We decked the halls

I wasn't counting on having any Christmas decorations up this year, but Larry and our friend Jason surprised me by digging through our storage unit and finding each an every box (A serious fete because our storage unit is crammed full)!  Creed and I were so excited to break out the decorations.  There was sort of a surplus for our small house, but that didn't stop us. 

There were reindeer prancing

 and wreathing a-hanging (Creed threw those mitten up there and they were too cute to take down)

 Stocking were hung by the chimney with care

 Even Creed's room was not spared

Creed picked out that white tree last year (he wanted pick, but unfortunately, he had to settle for white) and he worked so hard to decorate it without any help and was very proud of it.

 Our real tree was tiny this year.  We picked up this two foot rosemary tree to deliver to neighbors and Creed begged to keep it instead of buying a big tree because it "smells so beautiful" and I was happy to oblige since that saved us a lot of money and effort and we had nowhere to put a big tree anyway.

 And since they couldn't go under the tree, we stacked all the presents on top of our entertainment center where they were safe from curious little men (and we made no effort to arrange them artfully, oh well)

My favorite part was looking at all of the Christmas cards lining our hallway. I almost justified skipping cards this year even though I am a stationary designer, but looking at these cards everyday changed my mind.

 And, of course, all the decorating was done while wearing reindeer antlers, the required uniform for Christmas decorating around here.

So it was sort of a hodgepodge this year, but who really minds where there are happy reindeer prancing about?

Holy Cow, I'm behind!

Cuddling with kids has been my main priority lately, but I think I'm catching up with life again so here's the beginning of our Christmas ventures.

I still planned an advent with Christmas activities to do everyday, but this year we tried out a new tradition. Have you seen all the toy advent calendars out there?  I knew the lego calendars existed and we set out to pick up a Playmobil calendar, but you can find all sort of options.

I chose this Playmobil set for Creed and he was so excited to open a little door everyday.

We had to be careful to keep all of the tiny parts away from Ollie, but the hours Creed spent playing with this set was totally worth it. (We cheated and opened Santa first instead of on Christmas Eve because that's the most exciting toy to play with.)

I'd highly recommend picking up a set next year.  Lego and Playmobil are my favorites and they both come out with a few different advent calendar options each year.

Oliver at 10 Months

I know I'm biased, but everyday I find myself thinking about how adorable and amazing this kid is.

 His ten month pictures are kind of sad because he has a big bruise on his cheek from falling and having a seizure.  The next day was even worse because he hit the opposite cheek when he fell and had another seizure.

 Over Christmas vacation our family and friends kept commenting on what a happy, content baby he seems to be.  I have to agree, but he's also very busy so most of his ten month pictures look like this

 and this.

When I'm out in public with him, I often see people I don't know grinning at me, and then I look down and realize that Ollie is waving at them.  He's quite the ambassador of good will.  Here he is doing the double wave.

 He's living up to his nickname Tiny Ford.  He's only in the 25% percentile for height and 10th for weight (Creed was enormous and always at least in the 95%)

 He started walking at about nine and a half months.  He only started standing on his own a week or two before that so I was totally surprised.  He took ten steps on his second attempt.  He slowed for a few days once he realized that he was going to fall, but the last few days he walks more than he crawls.  People are always shocked to see him walk because he's so tiny.

 He's nowhere near sleeping through the night and we can't let him cry because he might have a breath-holding spell or seizure so we are feeling exhausted and there's no end in site.

 When he turned ten months, he had three teeth, but he's had three more break through since then, and I haven't noticed any crabbiness from teething.

 He waves, claps, and loves to give high fives.

This is the best shot I have of him walking so I'll work on taking some more pictures for evidence, but he makes a pretty adorable reindeer.

 He's never liked pacifiers and he doesn't suck his thumb so he didn't sooth himself very well, but he's fallen for soft blankets.  He doesn't suck on them, but when he's in need of comfort he puts them in front of his face and moves his mouth like he's nursing.  He can often be spotted dragging this small soft square my mom made around the house.

I feel lucky to have him as a constant companion everywhere I go.

Happy 2011

Leaving Ollie with a babysitter to go out on New Year's Eve was not an option so I wasn't expecting our NewYear's Eve to be too exciting, but it ended up being so fun.  A few days ago, our friends Jeff and Rachel asked us if we wanted to get together on NewYear's Eve for dinner at our house and then the plan was to put all the kids to bed and hang out (their daughter slept like a champ, but our kids both made after-bedtime appearances).

Tai and Kersten ended up being able to come by too so Creed and I headed out that afternoon for party supplies of his choosing.  We came home with armfuls of tacky gold hats and confetti cannons and big smiles on our faces. We even had time to throw together a New Year's surprise cake following these directions, which made our last minute get together seem festive.

 I sprinkled edible star glitter on it too because Creed wanted everything to be gold (yellow)

 We volunteered Kersten to crack it open, which ended up being quite a task

It was filled with candy that spilled out when we opened it.  Originally, I planned to slip this wish paper in there so we could send off our wishes for the new year, but it was bitterly cold we opted to save it for later.

Rachel's parents are Dutch so she grew up eating ebelskivers or Oliebollen on NewYear's Eve and I'm so glad she shared the tradition with us because they are so good!

 When I stopped by the grocery store for drinks, I also picked up a pomelo because my favorite produce guy was handing out samples telling people to try a new food with the new year, and you know how I like to make an effort to try new things.  It's like a  grapefruit, but bigger and sweeter.

At midnight we shot off the confetti cannons and toasted each other with Fizzy Lizzy's.

It was simple and warm and cozy, and I'd be happy if I could spend every New Year celebrating this way with a few of my favorite people.

 In the morning the boys and I found time to celebrate properly wearing silly hats and making a loud ruckus

 And every time I pass all the confetti in the yard it makes me smile.

Poor Ollie

I have so much to tell you about our holidays (do you mind hearing about our December all through January, because that's how it's going to be?) but I've been so preoccupied.  Here's the reason you haven't been hearing from me.

 Poor Oliver has not been doing well.  He's been having seizures (his fourth was yesterday) which have meant multiple trips to the ER, doctors visits, lots of tests, and lots of worry.

Today was the big test that we've been waiting for, the EEG, which will hopefully shed a little light on what's going on.

 I never thought I would want to see him this way, but it was a relief. We've been so worried about him and we've been feeling so helpless so this is one small thing that might lead to some help.

We should have the results from our neurologist within a week.  Best case senario would be that the seizures are just caused by breath-holding spells and nothing more complicated is going on.  When Ollie gets hurt or upset, he lets out a loud cry and then he stops breathing.  He basically suffocates until he passes out.  Usually he's just out for a moment, but sometimes, he has a seizure afterwards.  The breath-holding spells are scary, but the seizures are terrifying.  If his seizures are just caused by breath-holding spells, there is nothing that we can do, but most kids grow out of breath holding spells around the age of two so we're hoping that the EEG doesn't show anything else going on.

We had to sleep deprive Ollie for the EEG so it was a rough day at Casa Ford that we are all looking forward to putting behind us.  Poor Ollie was worn out.

The crazy part was that when Ollie was born, my friend Kristin, one of the other designer for Sycamore Street Press, was also in the same hospital with her newborn, Sullivan, so we got to hang out in the hospital together.  Sullivan was also at Children's Hospital today so we lectured the boys that they have got to stop meeting this way.

Here's hoping life gets better for both of these boys!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

and we are lucky enough to live by one of the most beautiful places to see Christmas lights in the world.  All of my Christmas decorations may be in storage, but it certainly feels like Christmas around here.  Actually, having the decorations in storage have been a good reminder that Christmas is not about things, but more about celebrating our savior and spending time together as a family.  We've been busy doing just that (ok, we've been involved in some of the fun, commercial side of Christmas too, but we'll talk about that later).

 Since we live so close to Temple Square, we decided to go see the Christmas lights there more than once.  We'll be visiting when my family all gets into town for Christmas, but why wait?  Our friends the Davids joined us, and it was such a nice relaxed evening.

 I loved watching the babies, Ruby and Ollie, in awe.  And even though I'm not sure how much Ollie really comprehends, I love watching Larry lean down and whisper explanations of Christmas and the nativity to Ollie.

 Have I mentioned that I'm desperately in love with that guy?  Because I am.

 Its amazing how there can be huge crowds at Temple Square, but it still feels so peaceful.

 I had no idea that if you head east of the temple, there are large nativities from around the world displayed (you learn things like that when you go places with the Davids)

 And the walkways by the nativities are all lined with amazing luminaries.

 Before I was a mom, I had no idea how much sharing moments like these with my boys would mean to me.

 As an added bonus, Creed was so tired that he fell asleep leaning on this trash can while we were all taking off our shoes at home so I guess the evening brought us all a little peace.