This little boy...

December 2015

I can just stare at this little face all day.  The picture is not quite as dear as the real thing, but I sometimes feel a sense of desperation in wanting to hold onto and savor these moments.  Oliver Macdonald Cornish, you are so loved!

This little boy...

December 2015

I can just stare at this little face all day.  The picture is not quite as dear as the real thing, but I sometimes feel a sense of desperation in wanting to hold onto and savor these moments.  Oliver Macdonald Cornish, you are so loved!

Christmas Morning

Christmas.  There are a lot of things that are tied up in this holiday.  Memories.  Traditions.  New experiences.  A spirit.  Remembering.  Hoping.  It's been a good season.  In some ways very good.  In other ways wonderfully good.  I love that a little family is the center of the this holiday, a wee baby and his mother and a father.  I personally have struggled with Christmas at different times and for different reasons.  But I have felt the warmth of peace that comes from remembering that little family that changed the world.  For that I will always love Christmas.

So, after we got home from the Christmas Eve party at Caroline's we got the Littles ready for bed before Amy and Emily came over to give them a little gift.  Kate and Daniel were super excited to be able to open a present!  It was a book of Disney Christmas stories.  It was so sweet of them to be thinking of the Littles and wanting to spend some time with them on Christmas Eve.  It brought in the wonderful Christmas spirit and what a fun way to end the evening.  Now we had some wrapping and organizing to get to!

  

 Matt and I weren't up as late as we were last year (whoo-hoo!).  I'd tried to wrap some of the gifts in the previous weeks.  We also had some gifts that just required envelopes, so that cut down on prep work.  We chatted as I wrapped and Matt cleaned up the kitchen.  I just love times like this with Matt that seem dream-like... working with my wonderful husband (who was doing the dishes, nonetheless), creating some magic for our children, with Christmas music playing quietly.  We were both pretty tired so we turned off the lights (took some pretty pictures) and headed to bed.

On Christmas Morning we had arranged to let the big kids know when the Littles woke up and they would head over to our house.  They wanted to be home when Kate and Daniel came downstairs on Christmas morning.  So we stalled by hanging out in the kids' room upstairs while I fed Oliver.  We hadn't had any snow in a while, but during the night it had really piled up!  Kate and Daniel were super excited to see it.  Matt sat with them at the window and chatted, telling me (sitting on the couch with Oliver) all that they saw.  Sister Himes and her daughter Rachel came out of their home all bundled up with snow shovels and started clearing sidewalks and driveways - on Christmas Morning!  Matt opened the window and thanked them.  They were surprised they were seen, and Matt explained why they were watching out the window.  The Himes then cut a little pathway that the older kids could follow when they arrived instead of tromping through the snow.  It wasn't long before the older kids arrived, much to the excitement of Kate and Daniel (and Matt and I).  Amy and Emily came upstairs and took Kate and Daniel downstairs. 

 "Wwwwoooowwww!" said Kate in a quiet, drawn out voice, as she looked through the banister on the landing.  There is something so delightful about watching kids on Christmas morning. 

"

Let the good times roll :)  Here are pictures from the morning, with some captions...

Kate came across some of Matt's binoculars a few months ago and has asked to use them dozens of times since.  At one point Amy was interviewing Kate about what she wanted for  Christmas and she said "Beenoclears."  So I found these little butterfly ones for her and a dragonfly set for Daniel.  They were both delighted.  She also got a some bath toys (she especially loved a little penguin that has goggles on and windup wings so it can swim around the bathtub), and some playdough with some tools to use with it.  She was thrilled!












For Daniel, who loves taking things apart (or breaking things apart) we found this darling model airplane that is made to be put together and taken apart.  Perfect for this little boy.  Hewas especially excited about the drill that was required for assembly.  He also got some cool bath toys - little pipes that suction to the wall and then have spinners and holes that the water runs through.  We got him and Kate "Marble Works" that is a cool marble maze that can be put together in lots of ways.

For Tyler we got him things to do - GoPro mounts, rock climbing, and a dart board.  He's a tricky one, just like his dad.  The things they want, they also want to pick out.  When I talked with Shanine about it she said the same thing.  We took a gamble on getting him a wood burning kit because he's liked to work with wood in the past.  It seemed to go over well (and I, personally, am looking forward to some commissioned work from him:).  

We mostly focused on housewares for Emily this year.  We found a cute crockpot for her and an even cuter set of knives (who knew knives could be cute - but the set we found was bright colors with designs on them).  She is so gracefully moving into this new phase of life.  It's super fun to support her in it.

Amy mostly wanted clothes and accessories.  She told us about some cute boots she wanted, we got her a nail care kit with a bunch of fingernail polish (she's been doing her own and Kate's recently, so Kate was also excited), and a pedicure gift certificate.  

The main gift we got for the big kids was signing up to get scuba certified!  I'm kinda nervous, to be honest, but really looking forward to doing it with Matt and the big kids.  Matt had found an instructor that would be so flexible with our schedule.  In order to get certified we had to first watch several hours worth of instructional videos.  We jumped right in watching our first two videos Christmas afternoon when the Littles were  napping.

My big surprise was a special gift from Matt.  He had smiled in previous weeks, tickled that he actually had a surprise that he knew I'd like.  He was oh, so right.  He had Terence (his cousin, Rebecca's husband) design and make a ring for me with "JR" - Jusum Raet (Choose the Right in Bislama) and tree branches.  They don't make CTR rings in Bislama.  It made me cry.  

I think my favorite part of Christmas is the homemade gifts that we do each year.  It can be a challenge getting them done, but I love it.  We save them for the end.  I already posted about some of the gifts, but here are the final products.  

Matt had Emily and he got her some wooden spoons that he burned designs onto.  They turned out darling.  I should have gotten a close up.

Tyler had Kate and Amy had Daniel.  T & A made little tents for K & D.  We set them up in the great room with their pillow, blanket, and a book.  They were both delighted to have their own little space.  At bedtime they were even more excited when Matt set their tents up over their beds!

I had Tyler and I tried to make him a GoPro mount with a goose neck and clamp.  We weren't able to quite figure out how to connect the mount to the GoPro in time, but we'll figure it out.  Matthew Jared gets the credit for getting it this far along in the process.

Emily had Amy.  She made a darling warm, fuzzy quilt for her to have at our house that matched the nautical decor.  She actually forgot to bring it from her mom's house, but we all went to drop them off so Amy could open it in the car for us to see :)  It was darling.

Daniel had me.  He helped Matt make me a wall ruler (which I've wanted for years), so we could measure kids against the wall.  It turned out perfect.  Perfect!

Kate had Matt.  I showed her a few different ideas of things she could make for him.  She chose the clock made out of bike parts.  I got the parts from a bike shop for free.  We went to Uncle Doug's house so he could help us put the center piece together and drill a hold for the clock works to fit into.  Kate painted the numbers and helped glue them onto the wheel.  I'm not sure the clock will actually work, but it was fun.

Well, after the presents came Christmas Breakfast, which is always delish.  While we were cooking and afterwards it was fun to watch everyone playing with some of their new toys.  Here are some other pictures from the day.

We got Daniel this book called, "1,000 Things That Go."  He's been noticing different types of trucks and machines in the last few months so we thought he might like this.  It is literally 1,000 little pictures of things that go.  So far, it's a win!  Another win were the yogurt covered raisins from his stocking.  He sat himself down and ate the whole box in one sitting.

         

All of the kids got a book.  For the older kids we got them each a different version of "A Christmas Carol."  I might have been more excited about the books than they were, but that's ok.  The Littles each got a personalized book with their name in it.  Here's Amy reading one of the books to Kate.

We got all the parts for an underwater dive camera for Tyler.  Here he is putting it together. 

 Daniel and Kate were super excited to try out their new bath toys, so after breakfast that's where they headed!  Bless Amy and Emily's hearts.  They could not be better, kinder big sisters.  They are helpful and enjoy the little pleasures of watching kids experience life.  How grateful I am that these little ones have the big ones to look up to.

 I was putting some things away and heard Oliver laughing.  Daniel was playing Peek-a-Boo with him.  It's music to the ears to hear kids laughing.

I got Matt a DIY hot sauce making kit.  I won't be partaking of any hot sauce, but he and Tyler both looked interested in trying it out.  Daniel O was thrilled with the drill that came with his model airplane.  It really is a cute little plane that was put together and taken apart several times.

    

  

The Marble Works for Daniel and Kate were so fun.  Emily and Dad got it set it up the first time and Daniel and Kate ran their marbles I don't know how many times.  I'll admit it, I was excited for this one, too.

Well, it was a very merry Christmas.  I'm grateful for our family every day.

Christmas Activities

Christmas!  It can be such a crazy time of year.  I'm determined to celebrate the birth of Christ.  I don't want to get caught up in the traditions but rather use them to celebrate and rejoice that a sweet young woman, Mary, "brought forth her first born son" who would be the Savior of the world.   

The Monday (Nov. 30) after Thanksgiving Matt and I set out to try and get some Christmas shopping done.  That's a bit of a trick because nap time cuts the day in half.  We got out the door as soon as we could, with the expected crash of the Littles after we'd been gone for a while.  We came prepared when we had to do some tag-team shopping...

One of my most favorite traditions is going to "A Christmas Carol" at Hale Center Theater in Orem (Dec. 10). This is the third or forth time we've gone.  The Littles are not big enough to go (I think you have to be 8), so it's a fun evening with Amy, Tyler, and Emily.  It seemed especially fun this year since Emily has been at BYU.  We still see her some, but there was still this sense of her "coming home."  

There is such a great message in the play/book (I've almost finished reading it for the first time - it's about time!) the power of remembering, being able to change, and kindness.  The music is wonderful.  And to sit holding hands with Matt and listening to the Bigs chatting and laughing in the row behind us, while they all munch on their sour watermelons, is so wonderful.  What a fun night!

Matt and I with one of the chorus members.  They were so good.

Meanwhile, the Littles were home with Grandma and Grandpa.  We came home to this Little Guy enjoying himself some Grandpa time.   I just love that this is a happy place for the Littles to be. 

On Friday (December 11) we were invited to go with some friends (Clara, from Kate's preschool) to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  It was lots of fun to get out and be able to run around.  When we were leaving we saw that some reindeer from the north pole were visiting.  Kate was especially excited and wanted to text a picture of her with the reindeer to here Daddy.  She's saying, "Hi, Daddy!" in this picture. 

December 16 ended up been a rather crazy day, especially the morning.  I sent the following text to Matt as I sat on the couch for a few minutes after putting Kate and Daniel down for their naps...

"The morning in a minute:
-Feed Oliver, 
-Oliver falls back asleep, 
-Go get Kate and Daniel,
-Daniel walking funny=diarrhea,
-Kate throws up while changing Daniel, 
-Run downstairs to ask for backup but mom & Dad still in bed feeling sick
-Both kids in bath, 
-Both kids crying when they have to get out, 
-Chase naked kids  (I win, sick kids don't run fast)
-Oliver wakes up
-Breakfast of rice cereal, hot chocolate and toast
-Read Christmas book while Daniel drags over nativity blocks
-Kate makes xylophone out of blocks
- Daniel teases Kate by stealing her xylophone one block at a time, 
-More of the same continues off and on for the next 30 minutes
- Time to go outside
-Spend 20 minutes bundling up to go outside and play for 5
-Fill the bird feeder and take a picture while we're outside
-Decide to walk to the mailbox while we're all bundled up
-Oliver falls asleep in the carrier before we get out the door
-Sing Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer over and over as Kate and Daniel eat snow while we walk
-Warm up some old mac and cheese for lunch while Kate's in time out and Daniel plays with dishes in the sink
-Read a book while feeding Oliver and put Kate and Daniel in bed."

Last year at Christmas time we had a Secret Santa leave parts of the nativity on our porch every evening for two weeks.  It was our darling neighbors, the Gilmores.  I should have known :)  It was a a set made specifically for Kate and Daniel to play with - the pictures were modge podged  onto wooden blocks. 

 

We went over the nativity story multiple times, hoping to help Kate and Daniel remember what we were celebrating.  The story telling always began with them taking turns picking blocks (Kate always wanted the "faries"  - aka the angels, and Daniel always ended up with one, much to the irritation of Kate).  I also thought it was fun to watch Daniel, age 2, "organize" his blocks versus Kate, age 3, and her blocks all lined up (see pictures below).  The telling often ended up with one or the other in tears because the blocks weren't put in the right place or had been knocked down.  But hey, we don't need to get distracted by that.  In reality I love hearing their voices shout out the answers to "And then what happened?"  

 

 

And so goes the Christmas season in the Cornish home.  It's been a blustery, snowy winter so far.  Quite different than last year's winter.  I remember when Matt and I were very first married, Matt said he was actually looking forward to winter (he's a warm-blooded boy) - drinking hot chocolate next to the fire on cold nights.  The first winter was wonderful, but so are evenings singing Christmas Carols, reading Christmas books, and enjoying time with our children.  

Word stories

When Matt is home he often tells the Littles stories when we're putting them to bed.  He tells Old Joe stories sometimes, but those tend to be a little advanced for Kate and Daniel.  So we've morphed into much beloved"Word Stories."  That is when each child picks a word and then Matt (or myself, if I'm Daddy isn't home) comes up with a story using those three words.  The one rule is they can't pick the same word twice.  

For a few months now Kate would be in bed asking for a "Wod Stowy."  Depending on the time and our the naughtiness of the Littles we would decide if they got a Word Story.  It's very rare that they don't get one, but sometimes it is late and/or they have been jumping on beds, running around naked, screaming, hiding, not being reverent during prayers and scriptures (discussing a scripture story and the verse that goes along with picture), or other such naughtiness as to not get a word story.  But most night Matt says, "Alright.  What are your words for tonight's story?"  Excitedly, Kate will say, "My word is..." and then pause as she thinks of what she wants.  She comes up with quite a variety of words, sometimes related to something we've done or seen that day, like vacuum or rainbow.  Other times it seems completely random.  

When Daniel wasn't talking much he was make different sounds and Matt would interpret them, trying to pick a word that sounded like the jabber that he was jabbering until Daniel agreed to one of the suggestions.  He surprised us one night by saying, "My word is..."  and then pausing as he thought.  He was saying lots of words, but it was just jun/surprising to hear a sentence that was grammatically correct pop out of his little almost-2-year-old self.  e still needed some help from Matt or Kate on deciding a word. It's been the last 2 or 3 months, however, that Daniel is very capable of coming up with his own words.  Shark, lemon, fork lift boogy (that one is a whole different story), dog, balloon, etc.  It took Daniel a little while to pick up on the "no repeated words" rule because every night for quite a while he requested the same word, "My word is... monkey!!"  He had such a funny way of saying it that Matt and I would chuckle and tell him that he'd already used that word.  "Oh." he'd usually respond in his low voice.  "My word is... MONkey!!"  Then one night he surprised us with a new word, "Gramma."  She was really high on his favorite people list for a while, as evidenced by our experience at Bear World (he only wanted to be with her) and was equally evident in his request for "Gramma" to be his word on a regular basis.  

I snapped this picture tonight as I fed Oliver Mac and Matt told the word story.  The light from my phone distracted both kids and they sat up.  Tonight's words were canoe, lemon, and vacuum (preceded by rejected requests of MONkey and Gramma, of course).

a SUPER morning

Sometimes you just wake up feeling super!  When I got up to the Little's bedroom this morning this is what I found...

They were adamant that they needed to eat breakfast in their super hero clothes.  Of course, I was honored to share breakfast with them!  

Spot It!

3 December 2015

It's a Thursday evening and I'm doing dishes.  Tyler and Kate are playing an intense game of "Spot It."  I love little moments like this.