Christmas Books

I pulled out some of our Christmas books and they are definitely enjoying them.

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland"

All decorated!  Every time I look at the tree I start to sing "Winter Wonderland" in my head.  That is exactly what it reminds me of.  Our house is all decked out and I'm loving it!

Sick Day

Jacks' woke up this morning with a stomach ache, so he stayed home from school.  He felt much better by lunchtime and was running around and acting completely normal the rest of the day.  Cooper loved having him around all day to play with.

Cousins

Krista, Samantha, and Cooper

Samantha was visiting for the Thanksgiving weekend and Cooper was with her almost the entire time.  He loved having Sam here!  We can't wait for her to visit again.

Christmas Shirts

New Christmas shirts from Aunt Tiff.

Christmas Tree Shopping

When I was growing up we always picked out our tree on the day after Thanksgiving.  That way you were able to enjoy it that much longer.  I have always liked that tradition and have continued it with my own family.  We like to go down to Baum's, which is a nice family in Provo who sell them in their yard.  Rylee fell asleep on the way there so we left her at Nana's house.   Bert and Jacks wanted to get a flocked tree this year and Cooper and I voted for a green one.  Bert and Jacks won.

Thanksgiving

Sadly, this is the only picture I took on Thanksgiving day.  We had Thanksgiving with the Keele family over at Peggy's Stake Center.  It was nice to have all that room since Bert has such a big family.  Rylee fell asleep on the way there and stayed asleep for 3 hours!  She slept right through her first Thanksgiving feast.  The kids played hide-and-seek and a lot of dodgeball in the gym.  The grown-ups joined in and played a few games too.  In the evening we headed over to the Williams house for pie.  It was a nice holiday.

Papa's Birthday

Today was Papa's birthday and we spent the whole day down at their house helping to decorate for Christmas (since Mom is out of commission because of her knee surgery) and making a birthday dinner.  Busy, fun first day of Thanksgiving break.

Playing in the Stickers

Toothbrush Timer

The boys had dentist appointments last week and they got to pick a prize our of the dentist's drawer at the end of the appointment.  Jacks picked this timer and it has actually been a really good thing.  Before they got this timer they usually did a rush job and didn't do as good as they should have.  But now they are brushing until all the sand has dropped down and getting their teeth much cleaner!

Cake

Erin and I made this cake for our friend's wedding.  We worked on it all of Friday evening while Tiff took care of Rylee.  Then we transported it to the church today and stacked it and put on the finishing touches.  It turned out really cute and we were glad to be done with it!

Thanksgiving Program

Jacks had a Thanksgiving Program today in his class.  They sang a couple of songs and had a Reader's Theater.  They also had made these turkeys and they took turns telling the parents what they had written on the feathers.  Jacks is thankful for:  Moms & Dads, school, books, parents, siblings, and bodies.

Tongue Tied

Rylee has really been into her tongue lately.

Mr. Cooper

Cooper has such a fun imagination and will sit on the bench in our living room and pretend he is a teacher at school or he is a leader in Primary.  He reads books to his "class" and gives directions on the worksheets.  If he is pretending to be at church he will tell scripture stories and even pass out the sacrament.  It's very funny to listen to and I have to be careful not to smile because he gets embarassed and won't do it anymore.

Basketball

Basketball season has officially started up again. 

Laundry

What a day!  It does feel good for it to be all clean and folded nicely.  Unfortunately, I'm going to have to do it again in a week! 

Fussy Girl

Rylee was not a very happy girl on Sunday.  She was very fussy in the evening over at my mom's.  This was one of the only smiles they could get out of her. 

So worth the work!  What a cutie!

Breakfast

 

The boys had dentist appointments on Thursday and I bribed them with breakfast at McDonald's if they were really brave.  I don't usually have to worry about Jacks, he will lay up there and let them clean and check his teeth.  The Coop definitely needs some help.  He doesn't like going at all.  I can't really blame him.  It is not my favorite place.  We made it through the appointment and so we got to go to McDonald's this morning for some breakfast and to play on the playground! 

The 3 Amigos

Jackson and Cooper love playing with their dad.  They watch and play all different kinds of sports.  I'm glad they have such a good time together.  Bert is an awesome dad!  We're lucky to have him!!

Early Christmas

Rylee got an early Christmas present from her Nana and Aunt Tiff.  They bought it for her a couple of months ago and thought it would be the perfect size at Christmas time.  But they didn't anticipate how much Rylee was going to eat and how fast she was going to grow.  It looks so cute on her!  Thanks Nana and Tiff for the adorable outfit!

Mouse

Why are there so many kids movies and books with mice as the main characters?  They always make them look so cute and lovable.  They are nothing like that!  I was helping Jacks get ready for school this morning and Cooper said he saw a mouse.  I didn't believe him right away because my sister, Tiff, has had a mouse in her house and so mice have been the topic of many conversations lately.  So I went over to look where he said and then he told me he saw it again run into the bathroom.  I went over there and turned on the light and stood in the hallway to peer in and it came darting back out again and into their room.  I screamed.  I couldn't help it!  I wish I hadn't because it scared the boys pretty bad and they started crying.  I grabbed Cooper, who had jumped onto his bed to get away from the mouse, and we ran out of the room. I called Bert and told him, finished helping Jacks get off to school and then fed the baby (watching the floor the whole time.)  Then I got an idea to stuff a towel under the door so it would be trapped and Bert could get it when he got home.  It actually helped calm me down quite a bit to know it was trapped and not going to appear anywhere else in the house the rest of the day.  But it apparently had gotten out before I put the towel up so my sense of security was crap.  When Bert got home I sent him straight to the store for traps.  Tiff came over to visit and while she was there I spotted it again in Rylee's room when I went in to change her diaper.  I called Tiff in, put Rylee in her crib with her mobile on, grabbed a flashlight and a broom for Tiff to whack it with if it came running out, and I went to look in the closet.  I was only going to move one thing, not dig around.  Well guess what!  It was under that one thing.  It came running out at us.  I screamed again!  Which I wish I hadn't again because it freaked Rylee out and she started crying so hard!  It ran under her crib.  I would just like to mention right here that Tiff did not even try to whack it.  She jumped back and used the broom to shew it away from her.  I grabbed the baby and Tiff and I ran out of the room.  This time we put the towel under the door right away.  When Bert got home from the store he called Casey and they went in.  They were in there for over an hour and finally came out with the dead mouse.  Rylee's room was such a mess!  The bookshelves were out and leaning against the wall, the crib was in the middle of the room, and the rocking chair was lying up on top of a nightstand we have in there.  Nothing was in it's original place!

I hate mice!  I think they are so disgusting!  I didn't realize how big my fear of them was until it came running at me.  I know its small and I shouldn't be afraid of it.  So many people have told me that it is more afraid of me than I am of it.  That is up for debate!!!  I am now constantly listening for noises and checking corners and looking around for another one to appear.  The boys don't want to play in their room anymore.  This mouse has completely rocked our home life and if I never see another one I will be a happy woman!!

The Help

Cooper loves to help in the kitchen.  Especially if I am making cookies because then he can test the dough and make sure it tastes good!

Say Cheese

Bert had her smiling so big and starting to giggle so I ran to get the camera.  But as soon as the camera comes out she forgets everything else.  This is what I ended up with!  Still so cute!!

Sunday Best

The kids after church on Sunday.  We really enjoy our ward and have made some great friends here!

Car Soccer

The boys love to play with their cars.  They have a road rug to drive them on but they fight over the rug in the living room because that is their "soccer field."  The cars are the soccer players and they have a little mini car that is the soccer ball.  I'm glad they have good imaginations and can entertain themselves so well.

Rock-a-bye Baby

Rylee is definitely the best sleeper of all of my babies.  Jacks was good and would just get up once a night.  Cooper got up every 2-3 hours for a few months.  I felt like a zombie.  Rylee's first night home from the  hospital she slept for 5 hours straight.  As she got older she kept doing a little more.  Right before she turned 2 months she started sleeping all the way through the night, every night.  It's heaven!  I know how lucky I am and I love it!!

Gingerbread Man

Cooper is really enjoying preschool.  Today he made a gingerbread and couldn't wait to eat it.  I told him I wanted to take a picture of it when I got home but he said he had to hurry and eat it before is got up and ran away.

After he finished it he told me that he could feel something moving in his tummy and it was probably the gingerbread man.

Look-Alike

I put this sleeper on Rylee last night and it made me go back in time. 

 

Rylee 2011 (2 months old)

Cooper 2007 (2 months old)

Ladybug Friend

Rylee loves this little ladybug on her bouncer.  She stares at it and talks to it and I have even caught her smiling at it.  I'm glad she likes her bouncer...it's the only way I can get dinner made.