Christmas Sunday

Much to my dismay, our family wasn't together for Christmas Sunday this year.  So instead of being sad and crazy about it, I decided just to force the kids into their Sunday best and take a picture on Wednesday when we were all together again.  Okay, that might be a little crazy...but I don't care.  Traditions are at stake...and my children are beautiful...and they are growing up so fast...whatever, I don't need a reason, I'm the Mom.

You would never know from these pictures, but Summer was ridiculously uncooperative.  It is seriously a miracle that they turned out as good as they did!

Look at these beautiful children!!

 And my wreath!!

Merry Christmas 2015!!

A few fails this year...like PJs that didn't fit, and somehow I forgot to buy batteries...oh and the gravy.  But it was still a magical, exciting, wonderfully full Christmas.

 This year, Summer and I were the first ones up...at 7:15am!  I was shocked!!  By 8am, we couldn't wait any long, and so we went and woke everyone else up!!


 

 I think Tyson had the most presents this year...

 

 This might be my favorite picture of Christmas this year...it's just so Christmas to me.  The slippers, the mess, the toys...LOVE.

 

Kya got her remote control helicopter, even though the last two we've owned didn't last longer than a couple weeks.

 

One of my favorite gifts...

 

One of Tyson's favorite gifts...

Jordan opted out of present pictures this year:(  But she got a lot of clothes...and had a wonderful Christmas too!

It's coming...

It's funny how Christmas seems forever away, and then all of a sudden its FOUR DAYS away!!  I love this time of year!  We managed to get the most beautiful tree again and our house feels magical.

Summer insisted on climbing the ladder to decorate the tree.  She has been pretty good about leaving the ornaments alone...except the Mickey Mouse stuffed ones, which I am totally fine with her playing with.  The nativity sets are another story...all three baby Jesus' are carried around, fed, kissed, and put to sleep multiple times a day. 

 Tyson could barely reach to put the star on top...actually we had to cut the top a little to make it so he could reach!

My favorite room in the house now.

A Trip to the Store

Mike asked me why I ever let her out of the shopping cart.

All she wanted was...

...this birthday card,

 to play for hours with this train (while pooping her diaper),

Hello Kitty shopping cart AND this popper, 

 dolly accesories (of course),

 to pet this dog for an hour,

 to empty all these tubs of lego body parts,

to play house at the American Girl store (how could I ask her to leave her babies behind?!), 

to pet this dog, at least a dozen times,

and to carry this kitty around the entire time at Target!

If I kept her in the cart the whole time, then I wouldn't have to rip toys out of her hands and drag her out of every store kicking and screaming.  What fun would that be?!

Halloween 2015

Another great Halloween...

 

Costumes this year were a lot of fun:

Kya wanted to be Batman...cutest Batman I've ever seen!!

 Summer just had to be Minnie Mouse!

 And this was Tyson's year to be a Zombie...his costume turned out AWESOME!

I just wore my flannel and painted on some freckles to be a farmer:)  Here we are before the ward party/trunk or treat!

Jordan didn't get to go to the ward party, or trick or treating...but she did kinda dress up for school

We managed to carve pumpkins the night before Halloween (L-R, Kya's, Summer's and Tyson's)

Our good friends from California were visiting for the weekend, so they came trick or treating with us!!  It was a lot of fun!!  And the rain stopped just in time for trick or treating.  The kids didn't last too long, and Summer managed to stay out the entire time!!  Maybe because Dale held her half the time...and she got a few candy bars:)

 

 Kya and Sophia were so happy to be together again!!  They have been best friends since 3rd Grade, and it was so cute to see them together after 2 years apart...it was like no time had passed at all! 

Double Digits...if you can believe it!!

How is it possible that my little boy is TEN?!  In so many ways, he'll always be my baby.  I love his tender heart and sweet innocence.  He is smart, kind, sporty, funny, friendly, caring and super cute.  Love him more every day!

 The only school day I will ever make pancakes, is on someone's birthday!!  And pancakes are Tyson's favorite:)

He requested cheesecake instead of regular cake, which made things really easy for me.  And since the boys were going bowling...

It a rare occasion when you get to have you party on your actual birthday and this year it worked out that way.  We had only four more boys but boy were they crazy wild!!  A great birthday for a great kid!

More than just a check on a list

I think I need a re-do on our trip to the pumpkin patch!!  Just like last year we had to leave Daddy behind, rush to the farm to pick out our pumpkins and then rush home to make it to our other activities.  I don't like that!  I want to stroll around the beautiful pumpkin patch, browse through the cute store, play fetch with the farm dog, let Summer spent half an hour washing pumpkins...and of course take TONS of pictures!  Oh, and I want the teenager to WANT to be there too!  I want it to be more than just something to check off my to-do list!!

 Take a picture on the pile of pumpkins: Check!

 See how much everyone has grown: Check!

 Find a wagon to take down to the patch:  Check!

 Take individual pictures with the pumpkins:  Check!

 (the non-cooperative teenager)

 Wash the pumpkins:  Check!

We may just need to go back...

15 Months

The other day I was playing with Summer and I noticed she had a molar...a molar...and I had no idea!!  It just reminded me how quickly she is growing and changing, so I thought I better do a quick blog about Summy...the way she is right now...before she wakes up from her nap and has grown an inch taller and knows a dozen new words!!

Summer loves...

...DUCKS.  Weird, and totally all her.  She loves ducks.  One of her very first words was "duck" and definitely her first animal sound was "quack".  She blows kisses to every duck (and bird) she sees, which everyone thinks is absolutely adorable.

...BOOKS.  This is one I am supper excited about, because, hello, children's books?  So cute!  She spends a good portion of every day bringing me books to read, then taking them to Tyson, then Kya, then Jordan and then Dad.  Her favorites are: Five Noisy Ducks,  Harry, the Dirty Dog, Peek a Boo Baby, Five Little Monkeys...oh my gosh, this list could go on forever.  What is so sweet is if I add a book to her basket, she notices it immediately and it usually becomes her new favorite.

 

...FOOD.  Sometimes I wish we could close a door to the kitchen because this little one is forever opening the cupboards and the fridge asking for food.  Her favorites right now are:  Yogurt drinks, string cheese, cherry tomatoes, fruit snacks, and rice crisps.

...MUSIC.  Summer loves it when we play music...and it doesn't have to be kids music (since that is rarely played in our house).  She loves to go up to Jordan's room when she has her music blasting and dance or have Jordan hold her and dance with her.  Right now her dance moves are all about waving one arm and spinning in circles.

...HER BLANKY!!  She carries it around, snuggles it when she's tired, hugs it when she's hurt or sad, and sleeps with it every night.

 

Summer can...

...TALK!  She has learned so many words since her first birthday...although, we may be the only ones who can understand most of them.  And I wish she would use them more often than just screaming for what she wants.  Her vocabulary consists of, but is not limited to:  Mommy, Daddy, no, kitty, Tyson, yes, popcorn/Popsicle (both pronounced "pop-d"), I love you, blanky, susu, dog, duck.

...RUN!  Well, really she can walk really fast.  But it's getting there and absolutely the cutest thing to see.  Its amazing how quickly the go from taking a few steps to racing through the house!

...SLEEP!  I wasn't sure this one was going to happen, since she struggled a little during the night right up to her first birthday and maybe even a little after.  But as soon as she stopped nursing (about a month after her birthday), she was  a super great sleeper.  She naps for 2-3 hrs and then sleeps all night..almost every night!  HOORAY.

...SCREAM!  This is a new one and hopefully won't last, but Summer has been throwing little fits either to get what she wants or because she is frustrated.  She wants to do everything herself (eat, put on shoes, buckle her car seat, open a wrapper etc) but when she can't we hear the screams and she even throws herself on the floor sometimes.  Being a toddler is tough! 

So this is a just a glimpse into the life of Summer at 15months.  We love her...a lot!!