FYIs

Fyi, I have not dropped off of the planet, and we had a LOVELY Christmas, too, but I am boycotting blogging about it until I can get my pics on. Somehow the usb connection on my camera conked out and is not working for me at all. :( I'll have to do a slick SD card transfer some other way. Boo! I don't know what happened exactly, but I probably don't have to let my imagination wander farther than two adorable but destructive little girls.

In the meantime, Alisa is walking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alright, girlfriend! This came without any coaching from mommy, so it was quite a surprise. I actually scared her when i noticed because I got all excited. (In case you haven't spent much time with her, she does NOT like surprise-excited.)

Conks and Bonks

At my mom's house on Sunday, Amie tripped down the stairs (we think) and landed right where the slate tile meets the carpet, effectively earning her the biggest goose egg I have ever seen in my life, no kidding. She was pretty rattled for a long time. It took lots of mommy snuggles, an ice pack, her blankie, a movie and a cupcake to get her back to normal. These pics don't do it half the justice that nasty knot deserves!




These are just a little romping around time with daddy. They are SO blurry but that's just a testament to how much fun they were having-couldn't make them be still!



Aw.

Santa!

Our ward Christmas Breakfast was this past weekend. I brought muffins and directed the choir in two fun numbers. It was a good time, and the first time we got our girls to actually sit on Santa's lap. I love the pic. :)

Amie was mesmerized by the singing kids.


Cutie smile and stripey tights!

I'll eat the camera!! Nom nom!

Waiting patiently.

Haha! So cute!

U v. Y!!

This year for the annual Holy War, we decided to watch from a pizza place, Big Daddy's, then went to Jeff's parents at halftime for the remainder. OF COURSE the best team came out victorious (Go Utes!) but I think my friend Heather said it best, "Congrats to Utah-you win the 'least suckiest of two suckiest teams award.'" Neither team played their best, but I have to say that last field goal block was pretty darn impressive. A Utah Man am I!

Are you sick too?

I have been so sick, this is about all we've been doing at my house, whenever possible:


I finally got myself to an Instacare today (day 11) and got some meds. I thought the inability to even look down or not cry for the pain in my head was a good reason. We soldiered through all the other activities of a busy week, except for the annual Messiah. It made me very sad, but glad that I didn't have a solo to miss (Jeff did. :/) At least I sang at the Taylorsville City Sing-In. I sang "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion." If you're not familiar with Handel's Messiah, its the most hardcore soprano solo. I was terrified to sing it, but it turned out ok. (Luckily that was the day before I got sick.)
Here's to lazy days and getting better!

Sledding!

Two weeks ago, we busted out our FHE (Family Home Evening) a few hours early and turned it into FOD (Family Outside Day.) I insisted on getting Amie a little saucer sled last Christmas, but it had yet to be used by her. We got one for Alisa for Christmas this year, but when we got all that snow I couldn't resist it! We took both sleds out to a nearby park, bundled furiously, and gave the girls their first sledding experience. Alisa was so monotone the whole time-it was naptime, and she just sat there going along with whatever we did. No smiles, but no tears. Amelie was loving it! She thought it was great fun, and eventually went by herself. Then, once daddy sat her differently on the saucer and she flipped off. She wasn't hurt but got a load of snow up her shirt-she was ruined! She would have no more of it! It was fun while it lasted, but you can only be happy for so long trucking those kids up the hill over and over.

It was SOO bright, we couldn't see anything in the camera viewscreen, so this is what we ended up with:


I think Lisie looks so much like her cousin Kail in this one!!

Potty-Training Chronicles, Finale

I think we are good, people! Amelie is going on her own, telling us when she needs help and even going all night without any accidents. (Which is a great thing, since we tried the big girl bed thing, and... no cigar. Crib side is back up!) I have to say, I think we had an easy go of it, comparatively. But, the saying is so true-when they're ready, they're ready, and when they're not-they're SO not. Those times we attempted before felt hopeless. This time, she just got it! Yeehaw! I am SO ready for that diaper bill decrease!

Funny things the Norths say... First installment

It occurs to me that this North household has been hopping in the comedic one-liners lately. I've been wanting to post this forever, but have been trying to compile a good list. Here are a few for your blog-time enjoyment.

Jeff:
-Rolling over in his sleep, hugging his pillow, sighing and shaking his head "Oh, Arnesky..." (Neither of us know any Arnesky's.)
-Sits straight up in the middle of the night. I ask "what are you doing?" I was met with my favorite response ever: "I'm getting ready to go to tiny church." That's right folks, tiny church!!!!!! HAHAHAHA!
-Sleepy again "sorry, I think my car's poisoning me."

Nikki:
- To a member of my ward choir during practice (I'm the director) "Go back a little farther, like 'up your.' " Not kidding. I couldn't stop laughing for a very very long time. Kinda impedes your practice.

Amelie:
-Asks where mommy is, dad says 'at work.' "We have to go save her!" (Yes, please!)
-I walk in to get her out of the crib in the morning, her hand is in her mouth. "mommy, I'm eating my hand." "What?" "I'm eating my hand!" "Why are you doing that?" "It's so good!"
-Daddy's calling her to come get dressed, she puts her face down into the floor "but I can't find you, daddy!"

Alisa:
-"UUUUUUNNNNGG!" That girl grunts and groans like a full grown man! I think all her noises are very funny.
-We SWEAR she imitates what we say. So far we've heard versions of Amie, something and more...

Tardy Memories

It occurs to me today that I never posted about my and Jeff's 3rd Anniversary. It was a hectic time for us, so it got lost in the shuffle.

We decided that we could only go on trips and do gifts every other year, otherwise we spend too much moolah. Since 2nd year was a cruise, we decided this would be a low-key anniversary year. We wanted to go to one of our favorites, Franck's, but it isn't open on Mondays, apparently. We didn't find this out until late in the planning game, so we ended up just going to Tucahno's, a Brasilian place. (We spent time together the whole day, but had the girls with us 'til then.) The plan was to go from there to a drive-in (I've never been) but we only liked one movie out of each of the combos, plus... while we were at dinner, I got the message that my grandfather passed away. I'd been at the hospital for 12 hours the day before, and when they took him off life support, but finally had to take my girls home around 3 or 4am. Needless to say, I wasn't terribly in the mood for a drive-in after that. So, we just grabbed the girls and a redbox and went home. We put the girls down and just watched a movie at home, and it was nice. The rest of that week was spent with family, having a viewing, funeral (I sang-well, sang half and cried half of Jesus, Lover of my Soul,) and the burial in Idaho. We also had a night at our condo with my family in between. Overall it was a very sweet experience. He was ready to go (been in the hospital since before our trip to Oregon) and was surrounded by family. I'm glad I got to be a part of it, and especially to be his granddaughter-he was a fiery, funny and yet easy-going soul. I miss him!

So, our anniversary was SO lost in the shuffle of things that Jeff and I can't even remember what we gave each other/got for presents. Amazing. Don't let this weaken your faith in my love and amazement for the awesome husband I have! This year was definitely that year where we started saying "It's only been 3 years now?" It feels like we not only have been together forever, but like we belong together forever. I'm so grateful for the man he is, and especially the husband and father he is to me and our girls. He serves us selflessly and always wants our happiness first. Happy late Anniversary, Jeffrey!!!

Artiste in training

I know everyone has this post-heck I even already have this post. i just thought it was too good to pass up. Amie has always enjoyed coloring and makeup, but is especially jazzed about it lately. The newest horrors:
An entire tube of lipstick on her face and hand.

Look at the guilt in those eyes.

And the masterpiece that is mommy's bedroom wall mural.

Potty-Traning Chronicles, Vol. 3

So, potty training pretty much went to pot the past 2 days... We were out of the house a LOT and the girls were babysat a bit, too, so we didn't really get the chance to work on it. But-I've got a nice stretch of being home ahead of me, so back to business on Monday!

Potty-Training Chronicles, Vol. 2

I have to say, the past two days haven't been quite as successful on the potty training front. Amelie is still telling us when she has to pee, and still in love with wearing her princess panties, but has had an accident each today and yesterday. :(

I think, though, that the problem is full clothing. The first day she was running around bottom-less all day, and with panties and pants/skirt, she doesn't know quickly enough. Instead of running to the potty, she runs to me, and by the time I get her de-clothed, she's soaked.

Oh well-soldier on!

Potty-Training Chronicles, Vol. 1

Soooooooooooo... I believe I mentioned awhile back that we were attempting to potty train Amelie. This didn't really happen, we tried a few times on and off, and only failure. After many months, I thought maybe we (Jeff and I) just weren't making the effort like we should. After more than one time crying for her diaper, though, we gave it another long rest. This morning after I'd already dressed her and everything, almost on a whim, I took her (dry) diaper off to give it a shot. She wasn't telling me anything about potty-ing, and when nothing happened by after lunchtime, I started to wonder if she was tinkling in a corner or something that I didn't know about. We put on a movie after lunch and settled in, then I was jostled from my Beauty-and-the-Beast-induced trance by Jeff, who pointed out that Amie walked over to her froggy potty by herself, sat down and peed by herself without a word. She did this 3 more times through the day! As far as I know, she never missed, never had an accident, and never even asked-just did it on her own! She didn't even wet her diaper we put on for nap time. We did have a little incident with going number 2, but I noticed right away and rushed her to the potty. No cleaning up necessary, she just didn't do it herself or say anything to me. At bedtime, she was sad to trade her Belle panties for a diaper.

Not bad at all for her first day of potty-training! (this time) I'll take it! Let's hope it wasn't a fluke-stay tuned for Volume 2!

My first black eye

I've gotten numerous (but not tons) of inquiries about my little black eye. It looked really nasty, but you can't usually see it if my eyes are open, as the color lines up perfectly with my lashes.
I try to downplay it because I don't even have a cool story... just a black eye. I was getting up in the middle of the night (as usual) to feed Alisa, and was rushing (as usual) cause I didn't want her to wake up Amie. There were no lights on (as usual) and yet, for some reason this time I misjudged and ran (and I mean ran) right into my door frame. I hit it so hard I saw stars and cried. I stopped and sat down right where I was and by the time I got it together, Alisa was back asleep. (She does not usually just fall back asleep...) I had a huge goose egg that went about a half inch below the eye brow to almost an inch above it. It turned a light green then the very bottom went all blood-brown on me. That's all I have left there in the picture, it's almost gone. My glasses even suffered chipping in the glass and paint streaks on the frame. What can I say, I have a big head!

I always thought if I ever had a black eye, it'd sound much cooler. With how much it hurt, though, I hope to never have another black eye as long as I live!

Here are the pictures from actual Halloween weekend (it went for 3 weeks at our house...) Jeff and I were pirates, Amelie was sleeping beauty, and Alisa was a ballerina one night and a giraffe the other... just like Amie last year. ;)
On Saturday, I was worried about getting rained out, so I hauled the girls downtown by myself (Jeff was a few hours off a grave shift) to make sure they'd get some kinda candy. We took the train and went to Gallivan Plaza, where they had trick or treat booths, performances and cookies, masks and bags to decorate. It was fun, though they were a bit of a handful. (Literally the entire time people were-miss, you dropped this, miss, your baby..., ma'am, can I help you? Except never when I wanted help. I must have been a sight juggling my two girls, since I forgot my wedding ring that day and had a black eye!! Good times.


She didn't quite understand the mask thing...

She was so excited to take the pic, then when I out her down up there she was NOT happy!

Wanting to eat candy too... or just the wrappers.

Notice the empty space... Alisa ate hers plain right then and there. OK, with a little help from mom, but really only a LITTLE.


That night, we stopped by Jordan Landing for a short bout of ToT-ing before it started raining, then continued on to my mom's house. We had an excellent dinner, then trick or treated in her neighborhood. It's a good place, cause there are tons o kids.
Amie showing off her little costume namesake, with a ballerina in the background!
Party poopers.

Sucking on the corn cob!
She's in love with pumpkins for some reason.


My brothers went as Dr. Strobe Light (incomplete costume on the left) and Captain Epilepsy (on the right.) Don't be offended, he has a form of epilepsy. We all thought it was hilarious, and not to mention an amazing costume!

Finally, on Sunday, we had the annual Poynor Halloween Party. None of the pics I got were great, but I haven't gotten around to stealing from family blogs and facebook yet, so here ya go.





Those kids did NOT want to cooperate!

The Circus!

For some reason, in all my bloggings, I keep skipping the Circus. So, this happened over a month ago, though I’m just posting it now.

Barnum and Bailey always holds a parade while in town, and Jeff always works it so we can get free tickets to the show. So, we went to the parade at the Gateway where we got to see the elephants, various performers, plus we got clown noses and stickers! AND we got to sit by daddy in the middle of his workday.

The circus itself was more fun this year since Amelie was older and could watch a little better. It was fun to watch her. Poor Alisa was tired throughout, but eventually fell asleep. Chris came with us and bought kettle corn-yum!





PS-I've posted a lot lately, so if you haven't visited for awhile, keep scrolling...