Christmas is the Season

I cannot believe it is almost Christmas time again! Where has the year gone? Last Christmas Mattie was not even walking! Riley and Mattie have both grown up a lot in one year. Mattie is starting to say a lot of words. She is starting to repeat what other people say. Today I asked her if she wanted a bowl and she said bowl. This weekend she also said party, doggy, Riley, baby, Brighton, go-gurt, more, eat, pie etc... However, when you ask her to say a certain word she usually won't say it. It has to be on her own terms.

As Christmas is fast approaching I keep thinking about what Christmas really means to me and my family . Christmas is the best time of the year. Most people are trying to be a little nicer, baking goody's and performing service for each other. The Christmas season helps us to remember the birth of baby Jesus and the wonderful gifts Christ has given to us. We are constantly reminded of Him all month long while listening Christmas music, nativity scenes displayed, decorations etc... After being a mother, Christmas means more to me now because I look at my children and think back to when they were just infants and what it must have been like for Mary. How hard it must have been to have traveled on a donkey being so pregnant and then to give birth in a stable. What a sweet and humble birth Jesus had. I am so thankful we can remember Him and celebrate His birth with our families.

Christmas to me also means celebrating and being with our families. Showing our families how much we care and love them. We have always gotten together with my Aunt Carole and her children on Christmas Eve. I am so happy that even though she passed away we still continue to do that. Everyone will come over to my parents and we will eat Mexican food- chicken enchiladas, pasole, tacos, tamales, cheese dip and yummy sweets. The children exchange gifts. After everyone goes home, my parents, Vern, me, Riley and Mattie will open up our gifts to each other. I love this. I like Christmas Eve better than Christmas. Maybe its because of the build up to Christmas or the anticipation of what is to come the next day. I just love Christmas Eve. Vern's family, well since I've been around :) will get together for Christmas dinner/lunch and open gifts Christmas afternoon. When the whole family is there it is complete chaos and everyone opens their gifts at the same time. I absolutely love it. This year everyone is going to be at Vern's parents house at different times. I think most of us will be there Sunday though which gives all the kids a chance to play with each other. Christmas afternoon, we usually get together with my Dad's sister Robyn and her family also. It's always wonderful and exciting to be with our families and share Christmas with them.

Mattie and Riley in new pjs

A Hair Cut, A Party and A Parade

We can finally live again- all of Vern's homework and tests are turned in and his Fall semester at UVU (Utah Valley University) is finished!!!!! What a relief. I can blog now! Vern was able to put up the Christmas lights and they look so good.

I have so much to blog about I don't know where to begin or what to blog about... I'll start with Riley's hair cut and the Ward Christmas party. Riley needed a haircut really bad. The last time Vern cut, it was really short and Riley freaked out afterwards. This time, I decided to take him to a place where kids get their haircut, "Cool Cuts". Everything was going okay, he sat in the firetruck chair and picked out movie. Then he went to the restroom. While he was in the bathroom the lady pulled out this mannequin head to show me the different clippers lengths of hair. It was a very strange looking head, but it did show the different lengths of hair to choose from. Riley came out of the bathroom just in time to see it. Then he refused to get back in the chair and did not want his haircut there. He said he didn't want his hair to look that head. We ended up leaving and Vern cut his hair later that day. We were having our family pictures taken that day, so we wanted his hair to look cleaned up and nice. Vern did an excellent job cutting Riley's hair.

Riley's new do

December 3rd was our ward Christmas party at Nevitt's farm. It was so fun. My mom and dad came down for it. Riley sang with the primary kids and Mattie worked her way on stage too. Santa Claus also made an appearance after the kids performed. The weather was great we were not cold at all.

Riley being a snowman

Riley and Jake

Mattie on stage

December 11th was the Globe light parade. Last year, Grandpa Perry made a float for the kids with wagons hooked together like a train. The float even won a trophy which Riley has displayed in his room. Riley was so excited for the parade and being in it. He said he was going to take his trophy in the parade. This year the only grand kids that could be in the Perry float were Riley and Mattie so Grandpa Perry reserved some seats on the old Globe Firetruck. Grandpa Perry mentioned something to Riley to the effect of Riley driving it. Well, from that point on, Riley was determined that he was going to be driving the firetruck. We got to the float and I showed him where he was supposed to ride and had a melt down. "I am supposed to drive mom". When it was time for the float to go it was only Mattie, Grandpa Perry and me on it. At the last minute my mom came running up with Riley, she had talked him into going on in. Santa was also on the firetruck and Riley was leery of him which was another reason he wanted to ride in the front of the truck. Silly boy. He ended up having a lot of fun.

The old Globe Firetruck all fixed up

Grandpa and Mattie

Pie, Camping and Other Fun Facts

Can you believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone? We had a really nice Thanksgiving this year with our family. We first ate with Vern's family at Lisa and John's (Sylvia had her baby so they moved Thanksgiving to Mesa) and then we drove to Globe later that afternoon and hung out with my family. I never can seem to remember to take any pictures at Thanksgiving. At my parents house Mattie started saying, "Pie". It was really cute. She loves pie. Now when anyone says pie she comes running.

Thanksgiving night we pulled our camp trailer out to Roosevelt Lake. It was FREEZING that night! Once we got the heater in the trailer on it was fine but when we first got there it was so cold. The kids had fun riding their 4-wheelers the next morning. We also tried to play uno. We let Mattie play because she wants to do everything Riley or anyone else does, so we knew if we didn't let her play there would be trouble. Mattie was so cute. She didn't want to part with any of her cards and kept collecting more and more.

We had to bundle up the kids before they could go out that morning

Mattie concentrating on her cards

Mattie and me

That afternoon we had some visitors. Grandpa Perry came out to see us. We were excited. My parents also came out to visit us too. They watched the kids ride their 4-wheelers and then went back to Globe. After they left we went for a ride in the boat. Riley got to drive and loved it! Mattie hated her lifejacket but suprisingly she fell asleep. The next day Jen, Joe, Taylor and Trevor came out to visit us. Riley and Taylor had tons of fun. They also went out in the boat again. Vern also got his "turkey tacos" and we had a foil dinner that was awesome.

So pretty

Riley

Mattie and her 4-wheeler

Riley and his 4-wheeler

We put up our Christmas tree. Mattie has been really good with it. I thought she would be pulling it down or breaking ornaments by now. So far so good. Riley ofcourse loves Christmas and decorating for it. He desperately wants to put our village up. I promised him tomorrow.

The kids and their bell ornaments

Classic picture taking of these two- cannot get either of them to look at the camera

Riley got to go to the hospital to see Brighton, Sylvia and Cliff's new baby boy. When he got there, Riley called Brighton, "sunshine". I thought this was so cute. What a perfect nickname for Brighton- sunshine. He is so precious and he has golden hair. Riley and Mattie love their little sunshine.

Well this blog entry is so long it must come to an end! But first, I will leave you with our new names Riley has come up with-

Riley- peanut butter

Becca- popcorn

Mattie- sun chip

Vern- Egg- we thought this was the funniest. Why egg?

Don't ask me why, but those are our new names. So, popcorn here signing off for the night. Goodnight all.

The Terrible Twos Are Here

Things have been wild here at the Perry's. Mattie thinks she is thirteen and can do EVERYTHING by herself. Even things I don't let Riley do yet. She manages to get out of her buckles in the car and reaches all over the place and plays with the windows and buttons. I stop to fix it but not two seconds later she's maneuvered her way out again. She still has the bottom part buckled, but its not a good situation. She also doesn't like her diaper or clothes on anymore. I turn around and she's buck naked and up to no good. Her two favorite no-nos are playing on the computer and getting on Riley's bed to turn the lamp on the dresser on and off. So, if Mattie is not in plain sight, (if we are upstairs) I go to the kid's bedroom and there she is. Perched on Riley's bed turning the light on and off naked. Now I have to go around locking and then unlocking all the doors when I or someone else needs to go in. Whenever anyone comes over to the house I am sure they wonder why all the doors are locked. Riley's like, I'll get you a penny (our door key).

Mattie's also taken an interest in doing dishes. I don't mind the help usually, however, if I do anything at the kitchen sink like rinse off a plate to put in the dishwasher or wash my hands, she is pushing a kitchen chair over to stand on it ready to wash dishes and when I inform its not time to wash dishes she has a fit. I am almost ready to put the chairs in the garage. When we go anywhere such as store, library, restaurant or wherever she does not want to hold any one's hand. I still make Riley hold my hand and she is refusing. I basically have to grab her wrists and hold on for dear life and then she tries to bite my hands. The terrible twos here.

Mario and Luigi

Even though Mattie is starting her terrible twos, she is still my sweetheart. She can say bye, me, and sounds of some other words. She is still Riley's shadow. Last night Riley got out his Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag, so I went and got Mattie's Cinderella sleeping bag so they both could play. Did she want hers? No way. She continued to try to get into Riley's until I had to put them away because they were fighting over his sleeping bag. Today Riley was playing like he was Mario, you know from Super Mario Brothers. He put on his tennis shoes and a hat. Then Mattie went and found a hat and put on some other tennis shoes of Riley's. Riley said they were Mario and Luigi.

Which One- Nap Time or Play With My Poop Time?

On Veteran's Day we went to the parade in Apache Junction. It was a nice parade and the kids enjoyed it. Riley really enjoyed it because he was with his cousins. I think his favorite part or at least the part they were the most excited about was when a horse pooped. Later Riley told me, "Mom a horse pooped at the parade!" Boys. That would be the most exciting part right?

Riley and his cousins- he's in the orange sweatshirt with a flag

Mattie

A truck with horns on the bumper and roof- this picture doesn't really do it justice

Well speaking of poop, Mattie and I had a poop incident on Sunday. Vern and Riley had gone to Globe to drive up Jason's truck and Mattie and I stayed home. I put Mattie in her crib for her nap and let her fuss/cry. I heard her kicking the walls as she usually does. She stopped for awhile and I thought she was asleep. A while later I heard her making noises so I went up to check on her. I opened the door and there was the most horrendous poop smell ever! It was hideous. Her pants were off and she had poop smeared all over the bars on crib, on herself and her mattress. Surprisingly her diaper was still on. It was so gross. It was dried onto her hands and caked under her fingernails. On her little wrists where she has creases, it was caked in the creases. So gross. I am sure most of you out there have had this happen to you at one point with a child right? I guess I should check on her more often to make sure she is really sleeping and not playing with her poop.

Good Quote and a Tea Party

This month I have sharing time for primary. So the blog might take a backseat to that and everything else going on this month. It seems like after Halloween the weeks start flying by. The theme for sharing time this month is service. I like this theme because there a a lot ideas and lesson helps for this topic. YEAH! While I was working on it this weekend I found an awesome quote. Not necessarily for primary children but for adults. Here it is- I love it!!

“I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk’s lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor’s children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.” - Sister Marjorie P. Hinckley

Yesterday we went to my friends baby blessing. During church Riley announces loudly he has to go poop. I try to shush him and get up and try to start heading out of there and he says again loudly , "Not pee mom- POOOOP" I wanted to say but didn't- yes Riley I know and so does the entire congregation, pee not poop. Then as we walk out Mattie flips out because she sees Riley and me are leaving. Oh well. What can you do?

Today Mattie and Riley were playing upstairs. They played with light sabers, motorcycles and guns. I was thinking to myself man I need to get her some girl stuff quick when all of the sudden Riley announces they are going to play tea part. They sat at the little table in the toy room and got out Mattie's plastic tea set she got from the Easter Bunny last year. Riley made numerous trips back and forth from the bathroom filling up the little tea pots with water. Then he would pour it into their tiny cups, spilling it everywhere but they had fun. It warmed my heart to see Mattie playing something little girls like to do. Thanks to Riley- (since Mattie does whatever he does) Mattie got to play tea party.

So Much To Say

I've waited around and now I have way too much to blog about!! On Wednesday we drove up to Globe and went to the Globe Stake Trunk or Treat. It was fun and it gave the kids a chance to wear their costumes. Mattie loved holding her bag and getting candy. Riley enjoyed seeing all the different costumes.

Tinkerbell and Batman

I love this picture of him!

After Trunk or Treat they dumped their candy out to see what they got

Thursday was Riley's Halloween party at school. Vern, Mattie and I went also. It was at the park across the street from his school. It was a lot of fun. The kids were so cute dressed up in their costumes. They played at few games, ate some treats and played at the park.

Riley's class

Riley's class eating treats

Mattie eating her cupcake

On Friday evening we went to our own ward's Trunk or Treat. It was so much fun! I loved seeing everyone in costumes- all my primary children dressed up. So fun. Riley had a blast with his friends. Mattie didn't want to hold my hand which was crazy because it was dark, there were tons of people and moving cars. These were the only two pictures I could manage. The kids were acting like chickens were their heads cut off and would not hold still.

Riley and William

Saturday we went to a birthday party and then hung out at home. Vern was really tired from driving Thursday night and Friday morning. The kids were also tired. We did not do anything Halloweenish on Saturday. A cute thing Riley started saying the past couple of day is, someone (whoever he sees) is dressed up to _______ whatever the person is dressed up as. Instead of saying, for example, that William is dressed up as or William is dressed as a pirate he would say, "William is dressed up to a pirate mom".

Sunday after church we drove up to Globe again. We hung out with family and then the kids put on their costumes and I took them over to my Grandpa's house so he could see them. I think he really enjoyed seeing them.

I love the expression on her face

Tonight we played games with the kids. First we played hide and go seek. It was sooo much fun! You have to understand how my kids play though. Riley will run around from spot to spot while the person is counting and then finally find a spot. Then he will make noise and giggle until he is found. Mattie just runs around goes to where ever someone is hiding and does not hide but makes a bunch of noise. Sometimes you can convince her to hide with you for a second but she is will always be up and about when the person that is it is coming to find you is coming. Its quite hilarious to watch. Next, we played duck duck goose. It took a while for Mattie to kind of understand the concept. Finally we got her to kind of go around and tap us on the head but she started doing it repeatedly and kind of hard. She did that to Riley like five times and we were laughing so hard. I love playing my kids and husband.

Mattie has started showing some attitude and signs of the terrible twos. Occasionally when she does not get something she wants she'll throw her head back and just start crying/sobbing. She also had started to kind of stick out her tongue and kick. She hasn't really kicked anyone yet, but she will give you this look and kick her leg. She doesn't completely stick her tongue out, but part of it will come out and she puts it on her lip. I'll try to get a picture.

Mattie trying on sunglasses