My baby

Spencer Doodle...my baby.  I love this kid!  Alexia had her piano recital so we were all a bit dressed up last night.  Afterward the light was perfect, Spencer looked handsome and I had my camera on me.  He held still for about three minutes and most of what I captured were silly faces but I got three shots that I love. Now the photographer in me wanted to edit them before they were up.  The mom in me thought they were all cute and wanted to post everything!

So these first three are edit worthy, maybe even might make it to a frame in my house.  But the pictures that follow...well they are what I see all day every day.  They are the pictures that will be on my screen saver,  my desktop background, my scrapbook, and in my locket.  They are my boy unedited...just being himself. 

"Momma... why you always hav dat black ting on you face? 

Easter

How about a few more recent pictures? Here are a few from Easter Sunday.

He is way into sticking out his tongue right now.  Not so much at other people but when he is dancing.  Helps him get into the groove.

The hunt is on!

Cory and Melissa did the Easter egg hiding this year...what gave that away?

Very sad about what's in his basket after comparing it to the other kids.

Cory to the rescue...he pointed out another egg high in the air.

No worries here.

Speaking of this guy...he's almost my brother in law.  We've started calling him Uncle Cory around these parts.  The countdown is on...June 1st is just around the corner.

Later Christmas Day

Elijah & Spencer in their new Christmas suits from Grandma Stewart.

Spencer getting caught playing with my new pan from Darren.

Darren & Elijah trying out the new kid's ice cream maker.

Kinda has the consistency of a Wendy's Frosty.

Yum!! Success!

Christmas Morning

Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.  I loved having Christmas fall on a Sunday this year.  Our church starts at 8am and we considered just doing presents afterwards but only one problem; Alexia's Christmas dress was wrapped up under the tree and for the life of me I couldn't remember which box it was in.  So the kids were up at 5am and we opened it all before we got ready. 

Love the sleepy jammies picture!

A few years back we started a new tradition in our family of letting the kids open a gift Christmas Eve containing new pjs.  Here are all four of my munchkins in their cozy new pajamas. We have the kids look through the fun stuff in their Christmas Boxes first.  I LOVE this picture of my sweet girl!

Light sabers from Aunt Rachelle

Spencer is really into the Thomas train track these days.  Those little piggies look yummy enough to nibble on. :)

Spencer in his new suit from Grandma Stewart.  The pants were a little big around him but that's not stopping him from sneaking into someone's bubble gum.

Had to add this one.  Doesn't he look just like a missionary...with sticky buns yumminess all over his face?

It's time to change my picture up there on the top.  I love these four kiddos!  They are my pride and joy.  Each one brings such happiness to my world.

Christmas Eve

One of the holdovers from my family's Christmas traditions is the nativity pageant we do the night before.  I love looking back at the pictures over the years.  This year was just as chaotic as ever and we have the pictures to prove it!

Two handsome shepherds this year - Spencer & Elijah.

The angel coming to speak to the shepherds...looks like maybe he left part of his robe back in Heaven.

When the shepherds came to visit the baby Jesus, one of them couldn't seem to let go. :)

This year our wise woman came with not only frankincense, but a fluffy ball of fur named Daisy.  Hey she's part of the family now too although Darren says we are not going to be one of "those" people.

Guess What I Found?

Yay! I finally got my hands back on the SD card with pictures from Christmas! I really wanted to get these blogged before catching up and posting more pictues.  I put it out there that my kids wanted to go caroling and we had three families join us.  The Posvar's had a trailer and we all piled in and made our way around the neighborhood.  Totally worth pulling out the Utah gloves, hats and coats for.  (I think we've finally acclimated.)

 

Kyleigh, Elijah, Mathew, Parker and Zach

Alexia, Kaitlyn, Audrey, and Marlin

Spencer all bundled up.  Love this little puddle of cuteness!

Why I love Spray Paint

I'm in project mode again at my house.  I don't know what it is, but every once in a while I get bit by the bug and I just have to get my hands on a project.  I've been on the hunt for a bed for Alexia.  I knew exactly what I wanted, what her room would accommodate and how much I didn't want to spend big bucks for it.  So I headed to Craigslist and after a few weeks of looking, I finally found it.  I did have to drive across the valley yesterday to pick it up, but the lady handed me back one of my twenties and told me it was for gas!  So sweet!  Anyway, this is how I found it:

Today was a perfect day for painting without too much of a breeze and just warm enough to dry the paint quickly.  By noon we had it in her room!

Gingerbread Houses

Making a gingerbread house has become a tradition at our house for the holidays.  Usually Grandma Stewart is here and helps the kids make them, but this year she came at Thanksgiving and so Aunt Melissa was in charge of the festivities and Cory was invited to help.

 

 

We even made him wear an apron. 

Every year the kids mix it up a bit with the decorations.  The house this year had red solar panels and a black jack o lantern watch dog. 

Forgotten Carols

 My first experience with the Forgotten Carols was a Christmas afternoon when I was still at home.  My Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Gary had given the book and tape to our family for Christmas that year.  Alena and I sat in the front room and I read the entire thing out loud while she and I bawled like babies.  It really is a beautiful story and and fun Christmas tradition. 

Last year I wanted to take Alexia to it, but it wasn't in the budget so this year I made room.  Darren and I have been a few times and I always love it.  Melissa, Alexia and I slipped away with a stop at TGIF for a little dinner and then made our way up to ASU's Gammage Theater for the show.  It was totally worth taking Alexia.  I love watching my children feel the Spirit.  Nothing compares to it.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was a lovely birthday!  Thanks for all the calls and birthday wishes!  And thanks to Melissa and Cory for making my favorite cake ever...red devils food cake!

My Fun December Getaway

This was such a fun weekend.  Pictured here are (back) Andra H., Renae S., Chris P., Erin L., Jen H., (front) Crystal M., Kristin H., Me & Erin B.  What an amazing fun group of girls.  We all decided it was totally necessary to head up to the mountains for a quick break before all of the holiday craziness.  Most people took projects up to work on, but what we really did was eat some fabulous girl food, watch a few movies, stay up WAY too late, and laugh, talk, and laugh some more.  We did a favorite things exchange.  I came home with a Scentsable for my car and polish strips for a home pedicure.  So fun!  We were there two nights.  I was just so sure I was going to get caught up on my sleep after the whole Black Friday craziness.  The first night me and my roomie talked until 4am and the second night we were up until 3am.  Sorry Jennie, but it was so fun getting to know you better! 

The total bonus for me is that it snowed two feet while we were up there.  It was the perfect way to get me into the Christmas mood.  From the broom you can see that I went outside to clean off my van.  As you can see my inner child got the best of me.  I couldn't resist and had to make a snow angel.  The snow was just perfect for it!  I figured I would tell my kids about it when I got home.  Good thing Erin remembered her camera that weekend.  Thanks ladies for such a wonderful time!