Rollin' With My Homie

I am so excited that Mabel rolls with such ease now. Tummy time is a sore subject for Plant babies.My theory is that is the reason I have late crawlers. I think it has something to do with their build as well. Who knows! 

I had to share some photos of the AMAZING quilt Denise made for Mabel. It matches her room perfectly and is so so awesome. I love it! Piecing the triangles must have taken forever. I love how the back is all grey with a triangle strip and the binding is such a cool black and white stripe. D nailed it. I think Mabel likes it too. Thank you so so so much Sis!

Christmas 2013

We had a great Christmas this year! It came and went pretty fast it seemed like. Utah got a ton of snow right after Thanksgiving and people (including us) didn't get a chance to put Christmas lights up. Josh also traveled for work quite a bit in the beginning of December. We did have a chance to make sugar cookies, make gingerbread houses, add to our small decoration collection, and wrap presents before Christmas Eve. Which for me was a lot of fun. Waiting till last minute makes me too tired to enjoy Christmas. I have a photo of the presents at day AND night:).

 On Christmas Eve we went to Ken and Lyn's for a fun family Christmas party. Aaron has his famous homemade egg nog that we love and we seem to always have Wingers chicken wings there. It is also way fun to see all of Josh's cousins, their kids and spouses. We love chatting and letting the kids play. Our kids got anxious to get home and open their Christmas PJ's.

 Charlie and Presley slept in the same bed and woke up multiple times during the night. once at 3 and once at 5. Josh started to get up at 3 then we realized how early it was! Presents for the boys included lots of guns and weapon type toys! Presley asked for lots of bling! She got diamond rings and earrings and a jewelry box that she could paint. Josh got luggage and a shaving kit and I got some cute kitchen things (butter dish, cake stands, dish towels) from Anthropologie.

Mabel was sooo tired. It was a shame to peel her out of bed so early!! After presents we went to Al and TK's for more family fun. Josh and the boys went out with Noah's new bb gun and Pres disappeared to the upstairs and basement with the girl cousins. After Christmas we all passed around a brutal stomach bug. It was nice to get a lot of rest over the break. We are now excited and ready for 2014.

Mabel is 5 months old!

 It is so so fun to have Mabel around!! Mabel is a good little shopper which came in handy over the holidays. I can nurse her anywhere and she does pretty well nestled into the umbrella stroller. Mabes has taken a bigger interest in the dogs that she's surrounded by. She reaches to touch Boston's face any time he comes near. Boss will let Mabel hook her little fingers into his eye lids and everything. He just wants to lick her like crazy. Mabel is very wiggly and getting to be grabbing for things when I am holding her. If she is sitting with me at the computer, she pulls on all the cords and gets them tangled in her arms. Mabel took a pacifier a few times this week and it was so sweet to watch her fall asleep with it in Josh's arms. We tried rice cereal on Christmas morning. Mabel thought it was fun to have this new experience then decided it didn't taste very good. Now she gags when I feed it to her!! We are excited to try some veggies next. Mabel is getting a reputation for being a sweet girl and is definitely a morning person. She actually prefers to sleep in as long as possible, but when she wakes up, she is so chipper. We just adore her so much!

Mabel is 4 months old!

 My baby is getting big! She just went to the doctor last week and weighs 16 pounds. She is very healthy and doing great.She can now roll from her back to her belly. She pulls her toes toward her face and tips to the side. She loves to raise her legs then let them drop making a flopping sound. Mae is a drooler which makes me wonder if teeth are on the way. She has started to get a little birth mark on her head above her right ear. When taking a bath, she reaches for the blue tiki cup and holds it with both hands AND feet like a little monkey.

Anora and Presley are good at getting smiles out of you. You love getting attention from the big kids. A friend commented on how dark your eyebrows are and I realized they have darkened quite a bit since birth. I haven't really left you with a babysitter yet. I have left you so I could visit teach, but you aren't fond of my hour-long visits! You area champ at the movies and do so well wherever I take you.

 It is so wonderful to have Mabel. We just feel like the luckiest family in the world.

Family Portrait Outtakes 2013

I always have a new found sympathy for my photo clients after we get our family pictures done. Just twenty minutes prior to this shot, Mabel was crying uncontrollably from being stuffed into long skinny tights that are the complete opposite of her body type (hee hee) and layer upon layer of clothes, Charlie was putting up a major fight about the brand new jeans that he wore one day to school and decided he hated, and we all piled into two cars with no clue of where to go to take these photos! Mabel cried her little self to sleep when we reached this PERFECT field by our house in West Provo.

 We decided to forgo a professional photog this year and have Denise snap some shots for us. Can you tell by my face that I just got done telling her exactly what I wanted her to do? all in all, I am excited about how our photos turned out. I can't wait to get my cards printed. Just waiting for Josh to read through it when he returns from the land down under! Thanks a million, Sis!! (She not only took the photos, but she helped dress kids and negotiate for smiles!!)--We squeezed at least a smirk out of Char char :/

Love this boy (and his dog). Noah has been doing double the school work as he tests to get into a special program at school. He doesn't complain a bit. Noah has such great life goals. He is saving for a mission and college. He is tender hearted and a tremendous leader.
We got some bad news about a family member yesterday. I told the kids on the way home from school that we will be going over to that family members house to cheer them up and be there for a blessing. When we got home Noah said, "we should all pray for them right now, Mom." So Noah, Charlie, Presley and I knelt down in our front room and took turns saying our most heart felt prayers. I was so humbled to hear my babies' pleas to their Father in Heaven. I am so grateful to have such special spirits in my life.

3 months old

 My big girl is three months old now!! I can't believe it. I want to congratulate Mabes and myself for getting through what I think is the hardest part of the baby stage: the newborn phase.

At three months old things are easier because:

• You sleep 5 hours straight through the night
• We figured out how to soothe you when you are fussy better. You haven't even been very fussy lately anyways.
• You have three big naps in the day.
• You have gained weight successfully and seem to be such an efficient eater. You fill up your tummy in five minutes!
• Now your movements are slowly getting more fluid. You have discovered your hands and feet and reach for those toes when you lay on your back. You also examine your little hands just a few seconds before trying to fit a whole fist in your mouth!
• You love locking eye contact with people. You smile and laugh every time. 
• You have noticed your reflection in the mirror and I think you like what you see! hee hee. 

Mabelina, Mabes, Mabie Baby, Mae, Monkey, Mabeline, and Madame M are your current nicknames. My favorite part of the day is being the first person you see when you wake up in the morning. Your whole face lights up when you see me and you kick those little legs like crazy. You are the love of our lives and we still fight over who gets to hold you.

Mabel's Baby Blessing

Yesterday was Mabel's baby blessing

 Josh blessed Mabel to someday serve a mission. He blessed that she may always understand her unlimited potential as a daughter of God. That she would know that God loves her. That she knows that we will always love her. 

Hailie is always first in line to hold Mabes.

 We had tons of people over afterward for the blessing for sweet pork burritos. I stayed up till 2 am getting things ready for it. Thank goodness it was Daylight Savings. We got an extra hour of sleep before our 10 am meeting with the Stake president. It was also the first snowy morning of the season.

 Grandma TK said it was so sweet to hear the name Sonya in the blessing. I bore my testimony afterward and talked about the song we sing in Primary called "Build an Ark" and how it teaches that the Lord will help us through our trials if we are obedient and prepare for adversity like Noah. I mentioned that it is a given that we will all face trials on this earth. This is what we signed up for. The wonderful thing is that these are opportunities to grow closer to the Lord and that we always have him there to lean on.

We are beyond blessed to have sweet little Mae in our family. She has been everyone's baby. All the cousins take turns holding her. Nobody has super strong arms our of the little girls, but somehow they are able to hold Mabes for hours!! Mabel even plays a big role when the cousins play house. She gets to play the baby! They all took Mae upstairs and put her down for a nap and took such great care of her.
  Mabel is easier and easier to predict. I have now figured out what her signals are for being tired and having a full belly and needing a dipe. I just stare at her amazed that she is here and so so happy about it. Life is good :)