This about sums it up....

We had lots of fun, late nights. It all caught up to Liam especially. With so much going on over the holidays Liam's schedule got all mixed up. Sadly, this picture about sums up the way he acted during the last couple of weeks! Anywhere. And everywhere. We are glad to be back into a regular routine with a few less classic 2-year-old tantrums!!

The Whole Crew!

This year my WHOLE family (all 11 kids!) was in town for Christmas! It was fun to have everyone together. My mom had lots of activities planned for the 2 1/2 weeks we were together (movies, games, adults out to dinner, bowling, Salt Lake day, Provo day, and she made dinner every night... Thanks Mom!). My brother, Steve, and his wife, Mandy, and their two girls stay at our house. We love having guests (if anyone wants to come and visit! :) )

Liam got pink eye just in time for pictures!! (It went through 6 kids and one adult! As well as colds....I guess you expect that with such a big group!! )

All the cute grandkids (and another boy coming in March!!)

Awww.... Don't they look great?!
I love sisters!!

Roommates

Allisun, Janny, Natalee, Ashlie

It had been about 10 years since we had all been together. Natalee flew into town and arranged a get-together via Facebook (gotta love it!) We had dinner at my house and we had so much fun remembering the good ol' days of college!! Thanks girls, it was fun! Let's not wait another ten years to get together again!!

Cookie Party With Grandma

Nathan's mom does a cookie party for all of the grandkids that they look forward to every year. This year they used varying sizes of star cookies to make Christmas trees-- so cute!

She read/told the story of The Giving Chest, and took the kids caroling and to give treats to the neighbors. And she had goodie bags for the kids! Thanks Grandma for the fun party!


Mom got a cute Willow Tree ornament for each of the sisters. She put a lot of thought into making each one personal for each of us. She is always so sweet and thoughtful!

Santa

I thought Liam would be scared. When it was our turn, he walked right up, sat on Santa's lap and couldn't stop talking!! He was telling Santa about what he liked and everything he saw! Brooklyn is just too cute in this hat from Aunt Becky!!

Brooklyn's Christmas Party

Brooklyn really wanted a Christmas party this year. We were talking about it on a Monday and decided that Friday would be the best day, so it was a busy week getting things ready! She had 12 friends come. We made Gingerbread houses, and had a gift exchange.

I wanted to have the girls do something to get them thinking about something besides themselves. I had them each bring a t-shirt that we made into newborn hats for babies in Haiti for Mama to Mama that I had seen the week before. I showed the girls a map of Haiti and we talked about why we were doing this project. We ended up with 21 newborn hats!!

It was a fun party, and I am so glad that Mom stayed to help!! I couldn't have done it without her!!

My Boys and Their Guitars

The Teddy Bear Tree

My parents have a 10' tree that they decorate with Teddy Bears. There's probably 100. The kids LOVE it!! Brooklyn was talking about it for weeks and SOO excited to help set it up! Here's the finished product!

Family Pictures

This amazing photographer (who just happens to be Nathan's sister, Joanna,) took some family pictures of us at the Utah State Capitol the other day. Here are a few of the pictures that she posted on her photography blog. Thanks, Joanna! You're the greatest!! Didn't she do a great job?!

The end of the Bink

Last night when I was putting Liam to bed, I handed him his binky and he threw it and said "My done with binkies!" (That was a surprise, as this kid always knows where he can find one!) Today we were in the car and out of habit Liam said "I need my binky and my blankie" then thought for a minute and said "My blankie". He napped without a binky today. We have successfully made it 24 hours without one! My little binky boy is growing up!!

Liam's Cake

We had a family party for Liam the other night. He loves trains, so I made him this Thomas cake. As soon as I set it down, Liam and Lucas ran over and started eating the chocolate chips and M&Ms off of it! (Can you blame them?!) He was spoiled with lots of train, car and sporty things! Thanks to all who came and made it great!!

Happy Birthday Liam!!

Liam is 2!! I can't believe how quickly the last 2 years have gone! From his crazy birth in the car in the parking lot of a gas station to my little man who talks all the time, and raises his voice an octave to sing to me! He is such a joy in our family! We love how he says "close-it" for closet, always wants his binky and blankie, and gives great "sqeezy" hugs! We love you little man!






Happy birthday, Liam!!

His favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (he likes to tell it with me-- so cute!!)
Favorite food: Macaroni & Cheese and pancakes (the only things he will eat!)
He LOVES trains, all sports (and has been able to tell the different sports apart for months-- and taught Brooklyn who could never keep them straight!!) and is such a fun boy!

Ashlie's first attempt at a diaper cake

I love diaper cakes. I think that they are so cute! This is my first attempt at making one for a good friend's baby shower. I thought it turned out pretty cute!!

First Day of School!!

Brooklyn started 3rd grade at a brand new school a couple of weeks ago! She has a few friends from the ward in her class, so that is fun, and says that her teacher isn't quite as strict as her teacher last year. She seems to be doing well and glad to be back in school! On her first day, they found out the mascot and colors that they were able to vote on. They are the red and black Dragons!!

Liam and Ellie

Liam (for the most part-- until he got jealous) loved having Ellie here! I love this picture of Liam taking Ellie for a ride on his "motorcycle bike"!



















This is at Thanksgiving Point Gardens. We asked Liam to put his arm around Brielle, so this is what he did!

Liam and his frozen friends

Liam was hanging out with these boys at the state fair when a mad
scientist came running in with his freezobronzoraygun. Luckily it ran
out of energy before he could get Liam. And luckily we got this shot
right on the exact moment before Liam realized what was happening and
used his Kung Fu moves on the villain.

Balloom Festival

Ok, here are a few long-awaited pictures of the 2nd Annual Sandy City Balloon Festival! We dragged the kids out of bed at 6:00 and watch hot air balloons inflate and take off. We were able to be right on the field next to the balloons. We all loved it and are looking forward to next year!!













BTW, there's no significance in the Alexander's balloon, that's just the balloon that we happened to follow the whole time!

Brooklyn's Baptism

Brooklyn was so excited to get baptized! I am glad that the day happened, and that it turned out well for her.

Brooklyn was baptized by her grandpa Christensen and confirmed by her grandpa Allison.

Of course the day wouldn't be perfect without a few glitches! In the morning as I was racing to get myself (and a talk for the baptism) and the kids ready, I put cinnamon rolls in the oven for the brunch after word, and the filling spilled out in the oven, started on fire and filled the whole house with smoke! It was BAD!!

Then, right before the confirmation, Liam was sitting on a chair, and I turned for a second, and he fell face first on to the wood floor. He immediately had this huge purple bruise on his forehead. My cousin, Nate, kept making comments on how this is the type of bump that will affect his SAT scores... he's still a smart kid!!

Dance Recital

Brooklyn had her third dance recital. She tap danced to "Hard Knock Life" from Annie, and a ballet dance to "Start of Something New" from High School Musical. She is quite a natural dancer!!

Brooklyn loved having Cori as a teacher, and will miss her since she just graduated and will be moving to BYU this fall. She loves being in the same class as Katie.

Nikki, Cori, Katie and Brooklyn