OCMCO Concert Dec. 6

Oliver and my Dad were in the last Orange County Millennial Choir and Orchestra performance.  I really can't believe how good that choir is!  Oliver is in the young singers chorus which is four to six years old!   I just think it's amazing that they can teach these kids to be so disciplined and sing their hearts out on stage in front of all those people.  My little Ollie boy was so proud and so excited.  He did so well!  This will be something we do for a long time.  I believe so strongly in the power of music and the discipline that comes from learning at a young age.  I love this choir and am so proud of my Dad and Ollie for all their hard work!  Makes me miss choir! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was so nice.  We had about half the family in town.  Chelsea, Patrick and Laura came home from Provo and Leah and Steve came with their boys and brand new baby Kendall.  My mom made some of the best food ever and we had a great time with family.  My mom had also invited a few sisters from her ward and their kids which always makes you grateful you have so much to share.  Everyone got to hit up DreamWorks for lunch the day before which was so fun.  Any day I get to see Ryan for lunch is a good day!  We had some wonderful beach weather and some of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen.  Blessings all around.  All that is good comes from Him. 

Sunday best

The kids looked so cute at church on Sunday I thought it would be fun to snap a few shots.  Amelie was having a hard day so she wasn't in the mood but we still got a few:)

Christmas tree decorating!

We decorated a little early this year.  We just couldn't help it.  When it starts to feel like Christmas, you must embrace the season, even if that happens to be before Thanksgiving.  I've always thought of the two holidays so intermingled anyways so it's never bothered me.  We had fun decorating our tree this year with music playing, hot cocoa and sugar cookies.  My mom brought over some soup and I made some rolls and Andrea and her family came over and we watched Elf.  It was perfect and I love filling my home with family and friends and feeling so much love.  Nora gets to have her first Christmas and we couldn't be more excited to show her what it's all about.  I love having a chubby new baby to share Christmas time with.  Ryan and I keep saying who needs presents with a baby like Nora around!  She is the best present of all! 

Ollie's first tooth!

These pics were taken Nov. 4, doing a little catch up as usual:)  Ollie came home from school with an extremely loose tooth.  So I had to document the last picture of his baby teeth before he lost his first.  What a big moment for our Ollie boy!  So Ryan actually tried to pull it out that night and it ended up hurting too much so we decided to give it another day and see if Ollie could wiggle it even looser.  Well wouldn't you know that when Ollie came home from school, he had his pulled tooth neatly in a bag to proudly show us all!  He was so excited!  He just lost his second tooth on Friday night so now we are on a roll.  We keep telling him soon he'll look like toothless Nora:) 

Griffith Park Pony Rides

Last month the kids and I went to visit Ryan at work and we decided to ride ponies on our way through Griffith Park.  I really love that area of L.A.  It just feels so old school.  The kids were SO excited to ride the ponies and were really surprised how fast those guys could go.  I actually had a few nervous moments but all was well in the end and the kids has a blast while Nora looked on:)

Fall is here!

 We went to pumpkin city this last week on the most perfect October day.  Ollie decided to wear his tron costume and Amelie wore her Halloween dress.

 This little face is 5 months old now!

 Nora trying to stay warm in her stroller

 There were lots of animals to see including ducks, piglets, cows, chickens, goats, horses

 These were my attempts to hold Nora while also getting some cute pictures...haha

 This face is the best

Hmmmmm so I might as well give a little update on everyone:) 

Ryan is crazy busy at work.  He thankfully got taken off most of his facilities duties to focus more on construction which was a huge blessing because the facilities stuff was just getting ridiculous.  He is doing more construction which is what he likes to do anyways.  Commute is still going good.  There are days I wish he wasn't a 2 hour train ride away but he gets so much done on the train and is all unwound and ready to play with us when he gets home.  Plus we love living here close to family, friends and the beach:)

Oliver is doing great in 1st grade.  We are working on memorizing words, reading, and math.  He picks up on things pretty fast.  We've been reading Charlotte's Web and he's loved that and giggled through the whole thing.  He still spends most of his spare time drawing.  He's constantly coming up with new ideas for pokemon characters, movies, and video games.  He has an amazing creative mind.  He is always striving to be sweet and helpful.  He is in OCMCO this year and is gearing up to sing in their holiday concert.  He has a great voice and perfect pitch.  He is famous for his high, perfect vibrato to Disney songs in our house.  He is still rocking gymnastics and is really good.  His coach already wants to talk about him making team so we are trying to figure out if that's something we all want to do. 

Amelie is loving time at home with Nora and I, playing playdoh, dolls, making forts, baking, painting and coloring.  She has recently gotten really good at drawing and is making cute pictures with little bodies and long blond hair.  She is a good independent player which makes life much easier when I've got Nora to take care of.  She is going to preschool twice a week and really loves her time with her friends.  She is learning her letters and numbers and is spelling her name and getting very curious about lots of learning.  She's been in ballet but may not want to continue so we are trying to find something else she'd like to do.  She still constantly talks about her Hawaii home and will not put warmer clothes on. She things life should be an endless summer in sun dresses.  My kind of girl:)

Nora is 5 months now and getting more and more fun.  She is so smiley and just waits to catch anyone's attention so she can flash that gummy smile.  It seems she's been teething for a while but who knows.  She has a cold right now and hasn't been feeling like herself but is still pretty happy.  She's been waking up at night almost every 2 hours which has been really hard on her and me.  I'm trying to soothe her and enjoy the quiet time at night with her but it's hard when it's so exhausting.  I actually walked into a wall last night after putting her back down because I was so delirious.  I'm ready for her not to be sick and for sleep to get better.  She is rolling over like crazy and is pushing herself up with her arms.  She can make lots of sounds and enjoys hearing herself loudly "squawking" as we call it.  She also loves to make a really low long sound and hear the vibration.  I love to watch her feel so impressed with herself and all the cool things she's learning.  You can just tell she's proud.  She is still a lightweight as far as I can tell.  I'm guessing she's 14-15 pounds from what my scale says.  She still has strawberry blonde hair, some would say red :) It looks like her eyes are turning green but it's still hard to tell.  As far as I can see, she's my baby twin through and through.  She especially loves to watch Oliver and laugh at him when he gets into his giggling fits (which is often). 

Other than the sleep deprivation I am loving life with my 3 kiddos right now.  I've even had moments, dare I say, that I've wanted 3 more.  For some reason having 3 kids has made me want more, but who knows if that is a fleeting thought.  We are immensely blessed with these 3 beauties.  Days are busy with activities and friends to meet up with, and I am enjoying my mandatory home time while Nora takes her naps.  Getting things structured isn't something I'm great at but it does give me a sense of accomplishment.  Nora is still nursing which is a love/hate thing for me.  Sometimes I want my body back to enjoy a little freedom, but other times, I love the convenience and bond that it gives.  I've never made it past 8 months without feeling over it so we'll see.  I'm getting out and exercising whenever I have the time/motivation/strength.  So yeah, it's a slow process.  I'm learning a little humility this time around because the baby weight has not come off like it did before.  Learning a little patience and keeping expectations reasonable.  I am looking forward to the day when I feel comfortable in my body again.  I am lucky to have a husband who tells me I'm beautiful everyday no matter what.  Seriously what would I do without Ryan.  He is my favorite and I love him more and more everyday.  When days are hard and long, I want to run away with him for a while.  Soon enough.  Feeling blessed that my parents are close and help so much.  It's so fun to live by both our parents and watch them with our kids.  I wish all our family could be close.  Life would be better.  We get to see all my family in Feb as we are all planning a trip to Disneyworld which will be super fun.  The kids already can't wait and talk about it non-stop.  We are blessed more than we know.