What a difference a year makes!

Aren't they cute!? This is Bella & her 2nd cousin, Ethan- born 10 days after her! My cousin, Kelcee & her hubby Todd came to Utah last January to tell us the exciting news that they were expecting their 1st baby! We were soooooooo excited for them, but in the back of my mind I was thinking.....you may not be the only prego around here! I joked with them about it & then later that night after celebrating, we went to the grocery store to buy a pregnancy test for me. I was sure I wasn't REALLY pregnant, but the little stick said otherwise! Len & I were in shock, but it was fun because Kelcee & Todd were here to help cushion the blow! Now thinking that I was upset about our little angel just seems selfish & crazy. We LOVE Isabella soooooooo much & she just makes our family feel complete. She was the best surprise ever! It's so fun that she is lucky enough to have two 2nd cousins close to her too. My other cousin, Katie, also has a cute little daughter, Nora, born 10 days before Bella. Babies are everywhere!!! (How lucky we are!)

If I'm ever in a bad mood I just have to look at this adorable face! There's something about babies that make me smile :) I have baby pictures of all my kids in our bathroom so I can look at them first thing every morning. I just want to pinch their cheeks! You can pinch the screen if you want to!

Little sister

The cutest smiles!


Yesterday I was shopping at Babies R' Us when a girl walked up to me & said she worked at Kiddie Kandids (inside the store) and was wondering if she could take Isabel's pictures for free because it is slow & she needs practice. Hmmmm- YES! How lucky was that?! Too bad I didn't dress Isabel in cute clothes before shopping, but hey- free pictures! They turned out cute (other than the lame fur she's sitting on)! I will post a normal sized picture when I can figure out why our new scanner isn't working, but for now you can look at the tiny version I copied from their website! Sam & Mack got new "Big Brother" shirts on my shopping trip & LOVE them!

I can't believe Isabella's 3 months on Saturday! Here are some things I've learned in the past 3 months:

• Isabella is the most patient person I know (a good trait when you have 3 demanding older brothers)
• She lights up when you talk to her
• She absolutely glows when Noah talks to her
• Noah thanks Heavenly Father every night in his prayers for sending him his best friend named Isabella
• We call Isabella several names, including: Bella, Iz, Izzy, Isabel, & occasionally Stinky. We don't know which name will stick!
• Mack kisses Isabel's head at least 100 times a day
• Sam doesn't seem to have noticed yet that there is another human being living in our home
• Girl clothes are really fun to buy!
• Len & I have never had this much sleep with a new baby
• I'm addicted to cuddling my kids

My favorite gifts

We spent Christmas Eve at Len's parents house visiting, eating good food, reading from the scriptures about the birth of Christ, and exchanging cousin gifts. The boys wore their "pajammies" so they could go straight to bed when we got home! They loved their new gifts that night & the next morning. The kids excitment is my best gift- they're a blast! Here are a few of my favorite parts:

Noah's holey grin!

Mack's super juicy kisses!

Sam's puppy dog eyelashes!

(I don't have enough time today to discover why this picture decided to post vertical!)

Isabella's perfect tiny hand, with pink jewelry of course!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too :)

only 8 more days!

We wish you a Merry Christmas....


We wish you a Merry Christmas....


We wish you a Merry Christmas....

and a Happy New Year!

(Sam & Mack are on the right side of the front row- us bad parents forgot the camcorder & had to use the phone, so the quality is pretty bad! Don't you love all the bouncy feet though! So cute!)

I'm as bad as the kids waiting for Christmas to arrive!!!! I love everything about Christmas- reflecting on Christ's birth, Mary & Joseph, traditions, family, friends, shopping (maybe better said as giving) & eating! I'm especially excited this year because our whole family has arrived. Bella won't have a clue what's going on, of course, but the other kids are looking forward to the excitement & will be hilarious on Christmas morning! There's nothing better than seeing their believing eyes as they see what Santa brought them! I can't wait!!! They also went shopping for each other this year & are so excited to give their siblings each their little dollar store gift! We hope your Christmas is wonderful & full of love.

Real men wear pink...

Christmas fun

Tough boys decorating the tree & showing off their muscles!
(notice all the ornaments hanging to the floor & the top empty!)


Noah at "zoo lights" riding on the carousel. He LOVES snow leopards!


Good friends! Jacob, Zane, Jackson, Noah, Sam & Mack at "zoo lights"


We had so much fun going to the zoo after dark to see the lights (no animals because it was freeeezing!) We brought little caesars, got hot chocolate, cookies & deep fried smores (kinda pukey- the real campin' smores are much better!) Then, we tried to walk off all those calories looking at tons of animal shaped & Christmas themed lights all over the zoo. We went with our good friends, Delinah & her boys. Our old neighbor Jackson came also, but in the car on the way home Len asked the kids if they had fun at the zoo & our boys yelled "Yah", but Jackson said "not really"!!!! Sorry buddy! Not his cup of cocoa apparently! Bella stayed warm at home with my wonderful neice Sarah & her hubby Kevin. It was so fun- we needed to be out after dark to experience some nose nippy temperatures & get in the Christmas mood since we probably won't have any snow this December :(

I only got flipped off once...

Noah & Daddy breaking the wishbone!

Our little family dinner at home.

Mom & her little super shopping pal

We had a very good Thanksgiving this year. We stayed home & had a little family dinner with the kids, who said "Uhhhh gross" to every item on the table other than the rolls! Oh, well- Len & I pigged out & we still are enjoying the leftovers!

Then, the excitement really began....looking through the ads in the newspaper with Len & making our shopping list for Christmas gifts & coordinating with friends about who will shop where! :) We exchanged our lists- I took on WalMart & Shopko, while a friend took on Toys R' Us & Smith's Marketplace & Len stayed home & slept!!!! It was very serious business.

Bella woke up right as I was getting ready to leave, so rather than risk being late or having Len call me in the middle of shopping to say "get home!"- she came with me. We left the house at 4:45 am & were in WalMart by 5:00. They were (somehow) out of carts when I walked in &, so I went to electronics without a cart & Bella's carseat on my arm. I quickly realized this was a mistake because I had to drag this humongous box with another box balancing on top while carrying the carseat on the other arm. I'm SURE I looked like this biggest idiot ever born! I was sweating by the time I got to the register, but I made it out of there by 5:20! Phewww! Shopko went much smoother, but for some unknkown reason, a guy who decided to cross the parking lot right in front of me while I was leaving stopped & flipped me off as I passed! I guess he thought I was too close to him or something! I wasn't even going fast- I think he just wanted to be a jerk, so I waved at him & turned up the Christmas tunes on the radio! I sang my way home trying not to let him get to me (even though it was very tempting to flip him off & then back up over him). Only one jerk was pretty good compared to last year though! Not to mention I didn't get trampled to death like the poor woman in NY. What the heck? Shopping is supposed to be fun right? Anywho- hope you all had a fun Thanksgiving & Black Friday too!