December Birthday Party and Christmas with the Savilles

On Sunday December 18, we got together with the Utah chapter of the Saville clan for a birthday party and an early Christmas. The kids were so excited to be able to open a Christmas Present or two, especially since the pile of presents under the tree kept growing as December progressed. And as usual, Nana and Papa spoiled them all: 

 Legos!!!

 After the kids opened their presents, we didn't see much of the boys since they were all working on their new Lego sets

 Nana and Papa got Rachel this sweet ice cream cone set--she just loves it!

We did things backwards this year--we had Christmas first and then the birthday party for Lea, Julie, and Shayne. I put myself in charge of the cake. So, how do you make a cake for some of the most amazing ladies in your life who each like very opposite kinds of cake? Lea does not like chocolate--at all!--and Julie loves it. There was really only one thing to do: make a half and half cake:

 I love these two ladies so much, and it was fun to make this cake for them. Rachel and Brian added the candies to dress it up a little more. And I put wax paper between the two kinds of cake so that they wouldn't touch each other, something Brian really appreciated.

 I hope I never stop feeling so full of gratitude for these amazing people. I did not grow up close to my dad's family, and I'm always amazed and so so grateful that my kids get so many amazing people to look after them and love them. They don't  know just how lucky they are to have two sets of doting grandparents and aunts and uncles on both sides who are very much involved in their lives. I love these opportunities to get together and celebrate.

More Surgeries

Right before Thanksgiving, I decided that one surgery in a year really isn't enough, so I decided to have more. I've had a cyst in my neck for around four years, and since we hit our deductible and all that, I decided that it was time to get it removed. The thing that they took out looked like a jelly belly. I didn't know how many people could handle that visual, so I'm only posting my stitches here:

On December 5, Rachel had tubes put in her ears. I decided everything is better when you're a kid, including surgery. When we arrived to her room, they had a new blanket, a new pillow and pillowcase, an activity bag and a toy waiting for her. After we got her changed into "pajamas", we got matching bracelets (AKA hospital ID bracelets) and the nurses came and checked her vitals. 

 And we hung out while we waited for her turn. She colored some and watched TV. She kept asking to watch Curious George. She has no concept of live TV and couldn't understand why I wouldn't play Curious George for her. Thankfully, there were plenty other shows to distract her.

 Then, a lady came in and walked Rachel through what was going to happen. They gave her a procedure doll and let Rachel draw a face and socks on her. They also brought an extra mask to try to help her not freak out about anesthesia, but Rachel would have nothing to do with it.

And then this sweet lady just played with Rachel until it was time.

 Rachel opted to go tot he surgery room in a wagon. She was all smiles heading in. I got a little choked up when they took her away where I couldn't go.

 And then I waited. They warned me that she might come back crying since littles don't understand about the weird feeling of anesthesia. The nurses came and told me that she did really well and thought the whole thing was awesome right up until they brought out the mask. When she came back, she was a little grumpy, but didn't cry. She finally got to have breakfast--Oreo cookies and a slushy.

She was a little grumpy the rest of the day, but she got to watch Princess movies to distract her from her pain. She handled the whole thing like a champ and everyone there was gushing about how cute she was. Yesterday, she had her follow up with the ENT, and she's doing great! Here's hoping there is no more surgeries at our house for a long, long time!

November

Last year, we put off hanging our Christmas lights too long, and it snowed, making it too treacherous to hang them. This year, we hung them the first Saturday in November. Don't worry, we didn't turn them on much until just before Thanksgiving. We were pretty proud of ourselves. Brian took this picture from the roof:

 Gabe started training to be a Jedi. Don't worry, he's still on the good side of the force, despite his light saber color choice.

 My dad got these little footballs for us. All the kids got one, and apparently there was an extra, so Michael took the liberty of giving it to me. He wrote my "initials" on them. (Mommy Rae Saville).

 Rachel got yet another ear infection. We took her in and found out that she had had four in the last seven months--and those are only the ones we took her in for. She probably had several others that we didn't take her in for. She was constantly complaining about her ears hurting. So, we met with an ENT and set up ear tube surgery for the first part of December.

 Here's Rachel testing the twirlability of her new dress:

It's a good one!

Gabe turned 7 months mid-November. He started sitting up on his own, still a little wobbly, but he was working on it. He also started getting really good at traveling around the floor--by rolling! It was so funny to watch. He was so incredibly deliberate with his rolling to get exactly where he wanted to be. 

 

These two are obsessed with each other. 

 On November 17, we traded in our Elantra, Han Dai (named for Han Solo). The manual transmission was getting to be too much for Brian. It was the first car we bought together, and we were a little sad to see it go.

 But the sadness was short lived, because Brian loves his new work car, Bruce (Does it come in black?):

 Here they are, side by side:

 Farewell, Han. It's been real, my friend.

 Gabe loves Brian's physical therapy ball.

 A lot.

 Here's some of that rolling action:

 We got our first snowstorm:

 Adam and Sarah came into town for Thanksgiving, and we got to go on a double date. We went out to eat and then saw Light of the World at the Conference Center. The production was good, but it was sooooooo nice to visit with our friends.

 They wanted to say hi to some friends, so we made it to the car before them. While we were waiting, I practiced walking without limping. I feel like I have to learn to walk again. If I really concentrate, I can walk without a limp. We discovered that if I do a runway model type walk, I don't have the limp. I guess it's time to channel my inner model. Like I said, it takes a lot of concentration.

 Gabe modeling the cardigan that Aunt Martie made for him. He gets all kinds of compliments!

Zak and Sam came to visit us the day before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see them! Sam wanted me to take pictures of her baby (who turned 1 that day!), and so Emmett and Rachel tested the lighting for me. 

 The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we set up our tree, nativities, and Christmas village.

 Rachel has a sweet, generous little soul. She is always so eager to help where she can. She rushes from the other room when she hears me trying to put on my socks. I tried to take this picture of her helping me put on my socks. It's a terrible shot, but I wanted to remember how much she helped me, her sweet little voice telling me to lift up my heel after she got the sock over my toes. Funny how a year ago, I was helping her put on her socks. She's helped me zip up my boots a lot too. It's hard not being able to put on my own shoes, but she helped it not be so bad.

 We decorated our tree for family night the day after we set up the tree.

 One of my friends asked if I let the kids help me decorate the tree since it looked so good. I had to laugh because the bottom was CLEARLY decorated by Rachel. She loved putting ornaments on, and she could only reach so high. Some would have moved them after she went to bed, but I loved looking at the bottom and picturing her running back and forth between the ornament box and the tree.

  

Gabe loved the tree, and he's figuring out how to get to things better all the time. It was a lot of work keeping him out of the tree, but we made it through December with only a few packages getting partially opened and the tree had minimal maiming.  

Gabe got to me a baby knee pad model for my friend's baby boutique.

     And Gabe put in more hours in the jumper while Rachel, danced next to him, and in this case, she was wearing her dance clothes.

And then it was December.