For Char

This post is for Joseph's mom, CharLee. We're hoping it will encourage her to read the blog more, seeing as the main purpose of this blog is to keep our families in the loop with what's going on in our lives in California.

Char, do you wanna see what your son did for the kids for Christmas?

Wanna see how it runs so far?

Obviously, it's not done and there's a lot of work to do still, but it's going to be awesome.

More Christmas awesomeness to come...

Pre-Christmas

I'm going to make this post and the next post as concise as possible. I'll try to do less talk, more pictures.

First was our ward Christmas party. Akiko was way more excited to see her friends than Santa. Here's how the conversation went:

Joseph: Okay kids! It's time to get ready for the church party. Guess who we're going to see there?
Akiko: Haley?
J: Well, yes, but I'm thinking of someone whose name begins with an 'S.'
A: Sofia?
J: I'm sure she'll be there, too. Try someone whose name begins with 'Saaa...'
A: Uhhhh-mmm.

Joseph finally just had to tell her.

There was lots of great soup that everyone contributed and Akiko and Moses had a lot of fun playing with their friends. Oh, and Santa was there, too.

We managed to get a happy Asher by placing him on Akiko's lap while she sat on Santa's.

Moses had a lot to tell Santa and it took a lot of coaxing to get him to leave.

Akiko snapped this picture while I took Moses to the bathroom. Asher has become such a ham whenever he sees the camera pointing at him.

Of course, I did a whole lotta baking. I only had to do 18 plates this year, as opposed to last year's 28. The snowman cookies were such a hit last year, with both the kids that made them and the recipients, that they made another appearance this year.

Before I go on, there's one story I have to tell:

So, Asher is getting very resourceful when he decides to get into something. We were baking the snowmen and I had just pulled a pan out of the oven and set it on the stovetop to cool. I left to go get the next pan to bake and, for the five seconds I was gone, Asher pulled a stool up to the stove and very carefully started pulling the hot, melty chocolate chip buttons off the snowmen he could reach.

I just about had a heart attack when I saw him, but then started laughing because he was being so careful not to touch the pan and was even blowing on it to cool it off.

I replaced the buttons with new ones, adhering them with a dab of corn syrup. That's how I stick the "carrot" noses on, which are a gummy orange slice that's been rolled out and cut into tiny triangles with a pizza cutter, in case you were wondering.

The candy canes are simply sugar cookie dough, where half has been dyed. Then you roll out two snakes and twist them together. Easy peasy.

The ribbon around the plate was an idea from Pinterest. It was a bit time consuming. While it turned out really cute, I don't think I'll do that again with the volume of plates that I have to put together.

The finished product.

Our ward boundaries are huge. It takes all of an afternoon and evening to get these delivered. The kids love it though and have a lot of fun. I created a Christmas station on Pandora that we listened to while we drove around. The kids would sing the songs they knew at the top of their lungs.

I was so busy this December with Christmas prep and Primary stuff that I didn't get a chance to work on  my family's presents. They'll be sent out late. I already told them. So, since all that stuff took up all my time we'll just skip to Christmas Eve.

One of the first things the kids did that morning was to put on an impromptu Nativity for us. They were so reverent and serious. It almost made me cry.

Later that afternoon, Joseph stayed home and worked on their Christmas present (which is awesome and you'll get to see it in the next post) and I finally took the kids up to the temple to see the lights. It's nothing like Temple Square, but the Spirit is still there and makes it a very special place.

Asher was there, too, but he'd just woken up and wouldn't let me put him down. Akiko felt that her red riding hood was festive enough for Christmas and insisted on wearing it. Hey, it works, right?

It was windy up on the hill, so we went into the Visitor's Center to warm up. While we were there, there was an Elder telling Christmas stories, so we went in to listen to them until Asher started getting antsy. I let the kids run around and look at all the displays for a while before we headed back out.

I took the kids to the spot on the grounds that overlooks Oakland and across the Bay to San Francisco. This picture doesn't do any of the breathtaking scenery any justice. I need a better camera.

But, even for a dying camera, it still managed to take some pretty good night shots of the temple.

I found out there is a terrace on the temple that you can go up on, so we walked up there and I let the kids run around for a bit.

Here are the grounds from the terrace.

We had a very busy, but fun December. The kids really got into the spirit of the season this year. I have a feeling that it's just going to augment as the years go by. Stay tuned for the Christmas morning post where you'll find out all about our awesome Christmas surprises.

Mele Kalikimaka!!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas this year!

Ours has been very enjoyable so far.

Guest Blogger

Akiko watched as I wrote that last post. She wanted to write one, too. I know I don't usually post twice in a day, but for this I'll make an exception. Take it away, Akiko:

So at shcool i made a gingrbred  house. It was yummy! It is a bug gingrbred house.I did it all by my self!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

... but not this kind.

It wasn't a huge mess, thank heavens. But Asher sure was proud of himself.

Little stinker.

Guess Who's Back?

I'm kind of wary to make big announcements online. Especially when it comes to news like this. However, so far things are going great and so far there's no cause for concern. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by doing this.

Let's get down to business then, shall we?

Most Fruitful Yuki has returned!!

This is from the 2007 movie Juno.

We are expecting Weckerling #4. It's a boy. Yes, another boy. His due date is May 9th. This puts me at about 18.5 weeks.

Some of you know the reason for my wariness, but for those of you who don't, let me explain.

Almost three years ago I had two miscarriages in a row. The first was lost at six weeks. The second was lost at 12. I had announced both pregnancies on Facebook. Then, I had to announce that we had lost them. It was horrible.

I felt very loved and appreciated all the condolences that were sent my way by my friends, but really felt the need to grieve on my own with those that were closest to me.

My paranoia or superstition was so great for me that I didn't announce our pregnancy with Asher until I was eight months along and had started this blog. I had found out I was pregnant with him just a few days after we had moved to California, so none of my Utah friends knew until then, or didn't know at all until after Asher was born. I didn't even tell my new friends in California, with maybe one or two exceptions, until it was obvious I was expecting and they would ask.

Again, I really hope I'm not screwing things up by telling you all about this, at the same time, it's been very hard not saying something about it as we've had our adventures the last few months. That explains my procrastination and lack of motivation and general feeling of malaise.

I'm feeling much better now. (Ok, did anyone else suddenly think "Bring out your dead!"?) The morning sickness and ultimate fatigue passed just before Thanksgiving. I have felt the baby move, but not very much or very often. He seems very mellow, like Moses was/is. My energy is higher, and my belly is just starting to get in the way, but it's not too bad for now. I really do enjoy the second trimester.

Akiko is disappointed that she's not getting a sister. Frankly, so am I, but I do love my boys and the energy and spunk they bring into our house. We will have another daughter someday. I just think this is Heavenly Father's way of getting us to have more kids. I was able to put a positive spin on Akiko's disappointment when I told her that she'll get her own bedroom in a year or so. She perked up a lot when I mentioned that.

I am excited to see what this little boy will bring to our table (not literally). Moses and Asher have such different looks and different personalities from each other, I can't help but wonder if this little boy will end up being like either of them, a mix, or nothing like them at all.

I promise to try not to complain too much on here, especially once I enter the dreaded third trimester. We can't wait to meet our son!

PS: We already have a name picked out, but I'm going to keep you all in suspense until he's born. Mwahahahaha!

O Christmas Tree

So, this year I struggled with an odd feeling. This strange feeling was that I had no desire to put up a Christmas tree this year. I was kind of wiped out from Thanksgiving and just wanted to veg out for a while. The biggest reasons, though, were the fact that I have a 17 month-old running rampant through the house and the fake tree we have is the one I grew up with, so it's all old and dusty and makes my otherwise mild eczema break out like crazy on my hands.

I dared not mention this to the older kids. Apparently, I had voiced my annoyance of Christmas stuff coming out before Halloween a bit too often, and Akiko and Moses picked up on it. Akiko even went so far as asking the lady at Macy's why their Christmas decorations were up when it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. Oops! So, once Thanksgiving was over, every single day for a week, Moses would ask when we were going to put up our tree. "*Sigh!* Soon," I would reply.

I posted a status on Facebook that stated my lack of desire for the tree. Some of my friends replied that they only decorated the top half of theirs. Others lamented that they would find ornaments all over the house. One suggested that I get a short tree and put it on a table like she had done the year that her twin boys were at that same delightful stage. I must interject here that a short tree on a table is a marvelous idea and I employed it when Akiko was 20 months old. Worked fabulously. I toyed with that idea again, but I didn't have an appropriate table for the job.

Joseph agreed that the fake tree needed a break and wanted to get a real tree this year, which I was all for. He also kept telling me not to worry, that Asher would be enthralled by the tree for a day or two and then ignore it. I was a bit skeptical about that, but I agreed to the purchase of a real tree this year. The kids were stoked, to say the least, when the day arrived to go shopping for one.

We found a real nice tree for a reasonable price and were quickly home to set it up. I was really impressed that the guy who nailed our base on was able to get it as straight as it turned out.

I brought the Christmas boxes in from the garage and for the two minutes I was gone to check on something, the kids had opened the boxes and started taking everything out. They wanted to get started on that tree. I had to tell them that there was a process.

First, you check the lights. Then you put on the lights. Then you put on the tinsel and/or beads. Then you can start putting the ornaments on.

They waited somewhat patiently for me to get the lights and tinsel on in a manner that was satisfactory to me. Once I was finally finished, it was time for ornaments.

At that point I was so tired from getting the lights and tinsel on that I did something that surprised even me. I let Akiko and Moses decorate the rest of the tree, under my supervision, of course. Here's how it turned out:

I have to admit, for a 4 and 6 year-old, they did a pretty good job. There were only a few clusters I had to fix and some branches still have double ornaments, but Akiko, Moses and I are pretty proud of our tree this year. I'm really proud of the kids. Akiko was able to reach the top branches with the help of a stool. Joseph lifted her up to put the star on the top at the very end.

My ornaments are not fancy. Many of them are plastic. Asher still managed to break one. Oh well. I'm not that attached to those ones anyway. They'll probably get made into a wreath or something some year soon. The fancy and heirloom ornaments that we do have get put up high on the tree, out of toddler reach. Someday, I'll have a tree with sparkly, beautiful, breakable ornaments, but for our child bearing years, I'm content with the cheap stuff.

And in case you were wondering, Joseph was right (and I'm not too proud to admit such a fact). Asher leaves the tree alone. In fact, the first couple days it was up, when he would walk up to it and swat at a branch, causing an ornament to fall, he would pick it up and try to put it back on the tree. He really is less chaotic than I may make him sound. He's just more chaotic than Akiko and Moses were combined.

Sorry the picture is crooked. One of the kids took this picture and I am both too lazy to correct it and think it's cute that they took it (and did a fairly good job for their age).