December 2014

The holidays are always so fun. The kids, of course, were so excited to do anything holiday related. We decorated the house and put up the tree. I furiously finished the advent calendar I started last year but didn't finish. All the while James is getting more and more curious and mobile.

I found the santa costume we  randomly bought when Cade was a baby. So James was our little Santa baby.

Christmas Eve finally brought buckets of snow. Then it continued to snow all day Christmas. It was a perfect white Christmas.

 

Grandma and Grandpa sent the kids Christmas jammies. 

 

Then we acted out the nativity. Can you tell who everyone is? Everyone happily played out their parts. 

Then Christmas morning!! It is so fun being a parent at Christmas time. Cade and Rylee were up before James. We were going to get started but then they said we couldn't start without James. So they had breakfast while we waited for him to wake up (I am super anti-waking-up-the-baby. Even on Christmas). Then when he got up I needed to feed him. Still the kids were intent on waiting for him. I thought that was so cute and thoughtful of them. Then we finally got things going.

James was actually pretty sick that morning. You can tell he feels horrible in the picture. He really didn't care about anything except the Tylenol bottle you can see him holding. He thought that was a pretty cool toy. 

The next day, as always, was Cade's birthday! I cannot believe he is 7 already. I made sure to get a picture of him and I together. He requested tacos for dinner and a raspberry cake with blueberry frosting. Basically, he was wanting a red cake with blue frosting. It was more like pink cake with blue (food coloring) frosting with his named spelled with blueberries.

Cole's parents came into town that day and stayed the weekend. So nice we live close enough to be able to do that. They brought all their Christmas stuff so we had another little Christmas. James was feeling much better and was more into it. 

 

Then New Years Eve! We got invited to a party but we opted not to go. The whole month of December, at least one or more of the family members were sick. So we were still on the mend and just wanted to to our own thing. We had nachos for dinner and then Cole and I planned a simple but fun evening with the kids. We played with balloons, glow sticks, and New Years Eve bingo. They had a blast. Love that they still totally get excited over simple things. Then kids went to bed about 8 and we watched a movie till midnight, kissed at 12 and went to bed. Haha. Super simple for us but we enjoyed it.

Here was our Christmas card photo and bio.

 

James: I joined the family in April and totally love my family-Mom’s definitely my favorite. I’ve figured out how to use my arms and legs well enough to scoot, love to have slumber parties, and enjoy keeping up (almost) with Cade and Rylee. Not sure why they keep taking away those delicious little legos from me…

Rylee: I’m probably the most fashionable person in this family. I mean, who else can pull off a red shirt with pink leggings, mustard skirt and teal shoes? I love to go to preschool (especially in the aforementioned outfit), take care of baby James, and fill my home with dancing and spunk.

Cade: This year I totally conquered kindergarten and started 1^st grade. I’m a pretty good big brother if I can say so myself. I love to ride my bike and read books. I’ve also learned a pretty sick spin move to help me beat my dad in our backyard football games. I am a Hot Wheels lover and paper airplane connoisseur.

Jenna: I’ve realized that Rexburg isn’t as bad as I thought. In the daytime it is fun to have baby in the house-I finally got a red head! I’ve tried to keep Cole busy with new house projects and Masterpiece shows. I’ve also realized that a 4 year olds fashion statement isn’t the end of the world, snow boots go with everything, and making friends isn’t just for kids.

Cole: I love giving tests rather than taking them. I’ve enjoyed having a bit more time for family and Jenna’s projects (cough, cough). This year I have learned that kids are here to teach us as least as much as we teach them. I have also realized that much of what I teach BYU-Idaho students are things I’m still trying to figure out myself (i.e., marriage and parenthood).

We are so thankful for how persistently our lives have been touched by the Savior this year. We know He lives. We wish you the very best and a very Merry Christmas.

Movin' on to 2015!!! :)