Super Six!

I can't believe Emma is 6 years old! I probably will be saying that phrase every year as my children get older, but it is always amazing to me how time flies. Emma has been counting down the weeks from Brielle's birthday to hers and she kept reminding Nick and I that she would be SIX! I think she had a fun birthday. It was a Tuesday so she went to school and took treats for her school class. Then, after school we went to pick up her cake and balloons. After her favorite dinner (Spaghetti) we had our family over for presents, cake and ice cream. She loves having parties at our house. You can also tell by her face that anything with a horse was a favorite gift. We found Target would make a cute horse cake and Emma picked out the red frosting (her favorite color) and the saying that went on the cake. It was a great party.

Emma is such a wonderful girl. She's smart, funny, and a great big sister. She loves to be creative as she draws, glues, and colors pictures for us. She works hard in school and I've noticed when I volunteer in her class that she is able to focus so well. She desperately wants to lose a tooth while in Kindergarten so I hope that happens pretty quick! I'm glad she is patient with me as I learn how to be a more relaxed mom. I am so glad she is in our family. I love her tremendously! Happy Birthday Emma!

Sisters

Sisters. A bond that I have never known. I'm so grateful that my daughters have each other. For the most part, they are wonderful to each other. It's funny because I don't think they physically look very much alike. But they are so beautiful. Brielle loves to play with Emma and will play whatever Emma wants to. Emma loves being the leader and the example. She will teach and help Brielle write letters or read or make art projects. She will include her in most things. I hope they will be close friends as they grow up. I hope they will continue to protect each other, help each other, love each other and appreciate this special bond.

100 Days

Obviously I haven't been in school for awhile because I did not know how much celebrating goes on with the 100th day of school. I learned quickly that it is a big event after Emma and I taped 100 Q-tips in her 100th-day jar (Q-tips I figured were cheap and disposable). I guess it is for the children to learn counting and the parents to learn project creativity. I'm sure there will be more to come. We did have fun making her jar, though.

Brielle's Birthday

My little girl is 3!! I can't believe it! Of course last year went by too fast, but what about the 2 years before that? Brielle is such a sweetheart. On her birthday, we were gone to my friends' wedding in the morning so she spent the day with Grandma Becky and Emma. They went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks and then a few days later we took her to see Planet 51. When we got home we straightened up the house for her party and Nick went out to buy her cake. (I felt so guilty about not making one this year....I always make my kids' cakes. But something just had to slide this time.) The party was a hit--plenty of toys and clothes--and only one meltdown. We also moved her into a "big girl bed" the following week! Boy, she has had a lot of changes over the last month! The binky is gone.....the crib is gone.....next up: potty training! Yikes! I'm hoping that all of these changes are the reason that she has had a lot of tantrums since her birthday. I'm hoping this is not an indication of what a 3 yr-old acts like. But Brielle has her own cute personality. Her sweet little voice still makes us laugh. She barely eats during dinner because she is too busy telling stories. She entertains us with her dancing and singing. She also can play by herself or look at books for a long time. She is happy playing whatever Emma wants her to play and can't wait to go to preschool next year. I'm so grateful for her in our family! She brings so much fun to our family! We love you, Brielle!

Congrats to Noni & Chris

the happy couple

isn't she gorgeous

One of my closest friends got married a couple weeks ago in the Salt Lake Temple. We were excited to be invited to their delicious wedding breakfast and then (after shopping at IKEA for a bit) joined them for their sealing. It was a beautiful, fun day with my friends. We are so happy for you, Noni! Congrats to you both!

Christmas 2009

Emma with cousin Ruby

Emma showing us her cute cowgirl figurine

Brielle with her horse, Flicka

Emma with her horse, Spirit!

Brielle looking at her Whoopsie Doo baby

Emma admiring her white horse, Rosie!

The girls posing with their gifts from Santa

Waiting to run downstairs on Christmas morning

Christmas was a mixed bag for me this year. Not only was I doing some last-minute shopping a couple days before Christmas (which I hate), I also hadn't wrapped a single present until 11:00pm on Christmas Eve. I hate being unprepared! To top things off, Nick wasn't feeling well on Christmas Eve or Christmas due a shot he needed to boost his white count. So, I thought the week after Christmas was better because we had time to relax, sleep in, go to movies, and play with our new toys. However, the girls had a great Christmas day. The big excitement came from receiving their very own horses to ride on from Grandma Judy! They could have "rode" them all day! Two of my favorite moments on Christmas were comments from the girls about their presents.

Brielle: This year we started talking to her about giving her binky to Santa so he could give it to a newborn baby and in trade he could bring her a Whoopsie Doo doll (which is what she had been asking for). Brielle was just using her binky in the car and to sleep, but I knew it was going to be a challenge so I thought this might work. We talked about it a lot in December. So, on Christmas Day it was gone and Whoopsie Doo had arrived in its place. The day went by with a little bit of whining but the funniest thing happened when we finally got home. Brielle asked me if Santa was going to come back. I assured her that he would be back next year. Her next question..."Will he take my blanket?" Awww... Now she thinks Santa takes things from children!! I felt really bad after that comment, but hopefully she won't remember it later.

Emma: The one thing she kept asking for from Santa was "the white horse with a pink saddle from Target." So, after Santa brought that to her she spent the day gushing about how she got what she had asked for, how beautiful it was, etc. Then, during one of these moments she exclaimed, "I'm so glad Santa brought me the horse that I wanted, since you and Dad couldn't afford it!" hee hee. I'm so glad Santa could "afford" it! :) You gotta love the magic of Santa!

December

The girls' in their beautiful Christmas dresses

Eight kids on one couch? What cute cousins!

my girls' as angels in the Nativity

The one and only time they sat on Santa's lap

You can tell by their faces that they are goof balls!

They were so excited to decorate the tree

Nick's birthday

The dancing, jingling horse we saw at Christmas village

Bundled up for a night at Christmas village

Yes, December was a blur. I wish it were 2 weeks longer so I could cram more in! There are always things we miss out on, but here are the things that kept us busy this month!