Christmas Dresses

The girls looking cute in their matching dresses from Grandma

Getting Ready for Christmas

After days of begging from the kids, we finally got the decorations out, the tree up, and lights on the house. I am listening to Christmas music all day and loving it!

A little funny from Nicole: Matthew asked her what we do on Christmas and she said "Go to houses, knock on door and get candy!" I guess we need to educate her a little more about Christmas!

Thanksgiving

We had dinner with my family this year and then joined my extended family for dessert. Emily helped my mom decorate the table ahead of time and made the name cards herself.

Ashley- 3 1/2 months old

Hey Pilgrim

Angela made a very cute program in her school music program. We've been hearing "Hey Pilgrim" and "Turkey Tango" around the house a lot!

Emily's Knee Surgery

Emily has had trouble off and on with her knee since last May and it got much worse a couple of months ago. She could not straighten her knee fully and walked with a limp. She had to stop playing soccer and going to dance class. An MRI showed she has a condition called Lateral Discoid Meniscus, meaning the meniscus in her knee is shaped like a discoid (oval) instead of a crescent. This makes it more prone to injury and there was a small tear in the meniscus. So last week she had surgery on her knee to remove the tear and some of the extra meniscus. She was so brave and tough about the whole thing. She said the worst part was having the IV bandage removed. She was back to normal activity within a couple of days and hardly needed any pain medication afterward. She was putting weight on it the same day! I was amazed. She still can't straighten her knee, so we are doing lots of stretching to help that get better. Here she is after she got home with her Get Well balloon and a little baby robin they gave her at the hospital. She didn't want me to take a picture of her at the hospital and I don't blame her.

Halloween

We had a busy Halloween day with Emily's last soccer game, soccer party, a birthday party and then our ward's Trunk or Treat. This was the first time my kids have worn store bought costumes. It made me kind of sad that I didn't sew any this year, but I just wasn't up to it with a two month old. I'm already excited to do it next year though. Nicole picked out her costume and just loves it. She wears it all the time. Unfortunately, it got a few inches of mud on it at the Trunk or Treat (we do ours around a park, so they walk in the grass), so she came home and took it off and wouldn't put it back on. Emily had been planning to be a High School Musical cheerleader for almost a year.
Angela is a Mulan Ballerina (her dance costume from last spring) and Ashley is a pumpkin.

My dad and Michelle came over to do some trick or treating with us. Michelle is Hannah Montana and my dad is her speaker. He held a boom box inside that was playing Hannah Montana music. So we trick or treated with music, pretty fun.

Pumpkins

Here are the results of pumpkin carving the other night. Nicole loves Mickey Mouse, hence the mickey mouse pumpkin. I think Emily's is supposed to be an alien.

Smiling

Ashley is two months old now and is smiling all the time. I love her smiles!

Where did the last two months go?

Fall

Here is a new fall craft I made at Super Craft Night at church. It was so fun to make. I just noticed someone put a little baby bottle inside the P. We made a little trip to a pumpkin patch with a few friends. Nicole was pretty shy and didn't want to touch the animals or go through the maze, but it was nice to be out and she's very proud of the little pumpkin she picked.

The zoo opened a new exhibit last month and we went to go see it on a day off of school. I will remember not to go on a statewide day off of school again. Inside the zoo was not too bad, but the parking lot was another story. I'm glad my mom was with us to help out.
The girls were fascinated with these interesting wild dogs.

We have never seen this Hippo out of the water before! He is always almost submerged in the water. He was busy eating and it was fun to watch.

The lions are in the background.

Here is Ashley's little half smile.

Ashley's Blessing Day

Ashley was blessed 2 weeks ago. It was a very special day. It was beautiful weather and Ashley looked so pretty in her white dress. Matthew gave her a beautiful blessing. Fortunately she didn't cry during it, but Nicole did so my mom had take her out. We are lucky to have both of our parents and my grandparents living in town, so they were able to be there with us. We feel so blessed to have Ashley in our family. She is smiling a lot now and growing so fast. She is also sleeping better at night now so I am feeling much better.

September

Ashley at 1 month

Angela is enjoying soccer!

Emily played very well at her Summer Surprise Recital

Back to School

After much anticipation, the first day of 1st and 3rd grade finally arrived! I can't believe I have 2 kids in school all day. I am so excited to have no half day schedules this year, no preschool or kindergarten pick up or drop offs in the middle of the day.

Reading Time

Here is Nicole reading her little princess books to Ashley. I love moments like these!

Ashley's First Week

Here are some photos from Ashley's first week. She is a really sweet baby and we are all enjoying her. Her sisters are constantly fighting over who gets to hold her. I know it's a lot of pictures, but there were too many good ones. Emily has been taking a lot of them too.