Learning to crawl

The past seven months have flown by and now our baby boy is learning to crawl! He hasn't quite figured out the whole arms and legs working together concept, but he's working on it!

Before we know it he'll be walking! He is the sweetest thing and has a great cheering section here at home! His sisters are some of his biggest fans! As are we!

Bathtime

It's hard to believe that Mr. Lennon is already 7 months old. One of his bottom teeth has come through and he is working on learning to crawl! I have some great video that I will post soon! One of his favorite activities is bath time. He loves his baths and totally relaxes while in his tub. He gets his arms under his head and just chills. See for yourself....

So sweet...

I love this picture of the kids, and had forgotten to post it before now! Seriously, some days if my head wasn't attatched....... They seem to change every day, almost right before my eyes! I love moments like the one above and wish I could bottle them up and send them to those I love because I know how good I feel when I experience them! I guess this will have to do for now! :)

Valentines Day Recap

We had a wonderful Valentines Day this year, as always! It's always nice to spend it as a family and to enjoy one another's company. I love to be able to carry out traditions and pass them along to my sweet children. We started the Valentines weekend off with a fun ward dance at our church. I will say that it was very reminiscent of high school church dances, but seriously how could you not have fun at one?! The gym was decorated so festively, there was a DJ and lots of yummy treats. The girls had a blast dancing to the music and Val and I even got to sneak in a slow dance (with two kids tucked in between us!)! Valentines morning we had delicious heart shaped pancakes and strawberries

and ABC Find Out Me stopped by for a visit. This year Leecy T got a big girl Barbie bike, which she was thrilled with! She tested it out immediately! Lainey bug and Mr. Lennon got a new wagon and Madagascar 2! (We like to move it, move it in our house!) The kids also got new Valentines day outfits from Granny and Grampy--which they looked adorable in of course! And they got lots of compliments!

ABC Find Out Me brought me some pretty pink roses and Val got some goodies to snack on! Val also got me a beautiful pair of pearl earrings. So I guess you could say we were all spoiled rotten!

It's nice to be able to celebrate the ones you love and to share with them all that is important to you. I thought it was very fitting that I got to teach in Relief Society this week about Elijah restoring the sealing power here on earth. I am grateful every single day for my amazing family and thank my Father in Heaven multiple times a day for the opportunity I have to be with my family FOREVER!

My thoughts...

As Valentines Day is approaching this weekend, I have been thinking about the loves of my life and so I thought I would jot down some of my thoughts about them....

Aleece---Sometimes I just watch her as she walks through a room, and I am amazed at how quickly she has grown. She is no longer my "baby" (though she always will be!), or my toddler, and she is quickly outgrowing her preschooler phase. She is so smart and I love to see how her brain works! She picks up on everything and she has a great imagination. She loves to make up words--it's like her own language--and that constantly provides me with an opportunity to smile! She is always telling those around her that she loves them and I love when she gives me the "I love you" sign. She is such a good big sister!

Madelaine---She has her MP3 player with her 90% of the time and is constantly singing (whether she has her MP3 player with her or not!). I love that she loves a huge variety of music from rock to hyms and everything in between! This definitely sets her apart from others her age, but we have always encouraged our children to be themselves! And how could you not smile at her when she is singing "get on your boots!" I love her smile and her infectious laugh! She can make anything seem funny! She is an amazing mimic and she is talking more and more every day! Just the other day I got to sneak in a nap and when I woke up, she was sitting there, looking me right in the eye, and she said "Did you have a good nap?" in this sweet little singsong voice--I'm sure it sounded just like I sound to her! Both she and Aleece love to have their baby dolls with them and to help take care of their baby brother and they are already such good little mommies. It's amazing to watch them and know that this "knowledge" of compassion, love, tenderness, etc. seems to have been instilled in them from the very beginning!

Lennon---He is so sweet and mellow. I love that he enjoys being cuddled. I absolutely adore his little laugh. He is in the stage right now where all you have to do is look at him the right way and he bursts out giggling! He still loves his toes, as do I, and is a master at getting his socks and shoes off in no time flat! He almost always has a smile on his sweet face and I love to watch him take in his surroundings. He always seems to have a look of joy! He continues to love every food he tries (much like his mommy!) and is really starting to get around when you put him down on the ground. He is never where I put him originally when I lay him down for his nap! Having a little boy has been so different, and I am grateful for the opportunity I have to have both boys and girls! I am so lucky to be able to experience a little bit of everything!

Val---He continues to be my rock in life! He works so hard to support us, and we are so grateful, especially in the current state of the economy, to have work. Despite the fact that teachers are significantly underpaid for what they do, we love his schedule and the fact that we get to have him around most of the time! We also love that he loves what he is doing, and we know he is having a huge impact on all of those children, who might not get any other positive attention in their lives, even in their own home. I am so grateful for his passion and yet at the same time, how humble he is. He is such an amazing father and husband.

As we often do in our home, I'll leave you with a quote from the Beatles, which pretty much sums up how I feel.... "All you need is love!!!"

"I'm so glad when Daddy (or Mommy) comes home..."

Lainey is talking up a storm these days and she has picked up on some really funny things! My personal favorite is the way she greets both Val and I when we come home. It doesn't matter if we have been gone 5 minutes or 5 hours, she is always thrilled to see us! She exclaims "I'm so happy to see you!" Usually this is also accompanied by a hug! Now seriously, could you think of a better greeting than that?!

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!