Adventures with Lillian

Recently we've had a few funny episodes with Lillian.  She's still adamant about using diapers and not having anything to do with the potty but has also been pretty vocal about when she needs a diaper change.  Here's hoping an uncomfortable diaper will finally convince her it's time to make the switch!

"Somebody stinks at the table. It's me."

Lillian loved playing in the snow the other day when Eliana and Hylie were at preschool and school and Kyron was napping away.

And then, to keep things from getting too dull, Lillian decided to stick a pea up her nose at dinner yesterday!  No one saw her do it, but she made a comment about how she could stick a pea up her nose and both Geoff and I told her how that was such a bad idea.  But then she made another comment about putting a pea in her nose, so I asked, "Wait, did you actually put a pea in your nose?"  I looked up her nostrils and sure enough, there was a pea jammed in the one side!  The last time Lillian had a cold, I couldn't get her to blow her nose, so I knew trying to get her to blow out this pea would be pointless--she would suck it up instead of out.  We got some tweezers, but our attempts only made Lillian scared which caused her to snort it up even deeper!  Luckily it could still be seen in her nostril.  I looked on the internet for a quick fix, but all we saw was for the pea to be retrieved by tweezers or for the kid to blow it out.  I called to doctor only to be told the same thing and that a trip to the ER would be in order if we couldn't get it out.  (Because this kind of stuff never happens during office hours, only on Sunday evenings, right?) Then Grandma Nelson saved the day--I had contacted my mom about Lillian's situation and she suggested using a bulb syringe.  Genius!  After a few sucks, that blasted pea was out and we were headed to bed instead of the ER.  Happy day!  Thanks Grandma!

It's out!

Never again, right Lillian?

Kyron 11 Months

Really?  This kid is 11 months?  Be still my heart.  He is on the go, go, go!  Scooting around everywhere, partially pulling himself up (he'll grab onto something with his hands and pull up, but he hasn't made it to his feet or knees), and he even figured out how to climb up onto the step to our front door!

Here's Kyron scooting around mid-December

and now!

He's starting to get a little picky with what he eats--if he sees something on the table he'd rather be eating, he'll grunt and push away his current food until you serve him what he wants.

Kyron still loves to snuggle when he's sleepy and so does Mom!  He'll grab onto my hair and press his little face against mine and it just melts my heart (until the grab turns into a yank...)

He still gets excited when he sees Mommy, likes to roll cars on the floor as he scoots along, and continues to be such a pleasant boy.  He's content with others and does minimal fussing when he's tired or hungry.

Still no teeth at 11 months, but SPOILER ALERT!: he finally broke his bottom two teeth on January 20th!

The girls love making him laugh and have started calling him "Ky-Ky"...do you think it will stick?

New Year's Eve 2020

Not going to lie, I love our New Year's Eve tradition of playing games and being with family until midnight (the amazing food Mom makes is also a major perk!)  I still feel like I have to convince Geoff that staying up until midnight on the last day of the year is NORMAL--but every year he questions why I would even think about it.  Really?  But yet again, he was a trooper and partied with us like it was 2020!

Grandma sure brought a ton of excitement to the party with her BINGO game--complete with oodles and oodles of prizes!  The kids STILL talk about how amazing this event was!

What a tremendous year it has been with this wonderful clan.  We welcomed Kyron into our family and express daily gratitude for the blessing he is.  It's been a year of adjusting through all the baby phases of sleepless nights and at least 4 outfit changes a day to a mobile little one who thinks anything and everything belongs in his mouth, figuring out who I give my attention to and when, and just learning how to be a mother of four.  How blessed we are that our goods outweigh the bads by a landslide, but regardless what comes our way, I hope we'll always be able to face things with confidence, strength, and determination to do what is right and what is best.

Here's to a beautiful start to 2020!  (And yes, Geoff made it to midnight!)

Our Christmas Trip to PA 2019

Once all the gifts from Santa were unwrapped, we put all our luggage in the car and took off for Pennsylvania.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and we were all excited to be with family!

Kyron getting his feet tickled by Janna

I really enjoyed my time with Janna.  We had lots of great conversations, Mom had the perfect idea of playing "Loaded Questions" with her, she also had a braille UNO game, and she showed her goofy side quite a bit, too!

 One morning we set out on an adventure to see a model train exhibit--complete with a Pittsburgh Steel Mill!  Eliana was in HEAVEN!  She exclaimed, "This is the best place in the whole universe!"

Mom and Dad treated us to a pizza buffet lunch after the train exhibit.

It was so fun watching all the cousins interact

Andrea won Aunt of the Year and played a guessing game with Lillian for at least an hour!

Grateful Geoff has a clan to enjoy Monopoly with!

Grandma and Grandpa also treated us to a movie (and popcorn!)  Hylie and I went to see Frozen 2 with this good looking crew and absolutely LOVED it!  I really enjoyed sitting next to Hylie and watching how she responded to the twists and turns of the plot.

The grand parents and great-grand parents sure kept their status of professional spoilers!

Lillian was beside herself when she opened her very own camera!

Eliana got some super cute new pets!  This is her little puppy "Shell".

Hylie is now learning about 'screen-time' and that it counts even if it's with her watch!

We're so glad we got to spend time with Jared, Genevieve, Leah, Kaitlyn, Hyrum, and Amy.  The flu held them back for a few days, but we're so glad our paths crossed (even if for only a day!).  Jared was also a trooper during his kidney stone experience once they got here.  Talk about a memorable Christmas!

Christmas Morning 2019

The girls were extremely excited to find that Santa did indeed make it to our home.  Kyron was thrilled to be part of the action even if he had no idea how everything magically appeared.

Make-up?  Really?!  Once again, Hylie had to be informed it was for fun at home only...but she handled it well!

I bet you didn't know Captain America had ballerina pajamas!  ha ha!

Family Gift Exchange

The Monday before Christmas, we decided to exchange family gifts so the kids would have some time to play with their new things before we headed to Pennsylvania.  It was a wonderful day, the kids seem to love all their fun surprises, and Geoff even surprised me with my very own headlamp so I can have better light during my house projects! 

We also enjoyed talking about what we can learn from the events of Christs birth and had some nice discussions with the kids.

Hylie was in utter disbelief that we actually got her the 'disco ball' earrings she wanted.  She even handled it well when we told her they were clip-on and for dress-up only!

Kyron loving the gifts AND the attention