Big Sister's First Haircut

It was decided Big Sister's hair was in need of a trim. This really was the first time scissors touched her head and as you can see from the picture below, she was a little worried it was going to hurt.

Big Brother Turns 8...back in January...

I was hoping to post an updated photo or two of Big Brother, but for some reason I can not get a picture in portrait, just landscape, so I will need to post some updated pictures of him later and maybe get a couple of new shots as well. This is a pretty dated post, but still didn't want to skip ahead so backtracking a bit to get us current. Big Brother ended up running a fever the weekend of his birthday party so our only brave visitors were Aunt Leah from Arizona and Grandpa Alan. Big Brother's illness was very brief and did not transfer to anyone else so we were very thankful.

Prior to cancelling the birthday party, I had already baked the birthday cakes, so I decided to have some fun and decorate it anyway. We enjoyed a couple of pieces and then were able to share it with Daddy's coworkers.

Thankfully we were able to reschedule a few weeks later and due to illness with other family members we ended up enjoying a grandparents only birthday party - which was a huge blessing for our family. We opted for a smaller version of the previous cake design and decided to do some deer hunting this time around.

We created little bow and arrows with popsicle sticks and q-tips. They really worked and flew pretty far across the room. Everyone enjoyed trying to hit the targets...and balloons.

As usual, the girls really enjoy assisting with gift opening and Big Brother is always willing to let them help out.

Big Brother received a very special gift from Grandpa McD. Big Brother loves the idea of living old fashioned, so this was right up his alley with an old tractor and barn in the background.

A little balloon static!

Nature - Junco

We have had so many of these cute little feathered friends visit us recently. We did some research and read up on our bird friend, the Junco. We love to sit and watch the birds visiting our bird feeders. We even had a falcon, Merlin, sit on our back deck for a few minutes one afternoon when Aunt L was visiting, but it was off and flying before I could even reach for the camera - that would have been a great picture to get.

Sledding Fun

These pictures are from right before Christmas - just a little late getting them posted. The kids had such a blast sledding with their uncles and cousins. We have a small sledding hill by our house we have taken the kids to since this time, but nothing compared to this big hill by my sister's.

Christmas Creations

Big Brother and I thoroughly enjoyed making some homemade gifts for various family members and wanted to share just a few of them. The birds were all created by Big Brother. He did an amazing job with the sewing of all the pieces together. Lots of time went into making these little creations. Here is the website where we found the patterns - http://www.downeastthunderfarm.com/bird-patterns/.

I made a few of the bird's nest necklaces as well. All different colored wires and beads made some beautiful combinations. Here is the website where I found the idea - http://www.sarahortega.com/2011/05/diy-bird-nest-necklace.html.

I also created and canned apple/pear butter for the first time. I compiled a few different ideas together to come up with my recipe and technique. It is a very "naked" recipe of just pears, apples, honey, and cinnamon sticks. I used my Vitamix and crockpot and ended up with amazing flavor and texture. Will definitely be making this again.

Not the greatest picture, but I also loom knitted some leg warmers for Aaliyah - kind of had to make up the pattern for this as my loom was not small enough, but they turned out really cute - hoping to make a few more pairs for both girls.

Animal Edibles

One of our December Christmas focuses for school was the Christmas Tree so one of the activities was to create "animal edibles" and decorate the trees of another person as a service project. We thoroughly enjoyed creating PB/bird seed pine cones, cookie cut-out bread pieces, strings of cranberries, and slices of oranges and tied them up with pretty ribbon and twine. We then headed down to Great Grandparents' houses and decorated some outdoor trees. We have heard that a variety of birds have come to visit the trees and enjoyed our treats.

Edible Nativity

We had such a great time as a family in mid-December making this edible nativity. It was so fun to see the kids' creativity as they decided how to put it together from the supplies (candy)  we had available.

Big brother made the three wise men. Loved the crowns he added.

Big Sister did a wonderful job decorating the tree.

Daddy created the manger with a snickers bar. Big brother created the hay.

Baby sister enjoyed the show.

This was star #1 made by Big brother, but it kept falling down.

Big sister created version #2 and called it the day sun.

Christmas Performance

We were blessed to be a part of a group of families that performed a Christmas Program at a nearby retirement/nursing home. Big brother recited Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. The government will be upon his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Big Sister and Mommy recited and used ASL for John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The children also performed many songs as a group and we were blessed to the see the talents of so many of our friends singing, dancing, playing the piano, and the violin. It was a wonderful experience for all of us.

Our Little Girl Turned One

A little late on posting 1-year pictures for our baby girl since her birthday was in the beginning of November, but took some time to take a quick few snapshots of her just to keep track of these milestones. She is changing so much lately and started walking on Christmas Eve and now that is her main mode of transportation. She enjoys her siblings immensely, but is also having difficulty communicating with them very effectively - lots of shrieks and screams when she they don't "listen" to her.