Do I Have Pulse Still?

Seriously.

December?

Seriously.

This month, nay, this year, will be over tomorrow. But due to self-imposed obligations and the like, December always brings our year to a close with a bang... er, an explosion... or the possible impending cardiac arrest.

(Where was this guy when I needed him)?!

Last year, I think I posted my Christmas post in March. Yep - I did. But I have a feeling that if I don't do it now, we'll find ourselves celebrating Christmas in July.

I had two birthdays to celebrate as well as a party to throw together; I was in charge of and performed in multiple church-related Christmas parties; I had our own ward choir's program to direct; and there was also the Stake Christmas music fireside that has become an annual tradition. That last one wouldn't have been so bad, considering my part was to simply practice with and direct the adult stake choir - until our Stake music chairman (who is in my ward) and who is 80+ years old, fell OFF of the Cultural Hall Stage!!!!! at Church the day of the fireside (I am NOT lying, ya'll - P.S. she's ok, now), and I told her I'd take care of the whole thing. You know - because I felt like I could totally handle more stuff.... I didn't have enough to do, right? Oh! And then I agreed to give someone's Relief Society lesson for them, as well as accompany someone to sing the following week while also singing (and accompanying) a song myself.

Masochist?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

HOWEVER - I didn't get sick until about a week ago, which is truly miraculous and I was so grateful for (not grateful now, but was then... well, you understand). And, aside from the incredible need for deodorant, naps, and energy drinks (of which, I had none, mind you) at the most strenuous of moments, I actually enjoyed a lot of it and am, truly, bidding the season adieu with a bittersweet melancholy (that last sentence totally sounded like I was trying too hard).

And now, pictures of cute kids:

CC in line for Tinkerbell @ Disneyland. (I don't know if you've noticed, but we visit their favorite pixie.... a LOT).

CC and Daddy visiting who, Malia decided, was the "real Santa" at our ward social. (We had a little discussion about "Santa's Helpers" when Lili noticed that the Santas in all of her annual mall pictures looked different from each other).

I caught this adorable moment of Malia trying to help Cecily button up her sweater. About 3 minutes later, patience was lost by both girls and I had to finish the job. Still cute, though.

Right before Malia's Christmas Dance Recital. I was so happy the curlers did their job. It had been pouring rain all day (all week, actually), so I was worried. As you can see, they turned out just fine.

And if you're thinking to yourself, "Gosh, that Malia is so dang cute. Look at that perfect and sassy little pose," then look below to see a few of the poses that preceded that successful one above (there were a ton of these).

On to Apple Valley.

My oldest brother, Alan, plays drums in a jazz band on Thursday nights. The whole family was in town, so we all came along to listen to the jam. I didn't take the following picture myself. I stole it from my mom's facebook page, so I don't know if that's his concentration face or if he's making a face at my mom - either is very likely.

Here's my dad, jamming along side the band.

My older sister, Cindy (who is currently 5 1/2 months pregnant), singing "Embraceable You."

And my baby sister, Tina, singing "Stormy Weather." And if you're wondering if I am aware that both of my sisters are absolutely stunning, the answer would be, "Yes. I am."

My brother, Tony (and his friend, Dan), making it quite clear that he is no fan of my mother's propensity for picture-taking.

After years of being Primary chorister, my mom has far too many posters and costumes to allow them to go unused with so many grandchildren nearby on Christmas Eve (all 5 kids were there - who knows if/when that'll happen again). So the nativity was brought to life in the Winkel home, musical style. This is my niece, Vienna, as an angel.

My brother, Tony, as, what I think is a shepherd... or a birdkeeper (that's his BFF George, by the way). They have Amazon parrots in Bethlehem, right?

Dave as a confused innkeeper from the Taliban who must've taken a time machine to get here....

My little Malia playing Mary.

My nephew, Adam, as a Wise Guy.

My other nephew, Schaeffer, as a shepherd.

The baby is born! (That is my nephew, Miles, as Joseph, and my bro-in-law, Chad, as yet another Shepherd).

My niece, Benee, singing a "multitude" of solos since her "multitude of angels" were both 2-years-old and not helping her out much.

But at least CC tried to get the choreography down...

Poor Aria woke up from a nap, only to be shoved in this basket as a prop... and she even had to play a boy. She'll need therapy, for sure.

1/2 a dozen people in that house can play the piano, and I got stuck there. I didn't get to see any of it. Just hear it. I recommend a capella next time... either that, or a rotation every other song.

Christmas morning. I've just told Malia I saw something strange outside. This is her sincere, "What, Mommy?!" face.

Reindeer tracks!!! Looks like I've started a tradition I'll never be able to escape, now.

What's with Dads and Christmas morning? I mean, c'mon. Our kids didn't even do the whole early-waking-run-and-jump-on-the-bed-screaming-"Santa-Came!-Santa-Came!" thing. Man up, Dave.

Santa wizened up this year and decided less was more with the stockings re: candy.

Didn't matter to CC, though. As soon as she found these chocolate crackers, everything else was forgotten.

Malia trying out her new Tinker Bell roller skates. Only about 1/2 a dozen falls thus far, and only one of them garnered tears. Not bad.

Maybe Cecily will keep her mitts off of our computers, now. Not likely.

The Mortensens on Christmas morning.

Some thug we found outside who we felt sorry for, so we let him in for some of the fun.

Playing outside after lunch at my brother Alan's house. Malia was happy that Tony let her hold George. And I was just happy that he wasn't gnawing her fingers off (George and I have never been very good friends).

And after nearly 3 days, these 2 cousins finally stopped doing the "mine!" and *push* thing to each other and actually started to play together... just before we had to go home.

All in all, good times with good people and good food (oy! the food). NOTE TO SELF: No one wants to help make sugar cookies, they just want to eat them. And no matter how hard you try to make them stay away until you are done frosting them, somehow you will go from almost 50 cookies to 28 by the time all is said and done. I *heart* Christmas.

And, of course, I am so grateful for the moments amidst the chaos when I was able to be reminded of the birth of Jesus Christ, of His amazing sacrifice and condescencion, and of His example of love and charity. For a season where more of us are acutely aware of our sensitivity to the kind of behaviors and traditions that help us to strive to be more like Him.

Shhhhhh. It's a Secret.

Now that my life SHOULD be less stressful with all of my church/music/birthday obligations out of the way, I have taken on a project for a gift for my parents that is consuming my every free minute. Here's a preview:

My sister, Cindy; My Dad; Me

She's a "Kid" Now

Malia turned 5 last week (yes, only 2 days after Cecily's birthday. No, we didn't "plan" that. Yes, I have felt like I may lose my mind during that week for the last 3 years).

Poor Malia's actual day of birth was sort of hectic. It probably didn't feel like much of a birthday. Fortunately for us, Malia is so easy-going and an overall happy kid and it didn't seem to phase her.

Malia opened her gifts in the morning because we had a really busy day ahead of us (pre-school, family lunch outing, in-laws arriving from out-of-state, ward Christmas social that evening, etc.) Malia got a Tinkerbell playset from CC, a Tinkerbell dress from Daddy, and piano books from Mommy (I told her I'd start teaching her when she turned 5).

She went to pre-school that morning and I sent some cupcakes with her. I had really wanted to stay and be there for her when the kids sang to her and they all decorated their cupcakes, but having Cecily along would have been more a hindrance than a help. Aw, the plight of being the eldest. Sorry, Lili. But at least her hair was cute...


After preschool, I picked up Dave from work and we surprised Malia by taking her to John's Incredible Pizza. Do I have any pictures from this part of the day? Yes. Do you see them here? No. Why not? Yeah - I'm bitter about this. I accidentally left my camera at home in the midst of the chaos and so I had to take pictures with my dumb phone. And the phone is one of those pre-paid phones from Costco just to tie me over until I'm eligible for an upgrade and I have no idea how to get the darn pictures off of the stupid phone. But this isn't about me... needless to say, no John's Pizza pictures. :(

We headed home as quickly as we could after doing some eating and playing so that we could lay Cecily down for a nap and be there when David's Mom, Stepdad, and sister arrived. While we waited, we let Malia play Wii.


After both girls napped, the ladies (myself, my MIL April, Dave's sister Elise) chatted up in the girls' rooms while Lili & CC created total destruction with all of their new goodies.


If you think my leaving my camera at home makes me bitter, well... actually HAVING my camera, but being too busy helping out at the social to actually TAKE any pictures of my adorable children while we were there makes me ACERBIC. *sigh* Let's just hope that the pictures my mother-in-law says she took will show up in an e-mail some time soon.... :)

We got the girls home far too late for bed, and so poor Malia didn't even get to do cake & ice cream that night. We figured she'd be okay with all the hullabaloo that was going to be happening the next day at her party.

On Saturday, we threw a joint party for the girls. It was at 10 AM. I didn't think that was actually very early until I woke up and had a checklist the size of Jupiter to accomplish. I'll be honest - at 9:30 AM, while I was decorating the room and Dave was picking up balloons and CC had just pinched her finger in a door and so was screaming and clinging to my leg as I wobbled on a chair to hang streamers, I started to cry a little... ok, a lot. I'm just going to type this out here as evidence and a warning for myself for years to come: I will only do birthday parties, at the MOST, every OTHER year (and that's being generous). Seriously. Ser.i.ous.ly.

But at least the girls had fun.

Heroism

This man is the face of such a word... especially at the moment you see him openly and lovingly embrace the emaciated and filthy "dregs" of his society or when he so patiently and maternally nurtures and bathes them. Take 3 minutes of your day to watch and be TOTALLY inspired.

Trust me.

Stinky Turns 2!

Yes, I call her "stinky." Yes, it is meant to be a term of endearment. No, you may not try to tell me anything stupid about future psychological repercussions.

Moving on....

We are having a joint birthday party for the girls this Saturday, so the day of their births we are trying to make special but keep it calm and simple. (Anybody else think that us Moms should also celebrate a day for ourselves the day before each child's birthday? I told my mother-in-law we could call it "Labor Day").

So, Malia and I went into CC's room singing "Happy Birthday." Poor Cecily has been really sick the last few days, and this was probably the first morning in at least 3 that she was actually still asleep when we came into her room (she's been waking early, coughing like mad). I suppose, since it was her birthday, it would have been a nice gift to let her sleep in. But one thing I've learned with kids this young? A reliable sleep schedule helps them get better faster than an erratic one.

As you can see, our song was not well-received.

By looking at the following picture, you could assume the decor and hat were also not well-received. And you would be right. Not to say she didn't appreciate them... she just didn't appreciate them, yet. Some of us just aren't morning people.

There we go. She just needed some breakfast in her... and the hat taken off.

Daddy had hoped to stay home from work today and Friday for the girls' birthdays, but work got (not surprisingly) too demanding. So I called him and asked if he'd like to join us for a birthday lunch. He asked where and I said, "McDonald's. Where else." Now - before you judge me, realize, please, that I was only trying to pick a place that I knew would be CC's pick were she to verbalize it. She loves their chicken nuggets and fries more than any other food in the world at this point in her life. Plus, the added bonus of a Playplace. So I wasn't being cheap or trashy (or in some peoples' opinions - abusive). I really was catering to her current tastes and likes.

Here she is finding comfort in Daddy holding her. You know she loves you if the thumb goes in her mouth. She does that when she has her blanket. She does that when I'm holding her. And she did it just then with Daddy. He took it as a big compliment, considering she's been ridiculously attached to Mommy as of late.

An obligatory "Mommy! Acknowledge my existence, too!" Malia shot.


A smile! A SMILE! (If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will understand the miraculousness of this moment).

Aaaannnnnnddd.... back to the fries.

Malia and Cecily collect friends wherever they go. It is either a result of Cecily's cuteness (something about little girls loving to follow children that are smaller than them) or of Malia getting in their face and saying, "Want to be friends?!" Could be either, really...

Examining her new gifts. She actually likes them. I know you can't tell. But she's never been much of a "pose for the camera" person...

... unlike her sister, of course.

Ok - so apparently Cecily has either Kinesophobia (fear of candles) or whatever fear of cake would be called. As evidence, please witness the following:




Once we removed the offending candles and hacked the evil cake into pieces, CC enjoyed her strawberry cake with lemonade swirl ice cream. (am I the only person who prefers the taste of cake from the $2 boxes as opposed to anything you buy pre-made at the store or even homemade from scratch)?

Walking around with one new toy and one old one... and some cake on her shirt. A true sign of a good birthday.

P.S. Letters to my daughters to come later.