Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas everyone!

Mauri gave me blogging duties today so you aren't going to get the witty humor you usually get from her when she updates our blog. We did have a great Christmas though and here are some pictures to prove it!

On Christmas Eve, we had a very special guest come visit. Kyri sitting on Santa's (My Dad) lap and telling him what she was going "to get" from him. "Santa bring me smarties"!

Thanks to the wonderful talents of my Mother, all us adults became kids again!

You can never go wrong with these footy pajamas, well, unless you have to go to the bathroom and can't get your zipper down fast enough.

Even we got to sit on Santa's lap!

The Guys (Gary's brothers)

The Gal's (Our wives)

Mauri even got a special present by sitting on Santa's lap while he was in his pajamas!

Christmas morning......looks like Santa found us!

Kyri got lots of presents, but this one was the only one from Santa.......Her very own vacuum. She loves to help Mauri clean and now she has her own vacuum to do it.

The aftermath! They all look so happy....Mauri and I are still thinking, how are we going to get all this stuff back home?

We hope all of you (Friends and Family) had a great Christmas.

Tis The Season

This year we tried really hard to get Christmas cards/pictures/letters out, but it just didn't happen. I even typed the letter up, but it never made it into an envelope. So to allow close friends and family to still know our going-ons over the past year we decided to post our Christmas letter here on our blog. So, read on...and don't be afraid to ENJOY!!

Kyri's first Santa experience. I think she finally realized he's an actual person, not just a decoration. But now she tells me that Santa will come see her if she's good...and the snowman too!!

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2009

In the Spirit of this holiday season we thought it appropriate to send you a little letter with what has been happening in our household this past year. If you check our blog on a regular basis then you know what has been going on in our lives, so please feel free to stop reading now and just enjoy our family photo a bit more. However, you may miss out on something of slight entertainment if you do. If you don’t check our blog on a regular basis then shame on you. You really ought to. Then we wouldn’t feel like we had to frantically write something up just in time to send out with our Christmas cards!

We are pleased to announce that this year has brought us nothing but joy and happiness….right along with the feelings of wanting to poke our eyes out because we now have a 2 year old. Need we say more about her? Probably not, but if you keep reading you’ll get to hear about her anyway, because despite her gift of knowing which buttons to push to cause hairs to either fall out or turn gray, she sure does know how to put a smile on our faces! And we are not ashamed to brag about her and her cuteness.

When Graysen was born in April it seemed like he came out smiling. He loves to smile at anyone who will look at him or walk past him. He loves taking baths and eating. Typical baby. Graysen loves to do what we call “the caterpillar”, also known as crawling. He gets up on hands and knees only to throw himself forward. He’s pretty fast at it and definitely gets where he wants to go. Since this new discovery, Graysen has been a much happier baby. If only he could keep up with his sister and get into as much trouble as her! Graysen loves to laugh at his sister, except when she climbs in his crib while he’s sleeping and lays on him, then it’s only screams. Graysen is very tickle-ish, so the poor little guy gets tickled almost constantly, for our enjoyment. This little bundle has sure brought us a lot of joy!

Kyri turned 2 in September. With that has come much drama, tears, fits, and time-outs, but also many words, tricks, jokes, and laughs. Here’s a few that have not yet been mentioned in our blog (see, aren’t you glad you’re still reading?):

* One night while Kyri was taking a bath Gary habitually turned off the light when he walked out of the bathroom. He quickly realized what he did and turned the light back on. Kyri said, “Hey! Turn the gark back on, Daddy! Turn on the gark!!”

* One day Gary was eating a “baby orange”. Kyri had already had 4+ and we really didn’t want her to have any more. But she saw Gary was eating something. She said, “whatchya eatin, Daddy-o?” Gary said, “Oh, nothing.” After thinking for a moment, and concluding she’s not dumb or crazy and knowing he was eating something she replied, “I want to eat some nothing too!”

This year Kyri is finally catching on to the idea of Christmas and presents and Santa. It has been a lot of fun and we are all looking forward to Christmas morning. The only thing she has asked Santa for, though, is Smarties! I sure hope he can manage!

Kyri definitely keeps us on our toes and makes sure she keeps her toes (or whole body, really) on her brother. She loves him SO much and is constantly “checkin’ on him”, but sometimes she just goes too far. She has finally realized that if she hits, kicks, bites, or does anything else to make her brother cry she might as well put herself in time-out, because that’s what’s coming anyway. At least she loves him, and always has.

Mauri has continued being a full-time mom. Amazing how it’s not just a temporary job, isn’t it? Some days she wishes it was, but that feeling only lasts until one of the kids does or says something that simply melts her heart. And although Mauri has been known to sometimes mention putting her kids up for bid on e-bay, the truth is that she wouldn’t trade a single day (yep, that even includes the poop infested days) for any amount of money or alone time. There truly is nothing like being a mother!!

This year Gary has been enjoying his job at Wells Fargo. After some hard work and determination he managed to work his way from “online banker” up to a “Team Lead”. This new title seems to be much more important and enjoyable for him, but for Mauri and the kids it has only meant one thing, less phone calls home during the work day. We are happy he is working so hard and that Gary is happier in what he is doing. This year Gary also had an epiphany: he is to go back to school and eventually become a high school history teacher and coach. Even though the thought of 3 more years of school is a bit discouraging, we are all very excited for this career change, especially Gary. I mean, who wouldn’t look forward to dealing with overly dramatic, self- centered, invincible teenagers on a daily basis?

And that’s our year, in a nutshell. We hope your 2009 was as exciting and enjoyable as ours. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good 2010!!

Much love,

Gary, Mauri, Kyri, and Graysen

Catching Up On The Past

Gary's Birthday

On Nov 23rd Gary turned 30!! It seems like a big deal, but Gary's not really one to make a big deal about birthdays. Maybe part of that is because half the time is birthday is on Thanksgiving. I didn't plan a surprise party for him or anything, but he did come home from work early, which is always a big deal to me. It was nice to have some extra time with him, especially for the kids since they're normally in bed by time he gets home from work. I decided I would make him a delicious dinner including Crab and Shrimp Bisque, Red Lobster Biscuits, and Cheesecake to top things off. The soup is one of my favorites, so here's the recipe:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound pre-cooked crab meat
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

In a large saucepan, melt butter and cook onions over a low heat. When onions are cooked stir in flour, salt, pepper, bouillon granules. Blend 3/4 cup half-and-half cream into the mixture. Mix in shrimp and crab meat. Turn the temperature to medium heat and continue stirring until the mixture thickens.

Blend the remaining half-and-half cream and broth into the mixture. Serve and enjoy! (Serves 2)

recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Shrimp-and-Crab-Bisque-2/Detail.aspx with a few of my own changes

Everything was so easy and, if you ask me, SO delicious! It was a great meal for turning 30! Let me know if you're interested in the recipes for the biscuits and cheesecake.

Happy Birthday to Gary!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we went to my parent's in Pocatello. Unfortunately Gary had to work Thanksgiving Day and the 2 days after, so he wasn't able to come with us. We were so sad he wouldn't be able to join us and enjoy some yummy turkey, so we made him a turkey of his own

I think he loved it :)

It was a fun few days at my parent's. Devin and his family were the only other ones there, so it was pretty quiet, yet lots of fun! Kyri still talks about playing with Brody. We wish we could see them more! The food was delicious, of course, and we made enough for everyone to eat Thanksgiving Dinner every night for weeks! You'd think we were making food for my whole family!! Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures over the weekend. What was I thinking?! But a good time was had by all, even though we missed Daddy-o.

So, there it is. Happy Birthday AND Thanksgiving....until next year.

Growing TOO Fast

I have a LOT of blogging to catch up on (like Gary's b-day and Thanksgiving, etc.), but for now you only get updates on the little ones. My how the time flies! How did they get so big so fast?!?

Well, a lot happened for Graysen all within about a week. Here's what he's been up to:

* he got a nasty cold :(

* he started sitting up on his own

* he starting crawling...well, it's more like an army crawl than a hands and knees crawl, but he sure knows how to get where he wants to go

* he quit sucking his thumb (because when he had a cold he couldn't breathe with his thumb in his mouth, even when he held it in with his other hand....I think I sort of miss the thumb sucking in a small way)

* he started teething (which may explain the cold symptoms), but that tooth still hasn't cut through...it's been a fussy few weeks

* he has a new girly laugh and cry. Yes, girly. It's so high pitched...where did that come from?

* he is starting to figure out how to get to a sitting position from a lying down position and, on occasion, from a sitting position to a standing position (this has only happened when he's been sitting in the laundry basket, but has happened more than once)

* he likes to cry if Kyri even gets into his space...she doesn't need to touch him, just get close and out come the tears. What a baby :)

crawling under the chair to get something he knows he shouldn't have. Notice his look of victory.

up on hands and knees, just to throw himself forward

just TOO cute!

Kyris' been up to a few things as well. Here's an overview:

* she learned how to climb into her brother's crib, but not out. This is not a happy situation for anyone when it's bed time and all I hear from the other room is BOTH kids screaming because she climbed in and sat on Graysen and woke him up and now she's stuck in there!

* she was potty trained for 2 months and now only sometimes uses the potty (she WILL tell me she needs to go and then run to the other room so she can go in her panties)

* she is not very nice to her brother, but sometimes decides it's worth it anyway. She will kick, hit, push, bite him (whatever will make him cry) and then run into her room to put herself in time out

* new names for her brother: Gray Gray (occasionally just Gray) and Baby G

* funny Kyri phrases: "not yet" (especially when I tell her she needs to put clothes on or go potty), "hoo-ray!!!" (she gets VERY excited sometimes), "oh my goodness!!", "umm, maybe" and really, pretty much everything she says brings a smile to my face...

* the other night after she climbed into Graysen's crib and woke him up I also noticed she had messed with the humidifier in her room (which she knows she's not supposed to touch). Her dresser was soaking wet and Graysen was screaming. I put her back in bed and was telling her how angry I was. She was grinning from ear to ear. I said, "Kyri, this is NOT funny! So you better wipe that smile off your face RIGHT now!!!" She slowly took her hand and wiped off her smile. I had to turn away so I wouldn't laugh because I still wanted to be angry about the situation, but how could I be after that? However, she did get back into the crib after that. Seriously! So I went in and gave her some blankets and told her she could sleep in there. Gary's a bit nicer than me, though (or doesn't like listening to her scream), and eventually got her out and put her in bed.

I love when she does her own hair

just checkin out the ads while peepsin

nice outfit! At least her feet won't get cold! And, yes, those are Graysen's feet at the bottom. He always has to be where his sister is...because she's always getting into mischief

and I love it when she does her own make-up...beautiful!

Well, we put up our Christmas decor early! (the first part of Nov) and one night I was making dinner only to realize both my kids were awful quiet. I went into the living room to find this (click to enlarge...it's great):

I said: "Um, what are you guys doing?"

Silence.

Me: "Did you make a mess?

Kyri: "uh huh"

Me: "Were you guys eating it?"

Kyri: "Nope"

Me: (as Graysen is gumming something) "Did Graysen put any in his mouth?"

Kyri: "NO!"

Me: "Did YOU eat any?"

Kyri: "Nope!"

let the tall tales begin....good thing they are SO stinkin cute or I would have them up on e-bay right now!! :) Oh how I love them!!

Chili Cook-Off

Last Friday our ward had it's annual chili cook-off. I made the same chili I did last year because last year we lost "Best Overall Chili" by one vote. Why? Because Gary didn't even vote for our chili, he voted for someone else's! Well, this year, Gary got there late (because he had to work) so I took it upon myself to cast his vote (for our chili)...and we WON!!!

Here's Kyri with our nearly empty pot of chili and the coveted trophy

This is actually the only chili I've ever made. And I LOVE it! I got the recipe from my mom and thought I'd share it with you, just in case you want to win your own Ward Chili Cook-Off.

CREAMY WHITE CHILI

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 - 1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 Tbs vegetable oil

2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chicken broth

2 4-oz. cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

½ cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream.

Through Heavenly Father's Plan

We had a GREAT weekend up in Caldwell, Idaho. What a special day for my brother, Ryan, and his family! Ryan and Lisa adopted baby Kennedy, who was born March 26, 2009. The adoption was final on October 27, 2009. And this special day took place November 7, 2009! Thanks for inviting us to be a part of it!

It was a long drive with our 2 little ones (even though they did surprisingly well on the trip), but oh so worth every minute of it! On Saturday morning we got to attend the baptism and confirmation of my niece, Rebecca. Directly following that was the blessing of baby Kennedy. And I need to put a plug in about how grateful I am to be married to such a wonderful man who holds the priesthood and was able to participate in these sacred ordinances! I love you, Gary!

Here's the family in front of the font

Ryan, Kennedy, Lisa, Rebecca, and Caroline

That afternoon we were able to go to the Temple, where Kennedy was sealed to Ryan and Lisa. What a wonderful God we have to allow our earthy ties to be bound in Heaven!!

This was such an emotional and so extremely spiritual day! We are so grateful we could be a part of their special day. What tears of joy we had to see this beautiful family all in white, in the Temple, being sealed as a family....FOREVER!!

Not to take away from the importance of why we were there, but we all had such a great time at the hotel! Lisa was SO organized and forewarned the employees that we would be taking over their lobby/lounge and pool....and that we did!

Here's Kyri enjoying a swimming pool for the first time in her life! She has always been so scared! (I wonder where she got that from) But this time she didn't want to get out!

And apparently Graysen just enjoyed the soft bed! (since we wouldn't let him roll around on the gross hotel floors)

What a FUN and FABULOUS weekend! My whole family was able to be there except Jared and his family, since they recently moved to Delaware. We missed them, but I'm not afraid to say that we still had fun without them! :)

Congratulations, Ryan and Lisa, on your Forever Family!! We love you!

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken last week by my friend, Malissa. She did a great job! (Thank you!) It was a really cold day, but the kids did great! I am so lucky to be the mom of such CUTE kids!!

The Allen Family

the handsome boys

the cute girls

feet, feet, feet

This isn't my favorite family picture, but I LOVE how Kyri and Graysen are holding hands!!

cute kids

"smile for smarties!"

precious

our big 2 year old!

isn't she a doll?

always happy

and super cute!

To see more of Malissa's work go to http://malissahickmanphotography.blogspot.com/

Happy Halloween

It was Halloween Eve, the kids were both in bed and Gary says, "We forgot to carve our pumpkin!" Mostly we just love roasted pumpkin seeds, but Gary decided to make a quick, basic jack-o-lantern.

Squished.

There was a Halloween carnival at the church, which is only a few blocks away, so we left Kyri in her costume for the ride home. I'm actually surprised I was able to do up her seatbelt!

Flying Santa.

This is a sure way to get Graysen to stop fussing. Too bad I'm not as strong as Gary because Graysen just loves it, as you can see.

Seriously?

THE cutest little dragonfly and Santa Clause I ever did see!!!

Underneath their costumes they are bundled up SO warm! Kyri would have stayed out all night. She really loved the idea of getting candy simply for saying, "trick-or-treat". And, as mad as I was at her earlier in the day, I sure am glad I got to see just how much fun she had with this event! She would get candy at one house and if Gary or I were talking to the candy givers she would say, "Go to 'nother house. Get some more candy!" And at one house she saw a cat and said, "Bye bye kitty cat. Gotta go to more houses. Get lots of candy. BYE!" She would even try to con people into giving her 2 pieces of candy. "One's for G man!" I'm not a huge Halloween fan, but this would have to be at the top of my list as the best Halloween ever. It really was just so fun to see so many kids dressed up and to see Kyri have SO much FUN!!

Who's Child Is This?!?!

Just trying to see how many headbands she could get on her head!

Now, after seeing that picture some of you may think that Kyri is just so silly. And she is. But she is not all fun and game when it comes to actual reality (aka living in this house on a daily basis). Let me explain (and if potty talk bothers you, you better stop reading now...my blog is like my journal so all things are posted, good AND gross):

So, Saturday started out as a really great day! The kids were being good and we were having fun, looking forward to Gary coming home from work so we could go Trick-or-Treating. After lunch I read Kyri a story and put her down for her nap (this is a normal routine in our house). I then started feeding Graysen and shortly after could here Kyri going stinky in her room. Yes, she is potty trained, but she still wears pull-ups for naps and at night. The problem is that she knows it's not a big deal to go potty in her pull-up, so she gets lazy. So, that is what she decided to do rather than tell me she needed to go. When she was all finished with her business she knocked on her door and said, "Mom, nopen door! Stinky bum!" She does know how to open her door, but for some reason chose not to this time. I told her to wait just a minute until I finished feeding Graysen. When I was done feeding him she was knocking on her door and making all sorts of noise! So, of course, it woke Graysen up, which never makes me happy. And even though he was crying I figured I better go change her stinky bum. Well, I opened her door and got a strong whiff of the biggest stench. I look at Kyri and she has no pants on. Nor does she have her pull-up on. Not only that, but she has poop, yep poop, on her shirt and even on her face!!! I say, "Where did you put it?!?!" (in my angry voice and referring to her pull-up) She says, "Right here!" (in her innocent voice and referring to her poop) She pointed to her wall and dresser. Sure enough, that's exactly where she put her poop.....ALL over!! I then noticed it on her door, floor, and bed (where I finally found her pull-up.). Then I noticed it ALL over her! Yep, pretty much from head to toe! I was not a happy momma! So, I stuck her in the tub while I cleaned up a stinky mess. It was nap time, so putting her in time out after her bath was pointless, but I needed to punish her somehow. I told her I wasn't going to take her Trick-or-Treating. Of course I knew she would be able to go. She's 2 and this is her first REAL Halloween, first time trick-or-treating, but I needed to let her know how much trouble she was in. I told her she would have to ask Daddy when he got home if he would take her. Then I told her if he said yes, then she would not be able to eat any candy until the next day! Oh I have never been so angry at my child before! And I stuck to my guns and she did not get any candy after trick-or-treating. She was not happy about it, but hopefully that means she learned her lesson: that poop goes in the TOILET!!!

It's a good thing she IS so silly and cute...or I would have lost my sanity long ago

Random Silliness

Gary's schedule has been a little different the last couple of weeks, which means he's actually home when it's the kids' bedtime. He and Kyri started this new silly game, where, after she put her jammies on, she would sit on the top of Gary's head. Tonight she was patting Gary's head and said, "Get up there. Get up there." Gary said, "Get up where?" She responded (still patting), "Here. Daddy's grass!!" (kids are so creative....or at least honest....aren't they?) Gary and I both started laughing, so, of course, she joined in the laughter and said, "That's funny! Cracks me up too!!" And that just made us all laugh harder!

A new favorite Kyri word, "Wowsers!!"

A couple more names she came up with for Graysen: G Joe, G Me, G Brother

Kyri likes to tell me, "G likes that game!" When it is clear he is not amused with what she is doing to him.

I have to post these random things as they happen so I don't forget!!

Today Kyri was "reading" her Cinderella book to Graysen and it reminded me of the day I overheard her "read" the whole book:

"Once 'pon a time in a land FAR away...Cinderella.

Mean step-sisters. Step-sisters ruin dress.

Cinderella can't go to the ball. Sad 'bout it!

Cinderella run outside. Cinderella crying.

Fairy god-mother come. Help Cinderella go to the ball.

Cinderella SO happy 'bout it!

Meet the Prince.

Step-mother trip the messenger. Glass slipper broke.

Cinderella 'nother one...pocket.

Got to marry the Prince.

Live Happily Ever After.

The End!!"

our very own little Fairy Tale character

What's in a Name?

Kyri is quite creative when it comes to names. And they seem to get even funnier as she gets older. Here's a few names she's come up with for the things and people in her life:

Pink Bear, Brown Bear, Heart Bear, Whitey, and Stripey

Baby Kyri Doll, and Baby Bear

Ruff Ruff (even though it's Graysen's we let her name it)

Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mommy-o

Dad, Daddy, Dada, Daddy-o, Dadders

(I love this pic of Gary!! Haha! He has his shirt tucked in, is wearing his new dress shoes, and is showing off his new workout weights. Silly Daddy-o!)

She refers to herself as Kyri Girl. Love it!!

(and this pic makes me laugh! She was in the kitchen throwing a fit over who knows what and then I heard from the other room, "STUCK!! I'm stuck in here! Help I'm stuck!")

And last but not least...oh where do I begin....Graysen, Graysen Man, G Man, Man, Graysen Boy, G Boy, Graysen Bug, Bug, Graysee, Grayser, GG, Gia, and lately it's been just G