December Moments

Some moments from our busy month of December. IT always goes too fast and somehow we always end up sick during some part of it. But we have fun! I love the magic of the holidays.

Zac is so mobile now and into everything! It is so fun seeing him engaged in everything that is around him. He loves exploring and figuring things out. He loves playing with all the twins toys. I just love this little guy.


So my twins right here, I know Ty is thinking, "Gracie you are not suppose to eat the frosting!" "You go to timeout!" And in response, Gracie would just chew and swallow faster.


Ty just liked to mix the color in and watch the frosting change.


Daddy trying to show the twins how to decorate the cookies without over sprinkling. A skill we will continue to practice.


For family night we like to take holiday treat plates to our friends and neighbors. I would like to say we carol too, but nope not so much. Maybe when the kids know the words.


Our first round of decorating sugar cookies. They loved to lick a little as they went.


In a "aha" I caught you moment. This is a devious smile from miss Gracie.


Gracie girl has really gotten into coloring lately. If only she would put the lids back on the markers and not get any on her clothes. We are still learning.


Gracie and Ty riding the horsie together. This usually ends in some sort of wrestling match.


Zac decided it is fun to climb into the fridge when the door is open. Silly boy.

Happy Birthday Kev!

December birthdays are tough, its hard having your birthday so close to Christmas. But we always try to make sure Kev has a fun day.

He woke up to his birthday display.


He was sweet enough to grill steaks and we had a yummy birthday dinner, followed by some chocolate cake and presents. A very successful evening. The next night we went out to dinner with some friends and he got to see a movie.

Gracie did such a good job decorating Daddy's present.


31! Happy Birthday to our favorite guy!


Gracie loved helping Daddy open presents. He got a couple new dress shirts, and belt. Some toffee that he had been eyeing at Costco all month long. A 49ers shirt and some birthday money to spend.


Ty and Gracie enjoyed some birthday cake in their underwear of course.


Yep, I even let this little guy have some chocolate cake, and he devoured it!


31 isn't so bad. Hope your wishes come true Kev! Thanks for being born, we love you!

Our Tree Hunt

Here we go! On our hunt to find our tree!


Ty either wanted really big ones or ones just his size.


"Come on guys, we have to find our tree before they are all taken!"


Of course we had to stop to admire the backhoe. This is truly want he wants for Christmas.


It was hard for me to find the "right" tree this year, it took a little time, but eventually we saw it. Our tree!


"Don't worry Dad, I got it covered, I can chop down the tree!"


Daddy and his little helpers chopping down the tree.


I think this is the reason why Gracie endures the cold tree hunt, its all for the candy cane. First one of the season.


Oh the candy cane!


"Mommy I will help you!" Ty wanted so bad to put on the ornaments. It became more chaotic rather than helpful though.


Our beautiful tree.


It was such a fun outing. I love going to chop down our Christmas tree. It was also super cold, I think we froze Gracie out. She was very happy to be back in the car with her candy cane. Love this season!

Thanksgiving

I have so much to be grateful for and feel so blessed everyday. I am so thankful for my little family and the joy they bring me on a daily basis. They make me smile, laugh, cry and teach me more than anything else. They teach me more about myself all the time, and am thankful for their patience with me. I am so lucky to have them.

We had a great Thanksgiving. It was full of food, family, friends and a little football of course.

The table all set for our Thanksgiving feast!


The turkey going in....


all done! And Kev decided to smoke a turkey at the last minute. Both were delish!


Time with Grandpa! They enjoyed playing with him and watching truck utube videos on his laptop.


I just think he is adorable! He loved eating mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.


We had a great day. My dad and his friend Lisa came up from Portland and my good friend Brittnay and her family joined us.

Then later that evening I hit the start of Black Friday with a couple friends and we had a fun time out there with all the "crazies"!

Thankful Number Nine

Today I am thankful for those two little teeth you should see in this picture if you look close enough.



Why am I thankful for this and the blessed event of teething. Well because it gives some explanation as to why this little guy likes to wake me up all night long!

It may not be the only reason he is waking up, but I'd like to think this is why Mr. Z is keeping me from getting my z's.

So thank goodness for teeth! They take forever to come in and so when these two started popping through, I was relieved to know this had to be the reason.

And isn't he just so cute!

Thankful Number Eight

I just have to write a little about my Ty. I just love him to pieces and am so thankful for him.

Most mornings Ty greets me at 7:30 and I am usually not ready to get up yet, so he gets pulled into bed with me. Half an hour goes by and by then he is usually begging me for juice and to go downstairs. And then all of sudden out of the blue he will say, "Good Morning Mommy". And it is this greeting that just melts my heart for some reason. I love it when he does this.

Ty is quite polite and will frequently say "bless you" when I sneeze and most the time will say "please" and "thank you" without being prompted. I love hearing these little phrases with his cute voice.

He is a great big brother and is always concerned about where Zac and Gracie are. He tries to protect them and doesn't like it when other kids try to play with Zac. Of course he is also a brother who can bug, pester and continually is taking toys out of Zac's hands. But Gracie is his best friend and even though he thinks he can tell her to go to timeout, I know he loves her so.



Ty is super sensitive, he gets real sad if I raise my voice and has a difficult time when I am yelling and screaming to cheer on the Ducks. He has a hard time with loud noises. He still hates the vacuum cleaner.

My boy is all about trucks! Loaders, diggers, dump trucks, big trucks! He loves his trucks. And he will tell you that when he decides to go poo poo in the potty then we get to go to target and get his big loader.

I just love spending my day with this kid. He cracks me up, melts my heart and pushes my buttons all day long. I am so grateful I am his mom and hope that I can teach him how to be a strong, confident, successful person. I see such potential in him and am excited to see him grow. But not too fast dang it! He is already almost three and has grown so fast!

I just love you Ty Ty! Thank you for filling my day with love!

Thankful Number Seven

It has been so fun having my mom and Jim here. The kids have loved the attention and interaction with Grandma and Grandpa.

Today I caught some fun moments of Grandpa time. I am thankful for his willingness to play with my babes.

Here they are getting all bundled up to take the dogs for a walk. This was one of Ty's major requests for the day.


It is always fun to ride a horsie!


And of course we struggle with taking turns!


Just love this picture. Such a sweet moment.


We love our grandparents! Just wish we lived closer. Thanks for coming to visit us!