Holiday Happenings

We made a big effort to create and continue with Christmas traditions. It ended up being a wonderful Christmas Season for us. Here are some of the things we did.

Christmas Decorations
I loved getting Millie and Gracie's help with decorating this year. It was very apparent that they are girls. They were thrilled as they pulled each decoration out of the box. First they decorated the tree with all the ornaments right in the middle...



Then, without instructions, they quickly unpacked the rest of the decorations and found a place for everything to fit on our sofa table. They were very pleased with the end result...


And Claire "helped" with anything within her reach!


Christmas Crafts
One wintry day we needed a fun craft. So we made clay for a volcano. But Grace was a little worried about the volcano, so we decided to make clay ornaments instead. We loved the entire process! Once they were baked, we painted them and then turned them into ornaments. These little women love to create!



Building "Frosty"
We avoid going out into the cold most of the winter long. However, it doesn't quite feel like Christmas until the girls have been out making a snowman with their Daddy. Here's a very wide Frosty that is a little "vertically challenged" thanks to the powdery snow.





Christmas Caroling
Millie's preschool took a "service field trip" to an assisted living center to sing carols, and then to the Bountiful food bank to donate their extra change for needy families. I was VERY impressed at the childrens' ability to learn so many songs and perform so well.

The highlight for us was at the end. Grace was sad the entire time because she had to sit in the audience with me instead of performing with Millie. She isn't in the preschool, but it's hard for her to understand why she can't do some things that Millie is doing. So when the performance was nearing an end, and they were about to sing a song that Grace knew, I told her to go ahead and join Millie to sing. She hesitated at first, but then she went up and held Millie's hand and started to sing. Millie was sweet with her and Gracie's face just beamed with pride! She sang so well, and felt so big! I'm so glad I captured that moment on video!



Candy Houses
We LOVE candy! And the only thing better than a lot of candy, is playing with it, and then having an excuse to display it for days and snitch from it often!

Daddy let the girls place every single candy on this train by themselves. It took a long time, but paid off!


By the time we made candy houses at Grandma and Grandpa Yorgason's, these girls were old pros! They had help getting started, but after awhile, they took over and finished it nicely on their own.



It turned out so cute! I know I'm biased, but if I had been the judge, this one would have won!


Thatcher Family Christmas Party
When Katie married Cody, we had no idea the perks of having a cowboy in the family. Here's just one of them. We started out our family party in Millville, where we rode in a horse-drawn covered wagon through the snowy streets. We bundled up warm and sang Christmas carols together. The cold weather and falling snow made for a perfect ride!






Christmas Eve
We had our fair share of goodies this month, including a lot of hot chocolate. Every time we made it, these girls were thrilled! A simple treat that is so much fun! So we decided that a perfect New Year's Eve would be a simple evening with some friends, goodies, hot chocolate, and the nativity. We had Robert & Lynn, James McCall, and Marianna & Madelyn Mestas over for a short evening. We played carols with our chimes, the girls sang and then told the nativity story with props.


Christmas Day
We had a relaxing morning (for the record, we got to sleep in until after 7:00), opening presents the "Higbee style" (which means that we enjoy each present before going on to the next one). Then we headed to be with the Yorgason cousins for the day. We had so much fun that we forgot to take pictures! But here are some pics of the girls and their presents...

Millie's favorite gifts came from our sweet neighbors: the umbrella, barbies, and lipstick!


All Grace asked Santa for was a ring-pop. She ended up getting about 8 of them! And even after getting all her other gifts, when asked what she got for Christmas, she always replied in a very content voice, "a ring-pop!" She also loves her puzzles, coloring book & crayons, and dolls.


Claire is very happy with her mixing pot from Grandma & Grandpa Yorgason! It keeps her busy each day! She also received a pink stroller from Santa, which she surprised us and started to walk and push it.


And Claire's present to Mommy...her first pony tails!
And a fun discovery...Claire actually fits into her pink stroller, so now it's a toy for everyone! Hang on tight, Claire!

Here's Carolyn Lindsey, our dear ward friend who is often mistaken as Jen's mom. She is like a grandma to our girls, helping out each Sunday in church. She gave the girls a fun necklace kit, a coloring book, and this little riding car for Claire. We felt spoiled by her, as well as our other friends and family (Robert & Lynn, Shauna & Klaus, Karol & Havier, Grandparents, etc.). I wish we had been better at getting pictures with each one of them!




New Year's Eve
We got lucky and had Dave & Holly's family here over New Year's. The kids were up extra late (around 9:00) and then the real party began! We talked and played Phase 10 until way too late! In the morning, Dave was the "Nascht Kaegel" (the nest egg in German, or the last one asleep New Year's morning) so he got awoken by pots and pans. We had a fun day with them and were joined by Josh, Elena, & baby Eila. Again, the real measure of fun: too much fun to stop and take pictures! Here's all we have...





New Year's Resolution: Take more pictures! Take better pictures! Take them on important days when we are doing fun things! Just stop and take pictures! (sigh, smile)

"O Come Let Us Adore Him"

According to Millie, that includes everyone!

Happy Birthday "Laire Laire"!

Claire turned one this month! We had a fun little birthday party with her, where she got to eat her first big dose of sugar in a cupcake (albeit a small one), played “doggie” hide-and-seek, & played “roll the ball.”

As I stood starring at the toys in the toy aisle at Wal-mart, I couldn’t find one thing that I thought Claire would just love more than what we already have. So she got a new outfit, and then the girls filled present bags with toys from their rooms to “give” her. She seemed pleased! It doesn't get easier than the first birthday!

Here’s a little about Claire to summarize what she is like at age one:

Claire is a happy girl! She loves to play “doggie,” roll a ball, & unload the dishwasher. She is the best cleaning child in the house right now. She loves to pick up things and put them in something. Of course, she is the best at making messes though too! We know when she really likes her food, because she says, “um” with every bite; and the food she dislikes goes right off the edge of her highchair and onto the floor. She won't eat pancakes & syrup, but she likes olives, avocados, & black beans.

She is starting to say words, like “mamamamama,” “dadadadada,” “boon” (balloon), "ah" (hot), although most of the time her communication is more like a grunt for "hi" and a big giant shake of the entire body for no. And she loves to click her tongue until she can get us to join in on the clicking. In church, she keeps the people sitting behind us very busy, smiling, talking, and picking up her toys.

Claire is still crawling, but on her birthday she finally decided she liked her walking toy, so hopefully she will get excited about walking one of these days. She has just learned to push herself on a little bike. And she loves going up and down the stairs. On the day she learned this new skill, Daddy let her do it over and over again about 30 times. She was exhausted that night!

Claire has a peaceful soul. She is easy to love because she is content, patient, cuddly, and adorable. She reciprocates love and humor. She soaks up any attention or love she gets, but she is also willing to sit and wait for your attention, if she needs to. She loves to be held, and is especially happy when Daddy walks in the door. It doesn't matter what she is doing, when he comes home, she wants HIM, and she gets very sad if she doesn't get picked up, hugged, and some good one-on-one attention from her daddy.

Claire has brightened up our days in 2010. We can't imagine life without her, and we are so blessed to have her in our family!

Thanksgiving

Yorgason Thanksgiving

We had our Yorgason Family Thanksgiving party in the clubhouse for the first time. We had a blast! It felt so roomy and there was so much to do! It turned out so nice, that we weren't missing Mom and Dad's old house too much.





Mom made her famous BBQ'd turkey steaks, and our girls just LOVED them! Grace asked if we can always make that at our house.



The girls played 'Ring Around the Rosies" with Brookie





We made our annual Candy-apple turkeys, and for the first time, Millie & Gracie did theirs on their own! It was fun to see them create such cute turkeys, and of course, they "gobbled" them right up when they were done!





We watched a movie in the theatre. While the older kids and adults sat and watched the show, Claire, Eila, and Thomas went up and down the stage. They were the most entertaining show for me!




Thatcher Thanksgiving
We had a delicious dinner and then the children made fun crafts that Aunt Amy brought. I wish we had taken more pictures up there! But here are the cute crafts with cousin Brookie.

A Wonderful Birthday

As a stay-at-home mom of young children, I've learned not to expect much on my birthday. It's just another day! But this year turned out to be such a wonderful day! We were lucky to get Kira at our house most of the day. When she is around, everything is more exciting and fun. She got busy right away planning a birthday surprise for mommy with the girls. They decorated and made cards while I showered. All day long, we did the fun things you do at birthday parties. Then Kira's mom, Chrysstal surprised me with a perfect-sized cake. How did she know it was the one thing we were missing!

To top it off, Camalee and Lacy babysat while we went to dinner and a play at Hale Center Theatre (complimentary tickets from Brother Fox).

It was one of those days that I just felt so blessed for all the wonderful people in my life who love and serve me more than I deserve.

Beginner Ballerinas

The girls dance around in the living room almost everyday. They consider themselves ballerinas and princesses, who have to dress "normal" to go out of the house. But up to this point, they haven't had any lessons. So when I told them that they had a chance to go to ballet class one day with Lucy (a neighbor friend), they were thrilled!

I expected them to be shy, like they are when we go to library story time, or even at preschool. But they seemed so natural out there on the dance floor! They were in their element, and they had a sense of confidence that I marveled at. They got right in and did everything the teacher told them to, and seemed so pleased with themselves. I loved watching Millie and Grace stick together, go across the floor together, dancing the best they could. They were in heaven! And I admit, it was just fun for us parents to watch them. It made us want to get them in to dance class!

A Catchy Tune To Help With Dishes

It dawned on us about a month ago, that we have totally failed in teaching our girls to take their dishes to the sink after they eat. We've seen other children do it without even being told to, and so we realized we need to work on that! After a couple weeks of nagging them, with still bad results, I followed "Miss Kristi's" example, and came up with a little tune to just sing the reminder for them. Now, whenever they forget to take their dishes (which is still most of the time) I start singing, and then they start singing along, as they take their dishes. Somehow, this song has done wonders for us! So, here it is, (no copyright attached):

(sung to the tune of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah")

"Please take your dishes to the sink.
When we're finished that's just what we do.
If we don't clean up, we'll have a big mess!
Please take your dishes to the sink."

Halloween 2010

We sure had a fun Halloween! The girls got to carve pumpkins for the first time ever, thanks to Grandma for doing the "dirty work." The girls showed mommy how to cut it, and then Millie carefully supervised as I cut. Next they used a pen to poke a lot of little dots in the jack-o-lantern's face to make it REALLY scary! I failed to get pictures when they were fresh and cute, and now they are sitting on our front porch decaying, waiting for the garbage man to take them away Friday morning. I don't think I want to remember them in this state, so no pictures!

Grace got to dress up as "Lady and the Tramp" at all the parties, but on Halloween night, she turned into a skunk (last year's costume), and was perfectly happy.



Millie was a princess, who wore a different outfit each time she needed to dress up. Luckily, her closet is full of princess clothes, so there was plenty to choose from, and she didn't seem to mind that her costume wasn't new. She especially liked that she got to wear mommy's make-up on her eyes and lips. She wonders when she will be old enough to wear that all the time.


Claire dressed up as a bear for our ward party, but I'm ashamed to say that on Halloween, she didn't even make it in to the suit. And no pictures! I guess that's what happens to the third child!
So sorry, Claire! Who needs a costume when you are as cute as this all the time?