Welcome the to the Batman Family Blog. Let me introduce everyone.

This is Batboy

This is Batbaby

This is Batgirl, trying to keep batbaby from flying away. (Logan actually took this picture. Quite artistic for a three year old, if you ask me.)

Batman was off dutifully keeping Gotham City safe from harm, and roving IRS Auditors.

And here, you get an exclusive look and the never-before-seen bat cave.

Uh oh. I think they spotted me.

Batboy tries to look cute to distract me while batbaby comes at me with his weapon of choice, the sippy (don’t be fooled by the innocent name. It is deadly)

Oh no! He is right on top of me!!!!!

“Hey lady, what do you think you’re doin? Give me the camera before someone gets hurt.”

I barely got away with my life.

We have a serious problem at our house. It was rainy for a while followed by two weeks of beautiful sunny weather(which was a wonderful relief after the gray and gloomy winter we had been having). But that is not the problem. The problem is that because of all that glorious sunshine, our grass started growing. Now, let me ask you, who else in Washington state has a lush, green, healthy lawn in March? No one, that is who–except us. We have looked around our neighborhood, and EVERYONE else has a lawn that is still flat and dead.

Logan getting lost in our jungle.

My favorite fuzzy black slippers getting buried in the underbrush.

Emmett refusing to even venture out into the craziness and staying firmly on the pavement, where he can’t get swallowed up or lost.

So why complain? So what? Spring has come early! Enjoy it! Well, there is just one little problem. We don’t have a lawnmower. We borrowed one last year that kind of died by the end of the summer and we weren’t really planning on buying a new one until  May or June. We are living on a budget! You can’t throw kinks like an early spring into the budget!

Well, we broke our budget, out of fear that the house may be overcome by the growing vegetation. We have added a new, and much anticipated member to the family.

El Toro

El Toro Recycler to be exact.

Eric’s new love and best friend. And heck, if it promises to make my yard functional again, it can be my best friend too.

Logan is officially potty-trained! He still isn’t totally accident free, but he does it consistently as long as we stay at home.  I’m just glad to have that part of parenting done with (until Emmett grows up some more)!

Well, for some of us anyway. We have officially entered Eric’s busy season, so it seems like we always just hunker down and try to get through January-April.  We don’t really have much going on. My Mom is coming up to visit in a couple of weeks to help me potty-train Logan (finally, I know!), and then the boys and I will leave Eric and head down to Twin Falls, ID to visit our good friends, the Harmons.  But until then, we are alive and we see Eric every once in a while, so we know he is alive too.

Here are some pictures from a couple weeks ago of Logan and his cousin Natalie playing in the snow, and Logan and Emmett in their cardboard house that they got for Christmas.

All I can say is that Christmas with kids is so much more fun than without! It seems like it has been Christmas everyday for almost a week! Logan has been asking everyday since we put up our Christmas tree if it is Christmas day yet. Then, we finally got to say “Logan, it’s CHRISTMAS DAY!! And then every day since, he wakes up saying, “Today is Christmas Day!”

We have been super busy, as I am sure everyone else has been too. We have had Eric’s WHOLE family in town this year (all 16 of us. 12 adults and 4 kids) and it has been so much fun! It is like a party every night! They are a pretty crazy group! It has been a wonderful Christmas full of fun, family, love, special moments remembering Jesus Christ and His birth and mission. What a wonderful time of year!

5 years ago today we got married in the Snowflake, Arizona Temple. I tell you, it really was a great day. All sorts of things went wrong ( I lost my engagement ring while getting ready, we were late to the temple, Eric looked so nervous that I was afraid he was going to take off, our cake almost fell over, and the cinnamon rolls that we had for the reception were rock hard), but I don’t ever remember being happier. I was so happy that day(and it turns out that Eric wasn’t THAT nervous).

I have to tell you all that I am the luckiest girl in the world. 5 years ago I met Eric and somehow talked him into marrying me. He is my best friend. He loves me. He makes me want to be better. He makes me feel safe. He is a wonderful father. He makes me laugh. I can’t wait for him to come home everyday. He does the dishes even though he hates it.  He folds mountains of laundry with me. He keeps all our technology in working order. He gives the boys baths and changes diapers. He works so hard. He’s my partner. I am more myself with him than with anyone else. Marrying him was the best decision I have made.  These have been the best five years of my life. I love him like crazy.  Happy Anniversary!

who has been asking me to post pictures of the quilt I am working on. This is my winter project. It takes me a long time, I have been working  on this one for over a month and all I have are these 30  5 1/2 ” squares. The colors are green, brown and yellow, with a little purple being thrown in later. Anyway, here you go Mom!

So to start the Christmas season off right, we got a REAL Christmas tree! Since our First Christmas, Eric and I have had a SAD little artificial tree and after last year, I refused to put it up again. So we decided that we would try going the natural route this year. And I think I am hooked. I love it! Our Christmas tree makes me so happy. And it makes Logan even happier than it makes me. He has a serious, undying love for Christmas trees.

We have also been busy with MANY Christmas parties. Here are pictures from the Moss Adams Kids Christmas Party where Logan and Emmett got to see Santa! Emmett was NOT sure what to make of this crazy guy!

Then, today, we had our first big snowfall of the season! We got about 3-4 good inches and Logan was so excited to go play in it. He went out first thing this morning, before it was even really light out, to help Eric shovel the driveway.

and then we had hot chocolate with whipped cream for breakfast. A Waite tradition. Grandpa Jay should be proud!

Emmett slept in and missed all the snow time fun. But he was still pretty happy!

Gotta love the Christmas season! Only 10 more days!

Eric: Logan it is time for bed. (said for the 53rd time of the night)

Logan: NO!!!! (running down the hall)

Eric walks calmly down the hall to get Logan.

Logan: (kind of muffled) Daddy, I’m hiding in your closet!

Thanks for making that easier Logan, but I don’t think you really get the point of hiding.

For a long time now, almost a year I think, I have been making our own bread. My sad attempt at cutting back so we would have a little more money for other things. So for the past year, every week, I have made 2-3 loaves of bread. While they are FABULOUS on the first…and even the second day, the love just seems to die. After the first day, my bread just gets HEAVY and since we use it mainly for sandwiches and such, heavy is not good. And Eric complains that we have to cut it ourselves and neither of us can cut a straight line to save our lives. A valid complaint.

So on Saturday, I decided to test it out. We were at Eric’s parents house, watching the BYU football game, and I ate a piece of store-bought bread. Oroweat 100% whole wheat bread to be exact. It was good. It was light and soft and it was precut. It had been sitting in the drawer for at least a couple days and it still tasted great. Not as good as the first day of homemade bread, but pretty close. I can’t make good 100% whole wheat bread. It comes out like a brick. And although Eric and I are constantly in debate over the necessity of eating wheat bread instead of white, I think it is healthier and worth it. But I can’t bake a good 100% whole wheat loaf.

So I give up. It is back to store-bought bread for me. I will still bake bread occasionally, because it is SO GOOD on that first day. And i am glad that I learned how to make my own bread, for provident living purposes. But I think I am done.