The Oldroyd Family

Hi folks.  Just some random pictures to post.  I'm getting ready to send my 2010 blog book to the presses-- gotta get everything in! 1.  Yesterday we started potty training with this cute kid.  Its definitely a different experience than PTing Alexa.  Some good, some bad.  We're on Day 2 & he's doing REALLY well.  Looking forward to being done by tomorrow evening! 2.  Had all 3 kids in the bath at the same time last night.  Aren't they cute?? 3.  Gotta give this girl props for creativity.  Yes, that's a sippy cup inside her boot.     4.  Max started clapping today.  He also knows how to wave & we're working on associating that with hi & bye bye.  Love him! 5.  Its my grandma's 78th birthday today.  She is one amazing lady.  She has had a rough year with loosing my grandpa in March but she forges ahead with faith & grace.  She is reaping the rewards of raising ...

This Christmas has been so fun!  Not only has it been great because its the first year that we have kids who "get it" but we also had the privilege of having Grandpa & Grandma down here from Utah with us!  They flew in on the night of the 23rd.  We got up the next morning & headed into Houston to the Children's Museum.  Nathan & Alexa had such a great time exploring! That evening we enjoyed Christmas Eve festivities at the Oldroyd's before heading home to open the traditional Christmas Even Jammies.  They say, "Dear Santa, I can explain!"  So cute!  Thanks Grandma!  We then left cookies & milk out for Santa & headed off to bed. Santa did indeed visit our home during the night.  He ate the cookies, drank the milk, and left presents for the good little children before quietly slipping off to another home.   Max was just so excited to see what Santa had brought him that he woke up at 5 am!  The other two sl...

The only itch I have is to see what happens in our next 7 years together! Happy Anniversary Babe!

Saturday night we headed out to Alvin, TX, to ride the Christmas Train.  It was put on by one of the churches up there & they had quite the festivities.  Along with the train ride, they had yummy treats, Santa, decorations, souveniers & even their very own on-site Pizza parlor!  It was a little chilly but we had a great time!

I took the kids to see Santa in the mall today.  I had purchased a Groupon for a picture package & I was excited to take them!  I dressed them up in their fancy Christmas attire & got there before the mall opened for business.  Nathan & Alexa were VERY excited to sit on Santa's lap.  We talked a lot about it & I practiced with them what they would say when he asked what they wanted for Christmas.  Nathan wants a Thomas Choochoo trian.  Lexie wants Thomas' friend, Rosie. The ideas was great IN THEORY, for Alexa especially.  As soon as she saw the big man in red, she got REALLY nervous.  It took some coaxing but she finally sat next to him & held Max's hand.  Nathan wasn't quite as nervous but he still didn't hop up by any means.  Don't they look thrilled to be there??  I probably could have done a better job at trying to get them to smile but I was so afraid Alexa was going to start freaking out that I just got ...

1.  Sam is the proud owner of a fiber-glass cast as of yesterday.  His fancy-shmancy cast that could come off was holding in too much moisture, apparently, and his incision was getting infected.  It was NASTY.  The wrist is still quite painful. His cast will be off in about 10 days but it'll be a while before he'll be back to normal.  I can't wait... not only do I feel bad for him, he is absolutely NO help around here!  And I NEED HELP! 2.  I've been trying not to bake too much this holiday season so I don't pack on the lbs.  But today I'm making this Pomegranate Cheesecake .  I've been looking forward to Pomegranate season ALL YEAR! 3.  We took a zoo trip last Thursday with some friends who also have 2 year old twins & a baby boy.  The new African Forest is open & its SUPER COOL!  The chimpanzees are awesome.  They're also going to have an exhibit where you can feed the giraffes, although it wasn't open yet....

Its been unseasonably warm this fall, even for Houston.  We're finally getting some cooler weather... you know, the kind where you actually can sleep under more than a sheet without turning your AC on.  It's been nice.  Although I TOTALLY have Texas-born children because they don't like the cold outside.  They could play for hours outside in mid-August but when that cold wind blows, they no likey. I haven't been blogging much because I haven't had much to blog about.  Just trying to keep my head above water & my brain in semi-functioning order.  Sam being incapacitated has really thrown us for a loop but we're adjusting, just like we always do.  We're slowing (and I mean SLOWLY) getting the house decorated for Christmas & the kids are loving all of the lights & Christmas music.  They still don't quite get Santa but we're going to head over to the mall sometime soon to see him so maybe they'll connect it then. Speaking of them not ...

1.  Sam called me when I was out the other night because half of Roxy's face was swollen. This has happened before but it was after shots & her entire face swelled up WAY worse than this.  I was so scared at the time I rushed her to the Vet ER where I paid a couple hundred dollars for them to give her Benadryl.  So I figured it out myself this time.  Still don't know what happened this time though! 2.  I love this baby! 3.  This is Sam's wrist.  No wonder it hurts so bad!  The pins are in there to stabilize the bones so he can't turn his arm & pop the tendon that the doctor fixed the torn ligament with.  They'll come out in 3 weeks.

Since there are no numbers that start with "M", and thus providing an adept alliteration (ya like that?), I had to chose some other title for my random blog update. 1. Sam had surgery on Thursday.  It has been a difficult few days in the Oldroyd house.  He had his knee scoped & a repair of a ligament in his wrist.  The wrist proved to be a particular challenge.  He also ended up with 2 pins & a lot of pain, despite a nerve block they put in.  His knee is sore but not nearly as bad.  Because of the knee, he can't get up & move around.  Because of the wrist, he can't use crutches... see where this is difficult?  Then bring in an already overwhelmed mother of 3 small children getting up every 2 hours to give him pain meds & you get a difficult few days.  Thank goodness for friends & family who don't ask but tell me how they're going to help.  I'm not great at accepting help all of the time but I REALLY couldn't do this...

Today was the day... the day that the binkys went away.  I debated about taking them away before Max was born.  Decided against it.  At that point, they were old enough to know they were gone but too young to understand why I took them.  Then we decided we would take them away after they turned 2.  I still felt like their comprehension wasn't quite there.  But I realized a couple of weeks ago that they were finally at the point where they had a better grasp of cause & effect.  So it was time. I am a huge fan of binkys and so are all 3 of my kids.  Ever since they were about 15 mo old, I've slowly been limiting binky time more & more.  In the past 6 months or so, the only time they have their binkys is in their bed.  But they LOVE them.  Nathan would giggle when I would give him his.  I also enjoyed the fact that they could wake up & find their binky & go back to sleep.  But we had to give them up at some ...

1.  Today was stake conference.  It went from 10-12.  While the 2 hours we were there were anything but spiritual while wrestling 2 NAUGHTY toddlers, it did confirm to me one thing: I can't WAIT for 9 a.m. church.  Yes, its going to be crazy getting all 5 of us ready & out the door by 8:50, but being home by lunch time?  Yes, please!  The kids got to eat at their normal time, nap at their normal time, I didn't have to rush to get dinner on the table, and get this-- I got a 2 1/2 hour nap!  WHAT???  It was indeed awesome.  My idea of a great Sunday. 2.   Nathan & Alexa have been asking me for 3 days if they can go to the cabin with Grandpa & Grandma.  I wish we lived close enough that we could whenever we wanted.  Maybe someday. 3.  Max loves food.  He could totally give up his bottle, but he LOVES food.  He hums the whole time I'm feeding him like he's saying, "Yummmm Yummmmm. C'mon Mom, speed it ...

We are SO excited to have a new little cousin! Callan Achilles Baker was born on Tuesday (Nov. 9th) to Ryan & Amy (Sam's baby sister) . This was their 3rd boy! One thing is for sure, these two know how to make VERY CUTE BOYS!   WELCOME TO THE WORLD CALLAN!  We love you!!! For more details, check out Amy's blog .

My sweet little Maxwell has a nasty cold. He's all stuffed up & as miserable as he could be (although he's still quite pleasant & sweet, naturally). I was watching him jump in his jumparoo when he stopped jumping, laid his head back & zonked right out. What a cutie. Sam rescued him from the Jumparoo & Max got some much needed snuggle time with Daddy. Feel better soon, Max! xoxoxox

Guess what my kids had for breakfast this morning? Dry cold cereal. Guess where they ate their breakfast this morning? In front of the TV. I don't even have the excuse that I'm sick, or pregnant, or even tired. But there is a good reason. Sam is taking his 3rd CPA test today & I wanted him to be able to sleep in a bit. So I took all of the kids to the front room so it would be quieter. See, my bad mom morning is canceled out by having a thoughtful wife morning. Hooray! Also, this time in our lives should be documented because Sam finally broke me down & we had Direct TV hooked up yesterday. We have had good ol' bunny ears for 2 1/2 years & I am just fine with that. But Sam might DIE if he misses another season of precious basketball. And he's getting surgery on his knee & wrist this month & will have a lot of couch time. So I conceded. P.S. Alexa is in Dora heaven. She had never even seen an episode of Dora... but having Dora und...

This morning I ran my first race EVER. I runner I am not... but I finished the Couch to 5k program this week and it did, indeed, get me from the couch to running a 5k in 9 weeks! My goal time was 35 min or less & I did it in 32 min & 23 sec. Sam & Max came up to support me. I would have loved to have my other kids there too but it was EARLY & COLD! I'm still not quite to the point where running is an enjoyable activity but I hope to continue. I'm taking a few weeks off to let my shin splints & ankles heal. Then I'm back to it with a program called One Hour Runner. I'm happy with how far I've come considering 9 weeks ago, I could only run about a minute at a time!

I have been wracking my brain for months for costumes that could even come close to topping last year's without spending a ton of money. Impossible. So my next idea was to make them M&M costumes. Cute. Cheap. Easy. But what would that take? Time. I don't have time, people! So I went the easy route with Glow-in-the-Dark Jammies from Gymboree. Cute. Matchy. EASY. Multipurpose. These "costumes" fit the bill! With Halloween being on Sunday this year (they don't move it to Saturday in Texas!) I am so grateful that our ward has an annual "Trunk-or-Treat!" The kids loved carrying around their bags & saying "Trick-or-Treat!" I loved that they "got it" this year. One great thing about kids growing up-- holidays keep getting better!

K . I . S . S . I . N . G Alexa is TOTALLY a cougar! We have been watching Kason a bit since his babysitter is on maternity leave. The kids are SO excited on days that Kason comes! They watch out the window for him! Alexa, my little mother, loves him especially. She brings him all of the toys she can & she even spread out her blanket for him to sit on. Now THAT's love!

The kids & I went out to the local pumpkin patch the other day (forgot the memory card for the camera-- dang it!) to pick out our pumpkin! We carved it for family night! Nathan cut the top open... (kidding) and Alexa wasn't too sure about it all. especially when it came to digging out the goop. "Please don't make me touch it, dad!" What a Princess! Nathan, on the other hand, loved every minute of it! And Max loved eating it! (Kidding again... that's sweet potatoes) We even found a few stalks IN the pumpkin. Wouldn't that be cool? A pumpkin growing inside a pumpkin?!?! And here's our end result. Last year we went with a happy jack-o-lantern. ( Remember Bill? ) This year, we wanted a VAMPIRE! Maybe I'll name him Edward... :)