Lessons Learned

Sophie is a bit irritated with me for taking this picture!



But she cheered up when I told her I was posting them in the blog.


The aftermath. ouch!

So, I learned a bunch of lessons this week.

Number 1. Never assume that 4 years old is old enough to be trusted with gum. Sophie decided to put gum in her eye lashes, in her hair and all over her hands. Needless to say, she learned some painful lessons too.

Number 2. Don't teach your 2 year old boy how to pee while standing, and not expect to find pee pee puddles everywhere.

Number 2 1/2. Don't teach your 2 year old how to pee while standing, especially if his older sisters are watching, because they will want to try it too, and there will be even more pee pee puddles to clean up.

Number 3. Expect the unexpected! I will just leave it at that.

The Sweet and the Sour of the New Year

I can't believe Grant can already sit up by himself! And he is so proud of himself. He loves it, except when he gets stuck. He hasn't quite figured out how to stop sitting.


This is the only lemon that grew on my lemon tree. I am so proud of her, isn't she a beauty?! This is the first time I have been successful with growing citrus. According to the Nursery, The trick is to not water them very much, who knew!

So we survived the New Year. And I am back to Blogging. Jared's Mom and Brother Nathan, and his family, came for a short visit to celebrate the New Year. But unfortuneatly, Jared and Sophie were super sick for a couple of days. Thankfully no one else got sick. They were real troopers.

Here is some super sweet news! Logan is officially potty trained. He was my easiest and quickest to teach. I wasn't even planning on teaching him until he was older than 3, but a few months ago he started getting naked and going to the bathroom in the garage, for privacy, I guess. I figured, if you can do that then you are potty trained, it is just a matter of location! He is doing great and I can't wait for him to go to preschool in the fall. Gosh these kids grow up fast! 3 down, 1 to go!

Happy Holidays

Christmas Morning Fun. All four of our kids have worn these snowflake pajamas. They are my favorite.


Opening Presents. We were pleasantly surprised by a Secret Santa this year, who left us bunches of presents on our doorstep. We still don't know who it was, So if it was you, thank you!


The Walker Boys in their finest. The sweater Grant is wearing was Jared's when he was a baby. I couldn't find Grant's Christmas sweater for Church, and I remembered Jared just got his baby sweater, and it worked out perfectly.


These girls just get prettier and prettier everyday!


The girls had their first dance recital recently. They are taking Clogging lessons from a friend of ours. And they are doing quite well. We are so proud of them.

Okay, So having 4 kids is a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be, but it is really fun too. (The first year we were married, I was hand-crafting our Christmas cards, then we switched to the photo cards and now, with 4 kids we have moved on to the email card) Even though it is completely against my "old traditional - self", I decided to go "Green" by sending out e-cards this year. Surprisingly, we received a bunch of email cards this year, so we are not alone. With Jared being out of work we really needed to penny pinch this year. But good news, Jared is back working, independently, which really makes me nervous. I am still hoping that he finds something more permanant with benefits. But for now, we are blessed to have any kind of work.

Hope everyone had a super Holiday Season and best wishes for the New Year.

The Christmas Catch Up

Decorating super yummy cookies with Grandma!


Making Pine cone bird feeders with Grandpa. The birds gobbled them up the very next day.



Our modest outdoor decorations.



The stockings all hung with Care in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there!



This is the 3rd year that we have had this tree and I love it a little more each year. It was a little depressing at first, but there are no needles to clean up, no worries about it falling over on a baby and it is up high enough that kids can't reach, well it takes a bit of effort to get to it.


This was a great holiday season for us, I think our best yet. We were so blessed this year and well taken care of. I couldn't ask for more.

This is what happens when...........

This is what happens when you have a big sister who loves her baby brother!



This is what happens when you let your 2 year old fall asleep under the computer so you can blog at night.



This is what happens when you don't go upstairs to find out what all the giggling is about.....notice the Care Bears have their own pillow and blanket too.



This is what happens when you have a perfect baby boy. Grant is sooooo so sweet!



This is what happens when you put make-up on a 5 year old.



This is what happens when Maddie finds the camera and brings Sophie in on all the fun.

I couldn't help it!

25

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites

So I thought this was a pretty good score, and pretty accurate considering I can carry 4 kids up the stairs, all screaming, one hanging on my back, one in a baby carrier and two kicking in each arm. Yes, I am pretty good at handling wild kids, however, when it comes to teaching them manners, not so good. I will have to work on that!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Okay, this is my favorite time of year for several reasons. Needless to say, I enjoy family togetherness, teaching my children about the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.......but come on, I am only human.......and female on top of that!

So Here is my Top Ten List for why this is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

10. It is chillier, so I can hide my chubbiness in some great jeans and not be too hot.

9. My kids don't want to run around naked (as much) because it is too cold, so I look like a better mother in my neighbor's eyes.

8. School is in session! Need I say more?

7. All new shows on TV.

6. Yummy warm homemade soups and rolls.

5. Hot cocoa and whipped cream.

4. The Gym is not (as) crowded as it usually is.

3. Motorcross season is down for a couple of months, which means Jared is home more often!

2. Shopping, Shopping and more Shopping. And if it is window shopping, it counts as a workout too!

1. I can trick my kids into thinking it is really late at night just because the sun has gone down. "Look how dark it is outside, it is way past your bed time, hurry!" little do they know that it is only 6 pm! (However, this does seem to backfire in the summer, when the sun doesn't go down until 9 pm)


So back to reason number two.......Shopping! We just returned from a glorious trip to the newly remodeled Galleria Mall. It is amazing! I am so excited about all the new stores. However, this does pose one small problem. All the stores that I used to shop from online, are now in our mall, which means that everyone else will be wearing the same stuff we are. shucks! but it does make window shopping a lot more fun. Some of my old favorites have moved in, like H&M, Delia's, Pumpkin Patch, Janie and Jack, and we are even getting a Tiffany's,(I don't plan on shopping there, but it will be fun to look) The family restroom is so cool too, there are private nursing rooms, a big flat screen tv and plenty of toys for the older kids to play with. there are little tiny pottys and they even supply lotion and a microwave. I can't wait to go back without the kids. Jared is even excited about it, which shows how great it is, because Jared is tough to impress when it comes to shopping. Good thing gas prices are 1.89$ a gallon!