holiday activities

This last weekend was a busy, fun-filled one as we had lots of holiday activities going on. First, my parents arrived Friday night and stayed with us until Monday... there were 2 community craft bazaars, 2 kid's Christmas programs, my mom and I went to our friend's wine tasting party and, Katie & Tys went to their friend, Riley's birthday party. We also drove around town on Saturday evening to see the colorful Christmas lights! Tys and his teacher, Mrs Brannon. The preschool had their Christmas children's service Sunday afternoon...

The kids with Pastor Mark

Tys and Katie at our church's Christmas program. The kids did an amazing job at singing and reciting their verses!! This was Katie's first year to recite a paragraph and since she couldn't read it yet, she memorized all of it. Tys learned the Christmas songs and sang them for weeks at home before singing them with great gusto at the program :)

Riley and Katie at our community Light the Night parade

Trenton wasn't happy about the loud fire truck sirens but, still had a good time!

Gift Exchange

As in holidays past, our kids got together with their good friends, Taylor & Dalton last Friday to exchange Christmas gifts and have a "play date"!

Gingerbread family

Last Saturday the kids got to bake their much anticipated gingerbread men. We borrowed various sizes of gingerbread men and women cutouts from Judy so they could make gingerbread families. They had lots of fun cutting out their people then, decorating and playing with them... AND, eating them :) My little bakers (never mind Trent's wet, nerdy hair... he had just gotten out of the bath)

Trent's gingerbread people... he was very creative with their eyes!

Tys searching for candy for his man

Katie and her family

Thanksgiving

Again, I'm just a little late but here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving Day. We enjoyed a relaxing morning at home and I baked 15 pounds of garlic mashed potatoes and 4 pies. In the early afternoon we went to Ken & Judy's house for a huge Thanksgiving feast! It was so nice to be able to hang out for the afternoon/evening and enjoy fellowshiping with about 20 other friends who were also there. Thanksgiving breakfast consisted of pumpkin pie and cool whip... yum, yum!

Kristiana's 1st Thanksgiving! As I peeled 15 lbs of potatoes I thought about how wonderful it was to actually have her here with us this year vs. last year when I was still in my 1st trimester and so sick!!! (it was also nice to actually be able to enjoy all the yummy food!)

I am so thankful for my husband and all that he does for me and his family!

Time to eat!! Tys and his friends... I am also thankful for our church family and the times we get to share with one another.

Casey and Ken

Katie and Alaina

Judy and sleeping Kristiana

Kristiana 5 months old

I am just a few days late at posting this but, Kristiana is now 5 months old! She blesses us with her big smiles everyday and brings our family so much joy! I took her in for shots last week and she weighs 17 lbs... yep, her little baby fat rolls are too many to count... ha ha This last month she began eating a few more foods such as green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas and apple sauce. Her favorite food is oatmeal mixed with apple sauce and, green beans will bring the most grumpy faces. Some nights she will sleep really well and, other nights I feel like we're back in the newborn phase... I guess it just depends on how much she's growing that day. However, she will sleep a good 12 hours at night and take a few "cat naps" during the day. Kristiana has found a new love for her hands and likes to suck her two fingers. She also likes to grab and "eat" anything you put in front of her so, we have to really be careful about that! And last but not least, Kristiana LOVES it when we play Peek-a-Boo with her... she has the most beautiful belly laugh... making us play the game even more!! Kristiana in her first hotel room, the Peppermill, in Reno this last weekend.

Nursing Home

On Tuesday, Tys and his class went to visit our local nursing home. They sang songs to the elderly and handed out cards. The class also collected slip-free socks and kleenex that they gave out. It was so nice to see the big smiles on the residents faces!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends!! As a family, we have spent this week thinking about things that we're thankful for and, on a daily basis we are thankful for our family and friends! We thank God for His many blessings and we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Today the kids are thankful for:

Katie: Mom & Dad
Tys: Kristiana
Trenton: Me Want Juice Please (hmmmm.... he's still learning what it means to be thankful! lol)

After a busy 3 days of work, Casey is thankful for a day off and we're happy to have him home with us! I am baking 15 lbs of mashed potatoes and a pecan pie for our dinner with friends at Ken & Judy's this afternoon.

dreams

Today I asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grow up... keep in mind these are todays career choices as, they change daily!

Katie: a girl who rides horses in a race (jockey)
Tys: a builder and an astronaut (so he can build on the moon...)
Trenton: fireman

I am thankful for my children's ability to dream :)

Campout

Last night Casey & I made a sheet tent in the livingroom and let the kids have a "campout". They were so excited and could barely contain their joy! After reading books, they settled down and were fast asleep. Outside the weather was blizzarding snow so, it made the campout even more special to be in their warm, cozy sleeping bags and snuggling with their pillow-pets!

Auntie Ri

Marie arrived on Friday and visited us for the weekend (she headed back to Boise today) We enjoyed hearing about her time in Europe, did lots of baking and the kids liked having their Auntie here to show off their newest talents! I very much appreciated Marie's help around the house and holding Kristiana :)

Big Girl Crib

Kristiana has been sleeping in her "big girl crib" for about a week now and is loving it! Infact, these last 4 nights she has slept from approx. 8pm-5am... this makes for a very happy mama (It could also have something to do with the fact that I've been stuffing her with cereal and sweet potatoes before bedtime!) Trent is also in his "big boy bed" now (he moved from the crib to Tys' toddler bed) and Tys is now sleeping in the even "bigger boy bed", a full sized bed. I guess this proves that all my babies are growing up! At her 4 month check up last Thursday she weighed 15.9 lbs and is 25inches long... which puts her in the 90% percentile.

Big Girl

Our baby girl is getting so big!! She is now eating baby cereals 2x a day and sitting up in the high chair... even though she's still a bit small for it :) I also used the highchair last night to keep her entertained in the kitchen while I cooked dinner. Uncle Joe came over last night for dinner (and before going to work) The kids always get excited when Uncle Joe visits... even Kristiana gets her Uncle time!

Joe teaching Kristiana all about "Angry Birds"!! She found it fascinating and quite entertaining.

Precious

Last Saturday I threw a bridal shower for my dear friend, Edyl Zarah (aka. Precious) Her big day is coming up the end of this month so, we all joined together that morning to celebrate! Approx 20 friends and family came and we had a fun time of playing games, giving her gifts, eating yummy food and drinking mimosas and, there was lots & lots of laughter!! The beautiful bride, Precious

Precious with Sandy and Kristiana

Melody and Mama Troy

4 brides in their toilet paper wedding gowns! (Edna, Susan, Justine & Begonia)

Precious and her mom, Edna

Jera and the bride-to-be

me and my sweet daughter, Katie Rose....

We are so happy for Precious and Alex and, are looking forward to their wedding in Reno over Thanksgiving weekend!!!

Trick or Treat

For Halloween we took the kids trick-or-treating in one of our friend's neighborhoods. First, we went to Tony & Becky's house for dinner then, Becky, mom and I took the kids out. The guys stayed behind to babysit the baby, watch football and hand out candy. They live in a popular, safe neighborhood for trick-or-treating so it was quite busy and the "happening" place to be... Lots of cute costumes! We also saw quite a few friends and it was a beautiful evening for walking around. Katie was "Blackie" our new kitten

Tys was Spiderman (go figure! lol)

AND, grumpy Captain America, Trenton. He didn't want his picture taken but, DID have a fun evening!

Sophia (the pink pig) and Katie

My little monkey, Kristiana

Fall Fun 1

This last weekend was a busy and fun-filled one! It began when my parents arrived from Boise on Friday. They brought pumpkins to carve, fruit to dehydrate and make pies for the freezer, the go-cart to ride and party items for our friend's bridal shower on Saturday. Friday afternoon mom and I took the kids trick-or-treating around town at the local businesses then, Tys and I went to his friend, Jazmin's, birthday party in the evening. It was his very first birthday where he got to go without his siblings and it was HIS friend.... quite a bit event! There are quite a few more photos to post but here are a few to get started.... Monday morning we carved a pumpkin... there were 3 but Tys & Katie had to go to school at noon so we just had time for one. My dad did the carving while the kids scooped the "guts" and drew more faces on with marker.

Throughout the weekend my mom gave the kids numerous rides in the go-cart. The kid's friends even came over for rides! Mom spent time teaching Tys and Katie how to drive it by themselves... steering & operating the pedals. Katie even took me for a little drive and operated it all on her own :)

Tys' Fall School Party

Tys' fall school party was on Wednesday.... they enjoyed yummy treats and sang their pumpkin song and a song about falling leaves to the parents. Sadly, my camera's battery died so this is all I was able to video! Tys is doing great in school... it's so cool to see him learning these songs, letters of the alphabet, Pledge of Allegiance (which he says everyday to me!) and making new friends.

Kristiana 4 months

I am not sure where this last month went but, Kristiana is now 4 months old! Her little baby "fat rolls" continue to grow and she has almost outgrown her 3-6 month size clothes. I am anxious to see how much she weighs at her checkup next week.... She still has a passion for eating and is now eating rice cereal every evening before bed (along with a bottle and nursing!) This helps her sleep until about 1 or 2 am. After that she's awake again in about 3 hours. But, I can't complain and am thankful she goes back to sleep! She is slowly getting a schedule for during the day... with 2 older siblings in school it has been hard to get that going for her. It seemed like she just falls into a deep sleep and I have to wake her up to either drop kids off or, pick them up. Thankfully, she sleeps really well in her car seat :) Mainly she takes power naps during the day with a good nap in the late afternoon. And, thankfully she's a laid-back baby who just goes with the flow of her busy family!

This last month Kristiana has become a little more mobile and quite a bit more interactive with us. We have found her tickle spot and love to hear her laugh outloud! She still hasn't mastered the art of rolling over but, is getting really close! However, she has learned how to wiggle around on her back and push herself upwards. If I leave her lying under her entertainer to play she isn't in the same spot when I come back... instead she is lying sideways or, taggled up in the legs of entertainer... she is all smiles and quite proud of herself :) She loves to sit with her siblings on the couch and listen to cartoons or have Katie "read" her a book. And, they love to talk or sing to her; in return she rewards them with her big smiles! We are so thankful and feel so blessed for our happy & sweet baby girl!

Atlas

Kristiana enjoying a little belly time on mommy's bed... she lasts for about 5 minutes before screaming! This week is a busy one for us (which week ISN'T a busy one for us!?) as Atlas is hosting this year's national training class called WreckMaster. Approximately 20 guys from around the western states will be here for the class which, is held tomorrow thru Sunday. Casey and the other guys at Atlas have been busy preparing for this... getting the yard ready and mock "accidents" set up for practice tows. At the end of the class they will be certified for a certain level of towing according to national standards and, on the cover of a towing magazine. Anyhow, Casey won't be the only family member busy this week as I am also busy catering the class' food for the morning coffee break: cinnamon rolls, cookies, coffee cakes etc. And, am looking forward to the big bbq that's being held at Atlas on Friday night!

Morning time snuggles

Mornings are the best time of day for Kristiana to snuggle with her older sibings!