Here Comes Santa Claus!

We were especially excited for our ward Christmas Party because we knew Santa would be there and we couldn't wait to get pictures of our little cherub with the big S.C. We were all giddy and gleeful as we lined up and awaited our turn. Our joy and anticipation was cut short when it became clear Santa couldn't make it this year... instead, he sent his creepy cousin who was visiting from the homeless shelter, Chester Claus, in his place...



You can tell how experienced he was with the little ones by the way he's wrenching Leah's arm behind her back. I didn't feel the need to take more than just this one shot before snatching her up and scurrying away. We love you Chester!



This was the shot taken directly after "the encounter." You can see Leah casting a disdainful stink eye in Chester's direction. Judging by Sam's face, even he was a little traumatized.



All in all we still managed to have a splendid little dinner... though I'll be keeping these pics hidden until Leah is old enough to know the truth...



The beginning of me and Sam's gingerbread house making extravaganza. Which didn't take long to become a gingerbread house making competition... with Sam making every addition to his house in secret so that I "couldn't copy."



The finished product! I was officially duped when Sam unveiled his mind-blowing icicle-making icing technique.... of course I totally played it cool, "I don't WANT icicles on my house." I secretly tried to add a few... didn't work out so well.

Blessed Thanksgiving...

This years Thanksgiving was particularly delightful for me. Our little family packed up and drove to my parent's house in Idaho Falls where we spent a most excellent five days with my mom and Dad, the Christensen clan (Mer, Jason and Little Lucy--or as I have dubber her "Doof." The nickname metamorphosis went as follows--Lucy, Loofy, Doofy, and finally Doof) and my bro, Jesse. This was my first Collard family Thanksgiving in 5 years! Thanks to a combination of my mom and dad gallivanting around from Virginia to Hawaii and my escapades in San Francisco, I have been deprived. SOO, you can imagine my joy and splendor at stuffing my face with the holiday feastings of my childhood. I guess the following clip is the best way to describe my participation in the meal. It went something like this:

Oh yeah... P.S.

While we spent the Thanksgiving holiday sightseeing (haha), soaking in the hot pools at Lava Hot Springs, visiting friends, and being pretty awesome in general, the following is the single, solitary picture I have of the entire week. Tis true... I get a pit in my stomach when I think about it because there were so many fun memories to catch, but all of the cameras joined in conspiracy against us. Mera and Jason forgot theirs.... but Sam and I brought both our digital camera AND our new fancy HD video camera! HOWEVER--after I snapped the following shot my camera battery DIED. Then, when I busted out the video camera, the brand new extra long eight hour battery we installed had somehow managed to die as well. I was sure I had brought the charger but I ripped through my bag like 5 times and found nothing. You can imagine how thrilled I was when I got home and checked in my toiletry bag and there the charger was... pointing and laughing at me. Anyway, at least the following is a splendid little shot of one of the many naps our little beauts took side by side...

Indeed! A week in paradise!

This last week we went to visit Bethany, Walid & Co. in Phoenix. Truthfully, I'm depressed to be home. I'm obsessed with the Kaakoushs. Bethany and I heffed around the streets of Maricopa, herding the munchkins and stuffing our faces with the kids' halloween candy. The only thing missing was Meradith.... and needless to say, we spent a significant amount of time talking shiz about her for leaving our sissy doodle puzzle incomplete! We've decided we're going to build a compound where we can all live together-- by compound I pretty much just mean a house big enough for all of us, not the creepy kind-- and now all we have to do is convince our husbands, which is what we're going to work on this week. Anyway, it was a most delightful trip....

Our "fat fairy." Isn't she munchable?

Halloween was the most splendid/zooish extravaganza imaginable... Leah's face in this next pic right before we all left for trick-or-treating pretty much sums it up.

A couple with mom and dad and our little cherub

Isaiah and Leah had a few moments to bond after the others were finally asleep

The little ladies all ready for church... Look at those bright faces!

Leah was less than thrilled to wake up at Ally's soccer game blinded by the bright AZ sun!

The first night I went up to tuck in the littles and this is what I beheld... is that not the most glorious sight?? I was laughing so hard!

A Midautumn Night's Dream

Leah and I were on our way home from our daily stroll (let's be honest, WEEKLY stroll) and I couldn't help but be taken aback by this lovely bit of wilderness outside our apartment.  I figured I best take advantage and snap some pics...No doubt the groundskeepers were on their way to rake up all the leaves and spoil the splendor!  Autumn is simply magical.. 

I can pretend no longer....

So, I've been having a love/hate realtionship with this blog lately. Every day in the back of my mind there is a little nagging voice telling me I need to update, yet every time I attempt, all I can think about is how much I don't want to be doing it. As the days have passed, I've developed a severe case of "blog anxiety" (nightmares, paranoia, etc.) so I decided I would just tell you all how I've been feeling, post some pictures, and be done with it! I'm not sure what to attribute this blog anxiety to... whether it's my lack of energy, committment... or possibly just the brain attrophy I've experienced as a stay-at-home mom that has left me with nothing creative and/or funny and/or inspiring to say, but, here it is! Maybe some of you have some words of encouragement to help get me out of this blogging depression. In the mean time....

She's sitting up on her own and thrilled about it...

Leah was a particularly tasty strawberry shortcake delight on Sunday

A little cousins merry-go-round--Leah, Lucy and Isaiah

Leah with Papa and cousin Carson

Sleeping on Dad Me, not knowing I was in the shot

Looking like a little old couple next to Isaiah before church!

I was trying to get her to pose, she would have none of it

Oh me! Oh my!

Soooo... this is going to be a quick post because I have a lot to tell about our trip to Utah but no time to tell it!  BUT, I wanted to post a few pics that we got taken while there.... just a glimpse...

THUMBS SUCK....

So... Leah discovered her thumb is ideal for sucking the other day.... I thought it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I shouted for Sam to come look but immediately regretted it... when he set his sights on our little girl, sucking away, I watched as his eyes bugged out of his head and glazed over ... I knew the damage was done.

You see, Sam sucked his thumb till the ripe age of 8. Those of you who know him may find this alarming but it was so bad that his big brother Joe coated his thumb in paint thinner... Much to his dismay, Sam found the thinner to be delicious! Joe had unwittingly introduced him to a new addiction that would take him years to kick.  

As a final resort, he began surprising Sam in the night.  If he found Sam sucking, he would drag him out of bed and make him do pushups... he once did 350 ... The memories still haunt him to this day....

Hours after Leah's thumb sucking incident, after we'd all gone to bed, I was awakened by shouting in the living room.  Given Sam's past, I wasn't surprised when this is what I saw...

................

Warning: Viewer Discretion Advised

We have the most beautiful little girl! And thanks to today's technology, we were able to find out just how stunning she'll be when she's older!

Wait for it....



Wait for it....




Isn't she LOVELY!?!?!?!

DREAM GIRL....

Last night, for some reason, when I changed Leah into her PJs she was in an especially feisty mood... I was startled by some of the moves she was pulling....