Happy Birthday Jaci!!!

Today is the big day!! Yeah! I can't believe that you are 21 years old. That really makes me feel old. The last couple of days I have looked back and thought of all the fun and crazy things we have done through the years. You are my best friend and I am so glad we have been able to remain so close all this time. I really look up to you and admire the person that you are. I am so grateful of your relationship with Hannah. You mean the world to her.
I love you Jac
Here's looking at you kid
Love, Jodi

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I know it has been a couple of weeks since the holidays, but I haven't had any time before now to post any Christmas pictures. We had a very quiet and interesting Christmas this year. Hannah didn't wake up until 11:00 in the morning on Christmas morning, and when she did wake up, she was really sick. She opened a few gifts and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. Around 2:00 she got back up and opened the rest of her gifts. Luckily when she woke up in the afternoon she was feeling a little bit better and she had an enjoyable time with her gifts. Hannah is an interesting child in that she doesn't just tear into a gift and throw it aside. She has to open it, look at it, examine it, and then play with it. This makes the entire process a little bit longer, but definately more enjoyable for all of us. It is fun to see her really enjoying her gifts. Here are a few fun pictures of our holidays

I just thought this picture was so cute. When Hannah came downstairs and saw the tree she just sat in front of it and stared for quite a long time.

I would say that Hannah's favorite present was her Batman pajamas and her Batman dolls. I know with all that work I did making her princess doll clothes, all I really needed to do was buy new jammies.

On New Year's Eve we went to our good friend Devin's family ball. It was a lot of fun to watch Hannah with the other kids. First of all she loved getting all dressed up. Secondly, she loves being around other kids. She is really social. Michael was a little reluctant to dance with Hannah, but she would not leave him alone until he did. It was so cute!

What a great dancer, I think she gets that from me!! ha ha

I know I have plenty of time but...

So Hannah's birthday is coming up (in a couple of months) and I know I have plenty of time, but I get so excited about her birthday.  She has also been really excited about it and talks about it everyday.  I am however, running into a snag and need a little help.  First of all Hannah told us she wanted a Batman Birthday party.  Strange I know.  Anyway, I have been searching everywhere for a Batman cake pan.  Come to find out the last time they made a Batman cake pan was in the 80's which is now considered vintage.  I know it freaked me out too.  In order to buy a vintage cake pan you have to be willing to spend $60.00 which I am not!  After a couple of weeks of searching online, Hannah tells me she wants a princess party.  Not just any princess party, but a Sleeping Beauty party.  Great!! I can do that.  Well, come to find out they don't make Sleeping Beauty Cake pans at all!!  So what is this child trying to do, give me an ulcer when she's only three.  I know I shouldn't be so worried about a three year olds birthday party, but that is just me.  I love birthdays!!  So if any of you out there come across anything by way of Batman or Sleeping Beauty, just let me know.  
Here is one thing that I found which I think is absolutely adorable, but it just comes with the castle pieces, not even the round cake pans.

Finally Posting

So you would think that having two weeks off of school would mean that I could post like everyday. That's what I would think too, but as you can see it has been a while since I have posted. I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas holiday and a very Happy New Year. After much lamenting, we decided to stay home during the break, and while I was really sad about it, it ended up being a really good thing for us. I enjoyed spending time with my family among many other things.
Here is my top ten list of my favorite things about Christmas break
10.  Not having to drive in the snow (did I mention that I hate snow)

9.  Playing tea party with Hannah every day

8.  Sewing

7.  Taking a nap almost every day

6.  Going shopping the day after Christmas.  (Chad will never understand this one)

5.  Taking Hannah swimming at the Legacy Center when it was 25 degrees outside (did I mention that I hate the snow)

4.  Watching movies in the middle of the day.

3.  Sleeping in (everyday, including Christmas Morning)  Hannah is not old enough to think that she wants to wake up at 5:00 in the morning to open presents yet.  In fact she slept in until 11:00 that morning.

2.  Not thinking about school (well I thought about it, I just never came to school to work on things)

1. Watching Hannah open her gifts on Christmas morning.  She was so excited (even though she was sick) and everything was "exactly what I wanted"  It was so much fun!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

So I am thinking that I am a little overwhelmed right now.  I feel like I have so much to do in the next week and not enough time to do it.  I know I am not the only person that feels like this right now, but I thought I would complain a little about it.  My major problem is that for some reason this time of year is my most creative time.   I don't know if any of you are like that as well.  I think of all of the fun things I want to make, either to decorate my house with, or as presents for my nieces or for Hannah.  This year my niece Maddison called me and asked me if I would make her a dress for her school talent show.  She is singing the Taylor Swift song called Love Story.  Her request was that I make her a dress like the one Taylor wears in her video.  Of course I couldn't tell her no.  So I head off to the fabric store and try to find a pattern and fabric that would easily replicate this dress (but for a 10 year old).  I was surprised that it was relatively easy.  Anyway, I had to alter the pattern a little bit, but I didn't take into account that I wouldn't need as much fabric.  Needless to say, I had about 3 yards of fabric left over after making the dress.  So what do I decide to do, but make my other niece Brooklynn and Hannah matching dresses out of the same fabric.  While it has been a ton of fun, I have been either teaching school or sewing for the last month or so.  Well all my work has paid off and I have three beautiful dresses to show for it.  Hannah was able to wear her dress to church on Sunday and she looked absolutely beautiful.  

Family Traditions

The last couple of weeks at school we have been talking about family traditions during the holidays. I sent home a letter to parents for them to sign up for a 20 minute time period to come to school and share one of their families favorite traditions. I was actually surprised at the response. Everyday, we have had at least two families share sometimes as many as four. What also has surprised me is the number of dads that come with their wives to share. It has been a lot of fun for me to see the different things that other families do to bring in the spirit of the holiday. Last Friday, my mom and dad actually came into my class and helped me share one of my favorite family traditions. The thing I remember most about the holidays is getting matching pajamas on Christmas Eve with my four sisters. Then we would all have a big slumber party in one of our rooms and stay up all night. I showed my kids some pictures of me as a kid with my sisters in front of the tree in our pajamas. They got a real kick out of that. Here are some of the pictures that I shared.

1985

1989

1998

2004

Pretty Funny Huh!!!
Another one of my favorite traditions is making Almond Rocca. Maybe it's because I love eating it so much. Well for Family Night last night I taught Hannah how to make it. her job was to sprinkle the almonds on the pan before we poured the candy on the sheet and after the chocolate was melted. She thought this was the coolest thing ever. After a while she looked at me and said, "Mom, thanks for making candy with me." She is so sweet I know. I told her that it was a lot of fun for me and that I used to do it with my mom when I was little. Then she says, "And now I'm doing it with my mom!" It was really sweet and it made me realize how Thankful I am for families and the times that we spend together. So please comment and share some of the things that you do with your family to make the holidays a little more special.

Mom and Hannah making candy

Dad gets the hard job of stirring the candy forever. Like I said I am out of shape

Shout Out

Here is a shout out to my good friend Nisha. I went to her house last night to work out and well after 20 minutes I was done working out (I am so out of shape) and so I asked her to help me re-vamp my blog. As you can see the finished product is so cute! Thank you Nisha!!

Thank You

Thank you to all of you and your suggestions for the Ariel Baby doll. I was actually able to find one at Target. Now let's hope she doesn't come up with anything new.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have been hearing over and over again the last couple of weeks from several different people that they can't get into Christmas because it's not snowing yet. I personally say that this feels exactly like Christmas to me and I am grateful that it hasn't started snowing. The last couple of weeks have been filled with "normal" Christmas time happenings. First of all we took Hannah to see Santa Claus at the mall. I was a little nervous about this because last year she totally flipped out. Needless to say, I spent the whole car ride down to Orem prepping her and letting her know if she doesn't tell Santa what she wants for Christmas, she might not get what she wants. Well she did great. I could see her talking and laughing with the big guy, but unfortunately I couldn't hear what she was saying. Afterwards, I asked her what she told him and she informed me that she asked for candy (check), books (check) and an Ariel baby doll (what!!) that is the first I have heard of this. I had to clarify this one, so I asked her you mean like the Barbie doll you already have. She looked at me all disgusted and then said, now mom a baby doll, that I can hold and rock. Oh great, where am I going to find one of those? Do they even make such a thing? If anybody out there knows of such a thing (that is inexpensive, because I was supposed to be done with her) just let me know.

I am Thankful for...

So a couple of weeks ago, Hannah ended up going to Activity Days with me because Chad was doing something else. Anyway, for our activity we talked about Gratitude. I had the girls look through magazines and cut out pictures of things that they were grateful for. To my surprise, Hannah got totally into it and she was able to identify many things she was thankful for such as princesses, necklaces, juice boxes etc. It was very cute and her collage has been hanging on the fridge ever since. Over the next couple of weeks she has continued to notice things around her that she is thankful for. Instead of saying I like this, or I like that, she says "Mom, I am thankful for this or that" It is really quite cute. Last night as I was tucking her into bed she looked at me and said Mom, I am thankful for you and for daddy, but I am especially thankful for Jesus." Needless to say, I couldn't help but feel extremely blessed. Hannah can be such a sweet girl and it scares me sometimes at how intuitive she is. I am thankful for her.