Merry Christmas from the Kids

Here is a little  Merry Christmas video from each of the kids.

First we have Zoe.  This isn't exactly a Christmas video, but that's okay.  She is playing with the toy that my mom and dad gave her for Christmas.  I am not sure if she is having lots of fun, or if she sees it as a threat and is attacking, but it is pretty funny either way.

And here is Robby's.  I am so proud of how good he is getting at playing the piano.  It has been fun to watch him dedicate himself to something and enjoy it so much.  He has really improved over the last months.  I am proud of him for not letting his little hand hold him back.  He is even starting to adapt the music a little, either playing the melody with his left hand so he can play chords with his right hand, or playing extra notes with his right hand.  He is an awesome kid.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve

I am so excited for Christmas.  So I thought I had better start making Christmas posts now.

We took the kids yesterday to see Santa.  Robby was so excited to tell him what he wanted.  He cracks me up because every year when Santa asks him what he wants, Robby whispers the answer to him.  I am not sure why, Santa can't hear him and always asks him a few times, and we always tell Robby to speak up, but he won't do it.  He has to whisper.  Zoe was just trying to figure out what in the world we were doing to her.  She didn't seem to mind that she was sitting on Santa's lap, she just made the face she always makes when she sees I am trying to take a picture.

Here is a picture of some of our presents this year.

I love to wrap my presents in a different way each year.  This year we went a little green.  Robby wrapped almost all of his pictures in canvas bags.  He colored all of them with fabric markers and then put the present inside.  I think they turned out really cute.  I wrapped my presents in some packing paper I got in a very large box with a very small present from Amazon.com.  There was so much paper in the box, I couldn't stand to throw it away.  The bows were made out of plastic shopping bags.  I got the idea from this blog.  I thought they turned out really cute.

And finally, I didn't send out Christmas cards this year.  That is because I hope to be sending out sealing and blessing announcements in the next couple of weeks and I didn't want to send two cards that close together.  So instead, I thought I would leave a little Christmas treat on my blog.

This is a video for a Christmas song by Jonathan Coulton.  It is one of our family's favorites right now.  I find Jonathan Coulton very entertaining.  Most of his music is a little bit (or a lot bit) geeky, as you will see by this song.  He offers a lot of free music on his site, which is nice.  I should offer a little disclaimer though, some of his songs are not exactly clean, he does like to throw in a swear word or two (avoid the song First of May), but this one is perfectly okay and makes me smile.  Enjoy.

5 Months and BYU Movie Night

I have had these pictures for a couple of weeks now, but keep forgetting to post them.

At 5 months, Zoe is sitting up pretty well, although she is still too stubborn to roll over.  She is starting to play with toys more and even understand what they do.  She will shake a rattle if you say "shake, shake, shake" no matter what else she is doing.  She has moved to a big car seat, which she seems to like a little bit better than her infant one, but she still hates it.  She loves food, absolutely any food, and will grab anything we are eating and put it in her mouth if we aren't paying attention.  She has learned how to spit and is quite proud of herself.

Zoe is getting to be so much fun and we absolutely love having her.

She really wanted the rattle and was trying to figure out how to get it.

Here is one for the bad mother file.  Just for your information, it was empty and I only let her have it for a minute.  She had seen it on my desk and wanted it so bad.  Once it was gone, I finally let her have it.  The sad thing is, she knew exactly what to do with it and was unhappy when nothing came out.  I guess maybe I should cut back a little.



This weekend we went to my parents house.  We had to go a day late because the roads were closed from the snow, so we weren't there for very long.  We had a great time though.  We opened Christmas presents; the kids were absolutely spoiled, as usual, and enjoyed every minute of it.  We also watched the BYU football game and ate blue cupcakes for movie night (although I think we might have been better off watching a movie instead.) We had a great weekend.

The Most Wonderful Day

The most wonderful day in my life occurred exactly 9 years ago today.  That was the day when I entered the temple and was joined forever as the wife of the greatest man in the world.   On that day, we started together on an amazing adventure.  Neither of us really knew what we were getting into, but honestly it didn't matter, as long as we were doing it together.  We have made some mistakes and had some challenges over the last 9 years, but it has been wonderful and exciting and fun and I wouldn't want to go through it with any one else.  I don't know what the future holds, but I am so grateful that I can go into whatever it is hand in hand with the man I love.

I couldn't have asked for a more amazing husband.  Kirk is smart, hardworking, and loving.  He is a great father.  He loves our children and they adore him.  He works hard every day to give us all the things we need.  He then comes home and does more than his fair share.  He gives 100% of himself to me and to this family and I love him for that.  Kirk always makes makes me smile and laugh.  He forgives me for my shortcomings and makes me a better person.  I truly love him with all my heart.

Happy Anniversary Kirk!   I love you!

Christmas Pictures

After putting it off again and again, this morning I decided it was time to get a Christmas picture of the kids.  Originally I had hoped to take family pictures too, while I was at it, but I decided this morning that there was no way I could expect Zoe to be good for that long.  So, I just went for the kids and we will do the family thing another day.

Anyway, after over 100 pictures shot, here is the one I fell in love with.

Don't I have two very cute kids?  The funny story about this picture is that it is the very first one I took.  The other 99 or so, some of the kids together and some of each one individually, were really not very good at all.  This one though is exactly what I pictured in my head.  When I look at it, it just makes me smile.  I love those kids more than anything.

Yesterday, we made carmel popcorn and pressed cookies for our neighbor gifts.  Then we watched Horton Hears a Who for movie night.  We made carmel popcorn clover balls.  I didn't get very good pictures of them, but here they are.  It was a fun movie and the treats were tasty. I love movie nights.  We had a really good time.

All I want for Christmas...

is my one front tooth.

Robby finally lost his first tooth last night.  He has been claiming he had loose teeth for over a year now, so it was pretty exciting when he actually lost one.  It has been close to coming out for a week, but last night I couldn't stand it anymore and finally just pulled it out.  He was so excited that he lost it and even more excited this morning when he saw that the toothfairy had come.  Being 6 is so much fun.

Now Robby and Zoe are having a race to see who can grow a front tooth the fastest.  Any bets?

I was trying to get a good picture of the missing tooth last night, and I had to post a bunch of the pictures I took.  That is definitely my goofy Robby.



Oh, and because I am behind, last Saturday, we watched Polar Express for movie night.  Emily came and watched with us.  We ate pizza and then train cupcakes.  They were yummy.

My decorating skills aren't the best, but I should have lots of chances to improve.  I get the feeling cupcakes will be the treat a lot.  They are just really easy to decorate so that they can go along with any movie.

Basketball Star

For the last couple of months, Robby has been playing basketball.  The city has a league and since this is his first year, it is basically just run like a basketball camp, except they go twice a week for a couple of months.

Robby is really not an athlete, but we didn't ever expect he would be, not with his genes.  I am so proud of him though.  He improved so much in those couple of months.  He listened to his coach, he learned a lot, and he had fun.  He loved it and really, that is all that matters.  Thursday was the last day and as soon as it was over he informed me that he can't wait until next year.

Here he is, shooting a layup.



Oh, and by the way, that shot did go in.

Gingerbread House

We have always thought that it would be fun to build a gingerbread house and so this year, we actually did it.  We cheated and bought a kit with pre-made gingerbread, but we had a lot of fun.  I think this might just be our newest holiday tradition.  Maybe next year we will even try to make one from scratch, or maybe not.

Here is Kirk and Robby building the structure of the house.

Robby loved decorating it.

One of the few pictures you will see of me since I am always the one behind the camera.

And here it is, our finished work of art.  I need to work on my piping skills just a little, but hey I've got lots of years ahead of me to master it.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday.  I am so thankful for her.  She has taught me so much, been my greatest supporter through everything I have ever done, and honestly is the most wonderful mom (and grandma) in the world.

Happy Birthday Mom!  I love you!

Thanksgiving

Wow, I am a little behind and have a lot to blog about.

Thanksgiving was great.  I have so much to be thankful for right now: a wonderful husband who loves me and does more for me than I could ever expect, a son who makes me laugh and makes me proud every single day, a daughter that is the answer to prayers and truly brings so much joy to our home, parents who love me and are the absolute greatest, the best little sister who I am now able to spend so much more time with. wonderful in laws, a beautiful home, my husbands job which he loves and that allows us to have the things we need, great friends, and so much more.  I am so blessed and thankful for so much.

Thanksgiving was great.  We had it at our house.  My family and Kirk's parents came.   We had good food (well except for the stuffing, I am still on a quest for the perfect stuffing recipe), and a lot of fun.   Then on Friday, I went Black Friday shopping with Emily.  That has become a tradition for us and I love it.  We are never too serious about it, we just go to have fun, but we were relatively successful this year, which is nice too.

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving.

Robby and Zoe with Grandpa

Our turkey, which was honestly the best turkey I have ever eaten, yum!

Robby made these cute little buckets for everyone's napkins and silverware to go into.  He worked so hard on them and they turned out so cute!

Our Brand New, Very Adorable Nephew

Introducing the newest member of our family, Keagan.

Keagan was born yesterday.  All is well with both him and Karena which is always good to hear.

Can I just say I have the cutest nephews in the world.

We are a little sad that Gavin and Karena are so far away and that it will probably be awhile until we get to see little Keagan, but we are happy that he is hear and healthy and that at least we get to see pictures.

Congratulations Karena, Gavin, big brothers Elden and Bennett!  And welcome to the family, Keagan!

Weekly Movie Night Take Two

Since Saturday's movie night was a little lame, we decided to try again on Sunday night.  My sister Emily came over, and we watched Star Wars Episode 6 (woohoo, we are done!)  I made star jello jigglers.  We had a great time.

Zoe, Emily, and Robby.  Robby was so thrilled that I was taking a picture of him.

I decided Zoe needed a little taste of our treat.  I only let her lick a little, but she would have sucked on it all night if I would have let her.



We are still continuing with the feeding adventures.  We started feeding Zoe carrots.  She likes them, but not nearly as much as her cereal.  Here are some fun feeding pictures.

He is such a good big brother.  Zoe is one lucky girl.

She sneezed just as I was putting the spoon in her mouth.  She thought it was pretty funny.

Busy, Busy Saturday

Today was a crazy day.  I got up early this morning and went out with Zoe and my sister, Emily.  We met up with some of my aunts and cousins to drop off some cabbage patch kids we had refurbished for a service project.  Then we all went to lunch at Olive Garden.  It was fun to see everyone, but taking Zoe anywhere in the car is exhausting.  She slept all the way there and was an angel the whole time we were there.  But, as soon as we got in the car to come home, she started crying.  She cried all the way home, which was about an hour and a half.  She hates being in her car seat so much, I don't know what to do for her.  If anyone has any brilliant ideas, let me know.

While we were gone, Kirk and Robby had a bit of a boys day.  They went to a primary activity in the morning to practice for the primary program.  Then they went to lunch and to Home Depot.  When they got back, Kirk spent most of the day installing a humidifier for our house.  He did a great job and I am really excited about it.  Robby thought that it was great that he got to spend the day just with dad.  

We had movie night tonight, but it wasn't a very exciting one since I didn't have anytime to get it together.  We watched Star Wars, Episode V, which means we only have one more Star Wars to watch.  I like Star Wars, but I am ready to move on to something else.  I didn't even take the time to make a cool treat for tonight.  Robby had some cereal straws that he had been wanting to try, so I just gave him one of those and told him it was a light saber.  He wasn't all that impressed.  Next week I will have to do better.

She's Growing Up Too Fast

I took Zoe for her 4 month doctor's appointment a couple of days ago.  He said that everything looks good and she is doing well.  She is growing a lot, at her 2 week appointment she weighed 7.91 lbs (31st percentile), at 2 months she weighed 11.27 lbs (57th percentile), and she now weighs 14 lbs (54th percentile).  The biggest change though has come in her height.  About a month or so ago, she started to get chubby.  She had big chubby cheeks and thick thighs, but it only lasted for a couple of weeks.  Then, it almost seemed like she stretched out and wasn't nearly as chubby any more.   Measuring her at the doctors appointment proved that.  At 2 weeks, she was 20 inches (31st percentile), at 2 months 22.75 inches (60th percentile) and now she is 25 inches (76th percentile).  She is definitely a tall girl and seems to just be getting taller.

The doctor also gave us the go ahead to start feeding Zoe solids.  She has always spit up a lot, so he is hoping that starting her on solid foods may help to reduce the spit up.  He also said that the fact that she is always putting something in her mouth shows that she is ready.

So, yesterday morning, Kirk fed Zoe her first taste of solid foods, rice cereal.  It seems that in Zoe's mind, that was the greatest thing that could possibly have happened to her.  She took to it almost immediately.  She spit out the first few bites while she tried to figure out what to do with her tongue, but by the end, she was just downing it.  This morning, she got so excited the moment she saw the bowl and the spoon.  It is hilarious to watch her; she loves it so much.  As soon as she sees the spoon coming, she starts shaking because she is so excited.  She grabs at the spoon and tries to pull it to her mouth as quickly as possible.  We tried to give her a spoon to hold so she wouldn't grab the one we are feeding her with, but she will only hold it until she sees the one with food on it, then she throws it aside and grabs for the good one.  She doesn't spit very much out at all, in fact, the only reason she gets really dirty is because of her grabbing the spoon.  It is so much fun watching her learn something new and enjoying it so much.  Now I can't wait to watch her discover new tastes; next on the list, sweet potatoes.

Here are some pictures from her first experience at eating.

Holding the spoon.  It is so hard to get it in her mouth when she is trying to be in control.

How could anyone resist this face.

Eating makes her so happy!

Movie Night - Star Wars Episode 4

Today was another great Saturday in our house.

Our routine was disrupted a little, but it was for good things.  A family that we are good friends with adopted a little girl and they had her sealed to them and blessed today, so we went to the blessing.  It was so great to be a part of that experience with them.  It is wonderful to think that in just a couple of months we will be doing that with Zoe.  I can't wait.

After the blessing, Robby went to a birthday party and had a blast.

Once all that was done, we dove into our usual Saturday routine, linner out, run some errands, and movie night.

Tonight's movie was Star Wars Episode 4.  For a treat, I made Death Star Red Velvet Cake Truffle Balls.  (Yes, I do realize that they look nothing like the Death Star, but I really wanted to try them and I needed some way to tie them in.)

I got the instructions for the cake balls from the Bakerella blog. They were kind of a pain to make, but they were fun.  They were pretty tasty too.

Robby loved them too.  He said that the only problem with them is that they are so small that you want to eat a ton.  I guess they were a hit.

Four Months

At 4 months, Zoe is...

very loud.  She is always making noises and they are never quiet.  Her noise of choice sounds almost exactly like an incredibly angry cat, but it is a happy noise when Zoe makes it.

the queen of spit up.  Zoe has been a spitter upper her whole life and it doesn't look like that is going to change soon.  We go through many, many burp rags in our house.

incredibly happy.  She is a genuinely happy child.  She is always grinning and giggling.  She loves when anyone pays attention to her and will almost always reward them with a smile.

opinionated.  She knows what she wants and does not hesitate to let you know.  It is amazing how clear she can make herself without using words.

beautiful.  She is one of the most gorgeous kids I have ever seen.

stubborn.  She does not easily give in.  She has recently discovered that she hates going to sleep.  No matter how tired she is, she will scream if she thinks there is any chance you are putting her to sleep.  Her screams just keep getting quieter and quieter until she finally becomes so exhausted that her screams are just sighs.  It doesn't take long to get her to go to sleep, but she fights her hardest every second of it.

getting very strong.  She is starting to support herself sitting up (although she has no sense of balance yet) and standing.

loving her hands.  She always seems to either have her hands in her mouth or is using them to figure out how to get a toy to her mouth.

miserable when she is in her car seat.  She hates her car seat and screams the second she gets in it, until we get her out.  Road trips are great fun with Zoe.

the absolute joy and love of our lives.  After just 4 months she has become an indispensable part of our family.  I cannot imagine life without her.



I have been taking these pictures every month, as close to the 11th as I can. It is really fun to see how much she has grown. (You can click on any of the pictures to see it bigger and cycle through them.)

A Saturday in the Life of Us

Saturdays at our house are full of routine and tradition and are definitely my favorite day of the week. This is our regular Saturday schedule, as well as what we did this Saturday.

Sometime before 8:00 am:  Robby gets up.  As a six year old, he is biologically unable to sleep in.  I don't know for sure what time he gets up, but he has learned that he can go downstairs and do pretty much whatever he wants, as long as he is quiet and doesn't wake up mom and dad.

Sometime between 8:00 and 10:00 am:  Kirk and I wake up.  This used to be closer to ten, but now Zoe typically gets us up earlier.  This week it was about 8:30 when she started making noise and insisting that it was time to eat.

10:00-11:00 am:  We eat a "homemade breakfast" as Robby calls it.  This consists of anything that involves more work than dumping into a bowl or throwing into the toaster.  This week it was pancakes with raspberries and whipped cream, yum!

11:00-4:00 pm:  This is the time to be productive.  We usually have a list of things we want to accomplish and this is the time to do it.  Unfortunately, productivity rarely happens for us on a Saturday, but at least we have good intentions.  Yesterday, instead of being productive, we decided to go see Madagascar 2.  It was a good movie and we had a lot of fun.  When we got home, since it was such a nice day, Kirk did manage to get the Christmas lights put on the house, Robby played outside, practiced basketball, and took some pictures for a school project, and I, well I managed to accomplish absolutely nothing.

Sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 pm:  We go out somewhere to eat "linner," a combination of lunch and dinner.   We are creatures of habit and usually go to the same place, although sometimes we break tradition and eat somewhere else.

4:00-6:00 pm:  Since we are already out of the house for dinner, this is when we run any errands that need to get done.  Yesterday we went to Walmart to get Robby's pictures developed and pick up a baby shower present.

6:00-8:00 pm:  Movie Night.  We try, once a week, usually on Saturday night, to have movie night.  We let Robby choose a movie to watch and we all watch together.  We also have some fun treat; usually I try to somehow tie the treat into the movie, although it doesn't always happen.  It is something that we all look forward to.  Over the last few weeks we have been working our way through the Star Wars movies, so this week Robby chose Star Wars Episode III.

Here are some pictures from this week's movie night.

Our treats were brownies with Darth Vader on them.  They were very yummy.

Here is Robby, enjoying his brownie and very engrossed in the movie.

Watching the movie.  Even Zoe gets into it for a minute, although she usually sleeps through most of it.

And just for fun, here is a cute picture of  Kirk and Zoe.

I really do love Saturdays.  I love just spending the day hanging out with my family, without having to worry much about anything else.  I am sure that if we did things differently we could get a lot more things accomplished on Saturday, and we definitely need to get more done, but I like it this way.  Our kids are only going to be young for a short time, and it is so great to have one day a week that we just spend together.  I am always sad when Saturday is over and can't wait until next week.