Let them be little

So we are supposed to let them be little, but what do you do if they don't stay little?! Lately I've been looking at my children and realizing they are NOT so little anymore. And on Sunday I got several comments from people asking "When did Rachel grow up? She looks so much older!" All I could say in response is, "I know . . . "

I mean just look at that face! She looks so different from the family pictures we took 6 months ago. She doesn't have that look of a toddler anymore, there are no chubby cheeks, her hair is longer . . . she just looks older. When did it happen!?

And look at Benjamin, he looks like a toddler and not a baby. He has gotten more teeth, his words are coming along better, he is becoming more independent and helpful around the house AND he can eat an apple without me cutting it up! Maybe that's not a big deal to you but to me it blew me away.

So when did it happen? When did they grow up? And where was I?

I had my second appointment today and got a surprise. Nope, not twins, there is still only 1. My Surprise: another ultrasound! Already we have more ultrasounds of this baby than ultrasounds of Benjamin (I guess because we found out so late that we were pregnant with Benjamin?). Anyway it was a pleasant little surprise. I was able to see my little baby moving around, kicking its legs and waving its arms. In the picture above you can see it doing a high kick, yep that's its leg. :) I was able to see the heart beating and count the fingers. (The picture is blurry but on the screen everything is more clear . . . maybe it turned out blurry because the baby was super active.) Everything is still looking good, the baby and I both look healthy. We are still on target for an August 22 due date and some more good news: I think I'm pretty much over the sick part! Yay, time to party!!

Another project . . .

For my mother-in-laws birthday present I decided to try something 'new.' As in new, I've never done something quite like this before. Yes - I've made plenty of pillow cases and pillows but not quite this fancy. I found a cute pillow design from a blog give away and I sort of copied it. The words are different, the color is different and the patching is close but different. I did all of the stitching of the words by hand (something I have NEVER done before) and without my hoop (I think Rachel took it and is using it as a toy somewhere). But even without my hoop I think everything turned out great. Also a friend of mine gave me a HUGE pillow case and a small bag of these little balls to stuff pillows with. They are super nice because the the pillow will always keep it's shape and they are super comfy BUT they are SUPER messy too!! The second you touch them they stick to you with such static cling as you have never seen before in your life . . . believe me. I had to vacuum my bathroom, me and Benjamin after we were done stuffing the pillow. Anyway, in the end it turned out well and my mother-in-law, she loved it too! :) Mission accomplished.

Bowling

For Family Home Evening last night we thought it would be fun to go bowling as a family. To make it even more fun we decided to invite some friends to join us.

Here is Rachel, Bryannah, Benjamin and Shayla. Rachel LOVED wearing the special shoes! She wears a size 7 1/2 in kids and the smallest size they had was 10, they were a little big but it didn't stop her from running around. :)

We had 2 lanes, one for the adults and one for the kiddos with bumpers up. Rachel really enjoyed bowling and she didn't do that bad either.

Benjamin was in HEAVEN!!

We split up each frame so both Rachel and Benjamin could have a turn. He loved carrying the ball up to the line, pushing it (with some help of course), then he would stand there watching it with a huge grin in his face saying "Wow." Then when the pins would get knocked down he would clap and say "YAY!!!" After that he would run back to get "more, ball!"

This was the kids' score at the end of the night. I was quite proud that Rachel and Benjamin broke 100, she even beat my score that night. Yep I'm not the best bowler . . . in fact Bryannah and Shayla beat my score too. It was fun and now we know what we will be doing again because the kids loved it so much.

Cousins!

On Saturday we had the cousins up for a little play date. A long time ago we took them to the Treehouse museum and we couldn't wait to take them back. So of course we did while they were up here. This is a favorite place for my kids because it is a place where they can be just kids!

There were 4 adults for 6 six kids, almost one adult for one child which meant the kids could pretty much go where ever they wanted to and we could still keep an eye on them.

Rachel and Ally were pretty much inseparable. In fact before the cousins came up and after Rachel got dressed she said: "I'm going to ask Ally if she likes my outfit and if she does she will say yes. Then I'm going to play with her but not my other cousins, only Ally."

Benjamin had great fun climbing everything of course.

Rachel had quite a bit of fun playing at the doctors 'office.' She took good care of the babies, checked out the horses and even had time to inspect some x-rays.

I realized I didn't get too many pictures of the cousins playing, we were too busy keeping up with the kids. Sariah sure loved helping out with Benjamin, she is a great big sister and big cousin! :)

Of course Rachel played with the dinosaurs.

Benjamin practiced being a big brother. I hope this (shoving the bottle in the baby's eye) isn't a sign of things to come!

And before we left Benjamin tried his hand at removing the sword in the stone, but didn't quite get it. Maybe next time. After playing for a while we headed back to our house where we had some mini, build-your-own pizzas. It was fun for the kids and most of them ate everything. Then of course we played and had some rest time before they headed home. All in all it was a great day and we can't wait for them to come play again! :)

Bows, pillows, climbing and more

Besides being super sick and tired most of the time I have gotten some things done. To prove it I thought I would leave a little blog post about it. :) So for a while now I've wanted to have a cute place to display/store Rachel's bows/flowers for her hair. Well today I finally got around to it . . . I didn't take a nap BUT I did get this project done. I think that counts for something.

I have also played with my kids as much as I could - even moving around makes me sick, so usually I'm just laying around. Their new favorite game is to take pillows from the couch, place them on their head and run around the house. Or they will place them on the floor and jump from pillow to pillow because the "floor is lava!!"

Benjamin has also gotten even better at climbing (if that's possible!) He can now climb up our bed (which is high off the ground), he climbs bookshelves, uses toys to climb up on to the ledge in the playroom and yes he even has learned how to climb the cupboards to get up onto the counter.

THIS KID WEARS ME OUT!! But I love him anyway :)

Last but not least I gave him another haircut (and Marc one too). Both of their hair was getting long and a little out of control. I think I did a much better job this time. I triple checked the size combs I was using and was able to create a tapered look for him. Oh ya, I'm good! :) Benjamin really enjoyed getting his hair cut with the clippers. He was smiling and when I was done he ran into the bathroom and pointed to the mirror. When I lifted him up to see he gave me a huge grin and said "Yay!!"

Baby #3

Marc and I found out we were expecting #3 just before Christmas (December 19 2009 to be exact). It was a fun little Christmas present for us and for family : ) Today I had my first appointment where you get to see the little heart beating and see your little peanut for the first time. This is one of my favorite appointments to go to, it is so reassuring! Well besides some serious nausea that knocks me out of commission (Okay well maybe not entirely) from 2pm on, the fact that I can't stand my toothbrush or the smell of toothpaste or the smell of onions, or the smell of my husband, things have been going well. We found out today that we have one peanut cooking in there and he/she will be joining our family on or about August 22 2010!! (yes, August will be a busy month for us with Rachel's birthday on Aug 16 and our anniversary on Aug 17 . . . ) The doctor said everything looks good, and the little babies heart was pumping away nice and strong. : ) We are definitely excited and nervous. Now and forever we will be outnumbered by children, but if other parents can survive being outnumbered I'm sure we can too. : )

Rachel is a Sunbeam!

Today marked a monumental day/year for us. Rachel had her first full day in Primary as a SUNBEAM and Benjamin is now officially old enough to enter NURSERY!! Because it was such a special day I let Rachel pick out her outfit for today (of course I gave her 3 options . . . so I had a little control on the subject). : )

Rachel did very well in primary today (from what I saw). Of course she had her moments. Like during opening exercises she was upset because someone was sitting on her "bed" (2 chairs in a row), she really wanted to lay down. I don't blame her one bit, 12:30 church is hard enough on me!! When they dismissed for classes Rachel was the first up and at the door. I forgot to ask how she did in class but I think she did well because I didn't see her teacher running out of the room screaming! During singing time (which I have the great honor of teaching) she did very well as do all of the kids. She only got up a few times to stand by me but after some brief encouragement she sat back down with her class. Benjamin never did make it to nursery today, a well, we have many more Sundays to get there.

When we got home I asked Rachel what she learned in Primary today she said: "I learned about being a Sunbeam! And a Child of God. And you were my teacher mommy!!" When I asked her what I taught her as one of her teachers she sang the first line of a new song I taught the kids, it starts "A long time ago in a beautiful place . . ." I am not ashamed to say that I was quite impressed and it made me feel good that even the little Sunbeams can learn difficult songs.

Christmas Day with the Ansons :)

First let me apologize: This is going to be a super long post!! Christmas morning came early at our house. No the kids didn't get up early . . . we did! I know, I know what were thinking right? What can I say we were a little excited :) Benjamin did get up about 6:30 but we had to wake Rachel up at 7:30 because she was just not getting up!!

Benjamin made a B-line to the tree and cookies after he got up (and had his diaper changed of course). He must have remembered us leaving them out. He kept going "uh, uh" and pointing to the plate with the half eaten cookies. Then he was so kind as to give us his nook and help Santa finish his cookies.

When Rachel finally rolled out of bed she looked at the plate of missing treats and said "Look Santa came and ate all of his cookies!" She didn't notice the presents yet at this point.

Both Benjamin and Rachel had lots of fun opening their gifts. Benjamin would rip off a piece of the paper then walk over to the garbage bag to put it in and after Rachel had opened hers she would ball up the paper and put it in the bag. I've taught them well if I do say so myself! :)

They both got lots of goodies in their stockings and couldn't wait to play with their easel and activity mat. Oh and to eat their goldfish :)

Marc got some yummy beef jerky and other smelly icky treats (that I can't stand) to take to work for snacks. He and I each got a pair of snow boots for all of those times we have to go out and shovel. (We ended up opening the boots about a week before Christmas but we needed them.) He also got some movies, a new tie and a belt that Rachel picked out. While we were at the store Rachel insisted that we get Marc a baby doll for Christmas. I talked her into looking in a different section first (the men's of course) where she decided that "daddy needs this belt, it's his favorite. Daddy loves belts!" Maybe we'll get you a baby doll next year Marc! :)

Marc got me this watch for Christmas!! And I LOVE it!!!! He did really good this year! He picked out the face and the band all by himself, so proud of him, he listened to my hints :) He also got me years supply of Bath and Body Works lotion, soaps and body sprays. If it weren't for Christmas I wouldn't get my yearly supply. J/K!

Super cute watch huh!?

This is Rachel's stash. She got a lot of clothes, PJ's, toys, necklaces, a Mr. Potato head, and a basket for her bike (among other things).

This is Benjamin's loot. He got lots of clothes, PJ's, toys, trucks, and blocks. Oh and we can't forget the many movies we got from Ed the Elf. We got a lot of fun kid movies to get us through the winter :)

This is the activity mat that "Santa" got for the kids. It's called CTR Town. There is a Temple, a church, the MTC, houses and lots of other places they can drive their trucks 'to' on this mat. I love it and so do the kids. This and the easel are 2 of the best toy investments we - oops! - Santa got them this year.

While we were opening our gifts we had yummy cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. And they were done just when we were cleaning everything up . . . perfect timing. And a perfect Christmas morning breakfast!

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After breakfast and baths we headed down to Marc's parents to enjoy some time with family and of course to open more gifts.

Benjamin got more trucks! Also I thought Benjamin's shirt was quite appropriate for the day. You can't see what it says but is reads: Who needs Santa when I've got Grandpa!! Hilarious huh?

Rachel and Benjamin got lots of great books, and Rachel got some pet pockets (I don't remember what they are called.)

But she and Ally had a blast playing with them together.

Benjamin loved his new trucks! Maybe this will get him away from wearing sparkly girl shoes . . . maybe.

Nicole got us this fun game and the Movie Sleeping Beauty.

Rachel, Zac, Marc and Nicole had fun breaking in the new game at Mom and Dads.

Benjamin and Zac had a great time having boy time together, but it sure would have been fun to have Caleb and Jacob there too.

After opening gifts and playing we had some yummy dinner (as always). Then the kids played, and played and played as only cousins can do best. But by 7 pm that night after not having a nap Benjamin had had enough and I think we all did. It was a great Christmas, we had a wonderful time. Now less than 12 months to go until we get to do it again!! Yahoo! I think I'm gonna take a nap . . . ;)

"SNOW"

Today it not only snowed outside my house but in it as well. Why? Well my mom sent us a package with some late Christmas gifts in it and today we got it. Of course she sent it with packing peanuts . . . fun but messy!!

After opening the gifts the kids played with the peanuts for a very long time. Rachel figured out a way to make the peanuts fly in the air by pushing down one of the flaps.

After they were all out of the box the kids proceeded to stomp on them crushing them into little bits and creating lots of static. Their clothes and hair were covered in the bits and pieces and so were the walls!!

They also enjoyed making "snow angels."

Christmas Eve

We were very lucky to have Marc home all day on Christmas Eve this year, though we didn't go out and lots of fun things that day we did have fun around the house and got a lot of things done. With Marc's help we did 5 loads of laundry and I was able to make 5 loaves of bread AND while the kids were napping Marc went Christmas shopping. Yep, Christmas Shopping on Christmas Eve. : )

After all of the chores were done the kids had a great time with the Laundry basket, wooden spoons and blown up balloons. As they were playing we said: "Now we know what we should have gotten them. Could have saved us some money!"

Before getting ready for bed we rocked out to some Christmas music around the tree and the kids put on a little show for us too. They, well I guess I should say Rachel, sang Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and then they did Once there was a Snowman. It was all very cute! : )

After the kids brushed their teeth we set out the treats for Santa. We heard a rumor that Santa likes chocolate chip cookies but they had to be "funny ones" (according to Rachel). Which I found out meant they had to be the cookie cutter cookies, so I made the chocolate chip cookie dough, rolled it out and there ya go . . . funny chocolate chip cookies! Benjamin kept going over to them and saying "uh, uh." (I promise he does talk!)

Then Marc read a shortened version of the Christmas story for short attention spanned children, we also read some snowman stories, yes Frosty was one of them.

Santa came quite early to our house this year (about 9:30 - which was really nice!!). He left some really fun presents for the kids, drank all of his cocoa and ate all but half of one of his cookies. I heard Santa got a really good deal on that easel too, $5 from the DI! What a great store!! :)

Rachel's Rudolf

A friend of mine said she did some appliques on some onesies for her nieces and nephews for Christmas. This is something I've wanted to do for my kids for a while now. Well last night I decided to wait no longer. I took one of Rachel's shirts that was plain red and boring and made a Rudolf face on it. It was much easier to do than I thought it would be (I got it done in 30 minutes), I thought it turned out super cute and I'm sure she is gonna love it!!

Christmas outfits

Before we went to church this morning I thought I would take some pictures of the kids in their Sunday Christmas outfits (you know before they got all wrinkled and food splattered. ; ) My mom bought both of their outfits and shoes while she was out here. Can you believe how big they have both gotten?

The Ballet

On Friday Night we were brave parents . . . we took both kids to the Nutcracker Ballet. Seriously we were a little nervous and wondering what in the world we were thinking and we were praying that things would go well.

This was our first time seeing a show in the Peery's Egyptian Theater and can I just say it was BEAUTIFUL in side!! We also had great seats, only rows from the pit where the orchestra played. Marc and I watched a different Ballet company perform the Nutcracker in a different place years ago but I have to say that I enjoyed this one much more. The cast consisted of dancers 5 years of age and older. Not everything was together but it was so much more fun.

Before the performance the kids were a little wired and excited to see each other. Once it started though our prayers were answered-all of the kids did a great job! Okay so after intermission there was a little incident involving Rachel kicking the chairs in front of her and talking to her friends. But they were quick to tell her "Shhh! Quit talking Rachel!!" And my friend Brittany had to hold Rachel's leg to keep her from kicking but other than that, they did very well.

It was such a fun night, I am so glad the kids loved it too. Thank you to Jen for inviting us, thank you to Brittany for helping me contain Rachel and thank you to Maryn and Josh for being so patient with Rachel as she kicked your chairs. : )

New Aprons

While my mom was out here for THANKSGIVING we started a new project: Matching aprons for me and Rachel. Today I just finished them. Yep, today. Between being sick (again) and busy they got put on the back burner. But now I can say I finally finished them just in time for Christmas : ) Now my next project to get done before Christmas: Painting the easel we got from DI for $5. I WAS done with Christmas presents until I looked around and decided to make aprons and paint the easel. At least I don't have to go out shopping!!