christmas day!

it seems like leading up to christmas we spend a lot of time planning and thinking about what to get the kids. what we will eat and when. i even have the thought about once a year that maybe we should tell the kids about santa when i hear other people explaining why they do it. but, as the kids get older it just gets more fun and to hear them excited for the jolly guy in the coat is pretty cute! as usual my kids were spoiled and got so many toys! our playroom is now filled with even more cars, balls, and tools! avery's wardrobe grew and she changed her outfit a few more times than normal. and i got totally spoiled! this might have been their best christmas yet! they each looked on as the other opened their gifts and have actually been doing a great job of sharing! here are some snaps from the day. although, it still doesn't feel like i took enough! 

santa's visit!

avery asked for a stuffed jaguar and spent the rest of her time coloring. blake a red bike and a pink ball. He also loved santa so much he went through the line more than once. will was just trying his best to hold it together. :)

day of thanks

so many wonderful things to be thankful for! at the top of that list is family and my three turkeys! 

new walker

will has been walking around taking a few steps here and there. mainly, when i'm not looking or when he doesn't think about. here's a video of his walking. the second, is pretty much just my life with a few steps in there! :) the big kids are so excited to cheer him on. i guess ready or not i'm going to have a walker on my hands soon. 

our first bike rider!

i skipped the entire month of august. now that the end of the year is right around the corner i'm trying to get everything updated. despite the lack of pictures it was  HUGE month in this house. 

let's start with this girl! avery learned to ride her bike with no training wheels! 

it's hard to be the photographer and videographer! ha! 

avery turned 5!

in june! she had a frozen birthday, of course! gigi made all of those awesome paper decorations! it was a swimming party at our house and was probably the best party ever! i think avery had an awesome time with her friends!

there was a make your own snow man station

here we have gigi showing off their snowman!

there was food!

singing of course!

cupcakes!

bubbles + playing in the driveway

favorite friends!

it was pretty much the best birthday ever for our sweet girl!

i also took some pictures of avery to document this big birthday! as she said, she turned a whole hand old! :)













and for her birthday we moved her rooms and gave her a big girl room! sadly, i haven't had time to go through those pictures yet.

tuesday musings

just when you think you've experienced everything toddlerhood has to offer.  I think every mom can tell you the fastest way to get your kid's attention is to pick up the phone or try to go to the bathroom. I can't remember the last time I went to the bathroom alone. I'm fairly certain my modesty can be found with my privacy in the third floor of rose hospital in Denver. I've had kids in and out of the bathroom for what seems like forever. They seem to always NEED to know what day it is or what letter my name starts with at the perfect moments. However, until recently I had never experienced a child trying to play in the toilet while it was being used. Yep, just try to picture that one in your head. I have no idea why but the toilet has become one of wills fave places. Training your husband to keep the lid down is enough. Now I have to teach the kids? Needless to say, most days I just pray everyone remembered to flush! And every post need some pics! 

frozen themed halloween!

the best frozen characters you've ever seen! if you aren't into the halloween kid scene let me tell you frozen was the winner! elsa to be exact. why they didn't make boys costumes, i'm not sure. but thanks to the internet and gigi we had the best kristoff around (imo). blake was hysterical trick or treating and couldn't get enough candy. now i need to figure out how to get rid of it that doesn't involve me eating it all. perhaps some thanksgiving treat bags for their friends? ;)

first, we have elsa. there might have been a million of them but hands down i have the best one! i didn't even pose this girl!

next we have kristoff! i didn't see any others running around but he would have won hands down if there had been!

and of course where would kristoff be without sven?

he is a reindeer after all so i think he wanted to get into character!

and, of course we have all three!

but, wait. where is olaf?

last, but not least our frozen fam! they wanted me to be anna and i let avery pick out my shirt. i'm pretty sure i just looked like i was a five year old but avery thought it was great. as for mark, he was the snow monster! ha!