A Merry Christmas

Christmas morning, Ava woke up exclaiming "Santa's here! Santa's here!" Apparantly she was under the impression that he would be personally handing out her gifts :) She ran around my parents basement, and got everyone out of bed and couldn't wait to run up the stairs to see if Santa was there. It was so fun for us to see her excitement. She was at such a great age this year for Christmas!

Tawny & I had been up hanging out until 4:30 in the morning on Christmas Eve, so we were a little tired to say the least!

Ava was the first to run up the stairs and find all the presents! (No - those presents are not all for her! My whole family was there...) The first thing she asked me though was, "Where's Santa?" I had to explain, again, that he came in the night and then flew away. Ava had so much fun opening her gifts - she ooed and awed and had to try out each toy as they were opened.

Even Cohen liked ripping the wrapping paper, and eating it of course.

Ava got everything she asked for... princess dresses, dancing clothes (for dance classes in January!), Barbies, and lots of art supplies!

We definately had a very merry Christmas this year. Children make the holiday so magical and exciting. We got so spend the rest of the week with family as well, and we were blessed to be able to just chill, hang out, and celebrate Christ's birth with loved ones.

Now it's back to real life again...

The Night Before Christmas

My family has most of our Christmas party & traditions on Christmas Eve, and this year was so much fun as always. We have our big Christmas dinner that night and everyone pitched in on making it - even the boys... Dad did the roast, and Cody & Bub whipped up some mean cheesy potatoes. After dinner we exchange family gifts and play Christmas Eve Bingo! There is a pile of like twenty presents wrapped in the middle of the floor. Whenever anyone gets Bingo, they get to choose a gift and open it or steal something someone else has already opened. It's SO fun, and funny when stuff starts getting stolen, or when Brennan gets stuck with a spatula :)

And every year since I can remember we have always opened up our Chrismas PJs on Christmas Eve. It's always a highlight...

I couldn't get a great picture of those two in their jammies, but you get the idea :)

Another highlight of the Chirstmas week was having the Reagans in town!!! We LOVE the Reag's, and the time with them here went way way too fast!

This picture of my mom and Cohen was too cute not to post :)

Rollin'

*pause the music on the side to watch the videos*

Cohen's got a few new tricks up his sleeve. Last week he learned to roll from his back to belly...

And he has started on rice cereal! When he turned 4 months he started becoming obsessed with food. Every time I was holding him and eating at the same time, he would chase my spoon/fork with his mouth and whine for bites. And he wanted drinks of my water from a glass too. I couldn't drink & hold him without him grabbing my cup. So at his 4 month check up, Doc said that it would be fine to start him on rice cereal since he is showing such an interest. I recorded his first time eating because that is one of my favorite things with a new baby. I love their first time trying to eat food :) It was a messy experience, but he actually did really well - he opens his mouth for the spoon and doesn't thrust the food out with his tongue. He wasn't sure what to think of the cereal though. He was so excited for bites, but his reaction to actually tasting the cereal is hilareous! And SO cute. In this clip, notice what Ava is up to in the background... she has discovered that while I am occupied with Cohen she can do just about what ever she wants and get into EVERYTHING! She climbs up everything too!

I'm feeling a little guilty that my posts lately have been all about Cohen, so I am making myself feel more "fair"... Here's a random cute pic of Ava. She still doesn't know how to smile on command ;)

*Teething update: 1 of 4 has broken through! Yea! One down, three to go...

My 4 Month Old

Cohen had his 4 month checkup today, so here are the stats!

50% weight

50% height

25+% head

Pretty much average...

...Besides the fact that he has FOUR bottom teeth coming in right now!

That's right - 4 teeth!!

He hasn't been the happiest camper this week :(

His eyes are turning brown like Ava's and his hair is showing hints of auburn.

Auburn hair is from daddy. Brown eyes... who knows?

He is now very good at grabbing everything and eating it! Especially my hair.

He CAN roll over. Not that he really WANTS to very often.

And he is still just a sweet, sweet, sweet little boy who melts my heart every time I look at him.

Christmas Time!

Our tree is decorated and our house is filled poinsettias! I love Christmas time! It's extra fun this year because Ava is SO excited. She is thrilled to have a Christmas tree... So far she has asked Santa Claus for games and princess dresses :) Any time we drive around at night she points out every house with Christmas lights... Jingle Bells is one of her new favorite songs... It's so fun to see her excitement, and I can't wait for Christmas morning!

Ahhhhh!

Something has taken over her hair?!?

A Fall Project

This is what my mom and I have been up to this fall...

We've been canning! This was my first time canning, so my mom was my mentor :) We had a lot of fun together. We canned LOTS of peaches, applesauce (the hard way), apple pie filling, and raspberry jam. And we still want to do some salsa it we can get some time. Mmmmm!

Ava even pitched in.

Applesauce for the babies!

Random

Not much is new or interesting with us lately, so this post has no purpose really besides just some random picture updates from the last week in our awesome life :)

This is Ava's latest pastime - singing. She is pretty much constantly singing as she plays around the house. I recorded her two favorites: ABC's & Twinkle. She sings them each like fifty times a day. Also on her singing rotation: Give Said the Little Stream, I Am a Child of God, London Bridges, Old MacDonald, & Shake Your Peanut.

Twinkle Twinkle

We've been having some precip around here lately... and Ava likes to play in it

And yes, it rained AND snowed in the same week! Happily the snow has all melted... for now.

(It's time for us to do our winter shopping... In the snow picture Ava is wearing last year's coat, jeans, and boots... all too small)

I just thought this was the cutest smile. You can see his sweet disposition in his eyes.

My kids like to play in my clean laundry.

A few more cute pictures...

Halloween

Halloween was really fun this year. Ava was so excited to be a witch. Ever since she saw Minnie dress up as a witch on Micky Mouse Clubhouse, she wanted to be a witch too. Can you guess what Cody and I are? Yup, Clark Kent & Lois Lane. Cohen wore a pumpkin bib... good enough :) We went to a trunk'or'treat near our neighborgood, then trick'or'treated at G-ma&Gpa's house, then went to a Halloween party with our friends. It was a really fun night!

Here's Ava in her witch costume

She loved it!

Trick or Treat! G-ma & G-pa's!

After trick'or'treating we went to the 4th annual Halloween party at Mike & Jaime's. We had a great time hanging out, playing games, having the annual costume contest, and of course playing Mafia. It was a blast, and the Taylor's are always such great hosts! Thanks guys :)

Kylee holding Cohen at the party.

Devin & Jessica won the costume contest this year. She was a firefighter and he was fire! This picture doesn't do their costume justice though - Devin costume covered his face as well, so you couldn't see one inch of him!

The girls! Unfortunately, I didn't get a couple's picture... that would've been way better to post here, but you can get an idea of what half of our couple's costumes were. Left to Right: Jessica-firefighter, Melanie-pinata hitter, Natalie-baseball player's girlfriend, Caroline-dead Lehman Brothers, Me-Lois Lane, Kylee-fighter pilot, Jaime-Sarah Palin.

A little shout-out

...to my talented dad.

This guy has a true gift for creating. He can build pretty much anything, and is completely self-taught. Trying something new doesn't scare him, and anything he does always turns out so awesome. He has built his own home, acres of greenhouses, handcrafted furniture, remodeled his mother's kitchen, and finished many, many yards for his friends and neighbors... that's just a fraction of his list of creative accomplishments. And everything he does is first-class - no cutting corniers for Ken-dawg. His latest project was completed last night, as the first reception was successfully held at his new, self-created&built reception center at the nursery. It was georgeous. And I am proud of him for having a vision, not being afraid to go for it, putting in months of HARD work, and for accomplishing something so great and beautiful.

Good job Dad!

He built a full-on restraunt-worthy kitchen! And there are gorgeous bride's & groom's rooms as well, but I didn't have pictures of those.

There are cozy sitting areas all around...

And there are two running streams of water in the tropical gardens... So pretty!

3 Months

"Coco" (as Ava likes to call him) is three months today...

He's growing so fast, and it's fun to see him learn and develop.

So here are a few Cohen updates:

• He is still Mr. Smiley. I think he will be a pretty social person. His sweet little smile melts my heart. He will smile at anyone who wants to talk to him, especially girls.
• He also LOVES to talk - He will engage in quite a long "conversation" if you will just sit and listen to what he has to say. And he seems to have a lot to say. Especially to girls.
• He's already a flirt. (Takes on after daddy)
• I don't know what his weight & measurements are right now, but at two months he was 13lbs (70th percentile), in the 50th percentile for lenght, and 25% for his head. So, I guess he's chubby, with a small head :)
• He is a sweetheart. Kind of a softy, we think. Ava might be tougher than him.
• He was sleeping really good :( Until like the last two nights. Maybe he's going through his 3 month growth spurt - I don't know. We put him down awake, and he goes to sleep on his own. He used to only be waking up once in an 11 hr period. Now, last night, he went to bed at 8, woke up at midnight, 3:30, and 5:30! What happened?? I let him cry through the 5:30, and he fell back asleep pretty quick, but he was starving the other two earlier times he woke up. Hopefully this is a growth spurt and he will go back to his previous routine. Any suggestions??
• He has learned to reach and grab, and bring things to his mouth. He really likes his little toys. He will smile and talk, and reach out for them. He loves blankets too. He will play with a blaket for a long time.

Here's a video, "proof", of him reaching out for a toy and getting it!

We love our little boy so so so much. I couldn't be a happier mommy, and I can't imagine my life without him. I've got the best babies I could ever ask for and I love the crap out of them.

Ooops... did I just say crap??

I love the 70's...

... 70's Fahrenheit, that is.

The weather has been so beautiful, we couldn't resist a picnic at the park.

LOVE those Utah mountains in the background



A random fun little video clip :)