Life Lately

Life has been a bit crazy lately, some days I feel like I am living in a zoo...but I figured I needed a little more positivity, so I am going to blog about the good things going on.

Madison is growing by the minute.  She already has such a sweet little personality, she loves to be held and have you talk to her, and gives giant, contagious smiles when you do.  She loves to talk, and squeal, and make this little sucking in noise that sounds kind of like the beginning of a hiccup.  She is definitely a snuggler, and LOVES to be swaddled.  Everyone thinks she looks like me, and not much like McKenna and Ammon who are both the spitting image of Mike.  She is VERY much a co-sleeper and does not like to sleep in the bassinet period...we are going to have to work on that... ;)

McKenna is my funny girl.  She loves smiling, laughing, and applauding herself on anything cute she does.  She is starting to be a climber like her brother.  She is pretty rough and tumble and has plenty of bumps and bruises on any given day.  She HATES having her hair done, but its getting too long not to pull back out of her face, besides, she looks SO cute with pig tails!! :)  She is at the age where she is starting to pick up new words every day and is getting better at communicating with us.  She loves her baby sister and will hold her and kiss her, but she definitely lets you know when she is done  by shoving her away.  She loves to fold her arms for prayers and will always shout "Yay!" and clap in the middle of every prayer to let you know she did it right and folded her arms.  She has gotten very attached to a specific blanket, and has to take it EVERYWHERE with her, she even tries to make me let her take it in the bath with her.  Her favorite toys are her baby dolls and her little people princesses, very girly!

Ammon is such a sweet little guy.  He is going through kind of a sensitive phase, which is a little difficult, but we are trying to make sure he gets more positive attention and love.  We are working on learning how to write letters with him, and he LOVES to do his "homework" when Noah is doing his.  He has an amazing memory for things, and is starting to talk like a mini adult, it cracks me up.  He wants to be a big boy just like Noah, and has to do everything he does, I am thinking about trying to get him in to preschool because he wants to go to school like Noah so bad!!  He is really into big construction trucks, tractors, and trains.  He LOVES any little furry animal, and his greatest desire is to be a hunter like Daddy.  He is always talking about hunting, different hunting seasons, trapping, and all the animals Daddy hunts and traps.  He is such a good big brother, and loves his little sisters so much.  He is quite the little character.

Noah is growing up way too fast.  He is doing so awesome in school, he loves to read, and amazes me at how well he is reading.  I am also amazed at how good his handwriting is.  He has better handwriting than a lot of adults I know.  He always takes his time, and is a perfectionist with his homework, which is kind of a two edged sword.  It is good that he likes to produce quality work, but its hard for him when he gets frustrated when things are just quite the way he wants them.  I am trying to teach him to just take a deep breath, laugh about it, fix it as best he can, then move on.  It seems to be helping him so far.  He is a wonderful big brother, and is always willing to help me out.  I have caught him sitting next to Madison and singing to her to keep her calm while I am making dinner, and playing baby dolls with McKenna.  He loves playing hunting with Ammon, and tells me he wants to be an archery hunter when he grows up.  We are trying to get him into T-ball this year so he has another activity to do to get him out of the house, make friends, and have fun.


Mike and I got our temple recommends this week and are trying to figure out a date to get to the temple and have as much family with us as possible.  We are going to try and get Noah's dad's permission to have him sealed to us as well, and need as many prayers as we can get to soften his heart so he will agree.  We are very excited to go, and can't wait for our family to be sealed to each other for eternity.

My Sweet Little Valentines!

I am pretty certain I have the CUTEST little Valentines in the WHOLE world!! :)  This year we got the kids all a little stuffed animal, and the three older ones got a little box of chocolates as well.  Its amazing how little simple things can make kids so happy.  McKenna wanted to have EVERYONE's stuffed animals, and the boys did a good job trading and sharing with her.  She is such a goof ball.  Noah had a great time at his school party, and he and Ammon both had a lot of fun writing Valentines cards to their cousins.

Madison's Blessing

We were able to bless Madison at our church a couple of weeks ago, and it was a very beautiful day.  Mike's brother and a couple of his uncles were able to come to help with the blessing, and Mike did a beautiful job.  Here are a few pictures of our beautiful baby girl!

Noah is Six!

I tell Mike all the time that as an adult and a parent time seems to fly by unreasonably fast.  I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my oldest baby is 6 years old!! I don't know how it is possible when it seems only yesterday he was the same size as McKenna.

At six years old Noah is about half way through Kindergarten.  He LOVES school, and is doing AWESOME!!  He seems to make friends very easily, and as much as he likes to hang out with the boys, he has lots of girl friends too.  He is the top sight word reader in his class and is getting better at reading and writing every day.  He is a BIG helper to mom, and an awesome big brother!!  He loves everything about being outdoors, and even wants to be a bow hunter one day!  He still is not embarrassed to hug and kiss his mom (and siblings) when he goes to school, and still is a BIG snuggler.  He has a big heart! He is kind to the other kids at school, and is always empathetic and helpful to those who are sad or hurt.  We are so blessed to have him as a part of our family, and it has been so much fun watching him grow up into the big boy he is today!!

Here are some pictures from his birthday:

 

Minion cupcakes for school :)

 

His Lego cake :)

 

His big birthday surprise! :)

White Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Cookies

I LOVE trying new recipes, its always so fun and adventurous.  I wanted to make some cookies with the white chocolate chips I had sitting in my cupboard, and these looked yummy, and fun for Valentines day!

(If you are making these to share, or you have a big family like mine, I would suggest doubling the recipe as this didn't quite make 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter at room temp
1 C Sugar
1 t distilled white vinegar
1 large egg
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 t red food coloring (I didn't use quite that much b/c I only had the food coloring that squeezes out one tiny drop at a time, and I didn't feel like waiting to measure out 1 1/2 teaspoons, but it would be prettier if you use the correct amount :) )
1 1/2 C flour
2 1/2 T Cocoa
1 t cornstarch
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C white chocolate chips (plus more for garnish if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat sugar and butter in a mixer until fluffy.
3. Add vinegar and mix just until combined. Add the egg just until combined. Scraping the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and red food coloring and combine.
4. Sift together the flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.  Add half to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. (scrapping the side of the bowl)  Mix in the remaining flour mixture just until combined.
5. Mix in white chocolate chips.
6. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on parchment lines cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 9-11 minutes. While still warm, press a few white chocolate chips into cookies, point side down. (this is mainly just for looks, you can skip this all together if you don't care too much about presentation ;) )  Allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My kids really enjoyed these cookies, I hope you do too!