How a 6 month old enjoys christmas gifts

Maybe someday she'll enjoy it!

PS. That's Halli's hand in the background, always being a great big sis trying to help Lexie feel better.

Christmas Eve

Christmas eve was such a relaxing day, we were able to just hang out with our girls and enjoy their company! It didn't really seem like Christmas Eve until later that night, but it was so nice to be able to enjou a day out with the whole family, just playing and having fun

Kevin and all his girls, Halli & Peyton were amazed by this tree and the HUGE star on top!

Me and Kevin by the gigantic tree!

What a beautiful face! This is the look she gave me when I told her to smile, That's what she gets, now it's recorded forever!

Peyton just being sweet as we were walking around market street in the woodlands

I absolutely LOVE her eyes in this picture! She was also making a high pitched sing-song noise at me too! What a happy little girl!

all of them on the carousel. I love this picture, they just look SO happy! Love those smiles!

Later that night we headed over to the inlaws for pizza and singing carols with all the extended family. It was fun and the girls enjoyed it, but they always enjoy being at grandmas! Peyton spend a large portion of the evening pretending to be a dog.

Here are the boys and Halli singing! They sounded great too!

The whole gang, and this isn't even everyone either! It was a large party!

This was just cause the girls looked so cute in their matching outfits!

Christmas Cards

I'm a little later this year than normal at getting our christmas cards done, but I did it, thank goodness! Now I just need to get them all in the mail, almost there. But here's a sneak peek so you don't have to wait!

We have a wide screen for our computer, and when I lengthened our photo, it still looked totally normal, till I printed them. This works out for me though, cause while the rest of the family looks a little long in the face, I look skinny! yeah for me!

I didn't print a back to our cards this year, maybe next, but here's what could have been. Maybe I'll send it out as a letter anyway, we'll see! Merry Christmas!

Sew, Sew, Sew!

We had our family pictures taken the other day, and after looking for Christmas dresses all over, I didn't really find any I liked, so I decided that I would sew THREE dresses! Seriously, what was I thinking? The most I had ever done was skirts for myself, and I think I can sew three dresses, with the girls running around? Well, Kevin didn't see much of me at night for a couple weeks, but believe it or not, I did it! Bonus, I really like the dresses! So, Here are some beautiful pictures taken by the talented Ginger that show of not only the beautiful dresses, but the beautiful girls that get to wear them!

Lexie's dress took me the longest by far. Only because when I thought I had it done, I went to try it on her, and it didn't even fit over her head! This was the day before the pictures, and I had no extra fabric, talk about panic! Somehow I managed to add extra room around the edges and cut some in the back, I'm amazed it worked, but she looked beautiful!

I love them, but you can bet I won't be sewing any more dresses for quite awhile!

What in the world?

Look what I found coming down the stairs yesterday! Isn't she beautiful?

And just what could this lovely blue stuff be? Food coloring you guess? you'd be wrong! I guess those stamps are too delicious to resist! Brooklyn was over and kept saying Peyton had stamps on her, I thought she just meant that peyton had used stamps on herself, nope, that's not what she meant.

Snow Day!

Okay, so it wasn't really a snow DAY, more like a snow hour, but hey, we'll take what we can get! I had just sat down to nurse Lexie, and Halli was just getting home from school and I hear Kevin say that it's snowing! Of course I thought he was lying, only to look out the window and see snowflakes! Halli & Brooklyn were running around in it, and Peyton ventured outside but was a little too cold. I gotta say, that's the last thing I thought I'd see yesterday! It didn't stick, but we enjoyed the freezing cold and the falling snow for the short time that we could!

Trying to catch snowflakes with her tongue...why is that what we automatically do? so cute!

Blake called to tell us it was snowing, so we had him run on down to play in it with Halli.

Just in case you didn't believe me...look! It fell kinda hard for a little while.

Peyton didn't love it outside, just too cold for her, but you can sorta see the snowflakes in her hair. The downfall to being blonde, it doesn't really stick out.

We bundled up Lexie and took her outside. After living in durango we have no shortage of winter clothes for babies, just for the older girls.

after it was all said and done, there was no other way to end it than with a big ol' mug of hot cocoa!

8 things tag

Rules:Post rules on your blog. Answer the six "8" items.

8 things I did yesterday:
*took Halli to school
*went grocery shopping
*wrapped presents
*made dinner
*Nursed
*did laundry
*went to BJ's for a girls night out
*played on the computer

8 things I look forward to:
*fitting into my old jeans
*having energy (will that ever happen?)
*christmas
*bedtime
*Kevin coming home every night
*Britt & Brett moving down
*Christmas break, no school for Halli
*naptime

8 restaurants I like:
*Macaroni Grill
*Red Robin
*Logans Roadhouse
*Cafe Rio
*Rodizios
*Mama's boy (in durango)
*Pappasitos
*Chilis

8 things on my wishlist
*new bedding
*furniture for the playroom
*telephoto lens for camera
*apple notebook
*time to workout
*my dream home
*a son
*a trip to bora bora with Kevin

8 Favorite TV shows:
*Prison Break
*Eli Stone
*How I met your mother
*Las Vegas, it was cancelled though, bummer!
*Grey's anatomy
*Desperate Housewives
*Priviliged
*One tree hill

8 People I tag: (you're it!)
*Stacy
*Jamie
*Allie
*Kristen
*Jenina
*Jessica
*Mindy
*Aubree

Tagnabbit

*i am a wife & mother.
*i want too many things, mostly to be able to really decorate my house!
*i have amazing daughters
*i miss sleeping in
*i fear losing anyone in my family
*i hear the sound machine on the monitor, ahh nice!
*i search the internet for christmas gifts
*i wonder what the girls will be like when they're older
*i regret taking Peyton's pacifier away
*i love Kevin
*i forgive easily
*i ache where I had surgery when I go running
*i always check on the girls before I go to bed
*i try to be a patient mom, but I'm not.
*i am creative
*i seem quieter than I really am if you don't know me.
*i know I'm loved
*i feel the cat purring on me
*i dance with my girls
*i dream of owning a vacation home on a lake
*i give my girls kisses every day
*i listen to screaming, crying & laughing at least 5 times a day, minimum.
*i sing in the car, really loud, but not really well!
*i laugh at cheesy things
*i can't Shimmy shake my shoulders (does that make sense?)
*i write pretty poorly, but I'm trying
*i cry in private, I hate when others see me crying
*i sleep whenever I can
*i am Happy
*i see with the use of contacts, sometimes I'm suprised how poor my eyesight really is.
*i need to lose weight, or buy new clothes
*i should get off the computer
*i tag Allie, Jamie, Stacy, Laura

Christmas fun

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Advent

With Halli being older and REALLY anticipating christmas this year, I decided to put together a little advent. She loves to read stories (or have them read to her, she's getting better at reading, but not quite ready to read full books), so I did a christmas story advent. I spent alot of time in November looking for cute christmas books that were also kinda cheap. I think we only had 2 to start with and needed 22 more, so they couldn't be too pricey. Luckily, I found some good deals, and wrapped all of them, added the date when they were to be read and put them under the tree. So far, the girls love it, and look forward to unwrapping a present every night. It also gives us some fun family time before bed, since normally just one of us reads the story to them in their beds. It's been fun, and is definitely an easy tradition that we'll be doing every year now!

Our Christmas tree with all the "presents" underneath.

The dates on the books

Okay these pictures are of the books, but also the tree skirt, which I made this year! I love it, and I love the colors. It's way fun since I also found some really pretty brown ornaments at sams, I'm totally loving the brown and red together!

Merry Christmas to us!

Kevin and I got ourselves a little early christmas gift this year. After 6.5 years of marriage, we decided it was time to have a real bedroom set. None of this college type bedroom for us anymore! yeah, I am so excited! Now we just need some pretty bedding to go with it, not to mention some pictures on the wall, but one thing at a time, right?

Rice vs Houston

Okay, I don't want to totally skip Thanksgiving, so before I post about the game...We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Kevin's family at his parents house. Tons of food, tons of kids, and tons of fun as well. It is so funny to see these 7 two year olds and Halli (all girls of course) running around. We put on Tinkerbell after dinner and it was a chorus of screams, they were so excited. I of course forgot my camera, cause I always do, but it was a great day, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.


Friday was spent putting up christmas, we got alot done, but not quite all of it. oh, and eating TONS of leftovers, gotta love leftover turkey!


Saturday was spent putting up more decorations in the morning, and then that afternoon we headed down to Rice for the Rice/Houston football game. We met up with the Monsons, the Kirkhams and their parents. It was a little chilly, but the kids did pretty well. Kevin had been dying to go to a game, so when they asked if we wanted to join them, it was a no brainer, I didn't have a choice. :) We all watched the game intently and I know the girls followed everything! Really I was watching the kiddos the whole time and trying to take some decent pictures, and Kevin was corraling kids and trying to pay attention to what was going on in the game, but it ended up being tons of fun and the girls loved playing with their buddies.

The scoreboard, It was fun to see a college game again, it's been awhile!

The field and all the Houson fans, I think they beat Rice in the cheering department, but that's alright, Rice won the game!

Halli and Sydney being cheerleaders!



Lexie looking cute, she did really well. I just tried to keep her warm the whole time, it was windy!

Braden looking cute. He's playing with Kevin here.

Peyton did great, luckily we had her princess dolls and she was set. She just played with them the whole game and was more than happy to do just that.

The whole fam! We had a great afternoon.

The best part was that after the game Kevin suggested we head to the galleria to watch the ice skaters and see the huge christmas tree, so since we were headed that way, we went to the cheesecake factory for dinner and had the Monsons join us. It was so fun! The kids loved watching the ice skaters and Halli and Blake really want to go now, guess we'll have to squeeze that in sometime this month. We also went into Dylans Candystore while we were there. They have so much fun stuff there, although next time we won't be taking the kids.

On a side note, we're doing pretty well without our pacifiers. Peyton didn't even ask for it last night, so hopefully we're almost through with her needing it. It has been tough with her, so if you have a two year old with paci, wait to take it away, it's been a long week!

I'm sure alot of moms have pictures of their kids like this, but this NEVER happens in our house. Normally Lexie has to be swaddled with a pacifier. But I was letting her watch baby einstien and came in the room, and she was like this! Yeah for no pacis! Makes it kinda hard when we're out, she's not great at soothing herself yet, but she'll get there!

As far as potty training, she went poop on the toilet yesterday morning, I didn't see it, but Halli says she did! Oh, she also pooped on our swingset, so it's not going great yet, but she's SLOWLY catching on.

Saying goodbye

I need sleep. It's been 5 months now, and I'm ready to start sleeping through the night again. Unfortunately, my sweet baby is a little used to her night-time friend, the Pacifier. Sunday night was not good, neither were the previous 3-4 nights, so monday morning, I decided it was time. We are saying goodbye to our plug, and hopefully hello to some much needed sleep. She has been crying herself to sleep, but she's taking SUCH better naps! Last night she still woke up three times, but hopefully in the next night or two she'll at least go down to just once.

Well, when I decided my 5 month old could do without the paci, it seemed a little weird to let my 2 year old keep hers, so she's lost it as well. I'll say that I think she's doing alright, I thought it would be worse. She didn't take a nap yesterday cause she kept crying and coming out of her room, but she slept great last night and had a good nap today. I will say, if I had to do it over, I would do it when she was in the crib, cause then they can just cry themselves to sleep and not get out. All-in-all, it's going well, we've just been a little home bound. I'm scared to take Lexie out when she can't sooth herself really well yet, too much screaming.

Since we're homebound, we're potty training too...not going to great. Yesterday she went three times in the toilet! yeah! Today, none, and two poops....this is so much fun! oh well, It's alot all at once, but we seem to be managing. So, in case you hadn't seen me lately, that's where I've been, up to my elbows in bodily waste, and dealing with some pretty upset girls (although it's getting better with every nap!)

A little Curious

Today, I thought maybe we could try to start potty training...not an easy decision. She peed her pants of course, and after sitting on the potty, I guess she was a little curious about how it all worked. I came out of the bathroom to find this.....

Yup, thats a mirror, and she's checking herself out. I guess that's one way to figure out whats down there. I debated putting this picture online, but it's pretty funny, and I think I cropped it alright.

Oh, and today my sweet peyton told me she hated me....all while smiling. I love having older siblings. That word is now officially banned from our house, or else! Gotta love what they learn and just how early it all happens.

Cafe Rio Pork Burritos

(sorry about the picture, the green plate doesn't make it look all too appetizing does it? But I promise, it tastes great!)

For those of you who live outside of Utah, or those that live there and just don't want to head to the delicious Cafe Rio, here's a recipe I found. I believe this rivals Cafe Rio, and will definitely satisfy those cravings, so enjoy! (this is just the pork Burrito, I don't have a recipe for the salad dressing, but should I find a good one, I'll be sure to post it!)

Pork Burritos

2 1/2lbs pork
1/3 C water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp powdered allspice
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
6 cloves garlic, minced
juice from one lime

put all together in the crock pot, cover and cook on high for 4 hours
Once it's done, drain and shred pork, stir in 1/2 C green chili sauce and 1/2 C brown sugar.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 C uncooked rice
1 tsp butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp lime zest
1 can (15 oz)chicken broth
1 1/4 C water
2 Tbsp freshly sqeezed lime juice
2 tsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilatro. Pour over hot cooked rice.

Black Beans

1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 1/3 C tomato juice (I just used a can of diced tomatoes and it was fine)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Pico De Gallo

1 large onion
1 large bell pepper
2-3 large tomatoes
1/4 C fresh chopped cilantro
sea salt

Dice the onion,bell pepper, and tomato (I like it finely diced). combine with cilantro and a dash of sea salt. try to do this at least 1 hour before serving to let the flavors combine.

Make your burritos and top with heated green chili sauce and cheese, with some Pico on the side. Enjoy!

Lexie's Four month

(photo courtesy of Kate!)

Lexie just had her four month check up, so I thought I'd let y'all know how it went. She was 15lbs, which put her in the 75th percentile, and she was 25 1/2 inches long, also the 75th percentile. She got two shots, no fun, but I think she did great, and only cried after the second one, and really not for that long at all. The funniest thing was Peyton was having anxiety that we were there, she kept asking to go home and once we got into the room she started crying, poor thing! Back to Lexie, she's a little trooper and she's getting bigger and more fun every day. She laughs at the oddest things and smiles the second she gets some attention. She's starting to sleep better, Yeah, now we just need her to sleep through the night, I'm exhausted.

The best thing is, she's doing great in her carseat now, she used to hate it! That's a major plus cause with three kiddos, she kinda spends alot of time in that thing. We're just loving cuddling with her and kissing her.

Who's that girl?

Halli can seriously be the sweetest little girls ever! Her school teacher absolutely loves her and she lets me know that Halli is the best behaved and sweetest child. She is always doing what she's asked to do, and hates to get in trouble. Her teacher is pregnant and said that she LOVES having Halli in her class and hopes her little boy can be just as sweet as her. Then at church on sunday, I heard from her primary teacher that, as cookies were being handed out, the teacher wondered if they were getting any. Hearing this, Halli offered to give her half of her cookie if the teachers didn't get one. What a sweet girl, sharing her one cookie! Her primary teacher is also pregnant and said she hopes her baby girl is as sweet as Halli as well.

I love this little girl and I know how absolutely sweet and loving she can be, and I'm not saying all this to brag about her (although, who could blame me if I was) I'm just saying this so you can understand that there is another girl I know, that many don't.

I know I just used this photo, but it illustrates my point fairly well. Halli is a different child at home than she is with others. She does a wonderful job of making me look like a great mom, but when it comes down to it, she's a different girl at home. Don't get me wrong she has her sweet moments where she can make me smile and laugh and be the happiest mom on earth that she's my daughter. But she can also make me scream...at her alot of the time. She doesn't like to listen to me, she'll flat out disobey what I say, she never takes no for an answer, you know typical kid stuff. I know every kid does this, it's just that she's SO different with me than she is with her teachers. Wanna know why? Every time I ask her why she can be so great for others and not for me she says, "cause you're family", and every time we have a talk about family, maybe someday it'll sink in.

Halloween 2008

I just love my girls, and I love seeing them all dressed up! They had tons of fun wearing their costumes and getting ready to go. We started the evening by having dinner with some cousins as well as some good friends, brent and Tish and their kiddos, then we headed out to get some candy and meet up with TONS of friends. We're not quite Utah, but close with the amount of members living in our neighborhood. The group started out fairly normal, with four kiddos, but we just kept merging with other groups and ended up with quite the party! It was so fun to see them all running around together and loading up on the sweets, my favorite part! Here are all the girls and their dad, looking like quite the cute bunch.

I jumped in and we thought it would be fun to pretend we had boys, these are our adopted kids, Blake and Braden of course.

Pee-wee looking cute as ever as a kitten

Okay, Halli is a tough one, I got one fairly cute picture of her, but a few more looking like the next one, she is not making it easy to get good shots!

And while I can't always get the cutest pictures of my girls, I got some really cute ones of my niece, Katelyn, who was the most adorable little ballerina I ever did see.

I am in love with this next picture! She looks SO sweet!

We had fun and enjoyed a long night, you'd think my girls would have slept in...okay, maybe you wouldn't, but I can always dream can't I?