Making progress

 A totally unrelated picture, but isn't she adorable?

 And now on with the progress we're making on various projects. Did you know that bunk beds are the coolest thing since ever?

 That's what they think. I decided baby gets its own room, so we've been transforming the catch-all junk room from downstairs into a new bedroom. And it's almost there. I'll post more later, because it's a pretty adorable room, if I do say so myself. And it's almost finished.

But they've been sleeping in their new beds for a few weeks. Clara can just barely climb into her bed by stretching as far as humanly possible. And she's only fallen out once. She's since learned to sleep closer to the wall. And Nathan handles the ladder in the dark like a pro.

So, new beds. It's pretty exciting. And when I get the quilts done for their new beds, they'll be in double heaven. They're getting close, thankfully. I'm nesting and I've got a million projects I want to get done. Eight more weeks.

More snow, please

 We've not had much chance to get out and play in the snow this winter. Sad.

 But it is nice that sand toys work just as well in the snow.

 Clara showing off her "mittens." Earlier in the winter I tried to put mittens on her and she refused, and now I can't find them. So I put a fluffy pair of socks on her hands. Which she loved, because they are pink. She found them in the laundry last week and said, "Look mom. Here's my mittens." She played outside for more than an hour with them on, so I count it a success.

Nathan was a diehard. He lasted more than two hours outside. He didn't want to come inside then either, but it was getting dark and dinnertime. And I was cold. I really need to get myself some decent winter clothes. How is that I don't own a good pair of snow boots? We'll have to fix this.

Birthdays are the best

Now that she's had two, Clara would agree. What's not to like about birthdays?

A few words about these pictures: Nathan, when sent to get some clean pants on, came back wearing a swimming suit. So, Clara had to follow suit. So we had a swimwear birthday party. Second, don't look at how messy the kitchen was that day. Third, I forgot to buy birthday candles, but look! Star shaped candles! Two of them!

We'll not dwell on lack of naps during the day, which made for a crazy hectic birthday night. You can only have so much. Even on a birthday.

Golden Spike Steam Festival

 The Steam Festival is held the last week of December. So, we decided to check it out. It's supposed to be really cool because the cold weather makes the steam really billow from the old engines, making for great pictures.

 Well, the weather wasn't so cold. I'm not complaining, but the steam...there was a decided lack of billowing.

 But we were there on one of only three days a year they let visitors climb aboard the engine to take a look. Lucky us.

 And lucky us that Alan and Becky's family got to come with us. Or we got to come with them. It made a fun day funner.

 The adults liked the steam train, but for Nathan the highlight of the day was this mockup of an engine's firebox. The kids took turns putting logs through the hole into the "firebox," and a ranger timed them to see who was fastest. We heard the record was ... I forget. Really fast. Nathan's time was three minutes. He would have stayed there all day. Forget all those other kids that want a turn. He's feeding the engine.

 Clara had a pretty good day too. No complaints.

And, the best for last. If you don't like poop stories, stop reading. We had Nathan go potty before we left because we didn't want to have to pull over in rural Box Elder county for a roadside bathroom break. But fate had its say.

We got about fifteen minutes before Nathan announced, "I need to go potty."

Levi had the foresight to drive off the main road for a minute and find a less visible place. When questioned, Nathan said he needed to pee, not poop. I guess that's a distinction he's still working on. Levi got him out and let him do his business, and Nathan continued to stand there for a couple of minutes with his bum in the cold wind. When told to pull his pants up, he wailed, "But they're dirty!"

Turns out Nathan caught a touch of the stomach bug Clara had had that week. Diarrhea down his legs, his pants, and spilling onto the ground. One of those times you laugh because it's better than anything else you feel like doing.

And I was super grateful I'd obeyed that little thought that maybe I should pack extra underwear and pants in the diaper bag. Small miracles, right?

Going on safari

 I think it was Nathan's idea to build a gun out of his new Trio block set. But somebody else had a little more fun with it. Levi's gun even had a sight, compliments of Nathan's new little telescope. It was a big hit.

Then, to keep everyone from shooting people, Levi found a YouTube video of an African safari and Nathan went hunting.

I was not on board with any of this game.

Because we had coupons

 I love coupons. And I usually forget to use them. It's easier to remember when it's a really good coupon, and so we managed to get to the Living Planet Aquarium before the end of the year. And it was awesome. We could have stayed there all day, especially if mom and dad had been willing to open the wallet in the gift shop.

We didn't get a picture, I guess, but my favorite part was the electric eel, which is technically not a member of the eel family. It was fantastically ugly, and the electric current it produced in its tank was somehow set up to light different stands on a Christmas tree standing next to its display. It was really cool.

Then we headed to Ikea, because when you're in Sandy, what's another six miles? There we learned that people are wonderful and so is the lost and found. I, the responsible mother, lost Nathan's coat. And then it was found. And I almost remembered everything I wanted to buy there. Also, the kids wouldn't mind living on the upper level; they had a really great time playing in all the little rooms.

Of Christmas trees and cookie houses

I am of the school that thinks Thanksgiving doesn't get its due. Christmas music in October? Blasphemy.

 So it wasn't until the first week of December sometime that we got out the tree.

 The kids had a great time. Their favorite ornaments (also my favorite), the vintage-looking mercury glass figures, populated the lower third of the tree mostly. Clara would hold them delicately up to the tree and then let go. Then, whether or not the hook had managed to lodge itself on a branch, she would get another ornament to hang in exactly the same place. I don't think we got a picture, but at one point there were five tiny ornaments hanging on the same branch.

 The poinsettias were a little easier.

 This was taken before we got our Christmas train set up around it. Nathan knows Christmas trees need to have trains around them. We even made a special trip to our neighbor's house to see their Christmas train, and it was wonderful. So instead of bemoaning that his parents were too Grinchmas to buy him a neat Christmas train with lights and music and mechanized power, he set up his wooden train. Which I liked even better.

 And I guess a gingerbread house is becoming a tradition. Not a very pretty tradition, but the kids don't care. All they cared about was having extra candy to eat.