Spotlight FHE

For Family Home Evening last night we had each of the kids take a turn in the "chair of honor" and talk about some of the things they accomplished over the past year. Of course, they loved it and Kessiah wanted to know if we were going to do this every year! So here is what we thought of...

Kessiah
*she only had 2 times during softball when she was up to bat when she did not get a hit.
*has learned how to use the stove...which has been especially nice when she wakes up and cooks sausage on Saturday mornings before we get out of bed!
*has taken the opportunity several times lately to show her talent at the piano. She recently played in Sacrament meeting, a talent show at church and a talent show at our big Ogden Thanksgiving
*Something clicked in her brain this fall and she finally understands multipication and division (she was quite frustrated at the end of 2nd grade in math!)
*is becoming quite friendly with the tooth fairy...she has lost 3 teeth in the past 2 weeks!
*has borne her testimony every Fast Sunday this year.

Jenessa
*overcame her fear of attending level 1 gymnastics. When we started going back to gymnastics in the fall, she was very nervous (even tearful!) but she loves it now!
*stopped sucking her thumb! Yeah!
*did a great job of hitting the ball during the second half of t-ball this spring when they did coach pitch...even almost hitting her coach once!
*has started learning to play the piano.
*has memorized several poems since we started school this fall.

Sienna
*has learned her ABCs
*can write her name.
*was a Super Sensational Soccer player (at least after the first game! She cried through the entire first game and wanted Mommy or Daddy to be out on the field with her)
*stopped sucking her thumb! Yeah!
*has borne her testimony twice (with Kessiah's help)

Logan
*has learned to take his pants and socks and shoes off (I'm still not sure if this is good or bad!)
*can be reverent during prayers (sometimes!)

Mason
*accomplished the incredible feat of being born at a whopping 9 pounds (unheard of for this family!)
*has learned how to smile and giggle
*has learned how to take formula from a bottle

Merry Christmas 2009

Ahh, the day is coming to a close and all the kids are asleep. It was a good day.

For the past several weeks Kessiah and Jenessa have been discussing whether or not Santa is real or if it is just Mom and Dad who put the gifts out (they don't bother to ask me anymore because I just say "What do you think?") But on Christmas Eve (after our annual acting out of the nativity and new pajamas) there were no questions...they eagerly put out cookies and milk for Santa and went to bed...and stayed in bed!

The girls came bounding into our bedroom around 6:45 a.m. We let them explore the toys and goodies from Santa before Logan got up around 7:30 to see what Santa left for him. Mason didn't make it up until around 9:00, so he missed all the commotion. By that time the girls were watching a movie Santa had left for us (Barbie and the Three Mustekteers, we also watched G-Force and Bolt that Santa left for our viewing pleasure today!)

We enjoyed a yummy dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, creamy broccoli & cauliflower, green beans with carmelized onions and of course the homemade rolls!

Kessiah lost another tooth today and still has one that is loose. I'm not sure she is going to have any teeth left!

I was excited to get some Cansolidator Pantry sets and Wii Active. My legs are a little sore right now from something I did with Wii Active today!

I have to smile as I reflect on Christmas a year ago...That was the day we told the kids we were going to have another baby! I didn't feel very good so Ryan cooked the ham and we had some simple side dishes that required no effort on my part! I feel so grateful for my many blessings and especially for my Savior whose birth we celebrate on this day.

Mason's four month appointment

His stats:

weight 13 lbs 14 oz (15%)
length 50%

I've been feeling like he has been thinning out a bit but I'm a little shocked at how much! He has only gained 14 oz since his 2 month appointment. I've been feeling like he needs a little more so I've been trying to introduce formula in a bottle...which has been a struggle but he is starting to accept it. Hopefully that will help us get our chunky monkey back!

Otherwise, he is a happy healthy little boy. He is full of smiles and loves attention (what kid doesn't!)

Jenessa lost a tooth (sort of!)

She actually had to have it pulled out. She had a regular dentist appointment earlier this month and the dentist felt like there was an abcess developing in her gums...so he felt like it needed to come out. This is one of the teeth that she has had a pulpotomy done on...so in a way it is nice to have it out since we've been back in a few times to have her cap replaced on it. She also had to have a silver cap placed on one of her back teeth to help protect it from any more cavity bugs!

She is a trooper and did fine although she had been nervous about it all week.

So now Jenessa and Kessiah are both missing a top front tooth (but not the same one!)

Christmas Pictures at Sears

So I took all five of my children to Sears this morning dreaming of the adorable picture I was going to get with all of my cute kids who were looking especially dashing! But alas, I have a two year old...and most people I know who have two year olds will understand that I was dreaming of the impossible! Logan would absolutely NOT cooperate! I got a cute picture of the girls together and Mason was full of smiles...but all Logan could do in front of the camera was scream and cry and throw himself to the ground!

I did get a collage with a picture of the three girls and separate pictures of Mason and Logan. There was one picture of Logan where he wasn't screaming...not smiling or looking pleasant either!

I will try again at home before church on Sunday...hopefully in a familiar and safe environment he will be ok.

Yeah! Kessiah lost another tooth!

Kessiah just barely lost her 7th tooth...One of her top front teeth. It has really been bugging her a lot!

She has been hinting that she thinks the tooth fairy should bring her extra money since this tooth has been bugging her so much!

Logan

Just a few funny Logan stories...

We have discovered that Logan's coat is his security blanket. Earlier this week I took Jenessa, Sienna and Logan to a friend's house while I took Mason and Kessiah to Kessiah's 4-H Community Meeting. (That was such a good decision...It has been extremely difficult to keep Sienna and Logan under control at these meetings...I always end up with them running around outside in the parking lot.) Logan refused to take his coat off the entire time he was there. At the ward party on Friday night, he wouldn't take it off until we had been there for about an hour. Today at church, he wore it...with the hood on...all through Sacrament Meeting. Ryan made him take it off before he went to nursery, but I'm sure he would have preferred to keep it on there too!

One evening last week after we got home from Kessiah's basketball practice, Ryan had put Mason down on the floor in his car seat and unfastened him but left him there. A few minutes later Logan came into the kitchen and was telling me something about Mason. I was having some traslation issues and couldn't understand him...although I should have been concerned since I could hear Mason crying. After Logan came in to me the second time I decided I better go and see why Mason was crying. What I discovered was that Logan had tried to take Mason out of his car seat. Mason was lying face down on the floor with a blanket over him! Poor baby!

Isn't it fun trying to keep up with these little people!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Part 3

We now have Christmas lights up! Our house looks fun and festive!

We have had the opportunity to see Santa twice this weekend. Once at the ward (church) party and once at Ryan's annual work Christmas bowling party. Logan is petrified of the jolly fellow! Santa makes our cute little guy cry, literally! Sienna isn't very fond of him either, she will not sit on his lap...but she will accept candy at arm's length!

My Hero

Kessiah started a new composition unit today about writing to a prompt. Part of her assignment today was to brainstorm ideas related to who her heros were and why they were important to her. I was very honored to make the top of her list...and the one that she chose to continue writing about.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Part 2

Tonight we did our annual gingerbread house. We have bought the gingerbread house kits for the past several (8?) years. Logan thought it was Halloween again, he kept trying to grab the candy meant for the house and eating it. We somehow managed to get it done without anyone falling off the table!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We bought our Christmas tree yesterday and decorated it this morning. The girls have been very excited to get out the decorations. They were having a lot of fun pulling out the tree decorations. They are old enough now that some of the decorations have stories and memories to go with them. This just gets more fun (and chaotic) the more kids we get!

Once again we will be decorating primarily the top half of the tree. It seems like every year we have someone young enough to require leaving the bottom half mostly bare! Oh well, I'm used to our odd looking trees!

Definsive Driving School

If you do the crime, you have to pay the time. This morning I paid my time for speeding. I was worried about how Mason would do while I was gone for 5 1/2 hours, but he seemed to survive!

It was an interesting class, I learned several interesting things. Did you know that driving and talking on a cell phone use the same part of the brain? That's why it's a bad idea to do both at the same time! (It's a habit I usually avoid anyway since I don't want my kids doing it when they reach driving age)

Family Zoo Day

We enjoyed a trip to the Phoenix Zoo yesterday. It was nice, the first time we've been out together on a day trip since I got pregnant. It was a beautiful day, we needed jackets but the weather was great.

I think Logan's favorite part was just chasing the pigeons around. Sienna didn't seem to think that the barriers applied to her, we were constantly having to pull her back after she had gone beyond where she should have been. And of course, Logan was following close behind her.

We enjoyed looking at many animals but our favorite were the rays. They have a seasonal exhibit with rays that you can pet and feed. We went about 1 1/2 years ago, but at that time I was too chicken to touch them. I did it this time, they are very soft and smooth...very cool. And Ryan got me to feed them as well! I was nervous at first, I dropped the first shrimp I had into the water. They have very big mouths that kind of suction the food out of your hands. Ryan helped each of the girls feed them as well. It was the highlight of our day.

4 months old

The little guy is 4 months old now...stilll NOT sleeping through the night. I'm tired! He is full of smiles and is a pretty easy going baby.

How did she get to be 9?

It's true, somehow Kessiah hit 9! Next year she will be double digits! I feel like she is really growing up, no longer quite the child she used to be. I feel more and more the importance of being a good mother to my children and showing through my example what it means to be a good wife and mother.

I think back to the first time I saw her. We walked into the hospital room, she was to my right in a hospital bassinet pushed against the wall. She had the most perfect face with lots of dark hair and dressed in a pink outfit that was a bit too big. It almost took my breath away to think that she would be going home with us! She has been such a blessing to our family and I can't imagine not having her with us.

She is such a good example for her younger siblings. She is becoming quite a good piano player and we enjoy listening to her practice...sometimes we even dance to her music! She loves to read and does well at her school work. She enjoys art and drawing. She has had fun playing sports and always wants to participate in the next one coming up.