New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is beginning to be much more fun now that our kids are getting older. We used to do nothing because the girls weren't able to stay up late without getting very cranky. So we avoided going to other people's houses and there wasn't much to do at home but watch a movie. The last two years the girls have stayed up until midnight. Ashlyn even stayed up and did quite well. We started out the evening by making homemade pizzas. Then we played games (Elefun, Operation, I Spy, and Sorry). Then Chris and Anna joined us and we ate popcorn and drank smoothies and watched Rio. When the movie finished we had just enough time for banana and fruit rollup sushi (it's a fun little treat idea that we got from the Friend magazine). Then we got out horns and confetti and opened our blinds. We usually get a pretty good view of some fireworks and the girls love it. It was a very fun evening and a wonderful way to finish off 2011--spending time together as a family.

The Park in the Winter

Who knew it would be so warm that we could enjoy the park during the Winter season?! These two were in heaven that we got to spend a half-an-hour at the park today. This was a new park that we had never tried and I have now decided that it's my favorite. Everything was so kid friendly and safe, yet there were plenty of fun things for bigger kids to do too. It's not the closest park to our house but it's not too far either. I have a feeling that we'll go there at least a handful of times during the Spring or Summer.

Bikes

Santa gave Kali and Sadie new bikes for Christmas. It was the perfect year for bikes with the kind of weather we've been having. It was also a great year for bikes because we didn't have one small enough for Sadie and we didn't have one big enough for Kali. I can tell Kali is really going to love hers. Sadie did pretty well for her first try around the block. Hopefully she'll get a lot more comfortable on it when the weather warms up.

Christmas Outfits

Josh and I gave the girls these outfits for Christmas. They looked so cute all dressed up for our Christmas sacrament meeting that I could resist taking several pictures of them. We have been so blessed to be the parents of these three beautiful girls.

Bath Time

Well, it wasn't really bath time. Kali had just taken a bath and left the tub full and the bathroom door open. Ashlyn just couldn't resist the water and jumped in, pajamas and all. In the moment it was hard for Josh not to  be a little mad. But as soon as she held her slippers up and with a smile on her face said, "Slippers all wet," the anger quickly melted. We knew we had to capture it on camera and had a good laugh about it later. She seriously loves water. I constantly find her in the bathroom standing on the toilet leaning over the vanity with the tap turned on filling up some sort of container or just getting her hands wet. Or else I catch her in the act of pull a chair or stool over to the sink. She's a little too smart for her own good.

Presents

Opening presents this year was a lot of fun. I even got an exciting present from Santa that was totally unexpected. Even though it was sitting on the chair right behind the girls' presents, Josh had to ask me if I saw what Santa brought me before I realized it was there. I had been paying attention to all the fun the girls were having and hadn't even noticed. Only I would be unobservant enough to miss a huge picture like that.

But the exciting thing was to see how much fun the girls had giving each other presents that they had picked out. Kali and Sadie even made a present to give to Josh and I. It was a box that they had spent a lot of time drawing pictures on. When we opened it up, it was empty but they ran up to us and gave us hugs and kisses. It was very cute and very thoughtful.

Christmas Morning

Other than the fact that I overcooked the muffins, our Christmas morning turned out very nice. We read a children's book about Christ's birth and opened a present that had pictures to remind us of the greatest gifts Heavenly Father and Christ have given us. Then we read in 1st Nephi where Nephi was shown the Savior's birth. The girls were very patient and listened quite well.

Christmas Pajamas

One of our other Christmas traditions is opening one gift Christmas Eve, and that gift is always pajamas. The girls were very excited about their matching ballerina nightgowns and comfy slippers to go along with them.

Milk & Cookies

The first Christmas that Josh and I were married, we had some friends give us a cute snowman cup and plate to put out for Santa on Christmas Eve. The girls always look forward to putting cookies on the plate and filling the cup with milk, but this year was extra special and extra cute. Kali made a card for Santa to tell him thanks for the present he gave her last year. It was very thoughtful and hopefully indicates her level of understanding of the true spirit of Christmas.

The Parry Christmas Party

As always, Christmas Eve was a lovely evening. We had yummy food and a beautiful program. Obviously these kids enjoyed it too because it's very rare to see them all lined up, sitting quietly, and paying attention to what's going on. Kali played Jolly Old St. Nicholas on the piano and did a great job. We also had a gift exchange where we played a game to see what gift we would get. This is the first year that Josh and I participated and we had a lot of fun. We ended up with an amazon gift card which is exactly what we wanted.

Ice Skating

Since Christmas Eve was on a Saturday this year and Josh didn't have to work, we surprised the girls by taking them ice skating. Brady and Jordan came too and I'm really glad they did. I'm not the best ice skater and it's probably not the smartest thing for a pregnant woman to be doing. So I pushed Ashlyn in the stroller around the rink and was able to avoid any spills while Josh, Brady and Jordan skated with the other girls. Sadie thought it was great and Kali did too. Although, she was a little more frustrated because she wanted to skate without help and had some pretty hard falls. For her age, however, I think she was doing an excellent job.

Kali's Birthday

Some of the things we love about Kali. She is full of energy and very friendly. She doesn't seem to be afraid of hardly anything and is a hard worker. Because of those qualities and her determination, she is a very quick learner and very intelligent. She can also be very hard on herself because she is such a perfectionist. She understands so much about the gospel and is always applying what she learns. She is very thoughtful in her prayers and is quick to repent of the things she does wrong. She's also very sensitive and tender-hearted When her tears get the best of her, it's hard to get them to stop. She is such a good big sister. She always seems to being doing things to make Sadie and Ashlyn happy or to calm a situation (which often requires either sharing or giving up something that is rightfully hers). She also keeps a very close eye on her sisters, particularly Ashlyn, to make sure they don't get hurt. And last of all, she is very honest, telling us the truth even when it's very hard.

As far as her birthday celebration was concerned , this girl was in heaven. She got Barbies, and wigs, and dresses, and makeup, and art supplies, and declared that this was one of the best days ever on several occasions. She didn't even mind the fact that she had to go to school (thankfully it was a short day and her school Christmas party). She had lots of family visitors starting shortly after she got home from school until late into the evening.

Her cake was a big hit. Not only did it taste good, but it turned out pretty cute too. It was a rainbow cake, and when I first suggested the idea to Kali, she didn't really know what to think. But after I did a practice round, she decided that she liked it. It was just as much work as the other cakes I've made her so thankfully it turned out.

Elf Hunting

As always, we spent an evening at Gardner Village hunting down the elves on their scavenger hunt list. The girls were determined to find every single one. After having walked the paths two times and still missing an elf, I gave up and went into a shop to warm up and relax. But the girls wouldn't have it and kept up their search. In the end, they had to ask for help, but were able to locate the last elf and got their candy sticks. It was an enjoyable evening. I wish my picture of Sadie next to the statue carolers would have turned out. She was trying to imitate them and was being so dramatic (which isn't like Sadie) that I could stop laughing. She was just the right size to blend in with them. It was cute.

Bohman Family Christmas Party

Most families wouldn't do what we did this year for our family Christmas party. We broke from the norm and had breakfast for dinner. Only Bohmans would do that. We love breakfast food so much that all of us thought it would be great. Some of the in-laws weren't as keen on the idea, but it turned out nice. We also put on an impromptu nativity scene while Jesse read the story. Aimee happened to have a tote full of costumes. All the grandkids dressed up and put into practice their best acting skills. Kali was pretty excited to be Mary and Sadie got to be an angel. But as the story got going, we realized that we didn't have a baby Jesus, not even a doll because it was at Aimee's house and none of her boys own a doll. Thankfully Vivian was more than happy to fill in and even laid in a makeshift manger (AKA a tote full of blankets).

This was also the first year that we tried out what we called Grandma's fishing pond. This kids got to cast a reel over a blanket and Grandma and Grandpa helped them hook a present. Kali and Sadie got temple snow globes and Ashy got a sparkly bouncy ball. I think it turned out rather well. Kali couldn't stop talking about what a great gift it was.

3rd Trimester

Well I'm officially in my last trimester and I'm feeling every second of it. I don't know if it's just because I'm getting old or what, but this pregnancy has definitely taken its toll on me. At least I'm still capable of going about my daily activities, but I won't be sad when I'm no longer pregnant.

Christmas Recital #2

Sadie's recital was today and she a did fabulous job. She really is a natural. It's fun to see her enjoying herself so much.

Christmas Recital

Kali had her dance recital today. She's learning lots and doing an excellent job. She recently told me that out of all the activities we've put her in, dance is her favorite. She wants to be a ballerina.

Casey / Bohman Christmas Party

The Christmas parties have begun. Steven and Molly were kind enough to host the Casey / Bohman party this year and the group was quite large. I'm amazed at how well we fit in their house. It's always fun to catch up with the Casey family and enjoy some reminiscing too. Dad put together a slide show of old photos that were fun to look at and brought back a lot of memories, especially of Grandma and Grandpa.

The Forgotten Carols

My in-laws treated us to dinner and The Forgotten Carols. They've done it several times in the past, but this year Kali and Sadie were old enough to go. Other than Sadie's inability to whisper, they did very well. They had lots of questions during and after and even talked about different parts of the program for the next several days. It was a fun experience and Josh and I always love going.

Presents

This is pretty much a daily scene at our house. Sadie is so excited there are presents under the tree that she can hardly stand it. She has all of them memorized. She knows who is getting the big red present, the little green one, etc. And if a new one shows up, she notices. She stacks them, counts them, and plays for hours with them. The other day she was going through all of them with Kali and couldn't even keep the present she's planning on giving her a secret. She said, "This one is mine and this one is dad's and this one is yours. It's the wuggle pet." Oops, I guess it's no longer a surprise for Kali.

Ashlyn

I recently realized that I haven't written about all the fun things Ashlyn has been doing. She's at the stage where she's learning so much and is full of personality. Some days I think she's already hit her terrible two's, but as long as she's grown out of that by the time the baby comes, it's fine by me. Here are just a few of the things we love about her. She is very silly. She often tries to do funny things and then puts on this cute little smile that makes her eyes squint even though half the time she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing. Josh and I are usually doing all we can not to laugh or smile. We have the same problem when she's mad at someone. For some strange reason she uses the word "ever" and yells it as loud as she can over and over. I think I told her not to ever do something again and it just stuck. She also does what Sadie nicknamed "big eyes". When she wants to tell you something, she comes close and opens her eyes wide to say what she wants to say. Sometimes she even cocks her head down to one side and avoids eye contact, but still keeps her eyes open wide.

You might be wondering why I posted a picture of her with green beans for this blog entry, but it's because she loves to help me snap green beans for dinner and loves to eat them raw (not my cup of tea). She has an obsession with the garbage man and calls every truck or loud noise the garbage man, yet she is terrified of loud noises. She is also obsessed with tissues. She would empty an entire box in a day using every single tissue to wipe her nose if I let her. She needs a tissue to cry, a tissue to blow her nose, a tissue after she has coughed, a tissue for comfort, etc. I probably won't have to worry about her getting sick very often. She also loves chapstick. I have to hide mine from her because she'll mutilate it. Just putting it on her lips isn't enough.

She's very polite and has been from day one. She almost always remembers to say "please" and always says "kayku" which is "thank you". Hugs solve everything for her. Even if you've just gotten mad at her, she wants to give you a hug. Kali and Sadie benefit from that just as much as Josh and I do. She's a climber, yet she's afraid of heights. I don't quite know how that one works. She loves books and actually allows me to read them before turning the pages. She's a good eater and a good sleeper, as long as she can do it on her own. Try to feed her and she won't eat a thing. Try to hold her to get her to sleep and it'll never happen. She's very good at expressing herself and loves her big sisters. Ashlyn is a ton of fun and we just can't get enough of her.

Gingerbread Houses

The graham cracker, gingerbread house tradition continues. Not only did the girls get to decorate their houses with Grandma and Grandpa Smith, but Brady and Jordan were there to help out too. It's fun to see the girls getting more creative, especially Kali. Sadie is a girl after my own heart. Her entire house was mainly covered in chocolate candy. She's pretty funny to watch too. She puts a candy on the house and then a candy in her mouth, a candy on the house and a candy in her mouth. Although it looks as though Ashlyn is decorating her house in this picture, she's really just dipping her candy in the frosting that's on the house and then eating it. The only candy that ended up on her house was what we put there.

Temple Square

Every year we pick a night to go see the lights at temple square and this year was wonderful. We picked a night that wasn't too cold and it was still early enough in the season that it wasn't too crowded either. We got to go with Chris, Katie and Anna too. So it was a lot of fun. I think the girls just enjoy being out and getting their energy out. They were climbing on anything we would let them climb on, and Ashlyn just though it was fun to run around. I showed the girls my favorite tree to spin under and Kali really liked that. She couldn't stop laughing when she tried it out.

Thanksgiving Celebrations

We had such an enjoyable Thanksgiving this year and we were blessed to have two thanksgiving dinners on two different days. Last Saturday we got to celebrate thanksgiving with Grandpa Smith and Grandma and Grandpa Brown at the same time with almost all of the family present. Then today we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Parry. Both were held at churches where the kids had plenty of room to run around. They got to do coloring activities, play games (including the wii) and just have fun with cousins.

Leotards

One day the girls decided to put their leotards on and for some reason Ashy wanted to be included in the fun. So I put her in one of Sadie's, and she was in heaven. Ever since then, she has to have a leotard on every time the other two put theirs on and she dances along with them too.

Smith Family Fun Night

Tonight we decided to have a relaxing and fun evening with the girls. We all got our PJ's on and each of us chose a game to play. Then we played the games while eating popcorn, banana bread and smoothies. The girls thought it was great and want us to make a weekly tradition out of it. I like the idea of a tradition, but it's pretty much the same thing as FHE minus the lesson.

The Primary Program

Today was the Primary Program. Both Kali and Sadie had their parts memorized and they said them flawlessly. I know it wasn't easy for Sadie. She told me that she was very nervous at the practice when she had to say her part, but everything went smoothly and she did a wonderful job. The program overall was amazing. Both Josh and I commented on how we felt the spirit very strong, particularly during the songs Isaiah Says and Holding Hands Around the World. Those happen to be the only two songs that both of the girls know all the words to and you could tell they were singing with all their hearts. And not only did they do a great job, they sure looked cute too! They got to wear their matching Christmas outfits from Grandma Smith.

Primary Activity

The girls got to go to a fun primary activity today. It was to practice the program and then reward them for all their hard work. At each of the four stations they got to do something fun like color, go fishing, or eat donuts without hands. The girls had a ton of fun and it was well deserved.

Shoe Fettish

Although this isn't a very good picture, it shows the love this girl has for shoes. When we go to a shoe store, Ashlyn is in heaven and we're in a nightmare. She immediately sits down, rips off her shoes and begins pulling shoes off the shelf to put on her own feet. They're always huge on her because we're usually looking in the adult section. She then proceeds to walk around in them until she finds a pair that looks more interesting. Not only is she good at walking in large shoes, but she can even run in them and she's just as good in high heels. She loves it, and we have a huge mess to clean up. The same thing goes for anytime she finds shoes that someone isn't currently wearing. So if we ever come to your house and your shoes go missing, it's probably because this little one has tried them on and wondered off with them.

Snow Storm

We had our first snow storm of the season, and although it wasn't much, the girls insisted on getting bundled up and going out for a little fun. Josh managed to pile some snow up and make a snow cave with the girls.

And Kali made a snowman entirely on her own. Ashlyn was a different story. She wouldn't even step in the snow until I took this picture. She even had boots on, but made me take them off. And she didn't last very long outside. She might just turn out to be like me. I don't like to be cold or wet.

The Fire Station

Sadie's preschool class took a field trip to the fire station and had so much fun. They got to see an engine up close and a man fully dressed in his uniform. Then they learned about fire safety. It obviously made an impact. Sadie seemed excited to know what to do in case of a fire and promptly told me all the steps. Then the next time we saw a fire engine, she swore the guy that taught us about fire safety was the guy driving the truck.

Halloween

Kali decided to be a witch this year and had so much fun Halloween night.

Sadie, our Little Red Riding Hood, had just as much fun. This was the first year that we didn't have anything to do Halloween night. So the girls actually got to go trick or treating in our neighborhood and then came home to hand out candy and watch The Wizard of Oz while eating popcorn.

The popcorn was Ashlyn's favorite part. She sat quietly watching the movie with a bowl of popcorn in front of her, slowly munching it away.

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving was so much more enjoyable this year. I love carving pumpkins and each year I look forward to doing it with the girls. But then it turns out to be much more of a task and headache than it's worth. However, this year was different.

Both Kali and Sadie were able to join in on the majority of the carving and gutting. Kali even carved an entire pumpkin on her own. It looked like an alien, but it made both her and I very excited for next year.

Ashlyn spent most of her time getting into mischief and making messes, but she too seemed to be enjoying herself.

Here's the finised product. So much fun!