Elves

 As I mentioned before, we love to go to Gardner Village to see the Witches display in the Fall. During the holidays, they put out a display of Elves that are so cute!  This is the first year that we've gone to see them and it was a big hit with the boys.  Most of the Elves were about the same size as Carson, and they were placed all around the village.

While we were there, I stopped by one of my favorite little boutiques and found out they had the diaper bag I had been dreaming of on sale that day for $40 off!  I convinced Jeff to get it for me for Christmas, even though he still thinks its ridiculous that I would want such an expensive diaper bag.

Gingerbread Houses

A few weeks ago we got together with Jeff's family and made gingerbread (graham cracker) houses.  We did this last year and had so much fun that I decided to invite everyone over again.  By the end of the night I think everyone had tummy aches from all of the candy, but it was worth it to see the kids have so much fun! (Sorry for the dark, blurry photos, they are from my phone).

35 Weeks...and Feeling Huge

Last Saturday I hit the 35 week mark. Time sure is flying and if this baby comes two weeks early like Mason did, I've only got about 2 1/2 weeks left (since I'm 35 weeks 4 days now).  I have a c-section scheduled for January 3rd, but my OB told me she thinks I will go early again.  I am measuring large (about 38 weeks) and she told me that the more c-sections you have, the more likely it is that you will go into labor early.  My first two came right around their due dates, so I'm not getting my hopes up for an early delivery.  Whatever happens, he'll be here for sure on January 3rd, which means I have 27 days left.

Last weekend we set up the crib, got the baby clothes out, and took inventory of the last minute items we'll need.  I keep going back and forth between being 'crazy, clean everything in the house and super organize the cupboards lady' to 'I just want to lay on the couch and sleep all day lady'.  Today was a 'I want to sleep all day' kind of day. Hopefully tomorrow is a more productive day.

Two

Mason turned two on December 1st.  He's getting to be such a big boy and I keep wondering what happened to my baby!  We went in for his well-child visit yesterday and here are his stats:

Weight: 24.2 pounds-10th percentile

Height:33 inches-40th percentile

He's definitely our small child--both Carson and Jonas were 50th percentile at 2 years.  I am thankful though that we've come up from the 3rd percentile, so he's making progress! 

While he may be small, he is such a smart boy. He's taken it upon himself to try to potty train.  A few weeks ago he started telling us, "I poop.  Need to go potty."  So we'd take him into the bathroom, take off his dirty diaper, and sit him on the potty.  Then a few Saturdays ago, Jeff took him into the bathroom and he actually used the potty!  A few days after that, Mason woke up around six in the morning screaming.  I went to his room, and he was saying something about Jonas.  I wondered if he'd had a bad dream about Jonas so I asked, "Do you want to go see Jonas?" Mason looked at me and screamed, "NO!" then he slapped his hand on the bathroom door and yelled, "like Jonas!"  I got the hint that he wanted to go potty 'like Jonas', We went in and took off his dry diaper and he used the potty!  I was so impressed that he woke up from his sleep to use the potty!

He is also a very good talker.  I am always getting comments from people about how well he talks for his age.  I think a lot of it has to do with he and Jonas being so close in age and Mason wanting to do everything 'like Jonas'.  He is also able to count to 10 (with a little help) and recognizes a few colors. He loves to read stories and it seems like he is constantly bringing me a book.

I sure love that little guy and am so thankful that he came into our family!

Thanksgiving

This year, Grandma and Grandpa Larsen (and their dog, Siggy) came to have Thanksgiving at our house.  The boys were so excited for Grandma and Grandpa to come visit!  Mason was especially excited for Siggy to come and ran around the house yelling, "Siggy! Siggy!"

So I know that most people play football on Thanksgiving, but not us.  After dinner we headed outside for a miniature version of baseball!  The boys had so much fun playing with Grandpa and still talk about it.

For the first time in several years, I was able to go Black Friday shopping with my mom.  At first we were going to head out at Midnight, but we thought better of it, and headed out at 3:00 in the morning instead.  It. was. great.  Old Navy and Target still had everything we wanted, plus the crowds had died down so we didn't have to fight with people.

Count Your Blessings

Children are a blessing from God.  I really do believe that. And even though motherhood is the hardest thing I've ever done, its also been the most rewarding.  Even on days when it seem like nothing can go right, and everyone wants to whine, I still look at these sweet little faces and feel so blessed to have them in my life.

All I Want for Christmas...

...is (are?) my two front teeth.

 He's such a ham. 

This makes five teeth he's lost at just over six years old. Early teether as a baby equals early teether as a child!

Momma's Helpers

I took this video of the boys a few weeks ago when they were helping me clean.  Mason LOVES to use the Swiffer and screams each time I get it out.  So I usually let him do it for a few minutes before I take over and get to work.  Jonas loves to vacuum, and started vacuuming his room on his own while I was helping Mason.  I love these little guys so much!  I love that I get to spend my days with them and teach them!

Halloween

This year we hosted a Halloween Dinner Party with Jeff's family.  Almost every Sunday we get together for dinner, so the Sunday before Halloween was the perfect time for us to celebrate together as a family.  We set up dinner as a buffet style and everyone was instructed to bring their favorite "spooky finger food".  My sister in laws came up with some super cute foods! 

 And of course I had to try these candy corn sugar cookies that had been posted on several blogs I follow.  Must have been the popular recipe this year!

Then on Halloween night, Jeff and I took the boys around the neighborhood trick-or-treating.  Jonas' costume was a big hit and he got so many "Look at how cute he is!" compliments.  If you can't tell, he is supposed to be riding on a dinosaur. 

This was Mason's first year dressing up and going out, since he was just a baby last year.  He did NOT like dressing up, and I was only able to get the top half of his costume on him.  He refused to get his picture taken with his brothers, but I snapped this shot of him just as we were heading out.

Bingham Copper Mines

 Last weekend Jeff's dad came to visit and took us up to the Bingham Copper Mines.  They have a nice overlook area where you can check out the mine and watch the ginormous dump trucks haul ore out.  There is also a Visitor's Center where a movie is shown and there are displays that showcase all of the cool things copper does.