Elder Griffin Returns

(Jenn) Today is the big day! My awesome little brother Brady is returning home from his mission in Chicago, IL (South mission). He has been an incredible missionary and has worked so hard. He has also had a LOT of fun being a missionary! I'm jealous of anyone who got to be his companion or work with him while he served in Chicago. Brady is seriously one of the most warm, radiant, lovable, hilarious, and centered people I know. He really has it all figured out! I'm sad that I won't see him this afternoon when he arrives in Utah, but he'll be coming here in just 2 1/2 weeks! I can't wait!

If you are in Utah, I believe Brady is speaking in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday, I believe at 11:00am. If you get the chance, you wouldn't want to miss seeing this attractive boy in person. :)

Mommy's Bootiful Hair

(Jenn) My nephew Isaac has an obsession with touching my girls' hair ALL the time -- especially his mom's, grandma's, and sister's hair. He recently told my sister Kati, "Mom, I wish all the hair in the world would come and be on your head, and make your hair very long. Then I could always put my fingers in your hair." It is getting so out of hand that they're probably going to have to get a dog to help him slow down his addiction. Isaac is the only reason I got a little nervous when Henry decided to stroke my hair for about 10 minutes today. He kept saying, "Mommy's hair is VERY bootiful!" How could I resist letting him? Only time will tell what will come of this . . .

MLK in Pennsylvania

(Jenn)
This is my old roommate Emily and her husband Dave. They live in PA about 1/2 hour away from Philadelphia. For the MLK Day weekend, we invited ourselves to visit them! This picture was taken back in the good old Centennial days, but fortunately Emily and Dave look exactly the same (except Dave is even thinner now -- I think dental school is keeping him too busy to eat!). I should probably also add that their apartment is very tastefully furnished and decorated, so if I had remembered to actually take this picture of them on Sunday night, the background would not include tacky Christmas lights taped to the wall and that nasty Centennial couch.

We shared a lovely Sunday dinner, played that night, and then we spent the night. The next morning, we went with Emily to Valley Forge, which is just a few minutes from their home. During the Revolutionary War, Washington and his troops camped on the grounds at Valley Forge for a winter. It was cool to see the cabins the soldiers stayed in as well as the memorials there.

This other picture is the home of John James Audubon, the naturalist for whom the National Audubon Society is named. This house is within walking distance from Emily and Dave's home. They spend summer nights there sitting on the back porch, looking over the beautiful grounds! It was a gorgeous place!

The official "reason" we went to Philly was to visit the University of Pennsylvania. Ben has applied to the Wharton School of Business' PhD program (along with 8 other programs), so we thought it would be nice to check out the campus just in case it ends up being one of our options. We had tours scheduled at the school, but it was so FREEZING COLD that we decided just to wander around on our own for as long as we could handle it. The campus is unique and very cool. It definitely has the feeling of being right in the middle of the city, although many of the structures are pretty old. All in all, Philly seems like a pretty nice city, at least what we were able to see! We'll keep you posted on whether we might end up there (or anywhere else) in a few months!

The Lack of Snow in Winter

(Jenn)

I took this picture last week in a prideful moment, when I was thinking, "Ha, ha, all of my friends and family in Utah are shoveling snow and freezing to death, and I am at the park in short sleeves in 66 degree weather!" Maybe that wasn't a very nice thought. Sorry! It was beautiful, and this week hasn't been so bad either (more like in the 40's though). I really WOULD like to have at least one more good snow this winter. We got Henry a snow tube for Christmas and have been reading Curious George Goes Sledding, and still Henry has never been sledding! So a good snow day would be nice. I just hope it doesn't come in 3 1/2 weeks from now when my family is here (they're coming to visit for my birthday week!). My brother Brady gets home from his mission a week from today! I can't even explain how excited I am!!!

Henry Quotes of the Month

(Jenn) So Henry's phrases are starting to get longer and more complex as he experiments with the English language. The result? Some pretty funny stuff! Man, this kid is making me laugh. Here are some examples:

Henry's Mixed-Up Version of English:
* "What's that noising?"
* "Who's that people's name?"
* (In response to my "You can eat that with your hands. It will be easier.") "Do it with a spoon, want."

Profound and Obscure Statements:
* "President Hinckley watches through the night."
* (While looking out the window at our next door neighbors' toy-filled back yard) "Lots of free toys!"
* (During yet another frustrating Henry-won't-eat-anything dinner) "Mommy do a angry face?"
* (In response to his own question, "Where's Daddy go?") "In New York City, in Empire State Building, with the missionaries."
* (Referring to a straw covered with chocolate milk residue) "Look! Has poop on it!"

Lip Liner, Round 2

(Jenn) This time he used real lip liner. I can't decide if he was trying to look like Mommy or Grandpa Dave. And my first thought was, "Dang, I hope he didn't waste too much of the lip liner. I can't buy another one until next month!" (already used all the money at ShopRite's Can Can Sale)"

The Sock Song

(Jenn) Henry got bored of singing Christmas carols and is now composing his own songs. Here, his self-composed song about his not-so-secret love for socks. It may help you to know that Henry says his L's as N's, so when he says, "I nuv socks," he means, "I love socks." And trust me, he really does love them.

Sock Song from Ben and Jenn on Vimeo.

People in Order

(Ben) A co-worker of mine shared this video with me. It's people from age 1 to 100 hitting a drum. I know, sounds weird, but it's cool.

18 Stunning Bridges from Around the World

(Ben) I'm a little disappointed that the Brooklyn Bridge didn't make the list, but you've got to admit that these bridges are pretty impressive. Enjoy.

It's Pretty Hard

(Jenn)
Have you ever tried to wash someone's face while they're trying to lick/suck on the wash cloth you are using to try to wash their face?

Have you ever tried to coerce a 2 year-old to eat ANYTHING?

Have you ever tried to convince a 2 year-old that if only he would take ONE bite of his French toast and chew it, THEN you would give him more powdered sugar and syrup (since he had already licked off all of the sugar he was given to start with)?

It's pretty hard. [a.k.a. it's 7:26pm and Ben still isn't home. I'm really not used to handling dinner alone! I don't know how some moms deal with this all the time!]

City Sidewalks

(Jenn)
Amy and Dave came yesterday from CT for a little Christmas visit. We are so glad they came, because they are the closest "family" we have here! We spent the day mostly exploring the Christmas sights of the city. We had plans to go ice skating, but apparently we didn't want to skate badly enough to wait in the horrific lines we saw. Instead, we just visited the skating rinks at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center, seeing the other sights and shops along the way. We had lunch at Cosi and then dropped Amy and Dave off at their theater for Les Misérables.

When they got home from the show, we had a nice dinner at home and then spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing, singing duets, and playing games. Dave is a trooper for enduring all of our crazy reminiscing about high school, and adding what he could here and there. We really love Dave and are so glad Amy married him! We can't think of a couple we'd rather have living so close to us!

We were up until 1:00 in the morning playing Ticket to Ride, the Europe version, which was an awesome game (a gift from Ben's parents). This morning was pretty leisurely -- just talking in our pajamas for a long time before Amy and Dave left around 10:30. I'm really not ready to get back to real life. It has been so nice just to have Ben off work and home for a couple of days (it doesn't happen very often!). I have laundry waiting to be sorted and started in the bedroom, and I'm just trying to think of more things I can do instead of laundry right now. I always dread seeing the end of the holidays. I guess it's a good thing we still have this weekend at Kara's house and then New Year's Eve next week!

A Full Sleigh

(Jenn)

This was our first year having Christmas completely away from family. We definitely missed the traditions we are used to, but it was still a great Christmas for us. We had a rather calm Christmas Eve, just talking about the birth of Jesus with Henry, then singing songs and getting ready for bed. While we were asleep, Santa arrived with a pretty full sleigh!

Really, we were amazed at the stack of gifts we had this year. We're used to only having a few presents under our tree, and then going to visit family and receiving a few more gifts at each house. This year we had EVERYTHING under our tree -- lots of it was sent in packages in the mail! It took 2 full hours to open everything, party because there was so much (thanks everybody!), and partly because Henry wanted to open, play with, or read every gift before moving on to the next one. We had a great Christmas morning.

Apparently Henry was good enough for Santa this year. He ended up getting what he REALLY REALLY wanted -- train tracks! We love this table with the built-in car and train tracks. Henry has already devoted several hours to playing here. Now we just have to figure out where we're going to keep this thing!

Christmas Carols by Henry

(Jenn)
Come on . . . just watch it! It's only 4 minutes long. You should at least watch the first 30 seconds or so, just to get an idea.

Enjoy!


Carols by Henry from Ben and Jenn on Vimeo.

Pretty Things

(Jenn)

Henry has been watching me put on makeup for a couple of days now -- he's pretty interested. Today, he coached me on what to put on next at each point in the process. He was especially excited about the "little pencil" and wanted me to put the lipliner on without delay. Here he is, a few minutes later, trying his own masterpiece with a purple pencil. I guess he knew we were going to get his pictures taken today, and he wanted to look especially handsome.

6 Things that Make Me Happy

(Jenn)

1. The sound of lots of laughing kids. This week, they were teenagers. We had a really fun Young Men/Young Women Christmas party at the church. We played the candy bar game and "Christmas Cranium." In both games, it was great to hear 15 kids laughing and having a merry time.

2. Seeing Henry's face in the rearview mirror. When we're dropping Ben off at the train station, if we time it just right, we're leaving the station just as the train pulls in. I like to peek in the mirror and catch Henry's face as he nearly shrieks with delight and yells "Train's coming!" Same reaction every time.

3. The rare moments when Henry stops running and will just sit with me. Today he sat with me on the rocking chair and we just reviewed the morning's events together. I love his sweet little voice chiming in what he remembers ("Ate fruit snacks").



4. Our advent calendar. This was a miraculous buy for our home this year (I looked ALL over for it, and one day it suddenly appeared on a shelf of Target where it hadn't been before!). It makes me happy every time I see it. The candy inside every door makes Henry and Ben happy too!



5. Our Christmas card wall. I'm proud of my ribbon-and-clothespin-invention, my own spin on a Martha Stewart idea. I also love seeing how loved we are by looking at the cards and the wonderful people they represent. Thanks for the cards everybody!

6. Our Christmas tree. Of course.

Chocolate Swirls

(Jenn) As you may know, Henry loves library books! He especially loves them when he has read them enough times to recite his favorite words from them. Usually it's just the important words at the end of each sentence ("Left foot, left foot, left foot, right. Feet in the morning, feet at . . . NIGHT!"). Today he shocked me while we were reading Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory (a real winner). The book shows how to identify each kind of chocolate by the swirls on top of them. Today, Henry piped in and recited all 7 different kinds of chocolate (fudge, caramel, marshmallow, truffle, nougat, orange fluff, and "George's favorite: banana cream"). I never realized he was listening so closely, or that he could say the words "nougat" and "truffle." I guess he pays attention when it comes to candy (I'm teaching him well)!


Untitled from Ben and Jenn on Vimeo.

Santa Pics

(Jenn) It's a miracle that we were able to get a non-screaming picture of Henry on Santa's lap this year. At the branch party, we had a Tongan Santa, and Henry was terrified of him! He ran out of the room crying and wouldn't go back into the party for the rest of the night. So this is the picture of Henry and Santa at the Moms' Club party. He hesitated, but then he sat on Santa's lap for a few seconds -- long enough to get a present from Santa and put in his order for this year: train tracks.

Here is Elder Sopu, the Tongan Santa. I don't know if Henry was more scared of Santa himself, or all the cheering and clapping that went on when Santa showed up.

Let it Snow Baby . . . Let it Reindeer

(Jenn)

My Christmas music pick of the year: Relient K's "Let it Snow Baby . . . Let it Reindeer." I must admit that I was skeptical at first when my brother Tanner gave me the CD, but I absolutely love it! It's got a lot of great Christmas favorites performed in their upbeat "pop-punk" style, and then a few amazing originals about Christ (the band is considered by some to be in the Christian rock genre). Anyway, it has been a refreshingly different-yet-not-too-different option for the Christmas music this year. Just trust me on this one. Buy it, ask me (or Tanner) for a copy of it, or at least listen to some samples (for your convenience, I've linked the Amazon page. Just click the link and then scroll down to the samples).

Enjoy!

Potty Time!

(Jenn) Henry has been seriously fascinated with the toilet recently. He loves talking about potty, watching people go potty, and putting toilet paper in the potty and flushing it. So on his birthday, I set up a potty station in his room with the potty we bought from a garage sale and a basket of books. Since then he has LOVED sitting on the potty and reading books (of course, I have to read them to him).

I was pretty sure he was just taking advantage of a chance to talk Mom into reading to him several times a day. And I was pretty sure he was probably NEVER going to actually "go potty," but on Monday he did it! It was a miracle! He actually said, "Needa go potty" instead of just "Go potty," so I was a little hopeful. Then, after a few books, I did a few water-pouring motivational tactics (I'll spare you the details), and it worked! Henry got 5 M&M's as a potty treat! Yesterday he went potty twice and was perfectly happy with only 3 M&M's. I guess I need to go buy some more. We weren't planning on potty training Henry for at least another six months or a year. I still probably won't push it, at least until the holidays are over. But for now it's kind of cool that he knows what's going on and is excited about it. If you have any suggestions or notice any grave mistakes with my method of potty training (I have no idea what I'm doing), please let me know!

Do you think it looks official?

(Jenn) Henry's been helping with Ben's grad school applications. I found him yesterday helping with the "official transcript" that Ben had all ready to mail to Duke. It's supposed to be sealed, stamped, and signed by the registrar. So cast your votes, ladies and gentlemen: do you think they'll go for this one? It looks pretty official to me.