We did it!

Happy New Year! 

I made it a whole year with posting every day! Many days were short and simple (some very short) but there was always something there. I don't know what my plans are for this next year, so we'll just have to see. I hope you all enjoyed a bit of our family this year. I know I did. :)

Last photo shoot of the year on the last day of the year:

Thanks for coming to visit us Madi, Aubrey, & Mike! And thank you Mike for installing an outlet, 3 fire alarms, & a TV mount for us, you are amazing! 

I don't always have a title...

My sweet boy likes to sit up in his crib and talk and/or yell if he doesn't think he is quite ready to go to sleep. But really, he usually is ready.  Generally he will lay down and spread himself out before he goes to sleep, but not this time. 

I gave him a hand and laid him down and tucked him in before I left the room...

Christmas Day

Photos now, text later. I am going to play Mario Cart! :)

Please stay tuned.

Coming downstairs Christmas morning. You can ask her dad why she isn't wearing her pajama shirt...

Bailee's official playhut!

His pajamas say "Chill," and that describes this cute mellow boy.

Love you Great Grandma Redmond!

Love you Grandma & Grandpa Redmond!

Love you Great Grandma Wilkey!

Having a tender moment with Grandma.
This shows how Bailee was really acting during that whole visit. And most of the day. And most of the time.

Great Grandma Redmond gave this giraffe to Bailee and right after we got in the car she said, "I love you giraffe." It was precious. And I like how she is cuddling with it and Luke.

This neighborhood is right by Grandma Wilkey's home. I am standing at the top of the circle, looking down it. The photo does not do it justice in any way, but it gives you an idea. We drove down it several times this season.

Christmas Eve

We always spend Christmas Eve at Grandma Wilkey's home. First we have a big potluck lunch, the kids participate in the nativity story followed by a couple of songs, the younger cousins have a gift exchange, Grandma gives gifts to all the grandkids (ceramic ornaments that she makes), Santa comes, and we have a great time visiting and catching up with everyone. (And we probably do a few more things that I am forgetting...)

My Christmas baby, Bailee, is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is 3! She really surprises me everyday with the things she knows and what she can do.

Beautiful boy.

At the end Bailee was singing along with the songs. I don't think she knew the words, but she was singing her heart out anyway, cute girl. I just love her.

Riley really likes to clap right now and he is starting to figure out how to wave. Love it!

These babies were really trying to figure out who this strange man with the beard is.
Really they did quite well.

"...and I want a truck, and a flashlight, and a hammer, and some more trucks...got that Santa?"

Bailee had an awesome pasted on smile the whole time she was up there. :) 

And I love Grandma's smiles from the background.

Checking out the goods! (Awesome me, I like to block the flash with my hand.)

Right after the party at Grandma Wilkey's we headed to my parents' house to feed the babies and get ready to go to our Redmond family party at Elizabeth's & Brett's. We shared a meal there too, had a gift exchange, and visited a bit. Bailee & Riley opened a gift of pajamas so they could wear them on the way home and that night because we were spending Christmas Eve night at our own home! Just the 4 of us. Wow, there are 4 of us! So we made the drive back home that night and put the kids to bed. Then Luke and I stayed up till 3 getting everything ready. Nope, I did not have a thing ready before that night. Oh well, it was fun! And I'm probably forgetting things from that night too, but I am tired and cannot think. So I'll come back and add to it if I think, or am reminded, of anything. :) 

Bad Combo

I love this boy.

For a while now Bailee has been watching the LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD. It has a song that talks about the sounds in the alphabet, "...The A says ah, the B says buh..." etc. Well today Bailee starts singing it and she says, "The letter U says mmm, the letter A says buh like Buck!" :) We've told her that B says buh, like in Buck and Bailee, but she got things a little mixed up. It was dang cute though! I'm sure she'll get it straightened out soon enough.

I was carrying some extra kitchen chairs down to the basement, trying to get cleaned up from Christmas activities today. I bumped the wall a couple of times on the way down and Bailee yelled over to me to be careful. I told her I would. As I was taking the last folding chair down I slipped and fell on my butt. :( I really should have been more careful. So now I have a sore butt and back and I didn't even do any exercise to get it! When I went back upstairs she informed me that she told me to be careful...

Here is my bad combo: eating way too much fudge over this Christmas weekend, eating dinner way too close to Zumba class, falling down the stairs 30 min before class. This equaled a non-energetic, full, sore person trying to exercise. No bueno.

Alright everyone, I need some opinions. I am in need of a new phone. I have my plan with Verizon (and will not be changing that). I want a feature phone (no data plan) that has a camera and video camera and texting. That is pretty much all I care about. Here are the phones I am interested in:
1- KIN TWOm
2- Pantech Crux
3- LG Octane
Do any of you have one of these phones? And what do you think about it?
And if non of you do, that is ok too. :)

a bit

Feelin a bit overwhelmed with all the photos I took over this weekend. I'm sure I'll post a ton once I go through them (as usual). :) But not tonight. Just a little bit of cuteness here for you.

Bright and early this morning we headed out to my aunt's sacrament meeting. Her new baby Jordan was blessed today. Unfortunately we were running a little late (surprise, surprise) and listened to the blessing from the foyer. It was nice to be there with family though and spend some time at Elizabeth's and Brett's after.

We have had 3 busy busy days of driving, spending time with friends and family, eating lots (of junk mostly), and staying up late! The past few times that we have put Riley in his car seat he cries and fights me because he's been in there so much lately and is tired of it, but then he falls asleep within minutes of driving. The poor baby won't go to sleep when there is so much going on. Kinda like me... We need our nice quiet and dark bedrooms to sleep in. :) Luckily he is a mostly happy tired boy, no screaming. He is usually extra mellow, but will still play with toys and crawl around.

It will be nice to stay at home for a few days and get back into our routine. I do love being home.

Merry Christmas!

Wow, what a wonderful day. I wish I had more energy to give you more than that. :) And boy do I have a lot of photos to post! Another day, another day. Goodnight!

Peek on our Eve

Here is a little sneak peek of our Christmas Eve:

Bailee claimed my slipper socks for herself and wore them the entire day.
Who am I to get in the way of a fashonista? :)

Bailee and Riley were part  of the nativity program. My sweet angel and adorable shepherd.

"What, Santa is here? YESSSS!"

Candy, chocolate, sweets, candy, chocolate, treats, rinse and repeat.

Santa Baby

One of Luke's clients had Santa visiting and he invited us out to see him (this was a week or two ago). They took the photos and then emailed them to us. I think they are adorable. Bailee wasn't sure what to think at first. We've talked a lot about him since then and I think she is excited about him now. We'll see what happens tomorrow at Grandma's. And I really love Riley's hair that day. :)