Todd is 7 months old

My baby boy is 7 months old!  We really like him!

 He's learning new skills every day -- like holding his bottle.

 His face is about the cutest thing on earth!

 I snapped this picture during our snow storm.  All the kids were outside playing and Todd and I danced around the warm kitchen to Christmas music.  I want to remember that day, no makeup and all -- dancing cheek to cheek!

 Todd is getting very grabby.  He reaches for everything -- faces, earrings, drawstrings, etc. etc.

 And he's learning how to sit.  He can hold it a few seconds on his own.

 He's so fun to play with.  All the older boys, including cousins, love him!

 He's such a good baby and just tags along with our crazy crew.  I'll take him on errands and never hear a peep.

 He really likes his new high chair.

Because he is so spitty we're feeding him more cereal, which means I have to pump all the time so I can add some breastmilk to it.  Hassle.  The good news is that it's working.  He doesn't spit at all if he just has cereal and he gained a pound and a half in two weeks!!  He hasn't had any rolls up until now, but I can see them forming!!

 Love this picture of Wesley feeding him.  These two have a special little bond. 

 Love this baby!

 Babies looking at Christmas lights is one of my favorite things in the world so I keep trying to get a pic of Todd doing just that.  Haven't got a great one yet, but you get the idea.  The first day I started decorating, his eyes were immediately drawn to the lighted garland on the stairs -- magical!

 Picture overload!  I just can't get enough.

 Today he rolled himself right under our bed! Don't worry, he wasn't upset at all.  He kept peeking out to smile, but I ran out of storage for pics :(  He's everywhere these days and has started digging his toes in and pushing himself forward!  Crawling isn't far off! Ahhh!

He's a very loud baby!  Happy, but loud and has been known to distrupt church meetings, etc.  He's way too cute to get after though.  Love our little Todders!

Thanksgiving

We got to spend Thanksgiving with my sister, Kamie, and her family this year in Hailey, ID.

My kids always love being with cousin Avery and her kitties.

  We learned what happens when you leave yeast for too long...but don't worry, the rolls still turned out -- see below.

 Kamie and I were in the kitchen all day, but it paid off -- yummy!  And I got to watch the parade while I cooked -- one of my favorite parts of the day.

 Wesley and Tyce get the award for most carnivorous.

 These boys chowed right down to the bone!

 An attempt at a selfie with my awesome honey.  Of all my blessings, I am most thankful for him.

 We got some good giggles trying to find the right angle!  LOVE HIM!

 Despite ruining the first batch of yeast and forgetting my Bosch bowl, I still managed to pull off 64 really yummy and pretty rolls! I love bread making and wish I had more time to enjoy it.

 The best part of the day for me was being able to cook and talk with my sister.  I love that lady so much and admire her for lots of reasons.  She is absolutely amazing.  I've always looked up to her.  I remember writing papers about her when I was younger. Love you Kam!

 

 This moment also made my day -- watching Tyce carry his dad up the stairs!

I am grateful for so many things.  A couple weeks before Thanksgiving we got hit with a pretty good snow storm, especially for Boise.  In the days following it got really cold and everything iced over (the roads were terrible since a certain city doesn't know how to plow -- missing Chicago!)  But I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude that I had a warm home and warm food on the table.  So many people don't enjoy those basic necessities and I'll never understand why.  But I am so grateful I have them.  I've been trying to be more generous to homeless people on the street, etc. to show my gratitude for what I have.  I'm incredibly grateful for 4 healthy boys too.  They stretch me every day, but I'm so grateful they are happy and healthy.  A huge blessing!  This is such a wonderful time of year.  Happy Holidays!

Todd is 6 months old

This baby is 6 months old!

We love our little Todd.  He is such a pleasant little guy and really fun to snuggle and kiss!  Grandpa gives the best mashes!

He's rolling all over the place.

And grabs everything in his path 

He loves Aunt Amy.

She's feeding him a bottle here, he takes formula great when we need him to.  I like to top him off before going to bed but he still primarily nurses.

Bath time is getting more exciting now that he rolls!

 Cute little pumpkin at a Halloween party we went to.

But he got to match the Star Wars theme for Trick or Treating 

He's a belly sleeper.  I love his little body.  Not a roll to be found (a first for us) but that makes him easy to carry around.

Look at that face!  So cute!!  He likes oatmeal and rice cereals and a few other things we've fed him.  With the amount of spitting up I'm thinking we should keep this oversized bib on him all the time.

Love my little Todd.  Maybe one of these days he'll stop waking for a feeding at 5:00 AM.  But he's so sweet at that time I just can't make him cry.  Soft mommy this time.  I think things will get a lot more exciting in the next couple months as he starts moving more.  Hold on!



Halloween 2014

Lots of fun Halloween activities this year.  The first was the school Monster Mash. 

 We have such a great principal.  She strolled my baby around while I took the others through the Haunted Hallway.

 

Next up, a Murder Mystery Masquerade that Aaron and I attended.  Aaron's casting as a mechanic couldn't have been more perfect.  He won best actor and costume!

 Onto the Halloween party at the park.  My friend Lisa passed this cute little jumpsuit on for Todd.

 Jedi cousins!

 Cupcake walk

 I love this girl!  So lucky we get to do life together!

 Fun ladies!

We were supposed to wear crazy socks for Bootcamp.  I added a headband and big glasses.  Fun!

 

Next stop, trunk or treat.

 We found another Vedar!

 Cutest Obi Wan I've ever seen!

 Onto the Halloween piano recital.  So fun!  And so fun to see the progress these two boys are making.  We have the best teacher in the world!

The kids didn't have school on Halloween.  We got 50 cent corn dogs at Sonic...

 ...and free donuts for good grades at Krispie Kreme! 

 All ready to go Trick or Treating!

 Miles is such a great neighbor and friend.  We all did our street together and then Dillon went with Miles for the rest of the evening.

 Going through the loot! As they counted their candy, the boys had so much fun running to the door to hand out candy to the few that came after we got home.  Kids just make Halloween fun!

This sums up the weekend pretty well!

 

I actually think this boy must be growing or something. He slept until 10:00 on Saturday.  What??  He's growing out of the "crazy toddlers and children that get up at 7:00" thing.

 

Today we enjoyed our annual Dinner in a Pumpkin  -- on our new dining table!

I tried a new recipe and it was just as fun and yummy! Cousins and the Bishop and his son joined us.

 

 

 

I'm always so grateful to be able to celebrate holidays with children.  They really do make it magical.  Now I just need to get all this candy out of my house before I get fat!  The kids had the option to trade in their candy for money to buy a toy.  Dillon was most motivated by the option. But now all that candy is mine. Ahhh.  I need to hide it from myself!

 

Happy Halloween!