Alyssa 18months

Our Baby is 18months.

Alyssa is growing so fast. She is loved by her three older siblings and Parents. She is starting to communicate really well. She can say "YES" and says it a lot. I remember my other kids learning "NO" first and using it regularly. It is so cute to hear her say "Yes" all the time and she says it so excitedly.

We keep our small plastic cups in a bottom drawer so that the kids can get a drink themselves. Alyssa empties this drawer multiple times a day. She loves to stack them on a stair in a straight line. She is careful to get each one to stand up the right way. I always have to double check as I come down the stairs to see if cups are lined up along one stair.

I love this picture, they look so grown up. This is our good friend. He spends a lot of time at our house and it is really cute to see the two of them "play" together.

Alyssa love to be outside. She would spend all day out there if I let her. We have this little playhouse and she fits just perfect inside there. While she is in there I will come knock on her little door. She opens it up with the biggest smile. I tried and tried to capture the smile but I didn't quiet catch it. She brings me so much joy.
Outside again, even though it is cold. She loves being outside.
She begs to ride on the tire swing. I am cautious about her on there, and make sure I am close and the swing goes SLOW.
Jackie recently got glasses and was trying them on Alyssa. We may see this again in the future. Glasses make people look so smart, even babies.

I know I need to cherish these days with Alyssa while she is so small and sweet. They all grow too fast. Alyssa is a fun to cuddle with, especially right after she wakes up from a nap. I love having her little head on my shoulder. I will miss that. I heard a quote that said. "The most precious jewels you can have around your neck are the arms of your children." That is so true. I feel blessed to have four jewels to hold and love daily.

My goal for this year is to show more KINDNESS - especially to my children. I have a quote on my wall that says "Try a little kindness". It is a great reminder, for me, to take a breath and just be KIND.

Christmas Break

We had a wonderful Christmas. We stayed home this year, which we haven't done for three years. It was really nice and relaxing. Jeff was able to be home a lot of days, so we took some time to just have fun together. We went swimming, bowling, a couple of parks, and a fun gymnastics trampoline gym. It was fun to be able to spend so much time together, with the kids having a break from school. When it came time to go back to school we had a some sad kids, but they are back in the routine now. It is nice to take breaks through the year and have some fun.
Dallin and Brea both got these balls to bounce on from Santa. They were a huge hit. I think Dallin spent all day on that ball. I got a camera so I could capture him in action. I have been without a camera for a couple of months and I missed it tremendously. I was thrilled to get a new one.
Jackie woke up Christmas morning to find an American Doll! She has loved that doll (Julie as she named her). She looks like Jackie, same hair color, eye color and they even have a couple of matching outfits, like the pajamas pictured here.
This is excited Brea on Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas Eve at Mr. Biggs and then at home for our traditional appetizers and activities. We have lots of yummy goodies as we watch each other do talents. Dad always plays his trumpet and we sing carols. The kids come up with a variety of talents (gymnastic tricks, songs, poems, ect). We had our friends over that day to enjoy the festivities with and have some more kids to enjoy. We played the Left/Right game and acted out the Nativity (with 6 kids under age 8). Needless to say it was a unique Nativity re-inactment. We let the kids open one present before bed, Brea happened to open these cute pajamas for her and her baby from Grandma. She got a special surprise when she woke up on Christmas morning and the pajamas she had put on her baby were now on a new baby Santa had brought. She didn't even wake up when Santa came in her room!
Dallin is showing his remote control car - A prized present from Brea. That car went all over the house, even on carpet. Dallin said it must be a race car because it goes super fast. There is something about boys and remote control cars!

Christmas Day was spent enjoying each other, enjoying new presents, attending church where Jeff sang in the choir, playing lots of games, and eating chocolate!