Playing Catch-Up

Hey!! Wow it's been a long time since I posted! In my defense, we did move a few weeks before Christmas so I can't really be held accountable. Can I?! Oh, probably. Darnit! We love our new house (especially the backyard!) so I guess it was worth the hassle but what a pain in the you know what! With moving, getting stuck in the mud (pics to come), and a rare snowstorm for California, we haven't had a dull moment!! Anyway, for grandmas' sake here are some cute pics of what we've been up to.

Lauren sure LOVES to smile! We love our giggly, happy little girl. At 27 1/2 inches she's above the 90th percentile for her age. She definitely takes after her daddy!

Since we were so busy moving, we procrastinated getting a tree and then it seemed pointless to even put one up so late in the season. BUT then Ryan surprised us by bringing one home Christmas Eve. By then the tree lots were giving them away, but I think ours turned out pretty good! Kayla kept saying, "It's so little!" She's used to Dad chopping a big one down for us. Maybe next year.... Still, she loved decorating the tree and did most of it herself! With a little help from Evan (if you call breaking the ornaments and crushing them into the carpet "helping" that is. Maybe that's just me)

Kayla took this pic- she's our family photographer. She asked Ryan to smile and this is what she got- his best Grinch-stole-Christmas impersonation. What a little stinker.

Just before bed on Christmas Eve. The kids all got new jammies for their first gift. They couldn't wait for morning!!

We were so busy decorating our tree that we forgot to leave cookies and milk out for Santa. Apparently he forgave us though because the kids woke up to this array Christmas morning. Phew!!Those elves were busy!

Kayla wasted no time unwrapping! She of course loved her Aurora doll. Aren't they cute?!

Lauren wasn't sure about the bunny, she was more interested in the cardboard it was attached to! But pretty soon she warmed up to her new furry friend.

Evan was so excited for this one. He kept saying "BIG truck!!" He and his sis like to take rides in their new vehicle. Just so long as they don't take Lauren for a spin!!

Lauren's monstrocity of a bow. Haha! She'll grow into it!!!

Kayla loves having matching sister dresses. Or anything that matches Lauren really. She's always begging me to dress Lauren in shirts that match her. Thanks for the dresses Grandma and Grandpa Hinckley!!

Our fam on Christmas Day. We had dinner with some great friends of ours (I forgot my camera for dinner pics- big surprise!). We wish we could've spent the holidays with family too, but it was a nice finish to a wonderful day together.



Lauren and her daddy...

Blog Update

I've been behind on blogging but I finally updated! I was so behind that I just barely added Halloween- almost 3 weeks late! I just get so busy with projects (sewing mainly, and just recently, hairbows!!) that I don't save time for anything else. Anything else that is except take care of my kiddos. And try to take care of the house. Sorry honey!! Good thing I have a wonderful husband who helps me out. It's just too bad that such a neat freak married a messy girl like me! ;) I really am trying to improve. Anyway, I'm off to bed so enjoy the new pics!

Hairbow Workshop

My awesome friend Elaine makes super cute bows for her little girl, so last weekend she had a hairbow workshop and showed us how to make them!! It was so much fun! Too bad Ryan had a baseball game so I had to leave early. But I was able to learn how to make some before I left, and learn how to make cute headbands from my friend Alyssa. Good thing I have talented friends or I'd be clueless. It's not "what" you know, but "who" you know! Haha.

I found a link to some cute hairstyles off Elaine's page so I thought I'd share it. The site has links to other blogs and there's tons online if you do a search. Check it out!
http://cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com/

Here's Kayla and Lauren modeling my creations. Sorry there's so many pics, but Lauren was just so dang cute!! And Kayla too of course. ;)

Kayla got this dress from Grandma last Christmas and she loves it so good thing it still fits! Don't you love how she holds her dress out like a princess? Such a little poser.

Here's a view of the bows from the top.

And here's Kayla and Lauren with their matching sister bows. Don't you love how enormous Lauren's is? I may've gotten a little carried away but that's the point, right?!

This is the very first bow I made. Well, kind of made. Elaine made most of it as she showed me how to do it! Lauren obviously loves her new accessory.

And here's some pics of the girls in their matching shirts. These are from a few weeks ago when we had a cold spell. But it was back to shorts today! Ah, I love warm weather!

This post was all about the girls, so you'll have to scroll down to see what Evan's been up to!

Roly Poly

No, I'm not talking about excess weight! Kayla and Evan are fascinated with bugs and spiders, so every time they find a "roly poly" in the yard they have to show it to me. I know, thrilling. And I used to be such a tomboy!!

Here comes the handoff. Careful, wait for it....

I got it!! I love my roly poly. And I will hug you and squeeze you...

Oh no! Maybe I squeezed too hard??!

Where'd it go??

What about this mom? This is pretty cool. But it's not my roly poly...

Oh well, those ugly things are resilient buggers! I'm sure he'll turn up sometime....

I'm off to my next adventure! Faster than fast, quicker than quick!!!

Halloween Cuties

I know I'm ridiculously late at posting these Halloween pics, but I was being lazy and never downloaded my file to Ryan's laptop. Anyway, I'm FINALLY getting some posting done. We went trick-or-treating at the mall this year. We figured it'd be the easiest and the safest way to go since the kids are pretty little still. Kayla was Tinker Bell, Evan was Peter Pan, and little Lauren was Rosetta the flower fairy. Aren't they adorable?!



Lauren's spacing out in this pic, but she's still a cutie! My friend Alyssa made this adorable headband for her.

Ah, gotta love the ballerina sumo wrestler!!! And those are real cops BTW. Just in case the ballerina decided to sit on the poor doctor standing next to him.

And what Halloween would be complete without the Beehive lady? We found her working at See's Candies (of course!)

Kayla's Musings

So lately I've been writing down funny things Kayla says and I thought I'd share them with all of you. Every time I get tired or have a long day, she ALWAYS says something to put a smile on my face. Here's a sampling of her witty remarks-

"If people don't eat, they'll die."

I was cutting up Evan's birthday cake and asked her if she would like some. She responds, "Whatever piece you want to give me, I'll eat it!"

Kayla talking to me: "Use your head."
Me: "Don't say that."
Kayla: "Why? Is it not nice to say?"
Me: "No. It's not nice."
Kayla: (with a surprised look on her face) "Then why do you say it to me??"

Kayla also sings ALL the time. She actually stays on key pretty well. Evan has picked up on her talents and likes to sing with her. It's usually quite amusing. Except for the other day at the store when Kayla decides to sing, at the top of her lungs, her new favorite song from the movie Shrek. And I quote- "I like big butts and I cannot lie!" (note to self- limit movie time!)

On yet another shopping trip Kayla was hiding in the clothes racks in her version of the Drive Mom Crazy Game. When I scolded her and tried to pull her out she yells-
"DON'T BEAT ME!"
for all the mall to hear. And yet I still take her shopping. It's a wonder I haven't been reported to CPS.

Those are just a few things she likes to humor us with. Between her and crazy Evan we rarely have a dull moment around our house. Which is why I'm posting at 11 o'clock at night....Off to bed!