Crazy busy.

It's that time of year. Things get so crazy even if I try to keep it simple. That's okay though, we LOVE Christmas. I *think* I finished my shopping yesterday (meaning, I'll probably be back to Walmart tomorrow...) Hopefully things will slow down a bit from here on out. 

We are staying home again this year. Our forth year having Christmas here in Indiana. It's nice, but I'm sure I'll be missing family and old traditions like crazy by the end of the week. 

Evan is counting down the days, Makiah is trying to open any gifts she can get her hands on and Daphne is still a good, sleepy little baby. We are all excited for Dallas to have a week off of work next week! I can't wait to have a nap everyday and hopefully a few nights without having to wake up with the baby. Having him home everyday will be the best gift I can ask for this year!

Here is our Christmas Newsletter. I've been writing one every year since we moved here. It's mainly just a run down of the year and what we've been doing. Feel free to take a look if you have a minute... it may not be super exciting, but I'm glad I've been doing it. It's nice to look back at the past few years and remember the things we've been doing. 

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Retake.

The bottom photo in this post was cute, but not how I was picturing it. It is REALLY hard to take photos of two wiggly kids and a sleeping baby... but we did it... again! 

I took a similar photo of my friend's kids that is like this one... it's posted here.

I don't give my kids enough credit... they are soooo patient with me and my ideas. They deserved every fruit snack I gave them (in hopes they would just hold still)!

One month now

Daphne is such a good baby. She is very content and calm. She has a very consistent schedule, which I like... It just makes my life a little more easier and predictable. She eats every 3-4 hours and during the night she goes right back to sleep after she eats. She is starting to stay awake more during the day and interacts with us a little bit now. This week she has been smiling so much. Mostly when she hears us talking to her. It is very sweet :) Daphne hardly ever cries. Mostly just when she is hungry and she fusses a little when she needs a diaper change. When she is tired, as long as she is swaddled and has her binky, she will usually fall asleep on her own. I can even jump in the shower while she is awake and she stays happy and quiet the whole time. I really, REALLY hope that she doesn't change. I love my baby!

Daphne had her 1 month check up today and she is now 9 lbs 13 oz and is 22 1/4 inches long. She is healthy and happy!

As I mentioned before, Daphne was blessed on Sunday by her Dad. She looked SO beautiful and so I had to take some pictures (naturally...) of her in her dress. (It is always takes some time to get a baby ready for pictures... I got her all dressed up today and then she decided to poop. So I undressed her so her dress wouldn't get dirty and changed her. Dressing a baby, especially in tights takes some effort so this all took a bit of time. By the time I had her dressed again she was sound asleep. She was so tired.(Perfect!!))

I am finally feeling like myself again and it is so nice. I am not in the shape I was before pregnancy, but that will take some time getting back into my routine and exercising. But I do feel much better than I did two weeks ago... and of course much better than when I was pregnant. Having three kids isn't too much harder... but more work of course. Lucky for me, Daphne is so easy going. Taking care of the older kids is the hard part. I am proud to say that I have made it through two grocery shopping trips with three kids... I survived! But I don't look forward to the next time I have to take them all out at the same time. Life is different, but good. I really love being a mom.

Snow!!

On Tuesday Evan asked, "Is that rain white?" He was very excited when I told him it was snow! He and Kiah spent a lot of time out playing in our first snow. Unfortunately it was very wet and slushy and didn't stay for long. When he asked if we could build a snowman I told him to wait until it snowed more. He took matters into his own hands and built a snowman himself :) I am such a poor sport and used the baby as an excuse to stay inside! It was so cold and wet that day...

Daphne's blessing day

Daphne was blessed by her Father on November 27th. I am very grateful that we had family here with us for Daphne's blessing day. Daphne looked so beautiful and her dad gave her a sweet blessing. I am grateful for the gospel and how it blesses our life. I am grateful for a husband who is able to give our children blessings through the priesthood.

Thanksgiving

Dallas' parent came for Thanksgiving and to see baby Daphne. They stayed for a week and the kids LOVED having them here. I love seeing the kids interact with their grandparents, especially since we live so far away. It's great that the kids are old enough to remember family and that they get so excited to see them. 

Cooking was a great way to start the holiday, of course...

It was fun to spend Thanksgiving with family... it's been awhile!

We had a great visit with grandma and grandpa! We had fun relaxing, going on walks, watching Christmas movies, shopping and playing games. It has been really cold lately (though it was warm to grandma and grandpa, coming from Wyoming) so we stayed inside and took it easy.

So grateful for....

Daphne's arrival. She is amazing, perfect and just so sweet. I love her. Can you tell?

Mine and Dallas' families. They are all so wonderful and supportive. We miss them and love them.

AMAZING friends who have taken care of my family and I. You know who you are :) Thank you. Again and again.

My mom and Cami for coming to visit... miss you guys.

Dallas' parents who are here right now! We love having visitors.

The gospel of Jesus Christ. It has shaped me into the person I am today. I may not be perfect, but I am happy. I am grateful that I have the gospel to direct my life.

Our move to Indiana. Yeah, I know. A little strange, but really. I am so glad that we live here. We have had so many wonderful experiences these past three years. I only wish I could scoop up West Lafayette and plop it down somewhere in Utah... that would rock. Or maybe our families could all move out here?

So many sweet comments on my blog this past month (and always). Thank you everyone, for reading and sharing your thoughts. Each comment is appreciated and I love that you keep coming back to read and comment!

The two pies that are baking in the oven right now... Mmmmmm...

Oh, and these guys...

We have so much fun together. What would I do without them?

(Photos by Kim Davis of course :) She is awesome! She posted these pictures on her blog today :))

Will I ever get sick of this?

Nope.

You know how everyone says that they take the most photos of their first child and then it just goes down hill from there? It's the opposite for me. This girl is going to have a shoe box full... or I should say, a hard drive full... of photos of herself! But that is okay, because she is beautiful.

Happy three weeks Daphne :)

Now I need prints.

Can it be 3 weeks already??? It's like she has always been here with us.

 P.S. I back dated a post here... and posted pictures here.

First bath

Daphne hardly ever cries. She has been such a good baby. She is on a consistent schedule and is a very good sleeper. She does wake up every 3-4 hours during the night, but she goes right back to sleep. I really, REALLY hope she stays like this... but she still is a newborn, so there is no telling how things might change.

After 2 weeks her umbilical cord finally fell off, so we were able to give her a real bath. She hated it. This was the most I ever heard her cry...

One calm moment...

It took her awhile to forgive me.