Pictures

I said that I was going to blog, so I'd better do it, right?

The weather was beautiful on Monday, so I took the boys to Daybreak. We walked around, the boys threw rocks into the iced lake, Cohen loved pointing out the birds, and I played with my camera. I thought I'd share my darling boys with you. Seriously, could they be any cuter? (Aside from Jack's goofy teeth!)

Christmas Highlights

Since I am home today from church with a sick baby (Cohen has been throwing up all morning), I thought that I would share some of our Christmas highlights with you.

First off, the winner of the Hawes family's Ugly Sweater award. I titled my creation "Beary Christmas":


Nixin borrowed Chad's ugly sweater to wear to school on Elf Day:


A new family member joined us this year, Terry the Elf. It was a true joy to have him in our home this holiday. We are so excited about this new tradition!



Christmas morning:


The boys were SO excited to see what Santa brought. They decided to let him surprise them this year... and boy were they surprised! Here they are just before we let them go check it out:


Cohen got a new car! He loves it and plays in it every day:


Here's Jack taking his new bike out for it's first ride:


Nixin couldn't wait to take his new electric scooter for a ride!


P.S. Where's the snow? It was certainly not a white Christmas.


Ahh, perfectly sweet.


There should be many more pictures included in this post. Some of which could be Chirstmas Eve in Bountiful with Ken and Becky, Christmas breakfast with Rob, Debbie, Luke, and his new girlfriend, Gilda, or Christmas dinner with Roxy, Will, Chris, and Laura... But, I was having too much fun and forgot to grab the camera. Oh well, they are all memories that we'll just have to hold dear in our hearts. Like I said before, it was a wonderful holiday and I wouldn't have changed a thing! Merry late Christmas!

Proof

Here is proof that my baby is trouble. It starts off with this cute little face:


Then he reaches for the plug, the same one that he unplugs 37 times a day:


I let out a stern "NO!" and I break his little heart:


I can only stand that sad little face for a second before I just must give him a little love. Then he puts on his cute little face and the cycle begins all over again.

Fun

Sprinkler time!



Here's Cohen with his "Co-hawk". It's our favorite way to do his hair.

Glasses, Suits, Hoops, Eggs, Flowers, and Trouble

The boys got new sunglasses. Nixin went all out when he tried his on!



After months of searching, we FINALLY found Jack a "Track Suit". For some reason it has been at the top of his "want list" for some time now. Thank you Costco!


It was TORTURE for Chad, but we got our basketball hoop up. Thank you neighbors and family members for your help! So far it has brought hours of fun to our family. We have some little basketball players on our hands! Cohen is just as happy as can be to sit on a blanket and watch everyone else play.




Jack had an "egg drop" at his school. This is what we came up with... and his egg survived!


I have spent hours and hours in the gardens. I don't know how to keep up with all of the weeding and planting! But, I am sure trying. It is all totally worth it when babies like these pop up.


And this little creature...Trouble!


Cohen now has 4 teeth, just figured out how to "Army Crawl" (following in the footsteps of his big brothers), says the cutest things like "wassat" (what's that?), "ba" (ball), "dah" (dog), "mama" (my favorite!), "dada", "ja" (Jack), "teeth" (in a little baby sounding type of word), "bi" (bite), "bah bah" (bye bye), "hah" (hi), and I'm sure I'm missing a couple more. He is eating everything. He gets mad if we are eating and don't share with him. The boy loves food! Now that he can "crawl", he is so naughty! He has been caught gnawing on at least 3 raw hide dog bones, un-rolled a roll of toilet paper, played behind the toilet, eaten a penny (I saved it from going down his throat), splashed in the dog's water (like 50 times a day!), tipped over our hall way table, knocking down a vase and breaking a picture frame, opened the kitchen drawers, played with outlets, tipped over garbage cans, tried to stick Legos in our computer, and destroyed Nixin's marble track creation. We are in for it. Doesn't he just look like trouble?

Sick Baby AND...

My little baby's 3rd tooth is popping through (top left)! He has been miserable the past couple of days. I keep him happy with Children's Motrin. But last night, during the 1:00 am hour, Cohen started FREAKING out. I don't mean just crying in his crib, I mean full on inconsolable screaming. Nothing would comfort him, nothing. After an hour and a half, more Motrin and lots of screaming, he wore himself out and finally fell asleep. He woke up at 6:00 am, miserable again. I noticed him tugging on his ear and so into the doctor's office we went. Sure enough, each ear is infected. Darn teething. I hope to have him better soon.

As for other Williams' family going-ons...

There is something else that has been keeping us going and going the past week. Here are a few clues:







It's our new boat!!!


We are so excited to have it! Hopefully we will create many great memories. Isn't it a beauty?


Also, I just cracked open my first coconut and I think that is pretty cool.

Well Child

Well Child Visit Stats (03-10):

Jack

7 Years Old
52 lbs.
49" Tall

Healthy as can be.

Nixin

5 Years Old

45 lbs.
45" Tall
2 shots

Ready for Kindergarten!

Cohen

6 1/2 Months Old

18 lbs. 12 oz.
28" long
3 shots

Growing like a weed!

I am so excited to be in the middle of this holiday season! I love the music, food, and company. Our family is finally healthy! Cohen and I seemed to dodge the sick bullet for the time being and I am so thankful for that. We are all healthy and happy and excited for the things that lie ahead for our family this next month.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. It was spent with (this is going to get complicated!) Chad's dad's wife's sister and her family. Or and easier way for us to say it is with Becky's family :O) They are wonderful and have always welcomed us with open arms and big smiles. We love them all so much! Dinner was at Jay and Sarah's house in Smithfield. On our way up to their home, we stopped into my dad's house to give quick Happy Thanksgiving Day hugs and then we hit the road again. It was nice to see them for those 5 minutes. Dinner was delicious, as a Thanksgiving feast should be and we are so grateful for the people who we had the pleasure of spending our day with. Thank you for the invitation!

Cohen is growing like a little weed! Although newborn babies are so sweet and it is such a special time for a mom, I am so glad that Cohen is getting older. He is a little more predictable, I love that I don't need to be quite as gentle with him, we can play with him and get him to giggle a little bit through his huge toothless smile, and he is sleeping like a champ! I have had a large handful of restful nights lately. It is the best when you wake up at 7:30 in the morning and realize that the baby didn't wake you up once during the night!

Cohen LOVES bath time. He gets his little legs a kicking and his arms flapping all over the place just splashing away. I think that is his favorite time of his day. He is also getting so strong. He loves to hold that big head of his up and look all around a room. Just this week he pushed himself up on his little arms and rolled right over onto his back. He is very attentive. He adores his big brothers (who also adore him) and is always happy to have them near him. We bought him a little mat to lay on with toys that hang above his head- live saver! He spends a lot of time there and seems to enjoy it. He is just figuring out how to use his hands, one of my very favorite things to watch. I love to see the concentration in his face as he brings those hands together and rewards himself by sticking them right in his mouth for a little chewing. He will grab onto the little toys that hang from his play mat and you can just tell that it makes him so happy. He is also loosing his awesome hair :( It makes me so sad! It is just falling out like crazy. I guess it's got to happen though for the white curls to come in! He is a wonderful, and at times exhausting, addition to our family. We sure love him!




I think that fills you all in on the rest of our November. Look for upcoming posts on our fun-filled December!

Our Week

I have sure had a hard time keeping up with my blog! The season has quickly changed, bringing on cold weather and lots of yummy fall foods, our family has certainly changed, tossing my world upside down, and I'm not quite sure where it goes, but time is sure flying by.

I fell in love this week. A few of my friends in my old neighborhood bought me a baby gift that I treasure. I will admit that I didn't know if I would even like it, but it has been my lifesaver more than once since I figured out how to use it! It is a Bugaroo Baby Sling. Cohen nestles right in that thing and falls asleep. If you are interested in a Bugaroo, check out the website. It is www.bugaroobaby.com.


Now I would like to recap the Williams family highlights from this past week, and here it goes:

Sunday (9-27-09)
Apple Crisp

Here is the BEST Apple Crisp recipe ever! Chad hates baked fruit, but he'll down this any day.


10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash of nutmeg

2 cup quick-cooking oats
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour ground cinnamon and nutmeg together, and sprinkle over apples.
Combine the oats, 2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Monday (9-28-09)
Fruit Dip

We were invited to our neighbors house for dinner tonight. We brought along fruit and fruit dip to share. I was reminded how much I LOVE this dip. I was eating it by the spoonfuls. It is easy and fabulous.


1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow cream

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth. Chill and serve with fruit.

Tuesday (9-29-09)
Thanksgiving Point Farm

It was time, once again, for Mrs. Amee's annual Thanksgiving Point Farm field trip. Nixin was super excited about it and had a lot of fun there.



Wednesday (9-30-09)
Molasses Cookies

My friend Shandell is a great cook. She makes the world's best chili, and would you believe that she drove to my house from Riverton just to drop off a bowl for me. Some of you might not think that is too big of a deal, but I do. Chad hates beans, and will not eat chili, so I never get to make it. This particular week, I was craving chili. Really craving it. And here she comes. What a great friend.

Anyways, I got side tracked. Nothing says fall to me like Shandell's Molasses cookies. They melt in your mouth. I absolutely love them and so I must share this recipe too.


2 eggs
1 ¼ c. shortening
2 c. sugar
½ c. molasses
2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking soda
3 3/4 c. flour

Cream together the eggs, shortening, sugar, and molasses. Slowly mix in dry ingredients. Roll into balls and roll in extra sugar. Place on cookie sheet and flatten with a cup. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Thursday (10-1-09)
Thrush

My boobs were KILLING me, to the point of tears rolling down my face when I was feeding Cohen. I got online looking for solutions to my problem when I came across a site that mentioned that my problem might just be Thrush.

Thrush is a yeast infection that for one reason or another develops in the baby's mouth, causing white spots on their tongue, cheeks, gums and lips. I had noticed that Cohen had a white tongue, but thought it was just "milk tongue". After reading the article, I tried scraping the white stuff off, and guess what- nothing came off.

So, back up to the doctor's office we went and sure enough, it was Thrush. Unfortunately the doctor said it is very painful for the baby (as well as mom!) and said that he would probably be grumpy for a couple of days. But the good news was that there is medicine for us both and we got started on it right away. The spots have started to disappear and will hopefully be gone soon.



Friday (10-2-09)
Hyrum

We spent today in Hyrum and my dad and Debbie's house. It is great there, so peaceful and fun. I love for my kids to go there and experience the country life. It is so different up there than it is down here. They rode horses, drove the tractor (riding lawn mower), and picked apples from the apple trees. We finished our day trip up with a yummy turkey dinner. Gotta love Hyrum!










Saturday (10-3-09)
Ice Cream

After eating a late lunch, we decided that it would be okay to have ice cream for dinner. We stopped in to our local Baskin Robbins, a place that we have not frequently gone to in the past. It was yummy! I found a new favorite flavor, Jamoca Almond Fudge, mmm.... I say that ice cream for dinner is a great idea!



Sunday (10-4-09), Monday (10-5-09), and Tuesday (10-6-09)
Waaa! Waaah!

Wow! This Thrush thing makes a grumpy baby. Cohen has cried so much the past couple of days that he is starting to drive me batty. He wants to eat, poop, be held and be held while he sleeps. He is not giving his mommy much of a break. I feel so bad for him and hope to have this past us soon! Oh well to showers, dishes, clean sheets, etc. I'll get around to them one day :)