Top Ten

I've noticed that top ten lists are all the rage this time of year, so I thought I would do one of my own. Drum-roll please...

Top 10 parenting mistakes of 2010 (in no particular order):

1. Letting Logan play with anything he wants (nothing that could hurt him of course) when I have things I need to get done. This has resulted in piles of shredded toilet paper scattered all around the house and one embarrassing incident of him appearing with part of my breast pump pressed up to his face. While I was hosting a meeting. Eh, we were all mothers at least.

2. Losing track of Logan for just one second while I was on the phone, then hearing him tumble down the stairs. Did I mention I was on the phone with his doctor's office? "Ahem, we'll be right in."

3. Allowing him to eat m&m's, chocolate chips and treats of any kind. Also, letting him see me get the good stuff from out of the pantry. Now that he knows where it comes from he'll stop at nothing to get it.

4. Letting him lick my friend's dog. Gross.

5. After cutting down our Christmas tree and bringing it home we left the saw in the front room. I knew that was a bad idea even before Logan found it and came toddling down the hallway carrying it by the blade.

6. My mom and I took Logan for his year check up and neither one of us was really paying attention as he scarfed down goldfish. Noticing that he had gotten really quiet I glanced at him to find that he was choking on all those dang fish. Right in front of the doctor. My mom stuck her finger down his throat and scooped out the mess and we blushed and stammered to the doctor that of course this never happens. My mom held that soggy mess in her fist the rest of the appointment.

7. Tyson and I took Logan out with us to dinner well, tonight actually. They gave us some crayons for him. We chuckled as he stabbed his sandwich with it, quieted as he stuck it in his mouth, and panicked as he bit the whole top of the crayon off. We both pounced on him and pried as many of the already chewed crayon bits out of his mouth as we could. He was not too happy after that and I had to spend the next several minutes walking around the restaurant with him pestering other patrons and pointing out every ceiling fan he saw.

8. I'm not sure if this is a parenting mistake or a housewife one but my neighbor warned me if I let Logan throw his cheerios on the floor of the garage we might get mice. I put off sweeping, until I noticed all the cheerios magically disappeared. Then, through some serious detective work and a trip under the house, we found that mice had chewed a hole through a heating duct. Oh. Guess my neighbor wasn't lying. Now we are trying every trick in the book to get rid of them.

9. We took him sledding a few weeks ago. We should have taken his cue of screaming while we got him dressed as a sign that things would not go well. The only time he wasn't screaming in fear or crying out of plain sadness was when we saw a dog or a bird.

10. We (and by we I mean Logan) discovered that if you push hard enough on the gate at the top of the stairs it falls. "We" also discovered that when this happens you will fall with the gate, riding it down a couple steps, until it catches and flips you into a somersault onto the landing. Thank goodness for that landing.

Well, we could have made a lot worse mistakes (and we probably did, I'm just not remembering them tonight) so I'll call 2010 a success!

Happy New Year world!

Ella

My cousin Amy had her first baby yesterday.

A girl.

Ella.

2 months ago doctors discovered that this sweet girl had a heart defect. For all that the doctors and Amy could do, this defect proved to be too much and their precious baby was called back home to our Heavenly Father shortly after she was born.

Our hearts ache for this little family and the trials they are already having to endure. Though we know that Amy, her husband Bret, and Ella will be reunited again, that time sure seems far away right now.

While Amy was pregnant it was unfortunately necessary for her to quit her job in order to go on bed-rest. In addition to that, her husband is a dental student and they are now forced to live on their student loans.

My cousin Jen (Amy's sister) has set up a fund for them on her blog. If you have the ability to donate to them it would be much appreciated. If all you are able to donate is a prayer, that is much appreciated too.

We love you so much Amy and Brett. Our thoughts and our prayers are with you.

Christmas!

First, we introduced Logan to eggnog. He loved it.

Second, I made my hat. I love it.

Third, don't tell my sister you saw me wearing it. It's supposed to be hers. I should probably send it soon...

 We kicked off our Christmas Eve morning with our annual 3,000 calorie breakfast at Sheri's. And thus began my holiday weight gain. 

 That night we got together at Tyson's parents' for scones, the reading of the Christmas story (fabulously successful with all our kids running around, ha ha) and playing Christmas carols on homemade chimes.

 It required maximum concentration from all participants.

 We tried to get Logan amped about opening presents with the Christmas Eve teaser, but no. He wanted to play with spoons.

 Christmas morning came too early once again but everyone felt a little better once we got two sippy cups.

 "Guys? Why are you making such a mess? Also, can I have my Cheerios now?"

We tried to get Logan excited about the presents by showing the toys underneath.

 Then we threw a little paper into the air. All we got for that one was Blue Steel.

 Finally we just pulled the toys out and let him play.

Then I got my toys.

And Tyson got his.

And we ended the morning by unveiling the biggest printer known to man. Ok, maybe not, but it came with the camera and I wish I could have seen Tyson's face when it showed up at his work. He didn't realize how big it was when he ordered it.

The rest of our Christmas photos are on my new camera (Canon Rebel T2i for all of you camera people out there, also, would anyone like to give my lessons cause yeah... I don't know what I'm doing) and I have yet to put the new pictures on the computer.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas out there!

A different sort of Christmas letter

This year I thought that instead of writing about us for Christmas, I would write about Christ. You may have noticed that I often share the things I love on the blog and with my friends (pudding on the rice anyone?). If I read a good book or see a good movie I want others to enjoy it too.

But when it comes to religion I get scared.

Because The Book of Mormon is so much more to me than the latest novel, Jesus Christ is so much more than a yummy dessert.

But, because it's Christmas, I'm going to be brave. For a second anyway. :)

I testify that Jesus Christ lives. That He suffered and died for us. That He loves us. I know that if we do all that we can to live righteously, with His help we can live with Him and our Heavenly Father again.

I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. It is another testament of Christ written by those who lived in the Americas. Like the Bible, it contains the word of God. If you haven't had the chance to read it, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I could not endorse a better book. If you would like a free copy of the book go here. If you would like to learn more about what I believe you can ask me or check here.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We love you all and are so grateful that you are a part of our lives.

Mari, Tyson and Logan

The Portland Children's Museum

Logan, his friend Quinn, my friend Katie and I all went to the Children's museum last week. We weighed the pros and cons of coming into contact with hundreds if not thousands of germ ridden toys and decided the risks were worth it. Now Logan and I are both sick, go figure.

When Logan and I first got there the woman at the desk gave us a brief overview of the museum then asked if Logan liked putting things in his mouth. I told her he wasn't really into that anymore.

I caught him putting this duck into his mouth three times before forcefully removing him from the premises.

 I loved that for this whole "waterworks" area they had little smocks for the kids. Watching your child enjoy an outing is joy. Watching him enjoy an outing while dressed in a little costume? Almost too much to handle.

We went to a baby area next where Logan and Quinn played peek-a-boo behind this flower.

 Pretty sure the guy in the background was feeling more and more awkward as I snapped multiple pictures of these cuties playing. I took a few extra to see if he would get uncomfortable enough to move. He didn't.

Here's the dig pit where Logan once again set out to prove me wrong. The rubber chips on his shirt and in his lap are the ones I fished out of his mouth.

Finally, a smile! I swear Logan was having a good time, but sometimes crowds make him serious and this was the first place we were alone.

 This reminds me of the talking dog in UP, only instead of saying "squirrel!" Logan is thinking "giraffe!"

 The kiddos ended our visit with a little bus ride. Logan was a gentleman and let Quinn do the driving.

Skamania Lodge

It was a weekend of the great and terrible.

Tyson, Logan, and I went to Skamania Lodge this weekend which is a hotel up the gorge from us. Tad and Becky have a tradition of going up there this time of year and invited a bunch of people to join them. Including us!

When we first got there we did a little exploring. The place was huge and had a great view of the river below.

After letting Logan kick his ball down the longest hallway ever we went to dinner.

It was soooo delicious. I have no pictures because I was too busy inhaling everything I saw. It was a buffet of seafood goodness and decadent desserts. The only downside was that Logan wasn't having it with his high chair so I had to bribe him with bites of my creme brulee and chocolate cookies in order to finish.

After eating more than I could comfortably handle, I went ahead and made myself a little more uncomfortable.

I wore a swimsuit for the first time since getting pregnant with Logan.

Logan didn't love the pool, but neither did I, so we went ahead and got in the hot tub.

Okay, and he didn't like the hot tub much either but at least he was able to be in it for a few minutes without crying. He's also got that whole animal in the headlights thing where his eyes are reflecting the flash. Creepy!

He spend much of the night on Grandma's lap although he did enjoy giving us the occasional heart attack by jumping off and running around the pool.

Now here's where the terrible comes in.

He (I am referring to Logan of course) would. not. sleep. Oh my goodness we were basically up all night. Around 3 am Tyson asked if we could go home yet. Pretty sure he wasn't kidding. Being the good wife/mom that I am though, I made us stay and continue to suffer.

Included in the suffering (besides the crying, kicking, wiggling baby) was quite possibly the loudest heater/ac unit I have ever heard, and a kamikaze moth who flew at my face until I smacked it into the lampshade with the remote.

So, with bloodshot eyes we gave up the fight at 6:30 and went downstairs for a couple cups of hot chocolate (not the first time in my life that I wished I drank coffee). I was determined to finish the day successfully so after entertaining ourselves around the hotel for a few hours I sat in a super uncomfortable chair and convinced Logan to nap a bit while I held him. My back went numb but it was worth the effort because when it was time for gingerbread houses we were ready!

We were only a little bit embarrassed when Logan went off with my Mother-in-law and we were the only adults decorating a house without a kid.

So overall Skamania was good but next time...

No baby.

Yay for Santa!

Well, in the spirit of doing what everyone else is doing, here's a picture of Logan and Santa.

Like most other toddlers Logan loved the jolly man in red. 

Not.

He is currently using his most evasive maneuvers to shimmy out of Santa's lap. I'm just grateful he wasn't screaming in the picture. He started to, but with all our powers combined (the photographer, assistant, myself, and bubbles) we were able to confuse and distract him enough to keep him from freaking. He also wielded the protection of his favorite toys which can go a long way. Still, I had secretly hoped for a smile.

Don't the Clauses look lovely though?

The one about Thanksgiving

And what a fabulous Thanksgiving it was.

It began with my sister. She came a week and a day before Thanksgiving so we could have some quality sisterly time.

And we did.

Adorable! If Disney princesses were real she would be Snow White.

A few days after she came Adam and Emily's roommate Hope drove up (with a couple other Portland people who did not stay with us) to join the party.

Aah, it was so fun. It makes me sad to think that it's over already which is probably why it's taken me so long to blog.

Don't worry, we actually had enough beds for them all, they just all crawled in together to stalk people on facebook.

Adam used a skillful strategy to insure that he got at least one treat while he was here. He suggested that we all do a thanksgiving craft together... an edible one.

Well as soon as I heard the word craft I was in, so yeah, he got his treat.

We made tiny turkeys!

 Ha ha ha! Look at Emily's face.

Ok, here's a better one.

Along with the turkey making there was also some wii action and a few BYU zoobies pretending to be gangsters.

Thanksgiving morning Tyson and I got our run on and did a 5k. I figured it was the best way to insure I got at least 2 pieces of pie guilt free. 

It was so cold! We had to dodge ice on the trail although I considered purposely slipping to get myself out of running. Just kidding, it actually felt pretty good. A great way to start off our Thanksgiving morning.

The Thanksgiving spread was both beautiful and delicious. We had a great day!