Christmas Jig

Here is our family dance for your enjoyment. Cross-eyed Joe is our adopted son.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1406741031

pictures (yes, again...)

Jason is so cute with Adelyn, I just had to post some recent pictures. These ones are of them posing with her new adorable hat and gloves (not for Memphis weather, but for Christmas in Idaho).This is a picture from our "sleepover" this past weekend. Ever since we've been married, Jason and I love to have "sleepovers" where we take our mattress off of our bed, put it on the floor of the living room, watch a movie, and spend the night. This was the first time we invited Addie to join us. It was even better with the lights of the Christmas tree!

Addie loves to help Dad study!

Her new outfit (thanks, Korin!) and playtime in the saucer-thingamajig. I have the best family!

(If you haven't read our blog lately, make sure you read the last post by Jason, it's pretty wacky...)

A Smoky Fillmore Christmas

Christmas is almost here, and what a merry one it will be! I haven't seen ANY of my side of the family for about 4 months (which isn't too long, but it'll be great to see them all). I also have been waiting for this kind of a break for awhile, optometry school is pretty busy and it'll be great to get away from it for a little while, without having homework in the back of my mind.

I Love Lamp.

Even more than Lamp I love my family, it's always great when we're all together--we always have tons of fun together! Like every year we're together for a holiday we'll watch a couple flics, play some board games, all the brothers will quote lines from Will Ferrell and laugh till we can't anymore, and reminisce about when we were younger. The wives will have 'craft' time, and the brothers will hit up a little Halo 3 no doubt. But this Christmas will be a little different from the rest. I can sum it up in three words: Football, Food, and Babies. Let me explain.

1) Football: This will be the first time on Christmas that the brother's get together and have a little brawl fest with a ball (it's about time!). Hopefully this becomes a tradition.

(Don't worry Brea, we'll play with flags!)

2) Food: Gem's been going to Culinary Art school, so we'll have delicious food 24 hours a day! (Thanks for the hook-up in advance, Gem.)

3) Babies: It will be Adelyn and Chaela's first Christmas--and it will definitely be a big change from past years, and lots of fun. (I'm excited for Addie to finally meet her Uncle Jake!)

I love this holiday, and being close to family. I would like to give a Hollah and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and safe journey's to where'ere you may go. Watch for bears this time of year, they are the #1 threat to America.

Beloved Christmas Traditions

First, I would like to start off by saying that I was greatly mistaken in my last Santa post. It turns out that I either fabricated the notion that we didn't "do Santa" at my house because my parents liked to receive the credit, or that I grossly misunderstood a joke they made when I asked them why. Either way, I have never known my parents to be selfish in any way and I definitely did NOT mean to imply they were. I stand corrected. Sorry, Mom and Dad. It turns out that they decided to opt-out on Santa for two very different reasons, which bring me to the subject of this post--fun Christmas traditions.

As said previously, I never cared that we didn't believe in Santa. I don't feel that I have missed out on the fun or spirit of Christmas. In fact, at our house we had a very different Christmas tradition, one which I intend to carry on with a portion of our gifts. Santa was not a part of our house because my parents (a) didn't want to lie to their children and (b) they liked us to guess what was in each gift. Instead of writing gifts were from them, my parents would write that it was from some person loosely associated with the gift inside, thus enabling us to guess what it was. For example, one year my brother received a tie and the present was from the inventor of the guillotine. Random, I know. It's a very fun game, one in which we could hardly ever guess what the presents were because they would make the associations so bizarre that it was nearly impossible.

Another favorite Christmas tradition at my house is the annual Christmas Eve nativity puppet show. My mom made hand puppets (I wonder how old they are now) of the main characters in the story of Christ's birth (Mary & Joseph, wise men, shepherds, the angel, etc) and we would act out the birth of Christ along with a children's song called The Nativity Song. (If you haven't heard it, check it out here, it's a great song and not well known.) Me and my brothers and sisters would all crowd behind the couch or a blanket, fight over who got to be the star and angel (because that person was the one who got to shout out "Hosanna!" in a loud and crazy voice) and do our play. Now that we've all grown up and my parents have grandchildren, it makes it even more fun because there are many more bodies to squeeze behind the couch--even Jason has joined in the Hutchinson Christmas Puppet Show! I can't wait to get my own puppets!

Our advent calendar was always one of our favorite things to do around Christmastime. It was a felt Christmas tree that hung on the wall, with little hooks on it. Every day leading up to Christmas we would take turns hanging up an ornament on the tree. I remember running to see it every morning, and it was so exciting when it was my turn! Each year we had to rotate who got to hang up the angel on the top of the tree on Christmas Eve because, for some reason, that was the best one. It made our anticipation of the big day grow and grow!

On Christmas Eve we have a little family program. My dad usually reads us a new children's Christmas story from a picture book, we do the puppet show, and then we read the story of the birth of Christ from the Bible. We also were allowed to open one present. I love Christmas Eve because it's wonderful to be with family and remember the birth of our Savior. I love this time of year!

Hi again! I'm 5 months old!

Hello everybody, it's me again, Addie. Guess what? I'm now 5 months old! When I woke up Monday morning and my mom told me how old I was, I could hardly believe it. It wasn't until she took me to the doctor that afternoon and the doctor said it, that I really believed my mom. Parents make up stuff sometimes, so you can't always believe everything they say. For example, my mom told me last week that rice cereal was good. Well, I certainly didn't think so! I kept spitting it out and she hasn't given it to me since. Good thing, too.

Well, it's been a fun month of growing. Now I can stick my whole foot in my mouth. It tastes a lot better than rice cereal.

Oh, here is a random picture. My mom asked me to put it on here to show off her fireplace. She certainly has a long way to go as far as decorating skills! At least we have a cat, though. (Oh wait, it's not a real cat. See? That's another thing my parents tricked me with.)

My pacifier is my favorite toy. I always prefer it to anything else. I'm extremely good at getting it in my mouth now all by myself.

To commemorate being 5 months old I was given some Christmas socks. They're cute, don't you think?

I'm still small, though. The doctor told my mom that I'm between the 5th and 10th percentile for weight, height, and head circumference. I hope I spelled that right, that's a big word for a 5 month old. I only weigh 12.3 pounds and am 24 inches long. Tall and skinny like my dad. But it's ok, I'm still a happy girl!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (even though it's still 60 degrees in Memphis...)

We finally put up our Christmas tree last night. It's wonderful to have a festive living room!

When Jason and I were dating and talking about getting married, I kid you not, one of our biggest disagreements was whether or not to do Santa. The Hutchinsons never did Santa while growing up. I always thought it was because my parents didn't want to lie to us, but over Thanksgiving I got their whole story. It was mostly because they did all the work for Christmas and they wanted the credit! They said lying to their kids also played a part. Well, because of that, Santa is not a big deal to me. We were still very excited on Christmas Eve, still had fun opening our presents bright and early, and we still enjoyed the Santa stories...it's just that, well, he isn't real. But to Jason, Santa is MAGICAL. I guess I just don't understand. I gave in and we've decided that we'll do Santa, so I'll see how this goes. What are your thoughts? Did any of you not do Santa either, or was my family crazy?

This is a picture of me and my Dad on my first Christmas Eve. I hope to capture a similar picture of Jason and Addie!

new layout

I was getting tired of the old, skinny, dark layout. Thus a newer, plumper, and brighter layout! Hurrah!

Playing catch-up

Well, we're baaa-ack! We had a great, fun, and exhausting week. Here is my brieft synopsis:

After our 12 hour car ride on Saturday (Addie actually did quite well in her car seat) we made it home, had some soup, and went to bed. On Sunday we went to church with my family. Everyone has grown up so much in our old ward! It was so strange to see the little babies I used to babysit as teenagers! It was fun to attend church with my mom and our Sunday School lesson was great. If you haven't read James in a while, I encourage you to brush up on it. The whole book is only 4 pages or so. We discussed James' definition of "true religion" in James 1:28 and it made for a very interesting and enlightening discussion.

Sunday night we had dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. Harvey, their new little one month old, is ADORABLE. His facial features are so small, and I forgot how tiny newborns are. Even though he's only one month old, he's still only 2 pounds lighter than our petite Adelyn. It was great to hold him and chat with the fam.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we played games with the family (mostly Battleship, Boggle and PayDay), caught up with old friends I hadn't seen in a long time (and delighted in hearing them ooh and aah over Addie), and just relaxed. Jason did some studying, I went to Bronners (supposedly the BIGGEST CHRISTMAS STORE IN AMERICA!) and we had delicious Mexican food in Detroit.

Thanksgiving Thursday was, of course, delicious and relaxing...for the most part. Jason played football in the snow, Green Bay and the Cowboys won, the turkey and pie was scrumptious, and I (dum dum dum) had another gall bladder attack! I couldn't fall asleep because of intense pain, and finally around 5 a.m. my dad took me to the emergency room. They found out, after an ultrasound of nearly my entire body, that I have gall stones. I'd had horrible pain twice before, but I had always been able to sleep and it would be gone by morning. Not so this time. It stinks because now I have to find a doctor, have surgery, figure out how to pay for it, and in the meantime, eat the most horribly bland diet. It stinks all around. On the flip side, maybe it will help me lose some weight. But, other than that, Thanksgiving was great! Yay!

But really, it was wonderful being home. We always enjoy spending time with my parents, brothers and sisters, and our hilarious neices and nephews. I'm glad that we live close enough to drive every once in awhile!

Yes Michigan!

Bright and early tomorrow morning Jason, Addie and I are heading out to Michigan! I am so excited to spend nearly the entire week of Thanksgiving with my family. We were lucky to be able to visit in May so it hasn't been that long since I've been home, but we've had two major additions to our family since then--Adelyn and my 3 week old nephew Harvey. It will be so fun to have everyone together! Unfortunately my little sister and her husband won't be there, but maybe we'll put huge cardboard cutouts of them at the table.

It's going to be a long drive, about 12 hours, but it will be worth it. I just hope Addie will cooperate in the car. I still have to finish packing, but I needed a short distraction.

We hope that all of you, our wonderful friends, will have a great Thanksgiving as well. Jason and I have much to be thankful for- our family, our faith, and all of our friends! Make sure to eat an extra piece of pie!

about the picture

Ok, so you're confused by the Thanksgiving Monster. Don't worry, we understand, but really, it's just a random picture created together by Jana and Jason-- Jana drew a normal turkey, and Jason drew the monster.

Hey, it's funny. See? It made Adelyn smile.

OUR SUCCESS!

Since we've moved to Tennessee Adelyn has been sleeping in our bed with us. I realize this is quite controversial, I've heard it all, but our experience with co-sleeping was very positive. I would recommend it to any mom who needs more sleep and any dad who is looking to better bond with his infant. (By the way, there is plentiful research to support co-sleeping--I've read it--and the research has not shown any ill effects toward social or cognitive development. It's quite wonderful!)

Anyhow... Jason and I, after much discussion, decided several weeks ago to move Addie into her crib. The biggest reason? We needed more alone time together. Ever since we decided to make the big bed/crib move, I've been SO WORRIED about it. I've read everything I can on how to make the transition easier, I've asked everyone I know about how they put their babies to bed, I've prayed and prayed and prayed! I don't quite know why this one simple thing caused me so much stress, but I was NOT looking forward to doing it.

Let's start at the end. On Monday we started putting her in her crib at night and it's been GREAT! She doesn't even cry when we put her down and she only wakes up once to eat. The whole thing has not been nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be. If you're interested on how we did it, read on.

1. SWADDLE. We had stopped swaddling a couple weeks after she was born because she didn't seem to like it, but after hearing my friend Shauna's success with swaddling, I gave it another go. Now when she's swaddled she takes the hint that it is time to sleep. Here's a shout-out to Shauna--you're a genius!
2. NAPTIME. About 3 weeks ago I started diligently putting Addie in her crib for her daily naps. I no longer just let her fall asleep wherever, she sleeps in her crib at naptime--the idea was to get her used to it. This wasn't my idea, someone suggested it on an online parenting website, and it seems to have worked!
3. ROUTINE. I read and heard over and over again that bedtime routines are critical. We never had one before, we just layed her down next to us when we were ready to sleep and she got snuggly and cozy and slept. Well, now I feed her, give her a little baby massage with some of that lavendar relaxing lotion (she LOVES it, she just smiles and coos the whole time), and then I put on her PJs, wrap her up, and rock her for awhile. When I see her eyelids start to get droopy I put her in her crib.
4. PATIENCE. I always put her in her crib when she's tired, but not asleep. This is to help her learn to put herself to sleep. But, unfortunately, this doesn't mean she falls asleep right away. After much reading and pondering and discussion, Jason and I decided we really aren't parents that can handle the "cry it out" approach. It just isn't for us. After I put her down, I sit there and read a book next to her bed, and if she gets a little fussy, I pat her and calm her down, but I don't pick her up. She hasn't ever full-on cried and the longest I've sat there is 20 minutes. Not bad!

Well, I'm proud of myself, as you can tell. I was so sure that the bed to crib transition would be horrific. It's only been 4 days, and I'm sure there will be some rocky nights ahead, but I'm happy with our results. The success that we've had reaffirmed something I already knew--by taking a little time to research and educate myself, presumably difficult tasks can be accomplished, and sometimes very easily! Who says learning ends when we stop attending school? I'm constantly learning new things about myself as I mother Addie every day!

I am 4 months old!

Hi, my name is Addie and I just turned 4 months old on November 3rd. Wow, time has flown by. I can now roll over when I feel like it (which isn't as often as my parents would like), grab my toes, drool on all my toys, take my binky out and ususally get it back in my mouth, make cute baby noises, and laugh on occasion (again, not as often as my parents would like).

I have inherited big pupils from my mom. See? We both seem to always have red eyes in pictures because of it.

I have learned to LOVE watching football on Sunday with my dad. This picture is what ends up happening at about halftime every Sunday.

These are my new friends. We went trick-or-treating together on Halloween. For me it mostly turned out to be a trick because I didn't get to have any candy. But they are fun and are always asking my mom what I'm saying when I make noises. I have to say, my mom usually is wrong.

This is me. My parents thought they had to have a picture to celebrate me turning 4 months. I was thinking, "Come on, you get a picture of me almost every other day, too!" Parents can be so lame.

Anyhow, I'm 4 months old and I guess it's a big deal. I wonder what I'll figure out to do this month!

Baby Duck

Adelyn won first prize in her age group at our church's Halloween party. I'm sure you can see why!

Dad & Duck

Little Duck's first flight

Priceless

crazy/beautiful

Do any of you remember that ridiculous Kirsten Dunst movie called crazy/beautiful? Jason and I used to make fun of it all the time because, first, it was a dumb movie, and second, it had a really dumb name to match. We used to tell each other, "You are so crazy slash beautiful" and think it was so hilarious. Well, as I sat down to write this post, it occurred to me that my life has become "crazy slash beautiful." Let me explain...

Since moving here to Memphis, we've had two robberies in our apartment complex. We were told about the first one, an armed robbery, by a note stuck on our door by the management. The second robbery happened at 10 o'clock in the morning (that's right, 10 a.m.!!) and my friend witnessed it. She was the one to notify the police. CRAZY.

I have a wonderful husband. He takes Addie when he comes home to give me a break, changes diapers, and fixes me dinner on Sundays. He has gorgeous eyes (check out the picture below) and is so hilarious. You ought to see him dance. I am so blessed to be married to such a great man. BEAUTIFUL.

I am the mother of a soon-to-be 4 month old. CRAZY.
Even though I want to pull my hair out at times, especially when Addie cries and cries for no reason whatsoever, her smiles make it all worth it. I'm scared of the responsibility of teaching her right from wrong, to serve others, to make good friends, and to make good decisions, but I know that the Lord will bless me when the time comes as long as I strive to be the best mother I can be. Motherhood is the most rewarding role a woman can fulfill. I truly believe that. BEAUTIFUL.We are in debt up to our ears because of school and don't have any family close by, but these trials are making our family stronger. This whole experience, being a young family in the MidSouth, is crazy/beautiful. (See? Now I've turned that stupid, stupid title into something worthwhile!)

I realize this post is pretty cheesy, but I've just been so grateful lately to have the wonderful life I have and am so thankful to Heavenly Father for my blessings. Yay for us!!

Angel Food Ministries

Have you heard about Angel Food Ministries? I hadn't, but we're going to order food from it this next month and I thought I'd let all of you know about it.

It's a non-profit organization that started out as an outreach program for those struggling. The food is now not only for those in low-income situations, but open for everyone! Everyone qualifies. It's a place where you can purchase restaurant-quality food at an affordable price. You'll be surprised at the good food they offer! In TN the food packages cost $28, but you get tons of food, mostly meat, which is usually the most expensive anyhow. Go to http://www.angelfoodministries.com/ and click on "Host Sites" to see if it is your area. You can then click on "Menus" to see what they're offering that month. You have to order the food online, or by phone, by a certain date each month and then pick up your order at one of their "host sites" on the date specified. A small price to pay for the savings! It looks like there is one location in UT, so that might not work out for many of you, but there are a lot of locations in MI, TX and IL for those of you there!

Anyhow, we just heard about it from some friends (they love the steak!) and I'm exicted to start buying their food!

Finish this sentence

I'm curious. What are you going to be for Halloween? Addie is going to be a pudgy ducky (we have the cutest costume) and I am trying to convince Jason that we should go as Mr. and Mrs. Hair again this year (he just wears an outrageously huge wig and I crimp and rat my hair).

So, in your comment, please finish this sentence.

For Halloween, I am going to be...

great news!

Adelyn rolled over today for the first time! I put her on her stomach for her daily dose of "tummy time" (which she normally hates) and she lifted her head up, looked at me with eyes that said "here I go!" and flipped over onto her back. It was great. At first I thought it was one of those random things, so I put her back on her stomach and she did it again and again. After 3 times though, tummy time was over and the crying began. But still, it was so fun to see! She even did it for Jason when he got home from school. Awww...our little one is growing up. **sniff sniff**

You Rock!

Just wanted to send out a special thanks for those who leave comments to our blogs, they're always fun to read! You guys ROCK!! Keep the comments coming and keep rock n' roll alive within!

I also wanted to share a quick little morsel of knowledge from optometry school: Dr. Newman, one of my professors, told us what to do if your eye pops out! He said "PUT IT BACK IN!" Whatever it takes, even if you have to use a pencil to wedge it in, just get it back in as fast as you can. The funny thing is he was serious.

There you go, now you know...and knowing is half the battle!

Roy Junior

Some of you may be wondering why we haven't posted pictures of Roy Junior, the beta fish. Well, if you can believe it, the Wal-Mart out here doesn't carry fish. Maybe all Wal-Mart's have got out of the fish business, I don't know, but it takes too much effort to look up and find a pet store, all for a beta.

Maybe we'll make that our mission on an upcoming date--to find Roy Junior. Yeah, that could be fun. We shall see...

Adelyn's new tricks

For hours of entertainment, try grabbing your toes! It's the latest thing! Adelyn has discovered her toes, and finds so much enjoyment from them. She gets frustrated, though, if she can't hold on to them for long!
Kurt and Heather sent Addie some gifts in the mail. Even though she's still too young to truly enjoy the stuffed rainbow bunny, we're not! It's perfect for keeping in her binky while she sleeps!

This is sunburned Mom and sleeping Addie watching General Conference on the internet from bed. It was nice, much more comfy than a pew or couch!

And yes, I painted her toenails. Aren't they adorable?

A New White Coat

I'm so happy about my soon to be profession! I knew this would be a profession I would love, but going to school and actually learning what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life gets me so much more excited for my future in the career of optometry! I love SCO (Southern College of Optometry, for those who don't know), and it seems like I have already learned so much, even though I've only been there for 5 weeks now! We've been learning how to do retinoscopy, or how to find a patient's eye correction by shining a light in their eye--I think it's pretty incredible how the eye works! It's exciting to know how much can be found out about the body, just by looking into a patient's eye. There are many systemic diseases that can be found with an eye exam!

I'm happy to be at SCO, I have so many great professors and the school excels in so many areas--I'm excited to know I'm getting a great education, and learning everything I need to for my future career. We had our White Coat Ceremony tonight, where all of us first year students received our new white coats. It made it seem like we're almost done, even though I still have a little less than 4 years left! Oh well, I love SCO and all I'm learning, even though I'm super busy--it is so much better than undergrad!

Daddy and Addie at the White Coat Ceremony!

Me and a couple friends, Ben and Zach, at the White Coat Ceremony!