Well, it's about time!

I don't know what my problem is, but I am having such a hard time keeping up with this blog. I know I haven't been very good in the past, but this is pretty bad. Christmas is next week and I still haven't blogged about Thanksgiving. So here it goes...

We had a fun and adventurous Thanksgiving. It started Wednesday with most of my family coming into Vegas that afternoon (one brother stayed in Ohio with his family and their brand new baby and my other brother was in CA) and then another brother and his family arrived Thanksgiving morning. Wednesday night Luke and his cousin learned some ballroom dance moves and I think we might be looking at the next junior Dancing with the Stars champions. :) I have a video of it, but blogger isn't letting me post it. I will have to try again later.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our house

(An idea of what Thanksgiving dinner looked like and a nice picture of my youngest brother. )

and then Friday morning we loaded up two vans and headed to CA for my brother's wedding.

(this is the brother that got married holding Ashley)

The drive down went well except for Katelyn throwing up after lunch because she was carsick. Sorry, no pictures, but I can assure you it was very gross and it was everywhere.

Friday morning we attended the wedding in the Newport Beach Temple. The weather was beautiful and so was the temple.
(Here's my brother with his beautiful bride)

Katelyn was a flower girl with her cousin Evie and Luke sported the plaid vest.

(I'm not really sure what Luke is doing and of course Katelyn is not smiling. It is a rare thing to get her to smile for a picture.)

Ashley just looked cute.

The fam!

The highlight of the day for Luke was the dancing at the reception. He said his favorite part was when everyone cheered for him and Evie as they danced down the middle. This kid is not shy.
I wish I had a picture of him dancing, but instead I got one of grandpa and Katelyn on the dance floor.
(Once again Katelyn looks like she is really enjoying herself.)

I Think the New Hairdo is Working for Her

We love her little mohawk.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from...

Optimus Prime

Super Girl

and a Little Baby Horse.

Already?

Ashley is 6 months old now and I am having a hard time believing it has already been six months.

• She is sitting up and playing with toys.
• Just starting to like baby cereal mixed w/fruit.
• Loves drinking out of a sippy cup with some help.
• Still not sleeping through the night. (Lately she has been waking up screaming during the night. I think it is a combination of teething and her tummy hurting. She is having a hard time transitioning to solid foods.)
• Loves when we do Patty Cake, Patty Cake with her.
• Is a momma's girl and whines for me when she sees me in the room.
• Is now aware of strangers.
• Loves to hear herself make noises and can get quite loud when she is laying on her back.
  
• She is the best baby to take on errands and loves just looking around at everything.

• She weighs 17 lbs. 4 oz.
• She is 26.5 inches tall.
• She is my smallest baby and she still isn't very small. :) My other two were off the charts in weight and height as babies and still are off the charts.

• She loves to stick her tongue out. Here are several examples...
  

We love this baby girl and are so grateful she is part of our family!

Let's Pretend...

this picture was taken on the first day of preschool instead of the sixth day of preschool. I did manage to take a quick one on the first day of school, but it didn't turn out like I wanted. So this is what we got on the sixth day after he had already gone to preschool. :)

Hallelujah! Mom is finally done taking pictures.

Favorites and Not So Favorites

Some favorites...

• my baby's sweet laugh
• that my 2 year old will pretty much eat whatever I make for dinner
• how much my 4 year old loves preschool
• the funny things my 2 year old says
• my husband taking Friday off and then spending the day working in the yard and watching the kids (he really is the BEST)
• after my 4 year old made his baby sister laugh, he said, "I love being a big brother."
• girls night out
• lunch w/my sister in law for her birthday
• the way my baby cuddles under my chin right before I lay her in bed
• homemade oreo cookies (not good to have around when trying to lose weight, but they are a favorite still)
  

Some not so favorites...

• my 4 year old scowling through most of the primary program on Sunday
• my 2 year old's ear piercing scream (it happens when she's mad and when she is having fun and playing w/her brother)
• that my baby is growing up so fast
  
• that my 4 year old complains about everything I make for dinner
  

Labor Day

We finally did something fun on a holiday instead of doing yard work or house work. We went up to Mt. Charleston and had so much fun. The weather was so beautiful, 70 degrees! We had a way too expensive lunch at the lodge and then went on a little walk. (We will definitely bring our own lunch next time.)

Luke wanted to climb a mountain. They made it about a third of the way and then Luke was done. I think they had more fun walking back to the van and seeing some lizards running around.

This is just to show that I do sometimes have my picture taken with my children.