Monday, December 6, 2010

Our NEW House!!

I forgot to take before pictures before Chris started tearing stuff up, so I got on MLS to get these so you can see the difference. The front still looks the same.



The front room. This is where we added the loft upstairs, so it went from 1 room to 2!

Downstairs.
Upstairs.

(I think we will have to get a new Christmas tree next year! It looks so tiny now!!)
Dining room.


Kitchen.
One of my favorite things about the kitchen is that you can't see my dishes in the sink!!
Master.

Master bath.

Master shower.
Soon to be Nick's room.

The girl's room.
Just ignore the sleeping girl in the bed!
The boy's room.
Ignore the sleeping boys too!

A NEW baby!!

I love to see Chris with a new baby!!
Chris' sister, Melissa had her baby on Friday evening.
Taylor Marie Keyse
6 lbs 15 oz
19.5 in
What a little cutie!!

Starting Solids

I was at McDonald's for lunch last week when Aubrey was eying my ice cream cone. I gave her a little taste and she started going to town. Alex and Cooper thought it was the funniest thing in the world and started cracking up at her. She thought it was too funny that they were laughing at her and she started laughing, it was the cutest thing!! So she had a couple more tastes and the boys would laugh and then she would laugh. But after that I figured it was time to start some baby food.
We started with squash and she loved it!
So we pulled the highchair out of the box and put it to use. I can't believe how big she is getting!!

Eight is great!

Saturday was a special day for our family as Nick got baptized. I am so thankful for all of the friends and family that came and made his day so special!
Nick was baptized and confirmed by his dad.

And he asked his aunts to sing at his baptism, so Jenny, Katie, Juli, Amber, and Amber sang "When I am Baptized". I think it made his day very memorable. I am thankful for them and the love they have for him, and for their willingness to do that.
After the baptism we headed to our new house for some lunch!
It was a great day for a great boy!!


Nick's birthday

For Nick's birthday I him pick all his favorite things. We sang Happy Birthday to him in the morning with a candle in his donut, he brought cupcakes to school to celebrate with his Friends, for lunch I brought him Tropical Smoothie, and then for dinner he wanted to go to Raising Cane's with the entire family! And to top off the night he got a Razor dirt bike!! He said that this was his best birthday and I am glad because he is a special boy!!

Where did November go??

November was definitely a crazy month for us!! We bought a new house and closed at the end of October. We then decided to change some stuff before we moved in, so running between the houses pretty much consumed my life and totally took over Chris'. If he wasn't at work he was at our new house at work! He ripped out all the flooring and baseboards through out the entire house. Painted the entire house. Tiled the bathrooms upstairs. Added a loft!! Put in all new baseboards. Put ceiling fans and new blinds in all the bedrooms. Had carpet lay ed upstairs and put in new flooring downstairs. It was a big and messy job!!
So the kids spent cold days playing inside while Chris worked and I did whatever I could to help and other days playing in the backyard.
Just as Nick's baseball season ended Chris joined a softball league playing with some of our family and friends. He plays every Friday night and we enjoy going out and watching the games.
I volunteered to be a chaperon for Nick's field trip. I was a little hesitant because he was so embarrassed by me the last time I went. But I went and we had a good time. After school that day he told me that he isn't embarrassed by me anymore, so that was good. We did a little hike and saw some of the things that they had been learning about in school and then had a picnic lunch before heading back to school.
Katie and I met up with Amber to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7 Part 1. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to this because I fell asleep before the movie even started! I did wake up when it started and managed to watch pretty much the whole thing=) I think this one was my favorite.
Nick got student of the month for November, so that was pretty exciting. He got a certificate and got to have lunch with Ms. Duby the counselor.
Aubrey turned 5 months. She is getting more fun everyday! She started to sit up by herself and has rolled over a couple of times now.
The day before Thanksgiving was cRaZy hair day at school. So Cooper and Alex had green hair, Nick had blue and Chloe had purple. It was also Grandparents breakfast at school so my mom and dad picked the "CraZy" kids and took them to school early to have donuts and hot chocolate.
Thanksgiving day we woke up early. I started making rolls and lots of goodies and Chris started moving. It made for a crazy morning!! Later we got ready and headed to my mom's for dinner with my family. It was a little weird this year, it was pretty much just our family(the 25 of us!!), Chris' dad, and a guy from my mom's ward. My mom's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so she always goes all out and we have lots of people so it was weird that it was so small. We missed having Grandma and Grandpa too!
After we ate dinner and stuffed ourselves sick with treats Grandma handed out the kid's Christmas jammies. The kids had fun with cousins and the adults had some fun conversation.
I have so many things to be thankful for. Not in any particular order, I am thankful for my membership in the church, to have a Savior who loves me. I am thankful for the atonement.
I am thankful to have a good husband who works so hard for us, for 5 healthy children, for such good family and friends. 2010 has been a good year for our family and we are blessed!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Happy Birthday Nick!!

These last couple weeks I have spent alot of time thinking about Nick and the fact that he is getting baptized.
Last week in Relief Society we were singing the closing song when it really hit me. Not only do I have deep grattitude for the atonement in my life , but now I am so thankful that it is there for Nicholas as he turns eight and becomes accountable for his sins. I am so thankful for the good boy that Nick is and his decision to be baptized. I really wanted to focus our family home evenings on baptism to make sure that Nick knew exactly what he was doing and that it was his choice and that makes me so happy to know that he is choosing to be baptized for himself.

I can still remember the day we brought Nick home from the hospital as if it were yesterday. I was in heaven. There isn't a day that has gone by in these last 8 years that he hasn't brought a smile to my face. He is a sweet boy with a good heart. He is such a great helper for me and his dad. I love that he is so bashful, I could just smile at him all day such to see his little smile in return as he turns away from me. I love that he still lets me call him Nicky-Poo. I love that his little brothers won't sleep without him and that he won't sleep without his little brothers. I love the way that he plays with Aubrey. I love that he wants to be just like his dad. I am so proud that he is my boy!!
Happy Birthday Nicholas Ryan!!
I love you!!