The Tooth Fairy Rocks!

Ethan lost his very first tooth two days before Christmas.  It was a traumatic experience pulling the tooth out (Ethan is our resident scaredy cat), but it was all worth it when he found two dollars from the Tooth Fairy under his pillow the next morning!  Now, he has his money stashed away in his secret hiding place (his sock drawer- everybody knows it) and he has grand plans to make more money when his other teeth fall out.  We love the Tooth fairy!

Our Creepy Elf

The kids have been begging for an elf on the shelf for a long time.  They say they are the ONLY kids at their school who don't have one!  We decided to bite the bullet and get an elf this year.  Olivia was especially excited.  She could not wait!  When we brought the elf home, it took us (no joke) two full days to agree on a name.  After about 32 votes, we finally agreed on "Jimminy Christmas."  It was all magical and fun until I told the kids that as soon as we named our elf, he would get his magic and come to life.  That's when it hit Livi... this elf was going to come to life.  And suddenly she was terrified.  She refused to be in the same room as Jimminy, convinced that he was always looking at her.  The first night, she was in tears . . . so distraught that she couldn't even sleep.  I found her trying to blockade the door to her bedroom because she was so afraid he would come into her room while she was sleeping and stare at her with those "creepy eyes."   I finally had to tell her the truth . . . that it was all in fun and there was nothing to be afraid of.  She was a little relieved, but still creeped out by the little guy . . .

And so . . . our new super-fun family tradition has officially scarred our child for life.  Mother of the Year for sure!

Snow Fun!

We are getting more than our fair share of snow this year!  The kids (and Jason) have been having a blast building snowmen, having snowball fights and making snow forts together.  Brooklyn and I have fun watching them from the window in the warm, cozy house!

We love winter in Utah!

Half-Birthdays for Everyone!

We just finished half-birthday season at our house . . . and let me tell you, there has been a lot of cake around here!  

Some pics of the kids on their special days:

Joshua: 10 and 1/2

Dinner of Choice: Waffles

Olivia: 8 and 1/2

Dinner of Choice: Blueberry muffins and eggs

Ethan: 5 and 1/2

Dinner of Choice: Chicken Pillows

Chewbie: 3 and 1/2

Dinner of Choice: Chicken Nuggets

Brooklyn: 6 months!!

Dinner of Choice: Sweet Potatoes and Pears

We have the best kids in the world . . . We seriously couldn't be more blessed.  Happy half-birthday to my sweet kiddos!!

She's a Crawler!!

 Our last day in Arizona, Brooklyn started crawling!  We knew she'd be an early crawler because she just has to be with her older siblings at all times.  She has major FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).  Admittedly, I was trying to discourage the whole crawling thing . . . I hate that constant paranoia that she will fall down the stairs.  But there was no stopping her.  Now she is a crawling machine and she is getting into EVERYTHING!

Love that girl!  Seriously... just looking at these pictures makes me need a squeeze!!