A Different Kind of Christmas

Our Christmas is usually a hustle and bustle of activity as we rush from house to house, multiple parties and activities.  This year I made a conscious effort to slow down, and then I agreed to do the Mom and Me Bake Sale with our kids again.  I made a new Advent calendar that invited us to read a scripture and look at a picture telling a story from the life of Christ each day.  I think we all enjoyed that part.  The bake sale was an overwhelming success and Mom wound up baking far more than she had planned, hoped or even feared. And then mom got sick.  Really sick.  I started with a little cough, and then a fever and on Dec 23rd was diagnosed with H1N1 flu.  Consequently Dad got to take the kids to all of the parties while mom stayed home, coughing and hacking into her mask, burning a fever the whole time.  Christmas morning I was able to rouse for presents and then went right back to bed.  Each day I got worse so by Thursday I was back in to the doctor and diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia.  After a few days of heavy antibiotic and breathing treatment by Saturday evening I was well enough to climb in the van and ride around to look at the Christmas lights with the family.  Through it all, Kris was amazing.  He cared for me, the kids, the house, and all of the holiday stuff.  What a great guy.  Our kids spent a lot of time playing with their new toys and probably watching TV but seem none the worse for our lazy Christmas.  

 Leah adores her new Princess Doll set and dressing them all up in gowns, crowns, and shoes.  She also received the Brave movie, and art set and a back pack.  Abi spoiled her with a My Little Pony set and house.  Relatives also showered Leah with fun presents including a new outfit, her own Legos, and Squinkies.  

 Santa knew just what Abi wanted when her brought her new clothes from Aeropostale.  She also loves her new soap making kit and will hopefully be churning out some delectable swirly soaps soon.  Leah delighted Abi with funky leg warmers and earrings.  Relatives also got her a styling hat, Kindle cover, geocaching kit, and perennial fave duct tape.

 Eva loves the princess castle and princesses that are just her size.  Leah also likes to help Eva play with her castle.  She loves chasing the balls blown by her Elafun.  Tal bought her a pile of new books that she loves to read at storytime.  Family spoiled her with new babies which love to ride in her stroller and adorable outfits.

After Tal received his new iPod I wasn't sure that he would ever surface but he does pop out now and then to play with his Legos in his new organizer or with his pool table.  He also loved his Hulk hands, Legos, geocaching set, magic set, and new hoodie from family.

My Monday, Mom was almost back to being human so we ventured out for a Hobbit adventure.  We started out with the Hobbit breakfast at Denny's (lemon poppy seed French Toast, YUM!)  Then Aunt Sarah watched the little girls while Mom, Dad, Abi, and Tal went to see the Hobbit movie.  We all loved it and are looking forward to the sequel.  

Making Mischief at 18 months

 Eva turned 18 months in December.  She is rapidly making the transformation from baby into little girl, and that little girl is full of mischief.  Eva cannot pass up the opportunity for a good mess.  This morning she emptied out a carton of raspberry jam.  Yummy!!!

 Eva has a fascination with shoes.  She loves stealing everyone's shoes and clomping around the house in them.  But I think Daddy's shoes are her favorites.  Big sister Leah is her favorite pal and she loves trying on Leah's dress up clothes and necklaces with her as well.

 Our Christmas tree was another source of great entertainment for Eva.  I thought that I could put the little soft ornaments and bows down on the bottom branches and decorate the upper branches with more precious ornaments.  That lasted about 1 day before Eva had removed all of the ornaments from the bottom branches.  She also went after the lights and the bows on the presents but we just kept putting those back on.

This Christmas I did a lot of baking for the Mom and Me Bake Shop that the older kids and I run so our mixer was out of it's storage space a lot.  Eva claimed it as her own little hiding spot.  She would crawl into the cupboard, close the door, and just play in there.  Sometimes she got a little upset when the mixer had to go back into "her spot."  Eva flashes that cheesy grin and gets away with a lot.

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then Eva adores each member of our family.  She copies our words and actions with her own little twist that makes it soooo funny.  Both Kris and I like to read the newspaper in the morning at the breakfast table and Eva decided she wanted to know what was so interesting.  Mom caught the flu over Christmas and had a terrible cough.  One time after a coughing fit, Eva hunched over and let out her own string of "hack, hack, hacks."  Eva follows the bigger kids around the house wanting to do whatever they are doing.  She loves to dance in the kitchen during our Spotify party while we do dishes or grab anyone's phone and say "Hello, hello."  She has the finger swipe down on both mom and dad's phone and is getting pretty hand with the stylus to dad's iPad as well.  Being cooped up during the cold weather has been hard but Eva likes to keep active by playing balls or riding the stick horses downstairs, playing Ring Around the Rosies and Duck, Duck, Goose, reading stories with mom, and playing toys with the other kids.  Eva's vocabulary is rapidly expanding and she says about 30 words.  At her Dr's appt she was 34 in. and 25.6 lbs.

Catching Up on Halloween

 As the holidays approached I just kept putting off updating my blog.  And now with the snow piling up outside the window, the temperatures dipping below zero, and the kids all home from school today I really needed a few minutes in front of my happy light.  What better way to spend that time than reminiscing about fun times in warmer climes.  All of the kids had a great time picking out their outfits and preparing for Halloween.  Abi was a Southern Belle though many people mistook her for Little Bo Beep, I think she could add a shepherd's crook and a stuffed lamb and repeat the costume next year.  Tal repeated as Iron Man but we had to buy a bigger costume this year.  This one had a special glow stick in the chest, Cool.  Leah wanted to be Ariel the Little Mermaid.  She didn't want a wig but was super excited to spray her hair this bright red color.  Eva was a happy little Ladybug, but she didn't want to wear the hood.  She found it fascinating that she would walk up to people at our Trunk or Treat and that they would give her candy.  Awesome!!!

 All of the kids really got into carving their pumpkins this year.  Eva's was a teeny little pie pumpkin, just perfect for her to pull the guts out.  Mom carved a fun little smiley face on it.  Abi, Tal, and Leah each chose their own design.  Dad helped Leah make her Little Mermaid but Tal and Abi each carved their own.  Those pumpkin carving kits make it so much easier than the paring knives we used when I was a kid.

Leah's Little Mermaid

Eva's Happy Face ala Mom

Abi's Spooky Witch

Tal's Scary Gargoyle

Family Christmas Card 2012

Merry Christmas from the Meek Family 2012

After being untethered from our TV ( Netflix only) for a little over a year there are the rare things we find we miss, NBA basketball the most, commercials the least.  With the Awards Show season fast approaching I have no idea what the hottest shows are or who will be gracing the red carpet.  Feeling a little left out we held our own Meeple’s Choice Awards and the winners are:

Little Blue Eyes  - Evangeline 18 months.  Eva’s bright blue eyes and cheesy grin help her

charm her way out of many an escapade ie; stuffing the toilet with tissue, defoliating and de-potting mom’s plants, and wall artistry, to name a few.  “Bubby” also enjoys dancing in the kitchen while we do dishes, games especially Rosies and Duck, singing songs and reading books.  Eva just started Nursery at church and adores the bubbles.  Cellphones are another of Eva’s favorite, “Hello, Hello?”

Princess in Residence – Leah 4 ½.  Any given day Leah is a princess complete with tutus and tiara.  Dresses are her favorite outfits, the puffier and twirlier the better.  She loves preschool and learning her letters.  Leah is also an artist and enjoys coloring, painting, crafting with mom and helping in the kitchen.  Leah skips, twirls and sings most anywhere she goes.  Leah adores big sister Abi and sharing a room with her.  She is also Eva’s best playmate.

 All American Boy – Talmage 9 ¾.  Tal is totally into games: computer games, Wii games, X-box games, basketball games, board games and pestering his sisters games.  He graduated from his first round of braces and has a great smile.  Tal is attending 4th grade at a public charter school and loves it.  He enjoys the faster pace and especially having PE each day.  Tal loves cub scouting, acting as the Denner, and just completed his Bear requirements.  He continues to play piano and really likes songs fast and loud.

Renaissance Young Woman – Abiela 11 ½.  Abi is blossoming into a young woman of many talents.  She continues to dance ballet and is so graceful.  The years of piano lessons are starting to pay off as Abi moved into Intermediate level and is playing songs she recognizes; music to mom’s ears.  Abi and Kris took up running this summer and ran the Firecracker 5K on the 4th of July.  In the 6th grade, Abi was elected to Student Council again this year and enriches her school with her kind, caring persona and love of service.  She started a project of knitting baby hats for a local charity and has made 18 to date.  Abi discovered soap making and enjoys churning out adorable flip-flop soaps.  She also started babysitting this year and is mom’s right hand helper, especially with Eva.

Meeple’s Sexiest Man – Kris 34.  The votes poured in for this category and Kris beat out Channing Tatum by a landslide, even without the duck face.  Kris shines by day as an attorney at Hopkins Roden and by night as a husband and father.  Kris leads the Spotify party in the kitchen most evenings while doing the dishes and kills the competition with his laundry folding skills on Tuesday nights with Donalee.  (The one time a week we get to watch our shows.) Dad is the favorite story reader, tickler, joke teller, and snuggler for each of our kids.  This year Kris finally let out his adventurous side with a week long white water rafting trip down the Salmon River and a summer of dirt bike riding. 

Family Cheerleader – Donalee (age not mentioned).  Mom as she is commonly called cheers everyone along in their many endeavors.  She is most often found in the kitchen baking treats, preparing one of 6-7 meals/snacks per day, and washing dishes.  In her off time (what’s that?) Mom enjoys blogging about her family’s activities and general zaniness or digging in her gardens.  She is looking forward to catching up her blog www.meekfamilycircus.blogspot.com, and taking a nice long bath with a good book after the holidays.  Mom ran out of time this fall to get “real” family pictures taken, so I hope you appreciate our Fourth of July picture and how we “really” look.

We wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and good things to come in the New Year. 

Love, Kris, Donalee, Abi, Tal, Leah, and Eva

Bubby - Eva at 16 months

Bubby: Eva is no longer a baby but she's not yet a little girl, she is a Bubby.  And what a sweet, active, energetic little Bubby she is. I love this picture because is captures the blueness of her eyes and her true smile.  Usually Eva flashes her cheesy smile, shown below.

Another nickname for Eva is "Messmaker".  I like to sing it to the tune of Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof.  Messmaker, Messmaker, making a mess...  She pulls all of the books of the shelves, she hunts for treasures in the garbage, she dumps the blocks out of the bin, pours milk on the table to splash in, throws her food on the floor, and can wreck a house in 15 seconds flat.  But then she will flash me one of those cheesy grins and I can't be too mad at her.

Eva is turning into such a little ham.  She adores being the center of attention and making the whole family laugh at her.  Sun glasses are one of her favorite props.  She also loves to commandeer other's shoes and scuff around the house in them.  Eva loves reading books as well.  Several times a day she will unload the bookshelf and then pull me over to the couch so that she can climb up on my lap and read.

This day I had been cleaning out the van and left the sliding doors open to air it out.  Eva climbed up into the driver's seat, put on my glasses, and proceeded to steer down the road, pausing every once in a while to punch the buttons on the stereo controls.

But Eva's favorite activity is going outside.  She runs for the closet to get her "Jack" and "Sh" ( Jacket and Shoes) then points at the door pleading "Go, Go."  She loves to take walks around the block looking at the leaves and birds, ride the scooter or swing on our horse Roxie.  This day I was raking leaves for Leah and Eva to jump into.  Oh, what fun we had!

15 months, So big, So fun

 These little girls are the light of my life.  They love to play together and are just sooo darn cute.  Eva toddles after Leah wherever she goes and wants to do everything Leah does.  This particular afternoon we took a break from our appointments and errands and had lunch down at one of the parks by the river.  Leah and Eva love playing on the toys, especially the slides.

 Eva figured out how to crawl up the stairs on her own, toddle over to the slide and then turn around and fly down on her belly.  Oh how she giggled and squealed.  Then she would hop off and race back to the bottom of the stairs to do it again.  She was so proud of herself for learning to do it all on her own.  Eva is learning to do lots of things on her own.  She not only walks, but runs and climbs all over by herself now.  She climbs the ladder to the trampoline, the chairs up to the top of the table, and the toilet up to the counter top in the bathroom.  Eva is mastering the spoon and feeds herself pretty well now.  She has also decided that she is too big for her high chair and has instead commandeered Leah's booster seat and likes to sit at the table like a big kid.  She loves to drink straight out of a cup, and with just a small amount of liquid in her cup she is pretty good.  Eva also folds her arms for prayers and is one of the most reverent in our family. 

Eva has developed a love of books and enjoys snuggling on mom and dad's lap to read, "That's not my Kitty", "Look at This, Look at That" and many other board books.  She loves wearing her shoes now.  She will grab her shoes and bring them to me saying  "Sh, Sh... " , begging me to put them on her.  Putting your shoes on means going outside, which is one of Eva's favorites.  She loves to swing on the swing and bounce on the trampoline.  She also loves rides in the stroller and bike trailer.  Eva is cutting her molars and we have had several rough nights, but we have also had a few nights of sleeping straight through.  Go figure?  Recently Eva has discovered crayons and pencils and likes to scribble on paper.  Unfortunately I have also found a few early works on cupboard doors and walls.

Eva continues to grow and grow.  At her Dr's appointment this month she was 32.5 inches and 22 lb 12 oz.  She remains super tall, 99% for height, and just right 70% for weight.  I have even started pulling out some of the 24 months tee shirts and pants out for her to wear.  Eva's understanding is just exploding with new concepts.  Yesterday she smashed her finger in a door and while crying held out the finger, closed her lips and "Mmmm" ed for me to kiss it. At Family Home Evening we played Ring Around the Rosies and Duck, Duck, Goose both of which she loved.  The next day she kept patting people on the head and saying "duck, duck."  Eva continues to be fascinated with animals.  She has the Baby Einstein's Neighborhood Animal movie that I can put on and know that she will be enraptured for 25 minutes, long enough for a shower or to make most of dinner. Her favorite word is "No" accompanied with a little shake of her head.  But she also pinches her nose and says "tinky" for "stinky" after she has done her business. 

School Daze

Summer flew by in a blur of fun and activities.  All too soon, school was upon us and we had to re-enter the world of early mornings and schedules.  This year my brood are attending three different schools, with three different start dates, and three different schedules.  It was the beginning of September before they were all attending and we could get into the real groove of school.  But we are settled in now and I can tell that it is going to be a great year.

 Talmage is in Fourth Grade and attending a charter school this year.  We are hoping that the fast pace, more intensive academic environment, and Harbor method will challenge him and keep him engaged.

 

Abi is in the Sixth Grade at our neighborhood elementary.  She loves her teacher and getting to rotate to different classes.  She really enjoyed being on Student Council last year and is hoping to run again this year.

 

Leah was super excited to start preschool this year.  She loved picking out her special ballet slippers to wear at preschool.  She has already made friends and is excited to go each Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon.  She loves coloring, singing the songs and playing with the toys.