Christmas!!!

The kids in their new pajamas that they got to open on Christmas Eve!!! They were all too big, but that's better than being too small!

Cooper's 1st Christmas!!! Poor guy had a major snotty nose and little cough going on.

Gracie with her Hide-and-Seek Elephant from Granny!

Lindsey making the "ooooh ooooh eeeeeh eeeeh" monkey sound with her Hide-and-Seek Monkey.

Little Miss Muffins from Heidi...

Cooper's Cop Car from Grandma and Granddad...

Disney Princess Colored Pencils from Grandma and Granddad...

Santa's footprints leading from the fireplace to the back door where the kids found a new swingset waiting!!! I copied this idea from a friend's blog (thanks Michelle)!!! Gracie went and peeked before we had any cameras rolling but she came running into our room saying, "I saw Santa's footprints! I saw Santa's footprints! Come look! Come look!!!" It was so cute!

Of course her OCD kicked in later and she said that we needed to clean them up. Haha! Poor little thing.

More shots of Cooper on his 1st Christmas! Cute little grinner!

The girls have missed being held by their Daddy (double hernia surgery) so Lindsey snuggled in beside him. I didn't realize until posting this picture that Gracie has a Little Miss Muffin on each knee. I love my cute little family!

We had a wonderful Christmas! Thank you everyone for all our fun gifts!!!

O' Christmas Tree

We heard singing and found Gracie all by herself in the living room, singing her little heart out to our Christmas tree. What a sweetie!

My Monkeys!

I had to take some pictures of Cooper with his first spaghetti! He loved it! I'm glad getting tubes in his ears and his tongue clipped hasn't affected his appetite! He's acted like nothing even happened. Thank goodness because I was worried he would be in a lot of pain and that he wouldn't be able to drink his bottle with stitches in his mouth. He's done wonderfully!

We found Lindsey in this position and had to laugh! When we took her picture Gracie wanted one too, so here are my little monkeys! Gracie stayed home from church with a snotty nose and cough so that's why Lindsey is dressed up and she isn't. Of course Lindsey has joined in the sickness since then. It never ends!

I've never seen someone get a food ring all the way around their mouth! She sure enjoyed those oreos! We had to tease her that she was trying to look like Daddy.

Local Wildlife

This post is for my dad. We've got "cows" in the field behind our house and they sometimes wade in the pond. These ones are my favorite because it cracks me up that their ears, head, and nose are red. They are so fluffy too! I wish you could tell better in the picture.
This one almost let me pet it! I got a little scared. She had kind of crazy eyes. It's weird to me that the females have the horns and the males don't. There was a black one with horns too that charged toward me. I'm glad the fence was there. Haha!

I heard some geese really close the other day and when I looked out the dining room window they swooped down and landed in the pond. I couldn't get a close picture and it was raining so most of the pictures I took were too dark. I liked the coloring in this one though.

Coop's First Haircut

Cooper's hair was long and stringy in some places and really short in other places so I decided it was time for a haircut. I wasn't sure how to go about this so Tim suggested his beard trimmer. We ended up having to do his whole head so he has a buzz.

At first I really didn't like it and Tim did. Now that I've seen these pictures I realize it does look better. At least it's all the same length anyway. My handsome baby boy!!!

He's been standing all by himself without leaning on things for support and yesterday he took about five wobbly steps! My cute little man is growing up!

BEFORE . . .

AFTER . . .

Love You Forever

I remember my Mom reading this book to us and I've always loved it! I bought it when Gracie was born so that I could read it and sing it to her and all our other kids. When she sat in the rocking chair and started singing it to her lamb I had to catch it on video because it was so precious!!!

It's called Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and it makes me cry every time!

I MISS FOOD!!!

Food is one of my most favorite things and lately I'm not satisfied (except for Thanksgiving dinner of course).

By the time I get the kids' plates ready and sit down to eat my own, someone has spilled something and I have to clean it up. Typically once that mess is cleaned up and I sit down once again to eat, another mess happens! AaaaHhhh! And since all three kids are still so young, we're guaranteed at least one spill per meal.

By then my food is usually cold and the kids are done and need washed up and want down. Repeat this process three times a day and I have had enough. Plus, I've never enjoyed cooking and I usually spend a good chunk of the day trying to think of what to make for dinner. Once I spend a good deal of time making a meal, the kids just look at it, and when we make them at least try it, they spit it out. Gracie has been eating pretty good lately, but it's not always the case.

Anyway, mealtime is one (three) of those times when I think people who say we're going to miss this stage definitely have selective memories.

Tim has been asking me what I want to eat for dinner on my birthday, and I do love my kids, but my answer is: Get a sitter and take me out!!! PLEASE! I can't remember what it's like to sit down, eat my food in peace, and not have to clean up messes!

Two families from our ward invited us over for Thanksgiving! We brought a veggie tray and jello salad and all the kids had a blast playing together! We had already bought everything for Thanksgiving dinner so we got to have a second Thanksgiving the next day. It was our first time being in charge of everything (scary) but it turned out great! Of course we did buy a turkey breast instead of a turkey and we bought rolls so we still haven't done it all yet. The girls looked so pretty with their hair all done to go to our friends house and they were so excited!

It looked really cold outside the other day so I pulled out the gloves and hats so I could take the girls outside to ride their bikes. They looked so cute! When we got outside though we realized they were not needed. It's been strange to not even need our winter coats yet and Tim has still been wearing shorts.

The girls were pretending that they were fishing. Creative little cuties!

And then the rainy downpour came and we realized why most houses around here have those little ditch/covert things. We really do have our own little fishing creek!

This is right where the girls had been sitting.

Where's Waldo?

After we unpacked all of our stuff (which finally arrived a month after being here and a day after Tim started work) we realized our kids have way too many toys! We were tempted to wrap some and re-gift them for Christmas since they've been in storage for three months, but I think Gracie would notice - she has an amazing memory.

See if you can find both girls in this picture. Gracie is obvious but I had to laugh when I spotted little Lindsey!

I absolutely love this picture!!! Thank goodness for the big shopping carts at Walmart (other than the germs they collect)! Cute little grinny Choop!!!

Most mornings the kids are raring to go and I just want to stay in bed so I decided to put them all in bed with me and turn on some cartoons. It didn't last long but they sure are cute.

Having Fun

The girls have discovered a great new hiding place! I love how in the video all you see are Lindsey's little fingers peeking out at the top of the cupboard door. I don't know how they didn't get pinched. I love how easily entertained kids are!

Improve

LDS General Conference

"It is in the home that our behavior is most significant. It is the place where our actions have the greatest impact, for good or ill. Sometimes we are so much “at home” that we no longer guard our words. We forget simple civility. If we are not on guard, we can fall into the habit of criticizing one another, losing our tempers, or behaving selfishly. Because they love us, our spouses and children may be quick to forgive, but they often carry away in silence unseen injuries and unspoken heartache." --Wayne S. Peterson

Thomas S. Monson

"To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them."

These two quotes really hit me when I read them and they made me realize that I NEED TO IMPROVE. I love my husband and babies so much and I hope they know it and can have patience with my weaknesses!

p.s. I found these quotes on Tim's facebook so if you have facebook you should look up Thomas S. Monson and LDS General Conference and you can see even more great quotes.

Hopscotch!

We were outside coloring with sidewalk chalk when I decided to draw a hopscotch and teach the girls. They were so CUTE trying to do it the right way that I had to run inside to get the camera. They are still so little and uncoordinated but Gracie was sure trying!

Fall Fun!!!

We went to a place called Lyon Family Farms and they had so many fun things for the kids to do! There were all kinds of blow up toys, slides, jumpers, corn mazes, farm animals, and a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. We had so much fun and we'll probably go again next year!

This was like a sand pit for the kids to play in except it was filled with dried corn kernels!Looking at the baby chicks and ducklings!

Riding out to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins!

Taking a ride on "The Cow Train".

At home carving and painting the pumpkins!

We had a ward Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat so I thought I'd go ahead and take the kids pictures in their costumes and then we wouldn't have to worry about it on Halloween. They are all so adorable in their costumes!!! I love Halloween!

Gracie - Our Beautiful Little Princess

She took off leading the way at Trunk or Treat (all grown up) and said "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You" every time like we practiced. She's getting so old and independent. She even threw a bean bag through the pumpkin target all by herself during the games and she was standing behind the line the right way!

Lindsey - The Cutest Pirate Ever

I kept whistling trying to get her to look at the camera and she thought I wanted her to whistle too so this is her attempt at whistling. She's too stinkin CUTE!

Cooper - Our Adorable Little CowWe tried his costume on earlier and he screamed and screamed so we decided not to do the velcro up this time and see if that helped since it seemed too small. That's why you can see his chubby thigh and onesie bum but he did great!

These are just some pictures of the view from the back of our house. The fall colors are so gorgeous but you can't see them as well in these pictures. In the first picture you can see the little pond/swamp that the cows sometimes wade in.