January

 January started off pretty slow. Bentley is loving preschool and after our parent teacher interview, they all love her too! She is very obedient, has come out of her shell and talks lots, is a perfectionist when it comes to her letters and crafts, and very happy and fun. For crazy hair day I put a bottle in her hair to make it look like soda was pouring out! She loved that. She is becoming a little artist! I can't believe the things she can draw. I also snuck in a little date with her to Coras which was so fun!

 Deacon is such a funny little guy! He cracks us up on the daily. He also does the most random things, like tape himself to a wall.

Leo is such a cutie, but my goodness he will not let me get anything done! Never have I known a baby that loves to be held SO much. Or have me right by his side. He is getting some teeth though, so it could have something to do with that too. He has 4 teeth, and 2 more coming. He's also been getting up no later than 6 lately...but I'll count my blessings because he does sleep through the night until then!

Bentley got an easy bake oven from Grandma Ady for Christmas and both her and Deacon love making things with it! She asks me all the time if she can use it.

 We've also been enjoying Play School with our friends. The numbers have lessened, I guess people are getting busier, but it's still happening with 4 of us and we always love all the fun activities!

We visited the new library in Seton with some friends and the kids had such a blast! They have a cool helicopter for them to play in, and they also enjoyed reading books. We were there for hours!

The end of the month got very busy, as it always does, with both Bentley and Deacon's birthday parties!  
For Bentley's party, she was very particular about what she wanted. She decided on a Bee Party...not really sure where it came from but it sounded cute! The cake was probably her favorite thing because she got to help me make it and decorate it, and she just loves baking. I happened to find the big bumblebee at Michael's and ordered the little candy ones on Amazon. I wasn't sure if it would turn out because I'm not very experienced with making cakes, but it actually worked just as I had planned! I made 2 bigger cakes, 1 smaller one, stacked them up, and trimmed the middle one. Then I made some delicious butter cream icing using yellow food coloring. I spread it on and then the kids loved sticking the little candy bees all over the cake. 
She also really enjoyed decorating and my favorite was the sign she made to put on the door. She colored a big bumblebee and then we wrote on it "Welcome to the Hive." She taped it up there and loved it. All her idea. She may just be a party planner one day!
Bentley invited a lot of friends (there were 10 of them!) so the presents probably got a little out of hand. I probably should've told them no presents, or just something really small, but she did get the cutest things and just loved it! The games were all chosen by her as well. She wanted "Pin the bee on the hive," a pinata, and face painting. Dakota and Ryley were nice enough to come help paint faces, and my mom painted their nails! We also played a freeze dance game and a flower hunt game. They all carried yellow bags to collect their flowers, and for the prizes in the pinata, and then I gave them a Burt's Bees chapstick as they left. Oh, I also made some bee antennas that they got at the beginning of the party. They ate cake and ice cream, and "nectar" (orange pop). 
Bentley absolutely loved her party! It was pretty adorable how excited she was, and afterwards she told me the party was perfect! 

 For Deacon's birthday, all he knew was that he wanted a dinosaur cake. He couldn't decide on which type of dinosaur though. One day it was a "sharp tooth" and the next it was a "long neck", and even once it was a "three horn" (he watches a lot of The Land Before Time). I decided to do a party away from home so it was less work, since Bentley's took quite a bit of effort. So we went to Treehouse for the party and I booked a room for us to do cake and presents. To make things even easier, I bought an ice cream cake and Deacon came with me to pick out the dinosaur design. It turned out to be such a fun party! Deacon had such a blast, as did all the other kids. They played for hours, and they even got tokens as a part of the party, so they got to do the arcade games as well. Deacon got a free shirt, and a visit from the mascot Chase, from Paw Patrol. He was so excited about that!! We all sang Happy Birthday to him and my eager little boy blew out the candles before we even finished singing.

 Deacon is our clown, and we just love the way he lightens the mood in our home. He is always up for anything, and gets excited about the smallest things. He loves to be independent, to a point that frustrates me a little! You can often hear him say "No Help." He dresses himself and can climb up on almost anything. He is recently potty trained (hallelujah!), except for nighttime which we are still working on. He can be crazy, but is also so sensitive and definitely my most cuddly kid. 

After our party week, we ended the month all getting sick! Deacon actually threw up on the way home from his party. It was an awful week after that, but we made it through!

Christmas Time

 For my birthday this year we played some mini golf at Monster Golf and then got some ice cream at Made by Marcus, which I'd been wanting to try. It was tasty! And a really fun night.

 One night I got together with some friends and we put together a recipe book. We each brought 5 of our favorite recipes and put them together. The we played some games! Code names was a hit.

After my birthday the Christmas season is always beginning! We put up our tree a little before December but not too much sooner because I don't like to have it up much longer than a month.The kids always love this and Deacon was even more enthused than last year. They helped put all the ornaments on the tree and once we set everything else up too they kept asking if there was anything else they could put up! The countdown tree is always a hit in December. They love putting a little ornament on the tree each day.

Bentley took Hip Hop this fall and we finally got to see her perform! She loved it so much and did great. I don't think any of the kids were real naturals but it's always hilarious to watch them do their routine! She took the class with her friend Lucy again, and I am always thankful to Lena for taking such good pictures and sending them to me!

 Bentley also had a Preschool Christmas concert this year and she practiced hard for it! She played one of the kids in "the Night Before Christmas" so she was dressed in pajamas. She sure didn't do a lot, but was very excited for it! After the play they sang some really cute songs. Then had snacks and photos. Bentley is really enjoying preschool and I think it's so good for her to have something to do and push her or she would be so bored! I'm also so grateful that Jeff can leave work for an hour to attend Bentley's things! She loves him being there and we all love to see how proud she is of her accomplishments. 

 This year we really tried to make Christmas about more than just Santa and presents. We followed the "Light the World" program and did some kind acts of service. We made 20 bags full of activites, mittens, treats, etc. for kids in shelters or transitional homes. We also made cards for each bag. Tamara and my mom also contributed and I dropped them off at someone's house who would then deliver it to them. It was a really fun way for the kids to help serve! We also paid for the person behind us at the McDonald's drive-thru. No idea who they were! And then one night we made cards and put them with chocolates, and delivered them to the houses that were decorated so nicely with lights. In the cards we thanked them for decorating so nicely so that we could smile every time we drove by.

 We went to the mall with the Bennett's to visit Santa, but the wait was too long. So we decorated cookies and mailed him a letter instead!

 Luckily, we had an event in our neighborhood and Santa made an appearance. It was a "Light up the Pond" night where everyone walks around the pond we live on and there's cookies, hot chocolate, and Santa on the corner. We made sure we put lights in our backyard that everyone could see, and it was really fun. We invited Scott and Kellie's family as well which made it even more fun for the kids!

 We also saw Santa at our Ward party. We had a breakfast (sausages, waffled, and fruit), then a few numbers, and a magic show at the end. I was in charge of one of the numbers along side Rebecca Locking. So we got a bunch of kids together and did the 12 days of Christmas. Deacon was 5 golden rings so I just held him up and spun him around while he help up a yellow hula hoop. Bentley was 7 Swans swimming and she had white wings and arm floaties on as she laid on a skateboard pretending to swim, and Jeff pushed her out and pulled her back in. Everyone thought it was hilarious so they laughed pretty loudly, but poor Bentley didn't quite understand it was good to make people laugh and she thought they were laughing at her! She wasn't very happy the second time it came around to her and then the third time she stomped off mad. Luckily Emri was there to fill in! The number was pretty hilarious and I tried not to laugh the entire time myself! We had a little chat with Bentley afterwards and eventually she understood. It was a really fun party, the kids loved Richard Young the magician (my idea to bring him in by the way...) and then we sat on Santa's lap at the end. 

 The weather this Christmas was amazing! Only just barely in the minuses, sometimes in the positives. So, we enjoyed skating twice already. Once with Scott and Kellie at Sundance lake where we skated, there were some activities, and then the kids exchanged gifts at Kellie's house afterward. The other time was at Chaparral lake with all my family. Joce and Jeff came to visit and we had such a blast with them! Bentley loved playing with Brookie and she also said she loved Holli.

 One of the highlights for the kids is always decorating a gingerbread house! I don't why they love it so much, but Bentley says it's her favorite thing about Christmas, and Deacon is just as obsessed. They did great this year, and of course loved snacking on the candy as well!

 We also had a fun Christmas Play School that Emily Miller put on where the kids decorated cookies, made reindeer hats and food, and danced!

 We really enjoyed the Nativity at Heritage Park this year because it was so warm! We always freeze our butts off for it, so this year was a very nice change! We could actually enjoy it. Although Jeff was sick so I went with the older kids and his family. 

 I decided we would make our "Elf Party" we did last year an annual thing, so we did it again! We ate breakfast, then did a little gift exchange where I read a story that says the words "right" and "left" in it lots and they have to pass it that way until the story ends and they open up the gift they are holding. Then we watch the movie Elf and the kids play and we chat. I also gave everyone name tags with their elf name on it!

Christmas Sunday eventually came and it was a great day. Church was only an hour long and Bentley sang with the primary a beautiful song. There were lots of musical numbers and great little talks. I think it's my favorite Sunday of the year!

 Christmas Eve was at Tamara and Lee's house again this year. We all brought 2 appetizers (my mom brought ham and potatoes and some also brought desserts). It was a really delicious feast! I brought my beet salad with goat cheese and some meatballs. Afterwards we had our usual talent show where Dad always does magic, the kids all played piano, Skyler played the trumpet, and I played a fun song that made everyone dance. Then we act out the Nativity with costumes, and this year we even had songs in between. Then all the kids open their pajamas and try to make a pyramid...which didn't turn out this year for a photo. I love Christmas Eve so much! When we got home, we sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn and set out cookies and milk for Santa. When the kids were sleeping, the work began to put all the presents and stockings out, and Jeff and I threw together an egg and sausage casserole for the morning.

On Christmas day we took the kids downstairs and they opened their Santa present. Bentley got her tattoo pens she really wanted and a unicorn coloring book. Deacon got a big train set, and even Leo had a little toy. Then the Ady's came over to our house for breakfast and we opened presents with them. Deacon was so much fun this year! He would just get excited about every little thing, even if the gift wasn't for him he would watch and be so excited for that person. It was so adorable to watch!! He was very into dinosaurs this Christmas and got lots of them. Bentley was thrilled with everything she got as well, mostly involving unicorns, and an easy bake oven. Leo just loved being held by so many people. After presents we hung out for a while and dinner was at Scott and Kellie's house, except that they were in Utah. Don and Cindy borrowed their house since theirs was under construction. It was delicious, as usual, and Jeff's aunt and uncle Rob and Carry were visiting.  

 On boxing day we went to the church for a lunch with all the extended family on the Ady's side. The day after that we went swimming at Southland Leisure Centre with my family, and then had our sibling party that night. We ate at a Brazilian BBQ place where they constantly bring meat around to your table all night. Then we went back to my parents house where we did a white elephant gift game, and then played family feud. We ended up with a Star Wars waffle maker and a foot warmer. It was a really fun time! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures! We hung out with Joce and Jeff and kids a lot this past week and it was a blast. My kids love them all and I love to see them. I wasn't bored and never got the after Christmas blues I sometimes get!! 

It's been a great year. It's a big adjustment going from 2 to 3 kids, and I have definitely struggled with it, but I'm used to it now and I just love all 3 of them so so much! Jeff is pretty stressed at work going through a pretty big transition and with the markets going down so quickly, but he is still doing good. We are enjoying life! I always love making goals for a new year and trying to be a better person. This year I will implement the Come Follow Me program and church goes down to 2 hours! Crazy!! I'm very excited about that. I also plan on potty training Deacon, and hopefully having success at a new business I started selling Zyia clothing. I also want to be healthier and make time for Jeff and I! Goodbye 2018!