Togetherness

I love this picture. It is not very often that I can get all four of them in a picture together. I wish someone would have taken a picture of the spectacle at the park that day. I had 4 kids running around, one in a baby car seat, and a dog on a leash. It was just a normal day for us, but all the looks I was getting from the other parents were pretty funny. No one was brave enough to talk to me about our craziness. Next time, I am going to wear a sign on my neck that says, "Don't worry, I take PROZAC, everything is fine!"

This is why I'm NOT crazy...

Everyone thought I was nuts for getting a dog right when we were having a baby. But Zoe has been so much fun. She has been so tolerant of the kids. She lets them do pretty much anything to her. We love Zoe!

Here I Come to Save the Day!!!

Last night, I went in to check on the kids before we crashed for the night. I found Parker laying on his stomach with both arms above his head (in a flying position). When I started helping him out of bed (for a quick trip to the potty) he started singing the theme song to Star Wars. I think he was having a dream about flying through the air as a super hero. When I asked him about it this morning, he didn't remember anything. So funny!

Reverence

Today in sacrament meeting our great Primary Presidency was talking. They gave the best talks on Christ, love, music, and reverence. During the talk on reverence, Bailey proceeded to throw a big fit on one side of our bench. I was holding Reilynn, so I couldn't get Bailey over to Mark (on the other side of the bench).

It got bad enough, or I looked ridiculous enough, that one of the older ladies in our ward (thanks Rose) got up and picked up Bailey off the floor, walked around the benches, and handed Bailey to Mark. If that wasn't embarrassing, I don't know what is. All the while, a very nice talk on reverence is being shared.

I get the best mother award today!!!

Show and Tell

Poor Reilynn has baby acne so bad! This isn't the best picture, but it is all the way through her scalp and on her ears and on her neck. I have never seen it like this before. I took her into the dr. to make sure it wasn't some kind of a rash...but it is just acne.

If you can see past the dirty glasses...Kas lost another tooth. She was very excited to lose it at school. That is way cooler than having it come out at home!

This is Bailey's sad face. She can now do it on command, we all think it is pretty funny.

OH MY!!!!!

Little boy hair cuts, tigers, fairies, and Darth Vader oh my....
Addison cut Bailey's pony-tail off the top of her head yesterday. The only solution to not having a mullet, was a little boy's hair-cut. I am so sad!!! What is the deal with scissors and hair at our house lately!?!?!?

Ice!?!?

I was in the car on Friday with a friend of mine, and I had to stop our conversation to (very loudly) point out that there was a FROZEN puddle on the side of the road. You definitely don't see ice around here very often!

I have to admit, I have loved feeling cozy in our house and being motivated to bake...BUT, I have become a wuss! After only a week of cold weather, I am ready to not have to bundle my kids up so much.

family photos

My mom brought her camera that is much more high tech than mine, and we took some family pics. We couldn't get everyone to cooperate, but what could we expect with 5 kids under the age of 6!!! (Does that sound terrifying to anyone else but me?!)

Reilynn didn't get an outside shot, for obvious reasons...it was FREEZING! She is starting to figure out how to be awake and happy, without being fed or a binkie in her mouth. It is so nice!

Parker wanted to act like Spider-man in his picture. So silly!

You can't see it, but I forgot to post about Kasidee's first tooth she lost. She still hasn't spent the dollar that the tooth fairy brought her. She is saving it for something special.

We couldn't get Bailey to stand still long enough for her to pose for a picture...but I thought this one was super cute. She is just trying to pull herself up onto a park bench.

Addison is the peace-maker at our house. She is quick to help with Reilynn, and more than willing to play with Bailey. She is our little helper!

Reilynn's Blessing

Reilynn was pretty little still, but we took advantage of having family here and blessed her. My brother Cory and his wife Lori blessed their little baby Payden too. It was a special day.

Christmas morning

Christmas morning was lots of fun. Santa brought our family a cute new dog named Zoe. She was definitely the highlight of the morning. Thank you to a special elf named Kelli, we were able to save the surprise until Christmas morning. Grandpa and Grandma got our family a Wii, so you can guess that Mark and Dustin took full advantage of that! We had a fun day!

Christmas Eve

Our family tradition is to eat our nice Christmas dinner, have family home evening with the Nativity, open new pjs, open a new family game, and play until bed time. We had a fun time this year. The kids are at fun ages, they really enjoyed dressing up and acting out Luke 2. Thanks Uncle Dustin for being Joseph!

Forced Haircuts

Kasidee and Addison decided to give eachother haircuts. I had to do some fixing, and this is what we ended up with. They look cute, but it was sad to cut off all those curls!

Projects

Thanks to Jared, my dad, my brothers Cory and Dustin, and Mark for making our home look so much better. Our floor and fireplace turned out so good! My family was very patient to live in a construction zone for part of their vacation. Thanks family!!!

Little Feet Party

Addison's preschool had a Christmas party. They did the nativity (Addison was Mary, so cute) played games, did some cute crafts, and ate yummy finger food. Thanks to those who organized it, it was a huge success!!! My mom, dad, and brother arrived from the airport just in time to see the nativity. FUN!

Coming Home

Coming home was a little crazy. Thanks to our favorite adopted daughter, Emi, things went a little smoother than they could have. Addison and Bailey cried and fought over who got to hold their new little sister. And if I had to feed her...everyone came unglued! One time, the only way to calm everyone down was to give everyone a baby Jesus from one of our nativity sets. Baby Jesus was the only comfort. (: Baby Reilynn now fits into our family perfectly.