6 or 8?

This sweet boy celebrated his birthday over the weekend. Friday he celebrated at school, and Saturday and Sunday we celebrated at home. He figured that since he had three birthday celebrations he actually turned 6, 7, and 8!! Not really, but he thought it was fun to joke about!

Tio and Tia brought an awesome cake made by their friend who used to be the pastry chef at one of the Ritz-Carltons here. The frosting was made with real cream and it had fresh strawberries and kiwi inside. YUMMY!!


Tio, Tia, and our friend Tyler joined us for dinner and cake. There was also our traditional breakfast in bed, gifts, and dinner at Cody's favorite restaurant.Cody is a amazing boy. Everyone just loves him. His teacher at school wishes she could clone him, his Primary teacher has said it is a privilege to be his teacher, and his sisters adore their brubby.

Cody is a hard worker. He is always kind and helpful. He is a great student and loves to read. (He's seriously into the Magic Treehouse books.) He's a great athlete and is a sports fanatic. (In particular, a Jimmer fanatic right now.) We're so blessed to have him in our family.

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time it was Thanksgiving. We invited a bunch of our dearest Florida friends to celebrate with us.

Here's the grown-up table. Yes, those are turkey dishes and yes, I LOVE them!

The kid's table. We tried to recreate this idea.

The turkey. Braden out did himself!

The company.

After dinner and dessert, we hung out, watched football, played games (on Nick's phone,) and discussed our Black Friday shopping strategies.

We're blessed with a great group of friends and it was perfect to spend the day with them.

Pigskin

Cody is playing football for the first time this year. He LOVES it and he's pretty good (if you ask me!) Here are some pictures from this morning's game.

And the highlight, Cody ran the ball in and scored the extra point!

Trick or Treat

3!

Because our lives are crazy, Abby's birthday was a 2 day celebration. It began on Friday with breakfast in bed. She had pancakes with whipped cream and apple cider.

After breakfast she opened her presents. Jan is on a major Tinkerbell kick right now and was super excited to get a Tinkerbell doll.On Saturday night she invited some of her favorite people over for cake and ice cream. Then she decided she wanted brownies instead so we had brownie sundaes. She enjoyed getting a dolly and doggie from Tio and Tia, a Halloween song from Nick and Megan, and the return of a best bud from Spencer and Emily (thanks for moving back!!)
A few things about Miss Abby Jan...

She is really funny. She has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh.

She is a super loving cuddly girl. She gives us all hugs and kisses all day long.

She loves babies. When there's not a living breathing baby around for her to mother, she plays with her dolls (but she prefers the real thing!)

Dear Macy

Dear Macy,

You are only 15 months old. You are not supposed to be able to climb out of the crib, take off your jammies and diaper, and smear poop all over your room.

Love,
Mom

What's going on?

I figure it is about time for a general update post. Here is goes:

Macy Kate is a busy 1 year old. She still doesn't say much, but it is hard for anyone to get a word in in this house! She LOVES to swim, ride in the trailer behind Mom's bike, and play with her brother and sisters. She sleeps well at night and still takes 2 good naps during the day. Abby Jan had a tough time when the big kids went off to school, but is doing better now. She started gymnastics last week and loves it. (in the picture she looks doesn't look like she's having fun, but she actually just trying really hard to follow the teacher's directions!) I'm pretty sure that her favorite thing about class is wearing her too big, hand-me-down from Bryn, leotard.

Cody loves kindergarten. He's exhausted when we gets home everyday, but the silly boy was still taking an afternoon nap until school started! He's reading really well and is currently into Henry and Mudge books. He started piano lessons this week and starts football next week. He loves riding bikes and playing with his friend, Guillermo, who lives next door. (this picture was taken mid-haircut. i thought he'd flip out and hate it, but he loved it. oh well. it came off anyway!)

Bryn is doing great as a 2nd grader. She's enjoying the perks of being one of the older kids at school. She's still reading up a storm. Right now, she's enjoying The Boxcar Children and the Encyclopedia Brown series. She also started piano lessons this week and practiced on Tuesday for an hour, until she could play everything perfectly. I'm hoping she's not burned out by the time she's 8! She starts basketball in a few weeks and really want to be on the OM team again too (although we're still in negotiations about that.) She's been blessed to have a friend, just her age, move into our ward and another friend, who is in her class at school, move in right next door. Her social calendar is full!!

Braden and I are doing well too. We're super busy with our responsibilites at home, work, and church, but life is good!