Family Pictures at Christmas

What good Christmas card is complete without a family picture?

Although I didn't include them in the actual Christmas card, I think the outtakes are usually better.

Merry Christmas and Joyful Holiday Feelings!!

Love, The Whitings

Three months!?!

This baby keeps growing- and although I've begged and lectured she will just not stay little.
She wants to sit up all the time (while being held, of course) and she can't be bothered to nap longer than an hour during the day.
She may already be strong willed and opinionated. Just like my other kids!

These are the hungry caterpillar jammies that all four of my monkeys have worn.
It was a bitter sweet day when we put them on Feta.

No- in all honesty, I may be guilty of begging her to hurry and grow up a little more. (The sacrilege of it all! I'm not following the advice of every mommy ahead of me: enjoy these tiny moments. I'm wishing them away.

Halloween and my ever-growing monkey

I hate scary things. I don't go to haunted houses or watch creepy movies.

 But for some reason, I love Halloween. Mostly the watered-down kid version of the holiday, but that's OK with me.

Halloween this year was a blast! I had so much fun, in fact, that I failed to take enough pictures. 

It didn't help that I had a tiny baby to tend to.

This is my costume crew:

Indiana Jones (with a shaved face!), Cosmo the BYU cougar, a Minion, and a Fox

And some of our house decorations:

One Month

This baby is a month old!

She is more than 8 pounds 4 ounces now, and I feel like she looks like a new kiddo already. 

She's getting delicious baby-rolls. And look at those cheeks! Let me tell you from my frequent nibbling, they are scrumptious!

 She still hates getting her diaper changed (although she does not have a full melt down scream session every time now, so progress....)

Feta Lizard-Breath

We would like to introduce to you Feta Lizard-Breath, the newest Whiting.

Is this not the cutest grainy phone pic of a proud Daddy and his baby?!?!


*WARNING*Birth story to follow

Keeping the home flames burning

Our two oldest children have started school. Huzzah for modified year round schedules! (?)

Grapes is a 5th grader. (let your brain simmer in this one a minute--- I was TEACHING 5th grade when I had this monkey, 10+ years ago. Now she is that same shape of student at a new school and I am the Mom..... WEIRD!!)
She is in an 'advanced' class of sorts, because our district's budgets were cut and the Horizon's program eliminated. Their solution was to lump all the higher 5th graders into one class and let one teacher push them. (In all honesty, I was a little apprehensive about this 'solution', but in the first week those worries have been easily put to rest. This teacher appears to know exactly what she's doing and she is doing a great job. Call me a former 5th grader teacher impressed.) It doesn't hurt my girl's feeling that all her best buds are in this class with her, and they get to explore and express and learn together all day long.  It makes me miss teaching to think about it.

Socks is a 2nd grader

My kids, they get my sense of humor....

"Hey Mom, Look! I have a hare-y chest!"
"Me too, Mom. Look, me too!"

Love them!

A fiesta of sorts

Happy Birthday, Socks!

We had a Lego Movie Birthday Party. He invited two of his good buddies, and his brother. 

("Thanks for inviting me!!" Pencil said. Someday he'll learn that brothers get a default invite, but this year he was honored and elated, so I let it slide)

Randomocity

We have been doing things.... and I have documented them. 

I am failing to keep up regularly with this blog- but no more! I originally wanted to document this pregnancy and I wanted to keep a record of what we are doing as a family, but this summer has been a whirlwind of busy times and a VERY busy dad, and to be honest, it is wearing us all a little thin. 

(July, you are murder in these mountains!!) 

BUT school starts in a week, and some semblance of a routine will be re-introduced to our lives. 

Sayonara, lazy summer.

So in an attempt to remember some of our dealings, here you are:

Randomocity, at its finest.

A pizza lunch date with my littlest (for now...) I am still trying to understand that he is 4 1/2 and going to preschool this fall. What?!

Oh say, Can you see?

We've been slightly absent. It doesn't mean we're gone or dead or any such nonsense. I'm just getting really good at procrastinating a blog update.

Today we had an exciting adventure, and I decided it was time to share it with you.
(someday we'll delve into the Trek experience, and the two week long trip to Utah and Wyoming.... but probably not today. I told you I was a good procrastinator!)

Moving on....

Running, for fun?!

My kids are athletic. (if you know me at all you know they obviously got this from their father)

We've been trying to slowly expose them to different sports/activities in order to let them discover which one/ones they like best.

In our last home we tried soccer and figure skating (for Grapes).
This new home has had us branch out to track and field as well as T-Ball.

It is amazing to watch these monkeys of mine try new things (even when they are very nervous and Mom has to physically force them amid brilliant temper-tantrums to 'try' it for the first day. *Ahem, Sock with T-Ball and Grapes with Track)

But they both loved it!! Looks like Mom was right. (Gosh, I love when that happens!)
Evidence:

Want some cake?

We are having a baby. This September our family will be a family of 6, not just 5.
Whoa. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

When we found out the baby's gender, we decided to make a cake to show the kids.

One year older and wiser too

Our marriage is one year older. (as are we, but I'll elect not to belabor that point)

Lots of years ago we were married and sealed for time and all eternity in one of the most beautiful buildings on earth. I'm so thankful for those good memories, and for the delightsome ones that have followed. Here's to lots and lots more!

Ketchup

Remember when there was frequent (if mundane) updating at this place? Yeah, me too.

We're playing catch-up. (get it, Ketchup?) SO... In march we had spring break. The Doctor had a class in Las Vegas to prep for his boards exam, so the kids and I high-tailed it to St. George, Utah to visit my awesome Grandma and Grandpa.

It was a brief trip, but I can't even tell you the therapy it was to my soul to be with them again. I grew up next door to these awesome people, and truth be told, I spent copious amounts of time at their house, or in their garden, or in the barn, or on the tractor/four wheeler/irrigation pipe line, or at the Post Office (where Grandma was the postmistress for our small town), or on the trampoline. AH.... the trampoline. We even sat together every week at church. (maybe it's a good thing we've been apart a bit. they might be sick of me!) Their love and example has been a rock in my life, and I am deeply grateful that my kids have been able to spend time with them. I hope we get to do it more!

Workout buddy

I'm not a fan of working out. Not until I'm done. Then I'm glad I did it.
It is much easier, however to work out when you have a buddy.
Even more so when your buddy is him:

Pencil is available for rent, for a small fee. Inquire inside.

A-Glitter-ated!

Have I mentioned that I love listening to this monkey talk?
Listen close, and you'll catch that his little lego man aglitterated the things on the table.
Not many 4-year-olds talk about obliteration, but ever fewer call it aglitteration!
Life's better when it's a little fancy!

are we really that boring?

SO nearly a month has passed without a blog post from the Whitings.  What are we doing with our lives?? I know you are wondering. The thing is... I'm wondering too.
Time is sliding past us and we're just living through it. I don't know if the stories are thinner on the ground, or I'm getting worse at catching them.
The kids had parent/teacher conferences, and both teachers sang the praises of our brilliant children. (no actual singing, but that could have been cool) I'm proud of those kids of mine. They're pretty great.

Battle of the day

We love our new house. Let that be known from the start.

That being said, we all know when you buy a house you kinda get what you get when it comes to appliances and random quirks.
This new house has been a lesson in learning how to 'get' it.

Legos are awesome

Lego guys + carpet stairs = awesome fun

Just so we don't forget

The Lego Movie- a huge hit!

I used to hate the 'winter' semester of college. Every year, it was a torturous slogging through of the bleh post-Christmas winter until the spring finally showed up, at which point I didn't care about school anymore and just needed summer to come and take me away.

That is mostly how I feel about this year too. The weather has warmed (it's supposed to be in the low 60's later this week) and it is all I can do to remind myself that FEBRUARY means more winter to come. Don't let that teasing warm breeze fool you!

What I DO love is being around these crazy monkeys. They keep me laughing.

Buyer Beware

Small stuffed animals are often used not as directed.

I'll never think of Angry Birds in the same way again. 

Missionary Memories

For Family Home evening we got to talk about the Doctor's time spent as a missionary in El Salvador.
My kids were fascinated by the things that poured out of his mission box.

January Is

Yes... January Is.
It exists, and we are present.
That's all there is to say about it.
No really, though, we are trudging stalwartly, albeit thigh deep, through the bleh that is this month.
There is little to look forward to in January, and it feels to be the world's longest month with a grand total of 8 billion days. (give or take a few)


We have had a Spelling Bee. (She made it 5 rounds with the 5th and 6th graders before getting knocked out with the word "tortilla" I think she got too excited that she knew that one, and in her rush, forgot the second T)

Family Game Night

We are still enjoying the tradition of Sunday night Family Game night in these parts. It is different now that we have 1:00 church, and much less time to just hang out after church is through, but especially yesterday it was a delight to just sit and think nothing thoughts. I baked cookies and we 'Troubled' the night away. (PS- that game takes just as long as SORRY, but with the added bonus of a metallic Pop-POP sound every time it is someone's turn.)

The Doctor and I were glad to be relaxing because we both had been asked to speak at church earlier in the day. I don't know why I get so nervous about these things, but I hadn't slept well the two nights before, and I had a lesson for the Young women to teach after my 15 minute talk, so.... coming home to make Spaghetti and Meatballs with Olive Garden Salad, and then cookies and Trouble. We definitely ended on a high note!

Ring in the New Year!

Happy 2014!!

"Hey let's do 'drinks'!"
"You mean 'cheers'"
"oh, yeah."