Christmas at the Garffs

First off, I promise we intended to send Christmas cards to each and every one of you.  We got the pictures taken about a month before Christmas, but due to a series of delays, the cards didn’t happen this year.  Maybe next year.

Even so, I thought we’d still post some of the pictures on the blog. Imagine this on a cutesy custom card full of holiday clichés and tidbits about our last year.

And yes, that is our new house in the background.  We live across the street from a soon-to-be park, which currently makes for awesome photos.

It’s impossible to get 3 kids to look at the camera and smile all at once.  We gave up after 50 tries. 

But we did manage a decent twins pic:

It doesn't truly capture their personalities like the next picture, but still, I am a fan. I took this with my iphone, but still, I LOVE it.  These are the babies I love.

We had a great Christmas at our new house.  I made an advent calendar that had a different activity for every day.

Like pick out a tree

Making play-dough snow

Delivering treats to the neighbors.

And playing in the snow.

We got some darling outfits from a neighbor of Steven’s parents…she had twins and thought for sure of of her kids would have a set, but no such luck.  So she gave them to us.

Christmas Eve, we went to the annual Kemp family Christmas party where I got to experience what life would be like with triplets (it doesn’t seem appealing.  I think 2 is my limit).

Christmas morning was perfect.

Even the twins got in on the fun.

Lily tried on Liam’s first Christmas onesie.  Newborn size is a little tight.

Everybody got just what they wanted/needed/hoped for.

All the kids got new Disney jammies.

Caleb got binkies, a sippy, baby snacks, a cuddly blanket, a couple of books, and a Disney train (picked out by William, surprise, surprise).

Lily got binkies, a sippy, baby snacks, a cuddly blanket, some books (including Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse!). Do I sound repetitive yet? And a Disney Princess push car picked out by her oldest brother.

The twins got some links to share.

Nike got some treats, a rawhide, and a goose.

Steve got a book, some treats, a swiss army tool keychain, and The Dark Night Rises.  ,

He also got a new electric guitar (not pictured because he wanted to pick it out and by the time we ordered it on Christmas Eve, it didn’t arrive until yesterday.

I got a Silhouette Cameo (Yay!!!), the new Ken Jennings book about parental myths (like if gum actually stays in your digestive system for 7 years and if chicken pox parties are a good idea…neither are true, btw), and some chocolate.

We also got some toys and cds for the kids from my parents, and several sets of nice tools (for us and our never-ending house projects).

I’d post a picture of William’s presents, but he wouldn’t stay still long enough for a picture.  He got a kitchen to share, Buzz and Woody toys, some books, and some treats.  If you look closely, you can see him playing in the background of some of the earlier pix.

 

Buzz and Woody sleep in his bed, and the kitchen was a HUGE hit.

After, we went to Grandma and Papa Bill’s house for breakfast.

And still more presents.

We had some friends from Rancho, the Twetens, stay over a night after Christmas and we took the opportunity to go sledding.

We took turns being at home with the twins since they were napping.

And now, Christmas is over, we’ve (almost) put all the decorations away, and Steve is back to work (unfortunately, though I am grateful he has a job; but I did miss having help and being able to run errands!).

A new year is upon us. I’m thinking it’s going to be fantastic.

Especially since Silly Billy is now constantly singing Jingle Bells. Better late than never, right?

Who Wore it Best? Holiday Edition

The World According to Garff brings you a special holiday edition of “Who Wore it Best”.

+4 Christmases ago, we had a newborn baby.  My sister, Sherrie, gave us a newborn-sized Santa suit and we naturally paraded our 3-week-old to holiday festivities as a miniature St. Nick.

William, darling as ever, but especially as a newborn, is drowning in an outfit that is much too big.  But that sweet baby face is as sweet as can be in this festive attire.

A year later, when we pulled out our Christmas decorations, we thought we’d try it on again.  Our now one-year-old had a head much too big for the hat (surprise), the pants wouldn’t go over his thighs, but we were able to still button the coat (but barely).

This year, we thought we’d try it on the twins, just for fun.

Caleb and his belly put a new twist on the phrase, “bowl full of jelly”.  But since he and Santa are of similar proportions, he really gets the Santa look down.

And our sweetheart, looking darling as ever, opted for a red and white ribbon bow instead of the traditional stocking cap to enhance her natural feminine beauty.  The fit is a little better on our petite princess, with the exception of her long limbs.

So now that you’ve seen the pictures, who do you think wore it best?  Results will be displayed on Christmas Eve.

Under Construction

We threw a birthday party for William on Saturday and invited 50 of our closest friends and family members. It was a great excuse for food, and fun; and gave people a chance to see our new place. A few people were thrown off by the decorations and actually wondered what kind of work we were having done on the place.

Special thanks to Papa Bill for letting us borrow some of his office supplies to decorate for the party.

William LOVED all the crazy chaos and excitement (and food) that comes with such an event.

Pretty much all of William’s favorite people were there: his favorite aunts and uncles and cousins (minus Charlotte and Daniel and my older sisters’ families), all his grandparents, and his friends Stella, Cousin Daniel, and Kambree.

The kids had wheelbarrow races, built towers with toothpicks and marshmallows, and played a forklift game where they raced to pick up cottonballs with only a plastic fork.

We had food in little tool bins with great labels like drywall and spackle (pitas and hummus), nails (pretzel sticks), and boulders (meatballs).

But the favorite had to be the mud cake.

It was a fantastic chocolate buttermilk cake that I made for Catherine’s birthday and may now be the current Garff favorite. It was fantastic and theoretically (if anyone ever let it happen) would stay moist for days.

We covered it with chocolate fudge frosting mud, and oreo crumb dirt.  But Silly Billy’s highlight was all the trucks on top!

The cake was a huge hit with all the kids (and adults, too, lol).  I made 2, and we only were left with a few small pieces. We decided to wait on getting our new carpet until after the party.  By the looks of things, that was a wise decision.

And of course, no party is complete without hats.

William insisted that Daddy and Papa leave their hats on the entire time.

And now our Silly Billy won’t take his off.  It might even outrank Farmer Hat (for now).

Silly Billyness: Williamisms

My little Man is 3 years old today.  Where did the time go???

He went from this little peanut:




To this cute little guy:

 

 

And now my handsome little man is three!!! Where did all the time go???

In honor of his birthday, I have compiled a list of my favorite "Williamisms":

"William kiss his cricket friend, Mommy."

Me: "what do you want for breakfast, William?" Him: "turkey sandwich?"

Me: "William, who is your favorite sister? Is it Lily?" Him: "NO." Me: "Who is your favorite sister?" Him: "Caleb!" me: "Who is your favorite brother? Caleb?" Him: "No, Puppy."

"Where you are, Mommy?"

"Puppies don't eat mud. They eat bones...puppy bones."

I also surveyed William on his favorites:

1. What is your favorite color? Green

2. What is your favorite toy? Helicopter (came with his birthday train set from Grandma/Papa Garff)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples
4. What is your favorite tv show? Buzz (Toy Story)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Turkey Sandwich with Avocado

6. What is your favorite outfit? Woody Jammies
7. What is your favorite game? Cup Game (Perudo---he just likes to shake the dice)
8. What is your favorite snack? Cheese Snack
9. What is your favorite animal? Baby Puppy
10. What is your favorite song? Farmer in the Dell
11. What is your favorite book? Creature ABCs
12. Who is your best friend? Daniel
13. What is your favorite cereal? Rice Crispies
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the sandbox
15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Baby Puppy
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Waffles
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Mickey Chicken Nuggets, Sweet Potato Fries, Cupcakes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  Fireman/ambulance man (though I suspect his real answer is Farmer, lol).

 

We are so glad and so happy to have William in our lives. For awhile, I didn't know if he would join our family, and I will say that he was definitely worth the wait.  He can be trying (just like any 3 year-year-old will be), but he is such a silly, happy, sweet boy that we love him anyway. We've had great times at Disneyland and the beach, the cabin and the park, and some very fun and tender moments at home. We love you, Silly Billy!!!

The Caleb Man

Since birth, our Cal has earned the nickname Caleb Man. He started out much like a little old man (he had the most ridiculous receding hairline for ages!) and seemed to get a little grumpy if left alone.

We sing a little song to Caleb and have been having fun adding new verses. It goes to the tune of "The Muffin Man".

The Caleb Man, the Caleb Man
The Caleb Man, the Caleb Man
The Caleb Man, the Caleb Man
He is a real small size.

The Caleb Man, the Caleb Man
The Caleb Man, the Caleb Man
The Caleb Man, the Caleb Man
He is one of our favorite guys.

We've been having great fun coming up with new and exciting verses. Some our favorites include:

He lives on Glenmare street...he likes to kick his feet. (Or really likes to eat, lol).

He likes to just sit...please don't throw a fit.

He likes to eat his food..cuz it is really good.

He has a happy face...he jumps around this place.

He lives around the bend...he is our real good friend.

We just love our roly poly Caleb Man. He is happy and lovable and cuddly and cute. Though he does get fussy if he doesn't get enough attention, he is generally a good baby. Goes to bed within 5 minutes of putting him down and usually sleeps through the night. And thank goodness all he wants to do is sit and play or kick or jump in his jumperoo---I could not handle mobile babies just yet.

And boy, does he love to eat. Considering he took weeks to get a good latch and was always under the 5th percentile, this has been a great blessing. he went from my skinny little man, to a guy with thighs bigger than my biceps. Especially since he discovered solids he has been ever increasing in size and girth---and I LOVE it. At over 17 lbs, he is well over a pound heavier than his little sister, and finally pushing 25%.

We are so happy to have Caleb in our family!

Nesting

I didn't get to legitimately best while I was pregnant with the twins. Between bed rest, not having our own place to live, and not having funds, it just wasn't practical.

But now that we are in our own place, I am making up for it like mad. I've been working on a few projects (instead of packing) and painting up a storm (room photos to come at later date, since they are all napping).

Today I finished my advent calendar and Lily in cute wooden blocks. One of these days we will finally get around to finishing up the house, I promise you don't want to see it now.

Home Sweet Home

We closed on this little beauty this morning and move in on Saturday. It needs some TLC, but we are thrilled to finally have a home of our own and excited at the anticipation of each project---we have some fantastic ideas that can't wait to be put to good use. It's in a cute little neighborhood, and across the street from a planned park and walking distance to Sugarhouse and other shopping. We have plenty of space---and we love visitors so don't be shy about coming to see us!

Halloween

I asked William for "the magic words" when offering him a piece of his Halloween Candy. His reply? "Trick or Treat". I guess it sunk in this year.