Six Flags

Talking about traditions to a friend of mine earlier in November, she said that they started a new one last year by taking their young kids to Six Flags. I thought this was a fun idea seeing how Abby absolutely loves the thrill of a roller-coaster. Todd was also game and went a little further than just a visit, he bought us season passes so we can do parent-child dates throughout the year.

Our first visit was the day after Thanksgiving and my nephew Benson and brother in-law Cade also joined us. One of the first rides was the pirate ship that swings back and forth. I sat across from everyone else and it was funny watching the kids faces until halfway through. That's when Kaitlyn started to freak out and cry. She wanted off! It was a little too much for her to take. The next ride was a toboggan ride and Kaitlyn said she wasn't scared. So after waiting an hour (not worth it) we rode the toboggan and again, halfway through, Kaitlyn's screams of joy turned to crying for fright. She made it through and said she didn't want to ride it again.

Seeing how Todd and I didn't learn our lesson, many rides later we came to the Shockwave. The shockwave has two loops and Abby really wanted to ride it. Kaitlyn then said she did too. We should have just split up at the time but Kaitlyn said she wouldn't be scared. Todd rode with her and by the second loop, she was crying. The G forces and Kaitlyn don't mix. We then rode some of the smaller rides and she was much happier the rest of the night.

Kaitlyn and Mom on Batwings

We took the girls again during Christmas break. We split up so Todd and Abby could ride the Texas Giant. Todd said that did him in and that he's too old for that kind of stuff anymore. It was Abby's favorite ride.

Kaitlyn was saying she wanted to ride the Shockwave again. She said she wouldn't get sacred. I didn't want to take her on it so we waited to meet up with Dad and Abby. During the ride she said over again to herself, "Don't get sacred. Don't get sacred." She rode it with no problems and we are proud of her for facing and conquering that fear on her own.

The favorite ride of the night for Kaitlyn was the Mini Railroad. As soon as we were done, she threw her hands up in the air and shouted very loudly, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

7 Months

Dec. 7

We have been feeding Alec more formula this month. He's 75% formula 25% nursing. I'm just about done because bottle feeding is so much easier now. We went in and did a weight check- 15.3! The boy gained 2 lbs this past month and is on the charts without an age adjustment. He is in the 5% range for weight- he's a small fry!

This past month he is:

-blowing more raspberries

-yells when something is taken away

-loves paper. The girls have to watch out and not leave books on the floor or they will get ripped.

-happy as ever!

-we all love having a little boy in the house!

This cute sweater was made by my friend Jill and I absolutely love it!

Dancing Queen!

If there is one thing about Olivia, the girl loves to dance! She'll put on music and her hands go to her hips and then she dances. The above video shows the classic Olivia dance.

We went to see the Muppets over Thanksgiving break and during every musical number, Olivia was out in the aisle dancing. It is so fun to watch her little body go.

Santa!!

Dec. 2 - Our ward Christmas party Santa came at the end. It was mass chaos getting to him but in line we stood and Olivia could not wait to see him! She was dragging me trying to get to see him, she didn't understand that we were waiting our turn.

Every year I take a picture of all the kids with Santa and I thought this would be a great photo opportunity. It was a great picture but we were missing Alec who was sleeping in the car seat.

Dec. 3- We did our annual visit to the children's holiday parade downtown. It was supposed to be rainy and we were glad all the rain held off until we drove home. It was one of the colder years but we all loved it just the same.

After the parade, we had our breakfast with Santa through Todd's office. This was another great photo opportunity to try and get all 4 kids this time. I just can't win with having everyone smiling.

First try with Santa - Olivia was not feeling the love this morning. I thought for sure there would be no problem. I chalk it up to going to be late from the ward party. There were several crying pictures but this looks just like last years minus Alec.

We tried again a little later, this time it's Kaitlyn who's upset. Her balloon candy cane that she got from the clown, who is also at the breakfast, just popped. She is not a happy camper. This is the picture I ended up framing. Maybe I'll get my brother to do a little photo shop but then again, this is how life was at the moment. There's always next year.

Horseback Riding take #2

Nov. 25

Because it was such a big hit with the girls, my mom arranged for all the grandkids to go riding again the day after Thanksgiving. This time Olivia was also invited. It was another successful trip for the most part.

Olivia loved every minute of riding.

My little nephew was a little sacred at first and was all tears until Kaitlyn kindly let him ride Goliath, the smallest horse out of the bunch. That brought out the smiles in that little cowboy. Kaitlyn then was able to experience a bigger horse.

After Connor had his fill of horse back riding, Kaitlyn quickly got back on Goliath. She was doing so well with controlling the big horse with turning and stopping, they let her walk Goliath around the pin by herself. Everything was fine until she went to take him over the "jump". Uncle Cade was on his horse right next to them and all of a sudden Goliath turned and ran under Cade's horse. Kaitlyn was knocked back, but not off, by that horse's head. Goliath trotted a bit and then came to the side and stopped. We thought that was the end. We were all laughing about it then Goliath turned and took off again running faster this time with Kaitlyn holding on for dear life. She was starting to slide off and was looking sacred. Goliath finally stopped and Kaitlyn hopped down exclaiming "My horse is crazy!" She did get back on and ride again. The problem was that the reins were to long and tied to the pommel of the saddle so she couldn't stop him herself.

Abby is happy to ride again.

Thank you Gigi for the memories!

Thanksgiving

Nov- 24.

This Thanksgiving will be known as the BEST. TURKEY. EVER! I'm salivating just thinking about it! Hat's off to my Brother-in-law, Cade, who made it. My sister Laurie and her little family came up from Houston to have Thanksgiving with those of us living up here. The girls were in heaven with their cousins and we all had a great time hanging out and gaining weight. Wish they lived closer so we could hang out more.

This Thanksgiving I was very thankful for all my blessing but especially for my family and our newest addition, Alec, who made it to this world safely. I am very blessed, my cup runneth over.

Ate the turkey as it was falling off the bone. Soooo yummy.

Laurie and Cade's dog, Nixon, poor dog wanted in on the turkey action.

I seriously want to eat some more of this turkey!

Mmmmmm

Half of the spread- the other half is on the table. I was in charge of making my Lion House rolls and frog eyed salad. Easy Thanksgiving dinner for me!

All the food was so good.

Girls made the place cards

Cheers!

Ron Burgundy, I mean Cade, and my sister Laurie. Chefs extraordinaire!

They cooked 90% of the meal and it was delicious!

Mustache is due to Movember

The girls were so busy with their cousins, we didn't see them much. They were "fishing" in Gigi's bathroom - standing on the sink with a fishing pool. You had to know the password to get into the bathroom. "Open the door or you'll be in loads of trouble" got me in. Apparently it was whatever you wanted.

Waiting her turn to share her password.

Pre-Thanksgiving nap in Daddy's arms. So stinking cute!

All the cousins watching a movie in Gigi's bed.

Cousins born a week apart- Alec is the older one.

Zoo

Nov. 23 - Todd took a lot of time off during the week of Thanksgiving. It was so nice to have him around. We really just hung out around the house for the first couple of days because that's all the girls wanted to do. On Wednesday, the weather was beautiful so we headed out to the zoo. It was half price day and I was thinking it was going to be busy but surprisingly it wasn't.

I've not seen the animals out as much as we had on this trip. All the elephants, monkeys, gorillas, and the lion were out and moseying around. The lion even did a little roaring - he was having bathroom issues. When we first got there and saw the antelope, Abby had asked if they were called "cantaloupe". It was too cute.

Olivia checking out the map to see where we were going next. She really wanted to see the alligators and by the time we saw them, she wasn't interested.

Now why do I have a picture of Todd shooting? We stopped to eat a snack at a table in the Texas area of the zoo and right next to it was a shooting range. I'm helping one of the kids and I look around and Todd is gone, he made his way over to shoot.

Well the girls wanted in on the action too so Todd let each of them shoot. I think this ended up being one of their favorite parts of the day.

Horseback Riding

Abby on Blackie

Kaitlyn on a little pony Goliath

November 5 - For Abby and Kaitlyn's birthdays this past summer, my mom gave them a gift that we finally cashed in. The girls got to go horseback riding for the first time ever! They were in love! It was all smiles for the whole hour while they were riding. They learned the basics of how to have your feet, how to steer and stop. Abby was a little disappointed at the end because they did not get to have the horses run. For a few weeks after the lessons, Kaitlyn could be found grabbing anything, usually the broom, and pretending it was her horse. She'd gallop around the house yelling "giddy-up Goliath!" I'd pick her up after school and she'd be galloping with her backpack - it was a funny sight.

6 Months

Alec is quickly growing up! At six months Alec can:

-squeal loudly

-grabs feet

-rolls over all over the place

-weighs 12 lbs 10 oz

-25 inches long

-Has finally grown into 3-6 month clothes

-At his checkup, even with age adjustment, Alec didn't gain as much weight as the doctor would have liked. Nothing to be concerned but now we are to give Alec formula after each nursing to make sure he's getting enough.

-Huge step this month, Alec is now sleeping in his crib and no longer in the pack-n-play or mom and dad's bed. He'll sleep until around 4:00 A.M. and then eat and then fall back asleep (this time in mom and dad's bed because mom is too tired to get up and move him back)

-Started solids. Takes Rice cereal okay (not a huge fan) but loves applesauce and pears.

Alec always sleeps with an arm over his head.

Field Day (rewind)

Every year the girl's school puts on a Field Day. This year, instead of sweating it out in May, they moved it to October. I got my workout running between Abby and Kaitlyn's classes. It was fun to watch the girls interact with their classmates and have a great time playing.

Halloween (rewind)

If you could see all the pictures I took of trying to get all 3 and 4 kids together- they are quite comical - Olivia pointing at a plane, Kaitlyn checking out her gloves or hiding her face, Abby making goofy faces, Alec crying...

Here's one of the many:

Abby is giving Alec alien antenna

It was a fun night that we just did as a family. Gigi and Grandpa and Aunt Monica came over for pizza and treating. Gma and Gpa lasted 5 minutes before they snuck away to a movie. Todd and Alec lasted about 15 and that left me with the girls. Luckily my sister stayed and helped with Olivia while the other two were always running up ahead. Next year I need to make sure I plan to go with some friends so the older girls can run on ahead and not be slowed down by the younger ones. Kaitlyn was the first to complain that she was tired and wanted to go home. She had enough and wanted to pass candy out. Later that night when I asked Abby about her favorite part of Halloween, she said "Getting candy, eating candy, and giving candy." Passing out candy is something Abby an Kaitlyn love to do and I think enjoyed that more than walking around.

The girls all picked their costumes a month before Halloween and stuck with their choices. Not once did they think about something else.

Beautiful Cinderella

It was so hard to get Olivia to sit still.

Notice the lack of shoes. She was ready to get to the next house for some CANDY!

As I write this a month later, Olivia was first to eat through ALL of her candy. Abby and Kaitlyn ate about half before I just took it all away.

Cutest pirate I have ever seen

Leading the charge!

One cute pumpkin - all 4 kids have worn this pumpkin costume.

It's gotten some good use.