Mini Graham?

Almost every time someone sees George out and about with us this is what I hear, "It's mini Graham!"  I think George has his own look a little bit, but I thought I would throw some pictures together to see how much they actually do look alike.

So maybe they do look a whole lot alike.  I had some more pictures of George but after having this blog for 8 years I still can't figure out how to put my most recent downloaded pictures up.  

New Years Eve

By New Years Eve we were finally feeling almost all the way better and I really wanted to have fun.  So I decided we would make some yummy food and stay up for a movie marathon.  The kids were very excited which made everything worth it.  We watched one show all together as a family then ate some dinner, did some fireworks, and then the kids watched shows upstairs while Shawn and I watched our show downstairs.  The kids had so much fun and said they can't wait for next  New Year's Eve.  Hearing that made me so happy and I was glad we could have some fun even if it wasn't much.  I love our little family!  

Caroline with her sparkler.

Graham with his.

And them altogether watching the snakes grow. 

George even joined in on the fun.

And then entertained us by getting his big thighs stuck in the bumbo.  

10 Year Anniversary: the reality

I remember when Shawn started medical school and I kept telling myself by our ten year anniversary we will be done with all this medical training nonsense and have a great anniversary.  Oh how little I knew then.  That was just a dream.  What really happened on our ten year anniversary was this.  We went to church, renewed our temple recommends, ate some cheesecake, Shawn fell sleep at like 9, and I stayed up and cleaned the bathrooms.  Totally the same as I had dreamed right?  This is just our reality right now, nothing exciting but hey its ours and I love it, now matter how boring.  That being said I am very excited to celebrate properly one year! Love you Shawn!

Me and Devin stayed up and read the books he got for Christmas so it wasn't all bad.  

Christmas

It was our last Christmas in this house!  I cried a little when I realized that.  I remember our first year here and I cried because I felt like I was missing out on the fun in Houston.  Five years later and it turns out I'm ok with my own little family and even though the build up to Christmas was stressful Christmas day was pretty great.  We went caroling as usual on Christmas Eve and had fun.  Then that night Graham threw up a few times, and George the best baby in the world decided to break in his two bottom teeth and spend most of the night screaming.  It was a rough night!  We slept in a little the next day which usually never happens but wow we were tired.  Luckily by morning Graham was all better by morning so we spent the day having fun.  We played some new games, played basketball, and ate great food of course.  It was a pretty great last Christmas here.

Caroline opening up some presents.

Graham doing the same.

This is the best picture I could get of Devin, he will NOT sit still for pictures.  He's such a fun kid.

George loving his new bumbo and doggie from the grandparents.  

Pre Christmas

I remember thinking last year that Christmas felt way too rushed and I didn't really have time to enjoy it.  Well that's kind of how I feel about this year.  We had such grand plans for fun and excitement but due to illness that just wouldn't go away and being worn out from being sick we really didn't do anything too exciting.  We did manage to go caroling because I'm pretty sure the world would come to an end and I will still go caroling.  Poodle and my dad were driving though a few days before christmas so they came along to one house with us.  It was so fun.  This is hands down my favorite tradition and I hope my kids will always love it.  The kids also had holiday parties but they were anything but exciting.  I really just stood around the room and watched Devin eat and I didn't get to go to Caroline's party but I can't remember why.  I'm pretty sure I had a legitimate reason otherwise I would have been there.

Its been several years since Poodle and dad have gone.  We were so glad to have them even it was just for one night!

Grandpa showing the boys how to properly eat an eclair.  Devin then decided he needed one and ripped open a shell, not cool Devin, not cool.

Shawn and I did get out to one party this year.  We were both feeling ok and had our first date since George was born.  It was fun but 1 minute before we left Devin kicked Graham in the face and gave him a HUGE bloody nose.  Just glad it happened before we left or we probably would have been called home by the sitter. Never a dull moment.

She's growing up!

A few months ago my friend asked if I would be ok with Caroline getting her ears pierced with her daughter.  I passed the idea by Shawn and he was not very excited about it at first. I asked some friends what their thoughts were about what age is good and there really wasn't a certain age but I did hear some good stories.  One friend said her parents said when she turned 8 she could get her ears pierced and she was so excited she remembers more about getting them pierced than she did about getting baptized.  Another friend said her parents made her wait until she was 12 or maybe older so she just did it herself at a friends house.  I didn't want it to be a source of contention and to me its not a huge deal, I'll pick other things to make a fuss about.   Plus, she's almost 9, very responsible and it would be so much fun to do it with a friend. I got mine done when I was 19 and all by myself, not nearly as fun.  So we let Caroline decide if she wanted to get her ears pierced and after mulling it over for a few days she decided it would be really fun.  She was right it was super fun and we will always remember doing it.  She went with one of her good friends Ayva for Ayva's birthday.  We picked out earrings, went to dinner, and got some ice cream on the way home.  It was so fun and even better to do it with friends.  Honestly think I needed a night out with a friend more than Caroline.  I really didn't think it was a big deal until she sat in the chair and got it done and now looks a whole lot older for some reason.  She is such a good kid and I'm glad I got to do this with her!

Waiting to get started.

This is after the first ear was done.

Both done, her red little ears!

Caroline and Ayva, such good buddies.