Random Phone Pictures

I finally pulled these pictures off of my phone to blog. I am sorry for the blurriness in some of them.

 

 

These first two of the kids were when I got my new phone. We were testing the camera.

 

 Both Richard and Hannah learned to ride their bikes without training wheel this summer and earned new bikes. They were really excited. This is Hannah practicing on her old, small bike. 

 

Falling asleep in the car.

 

I worked at my sister-in-law's preschool during the summer and the kids were able to come to some of the camps with me. This was pirate/princess camp. Clearly Hannah decided to forgo her typical princess garb to be a pirate.

 

 

Downtown had a back to school fair so we went to enjoy some fun and cool off in the water. Richard got into the dunk tank and Hannah got to throw the ball to dunk him. It was a lot of fun.

 

 

We were given passes to a local fun zone and were able to play laser tag, miniature golf, video games, and the kids tried wall climbing.

 

 

After buying this year's costumes we went to meet Chris. While waiting I let the kids try on their costumes and they stood by the street waiving to people. It was really funny.

 

 

Crazy hair day for school...

 

 

My cousin, Amber, made this cool Angry Bird's hat...

 

 

...and this cute Hello Kitty purse.

Checking out the new Scheel's



 

 

 

Our new addition, Ella Mae

 

 

Ella loves the Christmas lights. She will watch them for almost an hour.

 

 

I mistakenly put Hannah's capris in Richard's drawer. He came out of his room honestly thinking they were his pants that he had outgrown. So funny and sweet.

Sledding

 

 

Bows and Arrows

Santa brought the kids each a bow and arrows for Christmas. Chris took them out back to test them out. They had a lot of fun.

 

Chris is trying to figure out how to do it left handed so he can teach Hannah.

These will be a lot of fun when we do our adventures this spring and summer.

Christmas 2012

This year we visited my Mom's on Christmas Eve then Chris's parents on Christmas day. It worked out well with a newborn and me recovering from surgery. Also, we were able to dedicate more time to each family without having to rush from one place to another.

 

 

Here are the kids at my mom's mauling the baby. They love her so much.

 

Then everyone took turns holding baby Ella (though I neglected to take as many pictures as I should have). Marki was so patient waiting her turn.

 

 

Oh I love this young man! Riley came home from Hawaii for the holidays and it was so good to see him.

 

 

 

Christmas morning I had to get a picture of the kids in their new pjs. Aren't they so cute with sleep still in their eyes? I love them so much!!!

Daddy helped Ella open her stocking. These two are practically connected at the hip when Chris is home. They already have a bond.

 



 

Chris and I were not supposed to have our stockings filled but Santa surprised me and hid this awesome picture frame under the couch and put a note in my stocking. I was really surprised but I feel really bad that Santa didn't bring Chris anything.

Richard and Hannah waited patiently at Grandma & Grandpa Taggart's to open presents. We really had a nice Christmas this year. It is good to be back in Utah.

Here is my beautiful baby girl!

 



Ella is such a sweet angel. She has brought a beautiful spirit into our home and having her here for Christmas was a special blessing. I don't know what we would do without her, she fits right in.

 



Christmas fun

Richard and Hannah got to go a special presentation of the Nutcracker while I was in the hospital with Ella. Here they are getting ready with Brielle and Colby. As you can see, Richard is very proud of his new nutcracker, he has started collecting them.

 

The hospital gave us this stocking when I had Ella so Hannah played with it.

 

I wanted a picture of all three of my babies. Richard and Hannah happened to wear these sweaters to school today so I made them pose for me...clearly Ella was not to happy about not having a matching sweater.

Merry Christmas everyone. We hope you all have a wonderful one!

One week already

This is Ella Mae, about 2 minutes old. Born Dec 11 at 1:39 pm. She weighed 7 lbs and was 18 1/2 inches long. Chris and I could not be more proud of our beautiful new addition to our family.

 

Ella is one week old today and is fitting very well into our family. The kids absolutely adore her. It took Richard several days to feel comfortable around her, though he admitted very early on that she is so cute. He held her for the first time last night and has started helping feed her and just like tummy time Ella gets to have some Richard time each day. He is a proud big brother.

 

 

 

Hannah is loving that she is a big sister. She hold Ella every chance she gets and has been a big helper. I am so thankful that the kids are adjusting so well to having a baby in the house. They are really being very good about it.

 

 

 

Daddy adores his new little girl. He has had the last week off from work and has really helped me with all three kids and around the house. I love to watch that big, tough man just melt as he holds this beautiful tiny baby. I fall in love over and over with him as I watch him with her.

A few things about Ella:

 

Though she doesn't like a wet/dirty diaper she hates to be changed.

Baths are not yet a pleasant experience.

She detests having lotion rubbed on her skin.

She has some major lungs on her and often wakes Richard around 6 am.

 

 

She eats a lot...more than I think she should, but when she is happy so is mama. And as long as her belly is full she is a good sleeper.

She smiles. Really. In her own way, she smiles.

She loves to snuggle.

She smells amazing.

She brings joy into our home.

She is a beautiful, amazing little soul.



We love you Ella and are so thankful to have you in our home and in our lives!

Elf sightings

This is Sammy. Sammy is our own adopted elf from the North Pole. He comes to visit us each morning in December after flying back each night to report our behavior to Santa. The kids get to find him hiding somewhere each morning and they have been on their best behavior knowing that he is watching them throughout the day.

 

 

December 1st he was delivered along with his story to our front porch.

 

 

December 2nd the kids found him in the bathroom taking a little break on his own miniature toilet.

 

 

 

December 3rd we found him out on the town with his new friend Barbie.

We look forward to other adventures with Sammy throughout the month.