Addie is 8 months!

Why does it feel like time is going by twice as fast as usual?  These sweet babes are growing up right before my eyes.  I wish so desperately that I could make time stand still.  I am trying my best to enjoy each and every moment. I am holding my babies more, rocking Addie to sleep occasionally and even holding her for some naps.  I don't want to look back and wish I had enjoyed her baby stage more.  She is cute.  She is happy.  She is funny! 

At 8 months Addie can crawl, sit, stand, and eat.  Boy can she eat!  Shes mastered the pincer grasp.  She has pristine eye site.  She can spot the smallest most insignificant piece of anything and crawl over and put it in her mouth in the second it takes me to turn around.  She has figured out how to open drawers and empty them out, but she still doesn't go from crawling to sitting.  She will pull herself to standing from sitting.  She is sleeping through the night! Hallelujah!! She loves watching her siblings and is thrilled whenever people give her attention.  She started to wave the most adorable hand twirling wave while we were in Vegas.  She continues to love Bath time, being rocked and cuddled, and doing her own thing.  

She loves to relax, but she loves to explore. I switch out her toys really often because she seems to tire of toys easy.  

She was getting so mad at me for not helping her sit down.

She was coming after me.  I love this little girl.  I am so grateful every single day that she came to our family. She is a little slice of Heaven.  I love you Addie Jan!

Williams Vegas Vacation 2014

Tyson NEVER takes off work.  Like 7 whole days in 2013.  He is "allowed" 4 weeks.  I was thrilled when he told me to plan a vacation! It would be our first ever family vacation without anyone else.  I picked Vegas and Tyson and I sat down and planned out the week.  I could hardly wait!

We stayed at the Trump International.  It was SO NICE! 

The first thing we did was get in the pool.  The kids could hardly wait.  

The next day we went to the Natural History Museum.  It was underwhelming, but the kids did enjoy all of the taxidermy animals.

They had exhibits for each type of habitat.

King Tuts recreated tomb was a favorite of everyone.

They had a fun hands on kid section.  The kids really really liked the submarine.

Up next we checked out the Discovery Kids museum.  That place was AWESOME!! The kids love love LOVED it!  

They got to lift up the car.  Gauge loved using his big muscles.

The water room was by far everyone's favorite.

You could put the ball on the track, which lead it to the fountain, which shot it up to a different track where it went on a long ride all around the room and back to the pool.

There was one room that had a giant play ship and a castle, with a stage in-between.  It was complete with a huge closet full of dress up close.

One room was set up to test your building skills against earthquakes.

This was a frozen man on the street, he stayed in that position for so long!  Lexi LOVED looking at all the street performers.

The M&M factory was so fun!  They had this cool interactive 3D movie, not to mention floor to ceiling M&M dispensers.  YUM!

The Coke Factory was pretty awesome too.

I didn't get pictures of all the shows we went to, but the kids said they really liked the fountain show in Ceaser's Palace, the crying and terrified faces during the show must have just been to keep up appearances.  We also watched the volcanoes erupt, and the fountain show.  The conservatory and secret garden was fun too.

Another pool day after a trip to target to buy some floaties (who leaves the floaties at home?!  Geeze).

Bubble bathes are the best!  The only thing better is when you talk daddy into climbing in too.  The family sized bath was another one of our favorite parts of the vacation.

The bubbles got a little out of control... At one point we lost Gauge, and eventually they overflowed all over the bathroom.  I was glad we were in the hotel bath!   

It was the best vacation ever!! No one was ready to go home, back to reality.  We all loved having daddy all to ourselves for 5 whole days!  Absolute bliss.  I'm already scheming on our next vacation.

Easter 2014

It's weird growing up.  I always thought that when I was older, all the major holidays wouldn't be as fun without the suspense and surprise factor of being a young magic-believing child; however, I was wrong.  Being a parent is twice as rewarding.  I guess it's true what they say... It feels better to give gifts then to receive them.  

As fun as it is buying gifts, I really want my kids to understand the meaning behind Christmas and Easter.  We did the coolest FHE this year to try and do just that.  I found out how to do resurrection eggs on Pintrest, I'd had leaders do them for me in the past... like way way past (10 + years ago), but I'd forgotten what was in each egg.   It was so fun to relive the last few days of the saviors life with my kids eager to open up the next egg and find out what happened next. I loved seeing the emotion on Lexi's face when we talked of Jesus death.  She was devastated. Then seeing the pure joy and delight as she found out that he lives was magical.  She was so excited about the Resurrection.  

Later that week we went on a big friends egg hunt at the Forsgrens, dyed eggs, painted "easter egg" rocks, made and decorated paper Easter eggs, and enjoyed the beautiful weather!  

Their pre-egg hunt outfits.  Adorable.

Gauge loved it!

 Tyson loves dying the eggs as much as the kids do. 

The Eater bunny treated these kids good.

Too cute for words!

This picture makes me grit my teeth.  How did I get such pretty girls?

Don't mind their little pets.  They didn't put them down all day.

Always happy, always smiling.

I thought his outfit was adorable.  Lexi disagreed.  "Mom!  It's not Halloween!! Why is Gaugey boy dressed like a clown."

We finished up the day perfectly with family.  We had Chris, Jess, and the kids over for dinner and another Egg hunt.  I can't get enough eggs hunts.  Ha!