So Tactful

My favorite reaction to telling someone I'm pregnant:

"Ohhh," then a pitying glance, "But you just lost all that weight from the first one."

Thank you.

Dos Equis

We are so excited to announce:

Baby #2 is due June 17th!


We really wanted to wait to announce it until Christmas - but who knew waiting would be so hard? We're very excited and are trying to enjoy every moment. Cole says he wants a baby sister, so we'll see what we can do. :)

Merry Christmas!

It was a wonderful Christmas this year, and we had such fun. On Christmas Eve, we headed to the Thomsen's for brunch. We enjoyed a nativity and opening presents. It was a great time!

Later that night, Pa and Nana came over for dinner and a movie. They gave Cole is new favorite puppy - Jingle.We also decorated cookies for Santa.Christmas morning, we woke up to find that Santa had come. Cole must have been a good boy this year. He enjoyed his art easel - especially the "mangets."And the new train table was a huge hit!
We spent the morning at Pa & Nana's with Great Grandma Barber and Carol. We also enjoyed our traditional Yugoslavian fair at Great Grandma Allen's.

We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas as well!

Bad Santa

Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like Santa laying his hand on your shoulder.

Trains & Lights

On Saturday, we took Cole down to Temple Square to see the lights. We decided to take Trax, and Cole was definitely a fan. I was thinking, "Oh, how cute, he's checking out the scenery..."Until I looked closer and realized he was LICKING the windowsill of the Trax train. You know, the same windowsill that people probably do lines of cocaine off of. (Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration.)

We finally arrived and checked out the lights.Eskimo kisses!Everything was beautiful and the trip definitely helped us feel a little more festive.

Jingle Bells

Winter Sing

Cole's day care held a Winter Sing on Wednesday night. For the first year, Cole was old enough to participate. His two's class sang Once There Was a Snowman and Jingle Bells. Cole didn't really sing - but he didn't cry either. We were very proud of him, and it was adorable to see all the kids in their Santa hats.

Cole & BFF IsakRehearsal with Miss Ana and Miss Lori - notice who refused to sit "Criss Cross Applesauce..."
Ready for the stage!

The Tradition Continues

I was very excited to overcome the underwhelming Thanksgiving Point and Wheeler Farm experiences of last year with a new tradition. Listening to the commercials for This is the Place park's Christmas Village sounded like just the ticket.

Not so much.

Among some of the super great activities? We got to meet Santa, who was situated in a dark building with a leaky roof and firmly insisted he be called "Father Christmas." Cole lasted for about 5 seconds.
We saw the "live" nativity, which consisted of Mary and Joseph staring awkwardly at a doll and some sheep in pens. We wandered through the "Elf Village," which was a few small buildings with animatronic elves in them. We sat through the most uncomfortable puppet show ever. Even Cole was unimpressed.
The train ride couldn't even salvage the night.
At $9 a pop, this was not a cheap activity. I give my parents props for coming along for the ride and not complaining once. My advice? Go see the Hogle Zoo lights. We looked at them jealously as we drove home that night.

Maybe next year!

Gingerbread Houses

It's time for the annual Thomsen Gingerbread House Extravaganza! :) This year, the kids were even more into it and spent a lot of time decorating. Cole mostly ate candy.

Snow!

Challenges

You know that feeling when you think you've got something down and come to the stunning realization you don't?

I hate that feeling.

I mentioned in my last post about Cassie's wedding. I didn't really mention that I did her wedding cake - and there was a reason behind that: it was not my best work.

It all seemed to be going so well - the night before, the cakes were perfect, square, and smoothly covered with fondant, just waiting to be put together. Cass's cake was a challenge because there was nothing around the bottom to cover the edges, so I had to cut them exactly. Well, do you know what happens when you cover a frozen cake and then that cake thaws? It shrinks - something I didn't factor in. I bet you can guess what happens to fondant that is hard when a cake shrinks.

The next morning, my smooth cakes had betrayed me - rippling and bubbling out on the sides, the edges ragged and uneven. The beautiful yellow details had faded to a dull brown as it had dried.

I sobbed the entire way to the wedding. I cringed every time someone stepped up to take a look. And I berated myself for failing when it mattered so much.

I've thought a lot about this since, and have come to the realization that this is one of life's lessons I needed to learn. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, things just don't work out. The perfect scenario you create in your head just doesn't come to be.

So, with my lesson learned, I present my leaning tower of cake. Despite it having it's share of problems - it was delicious. And when it comes to cake, that counts for something! :)

Sister Cousins

We have a saying in the Barber family about our relationships with our cousins - Sister Cousins. I know it sounds all polygamy-ish, but it really just means we're so close, it's not like we're just cousins, we're like sisters. This is especially true when it comes to my cousin Cassie.

We played "Little Mermaid" at Lake Powell. At sleepovers, we pretended to be princesses escaping our evil fathers with our handsome princes - running through the house with sheets draped over our shoulders. We got our "scandalous" double ear piercings together. At any given family gathering, we were sequestered away, gossiping and telling stories. We got to experience the awesomeness that is NYC - twice! This past weekend, Cassie got married. She was completely gorgeous and glowing with happiness. Her wedding was absolutely stunning and totally unique. And, trust me, I cried a lot and simply couldn't believe my baby cousin was getting married. Anyway, congratulations, Cass - you and Jonathan are so sweet together! Love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness!

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween brought a lot of fun this year, including:

An "Office" Halloween party at Cindy and Shawn's:
A neighborhood "Trunk or Treat," where Cole got to try out his costume. He also went through a haunted house for the first time. Apparently, there was a ghost at the end (I wouldn't know - I firmly draw the line with haunted houses). When I asked Cole if he was afraid of the ghost, he said, "NO, mommy. Ghost was afraid of Cole."University Kids had a great party. Cole was very excited to get his face painted......until he actually saw it.He also didn't want much to do with showing off his decorated trick or treat bag.
We had a fantastic time at the Pickle Halloween Party. We'll definitely have to step up the costumes if we want to hang with this crowd! Here's just a sample:

Roller-derby chick and Wesley. (Watch out, Jonathan, this is only the beginning!)
Pa & Nana:A cougar and her "boy toy."Alice in Wonderland!
We also enjoyed the Thomsen Halloween Party on Sunday:
Cole loved trick or treating, even though he did have to use his Easter basket to collect candy. He also discovered "M a Ms," and now wants to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.Most of all, we loved seeing all the cute costumes and spending time with friends and family. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Riddle Me This

Cole's newest thing is to answer your question in the form of the question. I had to put these into blog form before I forgot them! :)

Me: "How's breakfast?"
Cole: "Are you all done?"
Me, confused: "Um, yes. Mommy's done. Are you done?"
Cole: "Yes."

Me: "Cole, what are you up to?"
Cole: "Are you reading books?"

Me: "Cole, are you getting out all the toys?"
Cole: "Are you making a mess?"

Apparently, in our house, we ask too many questions and don't make enough statements. It's like a crazy form of Jeopardy!

New Family Pics

Jenn took our family pics this year, and was amazing - as usual! (Especially considering a certain little boy who was more interested in running off than sitting still.) I love them!