Two Family Christmas Parties!

Well it is certainly that time of year for family to get together. Our first family Christmas party was for my Dad's fathers side. No matter what it never fails to snow on that day. This was Saturday Dec. 5Th, the day it snowed and the snow really only stuck to the roads. As we were driving along I-215 we counted at least 8 accidents with emergency vehicles. There were even several trucks that had rolled. Luckily we and all our family made it safely to the party where we enjoyed yummy food and a pinata for the kids.

Emma with the snowman pinata and my cousins Tiffany and Rachel.

Cousin Harley got a great swing in!

I think I have mentioned before that Emma LOVES snowmen and so when the kids started hitting it she got a little upset. She did however take one swing at it.

Once the snowman broke and candy came out I think she decided that it was all right.

We had another family party they next Saturday with my Mom's family. Quinn joined the family for bowling while I tried and failed to get Emma to take a nap at Mom's house. I didn't think bowling would be the best thing for me. Quinn said they had a great time even though he lost. After a great meal we played some games and then did our white elephant gift exchange which was a blast. Emma opened a book about pirates but by the end she was very happy to trade for a box of Ritz crackers.

Emma opening her pirate book.

Quinn ended up with this great Tikki mask which he thought was awesome.

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for the fun parties!

How Not to Repair Your Kitchen Faucet

We have one of those kitchen faucets where the faucet itself can be removed from the base and used as a sprayer. Convenient, yes. But what happens when the plastic hose that runs from your water source to your faucet forms a tiny crack that only leaks when the hose is bent a certain way? Well, if you're my family, you don't do anything. Because you have no idea that the hose has a crack, and you have no idea that the plywood under the back half of your sink has absorbed enough water to rival a BLM marshland. In most houses, where the wood under the sink is solid, or finished, or covered in some kind of vinyl-like coating, any type of water leaking would pool up and be discovered the first time someone reached for the Comet. But for an unknown reason, the previous owners of this house screwed half-inch plywood to the existing flooring underneath our sink, such that while our hose crack was irrigating the back portion of our cabinet, the water seeped down deep into the wood, while the front portion (where our Comet is) remained bone dry. I always thought it was weird that they had installed this plywood. You can see that the original bottom had been finished to some extent -- there is some of that wallpaper-for-cabinet-bottoms sticking out from underneath the plywood. I've always been curious as to what purpose the plywood served, but have never removed it, thinking that perhaps it conceals a hidden compartment where dead bodies are hidden. Or perhaps some type of water damage from the last faucet malfunction.

Regardless of the reason for the plywood, I was irritated to learn that our faucet had been leaking for an undisclosed amount of time. And I was determined to do something about it. I mean more that call my father-in-law and ask him to fix it.

I'm not a handy person. In fact, earlier this year, when I received some junk mail telling me that I had been chosen to join the Handyman Club of America, I thought my identity had been stolen.

The truth is that I am not intrinsically un-handy, but I do lack important handy man skills such as good planning, good preparation, and good followthrough. Also I'm kind of lazy.

But -- I figured -- how hard can it be to replace a leaky hose on a kitchen faucet? (Turns out: harder than I thought). I replaced our shower head a few years ago, and it has a similar design. In fact, I got this fantastic idea to use a spare shower head hose to replace the leaky kitchen faucet hose. It fit perfectly, and I was just about to pat myself on the back when I turned the faucet on and water shot straight out of the hose connection over my face, chest, and part of the kitchen wall behind me. Okay, so lesson learned: shower parts and kitchen faucet parts are not interchangeable. But that's okay. I was just playing around anyway. How much fun could this fix-it project be if I did it with stuff that was just lying around the house?

So I went to Home Depot and picked out their best new kitchen faucet that was on clearance. There was a funny little cartoon guide to installing sinks posted on one of the racks at Home Depot. It said that professional handymen could install a new sink in about 30 minutes, an experienced do-it-yourselfer in about an hour, and a novice in about 2 hours. I figured I had at least two hours to do the job, so even if I failed to meet my own puffed-up ego's timeline, I had time to complete the job.

I got home and dove right in to the project. I twisted and contorted my body underneath the sink in such a way that, for a fat guy anyway, would make make a Cirque du Soleil performer drop to her knees in amazement. I couldn't help but wonder how my father-in-law would have fit if I'd asked him to help me. He's a big dude.

Another lesson learned: If you're going to get help from somebody, make sure it's somebody who at least has more experience than you...

Taking out the old faucet was the easy part. Which is sad, because at the end of the 'easy' part, I had a faceful of sweat and my back was killing me.

Lesson learned: You always have to replace more parts than you thought you would. I'm pretty sure that MacGyver installed my previous faucet, because the piping system looked like it had been made out of leftover parts from other projects. And, wouldn't you know it, but a) my new faucet didn't have the same size connectors to hook up to this stuff and b) the second I touched the old copper tubes, they started leaking like U-571.

Lesson learned: Worklight with hot bulb + cold water spraying on it like U-571 = bulb explosion. Yeah, I didn't see that one coming. But, on the plus side, cleaning up the shattered light bulb gave me a break from the ever-frustrating faucet installation.

It's now 11:00 PM. Laura has already gone to bed, and I've been at this for about 3 hours. I realize that a) I don't have the parts I need to replace the leaky ones b) I can shut off the water to prevent most of the leaking, but this leaves Laura and Emma without water for a whole day while I'm at work.

I decided that leaving my wife and child without water is an unpardonable sin, so I worked on devising some way to have a working water hookup while minimizing any leaking. Fast forward to 1:30 AM. I had successfully mounted the new faucet, at least, which of course was much harder than unmounting the old one, even though they were exactly the same steps done in reverse order. I discovered that one way to make it easier was to remove some of the drainage pipes from under the sink. I also discovered that you don't want to see what's in those pipes, or have the contents of those pipes land on your shirt, neck, and face.

I was able to use existing parts to hook up the hot water only; the cold water to the sink and refrigerator had to be shut off. I dragged myself to bed, leaving a note for Laura telling her that I had partially failed as male provider (I did leave the hot water on, after all) and that I'd be able to fix the rest the next day.

At work the next day I told a co-worker that I was "having problems with my plumbing" which of course made me burst out laughing after I heard it phrased that way. He told me about a place called England Plumbing on 33rd south in Salt Lake. It reminded me of a time my brother-in-law was trying to fix something and had ended up there after 3 trips to Home Depot. Still, there was a Home Depot up the street from me at work....and I didn't want to drive across the valley....so I went to Home Depot anyway. I had the hardest time explaining what I needed to the guy, but ended up with a handful of parts anyway which, once I got the car, I realized would not fit where I needed them to fit. So I broke down and stopped at England on the way home from work, where they were fanastic and got me everything I needed.

Once home, Laura forgave me for the lack of cold kitchen water, and kindly kept Emma out of the way as I tried to complete the project. The only remaining hiccup I had was with a compression fitting for the plastic tubing that went to our fridge. I got on the internet to see what I could find about compression fittings when I stumbled across a Readers' Digest article about replacing kitchen sinks. Step one was "Work on your project during the day when the hardware stores are open. Chances are you'll need to make at least one trip there during the project." Thanks, Readers' Digest. Step one of your article should have been "Read Readers' Digest article so that you're smart enough to work on your project during the day when the hardware stores are open."

Anyway, with all the right parts, I was able to successfully replace all the faulty pieces, attach all the new hoses to the new faucet, and successfully provide my family with water of both the hot and cold varieties.

So if any of you come over to our house, go ahead and make a big deal out of our kitchen faucet. Why? Because I bought the exact same model as our old one. So the average person won't even know there was a change.

Quinn

Catch Up!

This December is flying by. We have already had most of our family parties, work parties, gotten most of our baking done and I think I am done with my Christmas shopping. Yeah! Time to sit back relax and watch all of our Christmas movies, which is all Emma wants to do right now as she has a cold. It started on Wednesday but today she seems to be doing a little better. I just hope its all gone by Christmas.

Earlier this month we were invited to the Weber State v. Utah basketball game with my parents. We also decided to chance it and take Emma with us. She did pretty well. She didn't freak out at all the screaming fans and kept herself entertain for the first half. The las half was a little long and so we had to keep going out for walks which is fine with me. I'm not there for the game. I also tried to keep my cheering neutral but sorry Quinn the Wildcats got the win!

When Grandma took Emma for a walk she said she got some strange looks!

We also had our neighborhood get together where we stand in the cold and drink hot chocolate and eat doughnuts and look at the lights. There was just enough snow on the ground that I made Emma put on all her winter stuff. This is the first time she had had her snow pants on and she was not happy as you can see. However once we got outside and she realized that Mom and Dad didn't care if she went in the snow then all was good.

Emma decided to make her self a bed on the coffee table with pillows and her blanket. So cute!

Emma playing with play dough. When I asked her to look at the camera and say cheese this is what I got.

Quinn had his cold a week ago and so he and Emma cuddle on the cough for a few minutes.

Santa Visit -- It Could Have Been Much, Much Worse

Looking back at Lauralee's last post about Emma's visit to Santa Claus...I just wanted to add my two cents. It's funny, isn't it, that we insist on making our kids sit with Santa even though we have an inkling that they will stiffen up like a mummy and/or scream in sheer terror. I look at it more as a rite of passage for human beings -- a sociological event rather than a holiday one. I have a picture of me freaking out on Santa's lap, and so does Laura. And now, so does Emma. To me, it's all in good fun, and still far removed from the frat-boy mentality that requires the new guys to be hazed. At least I hope that's how it's viewed. At the very least (as Becky pointed out): this is a small payback for our children waking us up at 4 AM for the first years of their lives.

All that being said, this Santa visit could have been much, much worse. Our Santa was extremely kind, and the lady taking the picture was magnificent. Emma probably spent less than 10 seconds on Santa's lap, during which time she never actually loosened up to make it into a sitting position. She also never let me let go of her. The lady taking the picture somehow managed to snap the shot when both Santa and Emma were looking up, but still crop me, who was standing right next to them, out of the picture completely. And it was all done in under 10 seconds. The line to see Santa was relatively short. And the picture was free!

But perhaps the best thing is that our Santa wasn't any of THESE Santas:

Wasted Santa

Incognito Santa

Creepy Santa

Stoned Santa

Spooky Santa

Not-Even-Trying Santa

Drug Lord Santa

Killer Clown Santa

Shady Santa

This Santa's fine. It's that freaky elf you've got to watch out for!

Kabuki Santa

Raunchy Santa

On-The-Lam-From-The-Law Santa

Disgusted Santa

Season's Greetings!

Quinn

A visit to Santa!

Colonial Sqaure just up the street from us was having a free family night where every story was offering something like a small treat or hot chocolate for free. They also had carraige rides and a Santa. The line wasn't too long and Emma was having a good time watching all the kids go up to him and sit on his lap. It was another story when it was her turn though. As soon as she realized that Quinn was going to put her on his lap he said she just went stiff as a board. Santa was great though and he hung on long enough for them to snap this great photo for us. (also free) Don't worry she didn't cry for long because Santa's elf gave her a huge candy cane and she lit right back up.

Emma at 2!

Here are somethings about Emma at 2 years old!

Emma is a happy girl - she loves life.

Emma is a good eater - for the most part. If she is in the mood to eat she will eat just about anything. She loves fruits and vegetables the most. She is a typical toddler though and there are days where she just can't take the time to stop playing to eat.

Emma is not a morning person. Quinn and I once awake can get up and go. Not Emma, she enjoys waking up on her own, playing in her crib, watching some T.V. or reading books before eating any breakfast. If you try to rush her she will resist.

Emma loves books! She loves to stack them into piles over and over again. (I think she likes the control) She loves to flip through them and have them read to her. Her favorite book right now is The Grinch by Dr. Seuss. She will let me read the entire book to her and it is quite long for a toddler.

Emma loves stuffed animals. She has way too many. Right now her favorite is a dog which Quinn named Ralph for her. She takes it everywhere we go and sleeps with it. She is very concerned about where he is all day long. She will come up to me several times a day to let me know that he is nice dog or a cute dog. Her attachment to Winnie the Pooh is gone for the moment but I'm sure she will switch her affections again soon.

Emma is also very complementary to us. She will often tell me "Cute" when I put on a sweater or a shirt I wasn't wearing before.

Emma loves T.V. or movies. (A bit too much for me). Right now she is in love with Frosty the Snowman and wants to watch it everyday (although I am able to suggest another movie but I'm sure that will change in time). The disc also included Frosty Returns but don't even try to play that. The first time she watched it I was in the kitchen fixing dinner and I heard her yelling, "NO" to the T.V. She knew it was not the same (I agree).

I is very strong willed. It is almost impossible to make her do something she doesn't want too. (she doesn't understand bribes yet) Here is an example. Our dentist insisted that we brush her teeth. We explained that she wouldn't let us. He said that he had to do this trick with his kids and it took about two weeks before they learned. He said to let her brush and then it is your turn to brush. If she won't let you then one of you hold her down and the other can brush while she cries. Eventually she will learn that it is better to just open her mouth then to be held down. So we tried this - for two months straight. We took a couple of weeks off because some kids need to be introduced a couple of times to new things. We are back doing it and it is going only slightly better. She still has to be held down. Now Emma is smart. She doesn't cry or yell that much. She clamps down her jaw and there is all most no way to get in. The only thing that works sometimes is to sing a song while we do it. Right now Jingle Bells is working. Stubborn kid!!

Emma is smart - she loves to learn new things - especially puzzles.

Emma loves to sing. She knows most of the words to I am a Child of God, Once there was a Snowman and the ABC song. She will also sing along with others making up her own words but in rhythm.

Emma likes to count but this still needs some work. When she counts by herself she repeats 3-2-3 over and over. When we count with her she never says one, she will wait for you to say it and then will say 2-3 she always forgets 4 and 5 and moves right on through 6-7-8-9 and then will wait for you to say 10.

Emma love to color but she has discovered that it is fun to color on other things like the couch and her books. So we are not doing as much of that at the moment.

Emma loves to climb. She will climb up and over the back of the couch. She will climb in her crib but now out yet thank goodness. She will push a chair over to anywhere she wants reach - nothing is safe anymore.

Emma loves - loves to be outside. You have to drag her in kicking and screaming. This is good but she feels so couped up right now because it is so cold I won't go out. She has lots of energy stored up right now.

Emma was not a cuddly baby and that has only changed a little. It is a rare moment when she will come lay by me or let me cuddle her when we rock. She loves to be rocked but just not held/cuddle tightly at the same time. I love those moments when it happens though.

Emma loves to be around people and kids. She chases kids yelling out "kids" wanting to do what they are doing. She also bosses them around if she gets the chance. The other day at a family party she walked in and said, "Hi people." She is very social, she must get that from someone else because it didn't come from me or Quinn (maybe his mother).

Emma is many things and we love her for all of them.

Emma's Two Year Old Pictures!

Well we did it, we got some cute pictures. Yeah! It was a miracle and took two tries. The first time we went I got Emma up and at a leisurely pace got her ready so that we wouldn't have any tears. (She hates being rushed) When we got to Target they were behind so after walking around the store for 30 min it was finally almost our turn. The lady asked if there were any special shots I was looking for. I laughed and said anything you can get will be great, she is at that age where they won't sit still and smile at the camera for anything. Then Emma pinched her finger. I was all over after that. She had a total melt down. Nothing worked, not cookies or kisses or even a teddy bear which the lady offered Emma. She promptly took the teddy bear and took off out into the store to go home. After returning the bear we rescheduled.

Take number two went better. At least there were no tears. Quinn was also with me which helped a lot and we only had to wait about 10 min. I was disappointed though, the girl taking the pictures did nothing but click the camera. She gave us no direction and no suggestions. She never once tried to make Emma smile. We did all the work and believe me it was work. Emma was very bossy during this photo shoot. She chose where and when she would sit and with what prop. We are so lucky to have these three pictures.

Well here they are. Enjoy!