Yearly Jana Pictures!!

Handsome Stud!

Love the big belly!

Believe it or not, Eliza was not happy during this photo shoot!  She was really tired for some reason.  But, Jana got some great pictures.  Jana had set up everything in my family room, and Eliza just kept walking off, not wanting to hold still for the pictures.  So, in all these black and white background pictures Eliza is actually on my lap.  This is a trick I got from my mom.  I have the background draped over me and I was tickling her and playing peek-a-boo.  They ended up great!

Hailey is taking tap and ballet this year.  She really loves it, so we thought it would be fun to take some pictures in her cute dance outfit.

We took these pictures just before Eliza's first birthday.  She was just learning to walk around, so the kids had to help support her a little in the pictures.  My friend Jana (butterflylovephotography.blogspot.com) does such a great job, and it was so nice to have her come into our house and take all the pictures, the kids love it!

February Hollywood Connection

Mike and my brother Blake riding the magic school bus with the kids

Ben, Hailey, and Nathan (cousin) bravely riding the front of the roller coaster by themselves

Roller Skating Craziness!  So, my kids decided it would be great fun to go roller-skating.  When I was little my mom put me and my sister Aly in roller skating lessons.  I remember roller skating when I was Ben's age.  I guess my kids need a lot of practice.  I pushed Eliza in her stroller while Hailey hung on for dear life.  Mike helped (well really held up) Ben.  It was a great workout for Mike, me, and my brother Blake.  None of the kids really got it, but on the upside we didn't get injured either! 

The carousel is Eliza's absolute favorite!  We took her last year at the zoo, and she loved it.  She just smiles and giggles the whole ride.  She could have stayed on it the whole time.  All the workers kept commenting on how cute she was on this ride.

2/21/2011

The Tree Fort



The Before Picture

So, this fort was my crazy idea.  But, Mike is amazing at actually making it.  He planned it all out and worked on it in our garage.  He had it all put together in 2 Saturday afternoons!  I am way impressed with his skills!

2/20/2011

The completed fort!  I made Mike add windows and a door to the fort so Eliza could go up there safely and not be able to fall out.  The front window can open, and we have a basket rigged so the kids can bring toys up and down.  My mom and my sister Bri were the awesome decorating duo.  They helped figure out how to make our awesome trunks, then painted all the leaves.  My mom and dad found awesome real branches for the walls and grandpa buddy came and put them up.  My kids love their tree fort, and think it's really cool that we are going to leave it up!

February

Mike and Hailey...future nascar driver???

We went to incredible pizza and our kids loved it!!!  They keep asking to go back.  We had a lot of fun, and our cute Eliza loved all the little rides.  If you are wondering why we are always going places like this and Hollywood Connection, it is because I am a deal finder.  Any place we go it is at least 1/2 off, and usually a lot cheaper than that.

 2/1/2011

So, I love this picture.  Eliza will only go to sleep in her car seat or her crib.  We have been told multiple times that we should not have her in this car seat because she is too big.  No worries, her real car seat in the car does not come out.  We just keep her baby car seat to put her to sleep when we are not home.  Mike swings her in the seat until she is asleep.  He tried unsuccessfully to put her to sleep at Ben's basketball game, and she poked her cute little head out to let us know she was awake!

This picture if right after he took a practice shot, love the stance!

Ben is #19 the one dribbling the ball

This is our first time doing Jr. Jazz basketball.  Ben had a lot of fun.  It was absolutely crazy.  At this age they try to teach the kids to dribble the ball, but only a few of them can actually do it well.  They also teach them to put up their hands for defense, but half of the time Ben had his hands up on defense and offense.  This was a good strategy, because his teamates passed him the ball a lot, because his hands were up.   Too funny!

2/12/2011

Happy First Birthday Eliza!

Eliza loved her cake!  She ended up eating almost 1/2 of it!  She definitely follows after her mother with a major sweet tooth.  She had no hesitation digging right in and eating.  I actually had to stop her because she would have kept going!  Ben was opposite of Eliza when he turned one.  Ben took one bite and was done.  I love my cute Eliza and can't believe she is all ready 1!

Eliza unwrapping her presents with Grandpa Buddy

We gave Eliza a drum set for her birthday.  She is our musical little girl.  She loves making music of every kind!  Eliza also does things that I don't remember our other kids doing at her age.  She loves to color, she will color at church and at home, it is so cute.  Eliza is such a girl, and loves walking around the house in every ones shoes.  She will hold her baby dolls and pat their backs and give them kisses.  She started walking right around her 1st birthday.

Happy Kings Day!

We wanted to go mini-golfing, but there were no balls.  So, Aly took control and got us some.

For Martin Luther King Day we got together with my mom, sister Aly, brother Blake, sister-in-law Nicole and kiddos.  All day long Hailey kept saying, Happy Kings Day.  We went to Hollywood Connection, and it was the first time my kids had gone.  It was super crowded, but we got to do everything!  They loved the rides and golfing and lunch.  We had so much fun.  As we left, Hailey asked if we could come every Happy Kings Day.  (Mike was working, so he missed out on the fun this time. Bummer.)

2011!!

We had a fun get-together with family.  I love Hailey's face in this picture!

Ben's first loose tooth!

Notice the 2 cute teeth on the bottom

I had lost Eliza for a few minutes.  When I found her, she had found our church bag and got into a bag of fishy crackers.  She was so proud of herself!

Hailey has had a lot of haircuts in her 3 years of life, she even had two cuts before she was 1.  This haircut was her most dramatic!  We cut off about 7 or 8 inches and donated her hair for wigs for cancer patients.  I wanted to see what she would look like with really short hair, and I love it!  She is such a cutie!  She loves it too, and tells everyone how she looks like a princess.

Eliza loves being like her older brother and sister.  She loves coloring and drawing.  I don't remember my other kids doing that at 1.

Eliza learned how to use this, just backwards.  She loved pushing it around backwards, occasionally we would get her to push it the right way.  She started walking right around her 1st birthday, just like her brother. 

January 2011

Christmas Outfits and New Year's



My cute kids and their cute cousins!  The rocking chair that Eliza is sitting in was actually made by my Great Grandpa (small Grandpa), my dad fixed it up a few years ago.  

Ben and Nathan
These 2 cute cousins love playing together!  Love it!

These two are just too cute!  This is Ben's best friend and future wife Isabelle.  We had her over for a fun sleepover, and here they are cuddled up watching a movie!

My kids love sledding!  Off for another sledding/snowboarding adventure.

Happy New Year!  We had my family all come over to celebrate New Years at our house.  We played games and ate great food and had so much fun.  Amazingly the kids all stayed awake for the party.