A Utah Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always awesome when you get to spend it in Utah with wonderful family. We left Friday after Dana got off work and tried to push as long as we could before Miss Charlotte started screaming:( She did as good as we could have hoped really but the big surprise was Clark who literally didn't make a peep as long as we kept Lightning McQueen on a constant loop (final count by the end of the week was 4.5 times...yeaaaah)

We stopped the night in Boise, had amazing Ramen and then got a tight 4 hours of sleep in before little miss realized she hated not sleeping in her swing and so we were off bright and early for SLC. That night Sarah and Taylor took us on a date down to Provo for really yummy pizza and to finally see the UVU stained glass exhibit which was amazing to see. The detail work was almost impossible to comprehend; it was truly breathtaking. 

Monday we took a Gailan family trip to Provo to visit our old haunts. Not sure Clark and Charlotte got the whole point of our trip down nostalgia lane but it was fun to see our old apartments and walk the hallowed sidewalks of BYU - even if it was freezing and baby girl screamed her head off for half of it:) Clark's favorite part was the new playcenter in the library. He also enjoyed his J Dawg but that might have been because they had a TV playing basketball. 

Tuesday we hung out with Sarah around the house and then Dana went to a movie with the boys while we took Isla and Clark to City Creek to play on the dinosaurs. Along the way we found some fish that captivated our little man.

The Washburns arrived that night, adding an element of fun with just a touch of crazy. We love crazy.  Poor miss Char picked up a cold and so slept in her car seat propped up. Clark also got one of his awesome coughs but Sarah had some magic medicine that knocked it out in 3 days (umm...I'm so buying stock in that company). So we split our time at night with Dana in with Clark and me in the room with Charlotte. We were pretty tired most days but it worked.

Charlotte and Natalie both loved this fun swing Sam loaned us and Natalie tried to teach Charlotte how to lay on her tummy without freaking out...it did not work.

The whole week we got to sample Taylor's delicious cooking but his biggest accomplishment had to be his Thanksgiving turkey which he smoked in the Traeger for 10 hours. So delicious and so wonderful to have dinner with the Woodbury family.

That night the girls of course did Black Friday in true Kitchen style. The Washburn family was getting over the flu (lots of vomiting unfortunately that week) but Kristina pulled it together and we rocked WalMart. You'll see my haul later in Christmas posts:) 

Friday we shook off the cold and headed indoors for fun in the pool. Charlotte was very wary the whole time but she gave it a go. I think she looks so funny in Clark's old swimsuit.

I got out early and she spent the rest of the time like this...

Clark was, in a word, besotted. He's always been a fan of water and this year he was finally old enough to run around like the crazy little person that he is.

The nights were mostly hanging out and watching some seriously weird movies from Taylor's private collection. It was awesome to just relax and chat.

Saturday we took off in the afternoon and because we are crazy decided just to drive straight home. Honestly we knew it was a gamble but we bet on our selves and it paid off. Charlotte woke up at Chic-fil-a for a quick bottle and some bouncing and then she settled in for the rest of the ride. Clark watched McQueen until he passed out and then it was just me and Dana, an open road and Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites to keep us company. We made it home at 1AM exhausted and so happy to sleep in our own beds. So thankful for family and fun.

35 and still alive

Dana is officially 35 years old. He seemed okay with the big day. Clark on the other hand was freaking thrilled. It was a busy week so we had to surprise Dana on Sunday with pie and then Clark "helped" him blow out his candles and Charlotte gave him snuggles. Pretty good birthday.

Sleep Sleep Sleep

Here we go again. Last week Dana found Charlotte completely upside down, swaddled, in her swing. She was totally fine but he freaked out and our sweet little angle has now been booted from the swing. So let the sleep training commence! 

We went full throttle with Clark but we are stepping down slowly with Charlotte. She spent a few nights completely strapped in to her swing but the days unwrapped in her crib. After that didn't go so well, we decided to keep her swaddled, laying on her changing pad so she can't roll over in her crib. It's a bizarre set up but it's working. Last night was the first night we put her fully in the crib and she slept 5 hours straight. Hooray. She's pretty cute on the monitor (even if we have to prop the camera on a stuffed pig to see her). 

She was so tired the first night but we're getting the hang of it now, fingers crossed. 

We also hit another milestone - 4 months old. She is now 11lbs 8 oz, 23 inches tall. She can roll back to front but not front to back. She just started giggling. She loves being carried and dancing to the Trolls soundtrack. Her spit up is improving and her hair is coming in nicely. 

Mr. Clark had his final basketball game this week. It's been an interesting experience. He might be too young for it and the buzzer is just another loud noise that sets off his anxiety. But we were amazing how he coped with it. He figured out that the buzzer would go off AFTER the countdown clock started going really fast (for the final minute). He would watch the clock and when he saw it going fast he'd run to us (or once right out the doors...much to the amusement of the other parents), cover his ears and wait it out. Mr. Smarty pants. 

Random photo Brittany took at the library storytime. Sometimes he gets jealous of Charlotte and so I end up with both of them on my lap. Thanks goodness I can multitask. 

It's fun to watch them grow and develop together. Charlotte loves watching him play trains and he will sometimes put on a puppet and rub her head or hand her a ball in her jumperoo. 

Last cute one. Miss Charlotte Sunday morning having her personal prayers:) 

Halloween plus One

We didn't think anything could top the carve off but boy were we wrong.  On Wednesday we went to the ward Trunk or Treat. The weather was perfect and for once Clark got the idea of "you smile, we give you candy". Thus commenced a long session of cheesy smiles. This year he was Thomas the Tank engine thanks to an awesome costume from Kristina. He wore it the whole night, got a bucket full of candy, and popcorn to round out the end of the night. (PS note Charlotte's baby carrier in the background...that's where she spent the whole night asleep). 

Charlotte had two costumes this year. Just for fun I dressed her up in Clark's baby penguin costume. Umm...they are seriously clones. Clark thought she was hilarious. She was less amused. 

Her real costume was Princess Poppy. My troll costume came courtesy of Girls Camp and I tried my hand at making a little poppy headband. Unfortunately, it was a little snug so we just held it up for the photos. She's still pretty cute.

And Dana humored me by wearing a really crappy train conductor's cap for my photos. 

The actual day of Halloween was a bit of a crazy ride for us. Kristen and Matt were told the baby was coming early so we spent a couple of tense days waiting (even driving down almost to Sunnyside once thinking she was here) but the newest little Gailan must be more of a Halloween nut than even me because she showed up at 9AM on Halloween morning. I hopped in the car first thing to go pick up a very confused Miss Stella. We kept her all day and Matt picked her up the next morning. This is a funny photo of her and Charlotte accidentally matching. New baby is Gianna Jane Gailan. She is so cute and we can't wait to meet her!

So we had an extra addition for Halloween trick or treating. Getting everyone in their costumes was a bit of a struggle but Clark and Stella LOVED ringing doorbells and eating popcorn along the way. They both came home and crashed and Stella slept great. Even though it was a ton of fun and Clark spent the rest of the week asking "where sella" this experience convinced us that two is maybe enough.