Catching up with 2016 (Christmas, January, & February)

Christmas baby

We had a good week with the Burnsides visiting for the holiday. We went to the "Space Camp" as a family which was pretty fun. We also had a cookie competition, saw some things on temple square, watched some movies, and ate some great food. Addie enjoyed being passed around, smiling and laughing all the while. Hinckley had a blast 

(as you can imagine) and basked in all the attention he got as he opened tons of presents and learned about Christmas by experience. He continues to elicit hilarity out of every situation, and has the ability to command fury and charm in the same breath. Kas and I saw Star Wars and enjoyed that quite a bit. 

At the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in SLC (Addie is in the bundle)

Preparing for the big unwrapping

Mega blocks = great Christmas present

Christmas dress 

My (Greg's) Mom and Dad came over for some New Years partying and Hinckley really loved popping some noise-makers Kas bought. What was funny is he loved the little shavings from the poppers more than any of his other toys he got for Christams, he lovingly calls them "his string". We went to the new(ish) Aquarium in Draper on New Years Day and saw some really amazing sea creatures including sharks, stingrays, turtles, penguins, otters, and eels. As we left we asked Hinckley what his favorite thing was and he said . . . "the Christmas trees". Wahoo! :) Addie cut her first teeth on New Year's Eve and has been incredibly cheerful during the painful process. We had some traditional root beer floats and Lucy's special nacho chip dip (without Lucy though). 

Hinckley joined Kas for some Downton Abbey screenings

New Years visit at the aquarium 

The big news in January was that Hinckley has gone on a successful journey on the Potty Train! Woot! Kassie had been preparing for quite some time for the fateful day. Using the "potty train your child in one day" method she was prepared with stickers, treats, fake potty and poop for the Charlie Brown doll, and a whole lot of patience. I asked how things were going when it was about lunch time on Monday (day 1) and Kas responded "Charlie Brown has been trained successfully, after nap we'll see how Hinckley does". Apparently helping to teach someone else who to use the potty is a good technique because Hinckley did a great job. He was a bit distressed when Charlie had an "accident" (Kas poured dyed water on Charlie when H wasn't looking during a potty movie marathon) but after tears were shed things worked out. He has been doing pretty well the rest of the week and stayed dry at church today so we are hopeful. 

"He's a Big Boy!" - Hinckley is potty trained! 

The grinnin' girl

Greg's new look?

his week I hit my thesis with a fury and made lots of progress. I've had a few great experiences in reviewing the transcripts, one might even call them spiritual experiences as I've reflected on the designers I interviewed and how much they care about those they design for and the every day challenges they face in their work. I've submitted a draft to my advisor and will find out soon if it is ready for Dad and my other committee member to check out. 

Addie sprouted a second tooth near the end of January and had her first taste of "real" food - which she actually wasn't very fond of at all! She kept spitting it up and made some pretty cute disgusted faces. She babbles quite a lot and has us all wrapped around her pudgy little fingers. 

Sprouting two teeth and chewing on whatever

Hinckley continues to expand his vocabulary and throws himself into each task with 110% of his attention and energy. Recently we've invented a few games to play after dinner. One game is a form of Star Wars duels where he comes up to me and says "Daddy, want to fight?" and then has me choose one of his blankies to use as a weapon. He also enjoys when we run around in circles together, build towers with mega blocks, and do a variety of other activities. He is loving his new seat position in the car now that we've turned his carseat around. He is always asking about what or who things/people are ("What is THAT guy!" - while pointing at a random woman just a few yards away) and has started "singing" (just saying the words fast) songs he's learned from nursery or his all time favorite TV show Daniel Tiger. Whenever he sees me at home he asks, "Daddy, you want to plaaaaayyy?" and it is very hard to say no! He is also starting to use his imagination quite a lot, putting his blankets on his trucks and reading them stories and exploring new planets.

Hinckley gets creative with his Halloween dino tail, creates real dinotruck.

Mommy and her babies

I had a fun ski trip with Steph and Shane at Sundance and thought about all the good times we've had there over the years. Crazy when we did the math that it has been about 10 years since we last went skiing together. Kas and I went out for some Thai food to celebrate my 27 years and Hinckley and Addie had a blast with Mom and Dad. We all indulged on some classic eclair cake and it was delightful. 

Kas is just finishing up a book called "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up" and our lives are changing as we have done some de-junking (as my mission president would call it) of our belongings. It really does feel good to let go of the things I've been clinging on to that don't really serve any purpose anymore. The author is a bit extreme but there are many principals in the book that make lots of sense to us! 

Hinckley learned a little more about prayer this month. One evening he had been playing with an old CTR ring that Kassie was discarding, calling  it his “ring!” He lost it and was a total mess. It was time for family prayer and Kas asked if he wanted to ask Heavenly Father to help him find the ring. In a very pitiful tone, and with lots tears, he said “H’ve Fadda, please help me find my ring! Please find my ring!” It was very cute. Sure enough, Kassie found it while he and I were reading bed time books. When Kas brought it in he said "H've Fadda found it!!" 

Addie is still unsure about solid food, and makes some pretty funny faces when we try. She is just content sitting or laying around and grinning most of the time. We aren't grateful enough for how wonderful of a baby she has been, and our neighbors just had a baby and as we listen to the faint cries through the walls we are even more grateful for how easy Addie has been. 

Hinckley wakes up so early that he often joins in with exercise. 

H knocked out on G-pa's lap, providing Addie with a fun toy (his hair)

Two cuties having too much fun

We've discovered that the already illogical actions of a 2 year old become even more crazy when said kid is sick! Hinckley has thrown some royal fits, but in his sickened state he can be quite sweet as well. I took him with me to run some errands and he said, "I love you Daddy" out of the blue. I asked him "Why?" (to give him a taste of his own medicine . . . he has started that stage), and he said "because I kiss you!" which continued to warm my heart :) 

Kassie had her birthday on Tuesday and we had some yummy soup and cake to celebrate. Sure grateful for such a special woman in my life! 

Provo City Center Temple Open House

Its a Pass! . . . with minor revisions

Amidst bouts of sickness and long nights I successfully defended my thesis! Addie is teething and is still quite smiley, though she isn't sleeping much. Hinckley continues to love reading and asking lots of questions. Lately he has been saying funny phrases such as "How am I supposed to do . . . (xyz)?", "Why?", and at church today he was loudly saying "we don't read books during prayers!". We had long discussion about chemicals (I have no clue what he was saying) and he insists on hearing a "Daddy story" each night, no matter how boring they are (I realized I can't ever think of interesting stories from my own life to share!). He loves making Addie smile and is obsessed with his truck underwear. We all enjoyed the Provo City Center Temple open house on Monday, and I came back later in the day as a volunteer. Pretty neat to live in an area getting a new temple!