Christmas Memories

Getting ready for Christmas this year made me want to share last year's Christmas!
Ava has already watched this about 30 times. Hope you enjoy it.

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming and it's getting harder and harder to keep little people out of the presents under the tree. Everyday they ask what is in the boxes and when can they open them. Aley has yet to show more than a mild curiosity about the tree in the corner. But the other two are constantly touching presents and trying to reorganized the ornaments on the tree. We have a few extra ornaments added on like hair bows and silly bands.
One of the highlights is Avez changing the days on the Christmas countdown. This inspires the daily conversation of how long it's going to take for Christmas to come. Avez has also decorated the stocking with stickers and it took her stocking falling down to keep her away from them. I can hardly wait for Christmas to be here too!

Am I 80?

I never thought that I would have a pill box, or if I did I thought I would be much, much older. But here I am with enough pills to kill a horse. Now a lot of these are vitamins that I have to take to counteract side affects of the RA drugs. But still this is a crazy amount of medicine to take every week. Better go take today's drugs.

Christmas at Cabelas

We had to choose the last Saturday before Christmas to go to Cabelas. Kellen had to go because his perfect Christmas gift was there. While he was busy at the gun counter, I was trying to keep 3 small children happy and content in the store. We started by looking at the deer, then the fish, then the bears and other animals on the mountain.By the time we made it over to the elephant, lions and rhino, everyone was fussing. And I was starting to run out of treats. We discovered Santa and this gave everyone a needed positive boost. Avez and Bubba went and sat on Santa's lap and then they wanted to decorate ornaments. I turned to help Avez place a sticker on her snowman and turned to look for Bubba. He was nowhere to be found. I began calling his name and looking but after 5 minutes was in full panic mode. An employee saw me looking for something and asked if she could help me find something. I said, "Yeah, my 2 year old." She sprang into action calling in a Code Adam. A discription of Bubba went out over the store and we began to go to the front of the store. I called Kellen and he began helping as well.
As we reached the front an employee was standing there with Bubba in her arms. A wave of relief swept over me. I grabbed him and she said that he was found in the men's room. She then said we should wash his face and hands. Apparently, he was trying to get a drink from one of the urinals and was licking and trying to drink the water. As much as that grossed me out I was just happy to have him back. He was happy as can be, none the wiser that he caused a panic. He was just happy to have gotten a chance to go where he wanted and be free.

My shopping trips are over for the year.

Family Photos

We had family pictures taken a few months ago. Our good friend, Michelle, took the pictures and had more than a handful to deal with. Bubba wouldn't hold still and screamed every time we tried to make him. Avez was more concerned with the leaves on the ground.

This was one of the only pictures where Jackson wasn't screaming.

Aley was just happy all the way around.
Ava looked adorable and had so much personality.
Bubba just wanted to run around and play.

A happy Daddy and his girls.

Hamming it up for the camera.

Getting him to hold still was impossible.He ran with lightening speed and never fell down.

Aley just looked angelic and happy.

I think our favorite picture of the day is the picture at the top of the blog. It sums up the entire experience and is a completely candid shot. Kellen and I just kept smiling through the screaming hoping that one photo would work.

Milestones

This has been a great year. Crazy and full of amazing events in our family. Here is a rundown of some of the ones I can think of on the fly.
Aley was born. A perfect light in our lives.
Avez potty trained. She can sleep through the night in panties.
Bubba learning some words, some we can actually understand.
Aley beginning to walk.
Kellen having a great job and getting a promotion.
Us living in a wonderful area in a fabulous ward.
Bubba turning 2
Upgrading to a nice minivan.
Bubba moving to a big boy bed.
Avez and Bubba sharing a bedroom. And they even go to sleep at night.
Getting family pictures taken for the 1st time.
Taking 3 kids to the store and getting the shopping done.

Some of these may seem simple and even trivial to some but for us each of these is important to our family. Things are changing so fast as everyone gets bigger. I personally am trying to get smaller, but everyday Avez asks if she is getting bigger and what that entails.

Little Boy Blue Just Turned Two!

My Little boy is two years old. We are still working on getting him to speak. But he says the important words like cake, truck, car, apple (sounds like ahole) airplane, chicken ,star and potato and Jesus.
One of my favorite Bubba-isms is when he spontaneously folds his arms and wants to say a prayer and the most random of times. So we say a short prayer saying thanks for our "good boy". Another thing I love is when he wants to give me a kiss. He turns and gives me the most precious peck on the lips. And if he wants one he will not stop until the kiss is given.

He loves airplanes and we always have to find them in the sky when we hear them. So for his birthday cake I had to make an airplane. I knew it would just be for us but I still had to make a big cake. Call it sentimental, but I grew up with cakes like this every year and have great memories. No cake mix used for this cake. I did it all from scratch, even the frosting. Just call me Betty Crocker! Avez was so into it that she picked out two cakes that she wants for her birthday.

All in all it was a great day and he knew it was all for him and was grinning from ear to ear that it was his special day. Hot dog dinner and all.

Halloween...BOO!!!

Halloween came this year and all I heard was, "When do I get to get candy?" And when we had candy keeping Avez and Bubba off the counters and out of the cupboards was a full time job. i would put Aley down for a nap and come down to find trouble brewing. But we did have a beautiful princess, a silly monkey and an adorable cheetah.

The one with the eyebrows is Avez award winner. What you can't see is the art work all over the outside.

We finally caged the monkey!

He had fun trick-or-treating. But he did think that you went into the houses and had several people chasing him down. I wasn't going in after him!

Isn't she cute?

Avez loved the glitter and everything about it. She waited in her dress for 2 hours before it was time to go because she was so excited.

Our trick-or-treating posse. Avez best friends Aria and Tajes went with us adding to the fun.

Summer Fling

Kellen's family came to visit this summer for a very quick week. We tried to pack as much as we could into a single week. A trip to the zoo, a day in historic, downtown Philadelphia and a couple of days at the Shore. It was so much fun to see the kids play and spend time with family!

Aley had her first chance to play with sand and she loved it!

Ava got a little too carried away in the sand and became a sand MONSTER.
Our future lifeguard in training.

I Love to See the Temple

"I love to see the temple. I'm going there someday To feel the Holy Spirit, To Listen & to pray.

For the temple is a house of God, a place of love & beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young; This is my sacred duty."

"I love to see the temple. I'll go inside someday. I'll cov'nant with my Father; I'll promise to obey. For the temple is a holy place Where we are sealed together. As a child of God, I've learned this truth: A family is forever."

I went to the temple to the sealing of my cousin, Kurt. I love sealings. I love seeing the love of the couple getting married and remembering my own sealing almost 5 years ago to the day. I also love to hear what each sealer says to the couple. That little nugget of wisdom to take with you to aply to your own marriage. One of the stand out thing for me was the 4 C's of David O McKay: Constant Courting, Constant Communication, Constant Compassion & Constant Compromise. It was another first to have the power go out while in the temple. It was a great day and wonderful to see family. The day was beautiful and Aley was a dream the entire day. I couldn't asked for better.

Swimming

We love going to the pool. Bubba was terrified at first and refused to get in the water. At first he would only dip his fingers and throw things into the water. Each time he slowly got a little more brave. Stepping into the water and letting someone hold him and carry him around in the water. Avez jumps in full force and Aley just relaxes and takes it all in. Funny how each personality come out.
Avez has always been a water girl. She has to put her life jacket on because she has no fear and loves to jump in the deep end. It keeps my stress level down to know that whatever she decides to try she will be safe.
Now he jumps from the side and swims on his own. He sticks his face in the water. (Which is crazy because he freaks out in the tub when any water get on his face!)A regular little fish.

Free At Last!

The moment I have been waiting for and yet dreading has finally arrived. Bubba has finally discovered the ability to climb out of his crib and not be terrified of the fall. I knew this was coming and honestly perplexed it was still pending. Avez developed this talent at about 17 months and he is pushing 21 months.

So begins the long bedtime rituals of putting him down, only to have him climb out excited about his new found talent. Then placing him back in bed screaming. (There is no happy medium with this boy.) Last night this took place for just over an hour until he finally relaxed. My hand had to be stroking his hair for him to calm down. I escaped and thought about what the nights ahead are going to be like.

Transitions are never easy. After family comes it's time for the big boy bed. Wonder how that will go?

Avez Eyes

I wish I could see the world through a child's eyes. They don't have the build up of taint and distain that has clouded our eyes as we age. When we see people we don't know and haven't met, we see strangers, unfamiliar and unapproachable. When Avez sees a person on the side of the road as we drive by she says, "Look Mama, friends!" As we walk down the isles in the store she stops to greet everyone saying, "Hi, I'm Ava. What's your name?" Everyone is just a friend she hasn't met yet not a stranger to be afraid of. Maybe if we all look at the world like Avez there wouldn't be as much misunderstanding and fear, just friends who are waiting to say "hi".

The Princess & the iPod

Avez is always wanting to play a game on the iPod. She is great at solving puzzles, matching games, counting games and alphabet games. I have to fight to use my own iPod because whenever I pull it out to use Avez comes around and wants to use it for herself. Not that I have much down time to use it during the day. But for space sake it's become my scriptures at church and seems to end up keeping someone else busy instead. I've downloaded a ton of games just for her because she wants to use it all the time. She is great at switching to whatever it is she wants to do. She can watch her movies, play her games. One of her favorite things to do is watch princess movies, especially Cinderella. My little techno wiz.

I took this picture the other day and thought it was priceless. There isn't even one bit of cropping or editing!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Every day when Daddy walks in the door from work, everything that was going on stops. All eyes turn to the sound of the front door beginning to open. Avez and Bubba look with anticipation and joy. I look with a mix of relief and gladness. Aley just senses the electric charge in the room and begins to kick her legs.

The first thing you hear is little feet running and "Daddy" being shouted with exuberance. Daddy's daily reply is, "Hi guys!" I love to see how happy it makes everybody to have the whole family together again after several hours without Daddy.

Car Wash

Who needs a fancy car wash with professionals detailing and polishing your ride? Just send Dad out with some pool toys and a kiddie pool and let the fun take off. Then again it might not end up getting the car as clean as the kids or as wet for that matter. And Dad may have to rewash portions to undo the job that the kids did. But all in all it sure makes for a fun filled afternoon in the hot sun!

Humidity Hair

This is why I have to blow dry my hair straight, especially in all this East coast humidity. Due to the aforementioned Bubba situation I was unable to dry my hair after taking a shower. The curls you see are the untamed result of nature taking its course.

EEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!

I know these pictures seem graffic. But believe me it was worse it person. The smell alone was enough to kill you. But I digress, let me go back and explain how this happened.

Yesterday, I heard Bubba stirring from his nap and Avez went up to get him. Next thing I heard was, "EEEWWWW!!!!! GROSS! MOM, Bubba POOPED!!!" That sent me running. I got to the room in time to see Bubba with his diaper on the ground next to his pants and blanket. He was trying to climb out and there was poop all over him, the crib, and the bed.


I carried him to the shower, stripped off his shirt and hosed him down. He was not happy about it, but neither was I about any of it. After getting Bubba clean and in a new diaper I began working on the hazard zone. I took a sand shovel and scooped up what I could in a ziplock. Then I gathered up the sheets and bumper and threw them in the wash. The next part took the longest. I removed the mattress and scrubbed the plastic coating (thank goodness for that) then began meticulously washing every inch of the crib surface.

Now to figure out how to keep his diaper on!

Fly on the Wall

Lately, when I have been putting Avez down for a nap or for bed at night, she hasn't been going right to sleep. I can hear all kinds of noises drifting up the stairs. They range from toys banging and clanging, singing and high pitched squeaking, to conversations with who knows whom.

I wish I could sneak down and watch but that would abruptly end the show if an audience appeared. So I stay upstairs wondering. She always falls asleep eventually and never comes up until after her nap or in the morning. But oh to be a fly on the wall to see her imagination in full swing!

Future Plumber

I swear Bubba is going to be a plumber. He always has he hands down his pants and is pushing them down. You shouldn't see a crack on a diaper. And it shouldn't ride low. The worst is when he pulls out his hand and there is a brown treat on it. Yeah, not good.

My Angel Baby

Don't get me wrong, I love ALL my kids. But there is something about Aley. She is such an amazing little girl and always makes me smile and be happy. Avez was good, but as soon as she got mobile she was into everything. To curious for her own good. Bubba had colic and cried all the time. He still is polarizing. Either laughing and happy or sad/mad and crying and screaming.













Aley is just content. That is the best way to describe her. She wakes up and plays till you get her. She loves it when you look at her over the crib. A huge smile comes over her face. She also can play happily while I deal with her brother and sister.






Don't think she doesn't have her moments. She can fuss and cry. But it's usually about food or an injury or tired. There is some reason.
















I love the way her eyes light up. I couldn't ask for better. She will sleep whenever and where ever. I was blessed by my beautiful girl. I love her so much and I am sad she can't stay this age forever!