Baby Shower

Since my sister Emily had her baby a month early we didn't get to have our family baby shower for her we were planning on doing a few days after he was born. So my Grandma and my little sister Katy and I put together one the week after Christmas for her. It was so simple yet fun. We got together and had a yummy lunch at my Grandparents and enjoyed one another's company. It was fun to just have all the girls together!

The little kids table, although the little kids aren't so little anymore so we bring the great grand kids to make up for it!

The adult table with my Grandma, aunts, cousins, mom, and sisters and of course Jack the man of the hour!Since we couldn't guess what he was going to weigh and look like and what not since he was already here we did predictions for later on down the road like what he wants to be when he is older and his favorite food and game. Then we took every ones picture with baby Jack and they are going in a book with the predictions and they are going to read them before he goes on his mission.

Then we opened presents. I got her a bib and little outfit for this spring. I had already given her, her gift after I got into town. I made her a baby blanket and got a little jacket for him as well. It was so fun to throw this shower for my sister! She waited a long time to become a mom and so she deserved to be showered with love!

Random Utah Pictures #2

I seemed to end up with a lot of random, no place for for them to go pictures from Utah. I think most of them are from the two weeks before Christmas and before Andrew flew back.

Ella watching while Katy filled the tree with water. She is Katy's shadow when she is around, she wants to be wherever she is and be doing what she is doing at all times!

Ella is fun to tickle and has lots of uncles and aunts to aid her in that!I just love my little boy even when he is up to no good, which is 95% of his day!I wish I could remember what he was laughing at in these two pictures!Ella has this strange thing where she loved to feel my dads face, weird I know but she loves her Papa! She loved to sit in his chair with him and get up and down and up and down. Easton just loved to go behind his chair and play peek-a-boo with him!
Ella loves pockets and I can convince her to get her jacket on usually by telling her it has pockets. She loves to put her hands in her pockets!

Shoes

Ella loves to exercise with me. One day she went and found my shoes and came out and told me she was going to exercise with my shoes. She was being so silly and looked awesome in my shoes! Never a dull moment in our house, that's for sure!

Merry Christmas

Christmas morning came really early for us. My little siblings still think it is fun to get up before the sun so at 6:15 they woke us all up! I secretly was really excited because this was the first year that Ella and sort of Easton kind of knew what was going on. Ella knew someone had left presents while she was in bed! It is amazing how having little ones has changed me, I almost forgot to open my gifts and have Andrew open his because I was so excited about the kids and what we got for them!

We decided to get them this car ramp as a gift for both of them from Santa. To say they love it is an understatement but they have definitely made it worth it! It was fun getting it home but we managed!

She wasn't quite sure why we woke her up and it was dark outside still but she was excited!The nice part about this toy is it came with lots of cars and they got some more as well and it has two different ramps so it is easy for them to share!We saw this doll and knew Ella would love it. She loves Tangled, "tenar" as she calls it. She loves the doll but the hair is getting Tangled! I was excited to get it for her as well because I had saved gift cards I got throughout the year from Target from buying various things and they give you a free gift card with purchase like diapers, we buy plenty of those! I had saved enough to get them each a gift and so Ella got this doll. I have already started saving them again for next Christmas since they had another diaper offer this week!Ella loves to empty bags and refill them just like last year and so I knew she would love her stocking. She loved finding all her favorite treats and a few fun little things!We gave Easton the same truck I had given him for his birthday but we had never opened it up and so we gave it to him again and he loves it. He is all boy, truck noises and all!He was excited to go through his stocking and find treats as well!My Dad, Spencer, and EastonAll ready for church! At the beginning of the month I did a little side job and earned myself a little money so I was able to buy myself a new Christmas dress and Easton a new vest. Every body else's clothes I already had months ago!Easton was so tired and he had already had a nap!Ella was so tired she was acting goofy!
After church we went to Andrew's mom's house for the afternoon. We exchanged gifts and had a lovely lunch! His family spoiled us and our kids! Thank you isn't enough for all they have done for us! We got to spend so much time with them this trip and I am glad our kids got to know their cousins better. After we left his family we went to my Uncle Todd's house for more food and present opening. We had a good time playing games and talking.

Ella and East were so tired and Andrew was so nice to chase them around most of the night!My cousin Molly and I. We still exchange gifts and she got me some really cute winter salt and pepper shakers!Molly's little girl Dahlia and Easton, they are a month apart and they had lots of fun opening and closing the cupboards and the swinging door!

My cousin Andrea has a little boy a month younger than East so there are three are all within two months apart and so we tried to get a picture of the three of them together and it was impossible. It was fun to see how crazy one year olds are! Even Hannah is almost 4 was having a hard time getting them to cooperate!It was fun to see each of their personalities one trying to get off the couch, one trying to bounce, and so on!Earlier in the month we helped my Grandma tie a quilt for my Grandpa and he was really surprised! It turned out really nice and was fun to watch him open it! Now he just needs to get better so he can go home and use it. He has been in the hospital this week and gave a quite a scare the other day after some complications from surgery. He can use all the prayers he can get right now! It was such an amazing Christmas and we felt so blessed. We were so thankful to be able to spend so much time with our families. Our families spoiled us in so many ways and made us feel so loved! It is truly a blessing to have such amazing families who love us and care for us so much! We are thankful for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and for his birth and grateful we could celebrate it!

New Jammies

Every year we always get to open one gift on Christmas Eve, always pajamas! This year my mom decided to make all the grand kids matching pajamas as well. They turned out really cute and Ella calls them her Grandma jammies. I was happy to not have to find any! This is the first year I didn't get any but I told Andrew I didn't need any this year and he actually listened!

Apparently I was more excited than East to open them!Ella loved it all having a present to open, actually opening it, and the end result, new jammies!
Easton was so tired and done!We wish we could have gotten one with Jocey and Tyler since theirs were the same as Ella and Eastons! Jack was doing pretty good having to sit next to these two!Then he realized who was next to him! Actually if I remember right he was way past due to eat so he had every right to scream!Ella always has to have her legs crossed. And we finally got a smile out of each of them!I remember the day when the girls far outnumbered the boys in my mom's family. Now it seems like the boys are starting to take over!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was pretty laid back. I woke up early and starting baking and was in the kitchen until almost 2 that afternoon but in the end I had made lots of different fun treats. I never did get a picture of it all but I made funfetti cake bars, peanut butter kiss cookies, peppermint oreos, sugar cookies, and Andrew made Santa hats for me which were pretzels dipped half way into white chocolate and then dipped in red sugar crystals, they turned out really cute! I was tired by the time I was done! The peppermint oreos turned out amazing but were super rich!

That night we were with Andrew's family. We had such a relaxing evening. We enjoyed dinner, snacking, playing games, talking, and his sister Anna bought a Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory for dessert! It was so good and rich! I am lucky I didn't gain ten pounds just on Christmas Eve! We apparently enjoyed ourselves a little to much we only took two pictures the whole night!

Ella and Anna! Ella loves Anna and still asks where she is every time we are in the car.

Daniel had fun playing with the kids. They run circles around all of us!

Spenc

My little brother Spencer was such a big help for me while I was in Utah and Andrew was still back in Mississippi finishing up the semester. He chased my kids around and played with them non stop! He is determined to never have kids for a long time now though! He was so cute with them and Ella and Easton absolutely adore him! He would always help me get them ready and out the door and would get them in the car for me, put on their shoes and coats and what not! He was a huge help. It drove him nuts that neither of my kids know how to keep their shoes and socks on, welcome to my world I feel like I spend my days putting them on over and over again!

Ella lights up and gets so excited when she sees him. Every time he was gone to work or snowboarding she was convinced he was downstairs asleep. He did sleep in until almost noon a few times so her claim could have been valid!