Christmas with GG Larsen

Since we were going to be out of town for Christmas we went to Grandma Larsens the Sunday before we left. Grandma got Ry the cutest blocks, and little outfit. Even though Rylee enjoyed the paper more then anything she liked the gifts too! It was good to visit with Grandma for the afternoon.

Darling Christmas Party

We try every year to have a Darling Christmas Party! Its always fun to get together with the cousins. My Uncle Dee's kids are coming to more things too, so its been nice to get to know them better. We have it at Pier 49 Pizza in Spanish Fork. Everyone jsut buys their own pizza, we visit, and play The Night Before Christmas game. Everyone brings a dollar gift. Whoever is in charge that year reads The Night Before Christmas. Everytime you hear the word THE you pass your gift. At the end of the book you get to keep the gift you have. Its fun for the kids, and I think the adults like it too. This year I helped my nephew Sam. He was hillarious. He would eye the gift he wanted, and then when it came to him he would say, "YAAAA!" When he had to pass it his voice would get lower and he would say, " Ohhhh." It was fun this year to see everyones babies. We have 4 right now, and all of them are so cute! Uncle Dee convinced Grandma to come this year too. She thought she was too old to come, but ended up being glad she came. Everyone had a great time!

The Cousins Kids! Crazy that we all have our own kids now!

Cyd was the reader this year! Everyone playing the game!

Most all the Girls in the family!

Traditions

This past month Chasey and I have been talking about all of the Christmas traditions we had growing up. He doesn't remember alot, but he's a guy so thats okay. He remembers putting on Christmas music really loud and decorating the tree, and then after eating a big meal. He said thats all his family ever did, but I'm pretty sure there's more. He has a fun family- I can't see them only doing that!

Me on the other hand... I can remember alot of traditions!

My parents always made Christmas fun! This might be a long post, but hey its my blog!

( I don't know why all the fonts and sizes different?)

Hmmmm.... where to start? I guess with....

* QUEEN COOKIE. My sister, Shani, always made yummy treats for her friends during Christmas. Each year my mom and her would cook and bake all day. There would be rice krispi treats colored green and red, carmel, brownies, divinity, and most importantly SUGAR COOKIES! Shani could get them just right... not too brown not too gooey... just right! Then she would take the time to decorate them all cute like! This earning her the title "Queen Cookie!" I can still picture her rolling them out on our bright yellow countertops! If I remember correctly she also had really cool hair- big bangs and a perm! I always loved when she would make her famous cookies! These are my cookies I made this year. Not even close to Shani's, and I couldn't eat them casue the cat licked them.

* The Village. Every year my dad would get my mom a new piece for her village. It was always fun to see wht the new addition would be. My favorite one was always the house in the middle, and the the lady sweeping out front. Of course the lady didn't have to go with that house, but I always put her there! We would always put it on our fireplace in the front room. My mom would get a white sheet and the fake snow to make it look like a winter wonderland. When my mom got remarried she stopped putting the village up. Kind of sad, but there was really no one there to see it anyways. When her and Bill divorced she didn't think to grab it out of the garage. It was something that I wish she would have taken, only cause it was something we put up every year. Oh well though! Not so fast... this year I told Chasey about it and how much I would love it, so he called Bill and asked for it back! The next day it was sitting on my moms front porch! YEAH! It was so fun to set everything up, and now its something that my kids will remember putting up every year!

* The Tree. We had a few different trees over the years.. fake ones, real ones, flocked ones... but no matter what kind it always looked great! My brother Mat always wanted a flocked tree. I only remember having one that was flocked. My mom always made our tree look wonderful. For some reason I remember only having colored lights on our tree. We would set it up in our front room right in the center of the window. It looked so nice from outside, or when you were sitting on the couch. A few years I can remember the cat getting stuck in the tree. When Christmas was over my dad would take the tree across the street to the fields and burn it. It was awesome! The tree would just burst into flames cause it was so dry! This is our tree this year. We got a fake one cause we aren't going to be here for Christmas to keep it watered. Its smaller then what we have had, but its still pretty. Chaseys first Christmas in Utah we got the BIGGEST DANG TREE! I guess in Florida they are expensive cause they have to ship them in from Michigan. So, when he saw what he could get for 60 bucks he bought it. The only place it would fit was the kitchen, and it took up most of that! Oh, the memories!!!
* Stockings. I loved getting my stocking every year... even though I could almost tell you before hand what was in it every year! I'm not too sure about my siblings ctockins, but mine always had avon chapstick ( the kind that smelss like cherry cool ice), socks, candy,a life-savor candy book maybe a hair scrunchie or two and an orange in the toe! It was always fun to open it. One year I remember getting a pair of BRIGHT Pink and black doubled socks. I turned so no one could see me and said, " Thank you Santa!" So funny! My mom had crocheted our stockings, so we used the same ones every year! I should have taken a picture of mine, I still have it. These are our new ones. We got them last year. We haven't gotten Ry one yet!


* Pajamas. I know EVERYONE gets Christmas pajamas each year. I think its a big tradition for everyone. We always got to open ours on Christmas eve right before we opened a few other gifts. We have had some good and some bad ones. Usually we got flannels jama pants or flannel night gowns. Those were the good ones. One year me and my sister got these night gowns that were like little house on the praire. At the time I loved mine. Mine was pink, and Shani's were a torquise green color. They had a high neck and lace... so becoming! another year my mom made EVERYONE matching night gowns. Oh boy! Mat was a Junior or Senior in High School ,a nd had to wear it. I don't think he was too happy. I wish I would have put the picture on here. You can jsut see the humiliation on his face. These are Ry's first Christmas Pajamas- let the tradition live on!


Christams Eve & Christmas Day. What great memories of Christmas Eve. I don't remeber any in our gray house, but in our brown house I have alot! Grandma and Grandpa Darling would come up and have Christmas Eve dinenr with us. Grandpa usually wore a collered shirt with a sweater over it, and slacks. He always dressed so nice. I miss him this time of year. Anyways, My mom would set the table really nice. We had these glass Christmas tree glasses that we only used on Christmas Eve. I would get them down from the top shelve out of the far right cupboard and wash them off. When the table was set and the food was done we ate the delicious meal my mom had fixed. I'm sure Shani helped her too. One year Shani wore a skirt and a sweater to dinner, so I went in and changed into a flower print jumper and tights! Ican still remember my hair being permed and my sides pulled back. Funny how things stand out to you! After dinner my mom had hot apple cider or Wassel on the stove. It always made the house smell warm and Christmasy! The anticipation to open gifts was a killer. First the kitchen had to be done, and then the grown ups talked ,and on and on and on. It felt like forever. My dad used to tell me to settle down. Ummm... Hello its Christmas and I'm 8... I don't think so! Thats one thing I will never tell my kids to do- settle down on Christmas... LIVE IT UP BABY SANTA IS COMING!!!! So, on Christmas Eve we could open our Christams Pajamas, the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and the gift from the person who drew our name. Opening those gifts and being with everyone is more memorable to me then Christams Day itself! When we were all ready for bed my dad woudl read the Night Before Christmas. He always loved the way he read it. He would sit in the blue high back chair and read it. Some years we would watch The Grinch Who Stole Christams, but usually it was jsut the book. Then it was off to bed. Since Santa brought the gifts downstairs everyone slept upstairs. All the boys in one room, and me and Shani in the other. I don't know why the boys always get stuck in my room... it was small. Me and Shani had a big bed, and lots of room. We would always set our alarms for 4, but after we fell asleep my dad would come in and unplug them! We would wake up and go into my parens room and say, " Is it time yet?" Of course we always heard, " NO!" Fianlly it seemed like we had crept in their bedroom 50 times and they finally said YES! The only down side to this moment was that my dad took FOREVER to actaully go downstairs. We had to wait while he showered, which I think he took extra long just to bug us. We would sing Christmas Carols with my mom until he came out. Then we would have family prayer around the bed, and then head for the stairs. My Mom and Dad always went down first to see if Santa had really come or not. They would make us wait and wait and wait, and then come to the bottom stair and say, " He came!" It was always youngest to oldest to come down the stairs. when you turned into the family room and saw your gifts it was so worth the wait!!! A few hours after opening our presents Grandma and Grandpa would come up to see what we got. Mom would fix a nice breakfast for us all. We would hang out at the house until later that afternoon, and then go to grandma and grandpas for lunch. Sometimes Judy and her family came down. sometimes it was just us. I can't wait to do these thing with Rylee

Ornaments. Each year we got a new Christmas ornament. It was always fun to get them out each December and see what ones were yours from the years before. A couple years ago my mom gave us all our ornaments that she had saved. What great memories form each one. She still gets the grandkids an ornamebt each year. It something Chasey and I have done too. These are mine and Chaseys ornaments this year. I posted Ry's in a diferent post.

*Presents. We would always pick a spot in the basement where we wanted Santa to leave our gifts. We would put our stocking there, so we would know which gifts were ours. I can still picture where most everyone put their stocking. I think Mat was away from everyone... ha... just kidding. I don't know where Mat put his. John had his on the small couch. Dustin shared the big cousch with my parents. Shani always layed her stocking on the fireplace, and I put mine on the wood bin! The fmaily gifts were always left in front of the TV. Santa left the gifts from him unwrapped or out of the box. I loved it cause then we knew what Santa brought, and it was fun to just grab it and start playing with it. You didn't have to undue a million twist ties before you got a toy out of the box! Some presents I remember getting are my Popple. I got that in the gray house. I wish I still had it. It was pink and blue with a rainbow inside. I got a Cabbage Patchmost every year. My dad gave me a pink tape player one year. The first Christmas in our new house we got a computer. I remeber Shani getting a cedar chest and dishes. I thought what a lame gift, now I would love to get that! Our family gifts were always a movie or games or something. These are things that we will do with our kids!

6 months

Time flies... Rylee is 6 months old! I feel like she was just born!

Here are her measurements:

*15.8 pounds

*25 inches long

She is still in the 25 percentile for age, but is growing great!

The doctor told me that she is the kind of baby who will grow in spurts. She won't grow for awhile, and then she'll grow alot!

I was a little worried cause the Dr. told me she should be scooting around to get things. I told him she wasn't ,but that she sits up by herself and rolls everywhere. He told me that was great. that sitting up by herself puts her at a 9 month level, and the fact that she isn't scooting just means she is a very content baby. she doesn't need constant change in what she is playing with or doing. She must get that from Chase! I absolutely love our pediatrician! He takes time to explain everything so that you understand it, and is so patient with all my questions! She is a healthy baby, and right on track with everything.

Rylee got 5 shots and an oral one. She was only supposed to get 3, but we got the flu and swine flu shot. The Dr. really recomended it for a few reasons, but mostly cause we are going to be taking her on a plane next week! When the nurse came in we laid Ry down on the table like we usualy do. She looked at the nurses hand and saw all the needles and just started SCREAMING! I don't know how she knew, or if she knew, but we both were laughing. It was sad that she was so scared, but funny that she knew what was going to happen. She has done good so far, just sleeping alot!

Whats new at 6 months?

* When she wants something she will let you know! We have alot of "crying" going on. More like fake whines!

* She is eating cheerios, and likes them alot. Along with fruit and vegies. We gave her potatos on Thanksgiving- not a fan! She still loves popcicles!

* She loves to bathe with me or Chase

* She is still inthraled with the cat

* She loves her neck and top of head to be tickled. It puts her in a trance

* She went from saying BaBaBa to MaMa.

* She shakes her head no at whatever you ask her. Its the funniest thing!

* She loves other babies. She stares at them and babbles and laughs.

* If I have a drink she has to have the straw. She will reach for it and cry until I give it to her

* She sleeps on her side now. No matter how much I move her to her back she rolls over to her side

Most everything is still the same!

6 months

4 days old

Splish Splash I was takin' a bath...

Rylee has always loved the bath tub, but recently she loves to bathe with me or Chasey!

She will stay in for as long as you want her to, as long as the water is warm. When she is really upset we put her in the tub, and she calms right down. When I was a baby ( 2- 4) I bathed everytime someone in my house did. I would hear the water and go jump in. I loved the tub! She likes when there are bubbles too. Its so funny to see her try and catch them. She loves to hit the water with her hand and have the water hit her in the face. She tries to drink the water, but I think its grose so I try to not let her. As much as she loves the tub, I can't wait to put her in a pool!

Santa!

Saturday Chase and I decied to get our Christmas shopping done!

It was a fun day with just our family!

We ate at Red Robin, and hen did a little shooping at the mall. While we were there we decided to get Ry's picture with Santa! I thought she might cry when she saw him, but she was so interested in him. She just stared at him and then stared at us and then laughed. It was pretty cute. So, we had her picture taken and payed $15 for an off centered blurry picture! To top it off we found out we could have just taken our own picture on our camera. You know me, always have my camera, so I snapped a few too! The whole night I was annoyed that I wasted $15 on that dang picture. Chasey kept telling me, " You could have bought yourself a shirt instead!" Thanks!

After the mall we headed to Target! One of my favorites. We got Ry a few things there. I can't see going crazy and buying her a ton of things this year. She is only 6 months old, and has NO idea what is going on! We'll spoil her when she is 2! Does that make us bad parents? We got a few toys, but then got her stuff she needs... diapers, wipes, formula- how fun is that?! We did get her a doll that we were going to save for Christmas. It moves and talks and comes with a binki and a bottle. It started to talk in the cart and Rylee frieked out. She wanted it so bad. We sat it next to her, and she laughed the whole time throught the store, the whole way home, and all night! Its the best thing we ever bought! Thank you Fisher price! The funny thing is is that she won't take her binki anymore, but she will suck on the babies. Too cute! By 8:30 that night we were all exhausted, and ready for bed! It was a great day!

Waiting in line for Santa

I guess I should have had someone take it so I could have been in it... oh well!
Ry and her baby

GOOD NIGHT!

OOOOuch!

I dropped Chasey off at his game last Wednesday, thinking I could hurry and go grocery shopping and then make it back to the end of the game. Well, I did get the shopping done, and was headed to the game when I saw a text form Chasey. Just a side note... I hate when he texts me when he can just call me. Ecspecially when its something important. I don't always hear my texts go off. It drives me nuts! K, so his text said, " come get me now. " Ummm.... okay. I didn't get his text until 25 minutes after he sent it. Seriously, Men! I got to the gym and CALLED him. He came wobbling out. He twisted his ankle pretty bad. He had hit into a guy and hten came down on his ankle weird. His whole foot was swollen- it hadn't bruised yet. We got him taken care... Ibeprofun, ice pack, a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice-cream! The next morning he wrapped it put on his boots and headed to work. I know it hurts him cause he comes right home and ices it all night!! He won't let me know that he is in pain though! Last night we were going to bed and he twisted it again. I have only seen Chasey cry a total of 2 times- I think I saw a tear last night. We are hoping its healed before Florida!