The Wyett Family

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

We decided to decorate for Christmas on Sunday! The house feels so warm and cozy. We ended up putting the tree in the school room/nursery so the dog and baby didn't destroy it all in one day. That was a good move! I can go in there and read, or the boys can do their lessons next to the lights, but then we can shut the door so Trouble 1 (Marley) and his side kick, Trouble 2 (Emma), can't get in!

Once again, the boys built our fake tree. We are going to try to buy some garland so our house smells like pine though. I love Christmas time!!

November 27, 2011

Emma is 15 Months!

My blogging would not be complete without updated pictures of our little princess. Oh how I love this girl! She brings so much laughter and joy to our home. In the midst of teenage drama and little boy strife she makes us laugh and brings us together. We can be in the middle of a battle of tears and yelling and she will toddle in and say "Hi Na Na" or "Hi Mama" and we just start smiling. If anyone is upset she goes over and hugs them. She loves to blow kisses, especially at her Daddy. She says many words now: Hi, Mama, Daddy, Doggie, Na Na, All Done, Up, Down, No, Mmm, Uh Oh, Weee, Nigh Nigh, Ow, and Hey. Pretty much covers her needs. :)

She is a little monkey. She loves to climb on things- chairs, couches, beds, dogs, people. She recently has discovered a love for slides. She loves going to the park or just playing in the front yard with the two little plastic slides we have for her. Except she refuses to go up the ladders. She only likes to try to climb up the slide itself. She can do it with a little help, then turns around and slides down and tries to climb back up again. Never ending fun!

I wish I could say she was sleeping better these days. She still thinks she needs milk at 2 or 3 in the morning. I make her wait until 4:30, but am going to try to extend that until 5:15 pretty soon. I am hoping to start getting up at 5:15 to give her a little milk and put her back to bed. Then my goal is to stay up to pray, read my scriptures, exercise and shower before she and the rest of the crew are up for the day. I am excited to find some time for myself...I wish it wasn't quite that early but it will have to do! Seminary days add to her sleeping troubles. I usually just get her back to sleep around 5 and then have to wake her up an hour later for the carpool. I put her in her car seat, PJ's and all, and off we go! She's been a real trooper about it, but it is a serious pain!

Like my other 3, she began walking at 14 months. She has been taking a step here or there for a couple of months but she starting really walking last week and now she pretty much just walks everywhere! It's amazing how fast kids learn when they want to do something.

Don't let that sweet face completely fool you. She has quite a temper on her when she doesn't get her way! She will scream "HEY!" if you take something from her or tell her no. She has been known to throw herself on the floor, and lately she has started to smack people (mostly her siblings) if they do something she doesn't like. In her defense though, they often pick her up or move her body around like she is a little toy. She is getting to that age where she wants to do everything herself and she doesn't like to be manipulated so she let's them know loud and clear! I don't know where she gets her fiery attitude from! :)

November 3 - 8, 2011

Fun!

Our boys decided that they wanted to look like their dad. So when he was home yesterday, he shaved their heads. I always think they are adorable, but it is seriously hard to tell them a part when their hair is cut like this! They have been dressing alike too and calling themselves twins. Bradley had a little cut on his forehead so Benjamin purposely rubbed his head on the floor and gave himself a rug burn in the same spot! Not his brightest moment. I told Brad he better not be knocking out any teeth to look more like his brother. He assured me he wouldn't!

The boys have been having fun making forts out of card board boxes in the backyard. I especially like all the signs they wrote. :)

Savanna looked gorgeous for her formal dance. I even let her borrow my wedding tiara which apparently was the envy of all the other girls. She said the music wasn't as good as the Halloween dance, and she was getting over a cold, but overall she had a great time.

Benjamin has been on a destructive mission since James left. Emotions are raw around here and his temper has gotten the best of him several times. It seems to be the worst the day or two after James leaves. This past week by Tuesday Ben had broken the toilet seat, the swing set, the large baby gate that sectioned off our living room, several cabinet knobs, and my laundry room shelf! Thank goodness for good home teachers and a handy husband! All was fixed by the weekend. The baby gate, however, could not be fixed so I spent hours spackling, painting and rearranging our living room. Don't tell Ben, but it looks SO much nicer and bigger. I LOVE it!!

I said I would never take the kids here, but a friend invited us to Chuck E. Cheese for a family night. Surprisingly it was actually really fun. A little too loud and hectic, but the pizza has gotten much better and the kids had a blast. The boys said it was the greatest night of their lives! They won 950 tickets which bought them several cheesy, plastic toys and some candy. They make a killing at this place!!

Oh, and the MOST fun, Ben started basketball! This is going to be so entertaining. I just can not wait for his first game! He's only had one practice and one clinic, and the kid is seriously uncoordinated. The funny part is though, he thinks he is FABULOUS! He has a hard time focusing and following direction, plus he kept running around with his hands in his pockets half the practice and so when anyone would throw the ball at him it would just bounce off his chest or face. I kept yelling, "Ben, get our hands out of your pockets!" but he said they were too cold. Their team name is Dr. Chocolate...not sure what that means but whatever. His first game is this Saturday, and it's going to be seriously great!

November 3 - 28, 2011

Visitors, Vacations, & Holidays

I know, I know...it has been WEEKS since I've blogged! Between visitors, vacations, holidays, and a broken computer I've had my hands tied. There is too much to tell and I took WAY too many pictures to post, but as always I will give you the highlights. Top News: 8 weeks DOWN, only 15 more weeks of James' academy! ONLY...yeah right. :)

Grandma Kathleen came for a visit at the beginning of November. It was great having an extra set of hands around the house again. She was able to spend time with Emma, take the boys on an "adventure," give me a little break, and even see Bradley's last soccer game. She always teaches me something during her visits. This time she shared with me that she has kept a daily gratitude journal for a long time. I thought that was a great idea and started one the very next week. I write 5 things I am grateful for each night before I go to bed. It's simple and takes very little time, but has brought me a lot of joy. What a wonderful way to end each day. :)

Later in the month, Shelly and Hannah came for a visit. This was the first time they have seen our new house! Of course the boys had a blast with Hannah, and we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving while they were here since James would be away on the actual holiday. I decided to do my own spin on the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner (big surprise, right?). We served pumpkin/turkey chili (AMAZING BTW...will put it on the food blog asap!), kale salad, green salad, cranberry sauce, whole wheat Tuscan bread and butter, green bean casserole, and raw apple cider. It was a great meal with great company. So many things to be thankful for this time of year and nothing seems more important than family time.

We have been down to stay with James at his hotel twice this month. One weekend the three littles and I went to stay with him for a Saturday/Sunday (Savanna stayed behind to go to her Formal Church Dance- pictures to follow!), and then all of us ended up surprising James by coming down for Thanksgiving Day and stayed several days. The kids love to stay with James. I'd like to say it is because of him but mostly it's the free buffet breakfast the hotel serves every morning, the heated swimming pool, and the awesome park across the street. Really it is a fun place to stay. I go to the gym, go for walks with beautiful views of the mountains, swim, play pool, watch movies....yeah, it's pretty nice.

Some how James has managed to study and write all his papers while we are with him. The baby has even started napping better while we are there. It is cozy having all 6 of us in a 450 square foot space with only ONE bathroom, but totally worth it. We even brought Marley this last time and he was great. We stayed with James Wednesday through Saturday and then he came home for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Four whole days of family fun. :)