Aquarium

They had a free day at the Aquarium on Monday.  We haven't been so we thought it would be a fun activity.  It was a lot of fun, but it was so crowded!  You pretty much had to walk in a line through the whole thing. 

Luckily Hallee was a great sport and stayed in the stroller the whole time.  It was so crowded that I didn't even want to pull her out.  She was so good.  She did have a nasty blowout that was not fun to clean up, but luckily I had extra clothes in the diaper bag.  This girl only has blowouts when we are out of the house.

The kids loved seeing all of the fish.  They didn't seem too bothered by the crowds.

There were a lot of neat looking fish.

They all liked the sharks.  One of the fishes swam right up to the window and scared Caitlyn half to death.  It caught her off guard and she jumped back.  They tried to pet the fish, but it was too hard with the crowds. I think Caitlyn and Jonah were both a little relieved because they were both nervous about it.

We finally got Hallee out at the end for a family picture.  It was a fun family activity. 

Fun Pictures

Caitlyn and Wyatt were having a great time playing the other night.  Caitlyn was Santa and Wyatt was her reindeer.  They were running around the house laughing.  It was so cute.  Wyatt kept saying, "ho ho ho, Merry Christmas." 

Wyatt loves to put the stockings on his feet.  He is such a funny kid, whenever I ask him what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas he says, "a hot dog."

Jonah is so excited that Hallee can hold his hand now.  He loves when she grabs his fingers.  Jonah gives her so much love and attention.  I love to hear him talk to her.  He talks in a high pitched voice and says things like, "you are so cute, a yeah, a yeah, you are cute."  It is so sweet.

Happy Hallee

I LOVE this picture. She is so adorable! We went to the doctor for her 4-month check-up yesterday. She was 15 lbs 12 ozs (85%) and 25 1/2 inches (85%). She didn't like when the doctor touched her.  She likes to smile and show off for people, but she likes to do it from the safety of my arms!  She is definitely a mama's girl. It drives Keith nuts that she will be fussy for him and as soon as I pick her up she stops fussing and sits contently on my lap.  I'm not going to lie, I love it!

 She always looks so cute for church. She loves to show off at church. She has just started doing this cute little growl. Jonah used to do it when he was a baby.  She is happy as can be while she growls at everyone.  She was doing it so loud in Sacrament meeting that Keith had to take her out. Everyone around us thought it was funny. In Relief Society she likes to smile and coo at everyone. I get a lot of comments about what a cute, happy baby she is.

She likes tummy time more now that she can play with toys.

I love all of her different facial expressions. They are all so cute. She is still sporting a mohawk.  The sides have a lot of catching up to do with her long hair down the middle.

It is fun to watch her grow and develop. She likes to play with toys. She will stare at them and try to figure out how to get them in her mouth. She is growing and changing so quickly. I'm glad I'm not missing a minute of it.

Decorating for Christmas

Today we put up our Christmas decorations.  The kids loved decorating the tree.

We spent all morning decorating inside.

Then, we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating outside.

Keith did most of the decorating.  The weather was great today so the kids played outside while he put the lights on the house.  I have been trying to catch up the blog so I can print blog books out for Christmas.  I am finally caught up!

Hallee

Keith snapped a few pictures of me and Hallee yesterday.

I thought this one was cute.  I love all the cute expressions she makes.

Hallee has started playing with toys.  This rings are one of her favorites.  Another cute expression!

Bath time is always a hit.  I love that long hair.  That one strip just keeps getting longer, now we just needs the sides to grow back in!

Grateful

I think it is important to express gratitude.  This is something I try to do often, because I have so much to be grateful for and it is good for me to focus on those things to help avoid being negative.  I am so grateful for my family. 

Each of our children have been an answer to our prayers and have brought us so much joy and happiness.  I love each of their unique personalities. I am so grateful that I have had the privilege of being home with them every day. 

I am so grateful for a wonderful husband.  I couldn't ask for a better one.  He is amazing and so selfless.  I am amazed that he gets up so early every morning without a complaint to go and work hard to support our family.  I'm also very grateful that he is almost done with school.  He has done so well at balancing everything and I'm so happy that he won't have to spend time doing homework anymore.  I am very grateful for the opportunity that he has had to go to school. 

I am so grateful for our beautiful home, two working cars and all of the wonderful things that make our life so easy.  I can't imagine living without technology!  I am very grateful for my wonderful family.  I was blessed to grow up in a great home and my family are my closest friends (cheesy I know, but true). I am also grateful for Keith's family.  I'm so glad that he was raised with such a good work ethic and such a loving and accepting personality. 

I am grateful for all of our close friends.  My kids have found their best friends through my wonderful friends. I am grateful for my membership in Christ's church.  I find so much comfort and peace in my understanding of life's purpose.  I am so grateful to have a relationship with my Heavenly Father that brings me so much peace and joy.  I could go on and on, I have so much to be grateful for.  I have a wonderful life and I am surrounded by wonderful people.

Gingerbread Houses

One of the kid's favorite Christmas traditions is making gingerbread houses at grandma's. 

They all love to put as much candy on the house as they can.

This was Wyatt's first year decorating his own house.  He loved it!

He liked to lick every piece of candy before he put it on his house. He was so excited through the whole thing, it was really cute to watch.

Everything is funner with cousins!

The kids loved spending so much time with their cousins over the last few days.

After a while, Wyatt couldn't take it anymore and he needed his hands washed. 

Here they are with their finished products.  You can see how happy they are about me pulling them away from their cousins for a picture!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving and the day after with my family.  Matt and Lori came into town and we were all excited to spend a few days with them.  Caitlyn and Jonah were so happy to see Cody and Elena.

The weather was nice so the kids spent a lot of time outside.  We all had fun jump roping.  The girls loved having Matt and Keith turn the rope for them.   Even Mel, Lori and I took a turn, but I'm glad I don't have a picture of that!

All the kids love the trampoline.  We are constantly being asked, "is it my turn yet?"

Wyatt loved being outside.  He always gets plenty of attention from all of his cousins. On Friday night the kids put on an impromptu talent show.  Caitlyn and Jonah sang a few songs alone and then they sang a few in groups.  The kids had a great time and the adults had a good laugh.  I love to hear Caitlyn sing, she has a beautiful voice.

Thanksgiving Feast

I got to go and help with Jonah's Thanksgiving feast on Tuesday.  Mel was nice enough to come and watch Hallee and Wyatt so I could go.  Wyatt was in heaven and didn't want Mel to leave.  He loves all the attention she gives him.

The kids had to wear nice clothes.  Jonah looked so cute and had a great time.  I got to meet one of the moms that comes in the class every week and she was telling me how smart Jonah is and how well behaved he is.  I loved hearing that!

I have only been able to go into his class a few times this year, but I am really impressed with his teacher.  She does a great job at keeping all of the kids in control.  Jonah has made a lot of new friends and really enjoys school.

Who needs toys?

One of the kid's favorite things to play with is the laundry basket.

However, Wyatt did not like going for a ride.  This picture makes me laugh.

Wyatt decided he would rather help give Caitlyn and Jonah a ride.

I'm glad the kids are so easily entertained.

4 Months

It's hard to believe that Hallee will be 4 months-old tomorrow.  Time flies when you are having fun and we have definitely been having fun with her.

She has been sleeping great and she is even doing well with naps.  She usually cries for a few minutes and then goes to sleep.  Once in a while she will get over tired and get really upset, but that doesn't happen very often.

She is starting to be very observant and she is  starting to grab things.  She likes to hold our fingers and grab my hair. 

She always has her hands in her mouth.  She reminds me so much of Caitlyn in so many ways.  She still loves to talk.  Today in Relief Society she talked, cooed and did happy squeals throughout the whole lesson.  Luckily the other women thought it was cute, because she was really loud. 

We will find out how much she has grown next week at her doctor's appointment, but she sure seems to be outgrowing her clothes quickly.  She has started to laugh and gets really giggly when she is tired, but it can turn to crying really quickly. She is starting to get a little nervous with strangers.  She is much happier if she knows the person holding her. She has a very easy going personality, she is happy to just sit on my lap and watch what is going on around her.  She is finally starting to get a little hair on the sides so she doesn't have a complete mohawk.  I still get a lot of comments on her red hair.  She is adorable! It has been a fun 4 months!