Holiday Recital

Kadence had her first dance recital on Saturday.  It is an informal recital to help with stage fright in preparation for their big recital in the spring.  The recital was songs from "The Nutcracker" and Kadence's age group were sugar plums.  Ryan and I had front row seats and the rest of the crew was in the 3rd row, so we could see very well.  Unfortunately, Kadence was in the back row and hidden for parts of the dance.  She did so well and was not afraid at all.  We were so very proud of her and happy to see her smiling on the stage.

Getting ready at our house before the recital.  Kadence was excited to have curly hair "like Aunty's."

 

So glad to have Grandma Sue, GG, Auntie Holly, and Christina all go to the recital with us.

Kadence was all ready to dance.  This was just before I took her to line up with her class.

Some shots of Kadence after she danced.  She was so excited when we gave her pink flowers!

Here's a little video of the dance.  There is just something absolutely adorable about 3-4 year old girls dancing.  So proud of our little lady!

'Tis the Season

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Our little family is sure getting into the Christmas spirit!  Our home is decorated and the music is playing.  We are talking about everything Santa and the kids even get "heytell" messages from him on Ryan's phone.  I love this time of year.  It is full of family, love, giving, and praising Jesus!

The kids made "Santa Beards" in the tub and I thought this picture was suiting!  Landon has been making Santa beards with bubbles in the tub since I can remember.  Too funny.

A shot of my baby girl who is losing her "baby" look too soon for my liking.  I just can not believe how much she has thinned out.  Look at those big eyes.  Love her.

In all the busy bustle of the month of December and full on holiday season, take some time to remember the true meaning of Christmas and what is important!

Trying Something Different.

Ryan an I decided last night to try something a little different for awhile to see if we can get our baby to sleep a little better at night without interrupting her big sister.  We asked Landon if it were okay if he shared his room with Kadence for a few nights.  I wasn't quite sure what he was going to think about it because he really enjoys his own room for both sleeping and playing.  Much to our surprise he happily agreed.  We moved Kadence's top mattress on to the floor of Landon's room and they thought that was pretty fun.  Everyone seemed to sleep pretty good last night!  We are going to leave the arrangements this way for a few days so that if Kenzie needs to fuss a little in her crib she won't wake up Kadence.

If we can just keep the kids from jumping from one bed to another, we may be able to prevent major injuries the next few days!

On a side note, I met Arin in Sioux Falls on Saturday and spent a night away from my family.  I may not have done this in 5 years.  Ryan had a good day with all three kids and I had a great time shopping and having some drinks.  I sure do miss Sioux Falls.  I am feeling very refreshed today!  Don't they always say "a happy and refreshed mama makes for a happy family!"  I think it's true.

Sugar Plums.

As a warm up to their holiday recital next weekend Kadence's dance class performed at the mall.  She was pretty excited and far less shy than I expected.  They were sugar plums in their dance and they were a bit confused.  They wore their ballet shoes rather than their taps and their actual teacher was unable to be there.  I am thinking one more practice next week and the recital will go a bit better.  They were all adorable nonetheless.  There were a ton glowing, proud parents in a tiny little space awaiting their little girls performances.  I captured as good of pictures as I was able and Ryan filmed a short video.  We were so proud of her on her first performance ever!

Waiting to line up with Daddy.

Here she was waiting for her dance watching the other girls.  She really looked like she was going to fall asleep.

Here they were lining up trying to find their "spots."  They had 2 classes perform at the same time since they were doing the same routine and I think it confused the girls a little bit.

And a little video...

We had to have a little ice cream treat after Kadence danced.  She should have smiled that big while she was dancing!  So proud of our little princess.  Love her!!

My Sweet Boy.

Landon is such a sweet, caring little boy.  He does things everyday that just melt my heart.  Now don't get me wrong, he's a pretty rough and tumble little boy, but when it comes down to it he has the biggest heart a 5 year old could possibly have.

Landon plays with a little girl at school named Charlie Ann.  I knew they had been friends before he started talking about her because she would always make sure to say, "bye Landon!" with a big smile on her face every time I picked him up from school.

Today Landon came out of his room and I could tell he had something really important to tell me.

"Mom, Peyton hurt Charlie Ann on the playground today! I brought her to Miss Claire.  Then you know that later, I checked on her to make sure she was okay."

This was definitely one of those moments where you feel like amongst all the struggles as a parent you have done something right.  I gave him an extra big hug and told him that it was very good to be nice to your friends and that Santa saw him do those nice things today.

What a great way to start out the weekend!  Happy Friday!

The Life of a One Year Old

This little turkey sure fills my days with laughs.  She is such a noisy, busy baby.  She is not the easiest child to keep entertained, so I've resorted to letting her do some things I never would have let the other two do as babies.

Kenzie loves pushing her baby (from GG) around in her stroller.  She doesn't really need it to walk and I am patiently waiting for her to take those steps on her own.  If you ask her where her baby is she gets the biggest smile on her face and crawls over to her stroller.

She frequently digs through the cupboards and finds her own snacks.  Or just makes a big mess.  Look at that innocent face.

Kadence and Kenzie being silly.  They frequently put bowls on their heads, it cracks me up.

"I just want to play outside with big brother and sister, Mom!"

 

Oh, is she supposed to sit down in her high chair?  This girl sits still for about 5 minutes then stands up. She has even figured out how to do it when buckled in.  Seriously.

Take all the baggies out.  Why not?

And...her favorite thing to do, climb in the fridge and pull things out.

"Ha ha, I have my big sisters favorite toy of the day!!"

When it's all said and done, how can I be mad?  Look at that adorable smiling face.

Celebrating my first birthday!!

Just fed dad some cake.

Sharing with mom.

Happy Birthday to Kenzie Marie!  I must add that it appears Kenzie is allergic to the homemade frosting.  She broke out in hives where she had frosting on her face and gave us a little scare.  They were pretty bad right away but went away on their own pretty quickly.  I have benadryl on hand until we find out exactly what she is allergic to.  Poor stinker!

Kenzie had her 1 year check up and is doing very well.  Here are her 1 year stats:

Height: 28.75 inches  (32nd Percentile)

Weight: 19 pounds 10 ounces  (22nd Percentile)

Head Circumference: 18 inches

She's dropped in her percentiles, I think it's probably because she never stops moving.  She might be a little peanut!  She is quite feisty and holds her own with big brother and sister.  She gets jealous if Landon and Kadence are on my lap and crawls over and bugs them until they move.  She also takes their toys and then refuses to give them back.  She loves her daddy so much and will even say "DAD" when he talks on the phone.  Love this busy body baby more than ever!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving is always a great time of the year to reflect on the things that you are most thankful for in your life.  It is crazy to think that last Thanksgiving we had just had our healthy, beautiful baby Kenzie.  With all of the changes our family has been through this past year (5 years really) it is not very hard to find things to be thankful for.

~I am most thankful for Ryan.  He is truly the other half of me and I can not even imagine my life without him.  Not only is he a great husband, he is a great dad.  We all love him so much and I thank God for him every day.  

~Our 3 beautiful children.  Landon, Kadence, and Kenzie are the light in our lives.  They are all different in many ways but blend together wonderfully to make such a great family. Love how much they love each other and us.  

~NO MORE ANESTHESIA SCHOOL.  We are thankful for Ryan's great position at Essentia.  He absolutely loves his job and the people he works with.  

~Finally settling into our own home.

~Two great extended families.  I think it is very unique to both have such great families.  Our families have always offered us so much love and support throughout our journey thus far.  I feel extremely blessed to have married into a family that I love just as much as my own.  How great for our children to grow up with so many people that love them so much.  

~Puppy Emma.  Silly I know, but sometimes her sweet snuggles are just what you need at the end of the day.  Emma loves unconditionally and expects little in return.  (Aside from not being able to jump on our new bed, so needing to be lifted up several times a night.)

~Pictures.  I love looking at old pictures and taking new pictures.  

~Running.  It is truly my sanity some days.

~Coffee. A necessity with a baby who still at 1 year old does not like to sleep all night....and it just tastes good.

My parents and my sister and her family came to visit us and celebrate Thanksgiving.  We were so excited and grateful to have them in Fargo with us.  Ryan didn't work Thanksgiving day but had to work Friday so having everyone here made things much easier for us.  It is always a little crazy when you put a 5 year old, 4 year old, two 3 year olds, and a 1 year old under the same roof but it is fun!  These guys were all really good and had so much fun together.

Unfortunately, the stomach flu went through the house infecting Jill, Curt, my mom, and dad.  There was some serious quarantine time to the downstairs.  Thankfully it was a short-lived bug, but I felt so terrible to have everyone here sick.  I guess we won't be forgetting this Thanksgiving!

Kenzie just adores AJ and had fun playing with him.  For a rough and tumble little 3 year old boy, he sure is good with her.

Who's that handsome guy on the roof?  My husband being a trooper and appeasing his wife and kids by putting lights on the house.  They look so good!  I just want to remind him for next year: When it is going to be 57 degrees, put the lights up.  Don't wait for the next day when it is 20 degrees and windy.

 Landon Gary.

 Annabelle.

 Kadence Jean.

 AJ.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hopefully next year I will get to add "no one getting the stomach flu" to my thankful list!