Happy 8th Birthday Lexi!

Lexi requested a TMNT for her birthday this year......a little weird I know. She used to love them but I sort of thought that phase was over. But her teacher, Ms. K, apparently told Lexi she had a turtle cake pan. So, of course, Lexi decided she HAD to borrow it! I remember making a TMNT cake for my little brother, Travis, back in the day. I can't remember how old he was turning but I do remember Amber and I drawing out a turtle face on the cake with a toothpick. It was not nearly as elaborate as this one (Sorry Trav!).

Lexi invited her friend, Paytin, down for a dinner of chicken nuggets and cake. Pretty low-key. The real party happened this past weekend when we had lots of company for Lexi's baptism! More on that later.

Lexi got pegs for her bike. Now she can haul her friends around with her. Although I think she might start re-thinking that.....it's alot of work when you're the smallest of your friends! She also got new blue scriptures with a cute scripture tote bag. We had her name engraved. It was supposed to be a surprise because she already knew about the scriptures and tote (she picked them out). However, she walked in on me while I was making the phone call and heard all about it. She came around the corner as I was hanging the phone up with a HUGE grin and nearly gasping with excitement, "I get my name on my scriptures???"

As an 8 year old, Lexi is a big help around the house. She's always helping with Shayli and loves to carry her around with her. She has started to clean the bathroom EVERY Saturday as a chore and she helps keep the rest of the house picked up - sometimes. ;) She likes her hair short. She is an awesome reader and loves to play school with her friends and siblings. She loves to sing and is always singing along (full blast!) with the music in the car. I think her true calling in life is to either sing or dance. Unfortunately, she did not get blessed in either of those areas. :) But she still loves to do it! We love you, Lexi!

Baptized!

It's that time.....Lexi finally got to be baptized! She was so, so, so excited! We did it over President's day weekend so some of my family could come out for it. (We had all the Uncle's and a "friend" show up! I'll post some of those pictures in the next post.) The Reese side of the family has one baptism dress for all the girls. Lexi is the second one to be baptized in it and Anna

will get to have it in May for her baptism! It's extra special since everyone will get to use it!

Here are Lexi's scriptures she got for her birthday. She loves them! Some details of the big day are -

Gammi and Aunt Jenni were the speakers. Gammi did her traditional Holy Ghost talk. Lexi got a cozy blanket and Gammi explained how the blanket surrounds you and can keep you warm and safe just like the Holy Ghost. Aunt Jenni talked about the importance of baptism and how special the day is. Lexi asked her Uncle Travis and Uncle Daniel to say the prayers. And Uncle Brendan did an awesome job singing a special musical. Lexi's dad baptized her and did it Spanish so Uncle Doug and Brother Wright (who also speak spanish) were the witnesses.

Here is Lexi wearing her confirmation dress. Gammi gave it to Lexi for her birthday. She looked beautiful and the whole rest of the weekend she worked on being "perfect" so she could stay clean and pure for a long time! It is such a blessing to have children making good choices and wanting to choose the right! Way to go, Lexi!

How Can You Resist These Faces????

Well, I certainly can't! Aren't they cute? I think so too!

Kyson is 3!

Kyson had his birthday a couple of weeks ago....now he's 3! We decided to do a construction themed cake. I found one like it on Pinterest, so I can't take the credit for it but I do think it turned out cute!

We invited Gammi and Pa to come eat Papa Murphy's pizza and cake. Kyson's little friend, Cohen, came over with his family too.

The outside of the cake was cute. But......I think the inside is what sold me on it! I loved the "construction-surprise" when you cut into it. Unfortunately, Kyson's birthday presents from mommy and daddy didn't arrive in time. (Apparently 2 weeks time wasn't enough!) But lucky for us, Kyson didn't seem to notice and was perfectly content with the presents he did get!

As a 3 year old :

Kyson still keeps me on my toes. He loves to run away, hide, and keep up with his big sisters. He also loves his little baby Shayli. He is extremely affectionate. In fact, he likes to give his friends hugs and kisses and most of them are NOT up for it. But his mommy is ! I love being the recipient of all his lovin'. :) Lately, he has become such a mama's boy. He wants me to do just about everything for him! One day I'll miss it. I'm sure. And then I'll have this post to remind me of it. :) Happy birthday, Kyson! We love you!

6 Months Old

Can you believe it? I can scarcely believe it myself.....6 months already! Sheesh. This was, perhaps, a long awaited moment in our little Shayli's life. She's been reaching for my food for weeks now in an attempt to catch me off guard and make me feed her some of my ice cream. ;)

And although what she got wasn't exactly ice cream (rice cereal with applesauce), she's taken to it quite well. I'll update that status again when we get to the peas!

She went to the doctor today and weighed in at 13 lb 8 oz and was 26 inches long.

I daresay she takes after her oldest sister. (Yes, yes. I know comparing children is wrong. But I say if they're all "perfect" go for it! Wink, wink.) Her disposition seems very serious and quiet (unlike Kendri and Kyson who thrive on being the entertainment). She wants me to tote her around with me most of the day. Luckily I have reinforcements to play with her after school! She's starting to scoot and raise herself in the crawling position. It shouldn't be long before she's mobile!

Watch Out!

Lexi and Kendri got skiis for Christmas this year. Ryan took them up to Bear Valley the Friday after Christmas. They did great! They both managed to get off the bunny slope by the end of the day. Although, I think Kendri second-guessed the idea after she got off the chair lift!

The good news is, she made it down in one piece and is ready to go again! Now all we need is snow......the pictures Ryan took showed snow on the runs only. Every where else was rocks and weeds. Obviously, it was man-made snow. If you look close in the picture above you'll see what I am talking about. There is no snow! We're keeping our fingers crossed we'll get some much needed rain soon.....because that will mean snow in the mountains. Who knows, maybe we'll be skiing May!

Christmas Afternoon

Here are some pictures of our Christmas afternoon. We were down in Tracy this year due to all the unexpected developments of the Reese family!

This is our little nephew Jackson. He loves Shayli. And he loves to shove her binky in her mouth. There are some kids that have what I call "Baby Radar". Jackson is one of them!

Lexi and Kendri got these cute blankets from their cousins. They've been sleeping with them every night since Christmas.

And Liz made these cute little stick horses for Kyson and Kaitlyn.....Giddy-up, Cowboy! And I bet you're wondering what I got???? A sewing machine. Don't worry. I've already made 2 pairs of pajama bottoms for Kyson. I'm what you'd call a "natural". :) Just kidding. But I do have a list of projects I'm planning on mastering. I'll keep you posted!