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 :)