Christmas Card Picture Rejects

This year I was pretty unsuccessful at capturing a good Christmas card picture of the kids to send out. But in the process I was able to capture the fun and loving relationship Cade and Myla have. So even though these are the reject pics, they are my favorites. So consider this your Christmas card. :)

They started out holding hands, but then started swinging around.
Of course Myla fell down, but Cade was right there to pick her up...
and then give her hugs to make it better.

Counting Down to Christmas

It's officially December!! Hooray! I found this really fun idea on how to countdown to Christmas. It's basically an advent calendar, with colorful homemade envelopes instead! Inside each envelope is a Christmas-y activity. Check out the full instructions at this awesome site. Today Cade took down the first envelope and we read it together. The activity was to reflect on our blessings and hang up the pretty ceiling ornaments that are a tradition in Kevin's mom's family.

The kids loved hanging them up. Daddy would lift them up to stick it to the ceiling then they would blow on them to watch them dance.

After we had them all hung up Kevin turned on the ceiling fan and we watched them all dance together. I love having these up. It makes the house feel so festive.

Christmas List

Thanks Domestic Chicky for this!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper. We bought a roll at Costco when we were first married and still have at least half of it left!

2. Real tree or artificial? Fake

3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving4. When do you take the tree down? Oh, whenever we get around to it. I'm never in any hurry.

5. Do you like eggnog? Like it? No. LOVE IT!!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? pink bike

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? I have a couple, but the one I always use is a white miniature ceramic one my Grandma made me when I went away to college. She said I needed a little one for my little apartment. Funny story about it (I know this isn't part of it, but I love remembering): my roommates and I put up Christmas decorations one year and as we were setting up the tiny nativity scene my one roommate, Jessica, kept crowding all of the animals around baby Jesus. And I kept moving them back. I asked her why she was doing that and she said that the animals had to breathe on baby Jesus to keep him warm. I said, "Ewww no, they are just getting germs on the new baby!" So the rest of the season we waged a little friendly war on where the animals belonged. I think about that everytime I put it up, and now nudge one of the donkeys a little closer to baby Jesus...just in case he is a little cold. But not too close, we don't want germs on the baby. :)

8. Hardest person to buy for? Kevin's parents (any tips would be great!)

9. Easiest person to buy for? The kids. I love shopping for them!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I've racked my brain and can't think of a bad Christmas gift I've received. You know, there are always clothes you don't like and stuff, but nothing horrible.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail! Kevin wants to email this year. No way!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I can only pick one?! Here's two: White Christmas and Elf

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November. Oh wait, that's not true! This summer I started. Will you look at that? I didn't procrastinate that bad.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'm sure I have, but I can't recall.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My parent's annual Christmas breakfast (with homemade biscuits and sausage gravy!) and divinity candy. Divinity is a must for Christmas. My grandma makes it the best, but I was finally successful in making it last year (after three years of failure). It just takes patience.

16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? This year colored!

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

18 Travel at Christmas or stay home? We stay home Christmas day, but head on up to UT Christmas night to see Kevin's family

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Sure! You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer...

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star (and sometimes a big bow too!)

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Okay, Kevin and I have had this discussion many times. He is very much against opening anything before Christmas morning. I have a hard time waiting (yes, even as a grown woman). Growing up we always got to pick one present on Christmas Eve night. So we are still in negotiations....

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People who get so stressed out about Christmas that they just complain and don't enjoy it. Simplify! It's the most wonderful time of the year!

23. Favorite Christmas tradition? Driving around looking at Christmas lights, then going home and watching White Christmas while eating peppermint ice cream and huge candy cane sticks that we lick to get really sharp and poke each other with them. My mom always got hers sharp first.

24. Up early or sleeping in? The kids aren't old enough yet to get so excited that they wake up early. So we wake up when we usually do.

25. Who hands out the gifts? Kevin. And I am taking the pictures too DC

26. Does Santa wrap your gifts? A couple of them.

27. Do you tell the Christmas story? Yes, before we open the presents we read the Christmas story out of the bible. We have a couple of kids Christmas story books that the kids like to look at. They love pointing out baby Jesus.

28. Do you leave cookies for Santa? Not yet. Cade just barely figured Santa Claus out, so I think we might do it this year! How exciting!

I'd love to hear about your Christmas traditions too. If you want to do this then TAG, you're it!

Tribute to My Toothpaste

I know this might be kind of weird, but in the season of gratitude I have to pay tribute to my favorite toothpaste--Crest Whitening Expressions Cinnamon Rush. I love this toothpaste! Not only does it leave a fresh tingling feeling after brushing, it tastes SO GOOD! I could seriously eat this stuff. I don't, in case any of you were wondering. :) So, if you are feeling disappointed in your current toothpaste, try this one! You won't be disappointed.

(I added that last part just to be extra-cheesy. Are you feeling it?!)

Welcome Baby Rachel!

We have a beautiful new addition to the Webb side of the family. My sister Nicki had her baby the day before Thanksgiving. She weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz and is absolutely gorgeous and so sweet! Her name is Rachel LaRee Haws (a name my sister had picked out since she was a teenager) and she looks every bit a Rachel.

Doesn't Nicki look awesome for just having a baby an hour earlier?! I love this mother/daughter shot.This is such a sweet picture because the nurse was giving Rachel a bath and she didn't like that at all. But when the nurse put her hair under the water to wash it she got so calm. She loved getting her hair washed! You can see the contentment on her face.

Our budding Chef...

Cade is such a neat eater. He rarely ever spills, takes appropriate sized bites, and hasn't needed a bib for who knows how long. We're so proud.

Unfortunately, like in many other things, Myla has proven to be the polar opposite of Cade. But only lately have we begun to see that Myla isn't so much messy as experimental, strategic, and methodical. She doesn't just eat her food, she studies it. She tries unique combinations of food that most of us wouldn't consider. Then after a sampling or two, she'll adjust quantities and try again. It's absolutely fascinating to see her mind at work. You just know that someday there will be a host of signature recipe's authored by Chef Myla.

Tonight she took plain old stew (which is anything but plain and old when Christie makes it), and tried to make a stew sandwhich the way her mom does sometimes - place a spoonfull of stew on a buttered roll and enjoy. (Personally, I don't really get it, it's just like dipping the roll in the stew, but potentially messier, but I am not a food connoisseur like the ladies of the house.) But in the end, the stew sandwich didn't quite do it for her. No, no, when your taste is a as precise as Myla's, there is no such thing as perfection, certainly not on the first try anyway. Next came fruit punch stew (or Kool-stew as I call it), followed by stewed brownies, and then stewy fruity browny.

As I said, watching the young budding chef is absolutely fascinating. A food combination that would normally turn you and I off is of no consequence to the acute sensory perception of Myla's palette. I think she knows that somewhere in the mix is a potential flavor that would rock the world.

Watch out Emeril & Rachel Ray, Myla Jade is coming at you!

Oh Baby!

Well, ya'll know what this means...we're having a baby! I went to the doctor yesterday and had my first ultrasound that told us the baby's heart is beating. I am 11 weeks pregnant and am due June 4th! We are very excited...especially Cade. Already he is touching my stomach and saying, "Baby is little. Baby is cute. Baby in Mommy's tummy." Whenever we ask him if he wants a girl baby or a boy baby he always says "girl baby." We won't be finding out the sex for this one (we think it'll be more exciting that way!) so we'll see in about 6 months if he's right or not.

I am sorry for not blogging very often lately. The first trimester is a killer! When the kids sleep, I sleep and when they go to bed, I go to bed. Those used to be the times I blogged and checked email and all that stuff that I usually love to do but haven't had the energy for lately. But the first trimester is coming to an end soon so hopefully I'll get better. The doctor did detect a little tear in the placenta, so he said I had to take it very easy and the tear would probably heal itself. My question: how do you take it "very easy" with two toddlers? Ah well, we'll figure it out.

Fruit Loop Necklaces

All the grandkids love Grandma Webb. She plays with them, runs around with them and does special crafts with them. This last 2nd Sunday dinner she took them into the other room and made fruit loop necklaces, which they LOVED! Here are some pics:

All the grandkids stringing their necklaces.
Jared
Cade
Emma
Breck

Myla's Photos

Here are Myla's one year (give or take) pictures.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Now that Halloween is over the holiday season officially begins (at least in my warped mind!). If I had my way we'd decorate for Christmas the second Halloween is over. I love this time of year...the music, the decorations, the feeling of Christmas, the service that people give others, celebrating Christ's birth. I do realize that we still have Thanksgiving, but to me it's all part of the holiday season. I want to enjoy it as long as possible!

Here are some pics of the kids last year at Christmas. It's amazing how fast time goes and how much they change. I love this one of Myla eating Cade's tie.

Halloween Fun with Grandma!

Kevin's mom came to visit us this week and it was so much fun to do Halloween stuff with Grandma!

For family home evening we painted and carved pumpkins.
Both Myla and Cade loved doing that and keep asking to do it again!
Then we went to Mother Nature's farm and had a great time there!
We decorated pumpkins and went on a hay ride and played in the hay maze. It was so fun!
Thanks for coming to visit Grandma!

7 Random Facts...

Thanks Taryn for the tag. This is hard for me, to think of 7 random things about me.

1. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to find my arm straight up in the air, like I'm doing a "Heil Hitler" salute. My brother apparently does the same thing. Must be genetic.

2. My very first kiss was with Kevin, my husband. He wasn't my husband at the time, we were dating. Believe me, I was never that girl who would only kiss my husband...it just turned out to be that way. I never wanted to kiss anyone else.

Just a little interjection here, Kevin is helping me do this because I can't think of anything randomly interesting.

3. I almost didn't submit my papers to go on a mission because I finally got the job offer from Disneyworld that I was hoping for...3 months late! I decided to go on a mission and ended up going to Florida anyway! How's that for "coincidence?"

4. Kevin told me to write that I don't like cockroaches. Does anybody? That doesn't seem too random. He says that I freak out more than the average person when I see a cockroach. He's right I think. One time I had a 10 minute standoff with a tiny cockroach who decided to plant himself right in front of my door as I was trying to go into the house one night late after apron club. I kept stomping my feet and waving my sewing box at it, but he wouldn't leave! Stupid thing. I finally overcame my fear and jumped over it, at the same imagining that it was going to fly up my skirt and attach itself to my underwear. Those suckers are evil I tell you!

5. I love kid's clothes. I'll spend hours online after the kids go to bed browsing Old Navy, Children's Place, Gymboree and cute boutiques finding cute clothes. These kids have more clothes than Kevin and I do put together, but for some reason I have a hard time resisting. I already have their Christmas clothes purchased and tucked nicely in the closet waiting for Thanksgiving to be over!

6. My name is Christie Rae. I was named after my great grandma (Christie) and great grandpa (Ray). Whenever someone calls me by my full name I feel like I should be in the South eating grits and fried chicken.

7. I love to take HOT showers. When I say hot, I mean hot. In fact there have been a couple of times in my life where I have fainted right after getting out of the shower because it was a tad too hot. That's when I know I need to turn it down, but just a little. I feel it has to be hot to kill the germies. Kevin says that is the soap's job. Whatever. I like having my skin be a nice flush pinkish red when I get out. A hot shower is the perfect antidote to any of life's problems. :)

Okay, there are my 7 random facts. Now I am supposed to tag 7 other people. And those people are to tag 7 people when they write their random facts. So here goes. I tag: Heather, Maren, Aubrey, Dawn, Kerry, Alisa, Nicki. Whew! It was hard to find 7 people who didn't already do this tag, in some form!

Boo!

Today was a fun-filled Halloween celebration. To start it off we went to Boo at the Zoo with our good friends Kim, Mohammed and Amineh. We had such a good time! We saw all kinds of animals and the zoo-keepers fed a lot of them pumpkins. There were booths and face painting and kids dressed in costumes. We had a great time. The kids were tuckered out by the time we left. It was a perfect morning.

Cade checking out the elephants - his favorite exhibit.
Kim, Mohammed and Amineh

Such a cute family!

In the afternoon we went to the ward Halloween block party and had so much fun. The Webbs came too and Cade and Myla loved hanging out with their cousins and Aunt Jamie and Uncle James.

Spiderman Cade and Pirate Breck

Pretty Pumpkin Emma

Sweet Pirate Bradley

Cheerleader Myla

Master Jedi Kevin with Myla

The Block Party Parade!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit!

Grandma and Grandpa McMillan came to visit last weekend from Utah and we had a wonderful time! So cute.
Kevin made cookies FROM SCATCH! I was so impressed! Grandpa loved chocolate chip cookies so Kevin wanted to make him some. And they were yummy!
Just ask Grandma!
The kids love being tossed, jiggled, bounced...and Grandpa and Daddy made them pretty happy doing it. This is the leg bounce ride.
Thank you for visiting! We had a wonderful time! (And thanks for the birthday dinner and shopping!)

The Big 3-0!

Sorry we've been AWOL for the past week or so. Life has been crazy busy and by the time the kids are down and the house is put back together I'd rather sleep than blog. I know, how could I!?

Last week I turned 30. I had a great birthday! It started out with my awesome, wonderful, fantastic friends suprising me at Charleston's for lunch! I had no idea it was happening. Maren walked into the church after a primary activity and told me she was kidnapping me (She also had a large basket filled with the black and white polka dot and lime green plates I wanted from Ikea!). She led me to Charleston's restaurant where there were my great friends from apron club and bunko waiting. I had such a great time. Thanks so much to all of you! I am so blessed with wonderful friends.

I had a great birthday at home with my family. We just relaxed all day (everyone was sick!) and ate Islands for dinner (my favorite burger ever!). It was a good day and I just love being with my family. Kevin was going to take me to dinner and then sewing machine and fabric shopping, but we were all sick so it was postponed.



Last night my sisters Nicki and Jamie took me out to Matta's for dinner. We had a great time visiting and eating and admitting to strange sleeping habits. :) Thank you so much! I love my sisters.

Me, Nicki, Jamie, Stephanie

Thank you to all of you who called, emailed, or sent fun packages (like Yoga mats!). You all made my birthday so special!