To say the fall was crazy would be an understatement, and December came and went so quickly it's hard to remember what happened. That being said, it was an insanely full month, and I'm so happy for the memories and fun adventures that we were able to have as a family.
I'm going to start the blog with our family pictures from 2016. In a surprising turn of events, my favorite pictures are actually of Alex and I. I can't remember when we took a picture that I loved together, but these are great. The rest of the photo shoot was kind of a wash...*pun intended*. It was raining so heavily we couldn't even take pictures without an awning, and our 'outdoor urban' setting choice wasn't the best for the weather. I am never one to give up on an activity after 2 hours of getting everyone ready for it though, so we went and took pictures with a couple of wonderful photographers, who gave us next year's photo shoot for free because they were disappointed that we didn't get great pictures this year. That being said, I will totally take these, and hold on to the memory of juggling 4 kids, trying to hide the fact one wasn't wearing shoes or socks, one fell down in a huge puddle, one got her fingers smashed in the door, and it was raining buckets... quite a fun family outing :)
Those pictures were actually taken in mid november, but we got them back December 1st, so I spent that afternoon weeding through pictures trying to find the ones without scowls and/or rain dripping down kids faces. I also got to spend a lot of time hanging out with a certain 6 month old who LOVES to be held and interacted with, and hates everything else :). He is a great baby for our crazy family because he loves to be outside, in new places, and meeting new people. He just doesn't like his jumper, swing, bumbo, or the floor...
The kids made these Christmas trees as decorations for their 'kid' fake tree upstairs. I'm always trying to have fun activities while O is in school, but I've found that crafting with a 4 yo, a 2 yo, and holding a grabby 6 mo is more of an adventure than I can handle very often. Luckily, both kids were totally independent making these simple ornaments. Domestic mom for the win!
As soon as the kids got done with school, we grabbed Alex from work early and went to get a Christmas tree. It was a bit of a drive to get to an actual farm where we could cut one down ourselves, but that is something we love to do as a family, so we made it happen. The next picture is just to prove what an amazing man I married. No words are necessary.
It was quickly getting darker when we got there, so the first thing we did was take a fun kid picture with my newest Christmas decoration. I had a different idea in my head of what it would look like, but it was SO COLD that we just went with this one.
We take a lot of cute kid pictures with everyone smiling, so I like to remember what the 55 deleted pictures from that pose look like...it's not all fun and games, but I hope that the fun and games is what will be remembered in future years.
We found it!
My favorite part of getting the tree every year is the kids helping Alex cut it down. Their excitement at using a real saw, the grunts and groans as they try to make it move, and their wonderful dad encouraging them every step of the way. Makenzie wasn't at all interested in laying down on the ground in our balmy 20 degree weather, but the other kids were all about it. Another interesting thing to point out is the two pretend saws that the kids carried around with them. For at least a week we talked about getting the tree and cutting it down. Every single time Carter would run around the house until he found his 2 saws from his tool kit that he needed to help Dad...love that kid!
Yes this is the next day (with yesterday's hair, which happens all the time...). Kenz was really excited about the underwear I found on clearance that happened to have Anna on it. She is only slightly obsessed with Anna at the moment :). I hope I never forget her waddling around the house in underwear she put on herself singing 'Let it Go! Let it Go! *unintelligible mumbles...* MORE!!'
This little guys loves him a Christmas tree...we tried to keep it out of his mouth and were successful, most of the time.
Inspired by my fun sister-in-law Candy, Santa emailed each of the kids this year. I was a little hesitant to make this happen because the videos are all strikingly similar and I was afraid my curious and thoughtful 6 year old would have a problem with this, but she was taken with the magic of it all. I am thrilled to have another year of childhood left in her.
Hunter loved his...
The 4th was Christmas tree decorating day! It's one of those magical memories from my childhood, all surrounding my mom as she unwrapped memories attached to every year. I was so excited when I got to hang one of my ornaments (we got one with our name on it every year) and afterwards we always had some sort of Christmas treat. This year we skipped the Christmas treat, but we had a great time and the kids were SUPER excited that I caved and got rainbow lights this year. I will always love white lights, but at least while they are little I might be able to compromise to having my tree my way every other year.
Putting the star on the tree is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We let our kids take turns putting it on, and this year was Makenzie's year. She was SO excited and had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. After I took this picture, she handed the star back to Dad and said 'again!' She just wanted to fly in the air some more. I posted this online and received the most hilarious comments as members of my family from Oregon to Idaho to Utah posted their own tree topping pictures. A competition for effectiveness, creativity, and style has already been set for next year. We are currently training Hunter for his big debut in family competition.
The second week of December was just as crazy as the first. I had to start getting ready for our 3 separate family trips that month, we had 3 Christmas parties to attend, and I was finishing my Christmas preparations and ensuring that the right gifts were going to the right places. This year we had gifts get mailed to Virginia, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. I also got our Christmas cards in the mail that week. It's a little hard to stomach even now, because I felt so frantic most of the time. One important thing to note when I discuss my stress level is that at least 3 times a day, I have to get ALL the kids into snow gear to do different school runs. for 2 or 3 of the trips, depending on the day, the kids actually have to get out of the car, and it's just too cold to skip the hats and gloves and coats and snow pants and boots...and then I turn around and the hats and gloves are already discarded before we even make it to the car. I think next year I will try to find enough hats and gloves that we can have a house set and a car set. It has been an adventure, to say the least.
Here are a few pictures of the desserts (180) that I made for Alex's office party. Lemon bars, Andes Mint Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin cookies, and peanut butter reindeer cookies (not pictured, because they were almost a Pinterest fail...not super cute)
Those eyes...
Every few days I have some pictures like this on my phone. I just can't get over our great view out of the front of our house, and how beautiful this city looks in the snow. It's a huge pain to drive in and deal with, but snow will always be my favorite. My weight loss goals are all on hold so I can have 2-3 bowls of snow ice cream every day; it's a magical season.
This is how our living room always looks right now. It seems like I'm always rushing the kids out of jammies, into clothes and snow gear and new diapers, then when I actually look at the house it looks like a hurricane has landed. Every hour.
Yup. It's another winning Santa picture this year. Hunter's deer-in-the-headlights is definitely a reaction to Makenzie's screams, and the other kids are just hoping it will be over soon. Some year we will get one with 4 smiles...someday.
Our second Christmas party this season was Butches Christmas Bash, put on by the WSU athletes. It was awesome! Lots of fun carnival-type activites, blow ups, gingerbread house decorating, and more for little prizes and candy. A huge hit with the kids and parents, we will definitely make it a priority in years to come. I wish I had more pictures than this, but I had a hard time keeping up with 4 kids running in 3 different directions :).
This is my 'Uh Oh, it's time to start babyproofing picture that I sent to Alex. Hunter went from laying right next to his car seat (on the other side) to hear in the time it took me to run up and change my shoes...he's a kid on the move at 6 1/2 months. He just rolls, scoots backwards, and twists until he finds something he shouldn't have, then eats it :).
My sweet baby girl and one of her many babies.
The kids were SO excited for Alex's first weekend off in a few weeks so they could have a snow play day! It's just a little much for me to get everyone outside and awake and happy at once, so O and C can go out but it's much more fun with a parent out there! We spent the first little while shoveling the snow off the trampoline, which was drooping too much for comfort, then Alex took the mat off for the year and we had some snow fight and sledding fun.
Yes, she has socks for gloves...and she would eat the snow all day. I have to beg her not to pick up super old and dirty snow as we walk Carter in to preschool every day...yuck!
Sledding smiles from my daredevil
Hot chocolate time for the kids means this in our back entryway :). I love it though, with boots still stuck in pants and everything thrown off as fast as possible as the kids darted to the warmth of the couch.
Alex gets SO excited when he gets home and the doorstep looks like this :) This day was funny because he couldn't wait for the kids to go to sleep so he could see what was delivered, but I lready knew 2 of those boxes were diapers. I'm a mean wife, but it was a fun hour of anticipation.
Like a kid at Christmas...he didn't want to wrap this one.
Sometimes you tell your 2 year old that she can't have both her magnadoodle and baby because one will fall. She always outsmarts you though, and finds a place for both :) I love this girl.
O helped me get everything ready for our gingerbread (ok...graham cracker) house night, so I had to grab a quick selfie of our matching aprons - thanks Tash!
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