Funny Girl

Dolce is so full of fun these days. She is so loving with all of her little toy friends (if not her siblings.) For a long time she has put some of her special toys stuck inside the collar of her shirt, right next to her heart. She walks around all day with them like that. I think it's very sweet.

She also put a band aid across her nose one day and told us it was pretty. I have to agree.

Little Drawings

Lately, when the house is quiet for amounts of time that are long enough to make me think that a very complex mess might be forming, I have been finding this little girl working very hard on little drawings. She doesn't want a crayon, only pens, and it's especially fun to draw in books she isn't supposed to draw in. Like her sisters school books. I usually know when she thinks she might be drawing in something she shouldn't because she hides while doing it. She makes the best little squiggles and circles and she is so proud when I display them on the fridge. She learns something new every day. It's so fun to see her pictures. The terrible twos really aren't so bad. We love this little girl.

Downward Dog is crawling!

Baby Rome has been working so hard for at least 2 months trying to crawl. For quite a while we thought "today will be the day!" But.... he just kept scooting backwards and doing all sorts of fascinating yoga moves, including downward dog where he would put both his hands and feet on the ground with his little bum poking up into the air. Then, finally on Monday, he got it! The best part was that the whole family got to see him do it for the first time. There was a bunch of cheering for him and then his sisters both rushed up and hugged him. They were so proud. And he was so mad that they were interfering! Let the discoveries begin!

We Wish you a Merry Christmas!

Christmas comes but once a year! We had so much fun getting ready for the big day and celebrating it as much as we could this year. Kinley was out of school for a whole week before and I think the excitement of what was coming just about turned her into a basket case! Dolce got excited this year too and it was so much fun to see the way she interacted with her sister and did everything her sister did to get ready. She knew something was coming but she wasn't quite sure what.
For one of my work parties, we sponsored a Sub for Santa for a family and took the gifts to them at the end of the party. Kinley got to help give the gifts and she was so excited to give them to the little girl, which made me so happy.
Santa's workshop was very busy right up to Christmas Eve. We made a few of the gifts for the kids this year and there was so much to do! We made a play kitchen from a little desk, and I went and bought a bunch of play cookware at the thrift store. We also had a small bookshelf that David converted into a dollhouse. Dolce and Kinley and I are going to be painting it and decorating the rooms, beginning with a little rock fireplace. Perfect for the new Barbie wedding family set to move in to. I also made Baby Rome some Bow ties for Christmas including one that goes with his Christmas Sunday outfit. I don't have a picture of our family in our Christmas Sunday clothes yet, because Rome had a major blow out during church all over his white shirt. I was playing my violin for the Christmas program and was quite puzzled when I looked over and saw him wearing just his sweater vest, bowtie and diaper toward the end of the program. The revised outfit wouldn't do for a Christmas picture, so it will have to wait for New Years Sunday. Rome will be wearing a larger size of diaper than his big sister.
Christmas felt very different without my Grandma. I guess you have to notice how empty things feel when someone so special is gone. Merry Christmas Anyway!

And look who's sitting up!

St. Lucia's Day

This year we wanted to learn a little more about some of the Christmas traditions celebrated in other countries. David has some Swedish ancestry on his side of the family, so we decided to celebrate St. Lucia's day. Celebrated on December 13, the shortest day of the year, Swedish families celebrate St. Lucia's Day. St. Lucia was a young girl who was martyred in 304 AD. The most common story told of her is that she brought food to persecuted Christians who were in hiding in the Catacombs underneath the city of Rome. She wore candles on her head so that she could carry more food. Lucy means light, so this is an appropriate name for her. Today for the celebration, a girl member in the family dresses in a white dress with a red sash, with Lingonberry garland in her hair which represents new life in winter. She wakes up very early, before the sun is up to go to each member of the household and invite them to a breakfast of Saffron buns and coffee.(We used wassail) This begins the Christmas celebration in Sweden. Kinley got to be our St. Lucia. She took cinnamon roles and wassail to some neighbors. We thought this was interesting to learn about and a fun way to share a gift.

A funny face and a Grebe

This cute little face might be better explained by the fact that David always wears snowboarding goggles while chopping onions in the kitchen. Rome had apparently never noticed this little fact before and he was very shocked and bewildered about what had happened to Daddy. He normally has his jumpy seat all but flying to the moon, but when he saw David with the goggles on, he really seemed like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stopped jumping and just stared.
He is growing so fast! He's closer to being 7 months than being 6 months so here is a 7 month old update:

He seems to be getting ready to crawl. He always rolls from his back to his tummy and then pushes himself backwards.
He still gets stuck and can't roll from his tummy to his back.
He bounces like a crazy man in his johnny jump up.
He used to sleep really good at night, but he wakes up at least four times a night now.
He is still a really big kid. He's wearing 12 month clothes.
His temperament is very sweet. He's calm, like his Dad.
His red hair is finally coming in.
He doesn't seem to have a dominant hand. I wonder if he will be a lefty.
No teeth, yet!
He loves meal times, and eating baby food.
He's almost always happy.
He and Dolce wear the same size diapers and I think he will pass her up in weight soon.
He has been such a good baby, we've been spoiled.


On the way home from work yesterday, David noticed a bunch of these birds all over the place. Later, when he was shoveling snow in the driveway, he noticed this bird. He brought the bird inside because he thought that it must not be able to fly in this weather. We didn't know what type of bird it was. It's body looks like a duck, but it's beak is pointy rather than a bill like other ducks. It's feet are partly webbed and partly talon-ish. David called the Fish and Game office and they told him it's called a Grebe. A lot of these birds were migrating overhead when the storm came in and they couldn't fly through it. David took the bird to the fish and game office where they had a whole truck load of the birds and they took them to St. George to see if that would help them on their way to wherever they are trying to go. No duck soup for us.

Turning 6!

Kinley had a very fun birthday this year! In lieu of a birthday party, she got to have her first real sleepover! (And it was on a school night!) Oh my goodness, you can only imagine the excitement and planning that has come about in preparation for "the next sleepover."
I made Kinley a birthday crown full of lots of fun things. Yes, it was bigger than her head, but only a queen could stand under such a thing. She got to take a treat to her class, (remember those days?) And she got to go pick out her birthday cake. The cut made in the cake that you can see is the piece she chose to be hers.

Favorite color: Pink
Favorite food: Macaroni and Cheese
Favorite thing to do: Go camping and go on a train.
Favorite treat: Snickers
Favorite toy: Rapunzel Barbie
What are you going to be when you grow up?: A Mom.
Favorite thing at school: Watch movies and play on the playground.
Best Buddy: Riley and Jonas.
Most proud of herself when: She turned 6!

I still can't believe we have a grown up 6 year old! She is such a sweetheart! Happy Birthday Little Jane!