Christmas

This Christmas we had the fun experience of having someone at our own house (Normally we are at someone else’s house). My mom came early to help us move into our new place and was able to be with us Christmas morning. I was so excited to share our traditions (or things we are trying to make traditions) to someone, but because we had just moved and I was severely pregnant, I forgot or completely abandoned most traditions. At least I got through the ‘elf on the shelf’ deal, but anything beyond that was just too much to ask. Next year. There’s always next year.

Ezra woke up Christmas Eve and came running down the stairs only to find my mom sleeping on the couch and zero presents under the tree. My mom said he got a confused/sad look on his face and said, “Santa didn’t bring me any presents?” Poor kid was just a day ahead of himself.

Ezra came running down Christmas morning and then ran right back upstairs to wake us up. We all came down and embraced the magic through our children’s eyes. We opened presents, yelled at my mom to stop taking pictures of our morning appearances, watched family videos my dad made for us of our trip to Disney World, and allowed James to make us a delicious breakfast.

Then we headed over to my in-laws for a fantastic Christmas dinner and to open a few more presents. We brought most of our presents to our place, but thought it would be fun to leave a couple there too.

They got a jeep. Oh boy were they excited. And so cute riding it too. James has since taken them outside many times to explore our new neighborhood and woodsy trails. They’re having a ball with it.

We let Makai drive it too, but he didn't quite grasp steering, so Ezra took over.

Disney World was our big present this year, so they mostly got small gifts, but that didn’t seem to matter to them. They played more with their simple stocking stuffers that morning than any of the other toys.

just opened our Disney photo album. He loved looking at himself on the rides :)

Oh and Ezra did get his dreamlite that he kept begging for. He was so excited he couldn’t wait to put batteries in and go test it out. Now Makai wants one. I thought they were silly, but now that I’ve seen it, I think they are pretty cool. Maybe I’ll get one for my room too. Maybe not.

right after opening his dreamlite

He got a monkey hat from Nana and looked so cute when he put it on backwards.

We had a great Christmas and enjoyed the special time to be with family, create magical childhood memories for our children, and remember the birth of our Savior.

Elf on the Shelf

On December 1st our boys got their first visit from The Elf of the Shelf. I wouldn't have ever known about this tradition without Pinterest. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to do it, but after seeing how excited the boys were when our elf showed up, I'm so glad I did it.

His name is Giddy and he is a good little elf. He is not mischievous. He usually just picks a new place to hang out, but every now and then he's clever about where he hides. We have found him taking a bath in marshmallows, hanging from the TV, sleeping in a diaper, hanging from our sun visor in the car, sitting in a cup holder eating a cookie in the car, climbing a tree (small decor item in our house), writing a nice note and a countdown to Christmas on our whiteboard, tucked into our "Jesus" stocking, rocking baby Jesus, hanging from our ceiling vent, sliding down the banister, fishing in the toilet, using the car ramp as a slide, playing Grandma's piano and other somewhat but not really clever places.

Ezra gets so excited to find him every morning and always seems to think wherever he is hiding is hilarious. Makai likes to be the one to find him and then tell us where he is. Usually we've already found him, but we don't let Makai know that :)

Airsoft with Daddy

Daddy has had his airsoft gun tucked away in the closet since we moved to Maryland, but he recently dusted it off and has rediscovered his obsession love for it. He just had to share that with the boys. He took them in the backyard and let them shoot it. They had a blast!

Decorating a "target" 

Makai would always say, "auto" meaning he wasn't satisfied shooting one bb at a time, it had to explode with bb's when he pulled that trigger. 

Daddy even made baby boy #3 shoot some the only way he can right now.

Checking out the damage.

They love time with daddy and doing things that daddy is interested in. He may act like a 12 year old boy sometimes, but let's face it... he is one awesome daddy :)

They recently went back out to destroy a pumpkin bb style. Oh boys...

Thanksgiving in New Hampshire

This year the 2 Tressler boys and I were able to make a trip to New Hampshire to visit my family for Thanksgiving. We stopped in New Jersey the way there and back to visit my Sister-in-law and her family and to break up the trip. It wasn't too bad. In fact, I don't know why I haven't done that since we moved out east.

The boys had a great time and it was hard to leave. Driving and not having a flight to catch is dangerous. I even changed a doc. appointment so I could stay a couple days longer.

Here's some of what we did:

My mom had a little baby shower for me and my dad took the older kids to a movie :)

Mom and I did lots of crafts, mostly for Christmas presents for my young women at church. We also had a day of baking Christmas cookies and candies and the kiddos helped. This is Lily and Ezra helping me make candies.

Grandpa put the grandkids to work cleaning the yard. He said it was fun for about a minute and then they started dumping out the wheelbarrow and got fired. 

Got to visit with my brother Jason and his wife Jamie and their kids Tyler and Lily.

The kids helped Nana decorate her tree. My mom always has a fun house at Christmas time, so I was really glad to be there to see it again this year.

I love how all the ornaments are clumped in one spot or dragging on the floor. Classic. They had so much fun and felt so proud. 

Makai played dress-up. We went to the store right after this pic. He let me take the dress off, but he insisted on wearing the dinosaur mask throughout the store. We got some great looks and comments. 

Nana wanted a pic of the grandkids, Ezra said "okay" as long as she gave them lollipops. 

Grandpa and the boys

Nana and the boys

We made Christmas trees using ice cream cones one evening. I like this way better than gingerbread houses for kids.

Ezra spent many days playing outside riding his cousin, Tyler's, bike. It really is a cool bike. Maybe that's what we'll get him for his birthday? And why isn't there a cult-de-sac right outside every house? I hope I live on one someday.

We also played at the mall and visited Santa, did lots of shopping and hit up a couple of yard sales. We had Thanksgiving at my aunts house in Massachusetts and it was a great day. I got to see my not-so-little little brother and a couple of friends. Got to go on a daddy-daughter date and run kid-free errands with my mom. It wasn't super eventful, but it was great.

Love you family! Thanks for taking me in and making me feel so welcome and wanted.

Ready for Christmas?

This is Ezra's wishlist:

It says, bracelet, dream-lite, pirate, avengers, and spider-man. I love his little list and cute letters.

The only thing he told me he wanted before trying to make a list was a dream-lite. I found a decent deal on one, ordered it the day after Thanksgiving and have been waiting ever since. Apparently is was put on back-order. All I have to say is that darn thing better get here in time for Christmas!

I am done Christmas shopping! I just need to get a couple more cards sent out and then I can relax (or maybe just move and/or have a baby). We're not doing Christmas cards this year :( Hope family members aren't offended by not getting one. I'm just a slacker and never got around to it and now I'd just rather not bother. Sorry!

Are you ready for Christmas?!

38 Weeks and 2 Minutes

Here's a little update on this pregnancy:

This baby moves all the time. Seriously. He's definitely the most active baby I have had so far. It makes if fun though. Even though I can't sleep well and it's often uncomfortable, it's still my most favorite part of pregnancy.

Back pain + mega pelvic pain: So I have had tailbone issues each pregnancy and they only seem to get worse with each pregnancy. It makes it very difficult to sit and sleep and do normal things. On top of that, I woke up a couple weeks ago with an unwelcome pressure on my pubic bone and I assumed maybe he had just dropped. It drastically worsened and is now at the point where I sometimes can barely walk, roll over in bed or stand up. Climbing into the car is excruciating and a stroll through the store has me in tears. I have never had this with the first two. My bones grind and crack as I walk and it just plain hurts. I haven't had that "ready to be done" feeling and I rather hate that feeling, but this pain makes me consider doing everything I can to get the baby to come soon. Thankfully it started at the tail end of my pregnancy, so I am doing my best to fight through it and avoid bed rest. My midwife offered some prescription drugs to help with the pain, but I declined and am sticking to heating pads and rest which does alleviate the intensity.

Tressler Boy #3: He still does not have a name. It drives me crazy. We don't seem to be any closer to a decision. I think up until a few days ago James didn't realize how pressing it is that we decide on one soon. Sometimes I wish babies came with a name already. I have a name that I have liked throughout the pregnancy, but it doesn't have a great meaning, so James hates it. I think that will be my back-up if nothing better comes up before baby comes out.

Moving: We are moving on the 22nd and I am due on the 28th. I was hoping to have the baby before Christmas for his birthday's sake, but that would make the timeline for events this year a little difficult. I'm not too worried since I don't plan on moving any boxes by myself anyways, but I am going to be eager to unpack them and to also get Christmas stuff set up at our place asap. Thankfully my mom will be here to help me, so it'll all be fine.

My bleeding disorder: Still waiting to hear the results of my latest blood work to see if my clotting factors are in a normal range which would allow me to deliver in the birthing center. Otherwise I'll be in the hospital.. not the end of the world, but not my first choice.

Few random notes: I crave salt all the time. I have taken to chewing the salt off of pretzels before I eat the pretzel. I realize it's gross and not super healthy, but I crave it. I still crave smells, but not as badly as I did. I do take breaks in my day to occasionally take a big whiff of laundry detergent. I also crave crushed ice almost all day long. My poor teeth.
I have crazy dreams and I often wake up around 5 and can't get back to sleep ( I am so not a morning person). I get the "you look like you're ready to pop" comments on a daily basis now. They make me laugh, but if I think about it they make me feel so embarrassed too. Several weeks ago I had an elderly man ask me how much longer I had. I told him 7 weeks to which he replied, "7 weeks?! Looks more like 7 minutes!" I just laughed. I know they don't mean to be offensive, but it still doesn't feel good to have people reminding you how large you are when you already feel large and disgusting.

38 week check-up: I came through the door and the first midwife I saw said, "You're still pregnant?" Then I waddled my way to the bathroom (the pelvic issue makes it impossible not to waddle and it is a very exaggerated waddle) and the receptionist said, "You're walking kind of funny there girl!" I just shouted back, "I know, I'm in pain!" She later told me I'm the cutest pregnant lady, so that made up for it :) Everything is looking good. He has been head down since at least 33 weeks now and my last ultrasound proved that. Things are moving along and my body is getting prepared, but no major signs yet. Won't be too much longer though. AHHH!

It is so weird that I am 2 weeks away. The last month is always bitter-sweet for me because you get the beautiful baby you've been waiting for, but you also lose a part of you. Pregnancy isn't easy or really fun, but I still love it and I miss it after each delivery.

This was the ultrasound pic taken at 33.4 weeks. He wasn't very cooperative. I have several pics of his hand and arm covering his face, so this was the best we got. He is definitely a boy and growth is normal. He looks like Makai to me here. 

We're so excited to meet him. Ezra told me my belly is big enough so the baby can come now. lol. If it weren't for my sweet young women who told me the other day that I am a skinny pregnant lady and the cutest they've ever seen, I might have a complex. Love those girls :)

Happy, healthy baby thoughts.... oh, and any last minute names?

Ezra's Last Soccer Game

The season has officially come to an end. I have loved watching little Ez grow and become more comfortable through practices and games. What a difference there was from his very first game to his last.

Daddy was only able to make it to two of his games this season and they were the only two games Ezra scored in. We've decided Daddy is his good luck charm :)

He scored 3 goals in his last game!!! It was awesome. He ran to me during a water break and said with pride, "I'm not sharing at all!" That's right, I have taught my child not to share in soccer (at least in this stage). He was so happy to have daddy there and ran to him for high fives and confirmation that he saw the goals after each one.

Me: Wait a minute... how many goals did you score?!

Getting his medal. It even has his name on it. 

He was so so proud. I love when he feels proud of himself.

Makai keeps asking to go to "Shoccer game, Za Za." With which he'll always follow with, "Shoccer all done." He's a little sad we can't go watch Za Za any more, but he seems content to know there will be more games to come when it's warmer out.

If he has to get older, at least there are fun things like watching him play soccer  to help me cope!

Trick or Treating

After James was called into work on both of his days off during the week and was not even allowed to come home at night, his boss decided to be nice and let him off early on Halloween to take his boys trick or treating :) We went to the mall to start our trick or treating. It was lame, lame, LAME. It was supposed to go from 5-7, but more than 3/4 of the stores either weren't participating or ran out of candy the first 30 minutes and the "treats" were weird. We left disappointed and cranky.

We went to find some dinner and then found ourselves right near a fancy neighborhood that we had jokingly discussed trick or treating at earlier. Well, we went there. We drove into the secluded neighborhood, parked right in front of a strangers house and knocked on their door for some candy.

It was an AWESOME neighborhood. Even though it was cold, people were sitting on their porches or at the end of their driveway greeting us with candy and free beer. That's right... awkward. It seemed like every other house had a cooler filled with beer. Never seen that tradition before, but I guess it's big in their neighborhood.

The residents, aka "our neighbors" were very friendly and gave the boys handfuls of candy. There were fun decorations, crowded (but not too crowded) sidewalks and streets. It was the perfect place to go trick or treating.

Ezra dressed as a pirate and Makai wanted to be a monster. I promised to take pictures, but then forgot my camera in the car, so James snagged a couple with his phone.

Mr. Mak could not wait long to tear into his candy. He was content chewing through wrappers and stuffing his  face. He would go to the houses and say, "Treeeeat!!" Major sweet tooth. Totally my fault. You can usually find him hiding in the corner somewhere with sugar drool dripping to his chin and an "it wasn't me" look on his face. Trouble trouble!

Pirate Ezra and mommy trick or treating. This year I am happy to say that I resisted the urge to tell Ezra which candy to pick and I let him choose whatever one he wanted even though it was the 40th lollipop he put in his bucket..

We came home stocked up on goodies and sooo tired. Wish I could say I'm one of those mom's that sells back her kids candy or throws half or all of it away, but I have to admit that I am one of those mom's who steals more than half of her kids candy for herself and then bribes them with treats on a daily basis until it's gone. Sorry to disappoint you.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Disney On Ice

A couple of weeks ago Ezra and I went on a wonderful mommy-son date. We went to Disney on Ice!! I felt guilty leaving Makai with a babysitter, but there isn't enough room on my lap for that wiggly bum and I wanted to really enjoy the show with Ezra. It turned out to be a great date for us, so it was perfect. It was the Disney on Ice: Rockin' Ever After show which features Ariel, Rapunzel, Merida (from Brave), and Belle. So glad he doesn't mind the princesses :)

He was so excited and so adorable before, during and after the show. On the drive home he kept me alert by asking me my favorite part of every 5 minutes of the show. For example, "When Ariel was spinning, what was your favorite part?" or "When Brave (that's what he calls her :) shot the arrow, what was your favorite part?"

Then he told me that he can't wait to go on another date with me because he loves me. Melted. I need to do this more often with my boys! The only bummer of the night is that my camera died before any of the princesses came out. A+ for being prepared.

I hate that this picture is blurry, but I had to post it because I adore that face!! We were marching to find our seats. 

I wonder if his cheeks were hurting by the end of the night.

We got there early enough to snuggle lots. 

I know... this would be way cooler if he had actually been looking at me, but this is the best I could get of Mr. Mickey.

(And to top it off... my babysitter wouldn't let me pay her! She makes me feel like I'm doing her a favor by asking her to watch one or both of my boys. She's awesome :)

Halloween Carnival/Trunk or Treat

Busy busy busy. Life has been a little crazy for us. Part of that reason is because me and one of our youth were in charge of the Trunk or Treat for our church. It was really fun. I have discovered that I love to plan parties. It's hard to plan a party for SO many people especially when they don't all like your ideas, but it was still loads of fun.

We had a Halloween Carnival before the Trunk-or-Treat where we had games set up all over the church gym for the kids to win some treats and prizes.

This picture doesn't even do justice to the crowd we had. It was crazy, but fun.

We also had a separate room for kids 6 and under that we called our Junior Spook Room. We had a couple of games (pin the spider on the web, toss the bats in the buckets) and a coloring table, make a ghost craft with lolli's and tissues, and one of the other wards did a touch and feel table.

One of the stations I was most excited for was our Haunted Hallway. It was really just an obstacle course (jump of witch legs, crawl under the spider webs, dodge the ghosts, etc.) Don't know what the reactions were, but I know Ezra at least LOVED it and went through many times.

Our young woman Katharine helping out :) This took us a couple of hours to set up, but it looked pretty cool after all was said and done. 

The games we were in charge of (other than the Hallway and the Junior Spook room) were face painting, Feed the Monster (adorable little game I think I came up with, but chances are is out there somewhere. We had one of our artistic young women draw a monster on a box and cut out a mouth. The kids had to get down and blow a balloon into his mouth. We let the little ones kick it in. It was really cute.) and Pumpkin Pop:

Our young women Brooke and Erica helping out. We filled the balloons with candy and pinned them all over that board. We gave the kids a very dangerous balloon popper pin thingy and let them go nuts :) There was always a long line and this was the first game to run out of prizes/materials. 

I stole those above pictures from my friend Teresa because I was so busy before and even during that I forgot to take pics. I didn't even get a picture of my kids. Ezra decided to be Spider-man because he had gotten his face painted as Spider-man earlier that morning at Story time and I never got a chance to wash it. Makai was a pirate again because that was what I grabbed when I ran out the door earlier that afternoon to go set up. Here's Ezzy's face paint from earlier that day at least:

The Trunk or Treat portion after the carnival was fun too. Since we were so busy decorating and preparing inside we never did get a chance to decorate our trunk which was a real bummer to James (who happened to be home that night!) He loves to decorate for Halloween, so he was really looking forward to it, but I monopolized his time inside. Sorry Tressler! We had a great time. I'm so glad our church does fun things like this for the kids and I was so glad to be able to plan it this year :)

AND... When I went back inside after Trunk or Treating I was planning on staying about an hour to clean up, but found that everything was already cleaned and my decorations were already in piles for me! Thank you to all who helped with that!!!