MDG at 7 Months

Last week Little Mister hit 7 months!  He's still as happy as ever, smiling at everyone and laughing at the ceaseless antics of his older siblings.  He's sitting up pretty well and trying some new "real" foods, he's sleeping mostly pretty well, though there are nights when he's just not very happy for reasons (the tooth that's emerged and others not far behind it could be the culprit).  The biggest news is that he's mobile!  He's thiiiiis close to actual crawling but he gets around just fine in his own way, which of course changes the game pretty significantly.  He's funny and observant and sometimes pouty but his smile just melts me.

This is actually from before his 6-month mark but I missed it somehow and look at him!!!  And that li'l Hmong hat!

At Daddy's Christmas choir concert!  It's never too early to start them on Bach.

Christmas Eve vest buddies.

First Christmas Day! 

This is actually a still from a video but you can gather what's going on.  He's almost at his goal!

He really likes me, but he loves his Mommy, as is right.

What did I say about that smile?!?

He has this funny pose lately where he turns and rests his arm on his bum.  This is pretty close.

And that's that for now!  Who knows what will have transpired by the time he hits 8?...

End of 2017/Start of 2018

Time to (finally) blog a bit about Christmas!  It was a very busy and eventful couple of months, which was at once a bit frantic and a lot of fun.  There were the usual traditions (family musical soiree wherein I led a sing-along of Rutter's Angels' Carol, pajamas from Nana, more Santa excitement than ever, sooooo many treats, Christmas movies and shows, ward choir program, etc. etc. etc.) but there were lots of exciting new happenings too.  I'll just let the Instapictures tell the story.

Wherein I offer a 50% off commission sale and have a nice response!  See our art blog for a collage.

Wherein we go to the Christmas In Color drive-through light show!  Feliz Batty-Bat!

Wherein we go to the adult ward Christmas party and I sing Mele Kalikimaka/Christmas Island and wear my favorite shirt and hat (repeat picture post but it's relevant).

Wherein we brave the crowds of downtown SLC and have fun but decide never to to the Temple Square within a week of Christmas again.

Wherein we watch a Christmas classic and are forcibly reminded by Cindy Lou Who of a certain someone.

Wherein we go to the kids' ward Christmas party and it's our best roller skating outing yet. 

Wherein Wife and Baby come hear me sing Bach and Williams with the TSO.

Wherein my favorite Primary tradition continues for the 4th year!

Wherein I am amazed at how marvelous this movie is.

Wherein Little Mister and I are vest buddies on Christmas Eve.

Wherein we try out our new phone with a front-facing camera!

Wherein I try out my new at last running shoes.

Wherein I pose cheesily with my favorite Christmas present, which I call Coco.

Wherein we go to a merch pop-up of the Wizarding World of HP.  Almost like almost like the real thing!

Wherein this wasn't anywhere to be found in stores so we bought it ASAP (even though I know you can listen online... it's just nice to have).

Wherein we cling to the gingerbread feeling by finding any and all local light displays (this was at University Mall, er... Place).

Wherein the NYB pulls through yet again.

Wherein the kids are very fancy with their breakfast beverages.

Wherein The Wife figured out an ingenious way of getting the Christmas cards to stop falling off the front door every ten minutes -- take them off and hang them up somewhere else. 

Wherein The Boy Who Lived rings in the New Year on my desk at work.

Every time I have choir things coming up I have this underlying and ominous dread that something will happen the day before and I'll get really sick or lose my voice or whatever, but luckily another Christmas season has come and gone with much singing and no serious illness, so I think that's reason (for me at least) to rejoice.  It was a really lovely Christmas with lots going on and so much fun and going to church the day before was a perfect way to keep grounded amid all the festivities and remember the Point in the first place.  2018 is going to be just marvelous.

P.S. These days we get sleepy pretty early and one or both of us heads to bed shortly after the hour hits double digits, but this year I totally scored my NYE midnight kiss. ;*

A Merry and a Happy 2016/7

Quick, before it's February!

We did have a great Christmas and here's a little rundown of the funtimes leading up to the Day.

In the months before, it should be noted, I was participating again in a fun local choir, and then when I went to my sister's orchestra concert and saw that they were teaming up with a different local choir to do John Rutter's Gloria, I was like, oh hey, I should go to that!  And then I was like... oh hey, I should BE in that.  So I looked them up and joined my third concurrent singing group (if you count ward choir, which I do) just so I could check this little number off my list:

Helloooooo, there.  It's been a while.

Yes, it was glorious, and yes, I am so glad to have sung JR's Requiem, Magnificat and now Gloria.  It was great to sing with the TSO again, even though scheduling conflicts prevented my sister from participating this time (though she could attend in the audience, which was fun!) and even besides the Gloria it was a reaaaaally great program of orchestral and choral music (Rutter AND Wilberg AND Silvestri AND Anderson AND Handel in the same concert??).

That did of course take up a lot of time in the evenings (thaaaaaank you Wiiiiiiife) and led to a few scheduling conflicts but I enjoyed it so I'm really glad I was able to sing in both.  Ah, the life of a musician at Christmastime.

Then it was winter!  We went on a cool drive-through lights show in Provo (thanks, KSL Deals) and listened to a lot of Christmas music and enjoyed delivering treats to neighbors.  We also have had a lot of snow this year so I put the little humans to work.

Earning their keep at last!

The we had our ward adult Christmas party, including a talent portion, for which I engaged the services of Dad and Brok to sing Star Bright.  My limited guitar skillz were more than adequate and I'm so glad, after hearing my mom and sisters sing together so beautifully for so many years, that we boys have had the chance to do the same a few times.

I only messed up the words once.  I don't think anyone noticed.

We took the kids to see a live Nativity at the mall, which was fun and interesting and featured free cider and rolls and live local choirs, including one gospel group that were so into those Handel selections.  The animals were present pretty early on but the human portions took a little time getting there, but when they did we had a great time and the kids were into it and it's always great to have more opportunities to talk about the reason for the season.

Live Nativity!  With a camel and everything!

There was no shortage of festive wear and appropriating decor at the house:

Li'l reindeers love eggy breadies.

And then when we found out about the Yule Ball happening at a nearby event center (that is literally a castle) we had to go!  We teamed up with one of my oldest friends from junior high and her new beau and picked up some nachos supreme beforehand and then headed up for all the fun times, including dancing, (terrible) trivia, animals, (literally) snacks and cheeses, fairly good HP-themed beverages, fun photo opportunities, and a Horcrux hunt (we found them all, sorry, Big V).  If they do this again next year I think we might feel like going again.

Though this time we'll bring our wands (which I remembered until it was time to go).  WHY OH WHY did I forget our wands?  I'm a bit ashamed about it.

See??  A castle!!!  It was made for this kind of event.  And also apparently wedding receptions and probably proms and such.  But especially this.

The week before Christmas we had our 3rd Annual Primary Christmas Concert, which is always a good time.

This is one of my favorite new traditions.

And then our Temple Square appearance concluded all my Christmas choiring (except if you count the ward choir program on the day, which I do).  I carpooled with Mom and Dad.

They are so nice and good to support all my musical endeavors for all these years, including schlepping all the way up to SLC and sticking around past their bedtime (especially since they were my ride).

We had tree struggles this year since our usual outlet of Costco sold out much earlier than expected, but our Lowe's backup was all right, though it never quite stood up straight.  But we bought some new all-silver decorations (and will need new lights next year, bah, don't ask) and called the result Fleur Delacour.

Redecorated just in time for the big day, and ambiance enjoyed by Sir Waffles.

Then we had Christmas Day!  Of course it started out bright and early with our church meeting with the adjusted holiday schedule.  I must confess that I was preeeeetty miffed when I heard about it (it's hard enough to get toddlers ready and out the door by 9 on a regular day, let alone an hour earlier on Christmas morning!) but it worked out fine, mostly because:

This is what happens when your stake decides your ward's meeting at 8 am. *facepalm*  Get dressed super quick and scurry scurry scurry down the stairs!

And then we had our program and I sang O Holy Night and Santa Claus apparently came while we were gone and took down those sheets and a lovely gifting was had by all.

See, he did come after all.

And how!  Super Kitty and Baby Dolly with all the trimmings!

Yayyyy for us.  I'm glad that for now Santa still remembers the parents in this house.

And it was such a nice day overall and we had the usual Eve and Day traditions and were so glad dearest youngest sister and fam are back in town so they can participate.

Who needs to take a family picture??  But really, it would have been nice to take one, but this will have to do.

But really church is a great place to be on Christmas Day, early AM and all.  We took time to watch the Nativity video (thank you, YouTube) and Mickey's Christmas Carol and have been making efforts to really instill in these little ones the importance of that Night and that Star and that Baby and they are really starting to get it, which is so touching.  How grateful we all must be.

And then here's the P.S. you've all been waiting for.  The New Year's Baby continues to grace us with a nighttime visit.

Don't laugh about the sock bouquet or the wedged-in Malt-O Meal, we were both really excited about them.

And then it's always hard to head back to work after a nice long break, but it was nice to be driving again under this banner:

Thanks to all the conspirators who aided Santa in delivering this hidden in my whale-shaped butter dish (don't laugh about that either, I'm so glad to have one with a handle, you have no idea).

And that's it for now!  It felt busier than last year but still really pleasant and nice and memorable.  A lot of people keep hating on 2016 and it's true there were some really awful things for a long time but overall I thought it was a good year and ended in a much better place than I ever thought possible all things considered, so I'm looking forward to 2017 with cautious enthusiasm.  I'm trying to limit negative things in my life (and hopefully be less of a negative thing in others' lives) and focus on what's really important.  There's so much to be thankful for and to look forward to, so that's what I'm trying to do.

Day of Giving Thanks 2015

Something I have noticed lately is that holidays and time off mean a lot more when you actually have to leave your house to go to work, and this year Thanksgiving break was just the thing.  It was so nice to (sleep in and) spend more time with my peeps and eat together and be thankful for each other.

There were various festivities this year.  First, of course we had the T-Gives treatment in Thanksgiving, which was a big hit.  I try to pick songs the kids might not know that well (or at all) totally on purpose, because there are so many songs we just don't get to ever sing.  Not on my watch!

We said if the feathers were all plucked he would get eaten.  Lucky thing, we ran out of time both times.

Next was a fun potluck lunch at work, which was a big success.  Everyone signed up for things and some went above and beyond to make the real deal (I will say that my gravy was worth the wait).  It's fun to work in an office so I can finally participate in these sorts of things that I heretofore had only heard about afterward.  We all ate too much (of course), but we were glad it was two full days before actual Thanksgiving so we wouldn't be burned out, as if.

It was amazing!  A full Thanksgiving spread.

Don't forget the pie!  I can personally attest that at least 2/3 of this was delicious.

Maybe I collected this plate of seconds just to take this picture, and then again, maybe I didn't.

Then came the actual day!  It was bright and clear and cold and very nice.  In years past my sister has organized a Turkey Trot event, but as time has gone by things have been busier or we've opted for other happenings, so when I asked and found out there wasn't anything planned this year, I decided to plan my own!  I like a T-Gives morning run, so even if it ended up being a couple of people or even just myself it would be fun.  Despite the cold, a great group of family (including out-of-towner visitors Emily and the trips!) met at the trailhead and took more or less my usual run along the trail and back.  It ended up being just about 3.5 miles, and Katy (who insists she's not much of a runner) pulled ahead in the end to beat me and Little Miss.  Some walked, some ran, some biked, some went the whole length and some turned around whenever they felt like it, and there were treats and overall I think it was really fun for all.  (Not to mention FREE.)  New tradish?!?  I'll bring the Costco pumpkin streusel muffins again...

Baby's first 5K!

Not a bad turnout!  Thanks for coming, everyone!  Same time, next year?

She's thrilled as you can see.
(And yes, I did just write that on the path with sidewalk chalk, along with the mile markers as I went along.)

Then of course dinner!  I actually took a few pictures this year, amazingly.  Everything tasted delicious and I tried to remember to take a minute to be especially grateful for my kith and kin and foodstuffs.

Interesting groupings!  The Boy loves seeing his cousins, but he especially loves Uncle Matt.

This one is so cute it deserves to be posted all on its own. 

This is just about all The Boy was interested in during Thanksgiving dinner (and of course in a different cup every time).  He will learn.  I put my foot down when it came to the Sprite Zero.

And then we had a quick photoshoot with Cami!

WHAT MY BABIES ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AND YOU TOO WIFE.

Then to round things out with a churchish bookend, I did a musical number of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and decided to callback to Appleton and rock this nice touch of bling, gifted from some of my dear elder buddies as I was heading home some seven (!!!) years ago.

And that's about it.  It's a very nice season, the one in between Halloween and Christmas.

There's so much to be thankful for.