Pre Christmas

My mother in law sent the kids Christmas presents in 2 big cardboard boxes. It was almost like Christmas morning pulling all the packages wrapped in pretty wrapping paper out. And then we noticed some of the tags said open now. Yippee!!! So the kids tore into them and they pulled out the cutest Christmas outfits. The big kids stripped down then and there in the middle of the living room and put on parts of their outfits. Then I made them take them off and put them away to keep them pretty for the coming Sunday. Ya, I'm a mean mama like that.


That adorable flower headband came with Abby's green dress that, no, she's not wearing. And the blue of Madie's dress is gorgeous!


Jared was in a horrible mood! He only put on the vest and left the matching blue dress shirt on the floor (check out the left side of the pic).


But the girls were happy to be in the spot light.

Thanks for the awesome outfits Grandma Susie!

Christmas Must-Haves

My mom took Madie on some errands with her in preparation for Christmas. They stopped by See's Candy and brought home these candy canes to share with Jared. It was an exciting day!

Building Houses

This year I bought a ginger bread house kit. The super cool part was the house was already assembled for us. All we had to do was decorate! And the smart put-together-ers of this kit must have known my kids would eat half the candy during the decorating process, so they included enough to fill tummies and decorate the house.


The roof was my favorite part to decorate.


After we were done we decided to take a picture with it. It was hard to do. Getting their heads close to each other and the house and looking at the camera at the same time takes coordination.

My kids are lacking in that department.

In a funny way.



And yes, Madie is wearing her swim suite, in December. It's her chill out at home outfit.

Cany Cane Eating

This was the day we broke out the candy canes. Abby was watching us eat them and salivating. Her little tongue was working on stretching all the way over to a candy cane and getting a taste.


We tried to distract her by giving her this nifty ball to play with...


...but she couldn't be sidetracked.


This little girl has a thing for Christmas candy. She asks for it about 20 times a day. No joke.




My candy loving little girl noticed my baby girl's tongue at work...


...and decided to share!

Abby

My baby girl is 11 months!


I love this silly picture because her hair is long enough to have crazy fly-a-ways and she's doing that cute little thing she does with her hands when she's excited about something. And she has a double chin.

Bikes and Shoes

Notice anything missing from this picture?


How about this one?


Figured it out yet?


No training wheels!


Jared has a little bit of fear in him that makes it hard for him to venture out and try things that he might fall down while doing, but he was having a brave day and asked for the training wheels off and down the street he rode. He was doing really well, then got nervous a car would come and started getting a little wobbly. But once he gets over his nerves he'll move up to his big bike his friend Wyatt passed down to him. He's so excited!




Madie would be on her bike 24 hours a day if I let her. I'm pretty sure she'd find a way to sleep on it.


This is his "I'm mad at mom because she won't stand in the the middle of the street and look for cars" look.


...and is it weird that I want shoes just like my 5 year old son's?

If anyone spots them in a women's 7.5, send them my way. :o)

Halloween Practice

This was practice for Halloween. I believe they were getting ready for the ward Halloween party. Abby was actually a frog, but I had made this little dress for her out of cute Halloween dish towels from the dollar bin at Target and it was CUTE, if I do say so myself. Jared was Obe One Kenobi, and Madie was a princess of course. We curled her hair and let her wear some makeup and she was super excited.


And not to be partial to one kid over the other...but she was having an extra cute moment.



And I'm lovin' the feather hair clip my friends and I made. Then again, Abby makes just about everything cuter.

Some October Happenings

Abby learned how to climb through the chairs. It's cute...until she slips and slams her face into our super hard tile.




Madie learned a new trick with apples. Makes snack time more fun!


The big kids and I made sugar cookies, because that's what we do in October. It wouldn't be fall without Halloween themed cookies. I let Abby nibble on one while we frosted the rest.


Abby learned how to pull up onto totally vertical surfaces. She was super proud of herself!


And I let her crawl around out on the front walk for the first time. She thought it was awesome and now bolts out the door anytime it's open.


And of course Jared helped to keep her from eating bark (almost) while she played. He's always a good helper (almost again).

Goodbye Pictures

These are from Grandma and Grandpa Skinner's visit back in October.

The Many Faces of Jared

Abby's learning that it isn't always fun to play with her big brother and sister. They think she's still a little baby that just wants to be held.

Help

I was trying to take a picture of the feather hair clips I made...



...and the kids came over to help.

See that huge gash under Abby's lip...that's the first time she did that to herself.

Beautiful Brown Eyed Baby Girl

I love those dark brown eyes!

Being Domestic, Crafty and Active

I made pear butter. I'd never had it before and have decided it's not the best thing in the world of toast, but it is yummy eaten just like apple sauce.






And I made these name blocks for my new little nephew.






I walked a 5k. I even jogged for like two minutes. And climbed a giant hill.