Graduation Party!

Lately I have LOVED helping this girl SHOP till she DROPS, for college!

It has been a lot of fun and a lot of work!

Secretly we (Mom and I) have been planning a belated surprise Graduation Party for my sister, Amberlee. 

She never really got to celebrate her graduation from High School, and we knew it was important. 

So we went all out. 

And she never guessed what was happening right under her nose :)

It was so fun and a huge hit.

So glad we pulled it off and seeing her shock and pure happiness, was the best part and made the party all the better. 

My Dad had gotten all the food and decorations and I set up (some) before I left and then it was up to the boys while we kept Amberlee busy...

Games, pictures, food, and a special present ("Oh the Places You'll Go" By Dr. Seuss signed by everyone and with special quotes written in); it was a splendid celebration.

And if anyone in the world deserves it, it is this girl!

 The next day Amberlee came for a photo-op...

Happy Graduation, College Bound Girl!

Christmas Morning

December has been full of planning, shopping, wrapping, and even some unwrapping and re-wrapping; all leading up to Christmas morning.

It was an exciting Christmas morning, especially with three young children all filled  with a whole lot of energy. We had happy faces and laughs and sad faces and tantrums. It was by far the best Christmas we've had. The kids were so into it. And seeing the magic as they unwrapped and played was purely perfect. 

Bella was in love with all the bows!

Connor was stoked for his
Remote Control Bumper Cars!

We spent the rest of the day at my parents house, starting with a big brunch and then the kids got spoiled with more presents. And we ended our day with Christmas dinner and "It's a Wonderful Life".

Christmas Eve

After spending the day with the Martins we came home early to have our own Christmas Eve.

We started off by reading the Christmas story from the scriptures. I attempted having the kids act out the story but mostly they wrapped themselves in blankets and acted like ghosts. 

Then we discussed how Jesus was a gift to all of us from a loving Heavenly Father. Then I brought out a gift for the kids to unwrap together. Inside were new Christmas pajamas, a special ornament for each of them, hot cocoa, candy canes, and a new Christmas movie (The Santa Clause with Tim Allen). I wondered how they would like it since it wasn't a toy, and since it is a new tradition I want to start (the Christmas Eve box!), but I couldn't believe how much they loved it. I hope our Christmas Eve box can be as much of a hit every year! They ran to put their ornaments on the tree. They LOVED their new pajamas. Connor couldn't stop talking about how soft and warm they were. We put our cookies and milk out for Santa, set out our stockings, and put the coveted Santa on the advent calendar. Then we got our hot cocoa ready and movie in to share our Christmas Eve all together. We even put our fireplace on to set the mood. I figured the movie was a little old for them and Bella did fall asleep within minutes after her hot cocoa was done Connor watched almost the whole thing intently before succumbing to sleep, asking questions and loving learning about Santa ("Oh so that's how he does it!" "So his elves are kids, I like that." "So his workshop is cool and big!"). 

It was seriously perfect!

And by far my absolute favorite part of the holidays, I'll remember that night forever. 

this moment

While writing to Santa Connor made sure his top item he wanted from Santa was "remote conroll racecars" and after asking him if there was anything else, repeatedly, he finally whispered in my ear "a picture of my family". He acted embarrassed but I was grinning ear to ear and promptly wrote it down. Well Bella must have over heard because moments later after announcing she wanted "pink" and "present", she whispered in my ear too exactly the same way but asked for "a picture of me".
So there you have it Connor wants a picture of his family and Bella wants a picture of herself!
We will see what Santa brings!

I want a dog for Christmas

Being a parent we hear lots of "I want"s for Christmas and very few of them are feasible possibilities. A common and well loved Christmas want is "I want a dog for Christmas."
Every Christmas I hear over and over this particular want.
A want that -sorry kids- will NEVER come true.
But it was particularly bad this year over and over and over and over I heard your cries for a dog for Christmas.
Sometimes you would mention a white dog. Or a little dog. Or a magic dog. Or a dog with a spot on his eye.
But it wasn't till we were watching this adorable commercial just as we had done several times before that it finally became clear that this dog you wanted for Christmas wasn't just any ordinary dog.

(Target 2014 Commercial)

After the commercial was through two little ones were left staring at the screen longingly with whispered words to each other of "mom says no".

And that was the end of it.

Baking with Daddy

7 Months

UPDATE

I will be honest Sydney is our hardest baby yet! Which isn't saying too much because we've had such good babies. But she definitely has her own unique personality. She does a whole lot of fussing. And to no fault of her own she has to do a lot more waiting then any other baby had to. So poor little girl has to learn patience a whole lot earlier. She is also of course the most advanced, which is hilarious to me. Because with baby one or even two I was itching for each new stage, and of course with Sydney I am never quick enough to catch up with her before she has discovered something new. No teeth yet, YAY!. But lots of angry gnawing. Maybe first tooth will be making an appearance soon? For now she is in size 2 diapers, 3-6 mon and 6 mon clothing. Month 7 has been the beginning of weaning! Full on bottle months to come. Her doctor recommended we really push solids, which I am not the best at but she does eat a vegetable for dinner every night. So far she has had: Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Squash, Mashed Potatoes, graham crackers, and Gerber Fruit Puffs and Yogurt Melts. She loves graham crackers, and sweet potatoes are her favorite baby food by far. She isn't a pro at bringing finger foods to her mouth quite yet tho. (Although if it is any type of paper then that easily makes it to her mouth.) Solids have helped with her spitting up but she still struggles daily with it. During the day Sydney goes in the swing for her morning nap and bottle, and at nap time she sleeps with Mom and Bella. At night she is sleeping 8 hrs at least and does so in her pack-n-play. Because Mom and Dad have been too busy to lower her crib.

Weight: 14 lbs 4 oz (7%)
(A big jump for weight introducing solids sure helped her keep some weight on. Along with starting the weaning stage.)

She was so not into the lights, it took a lot of
motivation from me for her to even
 show a little interest. 

She was more interested in getting her bow off ...

Success!

LIKES
Lately she is in love with exploration. Crawling EVERYWHERE! And pulling herself up on more things everyday.
She LOVES grabbing at faces! Not so fun for the faces especially with her long, sharp, and somewhat neglected nails.
CORDS, PLUGS, COMPUTERS! Just a few of her most favorite but forbidden things.
When she is in the mood she really enjoys peek-a-boo.
She likes to roll around during diaper changes, although when your the one doing the changing that game is not very fun.
She is a THUMB SUCKER! Aye Yai Yai!
LOVES Splashing in the TUB!

DISLIKES
The car is still not her happiest times.
The PACIFIER. HATE HATE HATE!
She screams out when she gets a "toy" taken away from her usually by brother or sister.
The Johnny Jump Up, mostly she hates it and then sometimes it's not soooo bad.
When brother hides my toys, or his toys.
Being surprised with loud noises makes her jump.
Toppling over while standing or while pulling up. NO fun.

FAVORITES
Her jabbering and early morning smiles are the highlights of my day.
Shea still has the magic back pats that lull her into dreamland. I seriously get so frustrated with how crazy Sydney makes me one second and then how calm and peaceful she is after a minute or two of Daddy's pats. And then he proudly declares "She's Out!"
I hate when my baby is sick but since she is such a mover she rarely ever wants to just lay on my chest and snuggle. Except when she is sick then she wants nothing more then to take a backseat to the action and watch while being still and snuggled.
Every now and then she blows raspberries, I kind of love it! IT is so ADORABLE!
She loves getting that face to face attention that brings on the biggest toothless grins of all times.

Big brother holding Syd's hand
so she doesn't topple.

SIBLINGS
Sydney loves being near her brother and sister. She follows them around and tries so hard to get in to what they are doing. Which most of the time results in a loud "MOOOOOOOOOOOM!" So that I can rescue Bella from Sydney's hair pulling or rescue crayons/markers/playdoh from Sydney's grasp or so that I can rescue Connor from Sydney interference. It is a little demanding keeping up with a mover, and it gets more so everyday. Fortunately she makes up for it with her big baby doll eyes of adoration when she sees her sister, and she is more then willing to put up with ALL of her brothers loving.

'Tis the Season

Our 2014 Family Photo Shoot

unfiltered

Merry Christmas to all!

Hoping your Christmas' are Merry and Bright!

(and a little less theatrical then ours is sure to be ;)