Little Tree

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid

look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms
and i'll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy

then when you're quite dressed
you'll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they'll stare!
oh but you'll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we'll dance and sing
"Noel Noel"

~e e cummings

Thanksgiving Weekend

Sadly, I was only able to take one picture of our Thanksgiving Day before the batteries died on our camera (and it's not even a very attractive photo!) But we had a wonderful weekend with both of our families. I think mashed potatoes are definitely my favorite Thanksgiving food.

My niece Christina, Jared, and Alan on Thanksgiving

We also put up our Christmas decorations Thanksgiving weekend. It makes me so happy to walk around our house!

On top of my piano

A sampling of my nativities on my mantel. I love having a fireplace!

Anniversary!

image from ldschurchtemples.com

We were able to celebrate our 5th anniversary this weekend with a little getaway to St. George! We did a session in the St. George temple, went out to dinner to Olive Garden (sadly, I was extremely nauseated during dinner so we had to cut it short), and stayed in a hotel with a heated indoor swimming pool (we had the pool all to ourselves!) The next day we attended the marriage and sealing of Alan's cousin Jordan in the St. George temple, so that was a fun way to remember our wedding day as well.

I love this candid shot from our wedding day. Notice the snow!

The best part of the weekend was that we were able to enjoy some time to ourselves without dragging Jared along! My parents were so sweet to watch Jared for us, despite their busy schedules and my dad feeling yucky from chemotherapy. Thanks, Mom and Dad! It was also nice to be gone long enough to have an opportunity to "miss" being with Jared. :) I was really excited to see him when we got home.

ABC's

Alan and I have been joking for a while now that we have a tone-deaf child. I have seen some videos of my blogging friends' children carry tunes when they are 2 years or even 18 months old, so we have laughed at the Buddy's monotone voice. He has been able to "sing" the ABC song for a few months now, but yesterday as I caught it on film we heard Jared's first attempt to actually sing the right melody. Maybe there is hope after all! I think this video is super cute, although I couldn't let him see that I was filming.

Also, here are some more pictures of the Buddy for your enjoyment. I love how I can NEVER get a good picture of Jared's cute smile.

Jared wearing his shhirt and tie that Aunt Amanda gave him

Jared and Daddy playing in a large box

Jared helping Mommy vacuum. Please ignore my large bum.

Jared making a fort/tent/cave in Mommy and Daddy's "lean-in" closet (too small to really be a walk-in closet)

Halloween (Better Late than Never)

We had an eventful Halloween weekend. First we took Jared trick-or-treating at Alan's work, something that only lasted about 15 minutes because of the meltdown Jared had. He wanted to eat all of his candy at the same time. :)

Next we had my family's annual Pumpkin Party, where we carved pumpkins, sang Halloween songs (my family has quite the repertoire), and ate treats and drank cider.

Jared is decorating his pumpkin with stickers

Jared the bat

Jared and all his cousins (minus 2 babies) in their costumes (Note that Jared was the only one not willing to pose for the picture)

All of the pumpkins that my family carved. Jared's finished product is on the chair in the bottom right corner.

We also got together with my former roommates for a Halloween brunch. We ate yummy fondue, cheese balls, sticky rolls, donuts, fruit, and wassail. YUM! We also watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," which is actually kind of depressing. Here is a picture of Jared with my roommate's son, Lincoln.


Alan took Jared trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Jared loved it! Alan even dressed up as Severus Snape.
It is so fun to have a kid that "gets" Halloween. :) Now I'm excited to get Jared all excited about Santa Claus and Christmas!

Funny

A conversation from yesterday:

Me: "What's Mommy's name, Jared?"
Jared: "Mommy!"
Me: "What's Daddy's name?"
Jared: "Uncle Alan!"