Carter and Lexi

Lexi and Carter are still making us laugh everyday.  Lexi is still very sweet but also has a very strong desire to be a mother hen.  She has fallen into her role as oldest child very well.  She is very helpful and kind.  Carter teases her endlessly.  She never hits him back.  She just comes in crying to have us help her.  Thus, Carter totally dominates her!  Sometimes we wish she would defend herself so he would stop being so mean to her but I am grateful she is so sweet.  He knows he isn't allowed in the bathroom so the minute he hears that Lexi is going to be using it he races her to the door to try to sneak in with her.  She has gotten so frustrated that she throws herself to the ground crying because she can't go to the bathroom because he'll get in.  It's sad and funny.  Lexi is still a great singer and knows the words to most songs on the radio (which keeps me on my toes to make sure they're appropriate).  She is now in CTR 4 and said the prayer in primary last week. 

Carter is going through some changes right now.  He recently got very sick with diarrhea so we had to take him off milk.  We decided that would be as good of time as any to get rid of his bottle but it's been very hard.  He used it for comfort and nourishment so he is very unhappy with this transition.  Hopefully it will get better soon.  He has started singing.  He sings the clean up song and tries to sing parts of Old McDonald and Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee.  He loves to dance.  On New Year's Eve he stayed up until past 11 while we played Just Dance and danced the entire time we played.  It was so cute and funny.  He is talking a lot and speaks in short sentences.  He will say, "I want Mommy", "I want some", "Here you go", etc.  He's started calling Lexi, Sissy, which is what Cole and I call her.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful kids!

Cole's Sibling Party

We decided to host a Christmas party for all of Cole's siblings that live around here.  We love having family around and enjoyed having them over.  We had wonderful food and played some minute to win it games followed by a white elephant exchange.  We laughed and had a great time and appreciated everyone coming.

Thanksgiving

I am so behind it is hard to remember everything but I will try.  We had a wonderful time in Arizona at Eden's house for Thanksgiving.  I was really nervous about driving that far with the kids but it was actually our best road trip yet.  Both of the kids handled the ride well and we had great weather.  We got to stop at Oregano's in Flagstaff on the way and enjoyed that.  Eden did a great job putting together a delicious feast.  It was fun to eat Thanksgiving dinner outside in flip flops and bare feet.  Lexi and Carter enjoyed playing with their cousins and going swimming. I loved hearing Lexi and Makani singing "How much is that doggy in the window" with Aunt Eden.  It was fun getting to know everyone better. I loved black Friday shopping with Cole's sisters.  It was my first time going and I thought it was a lot of fun.  We really appreciated Eden and her family letting us come and enjoy the holiday with them.

Disneyland

We got to go to Disneyland.  It was so much fun.  Grandma and Grandpa came with us and we loved having them.  Lexi was really excited to see where Lightning McQueen lived.  He is her favorite character right now.  She is also starting to like Minnie.  Lexi was only 39 inches so Aunt Brianne let us borrow the platform sandals they have and they did the trick so Lexi could ride all the 40 inch rides.  She didn't like the fast rides but would go on them anyway.  She got to eat lunch with the princesses and really got into that.  Luckily Makani had just given her a princess dress so she wore it to lunch and liked looking like the princesses she met  The princesses would teach her how to pose for the pictures and she liked it.  After lunch she whispered to me, "I love being a princess!"  It was priceless.  Lexi's favorite parts of her trip were the carousel, parade, and the cars.  Carter did much better on all the rides than we expected.  Previous to the trip he hated rides and would cry but by the end of our trip he was saying wee and smiling.  He liked the jungle cruise and the parade.  He would wave at all the characters and stick his hand out hoping one of them would give him 5.  He would climb out of his pack n play every morning and show up at our bed.  We were glad he was good enough at it to not get hurt.  Lexi loved Goofy.  We saw him twice and each time he kissed her hand.  Everytime you ask Lexi about it she gets bashful.  Grandma and Grandpa were such good sports and helped us out with the kids so much!It was a fun trip and we are so happy we could go.

Cute Kids

The kids are at fun ages.  Carter is full of trouble.  He hits Lexi all the time and loves to spit.  I have yet to figure out a punishment to entice him to stop these behaviors.  He is all boy and much more physical than Lexi ever was.  At his 18 month well visit the doctor called him "Mr. Personality" and I thought that was a very fitting description of his extremely social personality.  He loves to smile at people and try to get their attention.  He will wave at anyone and likes to get people to give him 5.  When we were at the grocery store the cashier told him goodbye and he loved it so he proceeded to tell every cashier we passed on the way out bye bye thank you.  It was pretty funny and sad because no one noticed him and said it back.  He is talking a lot more and has the cutest way of saying Lexi. He started nursery and is doing well there.  He is still a huge climber and is very determined and stubborn.  He is obsessed with my hair and his thumb.

Lexi is the sweetest little girl.  She is easy to be around and is not demanding.  She still asks to snuggle and loves to do anything with her family and cousins.  She counts down the days until the next fun activity we have planned and loves having her life planned out.  She still wants to be grown up and recently asked me if she can borrow my high chair for her kids when she grows up.  She is doing really well at pre-school and dance.  I'm not sure if we will stick with dance though because I think gymnastics was a better fit.  The two girls her age in our ward are moving so I hope someone new will move in that is her age.  She recently told me she likes to snuggle with her belly button when she sleeps (she plays with it a lot).  It made me laugh.  She is always making me smile.  We love these two cute kids.