Are blogs still alive?

I'm beginning to think that Facebook is going to make blogs a thing of the past. I usually just post things right to FB and then I feel like I'm just repeating myself on my blog. I'll keep it up for a while but I think like most of the other blogs out there, ours will fade out too. I'm excited to put all of my blogs together in a book so our family always has them to look back on. This post will be full of randomness. Forgive me, I'm too far behind to try and put any order into it.

So it's been over 3 months since I last posted. Whoops! That's a record. We had a fabulous Christmas and New Year. We spent a lot of time with family, as usual. There is nothing better than the whole family getting together! We have so much fun, even though at times it's complete chaos with so many of us! Here are some of the girls (and Charlie) at P712.


My sweet mom and dad

Cole got his first haircut! He wasn't such a fan at first.

But we came prepared.

So handsome!
Cousins! This pic was taken in front of Joe and Colton's newest restaurant, Mountain West Burrito, in Orem. It might be the best place in all the land to go for a burrito or any other mexican food you are craving. Trust me! (And not just because the owner is my sisters husband). It's to die for.

At the lake near my parents house the ducks are crazy big. And they are not shy. They will come right up to you while you're feeding them.

Abbie and Annie moved back! Although they were only gone for 6 months, it was 6 months too long.

Cole is such a good helper, always working ;)

We went to Costco one day and this is what greated us as we walked in. Thank you Costco.

This winter has been so mild, we went to Boondocks back in February and it was warm enough to go on the Go-Karts! Too fun. I love Allie's face.

Tiff and Addi!


Ry and Brandon

My favorite little man in the whole world.

Hapy Valentines Day!

Some days it's nice enough for the park...

Me and my girl. (who ate a purple popsicle right before this, her teeth alren't always this color)

Other days we have to really bundle up for some snow play.

Mr. Cheeser!!

Last weekend we got together with some cousins on Ryan's side of the family. Some, as in 36 of us! I can't believe we all fit in this picture. It was so fun to see everyone who came, can't wait to see them all again.

Our kids love FatCats

Whatever Allie does...

Cole has to do also. With a little help from dad of course.

Allie is less than a month away from turning 7. I feel like she was just Cole's age. Seriously almost makes me want to cry how fast she has grown up. She's got some sass, but she is also one of the sweetest most tenderhearted little girls ever. She is loved so much.

Remember when Betsy and Steve had Charlie? Well now they have Piper!! We are so excited to add another cousin to the family. Sweet little Piper was born on Valentines Day. We can't wait to meet her in just a few short weeks.

We have several big things coming up for our family in the next few months and we are so excited. Next month we are going to San Francisco for Allie's birthday and to meet Piper! Allie has always been to southern California, never northern. We can't wait to show her where her mom and dad grew up. I must say though, I'm a little nervous for the plane ride. Cole does NOT like to sit still. Luckily it's during his naptime so we might just be okay after all. Ryan's parents come home from Africa in 8 weeks! I can't believe they are almost done! We got their itinerary yesterday and it made it very real. We are all so happy for them to be home, it's been a long 18 months without them. This also means that we will be moving! We'll spend a few weeks here with grandma and grandpa so they can make up for lost time with the kids but then it's time to move on. We are sad to leave this area but so excited to make our last move (hopefully) for a LONG time. We are looking into the Kaysville and Farmington area. And last but definitely not least, our little family is going to be sealed for time and all eternity in the temple on June 1. We can't wait to have all of our family and friends share this special day with us. With all of this about to happen and a lot more to come, I would say 2012 is going to be a fabulous year!

Holiday Fun

We hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving with all your loved ones! We had a great time. We went down to Provo and spent the evening with my family. We went to my brother-in-laws restaurant, Communal. They close it on Thanksgiving so the Heywood and McRae families all get together there and have a huge potluck. It's a lot of fun.


Someone enjoyed his pumpkin pie. I can't believe that last Thanksgiving Cole was only 7 days old. He enjoyed Thanksgiving much more this year ;)

Sophie and Allie

It was so nice on Thanksgiving, Cole wanted to be outside the whole time

My sister Jen

Communal has these great huge windows all around the restaurant and the kids love to sit and look out at the traffic on University

I'm not a huge black friday shopper, I don't like all those pushy people. But Cole woke up at 3am, which is unlike him lately. So I gave him a bottle and since I was up I decided to run to Target! It's right down the street from my parents house and I figured that all the midnight madness was over so off I went. I was on a mission for a razor scooter for Allie at half price! Ryan thought I was crazy. When I got there the store was a mess and the shelves were empty. I figured I wouldn't find anything I wanted. But as I walked down the scooter isle, there it was. All by itself. ONE razor scooter left on the shelf just waiting for me to grab it! Woo hoo! Allie is going to be so excited on Christmas morning.

Here are the kiddos on our way to more black friday shopping, this time at normal hours of the day

As soon as Thanksgiving is over the Christmas excitement begins in our family! We took the kids down to the 25th street lights in Ogden. Allie loves this every year and Cole seemed to enjoy it for his first time

Their favorite exhibit of the night was the one with a train that actually road around the track when you pushed the button. We finally had to move aside so more people could enjoy it

Our cute kids

This year, Allie has been questioning the idea of Santa a little bit too much. She's starting to think that maybe he's not totally real. It seriously breaks my heart to think that she's getting old enough to not believe in Santa anymore! So yesterday, our very own "Elf on the shelf" arrived at our house! She named him Sherbert. Hmmm, oh well. And she totally believes in the idea of him. Thank you Katie Willson! Katie is one of my very best friends who has given me all sorts of ideas on how to keep the belief of Santa alive. Her daughter, Abbie, is one of Allie's best friends who also has an Elf keeping an eye on her at her house. This is such a great idea and is so fun for the kids. Elf on the Shelf will be on tv again on Dec. 9 so if you need an extra boost for your little one, be sure to watch it and get yourself an Elf. I decided to get a plush Elf, I thought the ones that came with the book were a little creepy looking. Here is Allie right after she woke up and found her Elf! Sherbert keeps an eye on Cole too ;)

For family home evening on Monday we went and got our tree! There is nothing like the smell of a fresh Christmas tree.

Our cozy tree. The kids did a great job decorating it. Cole discovered a new love while decorating. Candy canes.
During Christmas time, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is on daily at our house. As well as The Grinch and Home Alone. Cole now loves it just as much as Allie. He loves to sit on his car that Aunt Kim got him for his birthday and watch it with Allie.

If you're looking for Cole, you can usually find him behind the Christmas tree

To end the night we had to make some peppermint bark. Oh how we love this time of year!

THANKFUL

Our crazy little man turned 1 last Friday! Can you believe it's been a year? We can't! This boy has brought so much joy (and some exhaustion) into our lives in the last year. We've had such a fun time getting to know his personality and see how it changes as he gets older. He has had quite the personality since the day he was born. He lets you know EXACTLY how he's feeling. If he doesn't like something, you know it. His personality is the exact opposite of his big sisters. She was quiet and timid and shy. She was very mellow and enjoyed just hanging out on your lap and being held. Not Cole. From the second he wakes up in the morning he is out of his room and down the stairs. He is constantly on the move and rarely sits still. He follows the dog everywhere and loves on her a little too much. He has started walking full-time this week and it's the cutest thing to watch. He's still a little uneasy but insistes on walking anyway. He is too smart for his own good. Leave it to him to get a childproof bottle cap off of anything. He doesn't love shoes but is slowly getting used to them. He has 7 teeth and a full head of shaggy hair. We can't bring ourselves to cut it so we will see how long it gets. I'm not totally sure how much he weighs, I didn't want him to get shots during his birthday week so are waiting until next week. But about 6 weeks ago he was 21 and a half pounds so he's definitely a healthy boy! He's a great sleeper at through the night but is already down to one nap a day, little stinker. He's too busy to sleep. He's still a mini-Ryan, both in looks and in attitude. I've been told by the Taggarts that when Ryan was little, he was curious and a little naughty just like Cole. Naughty or not, he's the sweetest little boy in the world and we feel so lucky to call him ours. Life would just not be the same without our crazy little Cole-Cole. We love you baby boy!!

Birthday cupcakes

He had no problem finishing his cupcake. Which is why we stayed with just a small cupcake for the birthday boy. I sometimes miss these days of holding our tiny little miracle all day...
Coley's very first smile, 3 weeks old
I miss that little baby, time goes so fast! But they just get more and more fun.

Sound asleep after his birthday party. He loves his new big boy car seat. Last month we had our great friend and photographer, Julie Bailey, take our family pictures. Here are a few of them. Thanks for capturing our kiddos so perfectly Jules!

Thanksgiving is 2 days away. I feel so blessed to have the kids, the family and the friends that I have. My life is full. I'm so excited for the holidays to be here. Allie is finally at the age where she knows what Christmas is all about. And she remembers and loves the songs and traditions that are repeated every year. It's so much fun. The Christmas music is all organized on the iPod and ready to start playing the day after Thanksgiving, and the Christmas tree lots are filling up with trees for us to choose from! Sersiously, my favorite time of year. Happy Thanksgiving!!