And Now for December

I'm still counting it a victory that I'm posting about Christmas in January. Sure it's the 15th of January, but that's okay. Life is busy. Wonderful, but busy.

I think we Decembered quite well. We did simplify a lot, with our new little Baby Cakes being only 2 months old, but we managed to do all the traditions that really mattered and we had a wonderful Christmas time.

Clara started smiling all the time and that was a serious highlight of December. Half the time she still sticks out her tongue when she smiles, either that or its a big wide-mouthed-gummy smile. Heart melting! We love it!!

Sophie, Nina and I posing before going to the Nutcracker. It's our Christmas girls' tradition and we went out to eat at Mimi's Cafe (we thought it was girly) and then had a great time at the ballet. We went to a local production which is just perfect, for right now, but next year Sophie and Nina have said they want to go to the Colorado Ballet Nutcracker in Denver - I think Nina's attention span is almost there. We look forward to Clara being able to go with us in a few years. Nina really wants to be in The Nutcracker someday and for days after going she was twirling around humming the music. So cute.

We got dressed up in our new Christmas outfits for church. Clara was okay for the first pictures, but by the time we set up the camera timer to get all of us she had had enough. Oh well, at least it was documented. Can I tell you how happy it made me that I was able to find matchy Christmas outfits for the kids?! I didn't think it would happen, but yay it did.:)

On Christmas Eve we acted out the nativity play with the joy of having little Clara play baby Jesus, wrapped in a swaddling blanket I might add. Nina loved being Mary because she got to hold Clara. We get silly sometimes with the nativity play which makes it all the more fun. This time baby Jesus was presented with 3 Sonic Tots for the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Every year it's a goal to find the funniest things to give baby Jesus. Here's who played what: Clara - baby Jesus; Nina - Mary and a wise man; Ben - Joseph and a wise man; Sophie - shepherd and a wise man; Jenni - angel, costumer, and director; Adrian - narrator, Herod, and donkey (poor Adrian :)).

We made Finnish Ribbon cookies. Traaaaaddddiiiiition! They are Santa's favorite cookie in case you didn't know.

The kids got new pajamas and we took pictures by the tree. Then the kids were off to bed. Clara was certainly getting tired.

Santa came and the Christmas bomb dropped. All the kids were so happy with what Santa brought them and all declared it to be the best Christmas ever.

And Clara was about the same size as her stocking which made us all giggle.

We had Christmas monkey bread, doused in a delicious sugary glaze, for breakfast and our traditional picnic by the tree for a late lunch. Christmas food is good! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with new toys. We also watched Elf and A Christmas Story. It was a great Christmas day.

Two days after Christmas Ben turned 9! We went to The Hobbit as a family (Clara either watched the movie  happily or slept the whole time, it was great). Ben loved that movie and wants to go again. I think it helped that Adrian read The Hobbit to him last year. He got a new DS, some games for the DS, and Beyblades for his birthday. I can't believe he is 9!! It seems crazy to me that he only has 2 more years of elementary school. Where does the time go?

Clara turned 3 months old at the end of December. She is just the sweetest baby ever. When she looks at me with those big blue eyes I get misty. I really do. What a joy she is and how wonderful that I get to be her mom.

We celebrated New Years Eve. Sophie went off to a party shortly after this picture and had a great time while the rest of us had a Dr. Who marathon, played some games, and waited for midnight. Clara was in bed by 8 and Nina fell asleep by 8:30, but Ben actually stayed up. We toasted the New Year with Coke (a new tradition that I'm quite excited about:)) and Ben of coursed "yucked" when Adrian and I kissed.

Whew! Well that was our December and wrapping up of 2012. What a ride 2012 was for our family! A wonderful, unexpected, emotional, crazy, busy, joyful, beautiful year! Here's to a great 2013 ahead!

November Happenings

I know it's Jan. 2nd, and I am super far behind in posting, but here are some of our November happenings. Hopefully I'll get things caught up over the next couple of days...

Sophie got her braces off and the very next day Ben got his braces on. Wow, we are in for the long haul with Ben's orthodontia needs, but we love our orthodontist practice and some day we are sure he will have straight pearly whites just like Sophie.

We had a photo shoot for Clara's announcement and Christmas cards with my friend and awesome photographer Michelle. We love all the pictures she got, especially the sweet ones with all four kids - they were totally bribed and it worked! Smiles all around! And frozen custard afterwards.:)

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with a great Cajun turkey dinner with all the fixings, Rise of the Guardians movie watching, and yummy leftovers for days.

We decorated for Christmas with matchy matchy stockings! There was some homemade fudge enjoyed that night too and I think it was every one's favorite part.

Clara turned 2 months old and we can't believe how much she changed in 2 months! That is the beginning of some serious chubby cheeks there (they are so great and squeezable now!:)).

Happy Halloween!

Yay for Halloween, my favorite holiday! This year the kids all chose very different costumes, no family theme, but that's okay. Maybe next year. Sophie is a zombie (seems like our Walking Dead obsession has rubbed off on our oldest, though she has never actually watched the show) and her T-shirt is a torn up My Little Pony shirt that says "Ponies Forever" - for some reason I think that is the most awesome zombie shirt ever.:) Ben is a Gryffindor appropriately named Ben. Not Harry, not Ron or Neville. Ben. How I love my boy! Nina is Merida from Brave and she loves her costume including the wig and oh my goodness how adorable she is in it! I have a feeling we're going to be seeing Nina dressed up as Merida frequently now that this costume will be in our costume trunk. And last but certainly not least our little Clara is a lady bug. Seriously I could just eat her up - she is so cute!! Thanks to my friend Tracy for giving me this cute and cozy little sleeper costume at Clara's baby shower!

Well the chili is in the crockpot and the pumpkin seeds have been roasted so we are ready for a fun filled Halloween evening. Our family movie this year is going to be Goonies after the trick or treating. So I say bring on the Reese's peanut butter cups and Twizzlers. I'm looking forward to my share (commission) of the kids candy!!:) Happy happy Halloween!!!

Our Clara

Welcome home Clara Lily. We feel so happy and thankful to have this sweet baby in our family. We love you Clara!

June Days (the not so lazy days of summer)

Another month gone by with nary a post. I'm such a slacker. Or I've just been on Pinterest and food blogs waaay to much! Well here's another month in pictures. June was quite the busy month for us. Nina's ballet/tap recital, Sophie's girls camp, Ben's scout camp...  And of course keeping up with the kids' piano lessons, swimming lessons, and soccer games. Fun times.

I also instituted a summer learning program for the kids. Every week day, almost :), the kids have worksheets (I've been using Summer Bridge activity books for Ben and Nina and a Geometry workbook for Sophie), reading, and journal pages to complete. I made some punch cards and they get a hole punch once they've done their work. After 5 punches they get an agreed upon treat. We've had frozen yogurt, gone to movies, and this week they are working towards a trip to Krispie Kreme. It has been our most successful summer "mom school" yet. Yay. And the great part is that if they complain they don't get a punch. So I haven't heard any complaints. I think I'm sticking with this plan every summer.

Seriously, can this child get any cuter than in her ballet costume??!! I love it. The dance recital was all about Snow White. During her ballet dance her class danced with Snow White, and during her tap dance she was a little dwarf tapping around with the 7 Dwarfs. It was addddoorrrabbbllle!!!

From all accounts Sophie had a fantastic time at girls camp. She loves it every year. She is such a camper! And she loves staying up late laughing and talking with her friends. The theme this year was princesses and because of the new Brave movie with archery as a major focus, Sophie got to fulfill her Katniss dream of shooting with a bow. (She's the 5th one from the right in the picture.) She loved it. As a matter of fact she loved it so much that she talked her Dad into talking her to a place where they could shoot arrows together. (Honestly, it was not a hard sell as Adrian has Hawkeye dreams of his own.) As I write this she is at a bow hunting practice range shooting with Ben and Adrian having an awesome time. It will probably become a regular Saturday activity for them. My funny family. Hunger Games and Avengers has changed our lives, but as a plus we'll be good when the zombie apocalypse happens because bow hunting skillz seem to be a major plus in Walking Dead. Just to get one more geek reference in this paragraph - the Hobbit comes out in December!!Woot!

Oh how my boy loved Cub Scout camp. For 3 days he got to play games, do leather crafting (he made a new case for his DS), pan for gold, and revel in all things scouting. Everyday he came home so incredibly dirty - like Olympic gold medal in dirt dirty - though he does look kinda clean in those pictures. Rolling in mud must have been the next activity that day. I think he wishes scout camp could go on forever!

And last but not least, Father's Day. I must embarrass Adrian every year with a picture the moment after our children piled into bed and wake him up. He's a good sport. He is not allowed to take any similar pictures on Mother's day.:) We had a fun day on Father's day with presents (a new charcoal grill and some Eddie Bauer shirts - Adrian cannot have enough plaid shirts), church, ribs, pasta salad, and corn on the cob for dinner and fresh peach pie for dessert. Then we ended the day with a family movie night with Journey 2. We love you Adrian! You are the best husband and father!

May Days

Wow, a whole lot happened in May yet I never got around to posting about it, so here's the recap in mostly pictures.

Mother's Day. Super fun and lovely. The kids woke me up with breakfast in bed (chocolate croissant - yum!) and gifts. I got to go to Gospel Doctrine and Relief Society during church because the men of the ward took over Primary, which was great. Adrian made dinner and bread sticks to go along with it - the first time he's ever made bread and he did a great job.

Nina had her Humpty Dumpty Day (aka egg drop) at school and her egg survived due to this foam contraption Adrian and Nina made together.

The kids had their last day of school and Nina graduated from kindergarten! I now have perspective 8th, 3rd, and 1st graders. That is crazy to me. This school year went by SO fast!

Ben's 1st Pine Wood Derby

Last night was Ben's first Pine Wood Derby and oh my was he excited about it. Adrian and Ben worked so hard on his car. Ben did a lot of the final sanding himself and we all worked on the paint job. I made the lightning stencil for him. Very fun stuff. It was a pretty good little car in the races too, though it didn't place. Adrian and Ben have already started formulating a plan for next year to make a faster car. Ben has a pine wood derby car book and it's now a permanent fixture on his bedside table. At home, after the derby Ben asked if we were still proud of him - seriously he is so tender-hearted - and Adrian picked him up and paraded him around the house saying very loudly, "this is my son Ben and I'm very very proud of him!" It was a sweet moment. Well done Ben and Adrian!!