Happy Birthday Ash! This last 7 years has flown by. I can't believe she is 7! The scary thing is, she is not even my oldest :( We love her so much, and are so proud of the girl she is. So the new slide show is dedicated to her. She also got to add a few of her favorite songs to the play list.
Does anyone want to join my Get-Through-January Support Group? If you live in Wyoming, we might have to extend it through February, March, and probably April. I don't even know what we would do, but hey, it's a start! This January has been BRUTAL! If you have any ideas, I'm all ears :)
I have to "toot" my friends' horn because they are AMAZING!
The house is finally getting to a fun stage, and a lot of the credit goes to one of my best friends and her husband. They have a custom cabinet shop in St.George. They did the cabinets for my kitchen, and the girls' bath. They did an amazing job, and I just wanted to share their talent with everyone.
So if you are in the market for some new cabinets, I just happen to have their number!
CottonMill Cabinetry and Furniture
John and Kris Stokes
(435)627-1025
Do remember that we are not completly finished, and the pictures are from my camera phone. These pictures do not do them justice. They are even more beautiful in person.
I love them Kris . . . Thanks SO much!
One day she is going to kill me for taking these pictures, but I couldn't resist!
I'm not officially potty training, but I ran out of diapers one day, and Kyle hadn't made it home with any more. I thought I would pull out the potty and the panties. Maybe I would get lucky.
YEAH RIGHT!
By this time, she had already "wet" in her panties, and Kyle had brought some diapers home.
I said "Avrie, your underwear are wet and I need to get a diaper on you." She said, "No momma, I don't want a diaper, I need to go poop!" So again, I thought maybe I would get lucky.
I think she sat on the pot off and on for an hour. We would go back and forth "Avrie, if you haven't pooped, I need to put your diaper on." "No momma, I still have to poop."
Then she finally said "Momma, I pooped!" I ran to check, and this is what I found.
Can you guess what the white poop is?
Packing peanuts!
It wasn't my lucky day.
I have to say I'm amazed I got these developed and posted before May!
CHRISTMAS DAY
I had to add this one, because it makes me laugh. Here is Kyle doing his most favorite thing ... dressing the doll, or the barbie, whatever it may be at the time! He really loves that. He's tried to get them to play with tractors, dump trucks, and such. And they do play with them, they just don't play with them right! He's tried to teach them the correct sound and the correct name of each piece of equipment, but at the end of the day, they always end up being "The MOMMY tractor, and the DADDY tractor, and the BABY tractor."
And just a few more . . .
It took me a minute to remember why Avire wasn't in her Christmas jammies in these pictures. Then I remembered ... the minute she got up, she threw up all over them. So these are her Christmas jammies from last year.
Don't you just love the messy hair look?
CHRISTMAS EVE
My sister-in-law Chary took these pictures. She was nice enough to email them to me since I didn't even remember where my camera was! We went to eat at Little America, and then ended up at my mom's house to open jammies and the presents from Grandma and Grandpa. I still can't believe we are seven grand kids strong with only one boy! They sure are a cute bunch!
Halle and Avrie LOVED the digital frame that Jake and Chary got my mom. They especially enjoyed when a picture of themselves would come up :)
CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS
This is Kenadee's (2nd row, 2nd from left) Program. It was both 3rd and 4th grades. They did such a great job. The music teachers are amazing. They didn't just sing songs, but played instruments, did dances, had costumes, and sang duets.
She had to try out for this duet, and as a mom, I can't tell you how nervous I was for her. I don't think I took a breath for her whole part. She sang with Oakley Bluemel, and they sounded WONDERFUL. I was so proud of both of them!
Ashtyn's program was the 1st and 2nd graders. It wasn't quite as complex as the other, but having all the 1st graders dancing around while the 2nd graders sang (and vice versa) was a feat in itself! They did great too!
She is in the second row, 3rd from right, wearing the necklace.
DECORATING THE TREE
And that's a wrap for this Christmas!
It's official - the binkie is HISTORY! I know it is way overdue, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Sometimes it was the only way she would quit screaming.
Kyle finally went through the house and threw them all away. We had a few days of screaming at nap time and bed time, but for the most part, it hasn't been too bad.
I just hope the move to the new house is smooth, since the other move was what triggered the binkie dependency in the first place.
At least I can check that off the list. Now . . . potty training! I was waiting to get moved to start because I didn't want her to revert back.
Oh great! Avrie just came up and saw her picture. "It's Avrie with my binkie. I want my binkie! Where is my binkie? Mom, help me find my binkie." I said "Dad threw it away". Now she is going up to Kyle "GIVE IT BACK DAD!" I better go deal with the meltdown!
WOW! What a crazy two weeks it has been, and we didn't even have to travel! We have had something every night since Christmas Eve. We are all wiped out.
Christmas was good (I think). I say that because I had a hard time getting into it this year. And when it was over, it was over. I have never taken my tree down the day after Christmas, but this year it was gone. I couldn't stand to look at it any longer.
The girls loved it ... Santa came, grandmas' spoiled them, there were cousins galore, and treats - all kinds of treats. Avrie now says, "I don't like dinner. I like treats!"
On Christmas Eve, we got home later (way after normal bedtime), and Avrie refused to go to bed. She loves her bed, and usually dives right in. But that night she said, "I want to watch for Santa out this window. NOT my bedroom window!" Then she ran to the living room window, lifted up the blinds and said with the saddest frown, "I not see him". Ashtyn got up Christmas morning and said, "Santa I love you . . . it's like I'm in a dream!"
I wish I had some pictures to share, but Santa did not bring my digital camera. I must have been on the naughty list :) But I didn't get a lump of coal either, so does that mean I wasn't naughty?
All in all we had a great Holiday. We got to spend lots of time with family and friends, played tons of games, and ate way too much. Oh yeah - and froze our butts off. It has been sooooooo cold. I was hoping the landscape wouldn't take the "Arctic Tundra" look quite so early. But it hit, it hit quick, and it hasn't left.
Now onto 2008. That is so crazy! In two years it will be 2010. Aren't we suppose to have flying cars by then?
All I can do is hope 2008 is filled with great adventures. Ones my kids will always remember. And sometimes, that only takes a trip to the yard to play catch, or lying in bed giggling with them, or spending the afternoon painting fingernails. Just as long as it is time spent with them!
