Christmas Part 1

Everyone says that Christmas is great with a toddler, but I never knew it would be this great! Addy has been an absolute doll. She has loved every aspect of the season so far. The decorations, the tree, the lights, the stores, the treats, Santa, and the story of Christ's birth. She loves reading Christmas books and her favorite Christmas movie so far is The Grinch. She is definitely part Mosley! She also loves Christmas songs. She'll tell me "You better watch out..." and that is the cue to start singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"!

Her sweet little heart is set upon a PINK kitchen. We have tried to tell her that Santa makes kitchens in all different colors...like RED, but her cousins have the best pink kitchen ever and it is making Santa's gift giving difficult! Hopefully when the time comes, the color won't matter too much.

We went to Thanksgiving Point to look at the lights last week. Brynn was sleeping so we let Addy sit up in the front with me. WOW! She was amazed. She told Santa "Hi" at least 50 times and I think my favorite line was when we were driving through the Candyland area when she said in a little sing-song voice "Hi Santa, bring me some treats to put in my pocket!"

On Friday we had the annual Bassett Family Christmas Party. Santa was definitely a high point. Ads jumped and screamed when he walked through the door. Ah, the magic of Christmas. It was a wonderful party and a big thank you goes out to Dustin and Kate for the great planning.

Like most people, I love this time of year. The opportunity to focus on the birth of our Savior, along with the love and kindness shown by so many truly touches my heart. I am grateful for such wonderful family and friends. Merry Christmas to you all.

Bassett Family Party
Adalyn on Santa's lap

Brynn was so happy!

Sometimes it just gets to be too much!

Brynn is the sweetest little bug!

Aunt Sari came to visit. YAY! Addy was shy at first but all it took was an "X Marks the Spot"

and Sari won Addy's heart! It was so good to see Sarah. We sure do miss her!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Last Wednesday I took the girls to the LIving Planet Aquarium. We went there last spring but now that Addy is older, and educated by the film Finding Nemo, she had a great time and was able to identify so much more. She really loved the ocean area.

Brynn was just hangin' out.

This was the little pond where she could touch fish and a stingray!

There are many moments when I am a proud mother, but lately I have been bursting with pride! Many of you know that I am a pretty clean person. Granted my house is not always perfect, but I definitely enjoy a clean, organized and, clutter free environment. As of late Ads has taken to pulling out the wipes and cleaning the fireplace tiles, her toys, the kitchen, and whatever else she may find. She always lets me know that she is cleaning. And I praise her. To top it off, the other day I was kind of in a rush so I told her to leave her toys on the floor and we would pick them up when we got back. She responded with a "No, I have to clean them up now!" I told her not to worry about it but she nicely insisted and proceeded to pick her toys up. I was so impressed at what a wonderful little girl she is I just had to help her. I'm a lucky mom! She is already so much like me...Todd would agree!

A Hot Date!

This past weekend Todd and I were able to go on a real date! We traded off watching kids with friends of ours so we watched their kids while they went out on Friday and so on Saturday, it was our turn! Now that we have two children dating is even more of a luxury. First, we went to Texas Roadhouse for steak. We figured they'd be showing the Ute vs. BYU game there, but unfortunately they didn't have the channel so we missed the Utes win, but the food was great. Then we went over to the mall to do a bit of shopping. It was amazing to be actually able to look at clothes AND try things on without kids being impatient. Plus, we didn't have to push a stroller around! It was wonderful to spend some time with Todd. He sure is good to me.

I decided to start a new tradition. I enjoy Thanksgiving with the family, that's what it's all about...family. But I'm always sad I don't get to cook my own meal and have gratitude time with just our own individual family so the weekend before Thanksgiving I am going to cook our own Thanksgiving meal. So, I wrote sweet Grandma and asked her for all the secret recipes! I cooked a turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, bing cherry salad, stuffing, and pecan pie. I did buy the rolls from the Lionhouse Pantry because they are so good there! We invited Mom and Dad Bassett because we love them and it was quite a bit of food for only two adults and a child! It turned out so well. I was so proud of me! I really have started to enjoy cooking. It was a good tradition to start and now I get to look forward to another yummy meal tomorrow with the entire Bassett clan and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Happy Thanksgiving!

Molton Lava Cake

I love sweets. Sad to say, Addy has inherited my love for sugar. Even though I tried to delay treats and candy as long as possible, it has come to the point where the first thing Addy requests when she wakes up is a treat! Oh dear! The request is never granted.

Quite a few moons ago, my sister Gerren and I developed a love for Chi Chi's s'mores dessert. Sadly, since that time, I believe Chi Chi's has closed it's doors but after I moved to Utah I was introduced to Chili's Molton Chocolate Cake. This is an especially tasty dessert to my palate. The other night I was craving this fantastic dessert and ordered it "to go." I am a loving mother and so I shared it with my family. Addy REALLY liked it. Something tells me if Brynnlee is anything like us we are going to have lots of dessert nights in our house. This is why the Lord has given me girls! The video below also includes Addy singing her favorite song with me! (Please, I was not blessed in the vocal abilities category so don't laugh!)

The Magical World of Disney

This past Thursday evening we took Adalyn and Brynnlee to Disney on Ice! We took Trax up there because of the convenience of not having to find parking and such and since Addy loves trains we figured this too would be a highlight of the evening. And it was. She was estatic on the train and kept saying "the train goes fast fast fast!" I wonder what she would say on one of those Japanese bullet trains if she thinks Trax is fast?

So we get to the arena where the show was being held and of course the minute you walk inside you are bombarded with all things Disney. Apparently Disney is not about to ease the wallet book in this harsh economy because you end up paying more for a snack and toy then you did for the actual ticket itself. But Daddy loves his Addy so she picked out a Little Mermaid doll which I am happy to say she is still playing with 4 days later.

The show was great. It was completely worth it to see Addy SO excited. She clapped, shouted and patted her legs thoughout the entire show. It was so fun so see her so happy and be so amazed. I guess it really is the magic of Disney. Maybe Disneyland will have to be our next trip!

The IHOP Fiasco!

We rarely go out to breakfast these days, (we use to frequently go to the hospital to eat breakfast, but that's a whole other story!) but while Todd was in NYC last week, I took Adalyn to IHOP for the first time. Now Addy loves breakfast foods so IHOP was pretty much heaven for her but I didn't know it would never be forgotten. So throughout the past week Addy has often requested a dining experience at IHOP but I always tell her "not today." Because, I mean, IHOP is okay, but it's not exactly the kind of place that should make someone feel they must come back for more within 24 hours. So Friday night we were out and about and when we started back to the house all Addy could talk about was freaking IHOP. "I wanna go to IHOP!" over and over and over again. Seriously, at least 467 times in the 20 minutes it took to get home. It was at that moment that Todd announced the Bassett family will NEVER go to IHOP again. This announcement only produced more tears, but I was fully ready to support Todd in this decision. It's funny what a night of sleep will do because bright and early the next morning, Todd took Addy on a special to IHOP.

Last night after dinner, Ads and I went into her room to play. I often remind Addy that Brynn can't have anything but Mommy Milk! No Addy food! Well, here we are playing with her dolls and she has this rather large stuffed Barney dinosaur. First Ads puts Barney in her little doll crib and tells Barney a few times "No climbing out of the crib!" Do you think she's heard that a few times? Then, she takes Barney out of the crib, proceeds to lift up her shirt and announces that Barney needs Mommy Milk! Of course I just had to laugh because she had never done this before but now that I look back on it...hmmm. Addy has so many cute, little dolls, yet she picks big ol' Barney to feed. I love not knowing what is coming out of her mouth next! It always makes for an exciting day.

Yesterday we took Adalyn to the Lehi Legacy Center to go swimming. She LOVES to swim and has been very sad that the pool at our complex has been closed for the winter. Ads has come a very long way this past summer swimming, thanks to her Dad, who has taught her so much and encourages her to do all the scary stuff!

Taking a ride!

Coming down the big slide...full force!

A little movie of Addy!

Brynnlee

I was going to wait exactly a year until I posted again, but something got into me and here I am, blogging my little heart out! What a year it has been. So much has happened I really can't even begin to write all the details except for one...Brynnlee! What an absolute sweetie. She has been a wonderful addition to our family. One little smile from her melts my heart!

I love being a mom! The little things that happen each day really add up. Smiles. I love yous.(without being promted) Kissing the hurts. The laughs. Snuggling in bed each morning, all four of us. Parks and swimming. Hugs and Brynn still at the age where she wants to be held and loved all the time! I am so grateful for such a wonderful, supportive husband and two beautiful daughters.

Okay, so I'm done with the cheesy stuff. But life is good! I'm ready for the holidays to come. What a great time of year...especially with a two year old. If Halloween was a preview of things to come, it will be so fun! Addy LOVED trick or treating. And once she realized she got candy at every house, before the candy was even in her bag she'd say "next house!" The holidays sure do become magical with little kids around.

Now that my blog is up and running again, it will be updated frequently...I promise!

Some Halloween Pics!

Addy did not like Grandpa's costume! It scared her!

Just waitin' to go trick or treating!

Making Halloween cookies! YUM!

Pumpkin Fun!

Trunk or Treat at Church

Boo at the Zoo!