Happy Birthday, Paige!!

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet Paige!! I really can't believe that she is 5 now. It's hard to remember life before Paige. She has added so much to our lives since she was born. She has always been a very social and fun-loving girl. She really does have a gift with people. She can make them smile no matter what the situation is. I don't know how many times I was an a plane with just the 2 of us when she was a baby and we always happened to sit by a middle-aged businessman. (You know the type who see a baby and they get a panicked look on their faces and you can tell they are praying that the baby is not going to sit anywhere near them.) It never failed that by the end of the flight, Paige had those men (and pretty much everyone else in the vicinity) won over. It was so funny to see. That is just the type of girl that Paige is. She's always telling me that she needs to meet new people so she can make more friends. Like I said, she's a very social child! :0)

She is very smart and comes up with some very funny things to say. Earlier today, one of my friends called and told me something that Paige said while at her house. It went something like this. Paige: "I need to go outside in my backyard to get some energy." My friend: "How about you stay here and play so your mommy can get things ready for your birthday party." Paige: "No, I really need some energy so I'm going to go in my backyard." This is a common phrase from Paige. She is always saying she needs to exercise and get some fresh air so she'll have "energy". (I'm just hoping this lasts!!)

Another thing about Paige is that she loves to sing and knows all of the songs that they've been singing in Primary. She is not shy when it comes to singing and she just belts it out. Luckily she is not tone-deaf and sounds pretty good! :0)

Paige is also a lover of dance! She will dance any chance she gets. If she hears music that she likes, she will just stand up and let loose. We're not really sure where she gets her moves from, but we'll take them. She's very entertaining, to say the least!

We sure love Paige! She is a wonderful sister and daughter. Here are a few pictures of our sweet Birthday Girl!

See, I told you she loves to dance! :0)

When you come to our house, you will often find her in this Cinderella dress and, yes, she is usually dancing in it! :0)

7 months old?!?

Bryn is such a sweet baby. She's finally feeling better (she had RSV just over a month ago) and because of that, she's really showing off her personality. She is smiling all the time, especially when Paige and Austin are around, and "talks" a lot more now. She still doesn't have any teeth, but she's working on it. She's definitely more content than Paige and Austin to just sit and watch....probably because her older siblings are so crazy! ;0) She still has her rolls and cheeks (which I LOVE) and even though she looks like she should weigh a lot, she's quite the lightweight. At her 6 month appointment, she was 15 lbs (22%) and was 24 3/4" tall (10%). I guess we finally have a child that takes after my side of the family! :0) One of the reasons why she didn't weigh very much was because she was so sick she refused to eat for very long. I was lucky if she ate for 2 minutes on each side. Not fun at all. I'm so glad she's feeling better! She's definitely gaining weight now so we'll see how much she weighs in the near future.

Here are a few pictures of our happy girl!

She's finally discovered her headbands, darn it! She's trying to pull this one off in this pic.

Bryn and Dawson being pals. She was fascinated by him. She kept grabbing his ears and feet, poking his eyes, and as shown in this picture, making some moves. :0)

We've figured out that if we want Bryn to eat something other than milk, SHE has to decide it's OK and pretty much has to feed it to herself. She's a stinker when it comes to baby food. She's doing a little better now, but we still have to sneak it in.

She kept going back for more of this lemon, though. Go figure!

Like I said...not a fan of baby food.

She does like her tongue and what a pointy tongue it is!!

One of her favorite pasttimes...sucking on her toes. BTW, she is still a thumbsucker. At least it's only when she's tired and is trying to go to sleep.

Birthday Boy!!

Yesterday was Austin's 3rd birthday. I can't believe he's already 3. He is such a funny, stubborn boy! :0) He is very helpful with Bryn, he loves to play with Paige and when he wants to be, he's the best helper/cleaner in the house! He says some of the funniest things now and I love how he can always get us to smile. For instance, we have a little boy in our neighborhood named Gunner. One day Austin asked me if I knew why Gunner's name was Gunner. I was about to answer him when he said, "I think it's because he really likes guns!" Yep, Austin, that must be why! :0) I just love the way a 3 year old's mind works!!

On that same note, here's another classic "Austin" example. The middle of last week he told me he wanted a dog cake, so I went to the store and got almost everything for it. Then yesterday morning he decided he didn't want a dog cake anymore...he wanted a farm cake. I don't know if it was Signing Time's "Leah's Farm" or the FamilyFun magazine that made him decide this, but his mind wouldn't be changed, so I ended up going to the store AGAIN and got the rest of the items needed to make his "farm" cake. I have to say it turned out pretty cute. Definitely not as cute as the picture in the magazine, but I am far from the professional that did that cake!! :0) My favorites were the animals, by far!! My sister and her 2 kids, Sydnee and Dawson came over for the party. We were going to have some of Brian's family there, too, but because of illnesses they opted out. Probably a good thing, but we're anxious to see them again!!

Austin totally scored on presents. Each one is his "favorite" which means everyone did good! :0) He got a set of plastic golf clubs from Aunt Kandra, an airplane launcher and a scooter from Mom, Dad, Paige and Bryn. I'm excited to see what he thinks of his grandparents' gifts that will be coming soon! :0) (I know what they are and I know he's going to LOVE them!!)

Happy birthday again, Austin. You are such a sweet boy and we are so blessed to have you in our family!!

Some new favorites!!

OK. I have some new favorites. Favorite projects, favorite pictures, favorite people, etc. Here's a few (OK, a lot) pictures showing some of them.

My new favorite napping spot for Bryn while at G and G A's house! All of the rooms were taken by other sleeping toddlers and babies, so Bri's mom came up with this idea. It was great!

My favorite body part of Bryn's...her cheeks! If she turned her head just a little farther, you wouldn't be able to see her lips! :0) (Our 1st picture of Bryn with her 2 boys cousins, Sam and Max, on Bri's side of the family.)

My favorite dance moves shown by Paige and her cousin, Ashley. Such beautiful ballerinas! Let me tell you, Paige was in heaven!!

Some of my favorite toys for Bryn (another favorite will be shown later in the post)

Some of my favorite kiddos. (It was so fun meeting my cousin's kids, Emmy and Kai, for the 1st time!! It was so fun seeing you, Katie and Kent!!)

One of my favorite facial expressions of Austin's. He wasn't so sure of his "new" cousin, Kai. :0)

Some more of my favorite kiddos. (I have a lot of these pictures!!) :0)

And another one!

My new favorite projects. The "tag blankie" was sooooo easy to make and Bryn LOVES it! I can't wait to see Austin with his new tie on tomorrow (the best part about the tie is it's velcro closure in the back!). And these booties....need I say more?!? And of course I had to make some bows to match the booties! Fabric yo-yo bows...yes, a new favorite!

I bought the patterns for the tie and booties at http://www.etsy.com/shop/makeitandloveit. The idea for the fabric yo-yo's came from http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/heather_bailey/2009/09/pa.html

I know so many talented people!!

So, I am really needing to spread the word! I have so many friends and family members who are so talented, whether musically, artistically, spiritually, etc. Some of these friends and family members even sell some of the stuff they make!! LUCKY US!! I thought I'd share a their info so you can see how talented they are!!

First of all, my cousin, Pamela, makes amazing jewelry (among many other crafts!) Check out her blog at http://pamelasusan.typepad.com/pamela_susanup_close_pers/. There's a link to her Etsy shop on her blog. You won't be disappointed, I promise!

Another cousin, Ellen, who happens to be a sister to Pamela (very talented family, let me tell you!) makes awesome dog collars and accessories. If you have a four-legged member of your family, you need to check out her blog, http://www.classichoundblog.blogspot.com/.

Now, on to one of my friends. Krissy is just plain amazing. She is so creative and comes up with some of the cutest projects, whether bags, kids' room decor, quiet activities, etc. She just opened up an Etsy shop with her latest kids' room decor items!! Check it out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/wispyloo.

Also, I have a couple other sites that you have to check out. I have ordered some things from these girls recently and LOVE them! Seriously, I know so many talented people!!! ;0) For vintage, refinished furniture, go to http://fromthevintagefarm.blogspot.com/ and for some cute patterns, dresses, and bags, go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/makeitandloveit. Ashley, the lady who makes these items also has a blog where she shows tutorials on how to make cute things of your own at http://www.makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/

I hope you're able to see what I'm talking about. Trust me, it will be worth your time!! ;0)

Did everyone survive?!?

So, did everyone survive the holidays? Sometimes I feel as if we barely did! ;0) We actually had the best Christmas until about 10:30 pm on Christmas night. Austin woke up screaming and then promptly puked all over his bed. He ended up doing this for the next 2 days and then he was "sick" on the other end. NOT FUN!! At least he's better now. Phew!! So, yes, we survived! :0)

Besides Austin getting sick, we enjoyed having my side of the family over for a few days to do our gift-exchange, Nativity reenactment, caroling and just visiting. (It was so much fun seeing all the cousins together. Paige and Austin are asking frequently when they can see their cousins again and play "Don't Eat Pete" with them!) ;0) Thank you to all my family members who made this get-together memorable and fun!!

After everyone left, we had a very relaxed Christmas Eve and Day. I honestly don't think I've ever had such a simple, fun, and relaxing Christmas. It was awesome!! We stayed in our PJs ALL day, opened presents and played with said presents ALL day, and had my sister and her family come over for dinner (Brandon was the only one civilized enough to be in normal clothes!!) :0). Seriously, no stress Christmas and it was WONDERFUL. It was so nice to focus more on the true meaning of Christmas and realize how blessed we are to know that we have a Savior who came to earth as a little baby so He could show us by His example how we should be living. I am so thankful for that knowledge and I'm so thankful to Him for making it possible to be with my family forever. Being able to reflect on these thoughts is what made this Christmas so wonderful!

Here's a few pictures of our Christmas fun!

The Nativity

My brother, Keith, narrating

Challis as the wonderful star

Paige as Mary. She plays the part well, I think!

Challis made Paige a fish stand for Christmas and Paige LOVED it (as did every other child there.) Paige absolutely adores her cousin, Challis.

My brother, Kolby, and SIL, Melissa, had us for Christmas and Melissa made 5 awesome folder games to take to church. The kids love them (as shown here by my nephew, Jaxson, and Brian!) Thanks again, Melissa!!

Here's my mom with her present. Everyone was teasing her that the bag I made was a new doggy purse for Powder. As you can see, Powder didn't quite like that idea! :0)

My niece, Natalie, enjoying the yummy treats that Kandra made for everyone!

For Family Home Evening on Monday, we played "Don't Eat Pete" with all the cousins. It was so fun!! The best part was how excited the little 2 year olds got when they were able to yell, "Don't eat Pete!!" A huge thank-you to our friends Brandon and Brittany who dropped the game off that very night!! :0)

While the ladies made some "bling, bling", the kids had to do a project of their own, so Kandra and Julie helped them make ornaments for the tree. The paper hearts were adorable and the kids LOVED making them. Thanks, Kandra and Julie!

Treats for Santa and his reindeer. We didn't want a grumpy Santa on our hands!! ;0)

Paige and Austin had to make a card for Santa, also. I wrote exactly what they told me to write. So cute!!

This picture is for my mom. Bryn LOVED the baby my mom gave her. She was lovin' it and eatin' it all day! ;0)

Paige got a Princess Barbie from Santa and Austin got some Hot Wheels cars. His favorite car is the Shark car!

Bryn with some of her stash! She got some shoes, a food masher, some bath toys, a couple baby dolls, a couple books and some toys to put on her carseat (which she LOVES!!) It will be fun next year when she'll be more into it all.

Paige with her loot. She now has 3 Barbies, 1 baby doll, a dress, a picture of Christ, a couple more books, some blocks, a coloring book, and crayon roll (from G'ma and G'pa N), a fun game (from Uncle John and Aunt Bethany), Princess Polly Pockets (from G'ma and G'pa A) and some Littlest Pet Shops.

Austin scored as well! ;0) Along with the game, blocks, coloring book, crayon roll, he got a tool set (which he loves the best because he can use them on the blocks like Bob the Builder!), 2 race car tracks (one Hot Wheels and one Handy Manny), a couple books, some shoes, and a sweater. I love that smile of his!

We had some friends give us these. I thought they were so cute, especially because I love Snowmen so much!! The candy bars were super yummy, also!! :0)
Once Austin started feeling better, the kids were able to do a project. They used the paints that Paige got from Santa to make masterpieces! The best part for them were wearing the old pillowcases as art smocks!! ;0)
So, Paige got a hold of my camera again. This is one picture that she tried to take of herself. Silly girl! I know it's a random picture, but I had to add it because it makes me laugh!