Christmas Programs and Parties!!!

 This little lady did not have a Christmas program and she felt so slighted so she joined the primary when they sang during sacrament meeting. She did great. (She will officially be in primary in 2 weeks so I figured it would be fine!)

 Toys!!!!!! This baby LOVES toys. I think more than any of our other babies he gets so excited for any toys and then loves to explore and play with them.

 Big crib now (because he kept smashing his head into one side because he would get turned sideways in the other crib and he was so long that he would get squished.)

Bumper liners so that he doesn't get his legs and arms stuck in between the bars anymore. Crazy baby boy!

Sick Kids

The kids are having a cold/stomach flu bug going around so that has been. . . exhausting. Emmerlyn has it right now and I sure hope it is almost over. 

We got all the Christmas presents wrapped and I just loved how the kids are learning to write. Charley and William did their own and I helped Emmerlyn. William was funny he wanted to draw a box and then write (like a gift tag) but on half of them his name went way outside the box edge (that is why I didn't put the tags on them :)I let them wrap the presents themselves with just some basic assistance from me, it took forever, wasted a bunch of paper, and they look a little rag-tag but it made them so excited and so personal! I am excited for them to give the gifts to each other!

 William also made a bird feeder in Scouts he was so excited he has been waiting for this very activity! He had to finish it up at home and he was very professional about it!

Now I am hoping to go get a nap. 2 hours of sleep just doesn't get me very far!

Better Late Than Never. . . Right?

We have had a week that we have just kind of spent running around. I think that is how most of our weeks are going now. Brevick is still working on sleeping at night. . . it is still going. . .  I did find a binky that he will kind of take so that is progress because if there ever was a kid that needed to suck it is that one! Unfortunately I was complaining to Ben that you can only buy most binkies in 2 packs and I didn't want to buy 2 if he wasn't going to take it. This was on Monday at lunch time. By Monday at dinner-time I had already lost one binky. That is why they only come in 2 packs!

Emmerlyn is her busy little self always talking about her teacher who tells her all kinds of stuff. The boys had imaginary friends but Emmerlyn has an imaginary teacher. Poor girl wants to go to school so bad!

Charley has been working hard on his reading and is getting ready for his school program. He is doing better in primary and really starting to be reverent in Sacrament Meeting.

 William has been working hard in school and was very irritated yesterday because they skipped gym so they could get in a little extra practice for their program next week. He feels very jipped. I also snapped a picture of the types of books this kid has been checking out from the library. Not what you would think but it is very fitting for him. No fiction for this kid, he gets all the science ones or he had a field guide survival book last week that was like 300 pages long. He got through some of it but then it had to go back. Awhile ago he checked out one that was full of random facts/advice and one of the the things on the cover that it said was how to hold a hamster. The night before it was due I said he had to get it in his backpack and he got all worried and said "but I don't know how to hold a hamster yet!!!!!!!!" We skipped to that part and then sent it back. (It's a little funny though because we don't have a hamster nor do we know anyone that does!)

We played a fun little headbands game the other night our kids love to play board games and I love to hear them laughing while we do!

They are getting super excited for Christmas and they are always watching for the UPS man because we have been getting lots of packages. They will be so let down when Christmas is over and they don't get anything in the mail anymore!

Words from a Lady

So when we were at story-time last week at the library I was holding Brevick and the kids were getting ready to do a coloring page. One of the other moms started talking to Brevick (saying he was cute or whatever) and with a dead serious expression Emmerlyn said "ya know what, Brevicky hates people. specially ones that talk to him." I have been laughing ever since. Thankfully the other lady wasn't really listening to Emmerlyn because Brevick generally likes people!

6 Months

Yeah, I can't believe it either! Isn't he so stinkin' cute you could just kiss his chunky cheeks right off? I could, and I do. He had his appointment yesterday and he weighs a whoppin' 19.25 lbs (81%) is 26.5 in long (45%) and his head is 18 in (97%). He is a solid little dude for sure.
He is wearing size 12 month clothes.
He eats all the time like almost every hour during the day. He loves rice and oatmeal cereal, the only other food we tried was squash and he hated them! The first feed he made a super sour face, the second time he started spitting them back at me so after that I just mixed a little bit in with his cereal for the next few times and he tolerated that but wasn't thrilled, we are going to have to try something else. . . 

He loves to suck on the rag after eating.

He sleeps for about 2-4 hrs at a time during the night (still in his swing :/)

He loves to have his feet rubbed.

He laughs when I put lotion under his chin and in his neck.

He can roll from his tummy to his back but not quite the other way.

He can sit as long as he doesn't get crazy reaching for toys.

His siblings still love to watch him take a bath and he likes it right up until I wash his hair, he hate that.

He loves to be read to.

He HATES his car seat! He cries every we put him in there. (which is funny because a lot of the time he falls asleep in there. Silly man!)

He hums while he falls asleep (I think that is my favorite baby thing!)

He loves toys especially ones that crinkle.

(Much to the dismay of your siblings we are NOT having cake tonight to celebrate, although I think I could use the sugar boast!)

We love you Brevick! 

Words from a Lady

So this Christmas we started a new tradition of eating by candlelight for all of December up until Christmas (we got the idea from a friend but I can't remember why the do it? :). I think it makes the evening a little cozier and I like it. We are also going around the table and saying one thing they think of when they think about Jesus. The first night they all thought about how He died on the cross and I began to think that maybe this was a very bad idea but they did pretty good the second night and then last night the boys did great and then Emmerlyn said "when I think about Jesus I think. . . hmmm. . . . I think that Jesus loves. . .bacon."

* I tell you what try to keep a straight face with a comment like that!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year that we were able to share with some good friends that we feel as though they are all family. I think that is one of my favorite blessings this year is to have good friends as a family. The kids had lots of fun and got to eat lots of yummy food so for our very first Thanksgiving without any extended family I would say it was a success. 

Thanksgiving shirts, I don't really feel the need to dress my kids up for every holiday so this is what we threw together. (no matter how many shots I took Brevick would not look at the camera!) *William is wearing all the layers so he can look a little more like a pilgram (i.e. button up shirt and vest.) **note Charley's pilgram hat that he made in school.

Butter-pig!!!! Charley stuck this little note from his primary teacher into his piggy-bank and said "everybody look it's a butterpig get it? A butterfly-pig Hahahahaha!" I think he laughed the hardest at his own joke :). 

 She got herself a "little" bowl for her "Nemenems" 

 She is writing in her journal "don't anybody get by me!"

 Christmas Festivities. He is getting in on the action chillin' while I get everybody going. Doesn't he look chunky? I love his fat little face. 

 We changed things up a little this year and I let the kids paint our tree gingerbreads with egg-yolk paint then we baked them. They had a lot of fun doing it.

 William kept getting frustrated because Charley and Emmerlyn weren't very good about rinsing their brushes before they dipped them into a new color so all of the colors did not stay pure :). It is fun to see his skills growing and he is becoming more particular about what he is doing.

 Pre-bake

 Post-bake

Ready to go on the tree

On the tree.

I really love our simple little Christmas tree, I think the kids really enjoy putting their own spin on it and having it be "their tree" as they are getting older we are also putting on all of their little ornaments from school and I love it! They also enjoy getting to eat all of the misfits!