Christmas 2011!

This year we had a nice, relaxing Christmas which was absolutely wonderful.  We didn't really have to go anywhere and Bubba had some time off so we just got to hang out, get some stuff done around the house and enjoy the holidays!  We spent Christmas Eve with Grandpa and Grandma Boyce and then came home and the girls went to bed better than they ever have (I wish I could say Santa was coming every night...worked like a charm)!  Santa was smart this year and didn't bring anything that required a lot of assembling, so we all had a relaxing night and got to bed early!  Camden got up around 7 am on Christmas so I hung out with him, just waiting for everyone else to wake up...finally at 8 I decided to wake everyone up so that we would have time to open presents before church at 11.  Everyone was happy with their presents and we had a great morning.  We went to church at Papa and Gramie's ward and then came home for naps before going back to Papa and Gramie's for dinner.

Savannah really wanted glasses for Christmas...these ones are for "cosmetic" purposes only and she loves them!

Christmas Card 2011

We got lazy and didn't actually mail out Christmas cards but I did make one anyways just so that I have a summary of the year!

This year has been yet another busy one for our family, but as the year comes to an end, we are very aware of and grateful for how much we have been blessed throughout the year.  

The most noteworthy blessing of the year would have to be the birth of our little boy, Camden David, who arrived on May 24th.  I was a little nervous about having a boy after so many girls, but I have fallen hard for this sweet little guy and he has been such a wonderful addition to our family.  He is such a sweet, happy and easy baby which has been a huge blessing and he is so cute too!  All of the girls have been sweet with him, but are starting to become even more interested in him now that he is getting more interactive!  He just barely got his first two teeth, which was a huge surprise to me since he never displayed any of the normal signs of teething...yep, he is just that good of a baby!  He is an expert at rolling over, he’s pretty good at sitting, he’s not even remotely interested in eating any type of baby food, he smiles and laughs all the time and he absolutely loves his feet as long as they are not covered!  I am so glad we finally got this little boy in our home...we love him to pieces!

Madison is now 22 months old and is a handful, no, make that two handfuls...nope, that doesn’t quite cover it either.  This little girl is full of personality which can be hilarious and endearing at some times and absolutely frustrating at others.  Now that her vocabulary is really taking off, she is finally beginning to use words instead of just whining and tantrums and that is helping us all deal with each other a lot!  She loves her binkies and carries them in a bag all day long.  She has no fear of anything, not heights, not water, not animals, nothing.  Madison has the most interesting facial expressions I have ever seen on a one year old and can scowl better than anyone I have ever met. The poor thing still doesn’t have much hair, but still has her adorable dimples!  We are both extremely curious and extremely frightened to see how her personality continues to develop as she gets older...she definitely keeps us all on our toes!

Paris just turned 5 and is our little drama queen.  She is so animated when she plays pretend and tells stories and is always full of comments that catch us off guard and make us laugh.  She is extremely helpful, especially in the kitchen-she loves to cook and bake.  Paris continues to amaze us with how smart she is-she can read anything and is doing extremely well in preschool again this year.  Paris loves to play on the computer, sing, play pretend, read, play with friends, ride bikes/scooters and jump on the trampoline.  She used to be nervous while swimming, but surprised us all this year by completely overcoming her fear of the water and doing fabulous in swimming lessons!  

Savannah is now 6 and started first grade this fall.  We started her in a French immersion program at a different school this year and it has been an amazing experience so far.  She loves her teachers, her new friends and she LOVES learning French!  She tells us that she likes French better than English and that she wants to move to France (Bubba is thrilled)!  Her French teacher just told us that Savannah always raises her hand and that she feels bad because she can’t call on her every time.  I couldn’t believe it-this is the same little girl that barely said a word in kindergarten and now she is participating all the time...in a whole different language!  Savannah is in the top of her class in reading and math as well and just recently was chosen to be Student of the Month in her class-we are so proud of her!   Savannah is like another mother to Madison and absolutely loves taking care of her so we (I) really miss her while she is at school!  Savannah is such a good little girl and is always so sensitive to the needs of others and is a wonderful helper to everyone!  She finally lost her first two teeth this fall, and also got staples in the back of her head this year!  

I continue to stay at home and try to keep the chaos at least slightly under control!  Having 4 kids within 6 years has been a little crazy and I definitely feel myself being ‘stretched’ constantly...I have never been more challenged or tired in my life, but I am so grateful that I get to be at home with my kids, and am so grateful for the blessing that each of them is in my life.  I am learning so much from them and although some days I feel like running away and/or pulling my hair out, life is good and my kids are awesome!  I trained for a half marathon, but never actually ran it since my knee started acting up and I couldn’t figure out how to leave my baby for that many hours since he refuses to take a bottle, but am planning on running one this summer and am excited for that.  

Bubba continues to work for Platinum Protection and is now over the entire installation department at work.  He is very busy and works super hard, but loves his job for the most part and we are both so grateful that he has such a wonderful job and that he gets to work with great people and such an awesome company.  He traveled quite a bit this last summer and is already starting to book quite a few trips for this next year.  

We are grateful for each one of our family members and friends and hope that each of you has a wonderful holiday season!  

The cutest boy in the world...

I know I always go on and on about how cute and sweet this little boy of mine is, but I really do believe he is pretty much the cutest boy in the world....and here is some proof in the form of a lot of pictures!

Camden - 6 months old!

Just took my little boy in for his 6 month checkup...he is growing up way too fast!  He can sit up pretty well but isn't quite ready to be left on his own as he still tends to lean over and land on his face quite a bit!  He rolls quite a bit...his very latest trick is to roll over several times from the middle of the floor until he is under the Christmas tree and then he tries grabbing ornaments off of it!  He still will have nothing to do with any kind of bottle or baby food so hopefully he will become more interested in food over the next few months!  He weighed in at 18.7 pounds so he is down to the 65%ile for weight which is skinny for my kids at that age :) and he measured in at 26.5 inches which puts him in the 50%ile for height...no surprises there!  Camden still loves his feet and grabs them constantly, and if he happens to have socks or shoes on, those must come off immediately which is making winter challenging...he is just going to have to live in his footed pajamas so that his feet don't freeze!  All of his sisters love him and are mostly really sweet with him (aside from a few not-so-sweet moments from Madison each day)...he is going to be spoiled rotten by all of us.  He is starting to give some very open-mouthed kisses which I love and is still just the sweetest little boy ever.  He has had some challenges with sleeping lately but I think we're finally getting him back on track and most nights he goes 8-9 hours, wakes up once and then sleeps another 2-3 hours so not too bad.  He is very close to consistently being able to get his own binky in all by himself which is personally one of my favorite milestones, especially in the middle of the night!  I think he would be on a fabulous nap schedule if it weren't for the fact that I'm always waking him up and trying to work his naps around everyone else's schedules.  I guess that's what you get for being the 4th kid!  We love Camden to pieces!

Paris is 5 on 11/11/11

What a cool date for a birthday!  I can't believe this little girl is 5 years old already.  Paris has so much personality and makes life very interesting for all of us.  Some moments she is the sweetest, most helpful little girl ever and other moments she is very stubborn and intensely emotional/hot-tempered but it definitely keeps us on our toes.  Paris still loves princesses and fairies and everything girly, but I think her favorite thing to do these days is read.  She has been reading for over a year now, but I am amazed at how well she can read at such a young age.  Every time I go into her room to make her bed, I find a stack of books that she snuck in there the night before to read before going to sleep.  She finds flashlights and sneaks them under the covers....I'm sure I should be more strict about making her go to sleep, but can't really find the motivation since I read for hours every night before going to sleep when I was young too!  Paris loves to play on the computer, ride her bike and scooter, and play with friends.  We had a birthday party this year at our house with a few of her friends...she wanted a My Little Pony party but since she invited a few boys, we tried to keep it from being too girly.  We had pony races, played Horse, Horse, Pony, Hot Potato (with a stuffed pony), went on a scavenger hunt for a pony, and played Pin the Cutie Mark on the Pony too.  Paris had her 5 year checkup and weighed in at 37 pounds (25%ile) and is 40.5 inches tall (14%ile).  Poor thing is pretty short, but it amazes me that my little petite girl is the same child that was in the 98%ile for weight the first couple years of her life!  

Halloween Fun!

We had lots of fun in October, getting ready for Halloween and enjoying the beautiful fall weather!  We went to a small pumpkin patch nearby to pick out pumpkins and the kids had a blast playing in the dried corn...well, until Savannah started freaking out because she had a bunch of corn kernels in her pants that were not feeling very good!  

This year, Paris wanted to be Silvermist (one of Tinkerbell's fairy friends), Savannah wanted to be Smurfette, and then we decided Madison should be Winnie the Pooh since she loves Pooh, and then we figured Camden would be a cute honey pot.  I think they all turned out to be pretty cute and they all stayed warm while trick-or-treating too!