure about herself yet.  He gave me some pointers and after spending a little time with her said he felt she'd come through this soon and do well. 
• Our pediatrician said as he summed up our visit, "With the exception of walking she's basically a 1 year old."  Maybe to his charts, but to me she's still my baby.  I had a great visit with our pediatrician today.  At well-checks he's very focused on the child the appointment is for but also inquires and checks on our family/Porter providing a good environment for development as a whole.  He explained to me how most 2nd children learn very differently than the first and learn through watching and mimicking their older sibling.  He also told me 2nd children tend to be very assertive, um... yeah she is! 

Cheesin' for the Camera

• Priya has a gift for language and speech.  Maybe this wouldn't seem so extraordinary to me if my first wasn't delayed in speech but I'm in awe of all the words that come out of her mouth.  The other day Porter said, "Ouch" for the first time as a way to express a located pain, a huge step to us.  Then on the same day Priya hurt herself and repeated my response, "Ouch".  It was ironic to me that they'd both make a big step with the same word on the same day. 



"Oh yeah, I'll show you again."  Practicing her grown up skills.

• She has the best baby cuddles.  If you're lucky enough to be the recipient of one you'll enjoy it.  Her arms wrap around your neck, her head falls to your shoulder and her nose nuzzles right in.  Close your eyes and let the moment seep into your heart because at the first distraction her head will pop up and her arms with be pushing to be released so she can go check out what's going on in her baby world.
• The girl has a curious mind.  In this aspect of her personality she is fearless.  She wants to know. (period)  If there is something she wants to hold, something she wants to taste, something she wants to read, play with, examine, shove in her mouth or see she will stop at nothing to get it.  You can't distract her from what she wants, all her effort and energy goes into her determination until she has triumphed.  It's a little tiring on us as her parents.  I hope we can be patient with her because this is a great quality I think. 

"Oh, I see what you're saying.  That's what happens when I stuff a bouncy ball in my mouth."

• She has 7 teeth.  Yep.  We hear, "Look at all those teeth." As we talk with ward members.

You can see the 3 teeth on bottom in this pic.

• She weaned herself this past week.  Her feedings became less and less frequent until we were only doing one feeding in the morning.  She starting having reflux from my milk and with only one feeding I didn't want to examine my diet to see why so we just stopped.  She loves her bottle and with 7 teeth I'm giving myself a break on not making it a whole year.  9 months is pretty good and we have better bonding moments during bottle feedings because she doesn't stop eating if we make eye contact.  Kind of a sad/good thing.
• We've been doing baby food for about 3 months and she has pretty much transitioned to table food now.  She doesn't like puree and wants to eat what we eat so anything that we can safely feed her we do.  Last night she piked up a spoon I had waiting on her tray for her next bit and she successfully fed herself.  

You're not seriously going to feed me that, right?

• She is ACTIVE!  This girl never sits in one place for any amount of time.  If she does stay stationary her hands are busy playing, banging and shuffling her toys around.

busy, busy, busy

• Because of the business she burns through calories and eats a ton.  She has 5 servings of solids a day with 3-5 bottles in the mix.  But she isn't gaining weight -- in fact her weight gain has decreased.  So we don't worry about the endless appetite.
• Priya's words that have meaning include: Momma, Dadda, Dog, Eat, Yeah, Yay, Hi, Hey and Bye-Bye.  So dang cute!  She says a lot of other things but it's just mimicking us.  My personal favorite is, "Okay."  She has even put words together before like, "Look Dad".  But I think she hears her brother say it shortly before her.  She tried to say Porter last night, so maybe we'll get to hear that word soon as well!  It's just incredible to me how easily it comes to her.  This may end up being a bad thing when she's a bit older I can already see the report card comment, "Talks at inappropriate times."  Aaron says she'll also learn how to say, "You're ruining my life!" sooner as well. *Nose crinkle*
• I'm still the favorite but she is a major Daddy's girl.  She cried when he left this morning for work and will squeal with delight when he gets home.  She gets so excited to see him she almost hyperventilates. 

Daddy's Girl

• Priya has conflicted feelings about her brother.  She loves him, wants to be like him, and thinks he's funny.  Porter likes to play though and he just doesn't completely understand that Priya doesn't like to wrestle like the little boys at school.  I asked the doctor about this and he offered tips to prevent it, but didn't think it would stop because P's, "Just trying to have fun."  Which was nice to hear that my boy isn't malicious but just trying to love his sister like he does his friends.  One day it will work and since my blog post admitting their rocky relationship they've had a handful of shining peaceful play moments together and this momma hopes they figure it out soon.  That's siblings for you, though.  Aaron and I both loved having a sibling close to use in age, it was a lot of fun, but we both remember fighting as well.  Who didn't fight with their siblings? 
• Lynnie loves herself a good beat.  Baby's are the cutest dancers.  She bops up and down.  Waves her arms from side to side.  It's darling. 
• She makes the girliest noises. Eh! as her voice rises and squeals and squeaks.  She's also really into smacking her lips, raspberries, fishy face, and this weird noise she makes as she sucks her lips into her mouth.  Silly girl. 

fishy face

• She has added to her love of cars with a, "Vroom, Vroom" sound that she busts out when she's playing cars. 

Loves her trucks!

• Just like we saw with her brother's development, her skills change focus and gross motor is taking a back seat at the moment.  Mostly because of the fear of failure thing.  She has been pulling to stand for a long time and even pushing a walking toy around with little support.  But when we try to show her how to cruise she gets mad at us, falls on her bum (which is so traumatic) and refuses to try again.  Which is fine, we'll spend time celebrating her efforts when she initiates those moments on her own and hope she doesn't give up.  
• She has climbed our small flight of stairs.  I was at Young Women's when she did it for the first time which was sad for me, but she did it again when I got home.  With this scaredy cat business, however, she gets up one or two stairs and is then petrified that she is stranded in her mind.  She just goes ridged with fear.  She clings on for dear life and bawls until we can reach her to comfort her.  BTW- Priya requires full-on cuddling for comfort, no pats on the back or being close.  She demands being held, which we love, it just eliminates our chance to show her she can do it and it's alright.

• The way to win Priya's affection is through graham crackers. 

She eats them so quickly.

• She's finally becoming interested in books being read to her instead of using them for a teether.  She has always enjoyed poetry and rhythmic pieces being read to hear, but books are creeping into her interests now.
• She is a good sleeper (knock on wood).  At this point in her life you can expect her to sleep 12 hours a night with one bottle feeding in there somewhere.  Uninterrupted nights from her are becoming more frequent.  She takes 2 - 30 to 45 minute naps during the day.  She toyed with the one long nap during a growth spurt but gave it up as soon as she was through it.  She also refuses to fall asleep anywhere but her crib, making church tough. The rest of the time, it's bliss.
• She enjoys other children and tries to be social with other babies her age. 
• She doesn't like winter or wind. 
• She's starting to laugh at things she watches us do, which cracks me up because we're not trying to make her laugh but then I hear her giggling and realize the humor of what's going on.
• We continue to try and help her let loose every once and awhile to have some good old rowdy house Gelter family fun.  She's getting better at chase, wrestling and family tickles.  She actually smiles now and laughs.  Maybe one day we'll have her instigating such actives. 

Headed into the action.

Maybe regretting her choice a little.

• She still is one of the best criers I know and she has figured out exactly what to do to get under my skin and convince my brain that I'm traumitizing my child by not giving her exactly what she wants.  I'm trying hard not to spoil her, but she knows how to push my buttons.  Sometimes I find myself vacuuming with her in one arm and think...how did this happen?
• She loves Sydney and he does very well with her.  She's gentle by nature with him and he is very affectionate towards her. 
• Her hair is definitely blond but it has different colored tones to it.  Maybe one day she'll have enough we'll know a little better what her golden locks will look like. 
• I have yet to mention how breathtakingly beautiful this girl is.  Her features are just so faminine, as are her mannerisms.  

• I love to make eye contact with  Priya across a room and give her one of 'our' smiles because it never fails, I get one right back.  She's so expressive with her entire face, but especially with her eyebrows.  They crack me up. 
 

Just like her brother she means everything to us.  We hold her close and soak her in because she's growing up much too quickly.  It's exciting to watch, but I find myself wishing for more time with my baby.  She's becoming a little girl and while I still have lots of older baby phase to enjoy, she's just moving through so quickly I feel like I'm having trouble keeping up.  We love this girl so much!

Priya Lynn--

We're so grateful you decided to bless our family by joining us here.  We thank God for you every single day!  We feel of your spirit often and know that you are a choice daughter of God and that He loves you very much.  We hope to be an intricate part of your spiritual life here on earth and that you'll think of us when life throws you challenges.

All Our Love Forever & Always, 

Mommy & Daddy

FHE: Febuary 13th- Want to come?

 When I can get Porter to watch something other than Curious George (P's current love and obsession) it's Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  We love this show at our house and I actually watch it with him because it doesn't drive me nuts.  I like it enough I'm thinking of throwing Priya a girly pirate party for her first.  Priya and Aaron are quite taken with Izzy. ;) So cute!  Porter waves to each character as they come on and at the end of the intro throws his fist up just like Jake and says, "Go-Go-Go-Go!!!"  When they sing, "Yo-ho Let's Go!"

Well... did you know this cast of toddler size pirates are debuting their first movie and there is a special guest star Peter Pan?!  Can you tell from my sloppy little day planner note that I'm pretty excited about it?  This will be our Fun Family Home Evening for February.  I know we're not the only ones who love Jake & his crew; it's Disney's #1 preschool series EVER and Disney have some good stuff.  So, let me know if you have a love of Jake at your house as well and maybe we can have ourselves a little Pirate Possie get together for the Premiere.  Yeah, you read that right.  I'm inviting you to the premiere of a toddler movie.  If you're a parent you'll totally be down with that.  I enjoy sharing a favorite from my childhood merged with a favorite of my child.  For the love of coconuts, it's pretty Awesome!

***No I did not get anything for promoting Jake.  I just like it that much***

Rumple and Ramble

In Blackberry Bramble!

This is a line from one of our most beloved books under our roof, gifted to us by one of our very beloved aunts.  Can you name it?  2 points if you can.  I look forward to reading that line every time this book is requested an average of 10 times a day.  Both kids just love it.  

hang on folks this post is like a ride in the laundry basket... might get a little loopy.

This post promises to be random; sorry for the jumble that is about to splatter from my brain onto this post, but please read, I'd like your feedback on the last part.

• Priya Lynn is feeling better and had a much better day. 
• Porter is still pretty sick but we found out today that his ear drum did not rupture.  There was a huge easing of my chest when the doctor told me that.  Then it came back after a few tests that one of his tubes is no longer working...This means one of 2 things: surgery or he doesn't need them any more.  I hope for the latter. 
• My cute neighbor and friend brought us dinner tonight after reading my last post.  I should learn not to complain because she always comes to my rescue.  We're blessed with great friends nearby.  When she offered earlier today I was doing really well, yet she insisted.  It ended up being a blessing because getting home from Porter's ENT appointment in the storm was very stressful on me.  The last 15 minutes were spent on the road near our home where people die frequently (not kidding), and I'm driving down it in a blizzard with both kids screaming.  I was very on edge when we pulled in.  To walk through the door to a delicious aroma was nice.  Thanks, neighbor! 
• Priya Lynn spent the afternoon with Grandpa Randy and I'm very pleased to report she brought out her best behavior for him.  She is a charming little thing when she's in a good mood, which luckily is becoming more common these days. 
• As I write this I'm listening to a new station on Pandora based on Debussy.  I feel like I've found part of me that has been lost and my heart is soaring.  Do you ever feel like you've lost parts of yourself?    I've been trying hard to challenge my thinking about myself and why I do things. It's making things more meaningful to me. 

 This I do know about myself and have never lost: FAMILY is and always has been the most important thing in my life.  As a freshman in high school we had to take these tests to classify us into different categories.  We then went through the list of categories and had to raise our hand for the one we scored the highest in.  I proudly raised my hand for family only to lift my eyes to see I was one of two people in the room with my hand up.  Always and Forever.  Here's a little joyful family moment earlier this evening.  

  I LOVE them.  I can't help but laugh, giggle and smile.  They're just so stinkin' cute and Priya's faces... she's so hilarious!  I love them so much it hurts.  I say prayers of thanks for them and the man creating the wind in their faces...Yep he's that fast!

p.s. in other heart singing news go read this.  Another friend has committed to adopted from Reese Rainbow.

In the Land of the Ill

My poor kids can't catch a break. After a hard Monday with Priya crying more than normal and refusing to be put down I took her to the doctor Tuesday. She had an ear infection. Porter went to school that day and seemed to be 100% better. Then that evening it became obvious he was in a lot of pain and then we noticed a discharge coming from his ears... his ear was infected as well.  There wasn't much we could do for him besides help with pain medicine. When he woke up a little later that night we noticed that he was bleeding from that ear. We went back to the doctor the following day to get P on antibiotics along with his sister. Ear infections aren't fun but I wasn't worried about being contagious any more and if the kids had something to help with their pain they were doing great. Then Friday morning Porter woke up with a fever and cough. Back to the doctor office we went.  He had caught a different virus.  We saw the physician assistant and I was very nervous about it.  We almost always see a doctor because P can be complicated.  This PA was so thorough and we left with his cell phone number with specific instructions on how to contact him immediately if Porter got worse over the weekend.  Respiratory illness is never fun, but it's very dangerous to Porter with his narrow airways.  I see posts from friends all winter long about trips to the ER, long hospital stays for pneumonia...I worry about it a lot.  To get a guy in our corner ready to take a call on his weekend to talk us through symptoms and meet us at the hospital if needed is a DS Momma's dream come true.  Yay, I'll be requesting the PA from now on.

So, since the first of this year there has been someone sick in this house.  Thankfully, I'm almost better and Aaron has been better for a while.  Priya's infection is gone, but she can't seem to get rid of the congestion.  Every time I wipe her nose it bleeds, seriously breaks my heart.  Porter is still feverish and sick.  His ear bled for 3 days so we're going to get that checked out Monday at the ENT because his pediatrician just isn't confident enough to say it was only an infection.  Kinda scared his ear drum may have burst. (Sorry I write so much about what's happening with us, but you'd be surprised how helpful it is when doctors ask for dates and medical history.)

P helping with the laundry and sporting a green cloth diaper.

I decided in an effort to get a step closer to my cleaner house goal to have Porter help me.  It's not as fast to have him help me, but there are 2 major perks. 1) I can still work on chores. 2) he's engaged and learning!  He loves to help with every step of the laundry except folding.  He really likes to vacuum and cook.  He hates to dust, he's my boy.

You'll be hearing about my resolutions more than you'd like I'm sure.  Here's the first check mark. 

We've made the switch to cloth diapers!

My kids love them!

I love them! They're easy to clean and keep up!

There's nothing cuter than a baby in nothing but a diaper.  Except a baby in a cloth diaper in a cute color!

My only complaint:  why didn't we make the switch sooner?

 

General Child Love!

Porter threw a glass bowl when he couldn't tell us he was full, or wanted something different, or something like that.  He was shocked at the shattering, he tried to down play it with laughter, then saw the looks on our faces and almost fell to pieces.  It was really hard to keep the stern face and not wrap him up in my arms when he felt so bad about it.   We had a good talk with him.  Here's to hoping it discourages the behavior.  I'm still finding glass.

 

The results of P having a communication tantrum at the table.

Our little Princess turned 9 months old!  We won't have stats for a bit and then I'll do a post all about her.  I held her tonight and remembered the first night I held her.  I look at her and thought about all the little and big things I adore about her

My phone case is her favorite teether!

New Beginnings was this week in Young Women's!

I was in charge of refreshments to go along with our Sports theme.

I didn't want to pay for scrapbook paper to wrap our soda so I painted some computer paper to save some money.

I think they turned out cute.

Aren't they so cute!  Love them. 

Life keeps moving, healthy or not!

Aaron surprised me with these today.  They were to brighten my January day and a bribe to let him keep running since long runs are here.  I'll take them!  Who am I kidding?  I love them!  Guess I'm not above bribery. 
 

Life vs. List

I didn't write my list of resolutions expecting all of them to get done right away. I did write them expecting them to be my guide to remember my priorities for 2012. That was true for all of them expect for one

... the one about decluttering and organizing our home...

I found myself being obsessive and relentless about this goal. What makes it even worse is I didn't just do this to myself I was this way with my family as well. Part of that goal for me was to create and stick to a weekly cleaning schedule which when I finished equated to 2 loads of laundry a day and 1- thirty minute chore. No biggy right? Right! Determination is needed to change, well just remember that as I share these stories.

I visited my friend Heidi on the first Thursday of the month after picking Porter up from school. I had spent the morning doing my chores while P was at school and still had a few to go. Before our visit I was getting really frustrated with Porter's behavior, I even complained about it to Heidi. Honestly, P is 2 1/2 years old now and he understands everything that a typical child his age does but he can't communicate even half of what he understands. I can't imagine how frustrated he must get and it comes out negatively sometimes. As we drove to Heidi's I was going through my daily task list. I still had a load of laundry to fold, dinner to make, YW lesson to work on, and temple exchange to get ready for. Then shortly after complaining about Porter's behavior Heidi showed me something. Porter just wanted attention and love. She was giving it to him and he was behaving. He cuddled with her, talked sweetly with her and it was nice for both of them. On our way home it stuck in my mind and softened my heart. That afternoon instead of battling out snack time which seemed to only end with tossed food and time out, I let Porter sit in my lap to eat. There wasn't a problem. He fed himself with no mess. After he finished he turned around and hugged me. Humbled, but I guess it wasn't enough.

Some of you may have seen this facebook status the other day:

ME EATING CROW: I thought Aaron Gelter was being a baby over a cold this weekend. Well the worst of it caught up to me and he immediately took the day off, took the kids and let me rest. He is a better person than me. Sorry honey. :(

The reason I felt I needed to appologize to him was because when he was feeling as misrable as I was I dragged his butt and both kids to the hardware store to buy supplies for my laundry room storage. They are what will keep me from having laundry in our living room everyday all day. Buying the supplies ended up being more complicated than anticipated and with 2 children who didn't feel well our patience was running a little thin. I even thought a few times that I should just forget it and take my family home. But did I listen? NO! (downward head shake) I kept pushing. We got home with all the supplies we needed. We got the kids to bed and I had a minute to reflect. I literally thought, "Maybe I just have to be a nasty, naggy, pushy person for things to get done around here." Ugh, I felt pretty disgusted with myself and decided to just privately apologize to Aaron. Then again when I got so sick and he was positive and supportive.

2 stories 1 lesson. Let go of the way you think it should be Meg! I'm sitting in my family room, which I've been hoping to get clean for the past week. This is not the house I had envisioned for 2012. Does that mean I failed? That my resolutions should be tossed out the window? Absolutely not! My resolve is just as strong to improve our lives through these goals. Am I going to keep up the MUST get done attitude. Nope! My house may get messy, but my children are worth it. That doesn't mean it won't ever be clean again or that there will never be a time in my life when my house will be orderly more regularly. All it means is that at this time my children's needs and personalities are such that they take the majority of my attention. I'll just go ahead and admit it... Porter and Priya love each other (we see it every day) but they have yet to learn how to play nicely together. Never being able to leave them means no hands free time for Mama. Their naps don't overlap, either. I just need to be honest with myself about my situation and what I can and want to do with my time. They're only little once and this time of my life will pass. I know I'll miss it. With that in mind I choice to enjoy it while it's here. Even if I forget and I write these posts about doing better too frequently.

{She is growing up so fast. I love this older baby phase we're in right now.}

{He loves stomping in crunchy snow}

{Playing in the dog's kennel never gets old for him}

Lately this phrase goes through my head over and over. "Live in the moment, not for the moment." Have you ever had this thought, "That would make a great blog post?" "That would be so awesome!" and visions of how it should be go through your head. I've thought about this little self created affirmation of mine and what it really means to me. I want to be present in my life. I don't want to be planning my present away for grand moments in the future. There always needs to be some planning and planning makes for some great moments, but I get lost in how I think things should be and overlook how spectacular they are right now. I'll end with one more resolution:

Remember my goals while not letting them make me feel negatively about myself. Remember to keep my eyes open to the positive. Breathe in my family.

{Homemade pizza night is one plan that has had awesome results! It too required some practice, mistakes and learning.}

New Years and There After

A word (okay lots of words) about New Years... We spent New Years running errands and working around the house. We just put the kids to bed like normal. I think P will be ready for a New Years celebration next year, but we'll ring it in at like 7 or 8. I think we may start a fun little tradition I heard about from the ladies in the YW presidency with me: Baby New Years or Mother Goose brings a small gift on New Years Eve.

Aaron and I settled in for a cozy night together with a treat and a movie. Sparkling Cider and cookies n' cream brownies. It hit the spot. Aaron got to pick the movie so we watched HANNA. Umm... remember I'm a baby about violence. I spent a good part of the movie with my eyes closed asking Aaron to tell me when it was over and then couldn't sleep when we went to bed at 1am. I'm not going to give the movie a bad review because the story line was very good I just can't stomach violence so it wasn't great for me. New years day we really wanted to do something fun, but we also didn't want to be out with all the other people who had the day off and wanted to do something fun. Crowds take a lot of the fun out of things for me. (Maybe I'm just a really up tight person... no crowds, no violence?) After discussing lots of different options I called my parents and asked if Porter could come for a horse ride. They had plans but created a 3 hour window for us to come visit and for Porter to ride Dodger. Porter grinned the entire time. I got on with him for a minute; the boy was so relaxed and calm. I think he'll continue to love horses throughout his life. It was really nice.

That evening the sick hit our home starting with Little Miss Priya Lynn. :( She gave it to Aaron who gave it to Me and I passed it on to Porter over the course of a week. Here is my public apology to our handful of friends whom we visited thinking we weren't contagious anymore and almost better. The sick tricked us, so if you get sick we're sincerely sorry. :( Non of us are 100% yet. After a trip to Instacare last night I found out I got a sinus infection as a result of the sick and since being on an antibiotic I actually feel like I can handle the task of putting this family, home and eventually myself back together, whereas pre-antibiotic Meghann just wanted to go to sleep or drill a hole in her head so the pressure would go way. That Meghann was struggling to keep it together; thank goodness this all feels manageable now.

This is a picture of me trying to act normal while saying, "Hurry, Hurry get a picture!" We knew Porter didn't feel well because he was sitting in one place and cuddled into my shoulder. Even when you don't feel well your child resting their head on your shoulder is still the greatest, sweetest, feeling in the world!

*Mommy Note: this picture was taken the day before the kids got haircuts. Priya was an angel! She didn't flinch let alone put up any kind of fight. I have a little locket of the curls that were at the base of her neck. :) I decided to just buzz it now that it has finally started to grow so it will grow out evenly and while she can still pull off the bald baby look. Porter was a monster as usual. I guess the only way for him to do well is if we send him to spend the day with his friends, then their parents cut his hair without us around. That's the only scenario of a successful haircut ever! It's worth another try right? My sweet friend was shaking because she was so scared of cutting him. I'm so grateful for her patience with him because he really was/is terrible about it.

17 Days Since Christmas

Guess it's time to say something about it. It was nice, it was busy, it went too fast. :( The Holiday didn't come without its challenges. Our schedule was jam packed. We started the celebrations off at my Grandma Lynda's Christmas Eve party. Before we left we let the kids open their first present: Christmas Pajamas! I did not make them this year. I found a good deal on black Friday and thought to myself, "Your sewing machine hasn't been out since Priya was born... you better buy those!" So I did.

Priya went for the bow right away. Then she refused to let it go and it had to go with her in the car seat for the ride out. They're ready for the party!

This picture makes me so happy. My 3 rowdy high school age cousins were so fantastic with Porter. They were sitting on the floor in a semicircle cheering and playing with him. He would run full speed across the room and pick one of them to tackle and tickle at the last minute. As you can see he didn't enjoy it at all.

P got a little too warm in his jammies so we switched it up. It's a good thing because he had to take a very important phone call that was apparently pretty hilarious because he was talking and laughing a lot! My family members who have never seen him do this before were dying with amusement. He's a cute kid that's for sure.

My Grandpa Bruce and Porter disappeared and this is where we found them. They were having fun!

My family is amazing and they orchestrate a service project for the local homeless shelter that we work on each Christmas Eve. I would like to say I contributed, but aside from my donation I wasn't able to help with all the kid chasing I had going on.

P chatting with Grandpa Lynda and proof that I was at the party. I'll try to remember to post our Christmas letters from this year. It was fun writing letters for the kids. I'm excited to read everyone else's. I felt bad during the reverent part of the party because the majority of those in attendance can be quiet, but my children weren't despite our efforts. I just felt like we were ruining that part of the party. Sorry, fam!

Decorating the birthday cake for Baby Jesus. Now I'm craving Texas Sheet cake. I always love hearing Grandpa read the Christmas story to us. I've heard it every Christmas Eve since I can remember.

The rest of the night and well into the morning was spent wrapping. Ugh. I was so excited to go to bed. But the gifts turned out lovely.

We didn't do the come down first thing Christmas Morning to open gifts because we had church at 9a.m. (sluffing was not an option, I sang in sacrament which was nice because we were on time) and with the kids being up late for the Christmas party the night before it just wasn't going to happen. I really think that we should have Church EVERY Christmas no matter what day it is. It was so lovely, uplifting and if that were the only thing we did to celebrate I would have felt completely fulfilled. When we got home Priya needed a nap and the wait was killing me, but the kids were oblivious. With Priya asleep we went to work on our special Christmas Breakfast. It has changed every year to our kids current favorite. This year I did a variation on Puffy Pancakes (thank you Pinterest) and Porter really liked them. Porter learned to use a fork while eating puffy pancakes, which is a special little memory for me.

This is P enjoying some treats our neighbors brought by after church. Isn't he cute?!

Puffy pancakes.

He discovered bacon, he's a fan. There ya go Grandpa Randy. After Breakfast it was FINALLY time to open gifts!

(The Best Part of this picture: Priya's quietly curious face and her clench on one of her favorite gifts!)The kids got a ton of books. YAY! With the books they got from us and others we added 35 books to our already large library. I'll be adding some bookshelves to store them all. I'm also excited because we now have enough Christmas books to do a storybook advent next year! Okay, I'm done geeking out over children's books.

Just what she wanted. Look at those beautiful eyes! Also I love her Christmas dress, love it!

"Wow!"

Things went a little slower than we're used to because gifts had to be opened and played with immediately with Porter.

I'd say she got it. What about you? Still has her girly ball rattle in tow. :)
I love this face. Originally we had planned on purchasing an I-Pad for Porter, but we couldn't agree 100% that it was the right thing so we didn't purchase one. The kids got lots of books and 2 toys each. Nothing extravagant, but they were very happy with their gifts and we came in $500 under budget.

Aaron got a new running companion. He loves it and it gives him the ability to better monitor his heart rate and many, many other things during his runs. This is a comfort to me because now he'll be aware when he's pushing himself too hard just because he gets carried away by how much fun he's having. Or like tonight when he ran not completely recovered from a respiratory illness. Hopefully it keeps him in line and helps prevent injury as he prepares for his marathon this year.

I got a pea coat. A darling pea coat that I only payed 40% of retail cost for, yes that makes it so much sweeter to me. I love this coat. I had a Christmas budget I got to decide how to spend, but I've been so happy with the coat I haven't really wanted to spend the rest.

Aaron and I exchanged little surprise gifts with each other to try and keep that fun spirit as part of the Holiday. :)

By this point we were quickly headed into late afternoon and it was time to head to the Aaron's parents for Christmas dinner. Dinner was fantastic. Nothing better than good food, company and a warm Christmas feeling. Do I have pictures of the best part...No, boo!

As Priya drank her bottle we were buried alive in gifts. Did I mention how nice it is just being with family. So nice!

Lots of fun gifts! But really the best part was being with family. Miss Priya chilling with Grandma Judy.

We headed home for some rest before we had another day of Christmas with my parents. Something AMAZING happened the day after Christmas: 5 of my 6 siblings were able to come spend the day together! We missed my Brother Landon who was sick. We rarely get to see each other all at once, it was so nice! My parents had some big plans for us up their sleeves. We had a yummy small town breakfast at Virg's (where we found out there soon will be another cousin in the family! YAY!) Congrats Steve & Heather! Then we headed into town for some bowling. I had such a good time. We enjoyed each other's company a lot and the kids were really amusing. Grandpa even took them through the arcade.Clapping for himself.

Oh how I love my Children!!! He's just so stinkin' cute in this picture!

We headed back to the house because some of the Loganites had to head back for work. Little did Porter know that his Aunt's Kaleena & Baylee and Uncle Couper had decided to spoil him rotten this year and they were giddy about it. While we were in NY these 3 got Porter all to themselves and a plan started to brew in Kaleena's head. His very own rocking Horse! The pictures really speak for themselves.

Ryder taking a ride on the new steed. Ryder and Porter played SO well together. Ryder is a super sweet boy. He and Porter ran all over the house laughing and having a great time. It was so wonderful but it also made me a little sad that Ryder lives so very far away because I wish it were possible to get together with them more often. :( Ryder was such a good influence on Porter. He had Porter RUNNING as fast as he could. That may not sound like a big deal, but running with good form for a 2 year old with Down Syndrome is a big deal. We may have to figure out a way to get them together more often. At least every few months.

It was a full and fantastic Christmas! I have loved reading about your Christmas as well. I do read your blogs still, it's just usually on my phone so I don't comment as often as I should. Still love you all!