Merry Christmas 2010

I can't believe its the new year and the holidays are over! Boy they sure go by fast. I know they are going to, but it still surprises me every year just how quickly it goes.

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was really chill and relaxing and Justin and I enjoyed partaking of the magic through our sweet children. Here they are in their little Christmas outfits, curtesy of Aunt Patti!

I didn't get too many good pics of the kids Christmas morning. They were too busy opening presents and enjoying their breakfast of chocolate and more chocolate to stop and say "cheese!" :)

Christmas Morning

The kids got some fun little toys to play with and lots of new games to keep them busy and give them something different to do. They played ALL DAY with their new toys and didn't even want to leave the house cause they would miss their new toys!

(The only "good" pic I got!)

B-rax got his first bike!!! He LOVES it and would ride it all day every day if he could. Santa did good this year! :)

After presents we went out for breakfast. SO nice not having to cook Christmas morning! :) I think that will be a tradition we will stick with. The highlight of the day for me was being able to Skype with my sweet sister Alisha who is on her mission in the Bahamas currently. It was so nice to be able to see her and talk to her face to face, so to speak. She is so wonderful. We all went over to my parents house, the whole fam, and were able to be there to talk to her. She comes home this Sept! Already counting down! :)

Merry Christmas! Hope yours was merry and bright!

6 Months!!

I've popped!

Braxton is THREE!!!!

THE BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

THE PINATA!!!

(Some of) THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!

THE CAKE!!!

THE PRESENTS!!!

I hope your birthday was all you had hoped it would be my son! For months you could talk about nothing else, and when asked what you wanted to get all you would say is "You buy me trains for my birthday!" (Hence the ecstatic face when your new train was opened!) You are such a sweet, crazy kid and I love ya more than you could possibly know! You'll always be my baby!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! :)

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was a different experience for us this year. It was the first year we not only had it solely with Justin's family, but at our home. (Much more stressful than I imagined! Thank you Mom for all your help!!) Justin's sweet mother flew over from New York to be with us and his sister came down from Dewey, and we had a friend from Justin's work with us as well who didn't have any family. A much smaller group than I am typically used to, but all in all we had a wonderful day and enjoyed being together as family and enjoying good food and remembering all we are thankful for. Braxton LOVED playing with his cousins that he doesn't get to see too often and cried when they left. It was so nice having "Grandma Bebe" here with us for a week and enjoying her company. The kids took to her and her little dog "Lola" so quickly and asked for her all day after she flew home. It was wonderful to be able to watch them get to know her better and build a relationship with their grandma.

5 months!!

Me and Baby BOY!! 5 months. I can't believe I'm already halfway there!

Halloween 2010

We had a fun Halloween Eve this year, partying with our ward family at a carnival and trunk-or-treat. Braxton asked me every day for two weeks after we bought his costume if it was time to go to the Halloween party yet, and finally the time came!! He and Bella had a ball and Justin and I loved watching their joy throughout the night. Holidays definitely change as you grow into an adult and sometimes lose some of their magic, but I am so grateful children can light that spark again and allow you to live the magic once again.

The Beautiful Bella as Tinkerbell. She started dancing and flitting about just like a real fairy as soon as I donned her costume and literally didn't stop until it was time for bed later that night. She was so much fun to watch!

B-rax, giving me his "cheese" face. He didn't like his mask, but he still made a handsome Batman in suite and cape. Ready for the party!!

Face (hand) painting. He hates people touching his face. Think he gets that from me...

Hopscotch. I loved all the booths cause no matter what it was, they got candy or prizes just for trying.

Definitely Bella's favorite booth of the night (basketball toss). As soon as I put her down, no matter where we were, she would start dancing right back to this one. I was so worn out by the end of the night just from chasing after her!

Daddy and Bella, giving Momma a break for a minute!

Schnepf Farms

We went on a fun family outing to Schnepf Farms and had a grand time!

The kids LOVED the playground and the carasoul... Braxton STILL talks about when we went to the "zoo" (he calls it) and rode the "care-a-self" and petted the animals and rode the airplanes!

The face of pure joy...

How can you not want to just kiss that face over and over? I do...all day... :)

The train ride was fun. Braxton waited a long time to be able to ride it!

The pygmy goats were cute but STINKY!!!

And this kid wanted to ride the airplanes over and over... he would have all night if we let him.

We had a wonderful time. The weather was great and it was nice just being together as a family and enjoying the fall festivities!!

HAPPY FALL!!!

My Kiddos...

They don't come any cuter than this...