and I am glad because it was B-U-S-Y! Maybe now I will be able to breathe. But probably not. Oh well. At any rate, it was crazy and packed full of fun and THAT is why, once again, I am BEHIND in posting. This is going to be one mammoth post. So I am sorry, bear with me, etc.
December started off really great because I updated this darn blog and got all caught up. But then I fell to pieces trying to get things done for the holidays. Go figure. I think we will skip Christmas next year. Just call me the Grinch but it took a lot out of me. Thankfully by the time it actually rolled around I was pretty happy. The girls got overly spoiled and so did Travis and I, really.
I was just going through my pictures of the month of December and I am not joking when I say I wrote down 105 that I liked enough to maybe post. Now....that's just the ones that turned out decent. I probably took triple that. And I wasn't in a single one. Typical. I obviously don't want to sit here and upload that many, so I will try my best to narrow that number down...A LOT.
So....where to begin...
Isabelle turned TWO on December 10th. Yes, I am a little sad. But she is so fun right now that I don't mind that much. But we really don't have a BABY any more at all. She speaks in full sentences and is SO, so smart. She is strong and rambunctious and so funny. She hops and runs everywhere and has some nice muscular legs to show for it. She seems more coordinated than Riley...who is a little more clumsy and seems to be in her own world a little more than her little sister. They are two very different personalities that clash on occasion but they are the best of friends. They are quick to tell on each other when the other is being "naughty" and thankfully, quick to forgive.
Isabelle opening gifts. She was a little slow, but it was great practice for Christmas morning. Which went a lot faster! She got some pots and pans...which was a preview to what Santa brought the girls for Christmas. A gorgeous kitchen to share. Photos to come of that later.
Opening Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's gift to her. A very cool laptop that Santa considered bringing...but good thing he didn't!
Big girl. No baby any more :(
She is naked because she had a blow out diaper DURING her party. I know, she is two, we thought blow outs were a thing of the past, too. Apparently you are never too old for a blow out (if you are still in diapers, that is). Hopefully potty training will be happening soon. Less than 6 months is my hope. Immediately is my dream.
Isabelle trying on some of her fairy dress up stuff.
Also in December the girls wore these new, beautiful dresses that Grandpa Gary bought. Aren't they gorgeous? (The dresses, not the girls...the girls were NOT cooperating on this morning!)
Silly girls. We couldn't get just a normal, stand together and smile photo.
Isabelle being uncooperative, she turned to run as I was taking a picture!
In December...my massage room FINALLY got painted. And while it still isn't fully decorated, this was a huge improvement. WHITE walls are NOT relaxing! So finally one morning Travis just started taping it off (perhaps because we had just begun reading "The Five Love Languages" together?). I had only been asking him to paint it for...3 months, maybe 4? ha ha. And I even gave him the freedom to go choose the paint color without me knowing what it was. I put my full trust in him and he did not disappoint. So the room is still a work in progress like the rest of our house and my life, but it looks MUCH better already! I LOVE the green walls!
Also, the red curtains have got to go...I know! But I need to have something over the window for now and I have had those for years, so that is what works for now.
Before shot. Here is part of the room taped off and all the furniture pushed to the middle of the room. It was such a mess!
Riley's preschool went to a nursing home for their December field trip and sang some songs for the people who were there. It was sort of cute. I mean, what can you expect from 2-5 year olds? But it was a photo-op, nonetheless.
After the program, Izzy and I hung out at school for a little while.
Riley is smallish, but her friend Tierney is TINY!
On December 18th Travis had surgery to get the hardware in his wrist removed that had been put in 5 years ago when he broke it playing indoor soccer. We had to be at the hospital at 5:45 am. They didn't even take him back to surgery until after 7. Surgery was expected to last 45 minutes to an hour. An hour and a half later, a nurse found me in the waiting room and told me the doctor had just called from the OR to give me an update. Travis was fine but they were having trouble removing one of the screws. Apparently it wouldn't budge. So it would be a little while longer. Just after two hours had passed, the doctor came out and told me that surgery went well but I was going to have to wait at least an hour while Travis was in recovery. They ended up just breaking off that difficult screw down in the bone where is shouldn't cause problems because it is so stuck there it won't budge. Travis was hilarious in recovery from coming out of anesthesia. He couldn't keep his eyes open and I wish I had counted how many times he told me how tired he was. I estimate it was roughly 30 times. Seriously. He was going to have to keep his arm totally wrapped and not use it for two whole weeks. We called the doctor's office ten days later to get in and have it unwrapped and stitches removed. He was feeling so great and has had a good recovery.
Before the nurse unwrapped it and removed his stitches
After the stitches came out
X-rays. There are still some things in there, obviously. He hasn't had any problem with ulnar side where that long screw is. So they left that one in there. But they did remove two plates and 7 or 8 screws from his radius. You can see where the radius meets the carpal bones that little spec-that is the screw they broke off below the bone.
Also, its a little hard to see but if you look closely, you can see lots of little "holes" in the bone...that's where screws used to be. So hopefully in a months time those fill up and this bone is nice and strong. He is also working on his range of motion and I will be massaging to help his recovery. We don't want physical therapy to be suggested when he sees the doctor the first week of February.
Also, notice the date...stitches came out on my birthday, so happy birthday to me. ha ha
For Christmas (23rd-28th) we went to Coeur d'Alene to be with Trav's family. It was a fabulous trip for several reasons...first off, there has been hardly any snow this year. Which meant clear roads and mountain passes. We bought tire chains that we didn't even need going there OR coming home. That was my Christmas miracle. And I thank my Heavenly Father for it. I dread that drive in winter. Or rather I dread the ride, while my husband drives, but either way, I am usually SO anxious and this year there was no need to be! I also got to work (aka give a few massages) while I was there and made a few extra dollars (which helps with gas...or paying off student loans, whatever). Christmas was so wonderful. John and Barb had all five of their kids home which made for a house full. There were 15 of us in one house for a few days. After Christmas morning ended Travis and I decided to check into a hotel and have our own space to sleep at night. It was nice because I like to have my own space to get away to if I need it. Can't help it, that's just how I am! It was Travis's suggestion and I thought it was considerate of him. Christmas miracle #2. ha ha
I have so many pictures of Christmas eve and Christmas morning I don't know what to post and what to leave out. But here's my attempt. And they are all out of order. 
Hailee and Riley. Riley is into making the cheesiest faces for pictures right now.
Our sweet Isabelle.
Camryn. This is the best solo shot of her I could get.
Cousins. All 4 girls. Only Anderson cousin missing is 7-week old Jack. Who the girls all adore. And so do I!
It proved incredibly difficult to get any GREAT photos of all 4 at once. So I took about 30. And still wasn't all that pleased with the results :P
Grandma Barb bought these matching pj's and hats. So cute! Oldest to youngest Hailee (5), Riley (3 1/2), Isabelle (2), Camryn (1 1/2)
Grandpa with Jack on Christmas morning. I didn't really get pictures of Jack, I took more videos of him. He is so, so sweet!
Christmas eve with Santa!
Santa reading The Night Before Christmas
Isabelle was a cow in the family nativity. It was hilarious because she followed that dog around ALL NIGHT. And the dog just kept trying to get away from her and she just kept following him. The dog was a good sport and so patient with her though!
Riley was a sheep in the nativity
Mmmm Izzy kisses are the best. :)
Riley coloring with Uncle Dan after Christmas dinner
The chaos that was Christmas morning. I know two people who will kill me for posting this picture. Sorry.
Hailee turned FIVE on Christmas. Happy Birthday!!
Our girls LOVE their Uncle Johnny :)
Finally, December ended with us being home for my birthday. And I have discovered, Thanks to Travis, a delightful cake store in Sandy that is called NOTHING BUNDT CAKES. And I am addicted. So in a snow storm, we trekked up to Sandy for dinner and to pick up my Lemon bundt cake with cream cheese frosting. Pretty sure it was worth it. At least I think I am. The scale disagrees. 
That sort of sums up December. And that is the very short, very edited version. It was so, so busy. I know I said that already but it was and I am glad it is over. Happy 2010.
ALL of her furniture is white. With four large, white, empty walls. It was just awful.
The problem is, I am no interior decorator. I don't have much vision. I am not great with colors and style or anything like that. If you know me well, you know I am all about casual comfort. And I am sort of plain. My house, my clothes, everything.
I searched for inspiration online and found some. I googled little girls bedroom designs. And I found this one room with an ARGYLE wall. And it was C-U-T-E! But I would NEVER do that. First off, I don't have the guts. Or the patience (although patience is on my list of resolutions this year...to have more of it). And I don't have the experience in painting. Or the math skills it would require. Let's face it, it seemed IMPOSSIBLE. I showed it to Travis anyway. And he liked it, too.
So I mentioned to my friend Rachael that I was wanting to paint Riley's room. And I told her about the argyle wall. And....Rachael had helped her sister paint argyle on a wall before. AND Rachael LOVES painting. Let's just say she has some experience painting. You know, she's done it a few times. Or more. And she said we could totally do it. And the project that ensued was ALL because she was there encouraging me. 
The planning phase was ALMOST harder than the actual painting. Rachael was part of that as well. In fact, when I pitched the idea to Travis, we were going to do LIGHT/pastel colors. And thankfully, Rachael was smart enough to talk me out of that. She didn't really have to try. I was all for it. I figured why not? If we are doing such a bold pattern, may as well go bold on the colors. It was hours of discussing and then measuring. The above photo showed the start of taping off the room. It was an epic fail. We had to rip it down. And then we decided to let Travis, the master, work his magic. That man spent hours perfecting the diamond pattern. 
I moved Riley into Isabelle's room. Let's just say it was a little crowded. But I think they were happy.
And so I went to work taping off the lower part of the wall, where we were painting stripes.
It was time consuming. The plan we decided on was stripes on the bottom third (ish) of the walls (all four of them). Then ONE wall would be argyle...the wall across from the argyle would be the darker pink from the argyle on the upper part, and the remaining two walls would be the green from the argyle pattern on the upper part.
Friday night Travis measured and figured and taped off the first set of diamonds that would be bright pink like the opposite wall. I painted the pink wall.
THEN we painted the dark pink diamonds. That way when Rachael and her husband George showed up Saturday morning to help we had already gotten a small part of the work out of the way.
One color-DONE. Four more to go. 
Saturday was a BUSY day. Travis taped off the lighter pink diamonds. Then we painted them. while those dried, I had begun painting the darker brown stripes around the bottom while Travis and Rachael tackled the green walls.
Then we taped off and painted the GREEN diamonds.
Check out the brilliance! The lines were so clean. Travis did an AMAZING job on the math for this wall! I can't even say it enough. 
Lastly, the lighter brown stripes got painted. 
Where that white strip is, we are putting up a chair rail. So while the room isn't quite complete, the painting is done :)
I re-painted Riley's name letters with the light pink. I love it!
Travis admiring all our hard work.
