Family Pictures 2008

So I finally forced everyone to do it...We haven't had "professional" family pictures done since Alexis was 3 and now that we are done having kids I bit the bullet. Since becoming addicted to blogland I found Wendy Whitacre from Blue Lily Photography who was friends with Stephanie Nielson and did her pictures. I was in love with what she did and wanted the same for us. So when I found out she was coming to Arizona to do pictures for people here I got lucky and booked a time for us to get them done. Well, I just received the disk and thought I would post a few...Sorry to bore you all, but thought our families would want to see.

The Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker

Alexis with Mama and Papa
(She's the one on the far right)
Alexis and her friend Georgia

Last night Alexis had the opportunity to dance in the Nutcracker Ballet that was put on by the Moscow Ballet. She had to be there for rehearsal from 12:30 until 5, but when we arrived we found out that the bus broke down and they weren't there yet. I waited around for about an hour before deciding to leave and get some things done. When My mom and dad and I came back to get her we found out the bus had just arrived and they just started rehearsals. So instead of Grandpa taking her out for dinner they ordered the girls pizza. I asked if she was ok and needed anything and she was just sitting there so good in the front row watching all the ballerinas in awe shaking her head no. She was grinning from ear to ear about her pretty white dress she was going to get to wear and was so excited - she was a snowflake in the snow fairy scene.

Every time she dances she is obsessed with being in the "Finale", well this time the show didn't dissappoint. All the dancers came out in each group and the little snowflakes were last so therefore right in the front. And my little Alexis was the one on the end holding hands with the lead male dancer - THE Nutcracker! We asked how she got so lucky and she said all the other girls were too shy to go first so she did. Well, yay for her! Thanks dad for a really fun evening!

(I tried and tried to upload her part, but it would never go through. Darn!)

Is there a Santa Clause?

For those with young kids who like to read people's blogs please censor.....

So Alexis comes home from school the other day telling me that her friend Bailey doesn't believe in Santa. Well, this is the time of year in school where they are learning about all different types of holidays, etc. so I ask does she celebrate Hanukkah? She says, "No mom she celebrates Christmas she just doesn't believe in Santa." So I drop the subject.

Well, then she comes home yesterday and asks, "Mom, are you Santa?" I say, "Do I look like Santa?" So we go back and forth with tell me the truth mom, do you dress up like Santa, does dad? At this point I am sooo upset! My daughter is only 7 and this perfect world of life is wonderful and the holidays are magical, etc. etc. can not end already. She has always acted older/bigger than she is,. but I am not ready for my little one to ruin Christmas! (Mainly for me!)

Gingerbread Houses

Yesterday we were invited up to our friends Stacey and Gary to make Gingerbread houses. We met them while living in D.C. Stacey and I were in the same singles ward before meeting our husbands and then being in the same married ward together. Both Paul and Gary are converts to the church and even yesterday Paul mentioned how even when you don't see them in awhile it's like picking up where you left off like it was no big deal. They are wonderful people and very giving. To think they finally moved here almost two years ago and we haven't seen them in over a year. Granted they live ALL THE WAY up in Paradise Valley, but that's no excuse right? We love them and always have a fun time getting together.

Anyway, while Stacey and I were in the Colonial Ward together she was in charge of making the gingerbread houses for our Super Saturday. Let's just say I was hooked. What's Christmas without a Gingerbread House? Not to mention she has been doing them for over 30 years with her family so they have the system down. She has the perfect little template and her gingerbread is out of this world good (and for those of you who know I am a picky cook, you know it has to be good!)

Stacey made enough gingerbread houses for our whole family (me included) and another family and the kids had a blast. Alexis, "Miss Crafty", couldn't have been more pleased adding to her house for hours. She was in love with Stacey and was always having her help add the special touches.

Thanks Stacey (and Gary) for a fabulous day!

Family Hike

My brother Dave and his family came into town for Thanksgiving this year and with the weather being so wonderful I thought it would be fun to be outdoors and go hiking. My brother Steve told us about a hike out in Gold Canyon that would be easy enough for all the kids to do so we set off on Saturday morning. After the rain Thursday and Friday the weather was so nice on Saturday and we all had a great time. There were 10 adults and 16 kids and even 2 dogs. Most of the kids did so great and would even run back and forth up and down the trail. At the end of the trail there is a great spot to see some hieroglyphics left by the Indians and some rocks to lay back and relax on (while making sure your kids aren't sliding/falling down the mountain!) It was fun being with family and we only missed having my sister Kim and her family with us!

Slade is 18 months

Nursery here we come!!! I can't believe my baby has rached yet another milestone. I think this is one of my favorite stages. They can play happily by themselves, feed themselves (sometimes), they sleep through the night and yet still take naps, and they don't argue about what they want to wear. Of course we are still changing poopy diapers, but at least we aren't changing "accidents" in our pants!

Anyway, Slade is probably our best baby. He is happy to go run errands and get in and out of the car multiple times, he sits happily in the cart at the grocery store and Costco, he knows to ask for cookies when we go to Sam's Club, and is happy in the stroller (as long as it's moving or he has his blanket!) Slade even sleeps at least 12-13 hours each night and takes 3-4 hour naps. I wonder how he sleeps that long, but I think some of it must have to do with the permanent binky attached to his hand. Not that I think thumb sucking is great, but I am lucky that at least he only does it with his blanket (which most of the time remains in his bed). Slade also LOVES his older brothers and sister. Alexis LOVES to help take care of him. She can change a diaper and get him his milk and likes to help pick out his clothes and get him dressed. Slade has also become very good at wrestling thanks to his brothers and his dad. If anyone is laying on the floor he runs up and flops down on top of them. And then he proceeds to do it over and over again.

My biggest problem with Slade is in the food department. For breakfast he LOVES my smoothies!! They are filled with health: yogurt, 1/2 banana, 1c mixed fruit, spinach, kale, red cabbage and carrots, and chocolate protein powder. YUMMO! He still requires food that is mashed. No matter how many times I have offered different things he still will only eat broccoli and califlower whole. He will finally eat small bites of chicken nuggets and french fries which has been a life saver. I was one of the worlds pickiest eaters, but this is getting ridiculous. We even have to blend up his spaghetti - GROSS!

Well, lucky for me I think I have one of the cutest babies on the planet. All 24 pounds of him! He is also my skinniest baby which makes it fun trying to find pants that fit. Nothing that Collin or even Logan wore will stay on him.

Veteran's Day at the Park

This is when we are grateful we live in Arizona. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to spend at the park playing and feeding the ducks (and jogging). Alexis woke up that morning wondering why I wasn't at the gym (if everyone else was sleeping in I wanted too also). So she had been begging me to get up so we could go jogging together. I asked her where we should go and she said in the front yard or back yard, wherever I wanted. I tried to bribe her with waffles and it worked for a few minutes, but then we had Collin and Logan begging to go too. Anyway, I decided to take them to my moms and we could go to Kiwanis park and feed the ducks and have a picnic. Alexis was still begging so I put on my workout clothes (after showering and getting ready). We get to the park and took off to run around the lake while Grandma stayed with Slade. Alexis lasted all of 2 minutes before she was SOOOO TIRED! (and her side really hurt) All that build up and even I wasn't winded (being how much I enjoy running-NOT!) So we fed the ducks and headed to the play area where they all had a blast. Slade was happy in his own little world going up and down the slides, swinging and running around. All the kids had a great time and I must say I was a better mom playing with my kids since I was dressed for it (note to self to always wear shorts and tennis shoes to the park!)

Halloween 2008

Nothing like trick-or-treating when it's at least 80 degrees (at night). We had such a fun night with the kiddos though running around getting candy. I was a little disgusted though when I came home and we put all the candy together. I have a huge silver mixing bowl that I dumped all the candy into and let's just say it was overflowing (wish I had a picture). Even worse though was that the kids were so obsessed over it and must have divided it up at least 3 times. Thankfully though after a few days I was able to bag up most of it and hide it away and the three oldest put theirs in some jars. Hopefully they will forget about it! I was trying to not spend much on costumes this year so I had Alexis wear one of her old dance costumes from last year (which happened to be her favorite) so we turned her into a funky kitty. We did buy Collin's since for some reason he HAD to be a RED Power Ranger - thank you Target. Logan was fine being Buzz Lightyear. I had bought the costume for Collin when he was little off the clearance rack at the Disney store and it is Logan's absolute favorite. He was always wanting to wear it in the middle of the summer when it was 100+ degrees outside. So nice too since I think the costume is made out of plastic. I couldn't let him wear it for very long since he would always be sweating so bad, but what can you do? And Mr. Slade was a dog. Same thing that Collin and Logan were at 1. Yeah for hand-me-downs!

Friends

So even though I realy wanted another girl I know I should be glad I don't. Don't get me wrong I love everything girly, but when it comes to the mom having to clean up after the little tornado it gets kind of tiring...On Saturday Collin and Alexis were busy playing all day. Logan and Slade were taking a nap and I hadn't heard from them for quite awhile. Finally I go back in the boys room to see what's going on and Alexis had pulled out every blanket and stuffed animal (among lots of other goodies) and arranged quite the set up. You could tell Collin was a little tired of it, but Alexis was still going strong. That night they all wanted to have a "sleepover" together on the floor and we figured it would be fine since we didn't have church until 10 the next day. They were pretty good about going to sleep and when we went to check on them before we went to bed this is what we found...

www.lexikatedesigns.com is LIVE

So, many of you know that I started a hair clip business. I have a whole bunch of them in a showroom in LA where I sell them wholesale to different boutiques, but now I finally have my own website. It is a major work in progress and my very patient, hardworking husband has been hard at work to make this happen. He's never built a website before, but he managed to figure it out and is having a little too much fun (at times!) http://www.lexikatedesigns.com/

I still have a lot to add and more tweaking to do, but for now there are pictures of clips and yes you can even order online. Since my clips are sold to retail stores, I have to sell them on my website at retail prices as well. Therefore, I am going to offer a "Friends & Family" discount for awhile, but Paul hasn't figured that part of the website out yet. (I have been too busy having him retake the pictures and change the layouts). And as for the adorable pictures of the cute girls, my friend Lorri was kind enough to help me out. She takes pictures for fun and does amazing work. I LOVE them! (Plus her girls are adorable!) Anyway, if all of you out there in cyberworld wouldn't mind passing along my website info I would be very grateful!! And if you have questions or would like to order feel free to email me! I can custom design anything you want and all embellishments and rhinestones can be put on any of the ribbon you see. Eventually I will have a page full of different options to choose from.

The Joys of a Thumb Sucker

The other morning Slade woke up in the middle of the night screaming. He is the best sleeper, and hasn't woken up in the middle of the night in months, but I got up, gave him some milk, changed his diaper and went back to bed. Well, apparently it wasn't good enough because we heard him making noises for awhile then he still got up at 6. As I am making breakfast he comes in and shows me his thumb. Here is the picture of what the poor thing looks like after it was cleaned up. At first I thought he must have gotten it stuck in something, but I finally clued in later that it had to have been from sucking his thumb. Now he's not so happy to go to bed whereas before he would be so excited to go to bed so he could suck his thumb! (since he only does it when he has his blanket and we don't let it out of his bed).

Studman Hair

I was cutting the boys hair the other day and as I was chopping away Logan asks for "Studman Hair". I was wondering what he is talking about when I ask if he wants a mohawk and he says yes. Apparently he remembered seeing the baby in Target the week before with the mohawk and he wanted one too. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come. Especially remembering all the lovely hair cuts my older brothers had as teenagers!

Mom's version of the "Studman" look.

The Long Family

I am getting out of order here, but on our way to Disneyland we stopped over for the afternoon to see Paul's best friend growing up and his family. We had only met his wife Crystal once before when their oldest was a baby and they were so wonderful to let our 4 little crazies come hang out with their 2. They have 2 boys about the same ages and Logan and Slade and all the kids had fun running around squealing for the few hours we were there. Also, Crystal and Joey made us some yummy Mexican food and of course it was fun to eat and eat all afternoon and catch up and get to know them better. It was even more fun to see all the kids getting along and having such a great time.