get up, stand up

allow me to introduce you to our little baby menace:

he's crawling up stairs, eating paper (bytheway, anna, if you're missing a few puzzle pieces from your christmas puzzle, um, i found them...), opening drawers and cupboards, emptying everything, getting in everything, chewing on everything, and pretty much just being the ever-exploratory nearly nine month old baby that he is.

epic sigh.

i keep thinking, "why don't you just play with your toys?" but you and i both know that no babies ever just played with their toys...

onward, ever onward

dear 2012,

remember that time we bought our first house and had our third baby and bryan started a new job all at the same time? well, let's never do that again. like, ever.

other excitements of the year include summer growing out her bangs, afton officially making the switch from bagels and cream cheese every day for lunch to macaroni and cheese every day for lunch, caleb cutting six massive teeth and biting everything he can get his little baby hands on, emily returning to her roots as a kind of bona fide blonde, and bryan continuing to do whatever it is that bryan does and being totally awesome at it.

you've been good to our family, two to the twelve, but it's time to move on. lucky thirteen is waiting for us to show it who's boss.

much love,

the wheelers

a very merry

stockings handcrafted by grandma jacquie.

highlights from this year's family christmas devotional:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dFBVfRnUoE

(ps - caleb slept through devotional and so did not get to share the dramatic reading he had prepared.  ah well, i told him to hang on to it for next year.)

merry christmas all!

“He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday.  He is the Son of God, the Creator of the earth, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. 'And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him:  That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--- That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.'  (D&C 76:22-24) This is our testimony to all mankind.  It is our gift and blessing to the world.  He is our joy and our salvation, and we will find Christmas of greater meaning in our own lives as we share these truths with others.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley, "What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?"

Escape to Hex Mountain

Feeling the heavy pressure of hitting my quarterly publishing quota on this blog, I conjured up an excuse to visit Hex Mountain via snowshoes on the darkest day of the year. Owen was kind enough to join me.

A view of Lake Cle Elum

At the summit of Hex Mountain

Turns out that shortest day of the year translates to longest night in the tent. After enduring roughly 15 hours of cold, dark togetherness in cramped quarters, we heartily welcomed the dawn and the chance to retrace our steps through the winter wonderland.

the candy man can

'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good.

baby loves

forget afton, danton now has an obvious affectionate preference for his baby cousin, caleb.

slush

earlier this week, the fam ventured east to leavenworth for a snow play day, bavarian christmas cheer, and some bratwursts.

this is what i love about living in the pacific northwest. it might be raining (and how!) where we live in duvall, but drive an hour and a half and you've got yourself a white christmas.

daddy loves to take all his kiddos sledding:

danton looks like he's especially fond of the snow:

caleb and dant enjoying some snow baby time:

(remember afton snow baby?)

the original snow baby:

and one more shot of caleb's first time on the slopes with his old man:

sugar coma

in the past ten days, the ladies and i have baked up four batches of cookies and made one double-batch of toffee.

most of the treats we've given away, but more than a few of them we ate.

which is probably why everything's starting to seem a bit hazy now...

let there be lights

hanging out with dantowna at zoolights last night:

12/12/12

it's (likely) the last repetitive date of all (my) time.

also, little big man is eight months old today.

caleb has recently informed me that the cute little baby rompers i've been putting him in are getting his legs all tangled up and seriously cramping his oppa-crawling-style. he'll have no more of it.

sigh.

and so it begins.

first they want to wear pants, and then the next thing you know, it's time to register them for kindergarten.

ps - happy 34th anniversary to my parents!

cookie bombs

so it's the most wonderful time of the year.

that very special time of year when 95% of my caloric intake comes from sugar and sugar-like substances and mostly cookies.

and for my third batch of cookies this past week, i whipped up these babies:

otherwise known as "cookies as big as your face."

otherwise known as "oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies." 

recipe here.

really, you might be able to save yourself some trouble and just put a chocolate chip cookie on top of an oreo and eat them together, but kids go nuts over the surprise inside (and also because they're as big as your face).

ever green

be good for goodness sake

so we're back to that and that and that again.

but this was good while it lasted.

merry christmas from the wheelers!

baby toys

an exposé:

several years ago, bryan and i (with the help of a well-meaning and cute-as-a-button five-year-old girl) noted how summer's favorite baby toys were quote/unquote "trash and junk." three kids and many bins of toys later, trash, junk, and i would add "various home and kitchen gadgets," remain the perennial favorites.

disney day five: saying goodbye

disney day four: more is more

disney day three: under the sea

disney day two: happy birthday to you