Brielle's natural tendencies are to be loving and caring. I love how she takes Miles under her wing and watches over him. The two of them are best buddies and Miles loves and adores her (most days). I captured this picture while they were watching a movie one day.

 

With each kid comes different personalities.When Miles knows he is doing something that he shouldn't he hides. The other morning there was a little window where Matt went to work and I was getting out of bed. I knew Brielle was in the loft playing and I thought Miles was still in bed. I was a little excited thinking Miles had slept in and went to his bedroom to just check on him. Much to my surprise I didn't find him. I checked the entire upstairs and downstairs. Did a research of the entire house, this time checking closets, windows and door locks. Their was no sign that he had left the house but I seriously couldn't find him. He was responding to me calling out his name. I had a moment of panic thinking "where is he?" Then I remembered his favorite hiding spot when he is being naughty and eating candy.

Sure enough I look behind the couch downstairs and find him munching away of Hershey kisses. I was so grateful to have found him that I just laughed when I saw him sitting on the furnace with several kisses unwrapped sitting on the furnace.

Ward cmas party

This years ward Christmas party was a little different then what I was use to. Instead of starting around 6 we started around 6:40 and had our program first. We sang several songs as a congregation and then opened up a display where they had set a scene of scriptural time and the nativity. It was super cute to see the Jolley family as Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the wise men. Brother Jolly sang "Mary did you Know" and it set such a wonderful spirit.

 They announced that Santa was on his way and Brielle was ecstatic.

 However that quickly turned when she saw him and refused to take a picture with him. Miles was more than willing to take a picture with him until it was his turn to sit on his lap. We decided to take a family picture and call it a night.

As we were leaving the party Brielle informed us that she was so sad because it really wasn't Santa. She was so confused why the real Santa didn't come. I told her Santa couldn't be everywhere at the same time so he ask people to help him. She seemed satisfied with that answer but still wasn't happy it wasn't the real Santa.

Nutcracker

 The Nutcracker was something Matt has introduced to me while we were dating. From that point forward we have gone almost every year. This year we bought Brielle tickets to go with us. At first she was excited and then the week prior she kept saying she didn't want to go. I was seriously afraid that she she was going to be in a foul mood the night of because she didn't want to be there.

Knowing it was going to be a late night I begged her to take a nap so she could enjoy the ballet. Before going to bed I showed her a video about the Nutcracker and that made her excited. I was so grateful.

We went to my parents Ward Christmas party and had dinner. As their program began I left Miles with my dad and my mom, Brielle, Matt and I headed out for the ballet. As we walked in the door they had a large nutcracker out. Of course we had to pause for a picture.



















As we enter the theater Brielle was elated. I went down and showed her where she could see the orchestra. We watched and listen to them warm up.
 Brielle stayed awake throughout the whole ballet. She had wonderful concert manners unlike many people their. I was very proud of her. Because of the movie we watched she understood the story line and loved everything about it.

Rockin around the cmas tree

 

On the days I have to work Matt is SO good at getting the kids ready for bed. They are either asleep before I even come home or ready for cuddles. Tonight I walk in and I can hear and feel the excitement. Matt set up his Polar Express train around the tree and the kids were fascinated with it. I didn't get the best pictures but it's enough to help recall the memory.

4-wheeling snow play

I haven't really payed attention to the news or the weather so it was a surprise to me when I woke up and saw snow on the ground. I had so much to do and knew very little of my "planned" day was going to work out.  I had a nagging thought that I should call Crystal and see if they wanted to come over and play in the snow. I wasn't sure if Eva had even played in the snow or had any snow gear. I informed Crystal I had gear for Eva but we had to wait to get together because Eva was still asleep.

The kids were excited to see snow but weren't too anxious to get out and play in it. I decided to let  them play indoors until Eva came.

Dog pile! Eva on bottom then Brielle then Miles. My kids were giving Eva a hug.

My guess was right. It was Eva's first time in the snow. Crystal didn't want to have her cold so the poor girl had 2 snow suits on. She couldn't even walk.

She wasn't too sure what the "white" stuff was on the ground and didn't like that it was cold. Due to her inability to walk it didn't take her long to get frustrated and scared of the snow because when she would fall she would get wet and couldn't get up.
I tried to make another snow hill but didn't do it right and so that was a bust. It was still snowing outside and the kids were not interested in being outside. They just wanted to go inside and play. I felt bad. Crystal drove all the way over to play in the snow and no one wanted to.
Matt called and said he was done shoveling snow so I decided to pack everyone up and head over to my parents house. I thought we could get the kids excited by doing something new.
I borrowed my parents neighbors tube and hooked it up to the 4-wheeler. I kept the kids inside while I had Matt be the plow and smash down all the snow so there wasn't snow flying in the kids face.
I was excited to take Miles but Brielle REFUSED to come out with us. So Miles and I jumped on the tube while we were waiting because Crystal was trying to get Eva dressed and Ayla takin care of.
It was still snowing a little which meant snow in the face. I was grateful Miles had a hat that covered most his face (come to find out it was on backwards, but it worked and kept his face from getting too cold). He wasn't too sure of the idea until Erin came out to watch and take pictures. He perked up and tolerated the sledding. It was super cute because every time we passed by Erin he would wave.

Once Crystal made it out, Miles and I jumped onto the ATV and rode while Matt drove Crystal and Eva around on the tube.

We would switch back and forth. Crystal would take Eva on the ATV while Miles and I went on the tube and vise versa. We were having a good time.

At one point we thought we could all go on the tube together. We made it to our first turn when I told Crystal to lean in. She didn't quite understand what I was saying so she leaned towards the outside of the tube and off the tube Miles and I went. However we did succeed in one full loop before I called it quites. My muscles were too tired trying to hold on.

We were about to go in when Brielle decided to finally come out. At first she just wanted to ride the ATV.

After watching Eva and Crystal she decided it looked fun and wanted to try. She asked if she could go all by herself and jumped inside the tube.

She refused to wear gloves.

Grandpa Hicks leading Miles.

I was so excited to have both my kids out there. Miles was not in the mood to go anymore but he was a trooper and let me take both him and Brielle around a loop.

It wasn't really planned to take a group picture but it evolved. I am happy we did catch everyone who was out there playing. Thanks Erin for taking the pictures.

Gpa Hicks, Crystal, Eva, Miles, Danielle, Matt and Brielle

We had been outside for some time so the little kids were done. Brielle warmed up to the idea and was loving being on the tube. By the end she was riding with me asking Matt to go faster.

 As kids after we were done playing in the snow, we would always leave our clothes on the floor because my parents kitchen floor was heated. It would warm our clothes right up. I had to chuckle when I saw the floor.

Had to take a picture for old time sake

Miles had come in early with my mom and he was down for a nap already. Brielle really needed to take a nap but she wanted to take one with Eva. So we broke down the co-sleeper and put it in my parents room. I read the two of them books then left Brielle on the bed and Eva in the co-sleeper.

You hear the girls chuckle and talk. We peeked in a couple of times and I found Brielle in the co-sleeper with Eva and Brielle trying to help Eva escape. We let it go for some time then had to intervene. It was getting late and I needed Brielle to take a nap. Needless to say Brielle slept in a different room then Eva but they all took naps.

Brielle thought she was pretty funny.

Crystal was kind and went to the store and bought things to make homemade chicken noodle soup. After work Matt came home and cooked yummy soup for us all. The kids enjoyed playing together and the adults were happy we were all together.

Our little cousin family will be growing soon. Can't wait for Erin to have her baby. Eva and Miles both 19 months, Ayla 3 months and Brielle 3 years old

Erin's baby shower

When Erin got married I was just coming off a long maternity leave and the holidays. I did not have the money to throw a bridal shower which I know disappointed her. Since Erin has been pregnant I haven't really expressed my excitement and it's been really weird for me to think she is going to have a baby. Erin has also noticed my lack of enthusiasm. I have felt really bad. Therefore I knew I wanted to throw her a baby shower. I wanted to make up for the missed opportunity for her bridal shower and I wanted to show her how excited I really am about her pregnancy.

One of my new addictions is something call Pinterest. It's an online pinboard that helps you organize and share things you love or found on the web. Pinterest was my best friend for this shower. Erin's nursery theme is owls and so I wanted to continue the theme for her shower. I was able to get onto Pinterest and find so many fun ideas for her shower.

Erin has been on bed rest since December 27th. I took advantage of her free time and had her help me with the invitations and party favor bags. Without her help, there was no way this shower was going to happen. The date snuck up on me and I threw the invitations at Erin and told her she had to get them done in a day or so. She was a great sport about it and did it without any complaints.

I saw an idea to do a onise baby shower. I loved the idea and liked that it was different then the typical baby showers. I bought over 20 onsies ranging from newborn to 24 months. I discovered that Walmart now sells newborn onsies with the hand covered mittens (which I LOVE).

I wanted to make this nice and easy for everyone and thought of getting a ton of decals for people to iron on. I also bought t-shirt markers in case someone wanted to be creative and make their own onsie.

I didn't stop to think how expensive this little endeavour was until I was already knee deep into it. I could have returned the onsies and called it quites but I didn't want to. I had the idea in my head. It was what I was going to do and I wasn't going to let cost stop me. Thankfully, Matt was very supportive during this whole process.

I figured I had one day to get all the shopping done because I worked the two days prior to the shower. I was so blessed because the kids did an amazing job going to 5 stores and shopping for over 3 hours. I accomplished majority of the shopping in those hours. After the shopping was done I went to my parents house to show Erin the decals. I wanted to make sure she liked them before we put them on the shirts.

The Thursday before her shower I made sure I rushed over to Staples after work to get some copies. While I was there I noticed they were having a sale on the canvas pictures. I gathered all the information and came home and asked Erin to send me a couple of her favorite belly pictures John took. Then I contacted her friend KayLynne who had just taken some pictures of Erin. I figured I would print a total of four pictures. Before going to bed I cut the owls out and e-mailed Staples to get the pictures printed.

After work on Friday I had a very busy night planned. I went to Staples and picked up the pictures (which took forever because they were having issues with their laminate machine) then went to Party City and picked up some decor items there. Headed over to my parents to pick up ironing boards and irons. I still needed to eat dinner, go grocery shopping, and decorate the house before going to bed.

I had one more stop before making it home to eat. I had to walk up to my grandparents house and get their iron and ironing board. Simple and quick right?

As I am chatting with my grandmother I notice something red around her lips. At first I thought it was something she ate but then quickly realized it was too red for any dried food. I had her open her mouth and there was blood everywhere. Great. Where was the blood coming from?? After some investigation I discovered she had bite her tongue. I grabbed a paper towel and applied pressure but it didn't seem to do anything. Now I knew getting her to stop bleeding would require me to hold pressure longer than normal because she is on a blood thinner and it takes longer to clot. To spear all the details I ended up holding her tongue at different positions for at least 2 hours. I was about to give up when I finally went to the bathroom and it hit me. I should use a cold washcloth and apply pressure. That seemed to work. I was grateful for the divine intervention and so was my grandmother. She was so tough and tried to be so good as I was pushing down on her tongue. She squirmed and yelled out a couple times. Near the end she kept saying, "just let me do it, your hurting me." It broke my heart but I was grateful she was so willing to let me help her.

Needless to say that put me behind. By the time I made it home it was close to 11. I was ready to collapse. I was SO hungry and getting pretty tired. I had to dig deep to keep pushing. After I ate I went grocery shopping while Matt was kind enough to tidy the house up and get ready things ready to decorate. We ended up staying up till at least 3 AM. The last project of the night was melting Hersey kisses and chocolate chips so they would stick to the nutty butter bits for our acorns. I was grateful to Matt that he was willing to burn his hand multiple times so I could complete my project.

I woke up early Saturday morning to go and get blue colored glazed donuts from Dough Boy Donuts. Once I made it home it was crunch time to get the food table out and wrap things up before the shower started. I had to wrap the group gift and get my gift together and get my self together.

I saved my drink till the very end. I had a cute idea for the drink but in the middle of preparing it I discovered I missed a few ingredients. Myy vision of what the drink was going to look like was not working out. Needless to say my drink was a bust, however everything else I was pleased with.

I forget to get a picture what it looked like with all the presents there, but here are a few.

Little cards for people to leave some advice for the new Mommy.

The onsie art room.

The clips to hold the decorated onsies.

The owl in the tree, part of the table decor.

Our 3 AM acorns.

The owl cupcakes.

The party favors.

Erin's friend made the cake. Super cute.

The food table

I switched things up a little and had Erin open presents first. I didn't want people to have to stay around for decorating the onsies if they didn't want to. Brielle was super excited to help Erin.

Poor Crystal wanted to be there and be involved but Ayla was not going to let her. Ayla is normally very calm but she was just screaming and not a happy baby. Crystal had to leave the room to try to calm her down.

Please don't judge my blurry pictures. I was trying to multi task while I was taking these next few pictures. You'll understand soon. Anyway, I mention Brielle was excited to help Erin, she ended up pulling out gifts and wouldn't let Erin even look at them. It was pretty funny. Brielle would take them and hold them up for everyone to see.

Brielle really liked Joanna's gifts which were towel bibs. She loved putting them on and playing with them.

Let me explain my multi tasking. I knew Erin probably wanted some pictures of her shower and I also knew Crystal really wanted to be there. Ayla seemed to calm down and be content if I held her. I was holding Ayla, trying to take pictures while Miles was pulling at my legs wanting me to hold him. It was quite the balancing act.

After Erin finished opening her gifts I explained how the onsies decoration station was going to work. Now I don't know if I didn't explain it well or if people didn't hear me, but my idea didn't go according to plan. I do know part of it was my fault. I didn't even think that the declas you iron needed a hard surface. I thought that was why I had the ironing boards. I do know the markers needed a hard back so they wouldn't leak through so I had some cardboard pieces out for the marker onsies.
Once people got started they thought the cardboard was for the hard surface for the iron decal and ended up ironing on the glue from the cardboard. Then I didn't realize the days of the week onsie decals I had could be used multiple times and were used multiple times. Other iron decals didn't iron on very well. I was REALLY disappointed but Erin was not. She was happy with the whole shower. She knew the people who were there at her shower loved her and wanted the best for her. She was grateful for the sacrifices of many of the women to give up things just to be there and was elated with everything. Because of her response, I was happy.
Despite the little hiccup in the onsie department I think the shower was a success. We had too much food and were sending plate fulls home with people. People hung around and talked and left as they pleased. I was grateful it went as well as it did.

look at that cute iron decal

Little prego belly next to the cake belly.

The acorns were a hit. It was the only food item gone.

Erin and Joanna. Our two pregnant ladies in the family.

At the end of the party Ayla decided she wanted to be happy again.



Everyone was so generous in what they gave Erin.

Some of the finished onsies

By the time everyone left it was lunch time. My kids were hungry and tired, especially Miles

Once Miles ate he was ready to relax and chill while I cleaned up.

My mom was nice and tried to save some of the iron on decals. I am happy to say she was success and we were all very happy.

 Now Erin can feel ready to have this baby.