Weekend 1st For Rori

1. She tried out her new Christmas toy for the 1st time and thought it was awesome.

First time trying it out:


"Want to be friends Mr. Frog?":


Kai helping Lance and I put it together:


2. She had "real" food (squash) for the 1st time and thought it was better than rice cereal but still just ok:

Having a taste:


"Not too bad":


She joined big brother in the big tub for the 1st time and thought it was pretty fun:

"My brother is so interesting":

Caitlin and Ricky

Lance's cousin Caitlin got married on Friday in the very beautiful Pine Valley Chapel here is SLC. She asked Kai and Kennedy to be the ring bearer and flower girl which they were pretty excited about. They walked down the isle together which I think went a long way in regards to their courage levels. We are very happy for Caitlin and Ricky and wish them all the best.

Making Sure They Know Their Mark:


Going Down the Isle:


Here they are after with the reward they had been promised for doing a good job (a ring lollipop):

"The Cab"

Last weekend we took a trip up to the family cabin at Bear Lake. It was so much fun! Kai keeps asking when we can go back and sleep over at "the cab". We are so excited for all of the fun times we will have there over the coming years as the kids are growing up. The view is beautiful and there are so many neat little things about the cabin.

Kai and Kennedy had a blast together as usual and cute little Jack was just about 30 seconds behind them everywhere they went. He is going to be right in there with the bigger kids very soon now.

Kai and Rori did really well on the car ride which was great. Especially since it took a little longer than usual due to weather and Rori still doesn't love being in her infant seat. We have a swaddle blanket that has a whole you can run the strap through and that does seem to help make car rides a bit more bearable with her. She's about ready to graduate out of the infant seat carrier (she's already at the max height just like Kai was at this age). We're hoping she likes being in a bigger seat better. We'll see!

It was a fun weekend adventure!

Here are some pictures of the upstairs:

Holiday Adventures 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

We've back from our holiday adventures. We started the celebrations with the Mullins the week before Christmas in SLC. Then we spent our first Christmas Eve and Christmas morning (in our married life) in our own home which was fun. On Christmas Eve Lance's parents came over for a little while and we got to get a jump on Christmas by opening up their gifts.

Soon after checking out Santa's gifts at our house we flew to San Diego for a fun Christmas lunch and afternoon present opening at my parents. We're glad to report that Santa did remember Kai this year and brought him his much requested Wonder Pets Fly Boat. It was a hit. Kai had picked this thing out of the Toys R Us Book months ago and had stuck with it the entire time. He was thrilled.

Lance returned from San Diego on Sunday night and the kids and I stayed for a few more days so we could enjoy the Holiday Bowl pre-game and game day activities. It was lots of fun. Kai especially loved the parade and the battle of the bands. The three of us had a fairly easy flight home which I appreciated since it was my first go at flying with both of them by myself. The flight home was Rori's 8th take off and landing (3 trips with 2 additional plane changes). Pretty impressive for a 4 month old. I'm ready to not have to pack a suitcase for everyone for a bit. We are going to have one more holiday celebration with Lance's parents and his brothers family this weekend and then we are calling it a wrap for 2008.

We had a wonderful holiday- lots of fun activities, lots of special time with family, lots of magical moments enjoying Rori's 1st Christmas, lots of great Holiday cards from family and friends, lots of fun neighborhood gifts, lots of yummy meals, lots of fun adventures- like Sea World, the Parade, the Battle of the Bands etc., and lots and lots of fun gifts too. Thanks to everyone who helped make all of these things possible!

Here are a few of our favorite photos from it all:

Cousin Kennedy Turns 4

Kennedy turned 4 on Decemeber 31!

We had a blast at her super fun brithday party yesterday - Bowling, Games, Pizza, Cupcakes, and more.

Thanks for bring such a fun and sweet cousin!

Rori at 4 Months

Rori had her 4 month appointment last week and I keep forgetting to post her stats so here goes:

Height: 26 inches = 97%

Weight: 14.5 pounds = 75%

Head: 16 1/2 inches = 60%

She seems to be continuing to follow the same pattern as her brother- LONG. :)

She handled all the shots well and got a good report. They did give us some medicine for acid reflux we can try. Unfortunatley we probably should have tried that months ago, but so it goes. She's never been a spit up baby so it has been hard to tell what what was causing her occasional eating/ nursing issues.

The most exciting news is that she is now allowed to start on some real food. I think that will make Rori very happy. Kai told Santa (after putting in his own request) that Rori would like rice cereal for Christmas. What a nice brother. :)

The Proof

Winter Wonderland

We had a good snow fall on Thursday followed by a good snow dump yesterday. They are saying there is more to come. So, we've been playing in the snow, using the snowblower, bundling up in our warm clothes, drinking hot chocolate, going to Lance's work Christmas party, going to our Church Christmas party !where we had both of our children sit on Santa's lap with no crying- YES!), running holiday errands, and listening to Christmas music. This is a fun time of year.

Matt's Wedding

We took a super quick trip to IL this weekend for my cousin Matt's wedding reception. They had been married in Florida on the beach a few weeks ago. It was great to get to see family. Both of my parents grew up in the same small town where Matt and his new wife Amy live so the reception was full of people that have watched the last few generations of our family grow up. It was a great party and we are excited that Amy is now officially part of the family. Matt and his brother Mike and I have always been close so it was fun to get to have their wives and Lance and I all together. Hopefully next time will be a bit longer so we can enjoy some more time together. A special trip highlight was getting to have my Mom's parents and my Dad's Mom get to meet Rori. Congrats to Matt and Amy!

4 Generations of Girls:


Great Grandpa Michael and the Kiddos:


Aunt Peg and Rori at Lunch:


Playing with Grandma in their Matching Jammies:


Michael & Stacy, Amy & Matt, Ashleigh & Lance:


All Dressed Up with Great Grandma and Grandpa:


Enjoying Time with Great Grandma Evans:


Our Little Family at the Reception:


Sisters:


The Bride and Groom:


The After Party- Enjoying Some of the Wedding Cupcake Cake:

The Tree Is Up

We had a fun night picking out our tree and setting it up this weekend. Kai loved the whole experience from beginning to end. Rori helped pick out the tree and then promptly fell asleep on the cozy warm trip home. The tree has several ornaments on the lower half right section due to Kai's personal arranging. Now our home is feeling very festive and it is really beginning to feel like Christmas time. To top it all off it has even started snowing today.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Many thanks to the Wise Family for this super cute sweater they sent Rori. You guys are so nice. She is styling in the cooler weather we experienced today!

Will It Ever End?

This is what Kai and I have been working on yesterday and today. We've been trying to beat the Winter weather.

Before (we had the grass clear of leaves when we left for our trip):



After (still not great on the sides but better):



Update: Just 2 short hours later and there is already a smattering of leaves again. Sigh- will it ever end?