Bedtime Tips PLEASE!

Well.... as I said before, it's not just Christmas Eve jitters that keep Maddie up until 10 pm these days. This little phase has got us stumped!

Last night I left for my sister's as Mike was telling the nightly Pooh Bear story at Maddie's bedside (starring Maddie and her buddy Pooh Bear, and sometimes Chomps A Lot the Monkey, on rip-roaring adventures). It was 8:05, right on the bedtime target, and I left with high hopes that Maddie was on her way to dream land. Well, the report came in that not only did she not go to sleep, she was caught eating Cheetos at the kitchen table after Mike finished his stationary bike workout at 9:30. Sigh.

What do we do? When she gets up we usually take her right back to bed, although leaving the room usually involves singing her 4 favorite songs multiple times, assuring her over and over that the smoke detector will not go beep beep, and telling her that we are only going to do really boring things, like dishes and laundry after we close the door. I think she is becoming more aware of the adult 'night life' and doesn't want to miss out!

I am usually all about time-out, but we haven't tried it at bedtime because it would take longer and cause more of a ruckus! I am starting to think it's time for a bedtime discipline intervention. PLEASE comment if you have any ideas! :)

Morning Magic!

Maddie slept in on Christmas morning! Unheard of! We had to wake up the sleepyhead!

Hummmm? What's today? Oh yeah... CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Ella loved her own lounge chair! Funny story though--when Maddie came down the stairs and saw what Santa left, she went straight to the chair first, and Ella went to the doll house! We had to switch their attention for pictures.

Maddie really does love her dollhouse, especially the elevator and the potty. Although she is confused that there is a Grandma but no Grandpa. And Mommy thinks Santa is crazy cuz there's no room in her room!

Maddie was excited that Santa ate his cookies! But the reindeer got full and didn't want all of their carrot.

Santa was good to Mike too! ;)

Ella liked climbing on the presents best, although she did open one on her own!

Dr. Andrews gave Grandma and Grandpa a complementary exam for giving her the doctor kit.



I really enjoyed my kitchen and wardrobe face lift! I got some fancy chopping knives and a food processor too, so I am feeling well equipped!


We all feel very spoiled... and blessed to be a happy family.

Family Gathering: 2 of 4

It has been so fun to live here and be near almost all of Mike's family (miss and love ya CA's!). We enjoy being able to have them come to our house... last time we lived here we were in a tiny apartment. Though the total count is a bit staggering (22 kiddos and 13 adults) we made it work!

My little candy cane

As the title says, we got together four times this week! First was the adult white elephant party and BYU bowl game, which was a blast. We ended up with the sock monkey slippers I brought (is it horrible to steal your own gift back?) and the cutest stick horse that the girls absolutely adore. We hosted the Christmas Eve gathering, which included the cousin gift exchange, dinner, and the Nativity!

Mike played his trumpet with various accompanists.

Most of the kids in the kitchen.

My little wiseman

After everyone left we continued my family's tradition of having a little picnic (sans fire, sad) and opening one gift--pj's!

The magic of Christmas was crackling as Maddie went to bed... she was thrilled to leave Santa some cookies & milk and a carrot for the reindeer. She had a hard time falling asleep... which is understandable with all the excitement, but unfortunately this is a common occurrence of late! What to you do with kids who won't stay in bed????????????? Pull your hair out, that's what!

Baby Daxton Arrived!

The first Jensen grandson arrived just in time for Christmas! He was born on December 23rd at 7:16 pm and weighed 7 lb 1 oz and was 20 inches long. Dana was having strong contractions for about 3 days, so she was very relieved to finally be admitted to the hospital and have a beautiful and healthy baby boy!!!

It was so fun for me to be able to visit them in the hospital. There is something so special about a baby just born... the miracle of life is tangible and you know the baby came straight from heaven. It was also very sweet to see Dana and Landon as new parents. He looks like a good mixture of the two of them--I think he has Dana's big pretty eyes and Landon's thin face and nose.

The new little family was able to come home on Christmas Day, and we were there to meet them! Maddie has been looking forward to meeting Daxton for so long... she told me a few days ago that when he pops out he's going to come over and see her toys and make a mess in her room. She was awed to finally meet him and see how tiny and sweet he is... I think she may have thought he was a doll at first. Right after this picture (above) he moved his arms and she squealed "He moved, he moved!"

Dana was nice to let her hold him and kiss him.

Maddie loves his fuzzy soft hair. She kept going up to him and rubbing her cheek on his head. It will be so fun to see the cousins become friends as they grow up! I am so happy we live near each other and can be together often!

Christmas Choo Choo!

Here it comes...

And there is the happiest girl in the world! Ella loved it too, but this blew Maddie's mind. She was more excited than I have ever seen her. Mike said she spent the entire ride around the mall hanging out the window, waving and yelling to people.

The rest of the night was a little less exciting... and a lot less happy, that's for sure. We thought we'd try the annual Santa visit, and after waiting in line for over and hour, of course both kids balled their eyes out! Even Santa looks a little less-than-merry, huh?

Good thing Dana & Landon treated us to Cold Stone afterward. Ella perked right up with some dark chocolate mint.

The next day we took the kids swimming!!!!!!!!!!!! Maddie was in heaven with so many fun activities, one after the other!

I love this picture... Maddie posing and kicking in the background and Ella's goofy grin. She spent most of the time crawling through the shallow end until her knees were raw.

This was the best shot I could get of the girls in their festive dresses. (Their real Christmas dresses are the ones in the header, but they wore them last week!) We are having such a happy season, with the best yet to come! Merry Christmas in 4 days!!!

Little Climber

Ella's new favorite thing to do is climb up and in... anything and everything.

Why do kids love laundry? It's fine when the basket is dirty, but don't mess up my clean piles! :)

She would've climbed in here if I had let her.

I remember when Maddie loved to do this too.

We went to the McDonald's playland for one of Maddie's stocking advent activities. They were in kid paradise with ice cream and TOYS!

I was surprised how much Ella loved it--she threw a fit when it was time to go!


My mom tells me my favorite toy when I was little was the kitchen drawer. I guess Ella is following in my footsteps. I moved the tupperwares down to try to keep her happy while I cook!

Ella climbed in the blanket basket and started trying to put the Santa hat on. The best part was she had no idea we were laughing at her, but she thought she was pretty funny when she noticed!

I just had to add my sleeping beauty... she woke up from a nap and was still tired, so she pulled up her chair next to me and kept snoozin'. I love those warm rosy cheeks! She said the funniest thing the other day-- I was explaining the way ice melts from the roof and drips off the garage (in answer to one of her millions of why's!) and she responded, "Good hypothesis Mommy!" Is she still only 2?????

Fun with Daddy

The girls (and I!!!) love having Daddy home on the weekends!

Mike and Maddie played in the snow twice. Maddie watched him shovel and played King of the Mountain.

The next day they (or he) made a snowman.

Carrot for a nose

Ours was actually a snow-woman! What can I say, lots of pink at this house!

Maddie helped Daddy vacuum.

Daddy helped the girls do their daily pull-ups.

Puppy toted the dolls and bears around.

Peek-a-boo!

Get a load of these giggles!

Mike will kill me for posting a picture of his snowman pants! :) I just love the moment: Ella relaxing on his legs while he and Maddie sang Christmas songs in their pj's on Sunday morning. He's such a sweet Daddy.