Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas

When I think back on this year I think of all of the blessings we have enjoyed. We settled into our new home, and our new ward. We happily welcomed our third baby into the world, and have had so much fun watching him grow.

Olivia has grown so much, both in height and in skill.

She still works hard practicing her violin almost every day, and she knows that when its time to learn a new song that she can do hard things!  The other day during practice she said "Mom, want to hear a song that I think I can play?" I enthusiastically said yes, and then she played note by note "I am a child of God". She did it completely by ear, I have never taught her the song. How happy is the parent who sees their child's moments of creativity. Liv has a zest for life. She loves her friends, dress ups, reading, time with Dad, and playing with her little brothers.  

She is truly a joy to our life, and such a great helper around the house.

Warner is our little family clown. He keeps us all laughing with his new phrases, his funny scowly faces and his general energy. He is still so sweet, but has experimented a lot this year with being naughty. Luckily Santa Clause has mercy on two year olds. He loves throwing balls, usually into a hoop, but anything will do. He also loves trains, drawing snakes, playing games in the car, and singing. He is at such a cute age. I wish I could freeze him. 

Buster continues to brighten all of our lives with his smiles, giggles, and scoots. He is such a doll and keeps us all happy and entertained. My favorite part of the day is going to get him in the morning. He is usually awake quietly playing in his room. When I walk in he gives me a grin that melts my heart. He loves watching his older siblings run around, doing acrobatics with Dad, eating, grabbing his feet, and being squished by Mom. 

Jaron- Is feels lately like he's getting old. He says he has grey hairs and isn't quite who he used to be. But I don't believe it one bit, when I get the chance to watch him play basketball, ride his skateboard, or surf waves. He is every bit as on top of his game as ever I would say. I'm so grateful to him for his hard work this year, both at work as a civil engineer, at his calling as ward mission leader, and at home as father and husband. He is the best part of my life and I'm so grateful for all the love and help he gives me. 

Me- Well, most of you know what I'm up to because you check the blog. Some fun things that I did this year, was, well have a baby. but also I have been playing my violin a lot more. I had the special opportunity this year to play the violin at a performance of Handel's Messiah that our stake put on. It was such a neat experience, and I hope I can do it again next year. I'm enjoying working in primary. I love learning from the kids in primary. I feel so blessed to be a mother of three beautiful children (most of the time).

We are so grateful for all of our family and friends. We are who we are because of them. Merry Christmas to you all. 

Yes we are odd. Why the bananas? I have no idea, other than the fact that it was making the kids smile. Why is Liv cut off? Well, the gentle wind shifted our not so sturdy tri-pod ever so slightly. That is what we get for taking our own family photos.

Merry Christmas to all!

LOVE,

Jaron (32) Jess (28) Olivia (5) Warner (2) and Baby Buster (6 months)

Buster is 6 Months Old

He's trying to sit up.

We gave him cereal for the first time a few weeks ago and he loved it. He couldn't get enough of it.

He is spitting up a lot less which makes me so happy.

He is getting better at tummy time.

He loves to lay with his back on the couch head dangling over and scooch backwards until he back flips over into Dad's hands.

He is the joy of our life.

We can't get enough of him.

We love to squish his fat thighs. 

He gets a lot of kisses, and he likes them.  Especially when we go back and forth between kissing right underneath his chin to his cheek. That makes him laugh.

His smile his huge when I go get him in the morning. 

And I just find myself wishing I could just freeze this age forever.

Brothers

The War-bird got his first proffessional haircut.

I have always cut my children's hair, and I have never had any training. Poor souls. Honestly, I've done ok for the most part, except that one time when I cut Liv's bangs way too short and crooked. Hey bangs are hard!

So, I called one of my friends, who is a hairstylist and asked her if she could just give Warner's hair a trim, so that I could watch how it actually is done. Hopefully from now on I will have more success than failure.  

And. . . yes, I'm a nerdy mom who took about 20 pictures of the whole experience, because Warner looked so stinking cute sitting there in that big chair getting all trimmed and groomed. So, here you go, from a nerdy mom. Most the pictures are blurry and weird, because I was using my prime lens, while snapping as quickly as I could, while holding Buster.

Warner did such a good job.  He sat perfectly still with his little doe eyes, obeying the hairstylist, with perfect compliance.  He only moved every once in awhile to mumble out "What's that fwum"? Which, is his way of asking "what is that thing you are using in your hand there"?  He loved the animal cape that he got to wear. He kept saying "Mom! Look at me, I'm a animal!".
In spite of his sometimes normal 2 year old behavior, he really is such a doll, and he makes me smile everyday with his sweet little voice, and the way he asks questions and says little phrases. I sure love this boy.

Moments

A moment ago, one of us was happily playing with his bright friend, the lady bug, in his bright colored chair, with his bright big eyes, grabbing his feet, and grabbing his toys. 

 And this is why we normally buckle him into his chair. Otherwise he wiggles his way onto the floor.

A moment ago one of us appeared, zebra outfit in hand, smile on his face and said "Mom", said in the tone I usually use when I have an exciting surprise to show my kids, "I got aaaaaa zebwa outfit"!  Then after I put it on him, he asked "You like my tail?"

A moment ago, one of us embraced a dear friend who she hadn't seen in a long time, and skipped off to dress up.  Then this conversation ensued: "Kenzie, what can you do now? Can you button buttons? Yea? I can too. Can you tie things? No? Me either? I know that there is a bunny that goes around a loop, but that's all I know".  Then Kenzie described to her all the fun things she is learning at school.  I thought about how it would be if I greeted friends that I hadn't seen in a long time the same way Liv did.

Hey to my friends out there that I haven't seen in too long- what skills have you acquired since I last saw you? 

These are just a few of the many good moments that are happening today.

Getting ready for church the other day.

Last Sunday as I was getting ready for church in my bathroom, Liv was playing with Buster on the floor. I looked down and noticed that Liv had gotten blankets and a pillow for Buster and bundled him all up. He looked so cozy and appreciative. She was giggling and said "Mom, you should probably take a picture of us cause this is kind of a cute moment". So, this one's for you Liv! :)

 

 

Olivia Turned 5

 
The night before Liv's birthday, I had fun making this card for her. I wanted to draw a picture of a princess on the inside. I drew the outline and Jaron helped with some of the details. And this is how it turned out:

It's ok to laugh. No really. The next day when Liv saw the card, she was really happy, but after a minute or two she said "Whats with her face?".  It wasn't until we drew this picture that we decided hands and faces are quite delicate little things when it comes to art. Apparently we aren't artists.

Jaron surprised Liv with a pink waffle breakfast. It was delicious. 



(Picture below) Liv, wearing some of her new presents over her jammies.

And now ready to go to a movie with Dad and Warner.

While mom stayed home to bake these for thanksgiving dinner later on

Liv, getting ready to make a wish on her fifth birthday.

I think it's neat if a birthday cake looks cool, but I think it's more neat if a birthday cake tastes good, and sometimes I think its hard to get both of those things in one cake.  For this one, I used a chocolate chip bunt cake recipe that was given to me by my wonderful sister in law. I love this recipe and we make it quite often for Sunday dinners.  This time, I made twice as much cake batter and made some homemade ganache to drizzle in between the layers and over the top of the cake. We topped it with whipping cream, and oh it was a rich and delicious treat.  I'm sure it was only like 1,000 calories per bite or something. Liv loved her castle cake.

 We spent Thanksgiving evening at Scott and Annette's house, where we ate, visited, and celebrated the birthday girl. As always the company we were with was wonderful. The kids had a blast, and we all left feeling a little more loved, a lot more full, and very blessed.

Happy Birthday Olivia.