Christmas!

We had a great Christmas but it started out really slow. Jake did NOT want to get up! Of course, he would sleep in on the one day when Jeremy and I were up and ready to get going. The kid was out cold. Eventually, I think the flashes from the camera woke him up. In this picture it looks like he's thinking, "Really Mom and Dad, you got me up for this!"


He seemed much happier once we started opening presents. We got him a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he LOVED IT. He was pretty much glued to it all day long.




I was happy about all the snow. It's supposed to be snowy on Christmas. It makes everything feel all comfy and cozy.






We got to talk to my brother on his mission in Chile! This picture is HORRIBLE of me, but I thought it was cute of Jake and Jeremy. It was fun to hear my brother's voice. He even had a slight accent. He seemed to be doing really well.


Jake playing the shepherd in the Nativity story.


Loving the trains again...


Playing games with cousins...


Every year my Dad's side of the family has a party where we eat lots of good food and play games. Lets just say that my family is very competitive and the games get a little crazy sometimes. This year we used PVC pipe to blow paper darts at each other. You wouldn't think that it would be too dangerous, but several people ended up with injuries. Those paper darts were sharp! I think everyone had fun for the most part. :)

This was at the beginning of the game. You can see all the "barricades" that were set up to take cover behind.


Sitting on the sidelines trying not to get hit by stray darts...


Skinny Santa...




Jake takes being Santa very seriously!


I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Christmas with the McLerrans

Christmas came early for Jake this year. Jeremy's family is going to Virginia to spend the holidays, so we celebrated with them last Sunday. Jake had a great time and with all the snow it felt a lot like Christmas.

Opening presents...





Telling the nativity story...



Having fun in pj's...



Here is a picture for all of you who have been asking to see my belly. I'm not very good at taking belly shots. I'll try to get a better one soon. Can I just say that I HATE maternity clothes!! I hate spending money on something that I'll only wear for a few months and they're usually not very cute or comfortable. I've pretty much been living in pajamas.



Every Christmas Jake gets a slight obsession with trains. He LOVES the Polar Express!



Playing in all the snow...









I have some majorly talented friends. We had a Christmas party and my friend Holly made these AMAZING reindeer and Santa hats out of cake. Oh, and they tasted delicious too!



So cute!



We were supposed to bring our 10 favorite things from the past year to give away (like Oprah does). Unfortunately, I misunderstood the game and brought my 10 favorite things not to give away. I felt bad. Next year I'll be sure to bring some really great stuff. I'm really grateful for my friends. I had a lot of fun spending some time with them this week!

Christmas has started...

Last week was crazy! It felt like everyone was having their Christmas parties early this year. On top of all the parties, Jeremy's brother got home from his mission on Thursday. It was great to see him again. It's so funny how things just seem to go back to how they were before he left. It feels like he never left. Friday we went with Jeremy's family to see the Christmas lights at the zoo. (Sorry, no pictures) It was fun, but extremely cold! We had Jake all bundled up. He looked like the kid from The Christmas Story.

Saturday was our ward Christmas party. We're on the activities committee so we were setting everything up in the morning. After we finished there, we rushed up to Salt Lake to see the movie Bolt with Jeremy's family. It was very cute. After the movie we rushed home to get to our Christmas party on time. We were in charge of the pictures with Santa. It was pretty funny to watch the kids. Some were bursting with excitement and others were terrified. Jake wanted to see Santa but didn't really care to sit on his lap. It was a fun night.



I also went to dinner with some long lost friends last week that I hadn't really seen since Jr. High. It was so good to see them again! I need to be better at keeping in contact. I'm so horrible!

We also had another Christmas party with some friends, a baby shower, a birthday party, and in between all of the craziness we decorated our house for Christmas. I'm realizing that I sort of slacked on the picture taking this week.

At least I got of few of our tree.







This week is looking a lot less busy. Maybe now I should start my Christmas shopping!!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving! Lots and lots of good food and family. What more can you ask for! I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to eat as much as I wanted as a result of my growing belly, but somehow I managed to gorge myself regardless! Jeremy's parents ended up coming to my grandparents for dinner. It worked out perfect! Sometimes holidays feel so crazy because we are trying to see everyone in the same day, but this was nice and relaxing. Jake enjoyed the meal but I think he liked playing outside with all of his cousins the best. My grandparents have a huge backyard and the kids had a great time enjoying it.

My sister Paige is very talented in the art of dessert. These were her Turkey cupcakes. She also made a coconut pie that was heavenly!!





Our attempt at a family picture. Didn't work out too well. Jake just wanted to go back outside.



Jake and Jeremy got new Thanksgiving ties. They looked very handsome!



We also went to the Flash game on Monday night for FHE. It was a really exciting game. We had a ton of fun!

Primary!

Our little boy is growing up so fast! The last couple of Sundays Jake has gone into Primary for a short while. He's not officially going until January but they're trying to help the kids get used to the change. Jake loved it! In fact when they tried to get him to go back to nursery he started crying! Jeremy was able to snap a picture with his phone while Jake was taking an ornament off a Christmas tree. He's so cute!

Thanks Giving

I saw this idea on my friend Kristen's blog and I thought it was so cute. Thanksgiving always seems to be one of those holidays that comes and goes before I really have time to think about the things that I'm truly thankful for. I thought these little trees would help our family really think about the things that we're grateful for as well as the things we can do to serve. So far it has been a lot of fun.

Click the following link for more information.

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2008/10/thanks-and-giving.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEREMY!

Yesterday was Jeremy's 33'rd birthday!! I wanted to let him know how much I love and appreciate him. He does so much for our family and I'm grateful that he is mine. I love that he is always willing to help me out with Jake, cleaning the house, or whatever else I may need. The other day he told me to give him an assignment or chore to do every day after he gets home from work just to help me out! He does everything he can to make me comfortable and happy. He's a wonderful husband, father, and friend! We love you!!!

I love being his mom!

We'd just said "Amen" and were quietly watching the priesthood walk out to pass the sacrament when Jake asked us in a loud voice "why does dat guy has no hair?" you could hear a pin drop as I whispered an answer in his ear, which was followed by a second question: "how come you're not woosing YOUR hair?" I love that kids have no inhibitions!

After church we picked Jake up from nursery and asked him what he had learned about. He told us that Heavenly Father made the world for us and then began to sing the primary song, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." Here is his version of it...




Saturday, we were able to go to the BYU football game. Jake loved watching to see if the quarterback would throw the ball or hand it off. He also liked the band and the big cannon. We had a good time and the weather was perfect!

Halloween Adventures

We were able to do a lot of fun things this Halloween...


We made pudding popsicles that Jake liked just a little bit.




We went to the Pumpkin Village with some friends.


Jake and Greyson decided to take off and get lost in the corn maze for a while.


Luckily, they found their way back.










We went and played at a park full of fallen leaves.








And we did lots and lots of trick-or-treating.

We started by getting in costumes and heading over to Jeremy's work where they had trick-or-treating for the kids. They got a ton of candy! I was surprised with how much they gave out.

Jake loved being Indiana Jones this year!!


Kayley was able to spend the day with us too. She was a pretty ballerina.


Looking cool in his costume.


After visiting Jeremy's work we made a few stops to see Grandparents and then we headed over to our neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat. Jake LOVED looking at all of the other kids costumes. He was more interested in doing that than he was collecting candy.

Jake and Kayley in front of our trunk with Mr. Bones.


Jake's other cousin Addie came too. She also was a pretty ballerina.


Jake with Jeremy's parents who were kind enough to come down and hand out candy at our trunk while we took Jake around.


I would say we had a pretty successful Halloween. It's going to be a busy next couple of months. We have Jeremy's birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and then baby. I'm kind of hoping that it all goes by fast. I'm looking forward to doing more fun things as a family, but I'm also really anxious for our baby girl to come. I'm not terribly uncomfortable or anything, but I'm REALLY excited to have her here. I can't wait to have another sweet person join our family!