Christmas Eve

Here we are in our Christmas PJs.

Here is Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus under the star of Bethlehem.

Here is the angel appearing to the shepherds...Aubrey and Paul were shepherds in this picture.

These are our shepherds. The teddy bear dressed in white especially for his role.

On Christmas Eve we reinacted the nativity. I give all credit for props and set up to Paul, he did a great job! Paul played multiple roles and Aubrey was Mary, I was the narrator. This is a picture of Mary riding her donkey.

Christmas Activities

Paul got a snow tube and he and Aubrey went sledding a few times. They both loved it!

Papa Justensen bought Aubrey a snowsuit and she loved going out and playing in the snow!

Paul headed up our Christmas craft this year. We made homemade Christmas ornaments that turned out great!

Aubrey is learning how to feed herself. Her favorite thing is to get food on her hands and then massage her head, getting food all over in her hair!

Santa's Lap

We had our ward Christmas party last night and it would not be complete without a visit from Santa. Surprisingly, Aubrey didn't cry. She pouted and started to whine, but she didn't cry! She also couldn't figure out what a candy cane was and why Santa was giving her one.

Teething Woes

I have been told by several parents that when a child is teething it is not a fun experience. I never discredited this information, but I also never took it to heart until this week. Last week we were in Indiana for Thanksgiving and Aubrey's cousin was teething and in pain. Apparently it was contagious because as soon as we returned Aubrey started to cut two of her molars. She has been pretty moody and sad lately and I have to remind myself of her pain and increase my patience. Poor girl! I do feel badly for her. At least with teeth she can start chewing harder things, right?!

Gingerbread Homes

To end our fabulous weekend in Indiana, we made gingerbread houses. As you can see, Paul made sure to cloth our gingerbread people so they were modest. We put the house on the seat right next to Aubrey's carseat for the drive home. About an hour away from Iowa City I noticed something white in Aubrey's hand and she quickly shoved her hand into her mouth. Upon further examination I noticed that all the icycles from half of the front roof had been eaten off!

Christmas Tree Hunting

While in Indiana for Thanksgiving, we went to a tree farm and cut down a Christmas tree for my brother. We found one just Aubrey's size. (We also discovered, after my brother's tree was decorated, that Aubrey enjoys pulling two glass balls from the tree and banging them together. You can imagine how quickly they break!)

Thanksgiving Feast

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Indiana with my brother this year. Instead of cooking turkey the traditional way in the oven, we fried ours. It turned out to be one of the best turkeys I've ever had! You deep fry the turkey for about 30 minutes. The outside becomes black and hard, but the oil seals all the juices inside so the meat is very moist and delicious. It may not look appetizing, but it really was delicious! Because the oil seals the turkey meat inside, it is not greasy at all and is suppose to be just as healthy as cooking the turkey in the oven. The final picture is the scrumptious spread of food. I take no credit. My brother and sister-in-law did all the cooking and I was merely there for conversation. Talk about a great Thanksgiving!!!

Bubble Bath

When Aubrey was sick we gave her a vaporizing bubble bath that was suppose to clear her congestion. She LOVED the bubbles and we became the favorite parents in a hurry!

A Fantastic Husband and Green Buggars

Aubrey has had a bad cough and Paul has been getting sick so Paul stayed home with Aubrey while I went to church yesterday. Before I left, I wrote down Aubrey's morning schedule. When I got home from church the house was spotless. It was cleaner than I ever clean it on my cleaning days! The toys were picked up, the dishes were done, the table was cleared off with our lovely fall centerpiece in the middle, my stacks of stuff were organized and moved to a central location, Paul cleaned his stack of stuff that was on the dresser, and the house simply glowed of warmth and cleanliness. I was stunned to say the least and felt like I should shower and clean myself up before entering. I thanked him and told him how wonderful everything looked and he simply shrugged it off as if making the house spotless was no big deal! What an amazing husband I have! Later that night Paul decided to go to the broadcast of the rededication of the Mexico City Temple. As he was leaving, he turned to look at the apartment that was spotless only a few hours before. It now looked like a tornado had run through it. Aubrey's toys were scattered everywhere, we had papers all over the desk from working on a computer project, the kitchen was a disaster from making dinner, and the once clean table and dresser top were, well...no longer clean! I apologized and said it must be me and I couldn't blame the mess on Aubrey. He had Aubrey in the morning and managed to clean the house. His response was simply that the mess was made as I was serving my family. I know, I know, he is the most amazing man in the world!!!
This morning I woke up to a lot of green buggars, which I am thrilled about! I am a very very paranoid person when it comes to illness. We try to keep ourselves pretty healthy, so the slightest hint of sickness means that we stay in the house and take our vitamin C and we disinfect everything until we are healthy again! I have a pretty hard time when Aubrey gets sick because I can't do anything for her. She has had a cough the last few days and it has been getting worse and wors, but today she has green buggars. I never thought I would be so grateful for green buggars in all my life, but I feel like she is moving some of the flem from her chest up and out her nose. Thank heavens for green buggars! Perhaps we are on the mend!!!

This picture was taken at our ward Halloween party. Aubrey was a bumble bee and I was a flower. We had so much fun dressing up and enjoying good company

We went to a Halloween party at our friend's house and all the kids sat down for a picture.

Pumpkin Carving

Didn't Paul do a great job carving our pumpkin?! It is in the shape of a Hawkeye, our mascot.

Carving our pumpkin was a family project!

Aubrey really did not like the feel of pumpkin guts! It was hilarious to see her reaction!

We went to a pumpkin carving party at our friend's house and had so much fun! Aubrey enjoyed playing with the kids while we adults worked hard on our pumpkins. Ashley's job was to gut out the pumpkin and while Paul's job was to carve it.

Aubrey has read so many books and is getting tired of the ABCs and 123s. She has recently started learning Calculus and is so excited about it!

I went into Aubrey's room and discovered her new trick!

Aubrey loves to take her clothes out of her drawer and spread them around the house. She also takes her books and piles them on the couch for more comfortable reading.