PaRtY aNiMaLs We ArE...

Here's some pictures from a few of the many parites we went to this December...


And some pictures of the crafts Annelise and her cute friend Payton made...
And our fun excursion to the Ogden lights this year...(it was FREEZING!!!)

Oh ChRiStMaS tReE...

we love you...and were sad to take you down today...

We ventured to the mall today...and let me tell you it was nuts! We had VERY little shopping left to do- we mainly went so the kids could see Santa. I thought Cole would do better- he was really tired! But the other two kids love Santa! The whole ploy to say "santa is watching"...to get the kids to behave isn't working anymore. I wish I could say it was! Especially since we are off from school for the next two weeks! I hope we make it to Christmas without too much stress!

MeRrY ChRiStMaS

DeAr SaNtA

Since I keep the postings I post in a book- I just had to include the cute letters to Santa my kids did this year.


I also have to talk about the cute tradition we are doing this year...we have a life size manger by our tree. And if the kids do something nice for someone else, they get to put a strip of cloth in the manger. The goal is to make it soft for the baby Jesus before his arrival on Christmas. (There is a catch...if the manger isn't soft for Jesus, than we don't deserve for Santa to visit our house.)

The kids have been really into it so far! Even Aaron! He will go get a blanket and put it on me or Cole, or he tries to feed Cole, or will do something nice for Annelise (sharing or getting her a toy) Annelise is really capable of doing great things since she is older, and some days she amazes me with her kindness. I am glad they are learning about the true meaning of Christmas. It can get lost in the business and the excitement for gifts. It is a truly magical time of year though. I love it and am sad each day when it ends- meaning that we are a little closer to it being over.

jen whiting...you rock! What else can I say?

AnNeLiSe'S 6tH bIrThDaY

Annelise turned 6 yrs. old on the fifth. We celebrated all week because she was the super star student in school. She had to make a ME poster (we did thumbnail pics of her to fill in the letters M & E...and then she had to make a kid poster. She also got interviewed at school, had a show and tell, and on Friday had to show the class how to do something. So we had her show the class how to make a snowman with marshmallows and fixings. She was such a sweet super star all week.



Then on Saturday, (her actual bday) she had her breakfast of choice (donuts) on a red plate while she got some phone calls from her friends and from her uncles & aunts (corbin, amy, brandon, & mayra) to wish her happy bday. It made her feel so special to hear from them. And then she had her party in the afternoon. Being that it is an "even" year (she turned 6) meant she got to have a party. She chose a glamour girl party complete with getting their hair done, nails painted, makeup, jewelry making, and a red carpet walk! She loved it all! She was on cloud nine. But, just like any bday kid, she did have her moments of "it's my party and I will pout if I want to!" We did make it through the cake, presents and a game of pass the purse (much like hot potato). I can tell that the guest had so much fun and so did Annelise. And I did too! It wasn't too crazy. I did have some good help from family and two great neighbors (thanks Ash and Michelle)! It turned out great. The only anxiety we had was that we HAD to limit how many guest we could invite! Annelise was so sad to not be able to invite a bunch of her friends (the boys & others). I wish there was some way to invite everyone.
I am so thankful for my sweet little glamour girl, Annelise. She is such a sweet heart and I do love her. I am not sad to see her get older, but excited. Because it is so neat to see how she matures and learns. Happy birthday Annelise! love you

CoLeRs...

I just love gibing my kids nicknames. Cole's nicknames are: bowlers, colers, cole-ster, and calling by his full name (cole yeates). He really is such a sweet heart. I love him. And, since I posted about his therapy I thought I better keep it updated. So, here is the update, 4 weeks of therapy and now he is crawling. No walking yet, but at least he is in the normal category now. I am told many many kids cannot walk yet by 14 months- but I don't know of any so it makes it hard not to compare! He'll get there. He still is ridiculously underweight, so they are monitoring that every month as well. He eats like a mad man though! AND loves loves loves balloons! (come to find out!) He would not eat without holding both at the same time!

dAyLiGhT SaViNgS...

I wish that daylight savings was everyday. Meaning, that I gained an hour of time everyday! I could get so much more done! I must say that the monotony of life has gotten to me lately. The house just never can stay clean, work always needs to be done, not having enough time in the day to get all of it done, and there is always someone in need I must attend to! I am so busy...but it feels monotonous! What is wrong with me? So for this Thanksgiving, I am going to try super hard to be thankful for the monotony of life. I know we are so blessed- and it takes so little effort to really think about it and be thankful. I need to remind myself more to do it though.

I will say that I am so thankful for my cute family and all the fun things we get to do- and I only get to highlight a few things (whatever I snap pictures of). So here are some pictures and "highlights" of last weekend.




We all went fishing up along the Weber river. Josh has gotten into fly fishing and now I would classify him as addicted. He dreams in fish now...I can see how fun it could be though. Each time he goes he catches (and releases) at least 5 fish in like an hour. It was even fun to watch- despite freezing and getting snowed on! It made it so pretty though. I wish I had a better camera to capture it.

Then on Sat. the kids got to ride on Jaxon Whiting's atv. I must say they love him, and now love his toys! Annelise has loved having him in her class and Aaron looks up to him. It is cute. We do have the best neighbors.



Cole has been doing physical therapy lately too. He still cannot crawl or walk (he is 13 months old). He likes it and has improved a little. The therapist cannot keep commenting on how skinny his arms are and that he has such little muscular strength because he is so little. I am really starting to think there is a connection between him not growing in-utero has really affected how much he grows now. My doctor agrees now and is concerned that if he doesn't grow there may be a serious underlying problem. Cole is such a cute little boy- but let me just emphasize little for ya! He eats really good, but doesn't drink very much (not for lack of major effort to get him to). He must just have the metabolism that I wish I had!



Ok...so here's to being extra thankful for monotony of life until Thanksgiving...(and beyond) and also being so very thankful for my life.

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn!

Halloween this year was so fun and a success! We started out the day with a party at Grandma's house with fun goulish treats! She did such a cute job with mummy pizzas and fun drinks with cute labels and chilli & breadsticks that looked like fingers. It was so cutely decorated and the kids loved seeing their cousins in costume!
Then it was off to the trunk or treat- where I went as the tooth fairy and walked the kids around to get their treats. I gotta say I love those- it makes trick or treating alot safer and faster!
Then, we went to a neighborhood haunted house with our friends the Menloves. It was super kid friendly and just scary enough to make Annelise aqueeze Josh and beg to leave!
After we did the tradition trick or treating around our neighborhood.
I cannot believe what a fun day it was! I do love Halloween. But, I am ready to move on to a slower month. (the calm before the storm!) Happy Halloween from our Princess Gieselle (from Enchanted), our knight, and our court jester!