This-n-that

I think it's time for a little family update, don't you?

Garry has been busy at work, doing...um...work stuff.  He received a "Team Impact! Recognition" award for participating on the third quarter 2011 Enterprise Matching project (see him for details).  He has been sweet enough to let me sleep in several times over the last few weeks, handling the breakfast/scriptures/make lunches/get kids ready portion of the day.  What a man!  He has also been coming home a little earlier in the evenings, which is perfectly glorious.  Occasionally I have a warm meal on the table when he walks in the door, but the Littles always attack him with hugs and kisses, which makes up for the lack on days I'm not especially domestic.  Last Saturday he and the boys hung Christmas lights on the house, and they look great!  Garry was also my date to the Denver Temple last night.  He is currently being treated to the 12 Days of Christmas.  A little gift shows up on his dresser every night after work.

I am pleased to be done Christmas shopping (assuming one of Tyler's presents is shipped to the house on time) and need to tackle wrapping next.  I can't quite keep up with the housework, but am pleased to report that I am nearly caught up on the ironing.  I am working on the piano portion of this piano/organ duet for our church Christmas program, and have organized a group to sing a sweet little song on Sunday in Relief Society.  My musical muscles are out of practice!  Last week I started a regimen of thyroid, estrogen, and progesterone medications.  So far they have sent me on a wild ride.  I look forward to a season of balance...one day.  I logged onto familysearch.org for the first time and indexed a batch of records last week (so did Garry!), and last Sunday I subbed as a teacher in Relief Society (my favorite place to teach).  Oh, and I cut bangs.

Zach is thrilled that we lifted the ban on shorts if the temperature is below 32 degrees.  He enjoys the increased freedom over his wardrobe choices in frigid weather, which has eliminated a daily fight.  We should have done this years ago!  Zach is the resident mail-picker-upper.  He also fills in as a nice baby-holder and pot-stirrer (literally and figuratively) when I need extra hands.  He plays basketball on Monday nights and Saturday afternoons, although his season ends this week. Zach loves watching "Mythbusters" on Netflix and reads three or four books at a time.  His current reads are Harry Potter #5, Summer of the Monkeys, and The Son of Neptune.

Since finishing up the science fair on Saturday, Tyler doesn't know what to do with his free time after school.  Oh, wait...now there's more time to watch TV!  Tyler also loves reading, and can often be found curled up in bed with a good book when he is supposed to be doing something else, like getting ready for school or cleaning his room.  Tyler is enjoying an incentive program for controlling his temper, which has been getting out of hand lately.  Somehow using Cheerios to fill up a Mason jar has flipped a switch, and Calm Tyler is on his way to earning all kinds of fun rewards.

Gavin has a love/hate relationship with preschool.  He hates getting ready for preschool in the morning, but he loves being there every day.  He is really thriving at school, though, and has great stories to tell after his mornings away from home.  Gavin loves his birthday bean bag, back rubs, and the movie Gnomeo and Juliet.  He likes to picnic on the living room rug for lunch, play games of chase and hide-and-seek with Lexi, make Kate smile, play with my hair, and do anything the big boys are doing.  He does NOT like time-out, going to bed, or staying in his car seat.  But using a seat belt with his booster instead of a five-point harness is pretty cool.

Lexi is a little spitfire.  She has many opinions and prefers to share them in an ornery tone of voice and at the top of her lungs.  She wants what she wants, and she wants it NOW.  Lexi loves having her nails painted and her hair fixed "like Mommy," especially if the styling involves the flat iron (on her stick-straight hair) and hair spray.  She likes the idea of bows and clips and headbands, but can rarely tolerate them for more than 30 minutes.  Lexi was thrilled when she figured out that we have a back-up Betsy doggie, so now she carts both of them around.  Her bed is often so crammed with books and dolls and toys at bedtime that I wonder how she can sleep in there (oh wait...she wakes up 3-5 times per night!).  Lexi is also interested in wearing panties, but not in sitting on the potty for very long.

Kate is growing, growing, growing.  She loves her bottles and has the rolls to prove it!  I am thrilled, although she is going to blast through her 3-6 months clothes way too quickly.  Kate is a happy baby and gives us lots of grins and coos.  She is starting to develop an interest in toys, and in her fists.  She tolerates tummy time for longer periods now and holds her head high.  Kate's peach-fuzz hair is starting to grow and lighten a little bit.  It will be interesting to see if she is a tow-head, too.

This update turned out to be sort of Christmas-letter-ish.  'Tis the season, right?