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!

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas! Every Christmas morning we torture our children by making them stand at the top of our stairs while Ryan goes down and makes sure everything is "ready". By that I mean turning on the Christmas lights, getting Christmas music going, and just double-checking things to make sure Santa was on top of everything the night before! And here is the proof of the torture being inflicted at 6:15 am! Actually, this year was a little different because Lexi decided on her own that when she woke up she was going to read her scriptures. It was her way of remembering the true meaning of Christmas. And she did. I heard the girls door slam 5 minutes before they ran into our room. During that time, Lexi gathered Kendri and Kyson into her bed and read 2 verses of scriptures to them! I thought that was a great idea!

Poor Shayli is not an early riser. She missed out on Christmas morning because I decided to let her sleep in. Fortunately, she didn't even notice!

The kids had plenty to open and I dare say were spoiled rotten! Santa brought them skiis....more on that later!

After we opened our presents, we got ready for church. Church was at the same time as always - 10:00 am. After church, we headed down to Tracy to celebrate with the rest of Ryan's family . We had an awesome day and really hate to see the holidays end! Boo!

Gingerbread Houses

Here's my tribute to gingerbread houses......I mean, I "only" made 60 of them. I suppose it deserves a tribute. Too bad I didn't get a picture of my house looking like Gingerbread Land. We had to eat at Taco Bell that night because there was no room in the inn. I spent ALL DAY constructing my mini-masterpieces. Granted, it is only graham crackers. But you would be surprised at how long it takes to make 60 of them. (Or maybe you wouldn't.) Luckily, I had help from 2 neighbors.

Here's the kids creating their houses at the school Christmas parties. I went to Kendri's kindergarten party first and Kyson made his gingerbread house. Then I zipped on over to Lexi's classroom to help there. It was very busy but it is a fun tradition for the kids!

Parcel-Post, Please

Going.......

Going..............

Gone! I decided to send a present to Grandma and Pa in Colorado this year. COD. Do you think it'll get returned???

Santa Claus and Hay Rides

We took the kids to Jackson in the beginning of December for a hayride through town to see the lights. We went with some friends and had a great time! Here we are on the hayride. It was a bit chilly, but no need to fret.....we had free hot chocolate and cookies to keep us warm!
The kids love doing this. We went last year and it's become somewhat of a tradition now!

Before the hayride, we got to visit with someone very important......

It was Shayli's first time to see Santa and I dare say she liked it! There were no tears for her!

Lexi and Kendri are old pro's at sitting on jolly old St. Nick! I think there was talk about a certain microscope Lexi is hoping to have on Christmas morning. (btw, her probing, scientific mind takes after me. Wink, wink.)

Kyson didn't ask for anything except the candy canes sitting next Santa. Shocker, right?

And I think Kendri was interested in some crafting iron beads. We'll see if Santa delivers!