Christmas Day

I don't know who was more excited for Christmas morning, me or the kids.  I usually start shopping pretty early and I just can't wait to give them their gifts.  The kids slept until about 8:00 AM and I made them wait down stairs while I fed Wyatt and they were so patient.  My parents got here just in time to see them open their gifts. They both wanted computers from Santa and they were excited that he brought them.  

I was really excited to give Caitlyn this.  It is a hardbound book that she can write her own story in.  She loves to write stories and she was thrilled to get it.

Jonah was really excited with his new train set.  It was prefect for him.  It is a mega blocks Thomas the train set.

He had fun setting it up with Keith. 

Caitlyn and Jonah bought each other hats for Christmas and they were both excited to find new sunglasses in their stockings.  They were so cute posing in them all morning.

The kids gave Keith this shirt and some pajama bottoms.  The kids were so excited to give them to him and of course he loved them.

Wyatt was pretty much uninterested in the whole thing.  He did have fun trying to open this present for a minute. He didn't like the guitar that was inside.  When Jonah started playing it he started to cry.  He did like his stuffed animals that he got and he loved his jump-a-roo.  He bounced in it all morning while Caitlyn and Jonah opened their presents.

He was just his normal happy self all morning. 

Here he is with all of his loot.  We pulled out all our baby toys for him.  He loves the jump-a-roo and the table.  He loves to be standing and bouncing, so they are right up his alley.  Santa brought him a set of Veggie Tales movies that Caitlyn and Jonah were pretty happy about.  He actually really liked the stuffed animals that came with them. It was fun to have our first Christmas with Wyatt.

The kids got spoiled as usual.  Jonah was especially excited with his soccer ball and his zhu zhu pet.  He was so cute to watch on Christmas morning.  He was so excited and jumping up and down saying, "cool" when he opened every present.  He was really cute and kept giving Caitlyn presents to open and waiting to open his.

Caitlyn loved opening all of her presents.  She was excited about each one of them.  She is so sweet and really goes out of her way to let you know that she loves her presents.  She had fun playing Santa Claus in her new sled.  She got lots of art supplies and projects that she is going to have a lot of fun with.  On Christmas morning I asked her why we have Christmas and she said, "The presents are fun, but that is not what Christmas is about.  Christmas is about Jesus."  She always amazes me.  That sums it up perfectly.  We had a great Christmas and all of the presents were fun, but we really enjoyed focusing on our Savior this time of year.

Christmas Eve

I have so many pictures that I want to post so I'm going to separate Christmas eve and Christmas day.  We started out Christmas eve with Keith's family.  For some reason all of my pictures turned out blurry.  We had lots of good food and fun visiting, singing songs and exchanging presents.  The kids were thrilled to get pillow pets from Grandma and Grandpa.  They dressed up as Mary and Joseph while we sang, "Away in a manger."  Then Caitlyn and Jonah sang, "I know that my Savior loves me."  They did such a great job. I was so proud of them.

Next we went to my parents house for more good food and visiting.  The kids acted out the nativity.  Caitlyn and Jonah loved being Mary and Joseph with Wyatt as the baby Jesus.  Wyatt was a little fussy because it was nap time, but he was a good sport. 

Caitlyn and Jonah sang, "I know that my Savior loves me," again.  They did so well.  This was Caitlyn's gift to Jesus.  She wanted to teach people about Jesus so she wanted to sing a song about him.  She was really nervous about it, but they both got up there and sang every word and it was so sweet.  She told me earlier that she didn't want to sing the song because I would just cry and hug her.  Jonah's gift to Jesus was to obey his mom and dad (which he did pretty well), be nice to his brother and be reverent.   The kids also helped me shovel snow for people as one of their gifts to the Savior.

I love all the traditions that my family has on Christmas eve.  It was my favorite day of the year as a kid and now I love sharing it with my kids.  Here they are doing the grab box.  Before that we played Christmas bingo and then they all opened their gift from their cousins.  By the time Christmas eve is over they really don't need any more presents. 

We gave the kids their usual new pajamas on Christmas eve.  They love to get new pajamas.  They all looked so cute.  Caitlyn and Jonah were so excited to go to sleep with their new pillow pets.  Poor Caitlyn was so excited she couldn't sleep.  I kept checking to see if she was asleep and finally at 11:00 PM she fell asleep.

5 Months

I feel like a broken record.  Another month has flown by.  Wyatt is 5 months now.  He is still the happiest baby I have ever seen.  He is always smiling.  If he gets fussy you know he is either tired or hungry.

Wyatt is constantly moving his legs.  He will just lay with his legs in this position a lot.  I recognize that from the womb, he was constantly kicking me.  A few times I felt like he knocked the wind right out of me in there.  I think he is preparing to be a soccer player!

I have enjoyed every minute with Wyatt.  I love playing with him and seeing that adorable smile.  So many things he does reminds me of Caitlyn and Jonah when they were babies.  I love the baby stage.  The first year is so much fun.  I'm so grateful I have been able to do this three times now.

Wyatt loves to be held in this position.  Every time you hold him up he will squeal and kick his legs.  You have to be careful though because he is constantly drooling and spitting up.

He got this jumperoo for Christmas and he loves it.  I was surprised he figured out how to bounce right away. Wyatt still sleeps great and loves to eat.  He loves playing with baby toys now and grabbing anything that he can reach.  He loves taking baths and splashing and kicking in the tub.  He likes variety, after being held for a while he wants to lay on the floor.  He usually goes to sleep on his own now and I miss rocking him to sleep.  I still do every once in a while and right before he falls asleep he will hold onto the collar of my shirt and then I know he is almost asleep.  He loves to be tickled and he is constantly cooing and making cute sounds.  Wyatt is a big kid.  We are used to chubby babies, but he is really long too.  It seems like he just keeps shooting up, it will be interesting to see how long he is next month at his appointment.  I'm so grateful that we have Wyatt.  He has brought so much happiness into our home in the last 5 months.

One of those nice days

We had such a nice day yesterday and I don't want to forget it.  I love church on the Sunday before Christmas and this year didn't disappoint.  We heard great messages and beautiful music, including the kids singing a song with the choir.  

Later that night we did a family home evening about Christ.  Caitlyn and Jonah sang a song and the kids acted out the nativity.  Caitlyn and Jonah were so excited to be Mary and Joseph and Caitlyn was thrilled that Wyatt was the baby Jesus.  Something about acting out the nativity really brings the spirit.  After we read some scriptures about Christ and then we all bore our testimonies.  I'm always amazed by Caitlyn's testimony.  She is wise beyond her years and seems to really grasp the gospel and the scriptures.  She bore a beautiful testimony about our Savior and said she was happy that our family was sealed together in the temple.  Jonah didn't want to share at first, but then he decided to and bore the sweetest testimony about Jesus and how much he loves him.  In his prayers this week he keeps saying, "please help Jesus to have a fun birthday."  It was by far the neatest family home evening we have ever had.  Most of our lessons consist of us stopping every minute to try and get the kids to pay attention.  These kinds of nights are the ones where you realize that it is all worth it and the kids are understanding more than you think.

I'm so grateful for my family and that we have the gospel in our lives.  We have had a wonderful December and have had a lot of opportunities to slow down and focus on Christ and the things that are really important.  

Girls Day Out

Now that I actually printed up my blog book I'm motivated to blog about everything!   On Saturday me and Caitlyn went to see Tangled with my sister and her girls.  It was so much fun.  Caitlyn was so excited for a day out with Mom. 

After the movie we went to lunch at the Spaghetti Factory.  It was such a fun day.  I love to spend time with my kids one on one.  Every morning when I'm brushing Caitlyn's hair she yells, "this is why I hate being a girl!"  On Saturday she kept saying, "I love being a girl, it is so fun."  She is a funny girl.



Santa Claus and Gingerbread Houses

We had fun taking the kids to see Santa.  I was happy that all three kids looked at the camera for the picture.  Caitlyn and Jonah couldn't wait to see Santa and tell them that they both want a computer for Christmas.  I have told Jonah he is on the naughty list a few times.  I don't know what else to do, the boy won't stop hitting!

I love this picture of the three of them.  The kids had a great time going to the mall and seeing all the decorations.  Keith had the afternoon off so we stayed and looked around and let the kids play for a while. 

Saturday was the annual gingerbread house day at Grandmas.  The kids have been counting down to this.  I think Caitlyn had a good strategy this year, fill every open spot with as much candy as possible.  She was the last of the cousins to finish because she had to get plenty of candy on her house.  They had a great time decorating the houses and playing with their cousins.

My parents are so great.  They are always planning fun activities for the kids and they always make each one of them feel loved and special.  I'm so grateful that my kids have such wonderful grandparents.

Why Not

Yesterday Jonah's cousin gave him this Incredibles costume.  He was thrilled.  He didn't want to take it off when it was time to go to Walmart.  I was automatically going to say no and then I figured, why not.  He was thrilled to walk around the store like this and he made quite a few people smile.  I just love the boots with it! Jonah is such a fun boy.  He is always making people smile. 

Here are the boys before church on Sunday.  They are so cute together.  Jonah can't wait until Wyatt can run around and play with him. 

Picture Overload

We have so many cute pictures of Wyatt.  This boy is always smiling.  At four months he was 15lbs 11ozs (68%) and 26 inches long (85%).  He is a big boy.  We have always had chunky kids, but we have never had one so long.

I had to put lotion on his head because it was so dry so I decided to give him a fohawk.  Jonah came in and said, "mom, you gave him a pinhawk?" 

We started him on barley cereal a few weeks ago.  His doctor recommended that and prune juice to help with his constipation.  They seem to be helping a little, so that is good.  He isn't a big fan of the cereal, but he will eat it anyway.

He is growing up so fast.  I almost hate to do anything that makes him seem more grown up. 

He is reaching and grabbing things all the time now.  He sat and played with this rattle for about 10 minutes the other night.  It was so cute

The kids both wanted to hold his hand the other day.  It is so cute to see them all together smiling at each other.

This is Wyatt every night.  He is so happy at night.  About 8 PM he gets very tired and starts rubbing his eyes.  We give him a bottle and then he must get his second wind because he will laugh and play for another 30-45 minutes.  He is just non stop smiling and this is when we can usually get him to laugh.

I love to play with him at night because this is the only time I have one on one time with him because Caitlyn and Jonah are in bed.  We never get anything done at night because me and Keith can't stop playing with him.  I have to write all of these things down because I can't believe how fast I forget them.  I'm finally getting my blog printed and I'm so excited to have a record of this time with my kids.  I only wish I would have started it when Caitlyn was born. 

He works hard for the money!

Poor Keith never gets enough sleep.  He works so hard for us and I appreciate it so much!  He is just about to finish his first semester at the U of U.  This semester has been a little rough for sleeping.  Next semester his classes are at a much better time, so hopefully he will get more sleep.  We always laugh and say he is turning into my dad because every time he holds still he falls asleep.  Poor guy couldn't even make it through his prayers.

These kids are so lucky to have such a great Dad.  He works so hard for them, but he also loves to come home and play with them.

I have to throw in a few cute pictures.  I love all the sweaters Wyatt wears to church.  He always looks so cute.

I thought this picture was so cute.  Caitlyn loves to hold her little brother.  She can always get a smile out of Wyatt.  It is so hard to get Caitlyn ready for school in the morning because she is either laying on the ground telling me how tired she is or she is in playing with Wyatt.  She just can't start her day until she has played with him for a minute.

Jungle Jims

We got some cheap passes for Jungle Jims so we went and spent the day yesterday.  The kids loved it. 

Jonah loved the bumper cars. It took him a minute to figure out how they worked and then he was in heaven.

Caitlyn on the other hand hated the bumper cars.  Every time she got bumped she said it hurt her legs so she just sat there and pouted until the ride was over.  I thought this picture was pretty funny.

Caitlyn and Jonah were both scared to try the roller coaster, but after some coaxing and some bribes we got them on.  They both loved it and wanted to go over and over.

Wyatt was a champ.  He didn't nap great, but he was still so happy.  It is so nice that he will just go with the flow.  After Jungle Jims we went to McDonalds for dinner and then some shopping.  It was one of those nice days where everyone was happy and we just enjoyed some nice family time together.  I love those days!

When Caitlyn is away the boys will play

Jonah loves to have Wyatt all to himself while Caitlyn is at school.  They are so cute.  Jonah gets a little to excited and rough with Wyatt sometimes, but he is so cute with him.  I just love that smile on Wyatt.  he loves his big brother.

Jonah thought it would be fun to push Wyatt around in Caitlyn's doll stroller.  This is a heavy duty stroller.  Caitlyn did the same thing with Jonah when he was a baby.  Don't worry I was supervising them the whole time!

Speaking of Caitlyn, here she is in my old dance costume (my one and only time taking dance).  When did she start looking so old?  The other day she came home from school with a sticker and a ring that the principal had given her.  I guess she wrote a story in class and her teacher thought it was so good that she had her read it to the principal and the principal gave her a prize.  It was a cute story about a little boy doing a job and then his mom was happy and so was he.  She did pretty good at sounding all the words out on her own.  We love to see her doing so well in school.