Elizabeth  has started eating solid foods.  So far she has had baby oatmeal and barley, with sweet potates and carrots.  She hasn't really figured out how to swallow too well, but eventually she gets it down.  She makes a huge mess, and seems to really enjoy it! 
Look at that smile!

Her favorite snacks are "Baby Mum, Mum's", she devours them, and then grunts for more.  She is so happy when we put her Bumbo chair at the table while we all eat dinner together. 

She is rolling all over the floor now, and sits all by herself. 
She is such a big girl!

This is really my favorite baby stage, she can sit and play with toys, but she can't move around and get into danger yet.  Plus she has the best smiles and a contagious laugh!  All her siblings love trying to make her laugh really hard.  She adores them all but she especially loves attention from Taylor. 

Isaac is doing pretty well with potty training, he still has a few accidents.  This week after one of his accidents I was changing him and he started asking me about changing poopy diapers.  I told him it was gross to change stinky diapers etc..  He looked at me and yelled
"Mom, just tell me the truth about poo!" 
It was hilarious, and we all laughed so hard!

Because Fall is coming, the kids started talking about Halloween costumes.  We asked Isaac what he wanted to be and he said
"I want to be a mustache- I said you want me to paint a mustache on your face and he said,  NO, I want my whole body to be a mustache!"

That will be an original costume, it reminds me of when Taylor was 4 and he insisted on being a snake for Halloween.  These boys sure have creative costume ideas.

Isaac started Joy School last week.  I need to get a picture of him with is backpack and sneakers on.  He looks so cute and really grown up.  He insisted on packing a lunch to go on Tuesday, even though I pick him up before lunch.  He ate most of his food before we left the house, and he was telling me
"Mom, fruit snacks are really healthy, they make me grow big and strong!" 
 Ha Ha, he says the funniest things sometimes. 

We sure love you little Toot!

Funny kids

We have been seeing a lot of these cowboy boots lately.  Isaac loves wearing them with shorts, it's quite stylish. 

The other day he was jumping on the neighbor's tramp and he yells
"Mom, look at me, I get wicked air when I jump high!"  Where did he learn that?!  What does "wicked air" even mean?  He definately keeps things around our house pretty entertaining!

We have spent the past few weeks potty training Isaac, and so there has been a lot of "potty talk" at our house.  So the other night, he needed some clean underwear, and I asked Emily to go downstairs to get his underwear.  The kids came up wearing underwear on their heads, and then they did this hilarious dance routine/talent show! 
 I got the whole thing on video, so I can blackmail them later in life. 

It was so such a funny night!  All of us were laugning hysterically, and I had to snap a few pictures.  I guess all you need to have fun is some underwear!?

I love my kids so much, and am so grateful I get to be their mother!

Kindergarten!

Emily started school this week!  She started a week after Taylor, because they do Kindergarten assesments for the first week.

She was really excited and a little nervous, but she did great! 

She chose pink sneakers, that light up, for her back to school shoes.  We walked her to school after lunch the first day and she went right in her class with no problems. ( I wish I had taken pics. at the school)

Emily is the tallest person in her class, so she looks older than everyone else.  She has made couple new friends already, and I know she will have a great year at school!

I really missed having her home with me.  She is so fun to spend time with, and is easy to please. I can't believe she will be 6 in a few weeks!  She has grown up so fast!

I love you tons, Emily!

Elizabeth has been eating oatmeal and rice cereal this week.  She loves having something solid in her mouth, but most of it gets spit right out.  Hopefully she will figure out how to swallow soon.  I know she is going to love eating new veggies, fruits, etc.. 

Lately to get attention she does a fake cough, which is so adorable.  She will fake cough and then everyone turns and talks to her to see if she is okay.  She also has been experimenting with her voice a lot and she does this really louds growl.  She sounds like an animal, and she loves hearing herself. 
She is sitting pretty well on her own now, but still tips over after a little while.  She is at the best stage right now! 
 I love this age, and wish she could stay like this forever!

I guess Fall is coming, when Taylor left for school yesterday he asked for a sweatshirt, because it was cold!

Happy Anniversary!

September 2, 1999
It was twelve years ago today that Danny and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple.  It seems so long ago, yet I can't believe how fast the time has gone. 

It was a beautiful sunny day, that turned rainy and stormy.  But the weather didn't matter because we were in love.  We pulled out umbrellas and kept taking pictures and tried to be positive.  We were so young!  We were blessed to have our friends and family with us that day. My sister, Natalie was only five at our wedding.  She was Emily's age, and had to be bribed with money $ to come to our wedding dinner. 

I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband.  Danny has many wonderful qualities and I love him more now than I did twelve years ago.  I married Danny because he was a hard worker, he has a strong testimony of the Gospel, he has a good sense of humor and I knew he would be a wonderful father, husband.  We have created a fantastic life together and I look forward to eternity with him. 
I love you honey.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Goodbye summer

This week I have been feeling slightly depressed about the end of summer.  This has been such a fabulous summer filled with so many fun things and good memories.  I asked the kids what their favorite things were we did this summer and they all said "playing on the circle with our friends" as one of their favorite summer memories.  When we decided to buy our current house it was because of the unique street filled with wonderful neighbors and friends and lots of kids.  We liked the actual house okay, but we LOVED the location and street full of friends and lots of activity. 

Because of Elizabeth and the craziness of getting out the door with a baby and 3 kids I didn't sign the kids up for any lessons.  We didn't do swimming, sports, music or anything. We didn't even go to the zoo, museums, water parks etc... I thought the kids would miss it, but no one did.  We had laid back, relaxed days, and sometimes we wouldn't even leave the street for a few days.  Danny would make fun of me, and say I never leave the steet anymore!

We feel so grateful  to live where we live and to enjoy having such an amazing place to live.  We are so blessed!

Here's to an amazing summer full of sleeping in, night games, playing in the backyard, running in the sprinklers, eating several popsicles a day, sidewalk chalk, bike rides, climbing trees, Taylor mowing the lawn for $2.00, potty training Isaac, trips to the "Shiver Shack",  Wii parties in our basement with lots of smelly boys, lemonade stands, making cookies, fushing, hikes, the boys playing "Army" in 95 degree weather and dressed in full camoflouge,
read-a-thons, swimming, afternoon naps, cousin sleepovers, BBQ's with friends and family, boating, staying up late, and having
NO schedule. 

Anyone that knows me understands that I like having some sort of schedule and structure for my days. I usually thrive on a schedule for the kids.  But this summer I learned to sit back, relax and see where the day takes us.  It was a wonderful thing for me to learn and it made for a fantastic summer break!  The kids loved days when they could sleep in, leisurely do their chores and a little homework and we had no where to go. Then they could play outside all day long using their imaginations, being creative and enjoying the long hot days of summer. 

Fall is great, but with fall comes structured schedules, sports practices, cub scouts, homework, school commitments, cold weather and less time spent outside. 
 Luckily we have the wonderful memories of summer to last through the cold winter.

6 months old!

Elizabeth is six months old!  I can't believe she has been in our family for half a year.  She has grown so much and is doing new things every day. 

We went to Monica's house the other day to let the kids play.  She was nice enough to do a quick, unplanned photo session of Lizzie.  We started with both Lizzie and Ali -but she got tired and went down for a nap.  She got so many adorable pictures of Lizzie but here are a few of my favorite. 





I love that smile!

At six months old Lizzie likes to roll around and she is starting to sit by herself.  She loves to be outside, and going on walks in her stroller.  She puts toys, jewelery her toes and fingers etc.. .in her mouth.  She likes her warm baths, unless Isaac is splashing her.  She loves attention from anyone but especially from her big brothers and big sister.  She is starting to track food from our mouth to the bowl and wants to eat real food. 

Both the girls were sad and grumpy, but it's still so cute!  These girls are the cutest in the world!

These next few shots are when she gets nervous, scared and then starts crying.  It's so funny to see her facial expressions change so quickly!

These babies are pretty moody, now she's all happy again.  She just wanted her dress and headband off!

Thanks so much Monica!  I really appreciate your taking her pictures.
I want to capture her at every stage because she is growing so fast!

Back to School!

It's hard to believe I have a son in 3rd grade!  Taylor was really exciteed, but tried to act like it was no big deal. 
Emily is thrilled to be going to Kindergarten and will have a great year.  She has school in the afternoon, so she will walk home from school with this great group of kids.  I am sad to have in her school, she is such a great helper and she plays so well with Isaac!  He will definately miss having her around the house.

Back to school means back to schedules, and lots of things going on.  I wish we could pause time and jsut have a relaxed, mellow summer forever!  I love Taylor and Emily so much and I am so proud of both of them!

Hope it was a great day for all the kids back in school.

Today was the first day of school!  Emiy doesn'tactually start until next week, but she got out of bed for a few pictures. 

It was hard to get the kids in bed last night, because they are used to going to bed around 9 or 10 and waking up at 9!  Well all of that sleeping in stopped today, because Taylor has school at 8:25!  He leaves with his friends to walk around 8:05, so he was up early.