Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

This is the photo on our Christmas card.

Thing 1 with uncle Ivan

I really want a picture of him walking away with both kids, but this is a start

Yum!

This year was very eventful. We watched our babies turn into toddlers. They have learned so much in the past year. Last Christmas they didn't even know how to roll over. Now they are running. In the past week they even learned how to climb onto the couch. Now for getting down gracefully, and how do you childproof your lamps that can be tipped off the end table?

Not only have they learned to move they learned to talk. They say so many words it is fun to listen to them. It is also fun to watch them follow a command, dance, sing, and lead the music at church. I love the awe in their eyes when we look at the Christmas lights. They truly are the love of our lives. They make our family wonderful.

Jake has enjoyed and dreaded his year staying home with them. He loves them, but a 10 hour day with just 2 kids is hard. It is also hard to accomplish much with 2 kids wanting you to read stories to them constantly. He was released from the scouts and is now the ward clerk, he is good at his job and I think he enjoys it some of the time.

I was able to cut back my hours at Wal-mart enough that I only have to work 3 days a week. It is difficult to leave each day, but nice that one of us is able to say home with the twins. I have been the cub committee chair and just got released last Sunday and was called to be a visiting teaching district leader, I thought that was an old lady calling, but I guess it is also good for a mom with two 1 year olds. I'm excited not to be in scouts anymore, I have served in scouts for the past 3 1/2 years.

Texas has been slightly neglected over the past year, we tried to get out and play with him, but mostly he has been free to wander. He is very good with the babies, although Thing 1 is still a little nervous around him. Thing 2 is very brave and loves to get right into his face.

We are grateful for this time of the year. We love the Savior. I am grateful for His birth, His life, and His sacrifice for me. Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Whipple Family

Santa Clause

Santa came to Wal-mart today and while I was on my lunch break Jake brought the kids to see him. They were both pretty nervous. Thing 1 wouldn't sit on his lap so I held her and Thing 2 wanted me to hold him too.

O Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree. It was fun to watch the twins play with the ornaments and look at the tree and lights. It isn't great that they still want to play with the ornaments and move the decorative boxes out from under the tree. No presents under the tree this year at our house. I want to tell them it was cute for pictures but now please don't touch.

Football

Jake was preparing to travel on bad roads to burley, he had this sleeping bag out to take with us. He let Thing 1 lay in it, she was pretty cute.

He tried to get both of them in it, but Thing 2 was out before I could take the picture.

Jake bought a couple footballs for Thanksgiving so we could have a turkey bowl. I didn't play because I thought it was too cold. But they still had a fun game outside without me and the twins. We had a fun game of football for Family Home Evening that week. It is fun to see Thing 1 carry the football back and forth between Jake and me. It was also fun to watch Thing 2 try to throw the ball and do a little dance after he tossed it on the ground. He will be good at the victory dances.

Thanksgiving

This year we were suppose to go to Burley for Thanksgiving because all of Jake's brothers and sisters were going to be there except for Tom (aka Elder Whipple). The roads were so bad that after finding out that half of his siblings weren't going to make it we were going to stay in Blackfoot as well. I had to work early Friday morning so we would have had to make the drive while it was dark on the way home.

My favorite tradition for Thanksgiving is "pie day". The day before Thanksgiving my sisters who are in the area go to my mom's house and we make pie for Thanksgiving. We make all kinds and I make a few to take to Burley if we are having Thanksgiving there. We usually end up with about 20 pies for my mom's house at Thanksgiving. This year I made 3 to take to the Whipple's.

When we decided to turn around and come home I wondered what we would do with 3 extra pies. I called my neighbor and asked if they could use them. They wanted them so we were set to crash Thanksgiving at my parents house. I did make a contribution, Jake wanted some whole wheat rolls so I made some dough the night before and made the rolls to take with us, I burned the first pan in my mom's outdoor oven and most of the rest were eaten before dinner because people were hungry.

This is what I get when I tell Thing 1 to say cheese.

Thing 2 enjoying his meal, waiting for the food was difficult for him.

Our cousins M & M, holding hands very cute. One is 18 months the other is 23 months

Bathroom Remodel

We decided to refinance our house about 6 months ago. We had to go with an FHA loan so we had to make some improvements on our house. We were planning to do this anyway but hadn't had a good enough reason because we have a new bathroom downstairs.

Our bathroom was falling apart. We had tiles on the wall falling off and the floor had some water damage so it was bubbled up. A family friend did our bathroom and laundry room downstairs and he did our bathroom again for us. He and Jake did all the plumbing and framing that was necessary for the job. It took a long time, and is finally almost done. There are just a few things left to be done. We need to paint and have my dad make a door for the tall cupboard and laundry chute. And the vent needs to be installed and a little tile needs to be put around it.

I didn't take any pictures of before, so I found this one with the tile and duct tape on the wall.

They had pulled all the tile off the wall here.

The laundry chute.

We lived like this for a few months. The tub was full of all the tile that was pulled off the wall. The twins took baths in the kitchen sink for so long that Thing 1 was scared the first time we had a bath in the tub again.

The tile work is beautiful

The vanity, sorry it is a dark picture, in the mirror you can see the cupboard that needs a door

New toilet

The shower, we had a removable shower head before.

We are happy to have the bathroom done. Now we just need to finish the refinance, hopefully we will have the paperwork soon.

Snow

Saturday we got our first big snow storm. It was lightly snowing when we went to the temple Saturday morning and by the time we got there it was snowing a little harder. When we were done in the temple there were huge wet flakes and it was accumulating fast. It was heavy and wet and hard to drive in. But it sure would have made a great snowman. We took the kids out for their first time playing in the snow.

Thing 1 ate some. We tried to teach her to open her mouth and stick out her tongue to catch flakes, but she just opened her mouth and said "ahhh" without sticking out her tongue.

Texas had a blast, he loves the snow, as long as it isn't filling up his dog house. Last night he was barking and barking he didn't stop like he normally does. Jake went out to check it out and his dog house was drifted in. Jake brought him inside to sleep and moved his dog house and put up tarps so that shouldn't happen again.

Thing 2 was not happy with me when I put his snow stuff on. He was mad that he couldn't move very well. He was very mad when he fell down in the snow. He was wiggling so much I couldn't get his boots on. I ordered new boots for both of them today that open on both sides so I can get them on them. Hopefully they will fit this year and next.

Because of the crying picture I also had to post a happy picture. He was just sitting on the medicine ball rocking the other morning. I love the smiles.

Fun Videos

Cutest toddlers in the world

The first few photos are just to show them in their winter coats. Last year I ordered these from The Children's Place on clearance. They were like $8 they have a fleece liner that comes out and can be its own jacket. If only I had known that I would have little toddlers who need a 12 month coat not an 18 month coat.

I'm pretty sure her coat goes down to her knees.

Jake is training them young, he really wants some help with the yard (he has dirt around his mouth in this picture from tasting the rocks)

Ready for church (I always feel like this is an accomplishment worthy of pictures because most of the time I do it all by myself and get to church on time)

There have been a few very cute notable moments recently.

• We were outside working in the yard digging and planting tulips for next spring. Thing 2 enjoyed finding rocks and tasting them. He picked one up and licked it and then held it out for Texas to lick and said "mmmm".
• Over conference weekend they both learned to wave their arms to lead music. They both still do it when they hear the prelude music and hymns at church.
• The other night at dinner we turned the kids so they were facing us while we all sat and ate together. All the sudden Thing 1 said "oh my oh my oh my". Maybe we have been reading the dinosaur book to often.
• Today, Thing 2 learned to say "apple" very well. Thing 1 says it too but not quite as clear.
• Thing 1 is getting very proficient at nodding for yes. Tonight I asked her if she wanted her milk she nodded, then she did a happy dance as I was getting it ready for her. She also says binkie quite well.
• I was letting Thing 2 finish his dinner and letting Thing 1 brush her teeth, Thing 2 just kept saying "teeth" over and over. So I let him brush his teeth.
• Thing 1 always wants to throw her diaper away, in the middle of the night if she wakes up sad I change her diaper and if I let her hold the diaper and throw it away she is happy.
• Jake was playing Angry Birds on his ipod and told Thing 1 they were bad piggies and she poked the screen and said "bad piggy".
• Both babies love to have stories read to them. They are always carrying around books and bringing them to Jake or me to read.
• They have also learned to throw balls and ride the little sit and scoot (in reverse).

Other fun words

• Bath
• Dad
• Baby
• Ball
• Moo (we have cows in our field)
• Drink (kind of)
• Pretty
• Stinky
• Book
• Shoe

Corn Maze

For Family Night a few weeks ago we went to the corn maze in Firth. We invited my brothers and sisters who live around here and we had a fun time getting lost in the corn. Jake is taking the picture and Thing 1 is on his back. I was getting tired so Charlynn took Thing 2 for me. It was a lot of fun. Next year we will do it again, only we might go earlier in the day or a Saturday because it got pretty cold and dark while we were there. The video is of the barrel ride, a few days after we went on it, Ivan saw a tractor out building up bumps for it to go over. In my opinion it was plenty bumpy for me.

Fall Fun

The other day we decided to play in the leaves outside. Jake got out his new leaf blower and we went outside for some fun. Thing 1 wouldn't let me put her down for very long, I think she is a little anxious when Texas is around. She really likes him when I hold her but acts very nervous when she is down on his level. So we watched Thing 2 walk around and play. He followed his dad around and had a grand time. Enjoy the photos and videos.

Thing 1 in mom's hat.

Ready for church (Grammy and Papa's homecoming)

I'm ready too.