Happy Birthday Jacob!

Our Jacob is seven today! He is the funniest, bravest, cutest, toughest, most loving boy I know. Happy birthday Jakey! This is one of my favorite pictures of he and I together. I love everything about that boy.

 

He is loud, silly and goofy

 He is sweet when he needs to be, but he can make trouble better than anyone I know.

 Jacob begged for a birthday party with friends this year. He had an alien party,

 I made (a really quick) batch of alien cupcakes that I made up on the spot. I thought that they were less than fantastic, but Jacob and his friends really seemed to like them.

 Here Jacob is with his alien sticker sheets that he finished

 We played music and had the kids pass around his gifts and when the music stopped, the gift he was holding was the one he opened. This was a nice game, as I could make it go as long or as short as I liked.

 Here are his friends, cousins and neighbors celebrating with him.

 We sang "Happy Birthday" and played don't eat the alien (Don't eat Pete). We ate cake and ice cream and had a genuine blast.

We didn't have his birthday party on his actual birthday. On the day of his birthday (Sunday) he asked me to make his favorite meal: Beef stroganoff, broccoli, and cottage cheese. That meal says a lot about him don't you think? This boy loves to eat.

 Alyssa especially loved the broccoli. My kids are so weird.

 After dinner, my parents came over and we opened some more presents. Like he needed them or something. haha.

 Lots of Legos from Randy and I and an Air Hockey table from my parents.

 

I'm fairly certain that he thinks this was the best birthday he has ever had. He is a boy worth celebrating, that's for sure.

Happy Birthday Alyssa

 I can't believe that my baby is TWO today! Time flies for sure. It goes faster and faster every year. If you couldn't tell from the picture, Alyssa loves Curious George lately. Her cake was my attempt at making a "George cake" that was as girly as can be.

 She had a great day hanging out and playing with her siblings. There is nothing she loves more than all the attention they give her. Someone is constantly there for her. There is always someone willing to help her with what she wants to do and someone to play with most of the time.

 Because she is the fourth child and she turned two, the fanfare wasn't too big. she got a couple of gifts, got a big piece of cake and that was the extent of the birthday celebrations. of course, she loved the attention and had a blast.

 Happy Birthday to one amazing girl. She still doesn't talk much, but she has such a sweet spirit. she adds so much happiness to our home. She brings a peace and love that we didn't know we were missing until she came along. She continues to be very obedient, mild mannered and happy most of the time. we are truly blessed to have her for a daughter. I have no doubt she will do great things someday.

Lily Hair Do's

It's been a while since I've posted some hairstyles of Lily's . I've tried out some new styles lately and I think some of them have turned out rather cute. I get most of my ideas online, so don't think for a moment that I came up with these ideas on my own!

We still get the most compliments on her hair whenever she has her hair down. I think most people are surprised how long it really is and they can actually see that when it is down. I'm so glad that she still wants to look like "Tangled" and refuses the mere thought of cutting any of it off. Whew! lucky me. I get to use it against her when she complains about brushing it every day. I tell her if she complains, then we will cut it to a more manageable length.

It's Great to be Eight!

 Being the new primary president (gulp) I had to put on the baptism preview this year for the kids turning eight. we have ten kids turning eight this year, so we will have a lot of baptisms. If you know me, you know that this was indeed very stressful for me. I had to conduct the meeting and I was shaking so badly I was sure that everyone could tell. I was terrified that I would mess up and everyone would laugh at me. Of course, no such thing happened, but those fears stick with me nonetheless. 

I made these cute doughnut "eights" for the kids to take home

  

This was our spread. It looks like it was worth coming to, even if it was just for the food!

  

Even with all the cake I'll be making for my kids birthdays, I made some cute cupcakes and put little chocolate eights I made into the top of the cakes. 

I'm glad it's finally over, but I'm pretty sure I'll just have to do it again next year. sigh. At least I kind of know what I'm doing now.

Happy Valentines Day

It's valentines day!

  

Randy sent me some gorgeous flowers. They mean so much to me because I know how much of a waste of money he thinks they are. It came with the sweetest note that is too private to share. He felt bad that he had to be gone all day at work and at school and this softened the blow a bit. I would still rather have him here, but alas, it is not to be. 

 Of course we couldn't have a fantastic valentines day without some awesome valentines hair! Lily was adamant that she have a heard AND have her hair down at the same time. Sheesh, she is getting picky lately. Her cuteness makes up for it though.

As I was taking pictures, Alyssa wanted in on the action. Her hair looks beautiful as well. She wanted a picture of the back as well as the front.

 She is the best baby ever. She felt so beautiful. I'm glad she wants me to do her hair so she will look pretty everyday.

 

Beauty requires rest however, and she certainly gets plenty of beauty rest everyday. I wish she would stay this age forever. Happy Valentines day!

Sisterly Love

Since Tyler and Jacob are in school all day now, the girls have plenty of time to themselves. They fight, of course, but for the most part they get along and play great together.

They are constantly snuggling each other and its hard not to appreciate them and their relationship when they do so.  Whether it is watching a movie, reading a book, or playing pretend, they are fantastic sisters.

 

Not only do lily and Alyssa get along, Alyssa is absolutely adored by all her siblings. Everyone seems to want time with Alyssa.

Needless to say, she is a very loved member of the family and we, each and every one of us, spoil her to no end.