Quit bugging me to update my blog!!! :)

I know that we have not updated our blog recently and this has caused concern for some of you. Luckily there aren't blog police to write you up when you go more than three days without posting. :) I actually have a lot of great ideas for posts- just random thoughts really that I would like to turn into a discussion. However, I can only work on the blog once all the kids are down for the night and by that time I am usually spent. As we speak I have two kids vying for my attention- one on my lap and one tugging on my shirt. I value my sleep over updating my blog and seeming witty to all my would-be fans. (actually I value my sleep over just about anything) When is it that babies are suppose to sleep through the night because my wee one missed that memo.....

Christmas was pretty low-key this year. We opted to stay home and skip the travelling to help minimize Jonah's exposure to possible sicknesses. I stayed up late Christmas Eve wrapping and got up early Christmas morning to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast. (yummy if I do say so myself) Miles was the first of the kids to wake up and that wasn't until after 7am. They were actually pretty patient and waited for Parker who didn't rise until 8am and of course by the time we got to presents Jonah was ready for his morning nap.

We tried to read the Christmas story from Luke but the kids were only half listening due to the anticipation of presents (maybe the reading of the story should be on Christmas Eve). The kids seemed happy with their presents and it was fun because everything is still a surprise for them. I didn't finish one of the projects that I wanted to make them, but they will get it eventually.

The rest of the day was spent preparing Christmas dinner (dad) and playing games with the kids (mom). Parker is really into games lately and so that is all he got this year. He likes all kinds of games but doesn't necessarily like to follow all of the rules. :)

Malik made an amazing Christmas dinner this year. I actually thought that he would have blogged about it by now but I found out that its all on his other food blog site. Check out the link to the Fyresyde Kitchen on the right side of our blog. My descriptions wouldn't do it justice but I have included pictures in the slide show for you to drool over. (med. rare prime rib, cheese potatoes, sausage cornbread stuffing, homemade rolls, etc.) People are constantly asking me "So who does the cooking at your house?" or "It must be nice being married to a chef". Well these are the days when it does pay off. Most days my family has to endure whatever I bring to the table but on special occasions Malik steps up to the plate and delivers. :)

OTHER NEWS UPDATES:

Jonah is almost seven months old and growing like a weed! I started him on rice cereal this week and he did awesome. I'm moving pretty slow so that his tummy has time to adjust to the changes. It seems like such a distance memory when he was on oxygen and we were tripping over the cords. (Just keep with it Patty... Little Laurie will be next!) Jonah is slowly catching up to other babies his age. He hasn't learned to roll over yet but I'm sure it will come soon. I am trying to take notice of the seemingly little things. He has started grabbing his toes and will sometimes bring them to his mouth (too cute). He loves to watch is brothers and sister dance and he loves when they pay attention to him.

Both Miles and Zipporah lost one of their two front teeth over the holiday break. I always smile when I see kids get their big boy/big girl teeth in the front- they don't quite seem to fit their face. Miles tooth had been loose for awhile and then one day he and Parker were rough housing and Miles hit into Parker's head with his mouth and it popped the tooth right out. (he couldn't even find it for the tooth fairy). After that he told Zipporah that if she wanted to get her tooth out she should hit into Parker. Somebody has got to protect that boy from his two older siblings! As it turned out Zipporah showed Grandma Marx her loose tooth and she yanked it out for her. I really think my mom missed her calling in life because she pulls teeth out like a real professional.

Over the holiday break Malik took Miles into the optometrist to have his eyes checked since he failed the test at school and we were pretty certain he needed glasses. Our suspicions were confirmed at the exam when the doctor said he has astigmatism (not really sure what that means exactly). I do know that he needs to wear glasses all the time and so we ordered a couple pair. They came in this Monday and ever since then I have been trying to convince Miles to wear them at school. He is a pretty stubborn boy sometimes (Hamilton trait I'm sure). Miles is worried about being "different" than the other kids or being picked on. All valid points but he still needs the glasses to see. It has helped a little that his good friend Chase already has glasses (too bad they live in Logan though)

Well thats all for now. I have more stories but its late and I love my sleep. Let me know if you like viewing pictures on the slide show or just pasted into the blog. Slide shows are nice when you have lots of pics that you want to post and it wasn't all that hard to do. On the down side you don't get to comment or explain the picture much.