Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving break wasn't too painful this year. Although, towards the end of the week, Cruise was ready to go back to school. The day before school got out, Cruise's class did their monthly sing for parents thing. It was pretty cute, especially the awesome turkey drumstick hats they made.

During the break, I tried to plan a few fun things to do with the kids. We made pumpkin bread for our new neighbors across the street, drew turkeys, and made pumpkin pie playdoh! It actually turned out awesome and it smells so good! And surprisingly, Cruise didn't eat it! So that's a bonus. He actually surprised us with his sculpting skills when he sculpted a turkey out of the playdoh. I was pretty impressed. Jett also got into the sculpting action and made a pumpkin pie man. 

Thanksgiving this year was pretty similar to last year: just Abby & I. But since my parents rented out their house in Orem, we did it at my house. I was in charge of the turkey this year, and I'm embarrassed to say that I have somehow gotten away with not having to make a turkey ever. So it was a new experience for me. Abby & I did our shopping a couple days before and got our turkey at Sprouts. I put it in my fridge to thaw for two days and pulled it out Thanksgiving morning to find that it was still pretty frozen. I also quickly learned that I didn't have any foil. I did, however, have some turkey bags. I called up my poor parents at 6:45am their time and had to ask them how on earth I was to make this turkey! My mom told me each step and soon I wasn't freaking out as much. So I filled up our big cooler with cold water and threw my turkey in there for a couple of hours while it thawed. I was able to get it thawed enough to cook; I rubbed it with a bunch of butter, oil and herbs, put it in the bag, and threw it in the oven with a prayer. It actually turned out pretty good and not dry! I also prepared the garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and loaded sweet potatoes. Abby was in charge of the stuffing, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. We also had sparkling cider to drink. One day I'm going to make pies from scratch, but it just wasn't going to happen this year. We bought a pumpkin and an apple pie from Costco and that was pretty de-lish.

Cruise was adamant about breaking the wishbone. I don't know where he learned about the wishbone because I had completely forgotten about its existence at least 15 years ago. He and Jett broke it and Cruise won, which of course led to many a tear from Jett. I knew from the beginning someone was going to end up crying. 

After stuffing our faces, we all sat down on the couch, had pie, and watched Elf with the kids. Later I took Cruise & Jett to the movies to see the new Penguins of Madagascar movie that they had been begging to see for a few weeks. It was pretty stupid, but the kids liked it.

On Friday, Dave spent the morning fly fishing in Provo River. When he got home, we pulled out the Christmas stuff and got to work on putting up the tree and the limited decorations we own. Not that I want any more, I have no place to put it all and the kids just end up breaking most of it. Which is why all my ornaments are plastic. 

I really didn't think putting up the Christmas stuff was going to be a whole ordeal. Before we put the tree up, Dave wanted to fix our couch that has two reclining seats in it. The things wouldn't stay down, so he wanted to weld them shut, so that required us to take the couch outside for him to do that. As we pulled the couch away from the wall, I found that Jett had practiced writing his name all over the wall. With permanent marker. So I made him scrub it knowing it wouldn't come off just to get the point across that permanent markers are not for writing on walls. Then I had to paint over it all. Once that was done, and the couch was back in the house, I started on the tree. We got this tree last Black Friday for a really good price. It is pre-lit, which was a big selling point. So I set it up and the middle lights no longer worked. So I had to drive to Target in American Fork to get some lights. An hour later I made it home with the lights and a box of candy canes and we continued to put up the Christmas stuff. I was happy to have it finished. 

And that was Thanksgiving break. 

The Ybarras are in Germany!

I didn't get a chance to blog about Dave's parents leaving on their mission to Germany last week. Before they left we got to visit them and say our goodbyes. We will miss them dearly but are so grateful for their examples and their service. We'll see you in 2 years!

Miles: 14 Months

This kid is funny.

He still isn't walking, but that doesn't keep him from getting into virtually everything and anything. He loves playing with the Legos. He doesn't put them in his mouth anymore, he mostly likes to grab fistfuls, and throw them onto the carpet.

He's kind of a picky eater this one. But that doesn't stop him from snacking on dog food when he can get to it. He likes meat, rice, mashed potatoes, and crunchy stuff. He also really likes beans. Black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, etc. He'll eat those over any chocolate. Strange child. Definitely didn't get that from me. 

 Miles loves to follow his brothers around and enjoys taking baths with one or both of them. They make it a lot more interesting and fun.

And he loves the Lucy Dog. She puts up with him pretty well. I'll catch him hugging her or crawling on top of her; she's a good sport that dog.

Miles likes to play peek-a-boo, read books, swing in the hammock, and snuggle while watching Sesame Street or Phineas & Ferb. He loves to get into things and make messes. He's really good at that.

I like this kid.

Jett's Stats 'n' Stuff

Jett had his well-child check up on the 21st and he's growing fantastic! He weighs 42 pounds (62nd percentile) and is 42.5 inches tall (41st percentile). Poor kid had to get shots. He was due for 4 of them, but I am going to wait on the MMR and Chickenpox until Kindergarten gets closer. But he still had to get 3 because I had them sneak in the flu shot as well (sorry Jett!).

On his birthday, we gave him his birthday present which was a pretty cool Imaginext Batman RC Robot. He'd been wanting it for a couple months. It's pretty awesome. At school, Jett brought donuts for his birthday treat, and luckily there were 11 people in his class, which meant I got the 12th donut. He he. In the evening after Dave got home from work, Jett picked Zupas to go out to eat for his birthday. I'm always ok not having to make dinner.

Jett is doing awesome! He is doing speech at school once a week and is making some good progress. He absolutely LOVES preschool! He gets so mad at me if I ever make him stay home when he is sick or potentially sick. He is learning a lot and loves to practice drawing and writing. He writes his name mostly in the correct letter order; he usually writes it like this: e J t t...except the 'e' is backwards. He is really good with cutting and tracing, and loves to draw pictures of his family.

Jett loves to cook, especially bake, and to build stuff. He also loves robots, just like Cruise, and fishing with his Dad. His best friend these days is Connor McGarvey, his favorite color is blue, his favorite food is spaghetti, his favorite drink is chocolate milk, he loves showers and isn't too crazy about baths, his favorite toy is Batman, his favorite dessert is chocolate cake and pumpkin cake, he also loves pumpkin pie. He also claims to have a girlfriend at school named Emery and apparently she has lovely red hair. His favorite song is The Wheels on the Bus, his favorite t.v. show is Wild Kratts, and his favorite movie these days is Big Hero 6.

Jett is such a great helper and is always doing stuff for me, especially when it comes to Miles. He'll watch him while I have to do some laundry or cleaning, he'll grab a diaper for me or find his bottle when I need it. He is so gentle and sweet with his brother. He also is a great helper with chores (most of the time) and is really easy to take grocery shopping.

I took Jett to get his 5 year pictures this past week and the photographer said that he is one of the easiest kids she's every photographed because he smiled so genuinely every single shot. He's always been such an easy kid to photograph because he's naturally happy and outgoing. But that also causes problems because it's so stinkin' hard to pick out pictures because there are too many good ones!

We love Jett; he's one of the funniest kids we know. I just can't believe he's 5!

Today You Are Five

Dear Jett,

Today you're the big 5! You've grown so big so fast and I have loved watching you grow and learn. You are such a sweet, helpful, considerate and polite boy. You are kind to your friends and peers. You are patient with your brothers. You are respectful to adults. You are so eager to please and you're a hard worker. I love your great big smile and your optimism. I love that you love school and that you are a friend to everyone. I love that you always ask to be snuggled.

Jett, you are such a a smart and talented boy. You have interests in building and tools, baking and crafts, and even fishing. You are funny and silly. You just make people happy wherever you go. You can make anything fun.

Jett made a "candy stand" and sold candy to Cruise & I.

Our family would not be what it is without you. You bring so much fun and light into our home. You bring laughter and silliness. You bring fun and creativity. You bring love and snuggles. You are so important and so loved. Your brothers love you so much. Cruise loves to play with you and to follow your creative lead.  I love that Miles follows you around everywhere because you're so much fun to play with and can always make him laugh. Dad loves having you as his fishing buddy; he always tells me how much he loves spending time with you. I just love hanging out with you; even just grocery shopping just the two of us is so much fun.

You help me so much every day and I want you to know just how much I appreciate your willingness to help your ol' mom. I know I expect so much from you. In so many ways you are a big brother to Cruise and sometimes I forget how little you are still. You are so obedient and are always wanting to make your dad and I happy. Buddy, we will always be proud of you. We will always love you. Our love for you is not conditional. I hope you know that. I hope you know your mom loves you more than anything.

I am so proud of the young man you are becoming and couldn't ask for a better son. Don't grow up too fast, Jett. I love you so much and think you're just fantastic! There is no one quite like you, kiddo!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Love,
Mom