Christmas

Christmas always means new pajamas from Grandma! We had so much fun in Utah visiting with family and playing games.

Sophie loved her presents, okay she just loved the boxes, but whatever. She got a new soft blanket, an outfit and bath toys. She also got to play in the piles of wrapping paper.
Brandon loves tearing into presents and I love the pile of wrapping paper left behind! Grandma got the award for best present by getting the 7-in-1 Maxus Draganoid for Brandon. Sara loved her new watch I made for her and her DS games.
Ben got really excited about his presents! We got Ticket to Ride and some Star Trek movies that we can't wait to use. Overall it was a fabulous Christmas; now I can't wait for the kids to go back to school.

Naked and eggnog

I love pictures of naked babies, I mean just look at the dimples! When we lay Sophie down and reach over to grab a diaper she rolls over and starts crawling away. Too cute!
We found out that Sophie loves eggnog. Whenever Ben would get a cup she would reach for it, so we got her a straw and she would drink until Ben took it away from her.

Food!

We are expanding Sophie's eating options to include chocolate chip pancakes! She loves them and I can cut them up small enough so she can feed herself. Messy, but fun!

Ballet Show

Sara has been wanting to take ballet for a while now, and luckily there is a lady in our ward who teaches and her studio is 2 seconds from our house. Today they had a little show in the studio for family to come watch what they have been doing.

We got to see what they do in class each week and they even had a dance they had been practicing from the Nutcracker. Her teacher Miss Kristin used to dance professionally with Ballet West, so she has amazing talent and is great with kids!

Exploring!

As soon as kids start crawling they really start exploring their surroundings. Sophia is no different and has gotten into the kitchen and started opening drawers and cupboards. Yes- she has already gotten her fingers squished.

She found the movies a while ago, but recently found the vcr/dvd player and started opening the door and pushing buttons. I can't baby proof the house fast enough! She hates it when we have to pull her out of whatever she's into and will cry for at least 5 minutes.
At least now I don't have to keep the house really clean because people understand why it's messy! One day Sara picked up all the movies and put them all away, then when she came home from school the next day Sophia had pulled them all off again. She said "Sophie! I just picked those up!" I told her that's why I don't pick them up everyday. At least she's having fun!

The Nutcracker

I decided to have a girl's weekend in Salt Lake with Sara. I LOVE the Festival of Trees there, so we had to go. I almost cried when we walked in. I love the atmosphere and the Christmas spirit I feel there. I love looking at all the trees, wreaths and gingerbread masterpieces. A lot of the trees are made to honor people who have died, so it's kind of sad to see the pictures; especially if they are kids and babies.

After the Festival I surprised Sara with tickets to see Ballet West perform the Nutcracker at the Capitol Theatre. It was so awesome! It's so different to see professional dancers as opposed to the local dance school here in Idaho Falls. She loved it and loved the theatre- it is beautiful!
I did not want to drive home late at night, so I had booked a hotel room at the Shilo Inn. Sara loves jumping on the beds in hotels and riding the elevator. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the morning then got on the road to head home! Overall a wonderful weekend. I love having a daughter who enjoys doing stuff like this with me- when Sophie gets a little bigger I'll have two!

I'm there!

When the kids start crawling they start exploring the world around them and getting into everything! Sophia discovered the movies this morning and started pulling them off the shelf.

Love the mess Sophia thanks a lot! One more thing to clean up everyday, multiple times a day.......yeah. I remember when Brandon used to pull all the cd cases off the shelf everyday and make a big pile on the floor- every chance he got. Fun stuff!
I love it when they smile like they know they're not supposed to be doing whatever it is they're doing, but are doing it anyway. Cute!

Christmas tree

There was no way I was going to spend my days keeping Sophie away from our Christmas tree all month, so I told Ben he has the year off and bought this 3 foot one that sits on our table. We chose our favorite ornaments and it came pre-lit, so it's perfect for us this year.

We can put presents around it and not have to worry about Sophie getting into them or messing up the tree.

Baby gate

Since Sophie is crawling we had to install a baby gate at the top of our stairs. It took a long time to find one that would work since we don't have a wall to use on either side of the stairs, but I love this one and it blends right in with the woodwork.

Ben didn't want to drill into the banister, so we just zip-tied some 2x4's to the banister and drilled into them. It's not perfect, but it's easy enough for the kids to handle and that's what counts! Thanks honey for taking two hours to put it up!

Grandma = toys

Whenever Grandma comes she brings toys- that's part of the reason the kids get so excited. Grandma has been waiting to bring this to Sophia and it's perfect! We have to watch her when she's sitting on it because she will fall off, but she loves playing with all to little things on it.

Good job Grandma!

Thanksgiving is for family

My family came up on Friday after Thanksgiving to spend the weekend. It was so much fun and the kids loved playing with their cousins. Tristan loves Sophia and asked to hold her.

While the kids love playing with each other they also love playing games on the DS or laptop. When one starts they all have to play. Funny!
Brandon loves sliding down the stairs in his sleeping bag, so whenever people come over he shows them and they all have fun sliding down over and over. Tristan didn't like the idea of the sleeping bag, so he just went down without it.
Tristan and Sara watching a movie and sitting on the little couch. Good thing he is getting one of his own for Christmas! Thanks guys it was fun!