Christmas 2008

Wanted to share pics of our Christmas this year. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve - seeing Santa at the McClellands house and then going to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner, gift exchange, and the reading of the Christmas story.

Christmas Day has been a bit different than past years. The weather was terrible all day long and we decided to play it safe and stay home instead of visiting family. We'll call it our "Snowed In Christmas." I will say it was truly a joy to watch the kiddos open their presents and just play with them all day. Jake is at a great age for the magic of Christmas. The other true joy was that I haven't changed out of my pj's all day and there was no reason to clean the house or run errands :-) I was hoping everyone in the family would enjoy the lazy day ...but Jake and Stevie got tired of being in their pj's and asked to put clothes on this afternoon.



It ended with Jake asking about Jesus' birthday and wanting me to tell him the story again about Jesus' birth. I guess he was paying attention :-) It was a fitting way to end our happy day...the "reason for the season."

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to clear so we can go to Heber and visit with everyone there. I guess it even extends Christmas for the kids who will have more gifts to open. I hope you all had a great day as well. Merry Christmas!

Quotes from the Season

Stevie Kate - "I want a birthday party for Christmas."
I think she means presents.

Jake - "Mom, let's leave Santa a sucker and Santa's reindeer some dog bones."
Steve, later on that night. "I get the sucker, you get the dog bones."

Stevie Kate - "Mom, what is Santa going to bring GranJackie for Christmas? Think...a kitchen just like me."
This was randomly thrown into her rant of what she wants Santa to bring her.

Stevie and Jake - "There's Bob!" The elf...we hear this every morning.

Jake - "Why don't you have very many presents under the tree Mom?"

Jake - "Where does Santa Claus live?"
Me - "At the North Pole."
Jake - "Where?"
Me - "The North Pole."
Jake - "I know a pole, but where? How do we get to that pole?"

Me - "Remember that Christmas is about Jesus' birthday."
Jake - "I know. But when will Jesus be alive to have a birthday party with us?"

Draper Holiday Party

Here are a few pictures from the Annual Draper Holiday Party. Even though some of the family missed due to the winter storm, we still had a great time. Thanks for putting it together Mom and Dad. Grandma Helen and her Jingle Bells were missed this year.

I Love Elf Yourself!

I love these. Create one of your family...and send it to me. Makes me laugh every time.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Bob Has Arrived

Tuesday night was spent putting up the Christmas tree.


When it was time for bed, Steve read the Elf on the Shelf book to the kiddos. Bob the Elf has arrived to spy on them for Santa for the next several weeks. Oh the fun.

Happy 60th Mom!

Happy 60th Mom! You are the best and you are loved by so many people.

Love this picture of Taylor at the party...who thinks he is 9 years old.

And love the Blue Steel look Casey. (Zoolander anyone?)

R.I.P. Puppy

I'm not sure who is more traumatized about losing Puppy - me or Jake. Jake talked quite a bit about it at the Nashville airport and on the way home once we got back to Salt Lake. But I'm the one who keeps bringing it up. Why is that? I guess maybe I'm sad because Jake is growing up and doesn't need Puppy or me as much as he used to??? That is one of my theories. Or maybe I'm just really sad that my son lost his best buddy of 4+ years. I wish someone had turned Puppy in so that I could put it in Jake's memory box. Puppy...you were very loved. We will miss you.

Thanksgiving 2008

We missed Tennessee! Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving 2007 trip didn't go so well with our middle child (I will not mention names). So we waited a full year to attempt the travel part again. It all went much better than expected. The visit was wonderful as usual. To go with the Thanksgiving theme...I am thankful to have married into a family that is so loving, giving, and accepting.

Some highlights of our trip:
* The Nashville Adventure Science Center - even though Jake and Stevie were a little young, GranDaddy really loved it :-)
* Cousins, cousins, cousins. My kids were entertained and taken care of most of the time by all of their cousins. They are the youngest of the clan, so they really look up to the older kids. Stevie is especially in love with Cory and Jake idolizes Sam.
* Road Trip with Steve (and Kelly) to Birmingham to see the Silsbees. I really don't remember the last time we went on a road trip. I miss that!
* Pedicure and Movie with the Girls. Personally...I was hoping Twilight was going to be a little better. But everyone says you have to see it again to love it.
* No cooking for me! Stephanie, Judy, and Krissy cooked. Good good food. I really should have helped more on that end. But thank you very much.
* Playing in all of the leaves. The kids and I are always amazed at the amount of leaves. Utah definitely doesn't have that.
* Sad but true...Jake's puppy is officially gone. Lost somewhere in the Nashville airport. See next post.
* Also, sad but true...Nannie fell while we were at the park and had to get stitches in her knee. Stevie Kate keeps talking about Nannie's big boo-boo.
* Seeing a duck at the park with an amazing hairdo.

Good News This Week

Good news for the week...some stolen from other blogs.

Tracie is expecting twins...so excited for them. Petite Tracie will look so cute with a big prego belly. And those babies will be welcomed into a great family - Taylor the big brother. http://thebramhalls.blogspot.com/ Wow...four new babies for the Draper clan within 5 months.

Nikki is an expert hunter:-) Who knew that I had such a tough sister. (I did because she picked on me quite a bit as a kid :-) She drew out for a big hunt in Nevada and won big! So exciting for the Staheli family. http://steveandnikkistaheli.blogspot.com/

Baby Mia got a heart. For those of you who don't know this story, go to http://mcdonaldfam.blogspot.com/. I am friends with Mia's aunt Suzie. This story has tugged at the heart strings quite often over the past several months.

Kelly Laughed. Such a sweet and infectious sound.

Jake's Dreamy Weekend

Jake had the best weekend and I'm so glad. When Kelly arrived, I was expecting Stevie Kate to react and be jealous. But it was Jake instead. He has had a hard time adjusting to getting less of Mom and Dad's time. Or maybe the bigger issue is us expecting more of him because he is the oldest. He even said to me a few weeks back "But I don't want to be the oldest!" That was after I told him over and over that day that he had to help because he was the oldest. Anyway...Steve and I are trying to give him more respect, more privileges, and some alone time with us. Hopefully our efforts will make up for the other stuff. Let's be honest...we won't be able to match this weekend very often, but at least we started with a bang.

Friday night he went ice skating for the first time with Dad. And wow...I knew he needed a haircut, but it appears that he couldn't see at all beneath that hair.

He loved going fast and came home very proud of the night. Saturday morning Andrea, Todd, and Lauren called to see if he wanted to go see a movie with them. What a dream come true.

Lauren is Jake's biggest crush and she is a cutie. Too bad she is already taken and about 15 years too old for him. He got french fries, candy, and popcorn..and surprise...he didn't even get sick after that:-)

I took him to get his hair cut on Saturday afternoon and then we picked up his favorite babysitter - Kennadi. Another crush. He woke up Sunday morning asking for her instead of me. Sunday night the Evans clan had us over for an elk feast. Jake got to see Lauren again and show off his singing style on the Rock Band version of Wii.


After all of that...he was a ball of smiles.

Tennessee Lost to Wyoming!

The anger, the sadness, the disbelief.
But BYU won :-)

White Stuff

The snow has begun...hopefully it won't be too long before we see more. For those of you who live here, I hope you enjoyed the first big snow storm of the year. I know we did. For those of you who don't live here...come visit this winter and ski!

Kelly's Day

Today was Kelly's Day. Our extended family gathered to celebrate her Blessing at church. Wish the Hough side lived closer to celebrate too. Good thing we will get to see them all soon at Thanksgiving.

Bless her heart...but Kelly cries quite a bit during the day. So I was nervous that she would cry through the blessing. And she did, but it was okay. Grandpa, aka Dad, gave the blessing and talked loudly enough so we could hear. We had a lunch after at our house. Definitely tight quarters for 40 people, but at least we all love each other :-) Thanks everyone.

Fun-Filled Fall Day

The leaves on our trees in the back finally came down. The kids and the dogs had a good time playing in the leaves.

The Draper Clan met in Wallsburg yesterday for a little party. It was so good to see the Stahelis. Jake just loves playing with Tyson. I especially love the picture of Shane going red when we sang Happy Birthday. And Grandma Helen is rolling in her grave with that picture of the dog in the house.

Halloween 2008

Jake - aka Cowboy Jake. He loved the handcuffs and the toy gun. We had to take away the gun after he pushed it into too many faces. Oops. Side Note...do you know they don't sell toy guns anymore? Probably a good thing, but kind of sad too. I had a really hard time finding one.

Jake - the aftermath. Counting and sorting his candy. He should be giving some to his Dad for taking him to so many places and staying out for a long time. Thanks Babe!

Stevie - aka Princess Dorothy. Stevie wanted to be a princess so we made sure to add "Princess" to the title of her costume. She loved carrying Todo around.

Stevie - the aftermath. All sugared up, freezing cold, sleep deprived, but very happy.

Kelly - aka Ladybug. Kelly stayed home with me to pass out candy.

Kassidy - aka East High School Cheerleader. I'm not up to speed with the whole High School Musical thing yet so I don't know the character's name.

More pics from the community Halloween party last weekend with the Dustmans & McClellands.

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Jake and Stevie had a great time at Isaac's 5th birthday party last week. It was held at Backyard Adventures in Draper. Great place... Thanks for inviting us. Happy Birthday!

Scarecrow Festival

Crazy times at the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Blow up slides...it will be a while before I want to see one again :-) I need to figure out that I can't do everything I used to do before Kelly arrived. I can say it was a good learning experience. The highlight was the "giant" the kids saw...aka Shawn Bradley. I think he is 7 ft 4 inches and a local Utah celebrity.

Friendships

I recently read this quote and I loved it!

"With clothes the new are the best, with friends the old are the best."

I spent some time last weekend with some very close friends, eating, shopping, watching a movie, and just talking laughing talking. Most of my closest friends are ones that I have known since elementary or middle school. It feels good to have friends who know so much of my history and my family and who I have shared so many experiences with. I feel blessed to have kept close to them. I love that we all bring different things to the table and we can learn from each other. Having girlfriends that are going through the same things as me on a daily basis helps me get through it all. Thank you for being there for me.

I thought quite a bit about friendship (friends & family) that weekend. I’m always trying to organize time to get together. Personal goal...one thing that I need to do better at is to just see a need with a friend or family member and try to help. I’m really good about scheduling dinner and other activities, but I’m going to try to do better at the other part.

A Smile is Worth a Thousand Words

Kelly smiled! That is one of my favorite parts of the newborn stage...working so hard to get a smile. We have seen a few in the last few days. She smiled at Jake today and he was so excited...I think it made his day.

Another Attempt

If you have read Katrina’s blog, you saw that the last time we went to Discovery Gateway (the children’s museum in SLC) it was somewhat of a disaster. And it didn’t end at the museum either. Stevie actually pushed Jake down the stairs and locked us out of the house when we got home. Wow. It was one of those experiences that I didn’t want to document in my blog because I didn’t want to relive it. (And blogs are supposed to be all positive...right? Ha ha). But I’m just thankful that Katrina was there with me. Thank you for all of the help.

Anyway…Jenna called and really wanted us to go with her and her little ones – Stella & Drew. I spent some time contemplating it and decided to attempt it again and try to minimize the issues by planning ahead and being prepared. In this case, that meant tennis shoes (so I could chase Stevie), the front-carrier (so Kelly wouldn’t cry as much), and a pep talk in the car discussing consequences for both Jake and Stevie if they didn’t follow Mommy’s Rules. We ended up having a good time and no major issues or runaway children. Who really knows if it was the planning or just a fluke. That was the first time for Jenna and her kids to Discovery Gateway and hopefully there will be many more. I am a big fan! www.discoverygateway.org

Jake's Favorite - The Tractor

Stevie's Favorite - Shopping at the Grocery Store

Stella's Favorite - Playing in "The Bird House"

Success! (at least for one night)

Yesterday we did the big switch - Stevie moved into her new room and Kelly moved into the nursery - Stevie's old room. The biggest concern was how Stevie would do in bed and staying in her room. Success! She napped there yesterday and slept there all night without getting out of the bed. One cry out at 7 a.m. this morning, but then she went back to sleep. Now she and Jake have adjoining walls. I didn't even think that this might be a problem, but it was comical to hear them banter last night before they finally went to sleep.



Kelly also slept great and Steve and I had our first "middle-of-the-night panic" with Kelly wondering if she was alive because it was 5 a.m. Peacefully sleeping, but she started crying soon after...ready to eat. I know we can't expect the same success tonight, but 5 hours of straight sleep does wonders for sure...wonderful! I can probably live on that for another week :-)

GranDaddy & GranJackie Visit

Steve Sr. and Jackie visited us last weekend. It is always good to catch up with them and see the kids interact with them. Both Stevie Kate & Jake were very excited to see them and warmed up immediately. GranJackie figured out how to soothe Kelly and how to motivate Jake & Stevie - puzzles & princesses. Zeke and Tippy also enjoyed the extra attention and games of fetch. Thanks guys!

The warm weekend coaxed us to the zoo as well. The highlight was the bears...they were very playful that day. We ended with the train ride - Kelly's first - but there will be many more to come I'm sure.

Kelly's Endearing Traits

The dimple on her right cheek...only visible at certain times. Jake and I have the same dimple.

The way she snorts when she cries really hard. I'm betting that this happens when she starts laughing really hard too.

The hair on the top of her head that stands straight up and then curls to the left. We can't get it to lay flat.

One Month Old

Our little Kelly is already a month old. She is growing fast and weighed in around 7 1/2 lbs today. Good news because now she can fit into regular 0-3 months clothes and we have some fun new outfits to wear. The joys of having a little girl. She still reminds me so much of Jake, but she does have some unique traits too. She has more of a round face and different eyes. Kelly loves to be held on the shoulder and her new favorite thing to do is tilt her head back and just stare at whoever is holding her. It is fun to watch her be more aware of voices and faces. Here are a few new pics.

She will be embarrassed when she reads this later in her life...but Kelly has quite a bit of gas to share with us all, and it doesn't smell like baby gas...it is pretty stinky. The poor thing cries in pain quite a bit and we are trying some different things to help her out. Maybe she has inherited that from her dad :-)

Jake and Stevie have overall been great with Kelly. The only real issue has been watching Stevie to make sure she isn't wrapping her in a blanket, trying to feed her candy, or stuffing the pacifier into her mouth. At least she is acting with love and not jealousy. Jake has struggled a little bit at going to school and whining and crying for attention. Last week seemed to be better and I think he is working on the adjustment in his head. It has been hard to figure out how to divide up my time. I know that it's just a process of learning a new normal and I'll figure things out.

I've learned again...
** How to function with less sleep.
** How to change a diaper with lightening speed.
** How to get the pacifier to stay in the mouth.
** How to wrap a blanket like a cocoon.
** How funny it is to watch babies make "crazy eyes."
** How cute newborn noises sound.
** How wonderful babies smell after a bath and baby lotion.
And on and on.

Garage Sale Find of the Year

Most of you know that I'm an avid "garage saler" and it is an addiction. It takes a lot to keep me from going every Saturday morning. Steve fully supports the habit and loves to see what I find each week. I know it can get out of hand, but I think I'm getting better at not bringing home junk. Anyway...each summer I have a "find of the year." Over the past several years the award has gone to my breast pump for $2 (yes, I bought new attachments), Steve's $30 kayak, and a $10 Trek bike for Jake. I think it is safe to say that I found my "find of the year" last Saturday. Even though it wasn't very cheap, it was still a great deal. Meet my new friend Cruiser. Jake also has a new friend named Runner (a birthday gift from Mom & Dad). We had a great time riding them together on Sunday afternoon.

Saturdays and Football

My husband enjoys watching sports, but he doesn't get really into it except for in the fall when college football starts. Our family in Tennessee keeps us supplied with all of the orange & white clothing we need to cheer and support for the Tennessee Volunteers. Unfortunately this year isn't going so great for the Vols. But at least the outfits for the kids look good :-)


I have been secretly smiling this year because although I cheer for Tennessee, I have cheered for BYU my whole life and graduated from there. BYU is having a great season and my brother-in-law is on the team this year. I don't get too into sports either, but now that Shane is on the team and they are winning...I have renewed interest. And I can harass my husband a little with a smile. Love you babe!

I Spoke Too Soon

As of last night, Stevie's earrings have both fallen out. Not sure if I should blame it on the lady at Claire's or blame it on Stevie's age. Both of the backs have fallen off while changing clothes and then the earrings fell out right after that. The first one I tried to get back in and it was very traumatic because I would have had to push through the last layer of skin. Ouch.

I will see if she decides she wants to get them pierced again. At least potty training is closer and the pacifiers are gone :-)

Stevie's "Big Girl" Day

Stevie has been asking for several months now to get earrings. She ramped it up over the last few weeks and asks several times a day (Nannie can attest to this). So we were talking the other night and I told her that only big girls get their ears pierced...girls that don't have pacifiers and pull-ups. She told me that she would throw her "paci's" in the trash and use "Potty Power." True to her determination, she kept bringing it up so we decided to use earrings to bribe her. So this weekend we took her to get her ears pierced. She did cry some, but she was very brave and absolutely loves her new earrings. I keep catching her looking in the mirror. And she threw all of her paci's away that day and wore underwear most of the day.


Some of you may not agree with my parenting techniques here...pacifier at her age, and piercing her ears at such a young age. But bribery does work sometimes and I'm happy with the outcome so far.

The video is a little hard for me to watch with the big tears, but if you want to watch it...here it is.

Stevie getting Ears pierced from Steve Hough on Vimeo.

Canvas on Demand

I just discovered a great company called Canvas on Demand www.canvasondemand.com and wanted to share if you haven't heard of them. A friend of mine recommended this company to me, thanks Kristal! I ordered some enlargements of the kids photos and they arrived today. I am so impressed by the quality and during the whole process the customer service was amazing. They called me a couple times to get my opinion on printing options. They also upgraded the size of the pictures for free because they thought they would look better at that size. Love them!

The Cow Ballet

Due to glowing reports from last year, we ventured to The Cow Ballet in Peoa last Saturday. We knew several families who went last year and really enjoyed it, but I didn't know what to expect. Would they really have dancing cows? My experience with cows tells me no. Judy, my mother-in-law, was here and I'm sure she was pretty skeptical about going too.

Before we made it to the arena where the Ballet was held, we enjoyed the great petting zoo and Stevie tried out the 4-wheeler train (bad idea because it was more like an off-road train). After the ballet we had some BBQ and let the kids go crazy at the playground. So there were cows in tutus, but the dancing came from some "pretend" cows who may have been a little over served with alcohol.

I'm pretty sure I enjoyed the whole event more than Steve and Judy. With Kelly strapped on my chest, I wasn't able to do most of chasing and helping. But I think we will all go back to see the Ballet next year.

Help from the "Nannie"

I know that my mother-in-law doesn't necessarily love her name of "Nannie." She really wanted to be called Nanna from the grandkids, but the first two grandkids came up with Nannie instead. Along with Grandma and Amy, Nannie is one of Jake and Stevie's favorite words. Usually on their pretend phone conversations, they are talking to one of those three people.

Anyway...help arrived last Tuesday and Nannie arrived from Tennessee. We had a week full of help and good quality time with her. Lots of sandcastles and lego towers were built and put back up again. Kelly loved being held and even felt comfortable enough to pee on Nannie twice. Sorry! Here are some pics that we took while she was here.

I was able to ease back into work a little, take care of Kelly, and even take a few shopping trips with Nannie's help. The kids have been asking for her most of today. But the good news is that we will see her again soon, just a few months away until we go for Thanksgiving.

Thanks Judy!

More of Kelly

I think Nannie (Judy) won the guessing game - she was only a 1/2 oz off on the weight and she thought it was a girl all along.

We are home from the hospital now and enjoying Kelly. Her full name is Kelly Ann Hough and she is adorable and healthy. I forget how small newborns are, especially my newborns. Stevie really looks like a giant now. Kelly was losing weight still when we came home yesterday, so we are going to take her to the doc tomorrow to make sure she is on the upward trend.

Steve made it sound like the labor was very long. What he meant by that was that we were at the hospital a very long time before labor actually started. Once it started and picked up it was over within a few hours. Not the easiest few hours :-) but I can be thankful that it wasn't longer than that. So far this recovery has been a little easier than the others. Hopefully that will continue.

Jake and Stevie are both really into their baby sister. They both pronounce her name Kerry because of the "l" problem. So we have them saying Baby Kelly so at least I know they are talking about Kelly and not Aunt Carrie. Here are a few new pictures. Thanks to everyone for the phone calls, text messages, gifts, help with the other kiddos...especially Grandma.

New Hough is Here

Her name is Kelly and she is awesome. 5lbs 11.5oz, 19 inches long. Biggest baby yet. (We like 'em small) Don't ask about the delivery. I'll just say L-O-N-G. Haven't figured out a middle name for her yet. We've got another day to settle on something.

Prego Pic

Hormones
Whatever you do...don't take a picture of yourself right before you are ready to deliver a baby. It's been a tradition that I have Steve take a picture around my due date just to laugh at :-) and put in the baby book. Well...I had Steve take a picture tonight and when I saw it, I literally went into tears. Why didn't anyone tell me that I looked THAT much bigger than I did with Jake and Stevie. I'm now really scared that this baby is going to be hard to deliver. Not to mention how much weight I need to lose. Unfortunately my husband said the wrong thing too, even though I know he didn't mean it to come out this way. But he said to me after I screamed..."I didn't know I looked so big!." "Well...have you looked in the mirror lately?" I just need to keep telling myself, it's all about having a healthy baby.

So my bet for this child is definitely over 6 lbs, a boy, and born tomorrow, August 22. I'm cheating, I know, because I am being induced tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Jake!

We celebrated Jake's birthday a little early at the park last night. Thank you to everyone that came and celebrated with us. Here are a few pics...

We love you Jake and feel blessed to have your in our lives every day. You always brighten my day with your sweet hugs in the morning and make me laugh with your new discoveries and phrases. Words that describe you today...easy-going, handsome (love those eyes), constructor, tender-hearted, and focused.

Kayak Jackson Hole

Steve made it on his Annual Whitewater trek with his kayaking buddies last weekend. It was a small group this year, just Steve, Tom, & Dave. They had a great time and enjoyed the Hoback and Snake rivers.

Argh!

Jake's best buddy Chase turned 4 last week and we all celebrated at his pirate party. The kids weren't too sure about wearing a bandanna & eye patch...but they caught on for at least a few pictures. Jake's favorite was the sword (big surprise) and Stevie loved her skull tattoo. Happy Birthday Chase and thanks for the fun McClellands!

Fair Days Events

There are so many events for Wasatch County Fair Days...we made it to a few - the Carnival and the Rodeo. My camera ran out of batteries at the Carnival, but the joy on the kiddos faces was so fun to watch. Kace, Kassidy, and Grandma came with us and it was nice to have them help on the rides. I did get a few pictures of the crazy upside down ride that Kace & Kassidy went on. It looked fun for sure...maybe next year I will join. After the rides...we all enjoyed a snow cone at Grandma's house.



We made to about half of the rodeo last Saturday night with the Draper clan. Stevie was very into watching everything. So much so that she had a short fall off the bleachers and landed on a couple of metal poles with her mouth. This is her third fat lip in the past few weeks, but they seem to heal pretty quickly. I think this cut might have gone all the way through her lip, but she just wanted everyone to stop touching her mouth and let her finish watching the rodeo. They always have a good fireworks show there and Jake has been talking about that part for a week now.