James is 6 months old!

October 2011

I cannot believe this little man is 6 months old! Where has the time gone. My kids are growing up way too fast. Here are his milestones...

He can now sit up

He has been holding his own bottle for a while now, but he can guzzle down 12 ounces easy and sometimes want more! He does not bear weight on his feet. I will try and make him stand on the ground and he scrunches up his legs as in this photo and will not put them on the ground. Funny boy! Maybe he doesn't think those tiny feet and bear all the weight of his body, because he feels time a ton of bricks when you pick him up.

He has his two bottom teeth and is currently working on his two top teeth. His teeth must come two at a time! He is laying on the changing table on top of his dresser. This has been his favorite spot since birth. He will be crying and you lay him down there and he is instantly happy! I am not sure why. My best guess is that it is a hard surface, there is no pad just a blanket.

He sleeps through the night and has done for several months. He is a great napper too. He loves his bed. When he is tired you just lay him in his bed, on his tummy, he will look up at you with a huge smile and then lay his head down and go to sleep. A dream baby, REALLY!

He loves to be outside and he likes his play saucer. His parents were too cheap to buy a boy one, poor kid! I love this picture because you can see his little faux hawk. His hair has had a natural mohawk since he was a couple months old.

He is officially too big for the baby tub and now gets to take baths in the big tub. He loves to kick his legs and splash. He is still the most mild and happy little baby. We will be forever grateful that he is part of our family! We love you James!

Super Star at our house!

Haley has had the wonderful opportunity of joining Signature Productions and performing in their Christmas show. Anyone in Las Vegas knows that this is truly an honor. Signature Productions puts on many wonderful shows throughout the year and often features professional actors and actresses. They needed a child to sing a solo for one of the numbers in their Christmas show. Haley got to fill that role. Our Relief Society President, Shauna Oblad is one of the founding board members and is also in charge of the music for this show. After hearing Haley sing during our ward Primary Program she thought Haley might be a great fit for this part. She plays the little matchgirl (or Tiny Tim's sister) and sings "God Bless Us Everyone."

Tonight was her first performance! I know that I was more nervous that she was. She was calm and collected and I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. She has been battling a cold, but you would not have known that tonight! She ROCKED the house! She has a gift for singing and performing, and most importantly she loves it. Hopefully she can have more opportunities like this in the future.

Here she is faithfully doing her homework as she waits in the Green Room for her turn on stage. This girl puts her heart and soul into everything that she does. If she is going to do something, she is going to do it well. That is what she did tonight!

Isn't she so cute! She was excited to have her own microphone!

If you are here in Las Vegas and would like to see her in "The Signature Christmas" go here and get tickets. The show runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of this week, starts at 7:30 and is playing at the Summerlin Library Theatre!

Look! Her name is big and bold on the cover of the program. Haley is kind of a BIG deal around our house these days! We are so PROUD of her!

Marianne turns 3!

Marianne turned three on September 19th! I cannot believe she is so BIG! She is quite a little girl, full of spunk, and definitely rules the house. We started the morning with our traditional breakfast in bed. She loves donuts and anything sweet for that matter. She will come into the kitchen, any time of day, and say, "I want dessert!" Gotta love this girl.

When Scott got home from work we headed to Cafe Rio for dinner and then to play at the park! Can you believe we went out with her looking like this? She insisted on wearing her dance outfit and her hair was a mess, but believe me it was NOT worth the fight. This picture pretty much sums up Marianne!

At the park Scott and I hadn't even gotten out of the car before Scotty fell off some bars and smacked his head on the concrete. He cried for a minute, but decided he was ok and we played for a little while. Then we headed home for cake and ice cream, after showers and jammies of course!

We had this fabulous chocolate cake a while back for Scotty's birthday and Marianne wanted the same one. Yes, our family consumed that ginormous cake in less than a week, without the help of outsiders! WOW!

Next...Presents!

Marianne loves the movie "Tangled" so she was happy about the Tangled and Flynn rider pollys she got and the Tangled pajamas from Grandma!

She also loves dress up and got a new Cinderella dress! We love you Marianne, even if your scream can break glass, your pinching draws blood, and your scratching leaves scars. Thank goodness you have a beautiful smile and a contageous laugh, and a fun sense of humor! We also love the sweet little helper and lover you can be when you want!

I think James is wondering why he is not getting any of the chocolate cake. Look at the size of those cheeks! I don't think he needs any!

Before all the presents were open Scotty laid down on the couch not feeling well. He had complained a little that he was seeing lines, but we were not overly concerned until he started throwing up. Mariannes festivities were cut short so Scott could take Scotty to the hospital and sure enough he had a concussion.

Rain Gutter Regatta

For pack meeting in September Scotty had a Rain Gutter Regatta. He was pretty excited to make his boat with his dad. He decorated it himself and named it "The Cross Bone"! He took second place.

His sisters were there cheering him on. Haley was actually the photographer that night, so she took all the pictures but this one.

At the end the dads wanted to race. Scott was in Utah hunting so I got to join the fun. I did not do so well, I lost every race. Definitely not my sport!

Scotty and Matthew are good buddies. When it was their turn to race each other it got heated. Scotty pulled out a win at the last second. There were no hard feelings, thank goodness. They were both good sports.

Here is Scotty with his Cub Master, Brother Snow.

James can't wait until his turn in about 8 more years~

A Daughter of A King!

Haley attended a Stake Activity Days activity entitled, "A Daughter of a King." It was a full day of classes and activities that taught them they are truly daughters of a Heavenly King that loves them and they have the potential to be princesses in his kingdom. This is one truth that Haley has a testimony of and for that I am so grateful. She is a special daughter to me. She has such a strong sense of right and wrong. She knows what the spirit feels like and has had several choice experiences with it at such a young age. It was fun to watch her share what she learned in front of her peers and radiate the glow of a daughter of God!

First Day of Preschool

Marianne started preschool this year. I was not going to put her in because she was still 2 when school started and she just seemed too young. But Kim Bishop, the fabulous gal that heads up the preschool co-op I have been in since Scotty said I needed to put her in and if I didn't she would be bored. I am glad I listened. She absolutely loves it. In fact she gets mad most mornings that she does not have school because she wants to go everyday like her brother and sisters. She seems to have grown up a whole year this past month and a half. I have mixed emotions about it. I love that the temper tantrums are fewer and far between, but it saddens me that my baby girl is turning into a real person and growing up. Life is just breezing by way to quickly.

Labor Day!

Some friends of ours invited us to go hiking the morning of Labor Day. Scott was working that day to earn extra money to pay for his upcoming hunting trip, but I convinced him to go in a little late so he could come with us. We went to Red Rock Canyon. It was a gorgeous morning, with a layer of cloud cover that kept it from being too hot! When we were done, we wondered why we don't do that more often.

The kids loved climbing on the rocks and exploring. It was fun to watch them. It did get a little crazy once in a while making sure we new where all 9 of them were. That is a lot of kids!

I loved this picture of Marianne and her daddy. She stayed by his side most of the time because she was afraid lizards were going to get her. I had told her we were going hiking and going to see lizards. I thought that would be exciting, she had the opposite reaction. She was terrified the whole time. I am not sure why.

James was a trooper too. He loved just hanging out, taking in the scenery. It was a great adventure.

Hey Dad...

....I think its time to get up!

I Love this Girl!

This is my sister. Isn't she such a fun mom? That is her oldest son, holding her. She left him behind at BYU when her family left for Singapore last month. She misses him dearly.

I love my CUTE sister Rebecca dearly. Unfortunately I have not always been able to say that. I was able to spend a lot of time with her this summer and for that I will be forever grateful. For some reason we never got a long growing up. Maybe it was because we are so different, maybe because I was a brat and I was always secretly jealous of her, who knows. Now I wish we could go back and enjoy that time, appreciate our differences and be best buds. I guess it is never too late.

I just must have had to go through different experiences in my life to realize that relationships and family are really the most important things in this life. So, I am grateful that we can be good friends now, share bits of wisdom on parenting, housekeeping, decorating, etc. and just enjoy each other, even if it has to be through skype (she lives in Singapore). I look forward to her phone calls on Sunday evenings, they are a highlight of the week. I am thinking of her tonight because her husband just got called and set apart as the Bishop of her ward. I know he will do a fabulous job and she will be a great support to him. But I also know that added weight she will carry at home as a mother, housekeeper, and wife. So my prayers are with you! I wish we lived closer and you could use my shoulder to cry on!

James says, "I...