Baking madness... and Small Paul cuteness

Last week was our official cookie tray handout for family home evening. In total, I baked 896 cookies, plus 5 different types of candies for about 36 trays we handed out to families, teachers, and other assorted friends. It was a lot of fun! I love baking sooo much, it is probably my favorite thing to do, other than hanging out with the kids! The best part of the crazy number of cookies is that by the time they are done I have no desire to eat ANY of them - the thought is just overwhelming. If you received a Mathews cookie tray, we sure hope you liked them! If not, you will still probably get your hands on something I have baked this Christmas season - I normally have something loaded with sugar in hand wherever I go... I hope everyone knows how much I appreciate having them in our lives, and my feeding you is just my way of showing it!


Small Paul is 15 months old already - seriously, how can that be? He is a super genius with an ever expanding vocabulary... He now says:
Bird
Arf
Out
Up
Dad
Mama
Ana (Savannah)
Fish
That
Boob (thanks Paul)
And most importantly, bap (any Christmas decorations, especially lights)

However.... HE WONT WALK! What gives? He can stand, will furniture walk, and is a master of going up and down the stairs. He can also escape from any grocery cart seat belt faster than I can grab a can of corn off of the shelf, but no walking... I know that part of this is because he has a harem at the ready knocking each other down to get a chance to hold him, but really? 15 months? Michael was running at 9 months, and I was worried when Reagan didn't start until 11 months. Is this a Mathews thing? Is this a baby with lots of older siblings thing? I keep reminding myself that life is easier when they aren't walking, but I'm getting a little worried!

It's December, and duct tape cant fix everything...

Still no pics, why? Well, my camera is literally held together with duct tape, which is really silly because it still doesn't work 99% of the time. Why bother with the duct tape you might ask, but I am still holding out hope that it will magically repair the camera, if I just believe hard enough...

Christmas is pratically here!!!! Can you feel the excitement in the air? OMGoodness I am just flat out giddy with anticipation! This weekend is the Creche festival in a nearby ward bldg., and it is always very cool. Last year there were over 700 nativities from around he world - I just love seeing them all. They have everything from the most simple to totally ornate, toy ones, hand carved ones, itty bity inside a walnut shell ones, and giant living people on the stage ones.
The rest of the lights at the temple go up this weekend, so that will be our FHE for next week - totally excited about that too!

I think that the LA area is going to be invaded by a gagillion (slight exageration) Mathews family members soon too, which is very exciting for all of us! Man, I sure do love me some Mathews cousins/aunts/uncles etc...

To quote Shawn, "I'm so excited my head is going to explode!"