Christmas Time's A Comin'!

First Santa Sighting: December 1 in front of Little America Hotel in Salt Lake. This is the only Santa's lap I will sit on. 

 Un-Christmas related, but on December 1, Brian called to tell me he got 6 tickets to go and see the Jazz play that night. So, I scrambled to find a baby-sitter, and Lea, Shayne, their cousin Taylor, and my brother Ethan joined us in Salt Lake to go watch the Jazz. It was my first ever NBA game, and Brian caught this hat. He gave me the cardboard support, so I put it on my head because I'm silly like that. It was very exciting at the end--but the Jazz ended up losing by 1 point.

  Brian gave the hat to Shayne because we're really not that into the Jazz. I haven't been since the Jazz lost to the Bulls back to back years in the Championships.

Our ward Christmas party was a breakfast this time, and Santa came. Yay!

 Throughout December, I slowly worked on getting the presents wrapped and under the tree. On our first night wrapping session, we wrapped two presents each for Michael and Rachel, knowing that Gabe wouldn't know or care if he didn't have a present under the tree, and we were taking the slow and steady approach to Christmas wrapping. Well, somebody noticed that Gabe didn't have a present, and we found this package under the tree that very next morning:.

 Michael couldn't stand the fact that Gabe didn't have a present. He also tried to find something for Brian, but I explained to him that it would all work out and we would all have presents by Christmas morning.

Brian had two work parties this year. One at the Tree Room in Sundance with just his team, and the food was AMAZING! The second was with the entire Utah chapter of Adobe at the Living Planet Aquarium. It's more of a party scene than we are into, so we watched a 4D movie in their theater,

 

 visited the Penguin exhibit and their new Asia exhibit, hung around for the raffle, and then went home. Someday we'll be cool enough for the Adobe party, but probably not.

This year, we decided to adopt a tradition I had while growing up--to draw names and make something for the person whose name you drew. This really meant that Brian and I did most of the work, but we tried to find projects where they could participate. On December 3, Brian took Rachel and Michael to Moana so that Gabe and I could work on a mermaid blanket for Rachel. The next Saturday, December 10, I took Michael to Moana so Rachel and Brian could make a truck for Michael. We also went to IHOP for lunch, just the two of us. We had to run a few errands, one of which was for his project for Gabe, and we also had to kill some extra time so Brian and Rachel could finish. 

On December 13, Rachel had her Winter Showcase for dance. We love our tiny dancer:

 Here she is with her teacher:

  Adobe arranged to have Santa come and visit again, so we signed up for a slot on December 13, just before dinner. This is really the only way we would do a professional picture with Santa because it is free, and we don't have to wait in line. Thanks, Adobe! Here's Gabe waiting for our turn, which was only about a 5 minute wait.

Family Christmas photo:

 After seeing Santa, we grabbed some dinner and headed to a nursing home for my studio's piano recital (which is why we're in dress clothes for the Santa pictures). The set up wasn't ideal, and the piano was out of tune in a bad way, but the residents loved having us. They especially loved my kids who sat by them during the recital, and I had to remind myself that we weren't there for amazing sound or professionalism--we were there to bring some joy to the residents there. Michael finally got to perform "Carol of the Bells", which he first learned last Christmas, and he did a great job. I was really proud of him. I love my budding musician.

 Rachel made this gingerbread house in Preschool. After I took the picture, she proceeded to eat all the candy off of it.

 And what would December be like without going to see the new Star Wars movie? Adobe, the sponsor of all things fun this December, rented out the theater on December 15th. We paid $10 per ticket and that included our seat and popcorn and soda. We were going to go with our friends Brian and Stephanie (Brian also works at Adobe), but Stephanie was sick, so they gave us their tickets and we invited Brian's parents. We ate at Olive Garden beforehand, and then went to the theater.

 The movie was AWESOME! It's the best Star Wars movie yet.

 One thing we really loved this year was having 5 stockings hanging on our mantle. It filled us with indescribable joy.

 Finally, on the 16th, Michael and I started his project for Gabe. He helped me layout the patterns, pin, and even a little cutting.

 He sat on my lap and pushed down the pedal to sew all the stitches. There were only a few that I just did myself. And he stuffed it all by himself:

 Brian tied the tie, I sewed on the eyes and made a nose. It took us two days. It was fun working on something with Michael. We don't get to do things like that very often anymore.  Ta-Da!

 Michael had his school Christmas program on December 19. His class/grade sang "The Happiest Christmas Tree." Seating was outrageous, so I stood for most of the program, but since his class was one of the last to go, enough parents left to give me, Rachel, and Gabe a prime viewing spot:

 It made me happy that he was excited to see me. I don't know how many more years he will show his excitement.

It was a busy time getting everything ready to go, but by the time we loaded up our car on December 22 to go to Idaho, we were ready, and it felt good to just relax and enjoy the holiday.

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.