December funnies

*A few days ago, Alayna and I delivered treats to some friends and neighbors.  When we were driving to the first house, I told Alayna she was in charge of handing the bag of goodies to the person who opened the door and saying "Merry Christmas!"

And she did just that....almost.  She gave the bag of goodies to our friend and then exclaimed "Very Christmas!"

I had a good little chuckle.  When we drove to the next house I explained to her that instead of Very Christmas, it's Merry Christmas.  I think she was slightly confused because she was thinking Mary instead of Merry.  I gave a quick explanation, then she proceeded to practice saying Merry Christmas the entire way to the next house.

Bless her heart, she tried so hard, but when she handed the goodies to this friend, she forgot what it was she was supposed to say.  (That "Merry" is kind of hard to remember.)  So, I whispered it to her.  Apparently, it only took that one time of reminding for her to remember because now she says "Merry Christmas!"  like nobodys business.  She was telling everyone at church she saw.  I think we have got it down now.



*Alayna had the talk in Primary for the first time ever.  She was quite excited about it.  The topic was Joseph Smith saw and testified of Jesus Christ.  I wrote the information (in simple 4 year old sentences) and glued it to the back of pictures attached to popsicle sticks.  We practiced and and practiced.  Alayna had most of it memorized.  We were ready.

We went to primary.  Alayna sat up front waiting for her turn to give the talk.  After the LONGEST scripture ever "read" by a 4 year old, it was her turn.  I went up to help her.  She held up the picture and  started to give her talk, with a little help.  She was doing great, then about half way through, I noticed she started to do a little dance and in the microphone says, "I gotta go potty."  Everyone chuckled a little.  And I whispered to her that she could hold it.  We were almost done.  She held up the next picture, started talking, then turned to me and said, "I REALLY need to go potty."  By the amount of wiggling she was doing, and the look on her face, I knew we would be in serious trouble if she didn't go right then.  A lady quickly took her to the bathroom and I was left to finish her talk.  So I held up the pictures and finished her talk.  

It was quite the experience.  And one that won't be forgotten any time soon.  I had three or four people tell me how cute/funny her talk was.  Dan was sure bummed he missed the excitement, but he was home with a sick baby.

When we got home, Dan asked how her talk went and Alayna said, "I was wiggling a lot and I REALLY had to go potty so MOMMY gave my talk!"

We got a good laugh out of that.

Letters to Santa

Last week for Family Home Evening, the girls wrote letters to Santa.  This year has been so fun because Alayna really is at that perfect age where she gets excited about every little thing.  And writing letters to Santa was no disapointment.  She loved it!

Here's her letter to Santa.

And Brylen's.  (Alayna was kind enough to help her little sister.)

Hair dresser

The week before Thanksgiving, Alayna took on the role of hair dresser.  

One night, Dan went to give the girls a bath and he asked me if I knew that Alayna cut her hair.  Of course my eyes about popped out of my head and I said, "NO!"  

He then told me there was a bunch of hair in the sink.  We asked Alayna if she cut her hair and she said, "Yes." (She was really honest throughout the entire conversation.) We asked her why she cut her hair and she told us she needed to cut the "Stickies out of her hair." (We had pancakes earlier and she got some syrup in her hair.)  We then proceeded to talk about how we don't cut "Stickies" out of our hair.  We don't ever cut our hair.  

Here's the hair style she created.  You can see she cut one side a lot shorter than the other.  Luckily she only cut the two sections in the front, so it was an easy fix for the real hair dresser.

  

And a close up.

7 months

Now that my baby is actually 8 months (barely), I thought I would write about her at 7 months. 

She learned how to sit unassisted.  What a great day that was!  She has been much more content since doing this.  She finally can see everything that is going on.  

Along with sitting, she has been rolling like crazy.  Here she has stopped mid-roll to watch some baby signing time.  Gotta love baby signing time.

We've started feeding Brylen solids.  She has seemed to like most things we have given her.  But we had a slight hiccup when a few weeks after starting solids she got a huge rash all over her back.  We had to cut all solids out of her diet until the rash went away.  This actually took longer than we thought.  During this time we just fed Brylen rice cereal (along with nursing) and she began to quite like rice cereal.  

We still are unsure what caused the rash.  We think it was a combination of dry skin and an allergy to something.  We just don't know what.  

I have been trying to get a picture of Bryen clasping her hands for quite sometime, but have been unable to.  This still isn't the best picture (usually all her fingers are interlocked).  She does it ALL.THE.TIME.  She even clasps her hands in her sleep.  It's so funny!

Brylen has finally gotten back to her happy self.  Thank goodness!  Now that she is more mobile and her teeth have finally come in, she is back to her old self.  I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to be happy again.  

She is starting to really interact with her sister, which Alayna LOVES!  Brylen adores her and thinks Alayna is quite funny!  No one can get Brylen to laugh like Alayna.

Here's Brylen watching Alayna play in the snow. 

And a couple pictures just for fun.

Purple hair.

After church.  

First snow

It has now snowed like three times since we have moved here.  Seriously.  It is crazy.  These last few months I have been bracing myself for the cold and snow.  And then it really hasn't been all that cold.  Or snowy....until a couple days ago.

Several weeks ago, it snowed for the first time and Alayna was. IN. HEAVEN.  I mean, we are talking about the girl that has lived in warm climates most of her life.  She couldn't wait to get her "snow jacket" (coat) on and go play.  It only took two seconds to realize that we were in desperate need of snow gear.  Luckily, Alayna didn't seem to mind.

Here she is posing before she went out.  She LOVES her boots.

And right  before she headed out.  Her cute hat was made for her by her sweet sunbeam teacher as a going away gift.  Isn't it darling?

Making her very first snowman.

And the finished product.

The second time it snowed we actually had snow pants, so she jumped at the chance to make a snow angel.

Alayna wants it to snow all the time so she can go out and play.  (Wonder when that will wear off.) But for now we're just enjoying it.  

P.S.  Let it be known that I changed my car to the auto 4 wheel drive setting for the first time in over two years.  I didn't know whether to be excited or sad about that.

Good to know

If your baby ever mistakes your cell phone for a teething ring and proceeds to soak it with drool, rest assured there is a solution for your now, broken cell phone. 

The fridge.

I know it sounds weird, but a night in the fridge will rid that phone of the unwanted drool and it will be just like new.

Ask me how I know.

And if anyone feels the need to talk to me on the phone, you now will be able to hear me.  Whew.


P.S.  Have you noticed I have been a little MIA?  No?  Well, I have.  I have currently run out of picture space on my blog, which is creating quite the problem.  Don't worry, I am attending to that problem and soon you will have picture filled posts coming your way.

Halloween

Halloween 2012 has come and gone, but it sure was fun!  The girls had a blast and it hands down was the best Wyoming weather we have EVER had.  (We're talking about trick or treating with no coats.  Not even a jacket either!)

This year's Halloween costumes were somewhat low-key.  I had envisioned coordinating costumes for the girls.  In fact, for quite sometime I wanted them to be Rapunzel and Pascal, but something in me intervened and decided I should ask Alayna what she wanted to be.  Who am I to choose for her?  

And guess what?  She wanted to be a ballerina.  (She even already had an outfit from our dress up barrel in mind, which was a win-win for my checkbook.)  This came as no shock to me since Angelina Ballerina has been a favorite around here for awhile now.

And when I asked what Brylen should be, Alayna insisted her being a ballerina as well. (After all, Angelina Ballerina has a little sister.) Who am I to argue the simple pleasures of a child?

So, ballerinas they were.

Lucky for us, they had several occasions to wear their costumes for.

Here are the girls after the tri-ward halloween social kids 5 and under. 

Alayna, practicing her twirling.

Gotta love this girl.

And this girl too.  They make beautiful ballerinas.

Getting ready to go trick or treating at Daddy's work.  (She loved getting all dolled up.  Especially the make-up.  She asked everyday for a couple days following Halloween if she got to put my make-up on again.  Um, no.  Four-year-olds don't get to wear make-up on a daily basis. Sorry.)

Costume, pictures and a teething baby just don't mix.  Ask me how I know.

But somehow I did manage to get a smile.

LOVE this!  

And a few close-ups of the littlest ballerina.

She even knows how to put her arms out to the side like a ballerina.

And look how flexible she is too.

Alayna wanted a turn in the lime light as well.  (Notice those bandaids.  She got six shots the day before Halloween.  And Brylen had four.  Poor girls.)

Now, on to the sorting.  What's Halloween candy without sorting.  

Pumpkins

This year we went to a small makeshift pumpkin patch in our town to pick out our pumpkins.  Alayna loved looking at all the different pumpkins to choose from.  But it didn't take her long to choose one.

Brylen was content to sit and watch in her seat.

Then the following week, the pumpkin carving commenced.

Layna was a great helper. In fact, she insisted on doing most of it herself. 

This girl is not afraid to get dirty.  She even attacked it with both hands.

Showing Mommy all the seeds.

Brylen seemed to enjoy the carving from her seat.

Showing off her pumpkin.  She came up with her pumpkin's face all on her own.  She was quite proud.

And Daddy's pumpkin. Pretty good, huh?  

4 sweet years

Four years.  FOUR years!  This little girl has been a part of our family for FOUR years.  And we absolutely adore her and her sweet n' sassy personality.

The weekend before her birthday we went to Grandma and Grandpa L's house to have a party with some of her cousins, aunts and uncles and of course Grandma and Grandpa.  It's been awhile since we have had the option to celebrate with family, so we jumped at the chance.

She was in heaven and had been talking about her birthday for weeks.  She knew she was turning four "just like Easton" (her cousin). 

This year she only made a few requests for her birthday.  She wanted there to be pink, ice cream and a round cake.  Little did she know that totally made this mom's day.  I can do that.  So that is what we did.  We had a pink party with a round birthday cake and ice cream.  I am so glad these little ones are so easy to please.  It's my philosophy that as parents, we might as well keep things simple as long as the kids will let us.  Why stress yourself out with huge, elaborate parties when the kids are just as happy with a simple one?

The birthday girl with her pink, round cake.  I think it's safe to say, she was pleased.

A close up of the cake.  Probably the easiest cake I have made yet.  I told Dan that she will be getting this same birthday cake every year.  It was that easy. (Sadly, that probably won't happen.)

Blowing out the candles.

Now, the presents.  Of course she was spoiled!  She loved everything she got.  And might I add, that this age was SO fun to shop for.  I loved it!  She knows what she wants and there are some pretty fun stuff for kids nowadays.  I would have killed for some of those toys when I was her age.

Why hello Brylen.  She definitely was enjoying the festivities as well.

Mom and Dad gave her Prince Eric.  

She was in love.  :)

Some of the decorations.  Simple, but got the job done.

We spent Alayna's actual birthday at home.  The night before, some of Dan's family came for another party.  (I know.  She's one spoiled girl.)  She couldn't believe that she got TWO birthdays.  In fact, it kind of confused her.  I tried to explain after her first party that she wasn't really four yet, but that didn't go over too well.  Then she figured she was turning five at her next party.  (Wow. That year went by in a week. :) 

So finally we settled for turning four twice.  

Here she is on her actual birthday.  We had to get donuts with sprinkles for breakfast.

And here she is at her second party.  This time we made cake pops.  (They fulfilled all the requirements.  They are pink. And round.)  

They were a hit!  Can you tell?

Blowing out the candle.

Opening presents again.  She was spoiled.  Again.

Some of her favorites.  Princesses, ballerinas, and barbies all in one.   You can't get much better than that.

And some more pink.

 

Oh how we love this four year old!  She brightens our lives everyday and we are so grateful she's in our family!