Ten on Wednesday

1. Is it just me or does Peppermint Mocha CoffeeMate not taste nearly as good after December 25th?

2. For the first time yesterday Justin actually used packing tape on Kendry’s diaper after one of the tabs tore off in the changing process. He says he didn’t want to waste an otherwise perfectly good diaper which, by my calculations, only cost us about twenty cents. Have I mentioned how frugal my husband is?

3. And today we woke up to a few inches of snow. Its only a week late.

4. I think scarves are just about the greatest outfit accessory ever. I love ‘em! Inevitably, next year they will be “out”, and I will still have a giant stack of them in my closet. I can never keep up with fashion trends.

5. Two cats just poked their cute little faces up against the window next to my desk. At moments like that I think I would love to have another kitty like our sweet Kaia…and then I remember all the cat hair.

6. I had hoped to take Kendry swimming for the first time this coming weekend but, alas, the new swimsuit I ordered isn’t scheduled to arrive until next week. Depending on how he does we might sign him up for swim lessons this spring. I had wanted to have him start in December, but figured the other moms and kiddos might be grossed out by Kendry’s spitting up in the water. He has almost outgrown that.

7. Is it okay to pick the same New Year’s Resolution two years in a row? Last year’s cooking one meal each week resolution kinda died off as my pregnancy wore on. Now that Kendry is starting to eat a wider variety of solid foods my interest in cooking healthy meals for my family is growing.

8. I am loving the after Christmas lull this year. Normally, having nothing on the horizon after Christmas leaves me a little depressed, but this year all I can think about is all the free time I have to accomplish things.

9. #1 on the “to be accomplished” list is cleaning up our basement, which has been filthy dusty and cluttered since having our central air installed in September. We are attacking that project on New Year’s morning.

10. For New Year’s Eve this year we are having a family night at home: a yummy dinner, the movie “Hangover” and a wonderfully early bedtime. Sounds divine!

Christmas with the Gimlins

Here are a few photos from our wonderful Christmas 2009.

My boys in green:Kendry in his Christmas best:

Three Gimlin generations goofin around:


Kendry thinkin to himself: "Hmmm...this present thing ain't a bad deal at all..."

Our family:

We hope you all had a great Christmas!

My Favorite "Ice Road" Trucker

Have you seen the show "Ice Road Truckers" on the History Channel? Justin and I watched a few of the Canada episodes, and then a few more of the Alaska ones. I will admit that the main attraction to me was simply seeing the Alaskan scenery, which I still miss terribly, even when I know Alaska is in the dead of winter. For those who don't know, my dad is a truck driver in Alaska. And no, that is not his truck in the picture above. Here I am with him in August 2007 at Hilltop truck stop, which is just north of Fairbanks. We are standing in front of the load he was hauling to Prudhoe.It has become a tradition for Justin and I to meet my dad for breakfast at Hilltop when we visit Alaska. Even though Kendry wasn't eating solid food last summer, he still got to tag along for an authentic truck stop breakfast. Hilltop is where Justin proposed to me in 2005 - of course, when we were meeting my dad for breakfast before he headed north.

My dad has spent decades driving what is known as the haul road in Alaska, so I especially love hearing his take on "Ice Road Truckers". I actually watched an episode with him this last summer and got a kick of how often he chuckled or shook his head at the portrayal of the Alaskan truck drivers and their adventurous occupation.

Here is my dad in his truck a few years ago (with my nephew Caden):My pops recently shared his thoughts and knowledge for a magazine article about the reality show "Ice Road Truckers":
http://www.akbizmag.com/component/content/article/1089.html

Love you, Dad!

Ten on Thursday

1. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 2. A business I drive past on my way to work each day has a sign that reads: “How Can I Make This a Happier Christmas?” I hope we all take the time to consider and act on that thought.

3. 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

4. I am excited to attend the candlelight service at church tonight. It is so magical to sing about Christ’s coming surrounded by simple candlelight. What a beautiful way to remember the greatest gift we could ever receive, and the true reason we celebrate Christmas.

5. 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

6. I keep imagining how precious it will be to see Kendry in his Christmas pajamas by the tree tomorrow morning, his very first Christmas. We are so blessed to have our baby boy.

7. 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him."

8. T minus three hours until we depart for Quincy and our good old fashioned family Christmas. And in my head I keep hearing: “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go…”

9. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” ~John 3:16~

10. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Three years ago, Justin bought me my very first sewing machine for Christmas. Its just a little Brother machine from Wal-mart, but it has been a great starter model for me. These days the high-tech sewing machines by Singer and Bernina seem to have hundreds of different features and tools, not to mention their computer capabilities. As much as I would love to have a fancy machine that can make almost anything, the very thought of even glancing at the user manual of one of those machines is enough to make me break into a sweat. We have had our new digital camera for over a year now and I still can't really tell you how to use it. That should give you some indication of how motivated I am to tackle new technology.

The very first pattern I bought was for a Christmas tree skirt and stockings. I tackled the stockings first, making them with corduroy fabric dotted with snowflakes. Justin's is blue, mine is red. They turned out beautifully, especially for a first sewing project. This year it took me a little while to get Kendry's stocking done. Who knew a baby could take up so much of the time I used to allocate to crafts, decorating and sewing? I decided to make Kendry's stocking out of corduroy as well, but picked out a different fabric color and pattern.

Something about each of us having unique handmade stockings is so precious to me. If you look at them closely you will see that each one has a few little sewing errors here and there, and they vary slightly in size, but that is what makes them so special. At last, we are a family of three this Christmas.

I finally got the stockings hung above the fireplace last night. Hey, they only need to be up by Christmas Eve, right? Beforehand, I let Kendry do a quick inspection of his stocking:

He likes it!Then he got distracted by a present...

As for the tree skirt pattern I have had for the last three years, I think I might finally get around to buying the fabric on clearance after Christmas. Check back with me in another year to see if its finished.

Screaming Out Loud

As of yesterday, our first official disciplinary action with Kendry has begun. Sure, we've had little things that we give him a gentle "no" about, like pulling mommy's jewelry or hair, grabbing his spoon while we are feeding him, or grabbing daddy's glasses off his face. Those have been no big deal, mainly because Kendry quickly gets distracted with another item, and, let’s face it, the consequences of him doing those things really aren’t that bothersome. But lately Kendry has developed a little bit of an attitude. If you take an item away from him, like the magazine he somehow got a hold of yesterday morning and promptly took a few bites from, he busts out his angry cry. Likewise, when he wants attention and you don’t give it to him, he has discovered that screaming gets a reaction out of us. Up until now we have let it slide a little because, as most babies do, he tends to squeal with delight when he laughs, and sometimes it is hard to determine when that laughing is turning into frustration squealing. But now, the frustration squealing has become frustration screaming and it is not very pleasant to listen to. Of course, this usually happens when we have left him to play on the floor, or in his jumperoo, so it takes you awhile to get across the room to tell him “no” and/or give him a little swat. We have tried giving him a firm "no" from across the room, and then face to face, but that does not work. And go ahead, call the blog police on me because the secret is out: we are swatting parents. Deal with it.

The thing is, I am amazed at how humbling this experience is. Now I am beginning to add up all those times Justin and I have critiqued how other people handle (or fail to handle) their own children, and I realize that discipline is so much easier said than done. Mind you, we have NEVER critiqued the parenting of any of you currently reading this blog.

We have been fortunate that these screaming incidents have only taken place in the comfort of our own home thus far. But alas, we are headed to Grandpa Richard and Grandma Mikki's this Christmas for four days, so the rest of the Gimlin family could witness it firsthand for themselves.

Having said all this, however, Kendry is still an amazingly content baby. When the screams subside and we can hear ourselves think, we believe we are quite blessed.

First Snow

On Sunday, December 13th, Kendry got to experience his very first snow. Justin was so excited to take him outside he kept asking when he could wake Kendry up to get him dressed and ready.

Did you see Justin hit Kendry with his first snowball at the end?

I don't think Kendry was all that impressed with his snowsuit, but we sure thought he looked cute. This photo brings a whole new meaning to snow angel:



The snow promptly melted just two days later, and we haven't seen any since.

Future Pianist

When I was younger I took piano lessons from second grade until about my junior year of high school. I had an incredible teacher named Mary Ellen. I haven't seen her in years, but she is still so dear to my heart. She instilled in me such a love for playing. But my mother deserves a good portion of the credit too, as she was the one who required that we practice for 30 minutes every morning before school. She even made us set a timer. Usually we would practice around 6am, before everyone else in the house was even up. And you know how it is with mothers. If we skimped and only did 25 minutes of practice instead of 30, she was right there at breakfast asking why our practice session was shortened that morning. Not only do mothers have eyes in the back of their heads, and a sixth sense (aka mother's intuition), but they can apparently keep track of time in their sleep. Who knew!?

Some day soon I hope to have my own piano. I still have most of my music stashed away, just waiting for the day it can accompany me plunk out a tune or two. I say "plunk" because that is probably what it will sound like at first, as I am a bit rusty, but I have no doubt my fingers will remember the tunes eventually.

Just before Thanksgiving, Justin's Nana dug out this little toy for Kendry. He just loved that he could make so many sounds with it. Could he be my future pianist? Or will those incredibly long fingers prefer palming a basketball instead?

Ten on Friday (where did Tuesday go?)

1. We had a wonderful time with my brother Justin, his wife Kathy and their kiddos this week. I will try to post some photos from their visit this weekend. They arrived late Tuesday afternoon and we already had to say goodbye this morning. It was too short of a visit, but we are so thankful they were able to stop and see us. And its so much easier to say goodbye to family when you know when you will see them again. The Binder Family 2010 Reunion is scheduled for late June in Fairbanks.

2. I think my child can see in the dark. Kendry has slept in our bedroom the last three nights while Dominic and Trevor have stayed in his room. He keeps waking up right before my alarm goes off, so I try to sneak out of bed in our pretty dark room (without being seen) and to the bathroom to shower before getting him up. But as soon as I pass by his pack and play he starts laughing because he can see me and thinks I am getting him up. My kid is quite talented, I tell ya.

3. I LOVE that Kendry wakes up happy in the morning. How can you not have a great day when your child starts you off with laughs, smiles and hugs just for you? I only hope he is always such a morning person.

4. My snow is gone. Its 40+ degrees here, and there is blue sky popping out. I'm not sure I'll be getting my White Christmas, but the optimist in me says there is still another week for it to happen.

5. I still haven't visited the gym/aquatic center near my house to start working out again. I figured it was pointless to spend the money for December when we are so busy and won't make it down there anyway. Only now I will look like one of those New Year Workout Resolution people when I get the membership in January.

6. We have Justin's work Christmas party tonight. They are a fun group of people and its always a good time catching up on everyone's lives.

7. Is it seriously possible that I am already planning and looking at decorations for Kendry's first birthday party? I know its not a birthday party he will remember, but it is still a monumental occasion. And they have so many fun ideas for kids' parties these days. I figure if I start brainstorming now I'll just be that much more prepared because, let's face it, May will be here before we know it.

8. I get to do my Christmas baking with my friend Michelle tomorrow. I'm still trying to decide which goodies to make this year.

9. We still have a little Christmas shopping to get done this weekend. How fun that we get to do it with all the other crazy, procrastinating shoppers, right?

10. Yikes! I still have to get Kendry's stocking made!

Winter Wear

Although I admitted a few posts ago that I was homesick for Alaska, there are many reasons why I love living in a less extreme climate. One being that I don't have to keep my family outfitted with the mass of basic cold weather gear that every Alaskan must own and wear for several months out of the year. Given how fast Kendry is growing, I have trouble fathoming the cost of his regular clothes and shoes for the next 17.5 years, let alone any winter gear he will need (and only wear twice before he promptly grows out of them before the following winter rolls around). That being said, however, there is nothing cuter than excited little kids all dressed up in their winter clothes and headed out to make a snowman or go sledding. Who hasn't laughed hysterically at the little brother in A Christmas Story when the mom dresses him in his huge, puffy snowsuit? "I can't put my arms down!!"

So, even though Kendry really doesn't need much in the way of winter gear, I couldn't help but find him a few cute items for his first winter, this hat being one of them:

In case you weren't already aware, our neck of the woods has awakened to single digit temperatures all week. Brrr! Fortunately, my mom (Kendry's Alaska Grandma) gave us a wonderful snowsuit for Kendry to wear this season, which we are currently keeping in the car in case of emergency. Of course, I will post photos of Kendry in his snowsuit once he experiences his first snow....whenever that will be...

Ten on Tuesday

1. Today I am being naughty and wearing a certain Christmas gift that I bought for someone. Can I help it if the gift wasn’t wrapped just yet and it totally matched my outfit today? I’m sure I’ll get it wrapped soon, unless it matches my outfit for my work holiday party this weekend…
***Let’s see how many of my friends and family actually read our blog and question if it is their gift I am wearing***

2. Last night Justin made me my very first Reuben sandwich. Dee-lish! Actually, since Justin read up on the history of this sandwich before making it he informed me that we were, in fact, eating Rachel sandwiches since ours had pastrami (or was it salami?) instead of corned beef (which is fine by me since corned beef has never sounded all that appetizing anyhow). But then I pointed out to Justin that his sandwich didn’t even have sauerkraut on it. What then should that sandwich be called? A virgin Rachel? Which brings me to #3…

3. I LOVE SAUERKRAUT! Seriously, its delicious and I never eat it. It even tasted good to me when I was in my first trimester with Kendry and could not find anything appetizing.

4. This morning it was only 5 degrees here - even colder than yesterday. Do I even need to say it? Where on earth is my snow to go with these freezing temperatures?!

5. Kendry is still a bit off from our late nights this last weekend in Quincy. He woke up around 4:30 on Monday morning, and last night he was up at 2:30 and then 5:30. I don’t dare say that I need a good night’s sleep tonight (even though I obviously do) because then he’ll be up at least three times tonight.

6. I’m meeting some girlfriends for dinner at Thai Taste after work tonight. I can already taste the pahd thai. Yummy!

7. I need to find a fun white elephant gift for Justin’s work Christmas party on the 18th. I think we are supposed to just contribute a gift as a couple, but Justin wants to bring a winning scratch ticket ($10) as his gift, and for some reason this year I want to contribute an item people fight to have. Could this stem from a desire to really be liked by Justin’s colleagues?

8. The UPS package tracker indicates that my Christmas cards were delivered to our house today, which means its time to start addressing, stamping and mailing.

9. Justin, Kathy and kiddos arrive in a week, and my friend Amanda will be in our neck of the woods around the same time. There is nothing like time with family and friends during the holidays.

10. My baby boy is 7 months old today!

New Rudolph Tradition

Most of you know just how much I LOVE the claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie that plays on TV each December. In fact, I even own it on video, although it is much more fun to watch it live on TV. I'm not really sure why that is. Perhaps because if its on TV that must mean Christmas is coming, as opposed to watching it on video at any other time during the year, which, for the record, I do not do.


I figured it was only appropriate for me to get Kendry off on the right foot when it comes to this Christmas tradition of mine. The program aired on TV last night, but it didn't start until 8pm, and Kendry usually goes to bed between 7:30 and 8. Not to mention that WSU and Gonzaga were playing basketball against each other last night, so someone else in the house was playing couch commando. Even if I had wanted to stretch Kendry's bedtime out so he could watch the show, it wasn't going to happen. We're pretty sure he is now cutting teeth on top and he started getting pretty irritable around 6:30 last night. I had planned to put up and decorate our Christmas tree while Kendry bounced in his jumperoo (happily) nearby and could watch. But no dice on that plan. I finally gave Kendry a little baby tylenol and decided to give him some mommy time. Then I realized the perfect solution. I grabbed my Rudolph video, Kendry's pacifier and bear blankie, and our Christmas quilt, and together the two of us curled up to watch Rudolph on mommy and daddy's bed. For only being 7 months old Kendry actually seemed to enjoy the movie, not to mention the sound of me singing along with the songs. He happily played on my lap until he could no longer keep his eyes open.
Yes, this is going to be a magnificent Christmas tradition.

Ten on Tuesday

1. “I’m…dreamin…of a white…Christmas…” I am listening to my Elvis Christmas CD in the car this week, in the hopes of introducing Kendry to some real Christmas classics. He seemed to be laughing to the tunes this morning. I’m not sure if that means he likes Elvis or if he is already laughing at how old-fashioned his mommy is.

2. We recently bought Kendry some meat baby foods and last night I gave him his first taste of pureed ham. The smell alone was about enough to knock me out - it reeks like Spam! He was a sport and ate a good portion of it before his gag reflex started kicking in. I couldn’t blame the kid. He eats pretty much anything, but the ham was probably pushing his limits. This morning when I got him out of bed I could have sworn I caught another whiff of Spam - blech! I think we’ll ditch the baby food ham and just let him enjoy diced up real ham when he is ready.

3. We’re putting up our Christmas tree tomorrow! Hooray!

4. Kendry had his first meeting with Santa last night and he did great. He gave Santa a few stares, but then smiled happily for the camera.

5. I have accepted the fact that pregnancy totally stole my rear end, but yesterday I sat on a bench at work and felt like I was resting my entire body weight on my butt bones (probably not the actual medical terminology, but you know what I mean). Ouch! Shortly thereafter I looked up the cost for a gym membership at the aquatic center near our house. $20 a month is a small price to pay to get my rear end back (meaning muscle). My goal is to get to the gym for my first workout sometime in the next week. Or, I suppose I could just eat a lot of Christmas baked goods over the next month.

6. Justin, Kathy and their kiddos will be here to visit us in just two weeks! I can't wait for Alexis and Kendry to meet; they are only three weeks apart in age.

7. We are SICK of turkey!!

8. 24 more days until Christmas, which means I only have about 13 more days to get my gifts mailed off to Alaska. And with each passing day the post office gets crazier and crazier...

9. We bought over $50 worth of Christmas lights at Walmart the day after Christmas last year. At that time Justin was feeling quite ambitious about Christmas 2009. He put up the lights this last weekend and they look gorgeous, but he only used about 5 strands of icicle lights on the front of the house, and a few blue strands for the tree in front of our house. You do the math. Yep, we still have about 10-15 boxes of various Christmas lights sitting in the basement. What were we thinking? Anyone need lights?

10. Where is my first snow?! I'm still dreamin of a white Christmas...

Black Friday Mayhem

Friday morning at 5:00 a.m. found me in my car, headed to Walmart to begin my Black Friday shopping. Given that I had not gone to sleep until after 11:00 p.m. the night before, I was quite shocked to discover that I didn’t have much trouble climbing out of bed at 4:15 a.m. Mind you, getting up at that hour to go to work, and getting up at that hour to go SHOPPING are two very different scenarios. And you can bet that I was ready for some serious shopping.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my boys (hubby and kiddo), but on Thanksgiving I spent all day with just boys. This year we were supposed to spend Thanksgiving in Quincy with Justin’s family, but his grandma was admitted to the hospital the day before Thanksgiving so we decided it would be best for us to stay and help out. Justin’s dad drove down on Thanksgiving Day to see his mom, so he joined us for dinner. And we invited Grandpa Wayne to come to dinner as well, after he was done visiting Grandma at the hospital. So, our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of three and a half men, and me. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving, but I’m sure you can understand why I was in desperate need of some serious girly shopping time the following day. I had scoped out all the ads the night before and planned my strategy of attack. If only I knew what awaited me…

For starters, our brand new Walmart parking lot was packed! Seriously, that store didn’t see that many cars when it opened just two months ago, and that is saying something for this neck of the woods (no offense to my fellow LC Valley residents). At that point I knew I was in over my head. I went straight to the toy aisles to achieve my first mission: gifts for nieces and nephews. On my way there I think I was nearly run over three different times by shopping carts. In fact, I think two of those three near death experiences may have been by the same crazy shopper. They were out to get me, I tell ya!

As I hightailed it through the store, picking up my mere four items, I was shocked to hear people detailing how they had been at the 24 hour store since 1:00 a.m., just loading their carts with the sale goods and then waiting for the official 5:00 a.m. store price so they could checkout. Can you say crazy!? Where do these people come from? I was still at home in my turkey coma at 1:00 a.m.

My one blessed experience at Walmart (and perhaps my greatest Walmart experience ever) was when I asked a store manager, who just happened to be strolling by me, where the Tupperware set I was looking for might be located. He helped me search the area where he thought it had been stocked, but then admitted they were probably all gone. I decided I wasn’t going to look all over the entire store for a stupid Tupperware set and wandered off to another department. But about thirty seconds later I heard someone behind me shout “I found one!” Of course, I didn’t turn my head at this exclamation because I just figured it was another crazed shopper. But in fact, it was the manager. He had found the very last Tupperware set, which was on a spectacular sale by the way, and had spotted and followed my green hat as I wandered into the other department. Talk about amazing customer service, especially on Black Friday. So, a shout out to Walmart manager Brad - you rock!

I had also hoped to find some new pajamas for Kendry on this shopping trip. My little sprout of a child is now wearing pajamas in the 12-18mth length since he is so long/tall, and I think he grows out of a new pair or two every week. I could probably make his current pj’s last longer by snipping off the feet, or by simply buying pj’s with no enclosed feet on them, but the footie pajamas are just so darn cute on babies! Walmart had advertised $3 pajamas for kids on Black Friday, so after Rock Star Manager Brad got me my Tupperware set I set out in search of the pj’s aisle. Once I spotted the pj’s, however, I knew it was time to leave. The other mothers like me were scavenging over the bin like vultures. Even if I had wanted to bust out my high school basketball “boxing out” skills to vie for position around the bin, I knew it would be impossible to find what I was looking for anyway. The pj’s were no longer neatly stacked by size and pattern, rather they were all in one big heap, having been rampaged by the mothers before me. Fortunately for me, I had less than 10 items for checkout so I didn’t have to wait in line for an hour to escape the mayhem that was Walmart.

I will admit that after this start to the day the other stores seemed a lot less crazy, or maybe I was just acclimated to the shopping chaos. Either way, aside from my half hour wait at Kmart just to checkout, the rest of my stops were quick and successful. I got my three huge awesome-smelling candles for just $9, an adorable holiday sweater with matching hat and mittens for Kendry, the regular socks and underwear stash for Justin, and pretty much the rest of my Christmas gifts for everyone else on my list.

The one drag was not finding our California King sheet set at Costco, even through they had advertised Queen, King and California King sizes. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all, right?

So, in summation, I’m not sure this whole Black Friday thing its all its cracked up to be. I suppose if I was looking to buy something more pricey like a TV, furniture or computer, the Black Friday sales might help me out. But until I have extra cash to shop for items of that caliber, I think sleeping in and having a lazy morning with my boys wins hands down.

Homesick for Alaska

Something about the holiday season always makes me a little homesick for Fairbanks. The holiday season is generally a time to be with family, and at this point pretty much all of my family still lives (or will soon live) in Alaska. Since we can only do one Alaska visit per year, if we're lucky, it is so much easier for us to travel up there in the summer as opposed to Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not to mention how much cheaper it is since mileage tickets are impossible to use over the holidays. In fact, the last time we spent Christmas in Alaska was the first Christmas we were married (2005). Ahh, the infamous "everyone crammed into one house and everyone got sick" Christmas. Talk about memories. Not only were Justin and I in culture shock from the vast darkness and the sub-zero temperature, but we also had to battle a stomach bug. I'm sure the Christmas dinner was delicious, but I don't remember being able to stomach any of it.

That was also the Christmas where I actually failed my driving test. Yes, me, the perfect driver who practically aced the driving test on my 16th birthday. Who knew you could gain so many years of experience behind the wheel and at the same time proceed to forget all the stupid driving factoids that never mattered to begin with? Hello! I'm not applying for a motorcycle license, so why would I need to know how many motorcycles can travel side by side and one behind the other on an interstate freeway with four lanes, in New Jersey, headed north, when its raining, if no one is around to hear them...

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that bad. My ego is still a little bruised. But really, the only reason I even tried to take my test (without studying) is because I had turned in my Alaska driver's license only weeks before in Washington in order to have a proper Washington license with my new married name on it. I was worried I was going to be restricted from boarding the plane to Fairbanks if I didn't have the proper ID that identified me as Jody Gimlin rather than Jody Binder. But my assumption that I could get up to Alaska and just get a new Alaska license was incorrect because they made me take the stupid test.

Now, you might ask: Why all this trouble for an Alaska license when I am no longer a resident anyway? Well, in case you didn't know, Alaska has no sales tax. So, my handy dandy Alaska license has saved me a pretty penny or two on large purchases in Washington over the years. Thus, you see why I was so adamant about getting the license replaced.

After my complete failure of the test - and I say complete because I didn't even get through 16 of the 20 questions before I had exceeded the maximum amount of incorrect answers - the Alaska DMV told me I could try the test again in two weeks. Yeah, right! Even if I was going to be there two weeks later there was no way I was going to put myself through that embarrassment again. So I settled for just getting an Alaska ID instead of a license. By the way, Justin was not with me when this whole DMV incident occurred and it took me a few days to overcome my pride and admit it to him. He has never let me live this one down, and I'm sure as soon as Kendry is old enough to understand what a license is Justin will be telling him that his mother can't pass driving tests.

But I digress... obviously, being so far from my family this time of year is the first reason I get homesick for my home state. The second reason would be: SNOW! It is completely unreasonable to expect an Alaskan girl to survive through the holiday season without the most magical form of precipitation. When we moved to the LC Valley three and a half years ago everyone failed to tell me that the valley gets very little snow each year, if any. I have been going through withdrawal ever since. And I think its especially hard now that we have Kendry because I am so excited for him to experience snow for the first time. And I mean REAL snow, not this half inch stuff you wake up to at 7am, only to have it melt by noon. No, I mean the foot of snow that keeps you inside (except to go play in it) and that sticks around at least until Christmas. The kind of snow where a kid can make a snowman without having to use all of the snow in their front yard. Really, how sad is it to see a snowman who looks like he is half grass, half snow sitting in a perfectly snow-free yard. Pa-the-tic! (said in sing song voice)

Alright, I'll openly admit that after a month of being back in the Alaska cold and snow I would probably be ready to come back to Washington, but for now I'm going to be a bit nostalgic. Oh, Alaska, how I miss thee...

Another year...

HAPPY 4TH ANNIVERSARY TO US!

Its amazing to think that another year has passed. On one hand it feels as though we just celebrated our third anniversary, and on the other, after going through our first pregnancy and having a baby over the last year, it seems like we've been married a lot longer than just four years.

A lot has happened since November 12, 2005: our first Christmas together in Alaska, bringing home our first furbaby, Justin graduating from college and getting a job with Regence, our move to the LC Valley, purchasing our first home, taking up backpacking, summer vacations in Alaska, home improvement projects (and maybe a little buyer's remorse), fertility struggles, the success of our first IVF cycle, the loss of our first furbaby, the birth of our miracle baby, parenthood... Joys and heartache, laughter and tears - through it all we remember just how much God has blessed us.

Pearly White

Kendry had his six month check up today. Mommy's little beanpole is now 28.5 inches long (97th percentile) and 16lbs 15oz (39th percentile). It still puzzles me how he could be 10lbs 5oz at birth, and then have his weight gain taper off so much while he keeps getting longer and longer. But he really has put on a belly and thigh rolls over the last few weeks, so maybe its just a matter of time. Of course, the 6 month check up also meant shots. Not to mention that the appt was during Kendry's morning naptime. Needless to say, he didn't have the best day at daycare and was tired quite early on this evening. However, I managed to entertain our very tired little boy for a few minutes while Justin captured some photos at just the right angle. Can you see his very first pearly white poking through? Look very closely and you'll see it on the bottom right.

I think Kendry is confused as to why we aren't letting him playfully chew on our fingers anymore.

Birthday and Half-Birthday

Over the last week we celebrated Justin's 29th birthday and Kendry's half-birthday. Justin never cares to make much of a fuss for his birthday, but I still try to put my creative skills to work to make it special and memorable. We always go out for dinner with Nana and Grandpa, but when I asked Justin what he wanted to go for dinner he joked that a Costco hot dog and slice of pizza would treat him just fine. Well, we ruled that out for obvious reasons - somehow it doesn't seem all that grand to dine on your birthday dinner while surrounded by shopping carts filled with economy size laundry detergent and toilet paper (these are the first Costco supplies that came to mind because both are currently on our shopping list). We ended up going out for an Italian dinner, which was delicious. But I still found a fun way to give Justin a hot dog for his birthday.
Yes, that is a birthday cake in the shape of a hot dog and fries. It was incredibly easy to make; the only hard part was making three different color frostings. Once we got home from dinner with Nana and Grandpa we celebrated with cake, ice cream and, of course, presents.
Four days later, we found ourselves in Quincy for Kendry's half-birthday. I still cannot believe he is six months old already. But Kendry was determined to show us just how quickly he is growing up and marked the occasion by cutting his first tooth. He also did a wonderful job of sitting up all by himself for the photo shoot we did with Andrea on Saturday. Could he be any cuter?Of course, now I have to come up with an even better cake idea than the hot dog for Kendry's first birthday. The first 6 months went by so quickly, you can bet the next 6 will go even faster. Should I start planning the party now?

Halloween

Kendry's very first Halloween, albeit probably the easiest Halloween for the next ten years of his life since we didn't trick or treat, was quite a success. Crafty person that I am, I just couldn't bring myself to get a store bought costume for Kendry, let alone spend the crazy money I've heard some mothers shell out each year for a costume that will never be used again. No, I was going to be Supermom and make the costume myself. I wanted to make something basic that he could wear like regular clothes and not be uncomfortable in, not to mention easy to clean up since he would no doubt spit up all over it. (Kendry is still a major spitter-upper) Granted, my costume idea wasn't all that original given the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean over the last few years, but I'm still quite proud of myself. The best part? I found some parrot fabric and made a little stuffed parrot that velcroes to the shoulder of the costume. Kendry's favorite part? His sword - obviously because he can stick it in his mouth.

We also carved our family pumpkin a few nights before Halloween. Unfortunately, mommy forgot to leave Kendry's binky with him at daycare that day, so he refused to take his morning nap. Thus, we had a very fussy baby who did not have much patience for pumpkin carving, photos, or mommy and daddy getting their kicks by sticking the pumpkin stem on his cute little head.

Fall

I love fall - the colors, the smells, the cooler air... And I think I truly appreciate it more than most because I grew up in Alaska where the fall season barely even exists. Seriously, the summers in Alaska are great, but it starts getting rainy in August and by October its snowing. And once the snow sticks, well...you know the rest of the story. Here we have a REAL fall season that lasts all the way through...well, Thanksgiving anyway, at which point all my fall decor is put away, regardless of the weather, so I can make the most of the Christmas season.

One thing I never had growing up in Alaska was a pumpkin patch to visit in the fall, so naturally I am determined to make that a part of Kendry's childhood memories. Okay, I know Kendry is not even six months old yet and probably won't actually recall the fall of 2009, but that is beside the point. So when our friends Josey and Jen visited with their kiddos two weeks ago I had already located a harvest festival, complete with pumpkin patch, for us to visit. What I had not planned on was the weather getting incredibly cold that week - cold as in waking up to 25 degree temperatures. Maybe I can't call myself an Alaskan anymore for complaining about 25 degrees, but since just two weeks before that it was still in the 90s here, you can imagine our struggle to get acclimated. However, we were undeterred by the cold temperatures and drove the thirty minutes up the Lewiston Grade to visit the harvest festival, where we promptly FROZE OUR LITTLE TUSHIES OFF!

Of course, we stuck it out long enough to pay the $12 to get each of our families into the festival, then another $8 or so for a tiny concession-style lunch. But we didn't buy anything from the vendors, and you can bet we weren't going to trek the 1/4 mile out to the pumpkin patch to select (and pay more money for) a pumpkin, let alone hang around and take pictures of Kendry freezing amongst the pumpkins. In about an hour we were back in the warm car and headed back home. Mission unaccomplished.

Now, as most wives know, after lugging your husband to a dud of a harvest festival once, chances are he won't be too great a sport about finding another one to attend, especially if it costs more money. Of course, little did I know that the real pumpkin patch to go to in this area is only ten minutes from our front door. So, rather than putting us all through another bad patch experience, I caved and resorted to Wal-Mart because, let's face it, you can't beat two beautiful giant pumpkins at just $2 each. This last weekend we brought home our commercial pumpkins and did Kendry's very first "pumpkin patch" photo shoot. I think it looks authentic, don't you?

What can happen in a year...

It is with great joy that we remember back to a year ago, when we first received confirmation that we were finally pregnant!

"For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him."
1 Samuel 1:27

Kendry's very first photo (as a tiny embryo):Kendry's second photo (7 weeks gestation):

Kendry on his birthday (5/8/09):
Our precious boy today (4 months old on 9/8/09):

What a miracle God had done in our lives this year! We are blessed beyond measure!

My Chefs

For Justin's first Father's Day this last June I gave him two aprons - one for him and a matching one for Kendry. I was quite proud of my gift for many reasons:

First of all, I had purchased the fabric to make Justin an apron well over a year ago and it had just been sitting in my sewing stuff, waiting to be used. Don't ask me how I got so busy that I put off making it for over a year. Seriously, there is no way I was any busier last year than I am now that we have Kendry. Your busyness perspective certainly changes after having a baby, doesn't it?

Secondly, I needed to be really creative with my gift since when Father's Day rolled around I was actually unemployed, hence I really had no spending money for a gift but still needed to come up with something clever. It was his very first Father's Day after all!

Thirdly, Justin loves to cook, so an apron is a great tool for him. You as the reader should already know this if you know anything about Justin or have read some of my previous blog posts.

Which brings me to reason four, which I will admit is a bit of a selfish reason. You see, Justin loves to wipe his hands on anything available when he cooks, meaning that he might go through a few kitchen towels and washclothes by the time he has the meal prepared. This is fine for him, but since laundry is my household duty I really needed to find a better solution. As I've said before, Justin is the main chef in our family. If you figure about four dirty towels/washclothes per meal, times 4 meals each week....well, thats laundry that piles up pretty quickly. In my opinion, towels are for drying stuff off, not cleaning them off! So, an apron was our solution. He has something he can wipe his hands off on, and my towels/washclothes should stay cleaner (I hope!)

And when Kendry gets a little older he has his own apron to help out in the kitchen. Here is Kendry already helping daddy make homemade pot pies for dinner yesterday: