Just In Case...

...you need a good chuckle.

Yes, that is snot running down his face.

Under Construction

Ever since we've had kids I have wanted to decorate a homemade gingerbread house. Now that Taylor's 4, I finally got around to making it. Here's how it started out. I was quite proud it didn't totally collapse:Taylor was concentrating very hard on where he was placing the candy.Hooray for candy!The finished product. I'm pretty sure they ate more candy than actually went on the house. And that same night our awesome neighbors who we absolutely love brought a gingerbread house kit for the boys to put together. That one didn't hold up as well, making me feel even better about the one I made.Complete with a retractable sunroof. Any takers?And just so we don't forget about Melanie-

O Christmas Tree

We finally went and got our Christmas tree last week. Unfortunately we were dumb enough to go on what had been the coldest day of the month so far- it was in the twenties. So we found the perfect tree pretty quickly.

Here's Kent doin' all the cuttin'. Very manly.

Since I'm highly anal and want a Christmas tree that doesn't look like my children just threw ornaments at it with their eyes closed, last year we bought a fake tree to put upstairs in the loft. So we gave them ornaments to decorate it with that don't break. Some of the ornaments are from Kent's grandmother, Lois. I have to say, they're amazing. She sewed all of them herself.

And yes, I realize our tree is naked and lacking a tree skirt.

Did I mention that last week Melanie turned 1 month? I can't believe she's getting so big so quickly, but at the same time it's been a long month. I'm frantically trying to put her in as many cute little outfits that were given to me before she grows out of them.

"Please bless Mommy...

...that she won't make me do all the laundry tomorrow."

The other night right before bedtime I got frustrated with Taylor because he had run through all my neatly folded piles of laundry. So I made the empty proclamation that he'd be doing all the laundry the next day. And so when Kent told him it was his turn to say the prayer, that's what he prayed for.

And since I told him that Melanie couldn't bite anything because she didn't have teeth, last night he prayed that she could "grow some teeth."

I love his prayers.

Thanksgiving

Yeah, I haven't posted for a while. For almost a month, in fact. And Kent's stirring rendition of labor didn't count, considering he made it sound like I walked in, had a baby, and walked out without even breaking a sweat. Okay, I admit, it was the easiest. But it was still childbirth, nonetheless. And I could still wiggle my toes after getting my epidural- I personally thought the anesthesiologist was being slightly stingy with the meds.

Life has been pretty good- it's a lot more hectic with 3, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I was slightly horrified at the prospect of life without my mother-in-law here to clean and cook (did I mention I have a rockin' mother-in-law who is amazing?). I even tried to convince her to rent a house down the street. She didn't seem all that eager- probably because she knew we'd practically live at their house if they did. But it hasn't turned out as bad as I thought. We at least have clean underwear and something to eat during dinner. And the boys have been better than I thought they'd be. Taylor enjoys helping as much as a boy could be expected to help, and Erik has only tried to bite her once. Other than that he just grunts and tries to give Melanie her pacifier every now and then.

Kent's whole family came up to visit us for Thanksgiving. It was fun to have everyone here, and while everyone was together, we thought we'd get some family pictures done. A photographer in our ward took our pictures, and she did an awesome job. Thanks a ton, Blaire!The typical Saunders family photo: