Christmas letter and picture for this year.

2011 was a busy year for the Trapnell Family!

Although there was no award ceremony marking the events of the past year, we decided to award ourselves “patches” for our accomplishments.

McKay (almost 9 months) earned the Luck of the Irish Patch when he was born early on the morning of March 17^th. We were thrilled to learn that our “caboose” was another little boy. Since then, he has earned the Happy Baby Patch, which I attribute to the fact that he is a thumb sucker and has learned the art of self-soothing. He also earned the No Child Left Behind Patch, as he is constantly on the move, trying to keep up with his siblings. His favorite place to be, though, is under the kitchen table looking for scraps, and so was awarded the Canine Stand-in Patch for his efforts in keeping the floor clear of crumbs.

Carter (almost 2) earned the Communication Patch for finally starting to put words together in a recognizable fashion. Our family favorite is when he says, “no more monkey jump bed,” which has earned him the Comedian Patch based on the reaction he gets. He also earned the Heavy Eater Patch for his insatiable appetite for any food put before him. The award we are most excited about, though, was the Breathing Easy Patch. After being hospitalized for two nights with croup in February, he hasn’t had any more breathing problems, thanks to the prednisone we keep on hand and dispense at the first sign of croup.

Kyla (4) earned the Mothering Patch, as she has spent countless hours “taking care” of her younger brothers. She also earned the Angel Patch, when we became aware of the angels watching over her more than once. Most dramatically, she put the running car into reverse (with Carter inside) and her pregnant, helpless mother watched as she backed out of the parking lot at Walgreens. Miraculously, she managed to get the car back into drive and returned right back to the parking stall where her mom was able to get the door open and apply the brakes before any damage was done. She definitely had someone watching over her that day.

Allie (6) earned the Tooth Fairy Patch, as she lost five teeth this year, including those two front teeth she is currently asking for for Christmas. She also earned the Bilingual Patch as she started first grade in a dual language class at school. She delights audiences with her rendition of “The Pledge of Allegiance” in Spanish. She also earned the Dual Personality Patch for her ability to transform from a perfectly agreeable and happy child into someone who wants nothing more than to fight with her mother.

Damon (9), in addition to earning real patches in cub scouts, has earned the Circus Performer Patch for his mastery of the stilts. He also earned the Try Anything Patch for humoring his parents as they signed him up for piano, swim team, football, soccer, baseball, basketball and gymnastics in an attempt to find out what he really wants to do (he thinks he will continue with soccer and piano). He also earned the Biggest Helper Patch for all he does for his younger brothers (especially Carter) whenever we dare venture out in public, which isn’t all that often.

Krystal earned the Muscle Building Patch, almost entirely by carrying Carter and McKay up and down the stairs every day. She earned the Eagle Eye Patch because apparently she is the only one who can find anything in the house. Krystal also earned the Chauffeur Patch for all hours she spent driving to preschool, dance, soccer, swim lessons and the library. She also earned the Multi-Tasking Level 1 Patch out of necessity. There just isn’t enough mommy to go around. She is already working hard on Level 2, hoping that at some point she will be able to “do it all.”  

Jeff earned the Responsibility Patch as he bought the orthodontic practice he had been working in for three years. He also earned the Cougar Board Patch as he closely followed all the news about BYU sports. He and Krystal shared in the Honeymoon Part II Patch for the vacation they were able to take, without kids, to Hawaii in October. That is a patch they both hope to earn every year in the future!

As a family, we are happy to report that we are all happy and healthy, and so incredibly grateful to be celebrating another Christmas together, and rejoice in the birth of a baby boy, one who would grow up to be our King. We are so blessed to have so many family and friends to share our lives with, and send our love to you, wherever you might be. Merry Christmas from the Trapnell’s!

Jeff, Krystal, Damon, Allie, Kyla, Carter and McKay