Randoms December 2015

Once again, it's time to write down the list of things I want to remember when my kids are grown and I'm missing the days when they were five and two years old (seriously, they're at the BEST ages right now!).

I took some pics of my kids in their Christmas outfits the Sunday before Christmas. I never get around to doing this early enough to send out Christmas cards, but if I did, I would have loved to use these pics! (only edited better.)

 

 

 

 

Marcus. Oh he says the funniest things! Pretty much every time he opens his mouth, he me makes me laugh. If it's not what he says then it's the way he says it. Here are a few of his latest:

• As I'm getting him dressed, he runs away from me. I sneak up from behind and put his shirt on over his head and he says, "Whoa! What's happening to me?!" (If you could only hear his cute, little voice, it would seem that much cuter. He really has the cutest voice! And he puts so much expression into what he says that it makes it even funnier!)



His smiles lately kills me!

• His most frequent phrase is, "I not need help! I do it ALL by myself!" He also yelled this very loudly while we were in sacrament meeting because I didn't let him put the cup back in the tray...
• Also while in sacrament meeting, when it's so quiet and he was mad, he yelled, "No pwesents and no birfday cake fow you!" (Pretty sure everyone around us was laughing.)
• Mitch came to sacrament late because we left something at home and when he did come in Marcus kept yelling, "No! Not my Daddy! You go home, Daddy!" to the point where I had to take him out in the hall and then he said, "What's going on?" and I said, "You're in trouble," and he said, "I in twoubwo?" and I had to remind myself not to laugh but to let him know that he was indeed in "twoubo."



He put this Santa hat on and wore it for three days straight! He really likes hats.

• He rarely calls Layla by her first name, but usually refers to her as "my sistew," though he is getting better at saying his "r"s now, which makes us sad, because it's so cute how he says "sistew." He loves her so much, even if he does bite and push sometimes. :/ He's always saying, "Where my sistew go?" and "No, my sistew pway (play) wif me," and "My sistew can do it!" It melts my heart!

He always drinks the milk in his cereal bowl, sometimes before he eats the cereal.

• Marcus is still OBSESSED with the show PJ Masks by Disney Junior. I don't think I've heard him call Mitch "Daddy" in weeks, but he calls him one of the villians names from the show. ;) We all have different characters that he refers to us as and if we call him Marcus it makes him very angry when he's in character mode. 

• Layla is so sweet and has been so good lately! The other day she was asking for something (probably candy) and thought I would say no, so she put her hands under her chin, batted her eyes, and said, "How can you say no to this face?" And I really couldn't. ;) 
• It's so fun now that she can read! We played the board game Sorry the other day and it was awesome because she could read the cards and play really well!
• Her piano teacher has been having her practice playing with her left hand soft and the right hand (melody) loud. She told us that one day it will just click, like a baby learning to walk, and Layla will be able to do it on all her songs. Well the day came and she can do it so well now! I'm so impressed and excited! She is a very good piano player and I feel like she's starting to enjoy it more and more. Her piano teacher said she has coached several piano teachers who can't play with their left hand soft and that Layla is so young to be able to do that. Proud parent moment for sure. I have a very talented daughter!
• She likes to "tuck" Harvey in when he lays on her bed.

• So the other day Layla and Elsie were playing at our house. As Elsie was leaving I heard them talking about delivering invitations to their friends. When I asked about it, they told me that they were having a party at Layla's house on December 19th. What the?! I had NO idea about this and they were about to invite their friends without me knowing. I didn't even know what day of the week December 19th would be and had to look at the calendar. They had made their own invitations and spent a lot of time on it. They were each inviting two friends. After seeing their excitement and their hard work on the invites, I said they could have the party. But I made them add a time to the invitation. They had forgotten that important bit of information. ;) The party came and we got chocolate milk and doughnuts, played pin the carrot nose and buttons on the snowman, played a Christmas drawing game, and danced to Christmas music. Everyone came and Layla was in heaven. They all wore "fansy" dresses like the invitations said. I'm really sad that I didn't take pictures! I really need to be better about that. But I did take a pic of one of the invitations. This one says to "bring 1 set of party lights" ha! (I told her mom not to worry about that part;)

• I went to the food pantry for Salt Lake City with our church mutual group. We had the job of putting pasta into smaller bags to be shipped to soup kitchens around the state. It was fun and we had to wear hair nets so we looked silly.
• We got SO much snow this week! Mitch was out of town, so I had the task of snow blowing the driveway myself. It was hard because the snow was so slushy. Thankfully some good neighbors helped me finish! The snow sure makes everything look pretty. I took some pics on our way to the library the other day because it was just so beautiful.

• This pic is from when we visited the chocolate factory a few weeks ago:
• They love for Mitch to hold them upside down and chase them around.
• If they're not pretending to be PJ Masks, then they are pretending to be my kittens. ;) Here they are "sleeping" in their "kitten bed."

• Speaking of sleep, Marcus learned to climb out of his crib. :/ So we switched him to a toddler bed and it's been a bit of a struggle. He rarely naps now so today I found him asleep like this in his rocking chair. At least he is getting better about sleeping in his big boy bed. The last two nights he's done very well.

• Maybe I already posted this, but they got new jammies. 

• I love my kids!!!!!!!!! 

Fall 2015

I have a few minutes today, on my birthday, to catch up on my blog! Mitch is spoiling me and I haven't lifted a finger all day, so I'll spend some time on this.

We got family pics done with the Bott family and they turned out great! I'll put a few in this post. My favorite is Marcus's weird smile in some of the pics. Ha, ha! It's hilarious.

In November we all got sick. Boo! It started with Layla; she came down with strep throat and was very sick. I don't think she ate anything or said much for two whole days! Thank heavens for antibiotics! She had to miss one day of school, but after a couple days on the meds she was back to her normal chatty self.

Next Marcus got it. His started when he randomly projectile vomited twice in one day, and then he came down with an ear infection and sinusitis. I waited several days, but he ended up on antibiotics too. Mitch has felt sick on and off and even missed a Friday at work, but he is on the mend now thankfully! I got sick too, but was the least sick of anyone. I attribute that to having my tonsils removed last year. Hallelujah!

Layla went off track the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and she is off track until January 4th! I've loved having her home with us during the holidays! Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were with my fam this year. I say it every year, but my Grandma Ruth is the best cook! Her homemade dressing is incredible and her pies are delicious! It was a very nice day. The following Sunday we spent with the Botts and had a Mexican Thanksgiving with fajitas and Spanish rice. Lol! It was fun to do something different! We also celebrated my birthday with them then and Kevin made his famous Oreo cookie cake that I love! It was a great weekend!

Last week Layla had her second piano recital. She played, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" from memory and she did not make a single mistake! Not one! I was shocked and it was a super proud parent moment to see her walk up there all by herself, announce her name and piece, and play so well. After she bowed she RAN to me and jumped into my arms with the biggest smile on her face. It made all the fighting and tears over daily piano practice worth it. So proud of my girl!

Last weekend Mitch, the kids, and I went on a tour of Mrs. Cavanaugh's Chocolate Factory. We must have driven by it hundreds and hundreds of times before. I finally got around to setting up a tour and now when we drive by we will know what is inside. :) It was a fun tour and delicious of course! Marcus was kind of a stinker and had to be taken out a couple of times. He's at a difficult age right now. I had to walk out of sacrament meeting with him today at church because he was being naughty. The hardest part is that afterwards he is super, super sweet and turns on the charm to the highest level so no one can be mad anymore and then he feels like he can get away with anything again. It's a vicious cycle.

Yesterday Layla and I went to Thanksgiving Point for Oakley's birthday. I can't believe she's 7 years old now! Man, I miss those guys and wish they hadn't moved! We'll just have to keep planning get togethers.

After that we drove to Midway and met up with Mitch and Marcus, my parents, Grandma Ruth, and Brock, Natalie, and Evelyn to go on a sleigh ride and meet Santa. It was a really fun night. We all managed to stay warm. Layla asked Santa for a very easy gift that she is super excited about. Marcus sat on Santa's lap without screaming when I sat next to him. Evelyn was her adorable, squishy little self who just loves her cousins and Aunt Lacey and Uncle Mitch! (Seriously, though, she really loves us!) We went to dinner after in Midway and had a Coldstone cake and I opened birthday presents. It was really nice and I felt spoiled.

At the Santa Sleigh ride.

Today I woke up and Mitch had made breakfast. He went out of his way yesterday to go shopping and buy bread from Great Harvest for french toast. He also bought a ham and rolls for dinner tonight (warm ham and rolls and funeral potatoes is my favorite meal; a little lame, I know, but it's just so yummy and such a comfort food for me I guess). My one request for my birthday was that I didn't want to make dinner. I was expecting a frozen pizza or something, so I am really grateful and happy that he went above and beyond!

Mitch gave me a new phone for my birthday and Christmas and I LOVE it! It is so nice and I am very spoiled! I told him no more gifts. He went around my rule by having the kids give me gifts. ;) This morning they gave me two more pieces to my Willow Tree Nativity scene! It's beautiful and finally feels complete. It's my favorite Christmas decoration by far!

This month the kids and I have been doing a "service stocking." We have a miniature Christmas stocking that is full of little slips of paper. Each paper has a simple service idea that we can do each day until Christmas. Some are really simple like "Smile at everyone you see today," or "Call a relative who lives far away and wish them a Merry Christmas," etc. Others require more effort like "donate food to your local charity," or "candy cane bomb a parking lot," etc. The ones that require buying something or making something I prepared for ahead, so when we pull it out of the stocking that day I will have everything ready to go. It's been a great experience so far and I don't know how much the kids pick up on it, but for me it has certainly been helpful to remember the true meaning and spirit of Christmas during a busy time of year.

For today's service we are passing out the gifts we made for our neighbors. We bought each family a package of straws and I put some Hershey's Hugs and Kisses in a little bag and tied them with Christmas ribbon to the package of straws. There is a card with each one that says, "We hope your holidays don't 'suck' but are full of HUGS and KISSES." LOL! I made it up myself and I'm quite proud of it. ;) Layla was so embarrassed when we went to the dollar store to buy the straws because we bought all but four packages of straws and our cart was completely full of straws! She kept saying, "I don't feel good about this, Mom," and "Are you sure we need that many straws?" I've never seen her be embarrassed like that before, let alone embarrassed of something her MOM had done. I thought it was pretty funny.

Giving food to the shelter.

There are almost twenty houses on our street, and I am happy to say that we know each family on our street by first names and I consider them all friends. We are blessed to be surrounded by wonderful neighbors! We even have an annual Christmas party with just the people on our street that we've done for the last three years now. In fact, it will probably be our turn to host soon!

One last thing I want to mention as I update my blog is how much my kids love a new Disney show called, "PJ Masks." They are obsessed with it! There are three main characters: Catboy, Owlette, and Gecko. Marcus, Layla, and Mitch pretend to be the characters in that order. Marcus pretty much only refers to Mitch as Gecko lately. It's SO funny! I really need to find him a costume so he can dress up like Catboy. Oh, and I'm the villian, Luna Girl and I have to pretend to be "mean" and Catboy and Owlette will come and take away my evil powers. It's quite amusing!

Also, Marcus and I have adjusted to going grocery shopping with just the two of us while Layla is at school. The other day he insisted on wearing his beanie and sunglasses and wouldn't take them off. He got a lot of compliments from other shoppers. ;)

Love my little family and feel very blessed today!

Halloween 2015

Yee haw! Halloween was a success this year!

Layla wanted to be a cowgirl, and Marcus is still young enough that he was willing to go along with anything, so he was a cowboy.

We had lots of festivities this year! Layla had a party at school where she wore her costume and I volunteered to help with the Bingo game. It was fun to see Layla in her classroom, speaking Chinese, and partying with her friends.

We went to the ward party. Mitch and I were on the committee and it was actually fun to help put that together. The decorations were awesome and the kids had a blast playing the games and the food was good too! My mom came to the party with us since Mitch was out of town. He actually flew in that night, so he made it to the tail end of the party. I even dressed up in Katie's Cleopatra costume that night since Layla had been begging me to dress up. I guess I should be more festive for my kid's sake!

We had fun at Mammey and Papa Bott's house on Sunday with a Halloween dinner. The kids wore their costumes, decorated sugar cookies and pumpkins, and made pizza. They loved it!

Today we're going to my parent's and get to see Evelyn in her costume. She's going to be a hedgehog. Soooooooooo cute! I can't wait to squeeze her! I have no doubt that our dinner will be yummy and we will have fun playing Halloween Bingo. :)


Mitch took the kids trick-or-treating. They were out for two hours and had SO much fun! Marcus rode in the stroller in between houses and carried him up and down the stairs to speed up the process. Their buckets were full when they got back and they made me laugh because the first thing they decided to eat was a bag of Cheetos! Ha! After each house, Marcus would say, "Next house!" And when he got home, he told me in his cute little voice, "Trick or treat is fun, Mom!" Layla had a great time and was able to see some of her friends. She looked cute and is great at remembering to say thank you at each house. I loved her excitement the whole afternoon leading up to trick or treating; she literally could not hold still! She made me laugh and reminded me what it was like to be a kid.

We had a great Halloween! Until next year!

Potty Training

Maybe that title is deceiving. I haven't officially started potty training Marcus yet, but we have made some minor attempts. We bought him a potty since Layla's old princess one didn't quite have the splash guard that a boy needs when sitting down. Ha! He picked out some Mickey Mouse underwear, we've watched movies and read books on the subject, and talked about it a lot. He has sat on the potty several times, but usually nothing happens.

The other day he was successful and went pee in the potty. As Layla, Mitch, and I were clapping for him and cheering, he said, "I proud you, Mom, Dad!" It was so sweet and funny! He really is a sweet, loving little guy! He was proud of himself too, of course, and clapped to celebrate his success.

Anyways, I'm determined to try an official potty training week this month and make a good effort. I think he is ready, he just needs a little push. We'll see what happens.

*UPDATE NOV 2015: We spent five full days attempting to potty train Marcus. The first day was rough, the second and third days were amazing, and the last two days were hell. Let's just say that he is physically capable of being potty trained, but he has zero interest. If your kid couldn't care less whether he pees in the toilet or in his underwear, is it really worth the effort? I say NO. So, we put him back in diapers and are much happier now. I will try again in a few months. Maybe he'll be more into then. We did get a few priceless pictures though:

 

 

On another note, we're learning more and more that Marcus is shaping up to be a smarty pants just like his sister. Now that he can talk (and he also talks incessantly!), it's easy to see that he is a bright kid. And creative! I think Layla's creativity is limited by her perfectionist, literal, everything-goes-a-certain-way personality, which can be good and bad. When she has the right creative outlet, she can be very imaginative! Marcus does not seem to have the perfectionist, literal, everything-goes-a-certain-way personality that usually dominates the Bott genes, so his creativity comes out a lot more. And he is HILARIOUS! I love listening to him when he is engaged in imaginary play. He is such a boy! He keeps me laughing, that's for sure!

Parental Right of Passage

Layla had her first parent teacher conference last month. I felt like we had passed through a parental milestone. To say that we are proud of Layla is an understatement. She is amazing.

Things are different with Chinese Immersion, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the conference, but it was very well done. We first met with her English teacher, Mrs. Byers, and discussed Layla's reading, writing, social skills, etc. Mrs. Byers said that Layla reads at a very high level, and knows everything that they are learning (like for the entire school year, and it's only October), so she recommended that we start her on some spelling words. She sends home one set at a time and Layla has to pass them off orally and through a written test. There are twelve in the set, she started on set two and is already (just three weeks later) on set six. I was thankful for the teacher's suggestion. She is a great teacher and keeps Layla challenged, which I am grateful for.

Next we met with Xeng Laoshi, the Chinese teacher. Her personality is more cold, and less fun, though overall she is nice. She just isn't the most bubbly, smiley person I've ever met. But Layla seems to like her okay. She didn't speak to us, but had papers on the desk that we read through. Then she asked Layla several questions in Chinese (which were also written on the paper so we knew what she was saying) and then Layla would answer her in Chinese. I took a video of the whole thing and it was amazing! Layla can count to 100 in Chinese and answer all sorts of questions about her name, age, her family, etc. It was definitely a proud parent moment and made me grateful that we decided to put her in the program.

I don't know why it is so amazing or surprising to me that she can pick up Chinese so fast when I took several classes on how kids learn to read and speak foreign languages when I was in college. I know that they pick it up so fast and well. I know how good it is for them and the advantages of learning when they're young. But it still blows my mind because it's my daughter and she's speaking a language that I don't know. Maybe if she spoke Russian like I do, or Cambodian like Mitch, it would be less of a shock.

Anyways, we got her report card and it is no longer an A,B,C,D, or F system. It is based on number points in over 25 different areas. Again, I don't know why I was surprised when I saw that Layla got every point possible in every single area. 100% you could say. She's a smarty pants!!!  I'm grateful, amazed, and proud of our daughter!

GG Bott

Mitch's paternal grandmother, Verda Bott, passed away last month. She was so special to our family and we miss her greatly! From the very first time I met Verda, to the last time I saw her, she made me feel special and loved. She truly emanates that Christlike love that we talk about at church and all strive to possess and share with others. Love came naturally to her and anyone who has spent time with her has been blessed by her gift of being able to love everyone without regard. I look up to her in many ways: her never-ending patience, her undying faith, her contagious optimism, but most of all for the love that she radiated to all who were blessed to be in her presence.

We visited her for the last time about a week and a half before she passed. I knew as we left that it would be the last time we saw her in this life. I don't know why, but when my grandpa passed, I also knew a few days before that he would pass away that week. With Verda I had the same feeling, though I was not able to share my thoughts with anyone. Perhaps I didn't want to worry Mitch, especially if I happened to be wrong. But looking back, I feel that the Holy Ghost was able to comfort me during both deaths by gently letting me know ahead of time.

We were kneeling around Layla's bed for family prayer when we told Layla that GG Bott had passed away. Layla immediately broke down into sobs, crawled onto her bed and laid in fetal position, and between sobs choked out the words, "I loved her! I loved visiting her!" It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I know my kids felt the unconditional, unsolicited love that Verda had for them and they had for her in return. And the loads of candy she always gave them probably played a part too. ;)

The funeral was very nice and we enjoyed spending time with the extended Bott family; we don't see them often enough anymore. Verda is buried with her husband and other relatives in a cemetery in Ogden. We did not take the kids. Marcus would have been fine, but I didn't want Layla to have that experience yet. Especially when she was so close to GG Bott. I would rather her remember the good visits we had, and not the funeral and people crying (though it was happy crying; the kind that we will miss her but are happy for her to be reunited with her husband).

I was grateful that we could explain to Layla what happens after this life. It is comforting to know that life goes on, and that we will see GG Bott again, and that she is happy and no longer in pain or disabled. It's still sad because we miss her, but it is a peaceful, happy type of sad (if that makes any sense at all). I know that we will see Verda again and I would love to do a little jig with her since the whole time I knew her she was confined to her recliner chair. It makes me smile to think of dancing with her! She will be missed, but not forgotten!