Ward Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas party this year was Grinch themed. Everyone was encouraged to dress as Who’s or in an ugly sweater. The party was a lot of fun and the food was delicious. Natalie and Jenna were excited at the prospect of dressing as Cindy Lou Who. Thank goodness for Pinterest tutorials on how to do Who hair. 

The girls were excited to see Santa, but Jenna did not appreciate that he was sitting next to the Grinch. The grinch mask made her very uneasy. We are grateful to be part of such a good ward and for all the work put into that night. 

More of Decemeber

Beth’s first pony tail. Some of her hair is getting long and hanging in her eyes. So at seven months old she needs it pulled back. 

Natalie lost another tooth. This happened at school which meant she got a cool tooth necklace to bring it home in. 

A picture of Jenna because she is so cute. She is really growing up. She is getting better at playing by herself while Natalie is at school.

Beth got to see Santa at the library for story time. I was a little surprised she was happy about it. Jenna was home sick with Justin this day. 

Justin has been putting in long hours to remodel a bathroom in our house. He is doing an amazing job and we are grateful for his hard work. I am really hoping that the remodel helps get rid of some of the strange smells from this house. When he tore the shower out he said he found several dead mice in the walls. 

Christmas Excitement

With the holidays here it feels like there is always something going on. From parties and choir performances to gathering supplies and gifts so as to be ready for the big day. This year has felt more busy than normal. I have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the little moments that truly make Christmas time magical. For instance the falling snow that started our morning off yesterday. The girls were thrilled to hear it was snowing. They squealed while throwing the door open and peeked into the dark morning taking in the white frosted side walk. It was awesome to see their excitement.

After school yesterday they worked hard to decorate our windows with Christmas gel clings. 

This picture was during breakfast on Sunday morning. I know I am going to miss these days of all my girls being little. This was a rare morning where everyone was happy and cooperative.

I keep thinking if I get such and such done I will have more time to just sit and be present. I realize this is a faulty thought and am trying to live more in the moment. I am grateful to be able to make these Christmas memories. It truly is a magical time of the year. 

Thanksgiving

We beat the stomach flu here just in time to make a trip to Utah. The girls were so excited to spend the holiday with Grandma Jamie, Grandpa Barry and the cousins they don’t get to see very often.

We left early Wednesday morning, thanks to Beth making sure I was awake at 4 am. It worked well in our favor as we all are much happier early in the morning around here, as opposed to evening time. 

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and a lot of time to visit with family and play with cousins. The girls especially enjoyed pie. 

Friday we went swimming and watched a movie. Saturday J and N went with Ben and Dana’s family to watch the new Grinch for Abbie’s birthday. They followed the movie with grinch pancakes at IHOP. Jenna and Natalie were super impressed.

Some other highlights of the trip were; snow, lots of snow, staying at Ben and Dana’s house, they have lots of fun toys, and the annual Weller’s Open house. 

We had a great time and are so blessed to be part of a neat family. The girls were sad to leave, but we all needed the rest we got when we made it to our own beds Sunday night. 

Halloween

Now that it is nearly Christmas, I guess I can write about Halloween. The girls were very excited to dress up and participate in all of the festivities for this holiday. They were princess mermaids, I was a bank robber and Beth my sack of cash. 

We carved pumpkins for family home evening that week. Natalie dressed up for the costume parade at school that week. Then Halloween after school we had Mummy dogs, Monster brains with mouse eyeballs, and witches fingers for dinner. (aka hot dogs in crescent roll dough, peas in ramen noodles, and carrot sticks) My children do not like Ramen Noodles. Weird, I know right? We then hurried and got our costumes together tho start off our trick or treating at Grandma Lasley’s. We then continued on to Ontario to walk the trunk or treat at my parent’s ward. 

The girls got a sufficient amount of candy and we were done by 7. With past years experience I tweaked how we did things this year. It was a much more pleasant experience and I didn’t come home feeling so exhausted from trying to be in 3 places at once. It was a Happy Halloween. 

6 and 7 Months

This little girl is 7 months old now. I didn’t get a 6 month picture. So Halloween will have to suffice. At 6 months she was rolling everywhere and starting to like food more and more. She also loves to pull her sisters hair as soon as they get close. Her favorite thing though is mom. This is still good and at time frustrating, but I do love love love her chubby cheek smiles. She did have her first time with the stomach flu while being 6 months old. Thankfully she only through up one time, but she did not appreciate it.

Just before turning 7 months olds her first tooth came in and she learned to clap her hands togethers. Now she is really rolling and almost army crawling everywhere. She is eating more food and usually only wakes up once a night to eat. She does have a hard time getting into a deep sleep in the evenings. So just because I put her to bed at 7:30. I often still end up rocking her until 9:30. We are working on breaking that habit. Her favorite baby food is still pears. She wants to try whatever we are eating though. She is getting more interactice with her voice and definitely is recognizing people more and more. She loves watching her sisters run and play. She was 18lbs 6 oz at her 7 month appt. She was about 68% overall for height, weight and head size. We love our squishy, long dark haired baby Bethie girl. 

October Happenings