November 2013

Dear Friend,

Here's this month in numbers:

 30 Amazing Sunsets: Seriously, I can't get over these.  

1 Cooking Class:  One Saturday Elias treated me to a 3-hour cooking class while he watched the kiddos.  The class was titled "Hosting the Holidays New Mexico Style".  I learned all about the different kinds of peppers, made tamales for the first time, and learned how to make a spiced pecan salad that I made for our Thanksgiving meal.  

 

 1 Trip to the Zoo

   

  7 Art and Science Projects

2 Trips to Tumble-Tots Gymnastics

2 Five-month olds: I love these little men.  They are little angels that bring so much joy into our home.  All you have to do is look at Smith and he will give you the sweetest smile that captures all the kindess and innocence in the world.  Boyd is so quick to laugh; he'll make you feel like you're the funniest person on earth.  

 23 Hours of Enforcing Bedtime and Naptime: Summer can crawl out of her crib like nobody's business, so we made the switch to a big girl bed and let's just say the transition is taking longer than we had hoped. 

 3 Days Away: Elias had a business trip in Boston, so he flew to Las Vegas with us so we could hang out with my sister while he was away, and then he swung by to pick us up on the way home.  We had so much fun and Summer absolutely adores her cousins.  

 

We went to the park, played dress-up, made crafts and delicious food, went to Zumba (that my Rock Star sister Corie teaches by the way...she's amazing!), went to the children's musesum, watched movies, and more!  The girls were so good to Boyd and Smith; Carolyn had Boyd laughing for three straight days!  One night Corie and I stayed up crafting, eating, and chatting into the early morning.  We were both exhausted with our little ones woke us up a few hours later, but it was so worth it; I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  

  441 Diapers:  That right - these guys are cute, but we're going through a lot of diapers in our house!

 1  Haircut: Well, Smith is our first child to receive a haircut.  It was looking a little long in the middle, so Elias cleaned it up for him.  

 48 Hours Reading: No exaggeration-this little girl has turned into quite the bookworm.  With or without us, she's always game for a little reading session.  

2 Hikes through Tent Rocks:  After picking up an extra backpack on Craigslist, our family of five made our maiden voyage through the four-mile loop of tent rocks.  It was so cool that even though it was snowy, we had to take John's family when they were here.

 

1 Two-Year Old: Summer turned 2 on the 25th and she is living up to the reputation!  Our dear friends threw her a little birthday party and she absolutely loved it!  We love this little bundle of joy so much!  She adores her brothers and she's a great helper.  She is learning new words all the time, and we love the ones we can actually understand.  Should you see her soon, "gowa" means "drink".   She tattle-taled on me for the first time last week.  I had accidentally broken a glass that afternoon and when Elias came home she ran up to him and said, "Uh-oh Mama Gowa Pop".  I had popped the glass, and she just had to tell Daddy.  

 10 Gallons of Breast Milk: With 5 feedings a day, these boys are eating me alive and I'm hungry all the time.  One Saturday we got home a little late and I had to feed the boys before grabbing something to eat.  A few minutes into the feeding Elias came in with a little appetizer spread for me.  Seriously...so sweet! He's the best EVER!

 1 Major Snow Storm: One Sunday we woke up to almost a foot of snow.  That much snow is pretty rare for Santa Fe so church actually had to be cancelled.  We had a great family day indoors and Elias got to know our neighbors better by shoveling their driveways.

 

  

1089 Times We Heard the Word "Mine": This little one is definitely two years old now.  She makes it look good though!

  5 Fabulous House Guests: It was such a pleasure having John, Jenn, Jake, Baden and Benjamin come for Thanksgiving.  The schedule was pretty relaxed (by Brittany's standards), but we still packed in a lot of fun.  Elias loves hanging out with John, and Jenn is such an amazing mother I love chatting with her every chance I get.  The boys were so patient with Summer and sweet with the twins.  

 

1 Trip to the Pool: Summer absolutely loves swimming, so with her cousins in town we just couldn't resist. She picked out her outfit on the way to the pool.    

 1 Turkey Trot: With John's family here for Thanksgiving, we signed all the kiddos up for a little Turkey Trot.  I'm going to blame it on the mile walk to the starting line, but by the time we got there Summer was over it and refused to leave E's arms.  Awesome!

 1 Delicious Thanksgiving Meal: It was my first time hosting Thanksgiving, and instead of going overboard, Jen and I just took one request from each individual.  I was surprised that no one requested turkey, stuffing, or gravy, but because they weren't favorites, no one missed them either!  We had a delicious meal of ham, rolls, yams, green beans, New Mexico salad, buttermilk pie, pumpkin pie, and sparkling cider.  

 

 4 Baby Food Feeding Sessions: I can't believe my little boys are growing up so fast! 

While both of them are still figuring out what to do with their tongues, they have different approaches to eating.  My sweet Smith was not a fan at first, but he's coming around.  Boyd on the other hand, cannot get enough.  He's constantly smacking his lips and grabbing at the spoon.  He's all smiles during feeding time until Smith's bite takes too long and then he pitches a fit until more food is in his mouth.  

 Countless Laughs and Giggles: I am so grateful for these darling little kiddos.  They bring so much joy and laughter into our lives.  I can't go out in public without someone saying "You've got your hands full" but seriously, you should see my heart.  

 

We love you all and and wish you a very Merry Christmas!  Christ lives!

Always, 

Elias, Brittany, Summer, Boyd & Smith