The Polar Express

Last week we went to Heber and rode on the Polar Express with our good friends Kip and Erica and their two cute little girls. It was so much fun for the kids and it was fun spending some time with friends. The elves on the train gave us all chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate then we read the story "Polar Express". Half way the train stopped and Santa came on to visit all of the kids and gave each one the first gift of Christmas, a little jingle bell. It was a fun experience and we hope to continue going every year!

Waiting to get on the Polar Express

Our family enjoying the ride

Kip, Erica, Kennedy, and Anistyn

Jackson loves when his brothers give him some attention!

Kaden enjoying his hot chocolate and reading the Polar Express

Visiting with Santa

Quiet Time

Nicolas has quiet time in his room every day. He can't take naps anymore or else he stays up for ever and bugs Kaden. I still need a break so he has to have some alone time. He calls it quiet toy time. He plays with toys and enjoys himself for an hour or so every day. I go in when he gets quiet because it usual means he is falling asleep. This is how I found him one day, he had a cup to his ear and a crayon in one hand and had just fallen asleep. He's gotten into mischief some days, like coloring all over his body with a purple pen and emptying a kleenex box to name a few. Nicolas is a fun boy and keeps us all entertained with what he says and does each day!

Jackson 4 months

Jackson was 4 months on the 6th. I still have a hard time getting him to smile for the camera the flash just makes him get a surprised look on his face. He is getting so big, its fun to watch him grow. He sleeps pretty good at night but still struggles during the day. He likes to play with his toys and be held. He loves to be talked to and to look at himself in the mirror. I think he is going to be my shy one, when you talk to him he'll smile and look down, its really cute. He's already a mommy's boy and has thrown some horrible fits when I've left him a few times. He hates tummy time with a passion and has no desire to roll over. The doctor ordered 15 min. of tummy time 3 times a day at 2 months because his head was getting a flat spot from him laying a certain way but its been a struggle and he screams pretty much the whole time! I can't wait for him to get older and get more interactive and mobile.

Thanksgiving 2009

A couple of days before Thanksgiving our friends, the Laprays from Roseville, stopped by for a little visit. It was so fun seeing them again and as you can see Nicolas had the time of his life. He was calling the girls his "grilfriends" after they left. I also enjoyed visiting with my friend Keri. We sure miss you guys!

After our Thanksgiving dinner everyone relaxed to watch a movie, the kids enjoyed spending some time with Aunt Trisha.

Kaden all ready for dinner!

Thanksgiving Day was my birthday so Jorge was sweet and took care of Nicolas most of the day, it was a nice break!

SNOW!

We had our first big snow storm a week ago and as much as I hate snow its actually been nice because my boys have learned to play outside and together which is something they don't do well together very often. So its been really nice and worth the extra laundry!

Sadie hates the snow, but we had to put her cute little coat on and throw her in it for a minute. As you can tell she wasn't amused!

So hopefully the boys continue to enjoy the snow because winter in Utah seems to never end once it gets started. I just wish I could hibernate and wake up in April!

10 Years!

Today Jorge and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary. I can't believe I have been married to my best friend for 10 years! So much has happened in these past 10 years but it seems like it has gone so fast! Jorge is the best husband and daddy. He works so hard for our family and we love and appreciate him so much. We've said since we got married that we would go on a Hawaiian cruise for our 10 year anniversary. Since we just had Jackson that didn't happen this year, maybe in a few years. Jorge wanted to make up for it so he's been doing cute things to make me think of Hawaii. I woke up to a sweet card, a yummy chocolate cake, and some Tropical Skittles and for lunch we had a Hawaiian meal from Rumbi Grill. Jorge is so sweet to me and always makes sure that I'm happy and taken care of. Tonight we are going to go see New Moon finally, I think Jorge is secretly more excited about it then me! Or just excited to get away since we haven't been on a date since Jackson was born! I love you Jorge and can't wait to see what the next 10 years has in store for us, thats if you can handle me for 10 more!

Baptism and Blessing Day

Warning, picture overload, since it was such a big day for our family I put lots of pictures on here! On Halloween Kaden was baptized and Jackson was blessed. It was a very special day, Kaden was nervous, but excited. Jorge did a great job with the baptism, confirmation, and the blessing. Kaden's Grandpa and Aunt Jessica both gave nice talks and his cousins Katie and Kristine sang a beautiful song. It was a perfect day for our boys! Our family and friends came to support them and it couldn't have gone better!

Little Jackson was so tired and ready for his nap he wouldn't smile for the picture

My handsome guys!

Our little Family before the baptism and blessing

Kaden, Erica, and Kennedy. We met Erica and her husband Kip in California. They also moved there from Utah to open Costa Vida. They were our family in California and are such good friends now that we are all back in Utah. Kip and Jorge still work together.

Alex, Kaden, Tyler, and Abby. Kaden and Tyler have been friends since Kaden was 2 1/2 and Tyler was 3. They are the first people we met in our neighborhood in Lehi, we are so grateful they are still very close friends!

Kaden and Grandma Thatcher

Jessica, Kaden, and Kevin

Halloween 2009

My adorable nephew Cory was the cutest little snowman!

All of the kids ready to head out for some Trick or Treating. Jackson was taking a nap so he didn't get to join in on the fun. The weather was perfect and the kids had so much fun. They didn't get much candy because our neighborhood is on the side of the mountain so the kids had to climb lots of stairs and got tired. They were excited because they each got 5 full size candy bars! Nicolas had his candy gone the day after Halloween, he takes after me!

My boys all ready to go trick or treating!

When the flash goes off Jackson's eyes get huge, so this is how he looks in every picture I take!

Halloween Parties

This is Nicolas leaving his preschool Halloween party. He had so much fun and couldn't wait to get home and eat all of his candy. While I was in the shower he ate every last piece of candy he got!

We went to Cornbellys for some Halloween fun. It was freezing cold and windy so we were there all of 10 minutes and I went back to the car with Jackson because he couldn't breathe in the wind then Jorge brought Nicolas to me a few minutes later. When it started snowing a few minutes later we headed home.

Kaden all dressed up for his school Halloween party and parade. He was so excited to dress up for school because they aren't allowed to in California. He had lots of fun.

Pumpkins

We had some fun carving pumpkins for family night the Monday before Halloween. Kaden did his own pumpkin and I helped Nicolas, he thought the guts were gross!

This is what our last week and a half has looked like:

First Nicolas started with the H1N1 flu on Saturday, his sweet daddy cuddled him and took good care of him for a couple of days while he stayed in bed sleeping lots, burning up with a fever, eating Otter Pops and watching tv.

Then Wednesday it hit Jorge, I warned him not to be cuddling Nicolas and getting so close to him. We went to the doctor with Nicolas on Tuesday and the doctor said he suspected the H1N1 flu. We went to the health department and got shots but it was too late for Jorge. I've been busy taking care of the sickies and disinfecting the house and praying hard that no one else gets sick, especially the baby. It seems that they are on the mend now so we'll cross our fingers that we're done with it for now!

Kadens 8th Birthday

Yesterday Kaden celebrated his 8th birthday. He was so excited to open his present before school and I think he was a little disappointed he got new scriptures instead of the air soft gun he wanted. Then he got a scout uniform from my parents so he was very excited for his party to actually get something fun. We took Kaden and 9 of his friends to Fat Cats to go bowling. Nicolas also got to go and thought he was one of the big boys. They had a lot of fun and I am so glad we had the party somewhere other then home because those were some crazy boys!

Nicolas got a little distracted with his nose while he was bowling!

Kaden and all of his buddies after bowling. They had such a good time. Kaden has made some great friends in my parents neighborhood, now he never wants to move!

Kaden got to go to scouts today for the first time. They went to the Bean Museum, he was so excited to go and had so much fun. I am so excited for him to experience all of these new things. Its hard to see him growing up so fast and going out into the crazy world. We feel so lucky to have Kaden in our family, he is a sweet, smart, and fun boy. He loves life and to be around people all the time. Life is never dull when Kaden is around. Kaden has been through a lot in his short life and with each change he works his hardest to make the best of it and to find as many friends as he can in the process. We are so proud of him and for his decision to be baptized in a couple of weeks!

2 Months

Yesterday Jackson finally turned 2 months old. He is getting big and I am so happy. I don't enjoy the newborn stage at all, I really don't enjoy my babies til they're about 6 months old. I've really struggled with some post partum depression and its been really hard. I guess thats a little personal for a blog, but it explains how I feel about life right now. He's gone from sleeping all the time to fighting sleep and not staying asleep during the day, which gets really frustrating. He's doing well at night, he does a 6 hour stretch without eating and wakes up a couple times because his tummy bugs him. I can't wait for his little digestive system to mature so he can sleep better and not grunt and push all the time, it drives him and me crazy! Now if I could sleep better life would be really good! We moved him out of our room so we could get some sleep and he is now sleeping in the storage room at my parents house. It will be nice to get our own house someday so he's not sleeping in the storage room! Evenings are starting to get easier with Jackson, he doesn't sleep in the evening, but he's not crying and having to be held all the time, which makes bedtime a little easier. We love our walks in the morning, every morning we go for a 1-2 hour walk with my sis in law. Jackson sleeps through it and gets a nice nap and I get some exersize and a nice visit with Jessica. Nicolas doesn't love it but he's usually pretty good on the days he has to come. I'm just sad the weather is changing and we won't be able to go anymore. So thats our life right now, pretty boring but we're surviving and Jackson is growing!

Family Night

For Family Night last week my parents took us up Hobble Creek Canyon to look at the leaves and to have a bbq. It was so pretty and the boys loved throwing whatever they could find in the water. We missed Jorge coming with us, Costa treated all of the GM's and their spouses to a 4 day trip to Lake Powell. No kids were allowed so I'll have to wait til next year to go. Jorge had a great time and we really missed him.

Me and baby Jackson, the fur ball!

Preschool

This cute little guy started preschool last month. I can't believe that he is 3 and old enough to go to school. He still seems so little to me, he is only 25 pounds! He was so excited to start school like Kaden. His school is just a few houses away and he goes twice a week and just loves it. He found out his teacher, Katee loves sunflowers so he stops and picks one for her almost every day.


After his first day, he was so excited to get his name on a bracelet, as he called it.