Santa!

This year we got a picture of Lucy with Santa where she is actually smiling! Santa came to our ward Christmas party this year and she was super cute about it. She knows who he is now and that he brings presents. Throughout the month when you ask her what she wants him to bring her she's changed her answer. For the first little bit it was balls. Then a choo-choo. Funny - I don't think she's getting either :) Merry Christmas!

Sammy 7 months

Sammy's big news this month is that he learned to crawl! He crawled for the first time on Dec. 1 - just 2 days before his 7th monthday. He had been doing what is best described as "the worm." He would jump his legs forward and then move out his arms to get around. It was so cute to watch him rock back and forth on his arms and legs too but sad when he'd face plant it. It's so interesting to see how different kids figure things out differently. Lucy hated being on her belly and bum crawled first. Sammy loves being on his belly and started with the worm. He also crawled about 6 weeks earlier. He has also started to like solids. His favorite meal so far is pumpkin mixed with applesauce. He's starting to get mobile enough and interested in toys enough to be interesting to Lucy too - it's fun to watch them interact.

We sure love this happy, happy boy!

Lucy at 2 1/2 years

Lucy is now 2 1/2 but if you tell her that she'll say, "no, I'm 2!" She is a little fireball with her own personality and opinions. She is talking up a storm and remembers things so easily. It's so funny the things she says sometimes. One day in the bath she said to me, "How are you doing Mommy? Good?" I said, "I'm good, how are you?" and she replied, "I'm good too." lol! Another time she said to me, "I love you Mommy. I give you a kiss." I sure love this little girl! She is also potty trained! Yeah! We still use diapers when she's sleeping but I say that doesn't count. She is getting more used to Sammy too and actually likes to play with him sometimes. I love watching them interact together. She loves dressing up in the tutus my mom and I have made her and she loves playing with the many, many, many silly bandz my dad has given her. We've also started doing more art projects lately and she asks to do more and more all the time. She hates me to do her hair now - I'm lucky if I can get a clip in there once and a while. She does like it in braids after the bath though and it's so cute when it's in braids. It's so interesting to see how much mess one little person can make and how it can take her to get ready to go somewhere! If anyone needs lessons on dawdling, she is a pro!

Pretty Kitty "Meow" Van Hoose

Pretty Kitty "Meow" Van Hoose

1998 - 2010

We said goodbye to our wonderful cat Tuesday, Dec. 21. He was 12 years old. Pretty Kitty came to live with the Van Hoose twins, Kristin and Tracie, as a kitten 12 years ago in Anaheim, California. While there he made friends with the other cats and dogs and people he lived with. In 2007, he moved with the whole entourage to Utah and a year later, came to live with this Van Hoose family. He was loved by all who had the privilege of having him as a pet. He was wonderful with kids - loving to snuggle up close to them. It was many a morning that we'd find him curled in a ball next to Lucy or Sammy - he even helped Lucy get to sleep some nights. He was so patient with her too - never scratching her unless she really, really deserved it. He loved to steal food from our plates, keeping us on our toes and earning him the nickname "mendigo" or beggar in Spanish. He was most commonly known around our house as "Meow" though. That was Lucy's name for him. We will miss this wonderful member of our family. Rest in peace little one.

Christmas Time is Here!

Do you think he has a big sister? ;)

Spencer and I have the philosophy that each holiday should be celebrated separately, so that means no Christmas decorations or music before Thanksgiving. However, once Thanksgiving is over, bring it on! In fact, this year I started at midnight!

I braved the cold and the crowds to do a little Black Friday shopping at Walmart at midnight. I've never been shopping on Black Friday before and I was a bit nervous, especially since I was attempting to go to Walmart.

It actually ended up being a lot of fun! My mom came along and the crowds were really crazy but between the two of us, we got what we wanted (mostly pjs) and then stood in line for an hour!

The next day we cleaned up in the morning and then put up the tree and the decorations. Lucy loved this so much and it was so much fun to watch her get so excited.

She helped put up all the decorations and later, after it got dark, we turned on the lights for her.

Oh, to have been able to record what she was feeling - the excitement and awe! The next morning I got up and she says, "Mommy, mommy come here! Look! Christmas tree!"

Sammy wanted in on the action too - especially with his new crawling skills, it's tough to keep him away! Instead, we moved the more delicate ornaments up higher.

She spent a good part of that day decorating and redecorating the tree. Her animals also found a special spot for the season - right under the tree.

In an effort to keep her occupied and to have a bit of fun, I've started trying to find some fun activities for her to do. I've found a bunch at a blog I love - www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com. This idea was to make a stamp out of a potato. I made two - a star and a tree. Lucy really enjoyed it.

Then last week, we went with the youth of our ward to see the lights at Temple Square. Lucy said she liked the pink lights best of all. :)