Our Christmas Story

We went over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house for Christmas! Actually, Maddie visited 5 Grandma's in one day: Grandma Andrews in Orem, Grandma Patti and Grandma Johnson in Ogden, and Grandma Marcia and Grandma Showell in Twin Falls. It didn't seem to phase her... somehow she kept it all straight!

The weather was bad but we made it just in time for our Christmas Eve picnic in front of the fire.

Before the kidlets went to bed we opened the traditional pajamas and Grandpa read the Curious George bedtime story. We had a monkey theme this year.

A kid on Christmas morning! Mike was stylin' in his new workout gear (signifying that he got some hand weights that couldn't make the trip to Idaho).

My parents gave us food storage this year, but the gifts still piled up and took all day to open!

The girls got terribly spoiled. Santa brought Maddie a play kitchen that wouldn't fit in the car, but no matter, Grandma is just as good! She gave Maddie a wooden trunk exploding with dress up clothes!

Maddie was pretty excited about her new boots, hat, and mittens.... until she went outside and realized how cold it was! I guess she's a Vegas softie.

Maddie ate a few bites of Christmas dinner, but spent the rest of the time under the table with Uncle Cole.

We did a photo shoot while everyone was still dressed up for church on Sunday. We didn't plan the black & gray theme but it looks very coordinated! Grandma & Grandpa with their three little gems!

Maddie loved playing with cousin Emrie, although she seemed to think all the toys were hers. We need to work on sharing. It was hilarious when Maddie started giving Emrie rides on the little car.
Maddie's favorite passtime is bathtime!!! I enjoyed a dip myself.

Christmas break is not complete without visits with old friends! Melinda brought little Eve to meet little Ella, and Tasha stopped by with her two cuties. We missed the rest of you! Do you think we'll all be together again?

I got spoiled in every way this Christmas... physically, emotionally, spiritually... My sweet hubby took the 'hint' that I wanted wardrobe help this year and enlisted my sisters help in the shopping department. I wouldn't trust anybody more to choose clothes for me! He also gave me a coupon redeemable for a romantic date, so we took advantage of ideal babysitting and went out! We tried Thai food (delicious) and attended the new Twin Falls temple a few blocks from home. It is a beautiful place with a beautiful spirit, and I left feeling renewed. It is always refreshing to take a step back and look at life with eternal perspective.

Coming in to the break, it seemed like 2 weeks was a long time... but it is already winding down. I have been further spoiled by all the help with my little girls. All the extra hands and hugs will be sorely missed!

Our Little Angel

The best gift That I ever got

Didn't really weigh a lot

It didn't have a ribbon 'round

And it sometimes made the terrible sound

The best of all it seems to me

It wasn't neath the Christmas tree

And yet, I guess I'd have to say

That it it made all the other presents twice as gay

The best gift that I've ever known

I'd always wanted most to own

Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice

I never thought it could be so nice

The best gift that I ever got

Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet

Was usually pink but oftentimes red

As it lay so innocently in its bed

The best gift of the year to me

The one I hold most dear to me

A gift that simply drove me wild

Was a tiny new born child...

Merry Christmas to all!

Following are more pictures from Ella's newborn sitting, done by the talented Megan Sagers...

Silly Bean

So we were enjoying a nice Sunday evening dinner when Maddie exclaimed "Bean! Nose!" A quick inspection revealed that sure enough, she had stuffed a black bean up her right nostril. Lauren attempted to remove the foreign object with her pinky finger nail but was only able to dislodge about 20% of it. We searched the house and called up the bulb syringe to active duty. We actually found two but with the same result. It just pushed the silly bean farther up her nose. I didn't think the bean was that big but Lauren didn't want Maddie to aspirate the bean into her lungs in the middle of the night. That concern was repeated by the pediatrician's 24-hour nurse helpline.

They recommended that we go to an urgent care or the nearest emergency room. Don't worry, the copay has already been deducted from Maddie's college fund.

Since Centennial Hospital is practically down the street, we decided the give it a go. Since they wouldn't let us have Ella there we thought we'd bring them our other girl, silly bean and all.

They checked us in just behind a guy that had cut his finger and needed stitches and ahead of another gentleman whose tongue was bleeding mysteriously. They gave Maddie a cool little bracelet with her own bar code. Do you think she would ring up at the grocery self-serve scanner?

The kind nurses had us fill out a bunch of paper work and lectured us about being more vigilant at the dinner table. As we were waiting, another little girl about Maddie's age passed by with the EXACT same outfit on. It was meant to be. In the mean time, her blood pressure & breathing rate looked O.K. She weighed in at 27 lbs on the old scale.

After an admitting staff member and (2) nurses, we were escorted to a bed in the E.R. and assigned another nurse. Maddie was at home instantly as she jumped about on her over-priced, 700# capacity, high-tech bed. Nurse Todd told us that we might have to sedate her at some point to relax her while the silly bean was removed.

After a short wait, the physicians assistant (PA) came in and had a much simpler idea. He asked us if we had weak stomachs and would be willing to try a cutting edge procedure. I thought for a second that he wanted us to suck the silly bean out of her nose. The PA said that if we would be willing to plug the opposite nostril and blow briskly into Maddie's mouth that it would dislodge the foreign object. He said that it works every time. At this point I'm thinking, "why did I not think of that!" I volunteered to give it a shot. Once glance at Lauren and I could tell she wanted me to be the bean blower. I plugged Maddie's left nostril and said "open wide". With a quick breath and burst of air, the silly bean popped out. It was so quick and easy that I had to laugh. That baby just shot right out of her nose and landed on her lip. What a relief. Maddie could now sleep peacefully tonight and not sound like a girl with a stuffed up nose.

While we waited, Maddie managed to spin herself into the curtain hanging from the ceiling and spin wildly out of control until she stumbled and hit the wall, putting a nice red mark on her forhead. I thought we ought to make this worth the money and see if we could get a few stitches of it . . . I told Maddie again that beans do not go up her nose. On the way home she kept repeating "Bean, No!!, No!!"

Stylin'!

The laundry with two kids is exponential! (Most of the problem is a spitty baby.) It's worth it though, since the clothes are so cute!

Sleeping in the laundry

Leg warmers are back IN!

Tryin' on Mom's boots!

I wish they made purple velvet rompers with hoods for adults! Of course, mini is what makes them charming...

Who's Who?

Here's a quiz for you... leave your guesses in the comments!

1.

2.
3.

4.

(Hint: There are 2 pictures of each of my daughters! :)

Aren't they precious? Maddie loves to kiss, hold, and take care of baby Ella.

Once there was a Snowman

Tall, tall, tall!

In the sun he melted...

Small, small, small.

I think I had more fun than Maddie! She is an information sponge and it was so fun to teach her how to build a snowman!

We ran an errand last night and this is what we came home to... very funny, Sants. :)

Miracles!

I awoke this morning on my own accord... nobody crying or calling my name. Miracle #1. I looked at the clock and it was 8:11 am. Miracle #2. Maddie's biological clock is set to 7 am or earlier. I put my contacts in and noticed something white moving out the window... SNOWFLAKES! Miracle #3! I woke Maddie up to show her the strange phenomenon and we took a little jaunt outside in our PJ's.

It landed on me Mom!

I got one!

Yes, that really is our street!

It hasn't stopped snowing all day and the world is looking pretty white! The best part about all this is today is my first day alone with 2 kids... it started out pretty magical. The only drawback was Maddie wanted to go on a walk or play at the park, and I realized I do take the Vegas weather for granted!

Cousins!

All three of the Jensen cousins were together for the first time this week! Zak, Noelle, and Emrie came to the land of sun to meet little Ella.

Maddie and Emrie played together pretty well--except that Maddie is still learning to share! And Emrie was a good sport in the bath as Maddie dumped water onm her head over and over!

We made the obligatory trip to the Strip while they were here to see the Christmas display at Bellagio. It didn't disappoint.

Ella made her first trip into Sin City. Poor little virgin lungs!

Sistas! Noelle is the sister I seem to see the least (since they were gone all summer) so it was nice to spend time together.

This picture cracks me up. The dads were being crazy and attracting a crowd! Right after this picture Emrie touched the water spout and it sprayed her in the face!

Speaking of crazy dads, Mike had Maddie posing on the table for a photo shoot. People walking by must have thought he was prepping her for a pageant or something!

Of course we ended the night with the fountain show. Breathtaking!