Bath Time!

Our little girl just loves bath time! I don't like filling up the tub and kneeling, so I just bathe her in the kitchen sink. Much easier on this old mamma with craptastical knees!

Gotta love that hair!

Wax Museum

At our Elementary school, when the kids are in 5th grade they put on a Wax Museum. Every student picks someone from history who has made a contribution to society. They have to do a research paper to learn about them. Then one morning they all dress like the person they have chosen. They have to sit perfectly still while parents and other students walk through.
Tyler was Milton Hershey. I'm pretty sure that the opportunity to eat chocolate factored into his decision. He is a boy after my own heart!

Unlike my other boys, he did not want any help from me. Until the morning of, when he informed me that he needed a mustache. If I would have had a little advance notice, I would have made one out of fake fur. But I didn't have time to look for it, so we had to settle for felt. In hindsight, I should have just drawn a mustache on him. But I totally did not think of it at the time. Duh!
He did a great job though, and it was fun to see him and all the other students.

Little Busybody

Rachel now crawls at the speed of light, and she loves exploring every nook and cranny in the house. She is learning and growing so darn fast! I sure wish she would slow down a little.

She can crawl up a few stairs now, but she knows she's not supposed to. I tried getting a picture of her, but every time she saw me, she would put her feet back down as if to say "Me? I'm not climbing the stairs mom." I'm pretty sure we are in trouble with this little one!
She followed me into the laundry room while I was starting up the washer. I took the load from the dryer to the family room and came back to see this:
She was absolutely enthralled with the clothes spinning around in the washing machine. The look on her cute little face was just priceless!

Little Drummer Girl

We've been hauling out all the old baby toys for Rachel to play with. I totally forgot about this little Leap Frog drum we have. The boys gave it to Rachel to try out. Once she discovered that it would make a noise when she slapped it, her little face just lit up! She went to town pounding on it, and she was so proud of herself. She is such a smart little whipper snapper!

Pretty in Purple

My sister Heidi gave us a bunch of baby clothes that Alyssa has outgrown. This purple dress was one of them. I had Rachel wear it to church today and she looked so darn cute. This lucky girl looks gorgeous in every color we put her in!

Christmas Traditions

I'm a sucker for Christmas traditions. I love them! Some of the ideas we've tried have phased out, but there are still several that we must do every year. Sleeping under the Christmas tree the day we decorate it is a favorite. The boys are so big now that they fill up the whole room, but they still love this tradition!Every year at the ward Christmas party all the kids get to sit on Santa's lap. Sometimes even the teenagers take a turn, but Spencer and Brandon opted out this year.
The line was so long that Rachel fell asleep before it was her turn. I was pretty bummed. But Tyler offered to hold her on Santa's lap, so I let him. It's better than nothing!

Horray for Finger Foods

I am always thrilled when my babies reach what I refer to as "the Cheerio stage". The stage in which they can feed themselves small pieces of food. Makes dinner time so much more enjoyable when they can sit in their high chair and participate without having to be handed every bite.
The downside to this stage is that they can also pick up tiny rocks, legos, crumbs, and every other piece of junk left laying on the floor. Which at our house is quite a bit. Ahem.

The art of feeding oneself in four easy steps:

Reach

Grab

Insert

Lick fingers clean

The last step must not be skipped, because it is simply adorable and brings smiles to everyone at the table. :)