Heidi and Xander Visit

Heidi (my brother, Jared's wife) and Xander came to visit us this weekend. It was so much fun having them here. Cody absolutely LOVED Xander. They were best buds. They took turns pushing each other around. The boys and the piano: pretty cute.
We played with play dough.

And of course, what would our house be without wrestling. Heidi took this picture I think because I sure didn't.

During FHE, Xander and Cody sat on the fireplace and played the entire time.
Kathleen sat on Heidi's lap.
And Brandon was on Dad's lap. Mom was all alone.
For treats (Kathleen was in charge) we had ice cream cones. It was the most quiet and happy the four kids had been all weekend.

Thanks for coming to visit Heidi. We had a BLAST!!!

Kathleen's New Room

Kathleen's room is pretty much done now. It is pink with a green stripe. We are eventually getting some butterfly stickers to put along the strip (Kathleen is demanding it). Her magnet square:

While aunty Heidi was visiting, we made Kathleen and beautiful new headboard. Eventually there will be curatains to match.

Kathleen's Dance Recital

Kathleen had a dance recital this weekend. She was so cute. Ryan took a video from the dress rehersal. Keep in mind that he did this while caring for Brandon and Cody at the same time (I had a volleyball game). She is the girl in the center with the pig tails.

Project: Boy's Room

We decided to be adventurous in January and redo all or kids rooms. We started by adding shelving to the closet. We had no idea what we were doing, but you decided if you can tell or not. Here is the before picture: Add white paint. Actually, china white from Lowe's.
MDF cut and put together with much help (or hinder) from our kids.
And shelves are in.

Add touch-up paint to the edges and VOILA! What do you think?
And, much to my dismay, the crib comes down for the last time.

After the green walls were painted, I let the kids sit in the room with me while I finished the blue walls.
Tadah!

That rectangle (Kathleen insists that we don't call it a square) is actually magnet paint underneath it.


Add the beds and bedding and we're finished (minus accessories).


The first topple. Good picture mom. Notice Kathleen's face. She tried to catch Cody, but wasn't quite fast enough.

Although Kathleen's room isn't ready yet, we set up her bedding so she could feel special too.
Cody's first night in a real bed.


Goodnight!

Random Blogger

Cody loves wearing Mr.Potato Head's glasses. They don't fit very well and fall off quickly. But he brings them right back to mom to put on again each time. Look how handsome the boys all look ready for church in their new christmas wear.
I guess Ryan thought he had to get a picture of the girls since there was one of the boys.

Brandon's favorite thing to do right now is a puzzle grandma and grandpa gave our family for christmas. He is really good a puzzles.
Ryan and I decided that although we only go out once a month on a date, that we were going to make Friday's date night at home after kids are in bed. So for the first "at home" date night we made an apple pie. Yes, from scratch. Mmm.
Grammy and Pompa sent Kathleen sparkle glue for christmas. She loves it. And she shares with her brother, which is always an amazing thing. Mom had a brilliant idea to give them popsicle sticks to move the glue around once on the paper. Brandon has a tendancy to make big puddles of glue in one spot.

Happy New Year!

Rant: Normally I keep my blog pretty limited to photos and a select few videos. I know a lot of people rant in their blogs, but I tend to enjoy the simple photos the most, so since that is what I like to see, that is what I post. However I decided to make an exception. I was just wondering why I have been such a bad blogger lately, then it occured to me as I was uploading this blog. All of a sudden the screen closed and the computer started shutting itself down. I didn't know what was going on. Then I turned to look and Cody was sitting on the ground by me playing, but had snuck his finger up to the power button on the computer.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Cody," in a quiet tone that only a mother can have toward their child. Then he looked at me and said, "What?" He doesn't know many words, but whenever someone says his name, he replies with, "What?" He is so cute. But saying what in that totally innocent manner as he just destroyed my hard blogger work, well, need I say more? Anyway, on to the real reason for this post:

We had some freinds invite us over for New Year's Eve. We put our kids to bed at their house and had one of the best New Years' since we had kids. Thanks so much to the Weymouth's for a fun evening. Oh, and since I am camera retarded, I stoll most of these pics from their blog. So thanks for that too.



Mad Gab:
We played a fierce game of Settlers of something. Well, it was fierce for everyone but Ryan. Poor guy couldn't get a break.

Happy Birthday to Paige:

Kathleen's Talk

Kathleen recently gave a talk in church. She was so cute. She prepared so hard and did a wonderful job. Most kids her age need parental help. But she did it all by herself. Here is a video of her practicing for it. The topic is, "Jesus lived on the earth, and I have faith he will come again."