Family Update

I'm behind on posting pictures of the kids.  So here they are, in no particular order.

(You'll even notice differences in length of Lily and Skyler's hair)

Working on my New Year's resolution.  Lily and Skyler are my usual work out buddies but Ella took Skyler's spot.  She just plopped herself down next to me so I said, "Leggies up!" and she shot her chubby little legs right up into the air with a grin on her face.

 Every Friday night is family movie night.

Ella dancing during movie night.

Ella insists that the pantry belongs to her.  Whenever she's downstairs she throws tantrums until the pantry door is open so that she can have free reign over whatever she can reach.  And since we keep barrels of pretzels and animal crackers on the floor, she typically likes to lock herself in there so that we don't see how much she consumes.

Thad is learning the ways of being extra cute.  He smiles and giggles all the time now.  Bliss!

 My parents gave Skyler this Perplexus maze for Christmas.  I saw one at Walmart and was shocked that it was $30.  But now I understand why.  Skyler spends hours upon hours with this thing.  So here is my free advertisement for a toy that your kids are sure to love.

 Ever since Christmas, we have been having game night 3 or 4 times a week.  It's been a blast!  The kids finally understand how to play basic card games and are really good at doing puzzles on their own.

CTR 4 and CTR 5.  What?  No Sunbeams in this house right now.

 Him.  Oh my gosh.

*commence squeezing cheeks*

So here's a quick update on all of us.

Ben:  Still enjoying work at Cisco.  Still enjoying his calling with the Teachers.  Works from home 3 days a week.  Continues to insist that his homemade cinnamon rolls are better than Heather's.  Constantly takes us all by surprise and makes us laugh daily.

Heather:  Still enjoying being a stay-at-home mom.  Still enjoys her calling of being on the RS Activities committee.  Volunteers in Lily's kindergarten class which sadly makes her miss student teaching in elementary schools. Does not insist that her cinnamon rolls are better than her hubby's.  (Because they're not.)  Still enjoys constantly trying new recipes though.

Lily:  Has 8 loose teeth.  Yes.  8.  Four on top and four on bottom.  All in front.  You can live off of smoothies, right?  Loves to go to school and loves to read books about Disney Princesses and Barbie.  She has a new best friend every hour, one of which is her Kindergarten teacher.  Loves her new haircut more than any other haircut in the world.

Skyler:  Is excited to start Kindergarten this fall after seeing all the fun things that Lily gets to do.  Is getting really good at catching balls in his new mitt.  Eagerly tells everyone he comes in contact with that he's "a fast runner and a high jumper."  And let me tell you, he's fast.  He can catch me and Ben.  It's scary.  

Ella:  Officially has all of her baby teeth.  Woohoo!  Says "water" really well.  Has started saying, "no," which means both yes and no, depending on her expression.  Is better than Lily and Skyler at hide and seek -- at least when it comes to seeking.  (She is usually more than eager to give away her location.)  Her favorite thing to say is, "go!" and the only way to get her to go up the stairs is by saying, "Ready, set," and letting her yell, "go!"

Thad: Is rolling over!  And getting chubbier.  And is adored by everyone in the family.  Has been sleeping through the night since 2 1/2 months.  Is getting ready to try solid food in a week.  He's probably had less than 10 diaper blowouts in his life which I think is a new low Macbeth record.  I think Skyler was probably over 100 at this point...