Happy Birthday Brandon

December and January are stuffed full of reasons to celebrate in our home.  We start of with Cooper's Birthday the last day in November, then celebrate Brandon's birthday on the 10th, Christmas, Our anniversary on January 6th, my birthday on the 19th, and Wyatt's birthday on the 23rd.  At times I've wished it was spread out a bit more, but this year I saw it a bit differently.  This year I've been really thankful to have something to do and celebrate while it's so cold and wet outside. This season which might otherwise seem a little too full of dark days and wet weather has much to celebrate!

The kids love balloons so for Brandon's birthday this year they picked out 34 balloons, I came up with 34 of our favorite memories as a family and together we tied them to the balloons.   Then after untangling the balloons about a million times and begging the kids not to touch them anymore we were finally ready to surprise Daddy!

The next day as you  might imagine the balloons kept the kids busy for hours.  We tucked them in bed, stuffed them in the tent, hid them in the closet, threw them all over the house, sorted them, and finally popped them.  Endless entertainment I tell you.  

Our 1st Snow!

We were so excited to welcome our 1st winter here in Oregon with SNOW!!!!  It started snowing just as everyone was waking up so we enjoyed it from the window for just a bit and then the kids were so excited that we just had to get out and play.  So, even before we ate breakfast we bundled up and headed outside to try to catch some snowflakes with our tongues, and to play, and of course to take pictures.

Then we headed to the airport with Uncle Robert to pick up Grammy, having no idea just how much it was going to snow or how dangerous the roads would be.  What should have taken us 2 hours took us closer to 6 and all along the way we saw trucks that had slid off of off-ramps and other minor accidents.  We had to pull off once early on to take Sadie to the bathroom and that's when I began to realize that this was going to be quite an outing and that I was quite unprepared.  I had a few snacks but nothing like I would have if I'd known how long we'd be in the car.  So, we did our best.  We put both the kids in pull-ups and at one point bribed them with m and m's to use them because we didn't dare get off the freeway again.  Probably not my best parenting moment but don't judge.   After getting Grandma we made a quick stop for groceries, snacks, and more pull-ups, and then we headed back home. Needless to say this was not using my best judgement and Daddy wasn't very happy with me, but it was an adventure and thankfully we all made it home safe and sound.

We did our best to make a snowman but the snow didn't want to stick and toddlers have very short attention spans.  So, this was what we got and although small I thought he was pretty cute.

Happy 1st Birthday Cooper!

Our littlest guy turned just turned 1 on the 30th of November.  We can't believe how big he's gotten but love love love our past year with him!  I think the first year is such a fun one because you get watch them go from a totally dependent baby to a little person with personality and preferences all their own.  Well, lets be honest, once in awhile I wish I could take back just a little bit of that personality and more than a few of their preferences, but it really is so fun to think back on how much they change in the first year.  

Cooper is our brown eyed boy.  He's easy going, he's happy, he's cuddly, he loves to play with his brother and sister, and he just desperately wants to be a part of whatever they're doing even though they often see it as pestering.   He has quite a few nicknames.  Daddy started calling him Piddles during the first few months of his life and now calls him our pot belly pig because he can eat twice as much as his siblings most days, and Sadie and Wyatt have taken to calling him Dup Dup which Mommy finds to be awfully cute. He says just a few words including Dada, Mama, and Ball, but is very good at communicating his wishes and some of the cutest things he does right now are throwing his head back and saying hahaha, shaking his head back and forth to dance, and showing everyone his little belly. 

We love you Little One!!!  Happy Birthday!!!

Give Thanks!

Growing up in Arizona and then living in California I've never experienced seasons quite the way we have this year.  It has been a lot of fun to really feel the passage of time in the changing of the seasons this year.  As Fall arrived the weather was noticeably cooler, the days shorter, the fields which were filled with corn last month are now wide open, and we couldn't get over the trees.  Trees everywhere changing colors and starting to loose their leaves.  It was remarkable and beautiful and I think that it was why I was so excited to decorate this year, filling our house with pumpkins and candles and pumpkin spice lattes, and just soaking in the last bit of warmth even while creating our own.

We had many things to be thankful for this year.  We were thankful for big things like our healthy children, for one another, for being close to family, for our brand new niece Autumn, born just a few days before Thanksgiving, for the friends who we are still missing dearly, for our country, and for God's Sovereignty.  We were also thankful for simple things like laughter filling our home, for pumpkins and leaves, for kittens, for Mickey and Minnie, for time spent feeding cows with Robert and cuddling with Grammy, and for Wyatt learning to poop in the potty like a big boy. 

Wrapping up October

We tried to make the most of October knowing that all to soon the weather was going to turn cold and rainy and that the days were going to shorten considerably with the time change.  Each day when I thought about staying inside at the end of the day after naps I would remind myself that if it wasn't raining we really should get out so we'd walk to meet Daddy, we'd play with the animals. and on Sundays the kids loved helping Uncle Ryan feed the calves.

Daddy got lots of help scooping grain and pushing the wheel barrel from both Sadie and Wyatt, and Sadie did it all in her "working girl pants" a.k.a. blue jeans and her very stylish sunglasses because after all it is very bright here in Oregon.

Cooper mostly just takes it all in from the safety of his stroller.

 One guess as to who put him up to feeding the cows like this ....

If you guessed Uncle Robert then you were right.  :)

The kittens like to hid in the barn.  Unfortunately for the kids there are lots of loud noises in the barn which they don't like.  Perhaps that's why they hide there. 

 Feeding cows continues to be a favorite, especially for Wyatt.  He would spend all day feeding cows with Robert if he could.