Hailey's First Photos!

Here are some pictures Hailey took with her digital camera! I am quite impressed...she is quite the little photographer. She even set up some of her gifts and took pictures of them for her scrapbooking! We uploaded them to Costco so now she has her own album to choose photos from and then to print! What fun!

I Got It Foiled...

So I decided to get my hair foiled. So here it is....it does look different in real life. The hair dresser said I definitely don't look like a soccer mom...whatever that means.....

Our bathroom!

So this is what the main bathroom looked like in our house before......

Sorry I can't flip the photos...

And this is what it looks like now! Can you believe the difference?! And it was all done by my wonderful husband! What a man!!

My 100th Post!

Wow...this is my 100th post! I can't believe it! But that's not really what this post is about. I got my hair cut! Nw these pictures really don't do it justice...it looks different to me in real life but anyway here you go. It is so different...I think I like it...it is just so different than it used to be! I really need to get it foiled which I plan on doing next time.

Christmas Day!

Christmas day was fun and crazy. We went to my parents and all my siblings were there including Grandma Ruby...that makes...21 people opening gifts all at once.....total mayhem!! The girls are so blessed to have very generous grandparents. They basically get everything they could want and more. It is really fun for them! Avery's favorite gift however was a toothbrush..... And Karis now has a nightgown that she is loving...not as much as the ballet outfit...but close! She wore it today for most of the morning...then switched to the ballet outfit. I can't figure out how to caption photos very well but here are some Christmas ones......Uncle Michael is holding Hailey. The others are self-explanatory I think.

Trying To Get A Photo Of 7 Children Four And Under!!

Not exactly easy. Avery kept trying to escape...

thankfully we had Ella to hold her back. Not much to say here... I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves! But aren't these just about the 7 cutest kids you've ever seen?!

Christmas Eve

We had wonderful Christmas Eve. Auntie Rach and Grandma Ruby spent the day with us. The girls loved listening to Rach read "Olivia". Then we decorated cookies! What a mess! But lots of fun!

Then we took Grandma to an antique store....then we met Papa and Grandma at our church for the Christmas Eve service with no childcare.....let's put it this way...next year we are either volunteering to do childcare or staying home. In between the girls emptying out the chairs of all the tithe envelopes, running up the aisle, spilling milk, eating every snack possible in the diaper bag, and talking loudly I don't think any of us or anyone within several rows of us got much out of the service!

When we got home the girls hid in their room and waited to hear if Santa would come! They heard some bells and came running out....well Hailey did...Karis was terrified! They opened their presents and Santa brought them everything on their list including digital cameras and dolls from Haiti! (Not really from Haiti but when the girls were going through their Bitty Baby catalog they saw the dark-skinned ones and said, "They have Bitty Babies from Haiti!") So since we are trying to make the toys and books in our house more multi-cultural for our new arrival we thought we might as well get them for them. After presents they decorated cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. However then Karis was terrified that Baby Jesus would show up. These things are so confusing to a 3 year old!

How Do You Get A Decent Picture of Three Toddlers?

So thought I would try again and get a pic of all the girls together....is it really possible?.....NOPE!!

Maybe if I hold them down....maybe if the girls hold Avery....as she tends to run off!

How about if Auntie Rach hold them? Why can't they all just hold still, look normal and smile at me? Just once? Please.......

Nope...not gonna happen.....individuals work so much better!

Only in "The Burg"

So this may come as a suprise but I actually had all of my Christmas cards done and ready to mail out last week....but.....this town ran out of stamps!!! How is that possible? They are on backorder at Fred Meyer and the Post Office. I am going to Safeway today to see if they got any in...so don't worry...your Christmas card is coming...once there are some stamps!

"Effective Manipulation For Dummies" By Avery

1. Go to the store with Mommy.
2. As soon as you walk in pick up a baby doll and start playing with it.
3. The whole time Mommy looks around hold the doll and act happy.
4. When it is time to go and Mommy tries to take the doll and put it back let out the biggest scream and cry you have ever done....similar to the photo above but even more dramatic.
5. Send Mommy the following subliminal messages: "I am the 3rd girl...I hardly ever get anything new. You hardly bought me anything for Christmas thinking I wouldn't know the difference. I will only be a baby for a short time. This is one of the first things I have ever really, really wanted. "
6. And presto....Mommy buys the doll, the store lady even takes it out of the box, and you get to carry it home in your arms!

7. And now that I know how effective that was....wait until Mommy sees what I ask for next!

Angel Sighting

So a few minutes after I put Karis down for her nap I heard a loud crash and a cry. Not a good sound......so I went downstairs and the entire dresser had fallen over! She had pulled out all the drawers and it had toppled over. I was in a panic thinking of what could have happened to her if it had landed on her. I was talking to her about it later...after I was a bit calmer....(Hannah was on the phone with me at the time and can attest to my not-so-perfect mothering moment).....and I told her that God had protected her because she could have been very hurt.

She said, "An angel, and Mary, and Joseph, and baby Jesus were there and protected me."
Hailey, "NO Karis...they live in heaven."
Me, "What did they do?"
Karis, "Well Mary had a long hat on her head and a long dress and she held baby Jesus and me."
Hailey, "Did they really Mom?"
Me, "I think Someone was protecting her."
Karis, "Actually it was Joseph holding me."

So there you have it.....an angel sighting right in our own home.

Hailey's Preschool Program

Hailey had her first preschool program today! It was so cute and I loved watching her sing. She did a great job. Sorry for the weird photo placement..I finally figured out how to rotate photos but now need to learn how to position them into the right order. Here she is before the performance with Isa and Karis....I figured this was one of the few times a pic like this would be cute so here it is....notice Karis....she was convinced to wear actual clothes (which she chose much to my chagrin)...the bargaining tool was the crocs! I let her wear those if she would only wear clothes which she did! She promptly came home and put her bathing suit on though. The funny thing is several people said, "Oh she is wearing clothes today!"
If the kids sang loud enough Santa promised to come and he did! This is Avery's reaction to seeing him! I was amazed that Hailey went up to him...this is the first time!

This is Hailey with her teacher Mrs. Mcrae. She is such an amazing teacher and I am so glad Hailey got in her school. You usually have to be on the waiting list for years...some people get on it at birth! But there happened to be a opening this year!

Karis was convince to go near Santa with Grandma. She let Grandma hold her and then she went up...then she even stood near him. This is a huge step. She told him she wanted a digital camera for Christmas! Grandma Ruby is smiling in the background.

Here are the girls having fun getting ready to perform.

Hailey and Bella singing their little hearts out. So cute...I was so proud of her!!