Christmas 2008

Christmas at the Dicks We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was the first time in the 8 Christmases that we have been married that we have been at our very own home on Christmas morning. LOVED IT! Sean's family came to our house for the holiday. We had yummy ham and cheesy potatoes on Christmas Eve, along with a tasty trifle that I made. We read the Christmas story out of the bible (abbreviated version for all the little tots present) and then sent the kids to bed while the adults finished up all the necessary preparations for the next morning.

It's a tradition in the Dick home that the kids can't come out to see what Santa brought until Mom and Dad put on the "special music" in the morning. The kids were dancing all around - it was all they could do to stay back there. We finally turned on the tunes and out they came. It's a tradition from the Sorensen family to have balloons on the floor on Christmas morning, so not only was the room full of 15 peoples gifts and stockings but also a floor full of balloons. The kids loved it. We did all the gift giving and opening and then had our traditional breakfast casserole. We spent the rest of the day lounging around eating treats and spending time as a family. That night we had turkey and potatoes. I had made a pumpkin pie a couple days before, and as I was sitting on the couch on Christmas day thinking about eating my pie I suddenly thought, "did I put sugar in that pie?" I went out to have a little taste and realized that NO, I hadn't put any sugar in the pie. I checked the recipe I used (from a ward cook book) and felt a little relief in that sure enough the recipe did not even call for sugar. It didn't help the taste of the pie at all, but at least I wasn't a complete nut case. I was bummed (especially since I had cooked and blended our Halloween pumpkin just for the occasion). So, two days later I made another one (using another recipe, of course). It was delicious. I LOVE PUMPKIN PIE! All in all, the day was wonderful and we loved having Sean's family here to share it with us.

Santa Claus

Dad found out that his plant (the one he manages) was going to close in November, which means that about a month ago he lost his job. We've been doing fairly well, trying to make it on the severance pay and savings and other little income here and there, and so far have been fine. The kids got a great Christmas present this year with a personal visit from Santa Claus himself right to our front door. He came all dressed up with his bag of gifts. He gave each of the kids a special present: a bunch of lip glosses for Caelan, a noisy police car for Ben, a baby My Little Pony for Megan and a little outfit for Nathan. Even Mom and Dad got a $50 gift card to Walmart. What a treat. The kids were ecstatic when they saw Santa in their very own house, and then when he let them open a present days before Christmas they thought they had died and gone to heaven. Frankly, so did we. Some day, Ben

will understand the even greater magic that was behind this visit - what a Christmas miracle.

Snow

Arizona Snow We got a great snow storm (for Arizona). It really came down. There was enough to even make a small snowman. Bruno decided that the snowman freaked him out a little bit and as soon as we went in the house he tore it right down. The kids wanted to go right out and play in it. As you can see we are really equipped with snow attire around here. Ben went out in a little zip up sweatshirt and an old beenie of Dad's.

Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Casa Grande with Grandpa and Grandma Dick. We enjoyed the sunshine and even a day of rain (which is a nice change for Casa Grande). Grandpa put up the swings for the kids. They must have spent hours out there on those things. While we were there I had Ben wear a little outfit to church that was Dad's when he was a little boy. It's one of three clothes that we have from Dad as a kid. Super 70s and super cute.

We went and saw the Mesa Temple lights on the day before we left. They have a great light display there, and it really helped usher in the Christmas season. Ben loved walking amidst all the lights and especially liked seeing the large Nativity displays.

Workshop

Our local Home Depot has a children's workshop the first Saturday of every month. This is where kids can come and build their own little kid-friendly project. They build cute things like tool boxes or jewelry boxes or a wooden game. It's easy enough for the kids to really help (the parents have to be there to help guide them along), but it's not just a worthless, cheap thing that will go right into the garbage. It's something the kids can really feel proud about doing. Ben and Caelan love it. Ben loves to pound in the nails and help hold the pieces together.

Halloween 2008

Ben was the best looking cowboy you ever saw for Halloween this year. Grandpa and Grandma Dick were in town, so they joined us in the Halloween festivities. We had a 4-ward dinner (hot dogs and fruit and chips) and trunk-or-treat in the church parking lot. Dad stayed at our car with Grandpa and passed out candy while Mom and Grandma took the kids around for trick-or-treating. There were TONS of cars. I think we made it to about 3/4 of them before the kids had had enough (and by that time their bags were totally full). And then the candy munching could begin.

Good Brother

Ben is a great brother. He is at a great age where he loves playing with his big sister Caelan. She loves it because he will still do most everything that she wants to do...and he is happy doing it. Since Caelan started school he has started spending more quality playing time with Megan too. He isn't to controlling of the play - they like to be outside or play with Bruno or play with hard toys in the house (little plastic character figurines). He is also a super good big brother to Nathan. He loves to help him when he is sad. Ben isn't super confident about holding him - he's really gently with him and so he always wants to be really careful with him. He loves when Nathan smiles. The other day Ben put his face right up to Nathan's to give him a little love. Nathan apparently was ready to eat because he went right for the nose and started sucking. Ben got a real kick out of this.

Napping

Ben isn't much of a napper. He actually stopped falling asleep during nap time several months ago. We still have "quiet time" every day, but usually he is awake and quietly reading books or hanging out in his bed. He is quite the good-natured kid, so even though he stopped napping at a super young age he is generally quite pleasant. Although after several days of hard playing or if we have a few nights where we are up later than usual it can sometimes take it's toll. He doesn't usually get crazy grumpy or anything (although this has happened a handful of times). Usually he just crashes at some point in the afternoon. This has happened a few different times in the last couple of weeks - maybe it's all the excitement with the new baby and having Grandparents in town and such. When he crashes...he really crashes good (3 full hours or more). The downside is that usually this means he also has a harder time falling asleep at night when he takes those marathon naps.

Wii

We recently got a Wii. Caelan and Ben love to play the Wii sports game of boxing, and it is hilarious to watch the get into it. They are cracking up for half of the rounds.

New Brother

Riding the Bike

We were already to walk out the door this morning to take Caelan to school - everyone was in the car, and I got in and turned the key...Nothing. Yep, the battery was dead. I thought, "No big deal, we can just take the Galaxy (our old faithful)" but I went out to it and found the tire completely flat. So then I called Sean, but didn't get an answer. I figured I was just going to have to get her to school without a motorized vehicle. The bike sounded better than walking. I went to hook up the bike trailer, and wouldn't you know...my bike tires were flat. At least those are easy to pump right up. So I pumped them up and then biked to Caelan's school. It's really not too far at all, but let's keep in mind I am 8 months pregnant (I stayed on all the low traffic streets for safety) and I had Caelan in the bike seat behind me, and Ben and Megan were in the trailer in the back. The sun was up and shining, and that little ride wore me out. Caelan was late for school, but at least we got her there (the kids actually thought the whole thing was pretty great). Sean came home to jump start the car about an hour and a half ago. I just got in it to go to the doctor and the blasted thing was dead again (I guess we didn't drive it around enough to get the battery charged). AHHHH! Good thing his work is pretty close by - he's running home again to get me jump started. We're going to make it through this day - I just know it.

Playing Outside

The kids love playing outside these days. Even with the heat they love to be out there for a good part of the day. Ben likes to climb and hang on a couple of the trees in the backyard. They all love to play with the dog. They will go out to the screen porch first thing in the morning and hold him and run around with him. He can really get their giggles going. We set up a decent sized blow up pool and they love to play out in the water every chance they get. A few times they have tried to get Bruno to go in with them - so far he hasn't complied.

Bruno

We originally had plans to go to a family reunion over the week of the 4th of July, but Sean didn't feel like he could leave work for the whole week, so we decided to take a little trip of our own. Despite our intentions of leaving on Thursday night, we didn't actually leave town until Saturday morning. We spent the 4th of July at home swimming in our little blow up pool and bar-b-queing and making homemade ice cream. We put a mattress in the bed of the truck and drove to a clear spot to watch the Kingman fireworks, which were surprisingly good (considering being a small town). We headed over to Flagstaff (just a short little journey) - we wanted to get out of Kingman and escape the heat. We took a long route there and stopped at the Grand Canyon Caverns (some dry caves). We went and saw Wall-E, and swam in the hotel swimming pool and just relaxed. The next day we found church to go to and then made our way home. We stopped outside of Williams at a deer farm, where the kids fed the deer and saw all sorts of other neat animals. They loved it. It was a fun family trip, which we all needed (even if only for a day). On our trip to Flagstaff over the 4th, we heard about some puppies that were being given away at a nearby RV park. Sean wanted to go and check them out.... and we ended up taking one home. This is Bruno. He is part Lab and part Rottweiler (we think - they aren't sure who the father was). He made a good first impression - traveled very well on our ride home with no potty accidents in the car. Good puppy! The kids LOVE him, and he is pretty fond of them too. He is especially drawn to Megan (maybe it's because they are similar in size). So far he has been a good little pup. He is young so we are trying to teach him all sorts of things that puppies need to learn, but he is getting the hang of things. We are happy to have a new addition to our family.

Sleeping

Ben is not a big napper. He hasn't napped regularly for almost a year (he stopped when he was 2 years old). I still put him in bed for quiet time every day, but most of the time he just plays in bed. I'm impressed that he'll still stay in his bed for the hour that he is in there. I'll hear humming or talking and sometimes he'll have a couple of toys with him, but he doesn't regularly fall asleep. In fact it is probably once or twice a week that he sleeps. He is also the last one to sleep at night. Caelan usually falls to sleep pretty quickly at bedtime, but an hour or sometimes even two later we will still hear little noises from Ben in his room. He must be a boy that doesn't need tons of sleep because most of the time he is happy and in good spirits even without the naps.

Father and Sons

It was the annual Father and Son campout. Sean took Ben along with him. There was a competition for building and racing a boat made out of cardboard and duct tape. Our ward got together and made a triangle shaped raft and covered the entire thing in black Gorilla Tape. For the race a father and son combo had to get in the raft and row it with one other person in the water next to them (who could help push). Our ward won. Sean helped construct the raft. They were pretty pleased with their efforts. Ben didn't care so much about that part, but he did enjoy some one on one time with Dad. He got in the raft after the race was finished and floated around near the shore.

Potty Trained

Well, I think we have finally made it - Ben is potty trained. He has had only a couple of accidents in the past few weeks. Even when we were in CA for 4 days (only one accident, and that was first thing in the morning). He still wears Pull-Ups to bed, but he really doesn't need them (he is dry every morning and goes potty very first thing). He basically decided that he was ready, and that was that. Oh, it's so nice! YEAH!

Jesus

This was a little conversation we experienced in our home about a week ago: Caelan: Mom, even though we can't see Jesus he is still watching us, right? Mom (Me): Yep, that's right. (Caelan runs off into the other room.) Ben: Jesus! (He said slowly with a look of amazement as he jumps off the couch and follows Caelan). (From the other room). Ben: Is Jesus here? Caelan: We can't see him, but he is here. Ben: In our house? Caelan: Yep, He is watching us. Ben: Is he following me? Caelan: Yah. We can't see him, but he is here. For the rest of the afternoon, periodically Ben would stop and say, "Jesus is following me, huh?" to which Caelan would always respond with something like, "Even though we can't see Him, he is still here." Oh, I love the things kids say (and they things that they learn and retain). One of my favorite parts of the whole incident was watching Ben's face as he got off the couch to follow Caelan into the other room where he though Jesus might be - the excitement!

Birthday

Today Benny Boy turned 3 years old. We love our little boy. He is so tender hearted and happy, but also very curious and imaginative and boyish. He adds a good amount of spice to our family. he loves his blankets and will still get cozy with me when he's feeling mellow (I love those moments). He loves fruit and olives. He is a good boy who tried to be nice to his sisters and loves to play with them. I can't imagine our lives or family without him.

Sick

Ben has some sort of flu bug. He threw up 4 times today. He seems to be doing much better tonight, so hopefully he is over it.

Disneyland

Sean, Caelan, Ben and Kyra and I went to Disneyland today. It was so fun and nice to get away. Megan stayed at Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen's house while we played. The weather was cool with a little rain (perfect - not too wet but just enough to slim down the crowds, especially on a Sat). We went on lots of rides and the lines were really quite decent. Caelan loved all the roller coasters and bigger rides. Ben was happy with the Fantasy Land rides. The kids just went and went all day until about 9:30 when they both started to crash. We left before the park closed, but we felt like we had full, fun-filled day.

Ben

Ben is our little Dude. He will be three in April. He is a real talker. He loves to ask questions, especially when we are watching movies. He definitely has a tender side to him, but he also loves all things boy: cars, trains, animals, monsters, etc. He is our master spiller - we expect to clean up at least one spilled drink every single meal (it happens like clock work). He loves his two favorite blankies ("white blankie" and "blue blankie"). He loves to play, especially with Caelan. He is also our night owl. We will put him to bed at 8 PM, and an hour and a half later he will still be playing in his bed. We are in the middle of potty training him (YIKES) - I'm hoping he will get the hang of it some time this year. He is very tender and sweet to his baby sister, although she is starting to get big enough to take away his toys (and he isn't a big fan of that). He likes to play games and do anything outside. His smile is very contagious, and his laugh is addicting.

Potty Time

Ben had a success with poot in the toilet today.

Jobs

The kids helped me clean the bathrooms today (Ben did the toilets and Caelan did the sinks). We have been giving the chore charts each week, and they can earn money based on their performances. It's working really well: helping them to do jobs, letting them earn money and giving us a practical way to teach them about paying tithing.

Potty Training Continued

Ben went pee-pee in the potty 4 times today, with only one accident. Maybe he is finally starting to get the hang of this.

Potty Training

Potty training has not been going very well the past couple of months. I started back in November, but honestly, we haven't had a whole lot of success. It's like he knows what to do, but he doesn't have enough successes to motivate him through this whole process. The more successes he has the more he will realize what the sensation feels like and then run to the bathroom. I cannot tell you how many days we have been very consistent with having him go and sit on the toilet every half hour or hour or so, and yet 2 minutes after we're done sitting on the toilet (with no action at all) he will have an accident in his pants. It has been so frustrating. But, today he had a potty success. *Please say this is the beginning of something good.*