{Washington Christmas: Dec. 2013}

We went up to Washington to visit for Christmas this year, to spend time with my side of the family.  Baby H practicing her walking skills.

Some of Mark's Famous Amazing, Scrumptious {Apple} Pies.  We ate a Delicious Christmas Dinner together.

Our little Family sang "Silent Night" for the Family Talent Show.  We had a lot of fun! :) {I also sang a Duet "Mary's Lullaby" with my Mom.} :)  We enjoyed spending time with family for Christmas.  It was a lovely visit.

The kids LOVED spending time with their cousins.  They also enjoyed having Christmas up in Washington.

Underneath the stairs at my parents house, is a Secret Playhouse that the kids and their cousins love playing in.  I used to love playing in there when I was a child, and making up games, and make believe worlds; with my siblings.  It was the most exciting place in the house.  It's fun seeing Baby H playing with her siblings and cousins in the Playhouse.  We had a wonderful time talking with my youngest brother Joe, (who is on his mission).  My 2nd to youngest brother Tom, recently came home from his mission.  So we were all there together to speak with Joe.  It was fun speaking with him.

Baby H played the piano softly, and created beautiful music through her tender strokes of the keys.  It's wonderful watching her play on the piano that I learned on.  There is something angelic about watching a baby play the piano.  I love that she already has a passion for music.

Our Nephew (& Cousin) C celebrated his 4th Birthday.  All of the cousins enjoyed being there with him for his Special Birthday.  His favorite color is green, so that was the color of his cupcakes.

 It was fun watching our Family open presents that we had made for them.  Baby H. was very interested in her newborn cousin S.  They are going to be good buddies.

The kids really enjoyed spending time with their Cousins.  My brother in law {Celestia's husband}, Fatih's sister Feyza came all the way from Turkey to visit, and she spent Christmas with us.  It was so much fun to meet her and she is an amazing artist!  Auntie Angela holding Newborn Baby S, (My brother Dan and Jolie's baby).  We had a Fabulous Christmas Vacation! :) 

{May 2013: Lost Tooth, Butterfly, Mother's Day, Tea Parties, Mud}

Baby H loves her fingers!  Little Miss R with a butterfly!  Little Miss K lost her first tooth!  We have a tradition in our home, that kinda freaked me out when it first happened: our children have ALL lost their first tooth at age 4!  I started losing teeth when I was 6 or 7, so it totally freaked me out when Little Man E did that, but then Little Miss R and Little Miss K followed; so it must be normal for our family.  :)  All of our kids have gotten their teeth in the 3 to 6 month bracket; so maybe they lose their teeth so early--because they get them so early.

Mother's Day was Lovely this year.  I was spoiled rotten with Mark and the kids making me breakfast in bed, lunch and a fabulous dinner.  Plus the kids and Mark gave me cards, flowers and gifts.  It was a fabulous day.  {I had pink eye that day; that's why I didn't post any pictures {of me}, I was feeling kinda yucky--but I did take some--for my scrapbook :)}.  I really loved being able to talk on Skype with all of my family; Especially my two brothers, Joe and Tom {on the right} who are on their missions!  It was amazing to hear their awesome experiences; on their missions!  We loved that!  {My mom and niece and my brother Danny on the left}.  If you look closely on the bottom of the Skype screen, you can see me taking the image with my camera! :)  We talked with our Mothers.  

We Love our H Baby!  She is such a little sweetheart.  Thanks to my friend Megan, who sent Baby H these awesome wraps!  She loves them and it really helps her sleep! 

Our children LOVE having tea parties.  Here they are with some of the neighbor kids.  We have A LOT of neighbor children around our kids' ages in our neighborhood.  It is quite lovely for them to have lots of kids to play with, from these nice families!  Baby H got dressed up in her Seahawks Cheer leading outfit {Thanks Ang!} to cheer for Little Man E's baseball game!  It's fun to play in the dirt and mud!  At least that is what our kids think!  :)  Here is Little Man C all muddy from playing outside! {Stay tuned!  I have a few more posts for May; and I am going to try to post more regularly!}

 

November: Visits, Haircut, Thanksgiving, Mission Call, Twilight

This is a walk that we took, while we were up visiting my Grandma, Aunt Luetta and my Mom (who was there visiting and helping).  We had a very nice visit with them on a 5-day weekend.  We got to visit with some of my other relatives while we were there (because there are a lot of them), including my Aunt Patty and Uncle Rob.  On the walk, we found a sweet neighborhood kitten, that let all of us hold and pet it.  Very kid friendly.

The top pictures are of Mark giving Collin his very First Haircut.  I had a really hard time letting Mark cut his hair for the first time; because he had all of these bright red curls.  So adorable.  Mark cut it pretty short.  Little Miss R and Little Man E performed together in the school-wide Veteran's Day Assembly.  It was full of patriotic songs, that were very moving.  We were so proud of them!  It was nice to be able to have Mark's mom come and watch the kids perform also.

We had Thanksgiving at our home, the weekend before Thanksgiving week.  We like to establish our own traditions with our little family (even though we very much enjoy having the festivities with our extended family as well).  I gave the kids Thanksgiving Coloring and activity sheets, we read Thanksgiving books, watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, passed around a 5 kernel burlap sack, and each of us told 5 things that we are thankful for, and we talked about the 1st Thanksgiving.  It was wonderful.  Then we went up to Washington {we picked up my mom, on the way up and she rode there with us} and celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family, because it was our year to do that.  We had a fabulous time celebrating with them also.  We had all of my 6 siblings (except Tommy who is on his mission) and their families there for at least part of the celebration; although my sister's (Celestia) hubby wasn't able to come (because he's recovering from a recent surgery) and so she brought him home some food.  Afterwards, my sister Angela and I went to the Black Friday Event, and scored some fabulous deals for our kiddos.  But let me tell you, doing that while nearly 8 months pregnant, was not the best choice on my part.  My feet were SO swollen when we got home {which they usually are at this point in my pregnancy}.

The top 6 pictures are of the kiddos spending time with their cousins, while we were up visiting my side of the family in Washington.  They always love spending time with their cousins.  They built forts, had sleepovers (we watched the "Grinch" and made Chocolate chip cookies), helped Grandma decorate her Christmas tree, ate Thanksgiving at the "kids tables" and had all kinds of fun on our 5-day weekend up there for Thanksgiving.  Bottom 2 pictures, are of spending time with Mark's sister Kristy's family when they visited, and when we had Mark's parents over for dinner.

I was so thrilled when my little brother Joseph got his mission call in the mail while I was up there!  Usually with living away from the area (and everyone else in my family still is around there), I am the only one who doesn't get to be there (in person) for my brother's to read their mission calls (I usually have to listen on the phone).  But Joe got his while I was up there.  It was so exciting for us to be there when he opened and read his call to the RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA MISSION (English Speaking).  It was extra exciting, because our brother Thomas (pictured above left), is on his mission in the SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA MISSION (Lao and Mein Chinese Speaking).  They will be overlapping on their missions, for about a year (Missions are 2-years long).  Apparently, Joe might even be able to go be Tommy's mission companion for a couple of days, on the way down to the MTC, in Provo.  Which would be so neat for them.  The kids (and Mark and I) are so proud of Joe and Tommy for serving the Lord; and also of Mark's parents who recently returned from a mission in the DES MOINES, IOWA MISSION (English Speaking).

Well, Twilight Breaking Dawn 2 came out, and I had to go Opening night, with my Sister-in-law Summer.  It was awesome!  We loved it.  I was surprised that my Bella/Edward t-shirt still fit me, while I am super prego (I've worn it to all of the other showings of the Twilight saga).  Then while we were up in Washington, Mark and I went with Angela and Grant, and it was super fun too.  Last picture is of Little Miss R showing off her prizes, from when she went to the ER to get one staple in her head from getting an owie.  We have had the worst luck with owies with our kiddos lately.  I hope that it goes back to normal soon, which is no more owies.  But I guess with active kiddos, it's bound to happen occasionally.  It's just hard to watch them go through it.  Our Poor baby.

 Some of Little Miss R's {6 year} pictures from her Session.  To see more, view my Photo Blog.

Some of Little Miss K's {4 year} pictures from her Session.  To see more, view my Photo Blog.

 Some of Little Man C's {2 year} pictures from his Session.  To see more, view my Photo Blog.

What's been up with us: Christmas 2010 and Events 2011.

Hey all.  We've been busy having lots of fun around our house.  Seriously though, it's also been stressful too.  We've had our share of hard times these past few months.  But I'm going to focus on the good times, and share a few of our other experiences too, shown through our pictures.

The last time I blogged, I had written a bit about December, so here are a few more pictures of our Christmas.  Mama with her four babies.  Despite some challenges lately, we are feeling so very very Blessed too.

Little Man E really enjoyed helping new baby brother Baby C with his 1st Christmas.

We really enjoy going sledding together up in the mountains.  So much fun!

I (Elizabeth) and baby C were asked to perform at our ward Christmas party, and dress-up like Mary and Baby Jesus.  I sang "Tonight You are Mine" to Baby C.  He loved being sang to.  It went well.--  Daddy with his boys.

Baby C, in January, flashing one of his double dimple grins.

Baby C with his Big Sister R.  They are the only ones in our little family that have blue eyes.  Below, Little Miss K, Baby C and Little Miss R, hanging out.

Baby C, in February.  We love our little man.

Little Miss K, freaked me out a couple of times, when I went to check on her, sleeping, I found that she wasn't in her bed.  The first time, I found her behind a chair.  The second time, I couldn't find her for what felt like forever.  I had to resort to prayer to calm myself and to find her at 3 am, and she was under Baby C's crib, behind some boxes.  Scared me good!

 Little Miss R and Little Man E at our Valentines dinner with the kids.

Little Miss R, with Little Man E carrying Baby C (with some help from Dad) on his shoulders.  So much fun!

Daddy reading a story to our kiddos.

We went up to visit family for two different occasions in March.  The first time, was to celebrate the birth of our two new nieces {R and C}, with their blessings.

Little Miss K with new Baby cousins C and R.  We were excited to meet them both!

The second trip up was to mourn/celebrate the life of Mark's Aunt Judie (Mark's mom's only sibling), that unexpectedly passed away.  It was a sad day for everyone, but it was really neat to hear everyone share their special memories they had of this wonderful lady.  Mark, the kids and I were asked to sing at the funeral.  We sang a medley of "The Family is of God/Families Can Be Together Forever".  It went well.  We were glad that we could be there.

  This is us visiting with Aunt Judie and Uncle Anthoney, a couple of months before.

Baby C, with us at the Park.

Little Miss R and Little Man E with us at the Beach at the Park.

Little Miss K, with Mommy and having fun at the Beach.

 Little Miss R, Little Man E and Little Miss K with R, T and A, their cousins.

It was really special for me, that I got to be there for my baby brother, Joe's 18th birthday party.  I cannot believe that he's graduating this year!

We brought balloons to him at school.  It was really neat.  He loved it!

Baby C got to meet his Great Grandma Monson (my Mom's Mom), when we went to visit her and Aunt Luetta, and Little Miss R playing with cousin G.

Little Man E and Baby C.  Lovin' each other.

Little Man E having fun in his Aikido, Martial Arts Class (he's in the red--but he now has a Gi)

Me with Little Miss K and Cousin Baby C and Little Miss R lovin her Ballet Class.

Baby C has been puking an extraordinary amount, since he was born.  This being our fourth child, I knew that something was going on, because the other kids weren't like this.  He developed a barky seal cough, and couldn't be layed down on his tummy or especially his back without screaming really really loud.  He had only rolled over by six months old, twice from tummy to back, out of anger.  Whenever I put him on his back, he would arch his back and scream, in pain.  Anyway, we took him to the doctor a couple times, because we figured out it was infant acid reflux, (I have some of my nieces and nephews that have had that).  The doctor had us use a nebulizer to clear up the cough (it worked!) and put him on a infant Zantac prescription.  The first day that he took it, he didn't puke at all!  And he rolled over four to five times in a row!!!  Such a miracle drug!  I don't like to put my kids, or myself on medication, but this was seriously worth it, he is so much more happier, and can be his laid-back little self.  Amazing.  

     Here are some of Baby C's four month pictures.  I love his double dimples!

He does have a lot of red in his hair.  He doesn't have much hair, but the hair he does have, right now is bright red or blonde.  Strawberry blonde.  Baby C has such a calm, relaxed personality.  Very sweet little man.

Little Miss R lost her first two teeth in March.  She's four years old.  Our kids seem to lose teeth early, so far, Little Man E starting losing teeth at age 4 also.

We took family pictures of Mark's side of the family a couple of weeks ago, right before Mark's parents left on their mission, for our church to the Des Moines, Iowa mission.  We're proud of them, and excited for them.

Mark, his siblings and his parents.

Here are some pictures of our little family. I love that I found both of our girls set and boys set matching outfits.  We found great deals at Ross! Love it!