Cute Kids

We are finally back to two cars (crossing fingers that it stays that way!) thanks to some help from one of our awesome ward family members! That has cut down on my playing chauffeur and the kids are happy they don't have to spend so much time in the car.
I was talking with Val last night and I said something to him, using my hands to make quotations. I thought nothing of it until Aleece came up to me and asked me what something was, using her hands as quotations. I seriously could not stop laughing--that girl picks up on WAY to much!!! She always knows how to make me smile!
Madelaine talks more and more every day--and she gets a kick out of doing and saying whatever Leecy T does! So not only do I have one mimic most of the time, now I have two! But as mentioned above, this just means my laughing multiple times a day! They seriously make every day better than the last!
Mr. Lennon is so darn cute and loves to laugh at his big sisters, almost as much as I do! He loves his excersaucer that Granny and Grampy gave him for Christmas and has even learned a few tricks! He loves to pick up his feet, lean backwards and then throw himself forward, which proceeds to make the excersaucer bounce like crazy! He has such a great time entertaining himself sometimes! He also loves the jumperoo and has a few different techniques! Sometimes he just does your typical jumping, but he also does what I affectionately refer to as his "running man". It looks like he is literally running in place, alot like the dance from, hmm, let's see the 80's or early 90's? Have I totally aged myself yet? :)
These three cute kids are growing up so fast. It's almost hard to believe Aleece will start kindergarten later this year! The times passes far to quickly, so I am trying to enjoy every single moment of every single day! I don't want to miss a thing!

Now starring...

Our cute kids! Enjoy!

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6 Months

Mr. Lennon is already 6 months old, can you believe it? He has already grown and changed so much and we love every single second we are with him. He is so sweet, mellow, happy, cuddly, giggly and adorable! He is such a good baby and we are so blessed to have him in our family. At his six month appointment yesterday we found out that he weighs in at 15 lbs and 8 oz and is almost 25 1/2 inches long. He is still right around the 25th percentile, which we are happy with. He got three shots at his appointment and fussed for maybe 15 seconds. He seriously only wimpered while the needles were poking him, and then he was fine. He is our tough little man and we love him so much! He loves to "talk" and listen to music, and he is our most flexible baby and has discovered a love of his toes! (which is probably why he can get his socks and shoes off in no time flat!) We sometimes refer to him as our little teapot, because when he try's to out yell his big sisters, he definitely has the loudest squeel! He has been eating rice cereal and loving it surprisingly, since neither of his big sisters liked it. He started on "real" food today and thoroughly enjoyed his applesauce! He is such a cutie and you can't help but smile every time you look at him. He has blessed our lives immensely and I can't wait to see what else he discovers as he continues to grow! We love you Mr. Lennon!

I am a princess.

This story was too cute not to post. While we were in Minnesota over Christmas the kids got to spend lots of time with their Granny and Grampy and aunts and uncles, and loved every minute of it! One night Aleece was talking to her Aunt Katchie and Katch was trying to explain to her the difference between a vegetarian and a veterinarian, because they sound so similar. She explained to her that vegetarians don't eat meat, and veterinarians take care of animals (which, of course, Aleece already knew, because that is what she wants to be when she grows up). Anyways.....Katchie concluded by saying, "So, I am a vegetarian". Leecy's Uncle Adam chimed in with "And I'm a veteranarian" (sidenote--he isn't!) and Aleece responded with, "Well, I am a princess." That she is! I have two adorable princesses and a handsome little prince---I guess you could call me the queen of the castle!

We partied like it was 1999!!!

We rang in the New Year Welch style, with lots of food and fun! We played some games, watched some of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve, ate some delicious food, and we definitely enjoyed the company! We were even treated to our very own concert by the girls! See the videos below! We did one firework--don't judge us---it was FREEZING and the wind was blowing like mad, so it was really hard to light them! But the girls loved it anyways and we did a few more the next day (though it was still just as cold!) We all drank sparkling grape juice (Welch's of course!), gave a toast and everyone got their New Year's kiss! I made sure to get a picture with each of the kiddo's because as I was looking through the pictures from last year's celebrations I was amazed at how much they had changed! They are growing up so fast! There are several of Lennon in many various hats--the girls had a wonderful time dressing him up--and he never once complained! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in MN with family and can't wait to see them again!

This past week we started the kids with their very own journal pages. This was a New Year's tradition in our home growing up and was something we did every Sunday after church. We got to write, or draw, about our week and then the pages were put into a folder that we decorated at the beginning of the year. At the beginning of the year we fill out a cover sheet for each of the kids, with their age, height and weight, favorite things, memories of the past year, and goals for the upcoming year. I hope they enjoy looking back on their journal pages, as much as I enjoy looking back on mine! The kids have some really good goals this year. Aleece wants to continue learning to read, start kindergarten, learn how to read music and to play the piano and learn how to ride a bike! Madelaine wants to become potty trained and learn how to talk a little more clearly! Lennon wants to learn how to crawl, walk, talk and eat real food! We made some family goals as well with some suggestions from the kids. We decided we are going to be better about reading the Book of Mormon every day as a family and not skip any days, and we are going to be better about saying family prayers in the morning as well as the evenings. We are excited for this year and can't wait to see what is to come!

Christmas traditions

We have lots of Christmas traditions in our home and we enjoy participating in them every year. We did these things as children and my memories of them are so wonderful, that I wanted to pass them onto our children. They seem to enjoy them as well, and I hope someday they will pass them onto their own children.

Every year we reenact the Nativity, complete with King Herod, angels, wisemen, shepherds, animals, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. I remember as a child always wanting to be Mary, and I guess that just goes to show how much I always wanted to be a mother. Aleece asked to be Mary this year and I was happy to pass along the torch, if you will! Even as silly as we all get on Christmas Eve reenacting the Savior's birth, the Spirit is always strong and I am always so grateful for the opportunity we have to remember what is most important over the holiday season.

Mary and Joseph

Shephard and Angel

Shepherd, Wiseman and Baby Jesus

Wiseman and Mary

Wiseman and Angel

Wisemen

King Herod

Angels

More angels

Baby Jesus in his swaddling clothes (and Santa suit!)

We also have a talent show and we dress up and act out the 12 Days of Christmas. This always proves to be a good time! Another fun tradition is opening our Christmas pajamas, putting them on, hanging up our stockings over the fireplace before we go to bed and laying out milk and cookies for Santa, with a special note of course! Although in my later adolescent years I do believe Santa Claus preferred Diet Coke! :)

1st Christmas!!!

Acting out the 12 Days of Christmas (hence the Partridge in a Pear Tree hat Katchie is wearing, the Lords a Leaping shirt Jeff is styling, the swans a swimming goggles Grampy has on, the five golden rings Krispy Kreme hat Lennon is sporting, and the colander/drum Eric used for the drummers drumming---it's all about creativity people!!!)

And of course you can't forget the geese a laying (Mary), the maids a milking (Lainey and I), the ladies dancing (Aleece)! We also had the others, but I don't think they are visible in these pics!

It's always so fun to celebrate the holidays with family and we had such a fabulous time. The only downfall was that the time we got to spend together was not near long enough! Thanks for a wonderful holiday celebration our cute family!

12 Days of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me........

12 inch snow drifts

11 busy adults

10 degrees below

9 sugary sweets

8 zillion presents

7 days of fun

6 frozen cars

5 crazy dogs

4 Christmas trees

3 cute kids

(2) Santa and his wife

and one Swiss serving missionary!