Sometimes Douglas needs a little distraction in order to finish ALL of his food. Last night Sam was out visiting the Relief Society sisters, so Doogles and I watched a portion of the GOP debate.
Douglas: "Dad, I don't understand what they are saying."
Daniel: "Don't worry, son. Neither do I. Want another pretzel?"
I should have filmed him after his afternoon nap. Wow. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. :)
This Christmas season Margaret gave all of her children (and spouses) a challenge. Rather than focus on gift-giving and gift-getting, we should do some kind of service for someone. Sam decided that she and I would do a 12 Days of Christmas project for a family (mother and six young children - 5 girls and one boy - parents are divorced) in our apartment complex. We began on 1 December with this:
For the next twelve days
(as Christmas draws near)—
We will be dropping by
with some holiday cheer!
So…keep your eyes open,
Your ears perked up, too.
We’ve thought long and hard
about what to bring to you!
Along with our gifts
that will come each night,
Is a wish for a Merry Christmas
and a New Year that’s bright!
Hot chocolate, marshmallows, and Christmas cups.
Story: A Ring For Mom
Story: The Christmas Orange
Story: The Christmas Handkerchief
Story: The Babe of Bethlehem
Story: Place of Honor
Story: I Hope Someone Will Love Her
With a page of Christmas jokes and riddles.
Story: An Imperfect Christmas
Story: A Christmas Eve Transformation
Story: Not a story. 5th-grade students comparing God to items they see in TV commercials. For example, "God is like Bayer Aspirin...he works miracles."
Story: We Two Kings
I was tasked with delivering the package each day.
Douglas loves his mama.......or as he calls her, "Nana".
The growing posterity of Doug and Margaret
Amazing ladies of the Coombs family!
Yesterday we received a package from Amazon.com. Apart from the one item we purchased, the box was full of those familiar little pieces of foam. Douglas (as well as a couple of neighbor children) had a blast with them.
We simply watched as he flailed his arms about and buried himself in the foamies, every now and then reaching out a hand for some help to sit up.
On Saturday, Sam and I visited the German-style Christmas market in Salt Lake City.
We ate bratwurst, wiener schnitzel, some kind of lemony au gratin potatoes, bland noodles with gravy on them, mini pancakes with powdered sugar and jam, and watered-down "European" hot chocolate (probably Swiss Miss).
Later on that day we met up with Sara, Jarem, and the boys (and Miss Denali!) to enjoy the lights at Temple Square, but first we stopped at the Lion House Restaurant.
Goofing off with Doogles
Jarem: "Five kids and cold weather........yipee!"
Ari: "O come all ye faithful...."
Sara: "I have huge muscles."
Jude: "It's cold. I hate my life right now."
Gideon: "I'm just going to close my eyes and pretend I'm not here."
Denali: "Zzzzzzzz"
Good times!
This has nothing to do with our Christmas activities. Just making another video for Douglas.
A short while ago Douglas began laughing in a very interesting way at random times throughout the day.
Sam attended a church meeting on Wednesday night. I put Douglas to bed around 8:30pm. Two hours later I was awakened by strong crying coming from his room. I went to investigate, thinking that perhaps it was just a nightmare or that he needed another blanket, but as I entered his room the strong odor of vomit penetrated my nostrils. Douglas (and the surrounding area) was covered in chunks of half-digested food as well as a large amount of milk. I had let him drink the equivalent of a large glass of milk right before bed and I thought the milk might be the reason for his upset stomach. Needless to say, I immediately turned around, closed the door, and went back to bed in the hopes that Sam would deal with the problem in the morning.
Just kidding. Sam and I spent the next five hours monitoring Douglas as he repeatedly threw up. Multiple loads of laundry were done. His teddy bear was also the recipient of some of the material that exited Douglas' mouth....
....so I put him in the washer and hung him out to dry.
Douglas is feeling much better. Must have been a 24-hour bug.
The other night we read (or sang) this book so many times that Douglas almost fell asleep.
Last night we attended our church Christmas party. Here is Douglas showing off his old man laugh.
They had a neat idea for the Christmas meal; one that I have not seen before. They set out a long row of 10-15 different kinds of soups, along with small bowls for the soup. We took the small bowls, filled them up with the soups of our choice, and grabbed some rolls at the end of the table. Delicious! And simple.
Singing Christmas songs with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Anina - a cute little girl in our church group.
Douglas likes to lead the music.
Too much food and bell-ringing makes one tired.
Douglas actually did really well with Santa this time. He didn't run away!
