Post- Christmas Cuteness

This just might be my favorite picture of J so far.  I just wanted a pic of his first Christmas, with some of the things he got, and then he started smiling so cute …

One thing, when you breastfeed your babies, you have to explain a little to your older kids what you’re doing.  And then, if your older kids are girls and very much into being moms, inevitably, they’ll mimic you.  And one day, they’ll steal your boppy!

But she was just so cute about the whole thing!

And L is just my big girl now, convinced she’s a mommy, too, with her baby that she’s carried around since Christmas.  We’ve explained that her cousins gave it to her, but she keeps saying it’s the baby that Santa brought her. 

Christmas 2010

We were all smiles waiting for Christmas this year.

We invited my parents up, and they brought both my little brother, L, and his girlfriend, A, and my other brother, K.  (You may remember A as the girl who was on the bike with L when they got hit.  She must really like him!)

And I get to use having guests for Christmas as my excuse to bake!

I made two pies …

 The Apple Pie was for my dad, who has all kinds of weird allergies.  It’s a simple crust with no egg to help it brown and apples, and raisins, but no cinnamon or nutmeg – just brown sugar.  I prefer my apple pie with spices, but I still have that little-girl delight in cooking something special for my dad. This is the maple-pumpkin pie from a recipe I found last year.  I LOVE it to death!.  It got a little over-done this time around, because I was taking care of J when it was done.  

Operation Gingerbread House

I’ve always wanted to make my own Gingerbread house from scratch – here was my oportunity. Someone had told me it was easier if you roll the dough out on the back of a cookie sheet – then you don’t have to move your pieces after cutting them out.  Aside from making a huge mess, it worked pretty well.

I didn’t expect the pieces to puff up quite as much as they did.

But it still seemed to work – not perfectly, of course, it was my first attempt after all.  But it did fit together.  My mom and I put it together on Christmas Eve.

 

We let it sit for a few hours, so it would endure it got the beating it got when we set two little girls on it, armed with ziplocks full of icing and buckets of candy.

I was very pleased with our finished product!

The next morning, the girls were very excited to see what Santa had brought them and open the rest of their presents.

J wasn’t sure what was going on, but he wasn’t going to miss any of it.  He sat up wide and alert while his sisters “helped” him open his presents.

Even big kids need toys, and they all got nerf guns.  It became quite the game when L and A arrived later that day, and there was many a battle fought in my kitchen over the next two days.  There were also many nerf darts stuck to my doors, walls, and ceiling – who would have thought they’d stick to the ceiling … and now that I’m thinking about it, who thought to try?  Hmmmmm.

My mom bought this Roudolph at the store, and S carried him around, playing his song, most of the time they were here.

And Santa made sure the girls went to church the next day in style!

Good Bye Grandma

You may have noticed I've posted a number of videos of the kids lately. We did it for my mother-in-law, who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in October. With my c-section, and a brand new baby, and then with C's back surgery, we weren't able to take the whole family out to see her, so I posted videos of the kids for her to watch.

C did make it out in November, before his surgery, but Vicky didn't live long enough for us to get the whole family out to see her. She passed away quietly this last Sunday.

We will miss her greatly, but we're comforted at this time by the knowledge that we will all be together again one day. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:22

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Girls hiding

J on the floor

J looking and lying on his belly

Puzzles and J

Snow Day

I'm told you know it really snowed when they call a snow day in Idaho. Thank you, Gov. Otter for giving my husband the rest of the day off!

The Family Scoreboard

My cute little boy!

I just can’t et over this picture!  He looks like such a little chunk, and so grown up (for his few weeks of life)!

My cute kids

L had disappeared for a while today, and when I called out to her to ask what she was doing, I thought she said, “Cutting my hair, Mama.”  Luckily, what she’d actually said was, “Clipping my hair.”

I was actually very impressed that she’d gotten the hair all down so smooth.  She was also very proud of herself and wore her hair like that the rest of the night.

I did take the girls out for a short walk yesterday, and I bundled J up, so he wouldn’t get cold.  I bought this little outfit for L when she was born, and I’ve used it with all three kids now.  Isn’t he adorable?!

Not to be left out, S loves to have her picture taken.  And I love to oblige her!

Look at those baby blues!

Happy Birthday!

S is now three years old!  When did that happen?!

I love the fake smile she gave me when I told her to smile for a picture … and I love the, “Can we get on with this?!” look that came next when I wasn’t satisfied with her smile.

Again, the fake smile, because it was requested, and then I caught the look she always gets when she’s thinks she’s telling L something she doesn’t know.

L has been wearing her Halloween outfit for days now … and we all enjoyed S’s cake.

S only asked for two things for her birthday this year – a chocolate cake and a puzzle.  So, we put the rest of her birthday money away to buy her a bike next spring.

Birthday Song

Halloween

I only barely remembered to pick up a pumpkin at the store so the girls would have one to carve this year.  C helped them do it after they’d each put in some ideas. I think C’s pumpkins always turn out fantastic.  I never would have made a cat like this, but I think it turned out really well.

J was dubious about the whole thing.  He couldn’t figure out why he was in a crazy orange suit that was way too big for him.  They just don’t make costumes in newborn size.  L was thrilled.  She’s worn her costume for the last three days.  She declared herself a “Rosetta Butterfly” and informed me tonight that she’s going to wear her costume tomorrow, too.  And last, S.  She only ever got this much dressed up.  I got her wings on her once, but she never did put on her dress or her antennae (although she did a very good job of pronouncing the word when I was asking her to put them on - “No, Mama, I don’t want to wear my antennae.”)

We went to the ward trick-or-treat and the girls came home with more candy than they’ll eat in the next year.  Good thing they have a mom and dad to help them out with that.  :-)

Our horse

Okay, so it’s not really our horse, it’s just the horse that lives in the pasture next to our house, but we still love him.  And C never has to use the weed wacker on that side of the lawn.

What?  Huh?  You caught me?

I don’t know what you mean … I don’t eat any grass.

Nope, not me, I’m not the one eating your grass …