Even Sophie is a BYU fan!

Sophie likes to choose the BYU blanket as a favorite resting spot. She knows who to root for!! (Doesn't she look cute with her favorite lion toy.)

Watch out for the binkie monster!

Sophie's favorite thing to find are binkies! Once they hit the floor she is fast as lightning to get them. I keep telling Preston and Adam that I'm not going to buy anymore and if they leave them out for Sophie to get, too bad! Maybe this is how we will finally be rid of the binky.

This is usually how she looks when I go to get them out of her mouth. Too funny!

Best babysitter around

A couple nights ago there was some scrap paper on the table from me working on Christmas cards. Adam got some scissors and spent at least an hour cutting that paper into little pieces. (If you know Adam, him doing ANYTHING for an hour is a compete miracle.) It was the best hour ever! I got to cook dinner in peace.

Scrap paper and scissors, the best babysitter around.

Santa comes to preschool!

Today was Preston's last day of school before break and Santa came to visit.

He brought presents for all the children. This one was Preston's.

Adam got one too which made him VERY excited.

They had to wait to open them until everyone got one.

I just happen to catch his genuine reaction to his gift when he opened it. I think he liked it. :)

Adam of course got "Hot Wheels" which also made him very excited. I couldn't really catch his reaction but this picture was the closest. He was jumping up and down he was so happy.

Yeah for Santa!

Spelling Bee

Andrew was privileged to have been chosen to compete in the school spelling bee last week. Only one kid from each class (3rd through 6th) was picked.

He did really well and made it through the 4th round. (The finals started in the 6th round) He was also proud of himself because the last word that he spelled correctly , "calories", was off the sixth grade list and it wasn't one that we had studied. He was beaming after that. He went out on a 7th grade word "immature". He was happy with how he did though because he stayed in longer than most of the other 3rd graders and some 4th graders. (As a mom I just didn't want him to be the first to go!) I think it was a great experience for him.

We are so proud of you Andrew!!

Adam's first dentist visit

Adam was so excited to have his appointment. He felt like such a big boy.

He did AWESOME! The hygienist was very impressed with him.

This picture is priceless! He is getting a fluoride treatment. I couldn't believe that he kept the trays in for the whole minute.

The two boys waiting for the dentist to examine their teeth. No cavities, whew!

Mark this one down in the record books!

Last night as I was clearing the table after dinner I noticed that a miracle had happened. I couldn't believe my eyes so I got my camera to document the occasion. This miraculous event was.......that Adam actually ate ALL his dinner!!!! This may seem like a small thing to get excited about but I seriously can't remember a time when it has happened before. He usually eats one or two bites of something and then that's it (or he just eats whatever fruit he has and that's it). He pretty much sustains himself on milk and nutrigrain bars. Here is the proof!

He had rice, teriyaki chicken, a mandarin orange, and yogurt. He was so excited himself that he had eaten his whole dinner because he knew that he now qualified to have ice cream. He usually doesn't get to have any due to his lack of eating. He was running around the kitchen yelling "Ooooh, ice cream, ice cream!!!" The funny thing is that he could choose between mint chocolate chip and pumpkin and he chose pumpkin. For such a picky guy I'm still so surprised that he likes pumpkin ice cream so much. I guess he's going to be like his dad who has never met an ice cream flavor that he doesn't like. :)

Natasha and her beloved Sophie

36 dinners in one day

This last Saturday my sister-in-law Renay came over and we cooked 36 dinners all in one day. That left 18 for each of us to put in our freezer.

Jason had taken all the kids to Renay's house the night before so we could really work. The kids were excited to have a sleep over with the cousins too. We went out and got pedicures and then to dinner. It was really nice and relaxing. NO KIDS IN SIGHT! We did have a slight glitch of Jason's car battery dying while we were out but luckily by friend's husband knows cars and he came and put a new one in for us.

This is my counter the night before. I also had a fridge full of meat (6 bags of frozen chicken from Costco, 12 lbs of hamburger, 2 pork roasts, 2 chuck roasts, & 2 lbs of sausage.) I meant to take a picture of us cooking but I totally forgot. We started about 8:00 am and were done around 3:30 pm. My feet were killing me by the end of the day. I only forgot one thing too so we only had to make one unexpected trip to the store. I thought that was pretty good. The other amazing thing is that we each got 18 dinners for only $162 each.

It feels great to have my freezer stocked with dinners!

Caught!

I caught a rare moment these days, Preston and Adam working together nicely. They are going through a rough patch where I usually can't leave them alone at all or else they start fighting.

Today I caught Preston reading this book to Adam and they were being really cute with each other. I had to document it to remind myself that they really do like each other. :)