7th Ward Christmas Party

 It seems that 90% of our ward attended the Christmas party this morning because they planned for 100 people and had to set up quite a few extra tables. Even with how college kids eat when there is free food available, there was plenty of pancakes and french toast to go around. I'll have to find a recipe for the "buttermilk sauce" (caramel sauce? -- It was delicious, but Ryan wouldn't try it because he says he doesn't like caramel...much)

Benjamin likes being in the spotlight.

 James was amazingly okay sitting in Santa's lap (Other than thinking "who is this guy?"). Alexander at his age was not.

Benjamin says he forgot to tell Santa he wanted an iPod this year (I hope he's not too disappointed when he doesn't get one). This is the first I'd heard of it except for a few months ago when he kept trying to take Ryan's and my iPods. He also says he needs a Nook like us, but he doesn't even know how to read more than ~20 words yet, so I think it can wait!

I'm glad Alexander got a second chance to hit the pinata because I missed my photo opportunity the first time around. Benjamin got back from the bathroom just in time for the candy. He got in big trouble because he wandered off twice. His excuse was that he figured it would be boring so he found something more interesting to do. 

I thought Ryan made up some story about him missing out on a grape eating contest where someone hit a pan like a gong when it was time to eat grapes. Apparently I missed it too while I was changing Alexander's diaper. I'm glad I clarified that one. It's a Guatemalan New Years Tradition.

Family Photos 2011

As a disclaimer: These are not the photos we had printed as not to spoil our Christmas letter/cards this year.

The Portrait Innovations in Provo closed down sometime this summer. I liked that when it wasn't really busy they had one person dedicated to making the kids laugh. Nevertheless, the girl (photographer) at JCPenney's did a good job tonight at getting James to smile. The older two knew they were getting M&Ms for good smiles.

Alexander said he felt sick in the car on the way there. Ryan and James were pukey (technical term) on Monday. I had it on Weds. We were hoping Alexander hadn't caught the bug, but right after these photos, Alexander again said he felt sick and started gagging. Ryan asked for a trash can, but not quick enough. We thought about ending the session there, but Alexander said he felt fine and the photographer called someone in to clean up the vomit and moved us to the other room. This is the only photo where you can see the throw-up on my leg. I'm sure the smell wasn't very appealing to the two families that came after us. Alexander was worried he wouldn't get any more M&Ms (He still had the one in his hand from before when he threw up), but once we resolved that issue, he was fine and even ate a hamburger when we got home... so he can't be too sick.

I am normally very reserved and  prefer conservative photos, but we registered for the Santa Run 5K (costumes included) and wanted to get more than one use out of the costumes.

Our Mario Kart Racing Machine

Alexander loves racing Mario Kart. He would race ALL day long if he could.

He was still trying to race and play with Thomas trains at the same time.

 I wish I could broadcast his age when he's racing players around the world over wi-fi. I'm sure they'd be a little sad knowing a 2.5 year old won first place in their race. 

Alexander really wanted to be Luigi (or some other Nintendo character) for Halloween next year, but the pickings were very sparse. This costume was size 10 (which I could have altered to fit) but it had been returned because it was missing a button and when I asked the cashier if they'd give an extra discount b/c it was defective, she said I couldn't purchase it. He got a Thomas costume instead.