Sunday, April 28, 2013

Princesses know quite a lot


princesses know how to strike an inviting pose...

and how to pick the perfect pair of shoes.


princesses know how to find the perfect lighting for a photograph.


princesses need their beauty sleep.


but a princess knows she can't keep her subjects waiting for too long!


princesses like to explore.


and they know how to wait patiently...


for the perfect prince to come along.


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Piper


piper is 9 months.
and she is everywhere.
quickly.
but luckily...THAT is a face worth chasing.


she has lots of new tricks.
"sooo big" (pictured above)
our personal favorite is how she jiggles her head back and forth like she is hearing her own little song in her head.
she does that while crawling, chilling along furniture, or looking at her shadow on a wall.
she likes to kiss her shadow.
walks along furniture with ease.
she has even stood balanced without holding furniture for a few seconds a few times.
with all that moving and shaking, she occasionally gets corralled...but ali makes sure she has company.
notice ali's baby Molly peeking out at the world along side pipes.


but most of pipers day is spent EXPLORING.
she discovered the playhouse in the basement.
note the tippy toes.


she LOVES her brother.
she gets a HUGE smile on her face when he comes home from school.
he is a BIT obsessed with her as well.


she grabs all things with buttons.
no remote or phone is safe.
If she hears someone talking to her on the phone, she kisses it.


she finally has enough hair for a tiny bow.


"What? It's no big deal, it only took 9 months to grow!"


she has discovered her sisters treasures.


she bounces up and down to dance to music.
she loves music.
she mimics TONS of sounds.
you're gonna think I am exaggerating, but ask Justin, it's true. If you say I love you, she can mimic it back. she has no clue what she is saying, and its not perfect. but is close. adorable. and she does it repeatedly.


she is into everything.
and everything goes into her mouth.
If you try to take something from her that she really wants she curves her hand and puts her arm behind her back in an effort to hide it from you.


she is soooo persistent.
she takes two 2 hour naps a day.
she loves having a blanket by her face when she sleeps.
she loves her baba.
somehow she can unscrew the bottom of her bottle when she is done with it. it's still a mystery to us how she is doing this trick.
but she also LOVES her new snacks.
fruit puffs, freeze dried fruit, cheese and cinnamon puffs, and rice crackers.
as well as all the yummy food she is allowed to eat now. like mashed potatoes and gravy.


she just started knocking on the wall, if I don't get there quick enough when she wakes up from her nap.
she has 4 teeth.
she rubs her eyes when she is tired and its adorable.
she is ticklish and has the cutest giggle.
she loves showers, not a huge fan of baths.
she loves playing with, and sucking on, toys.
daddy takes her with him every Sunday while I do music in primary. and they bond. he does a peek a boo game that makes her giggle.
she loves "dada" and says his name often.
"mama" is a rare treat...and usually presents itself when there is crying involved.
she has the best expressions.


she is THE most chill baby. she loves to roam, play, SMILE, watch her brother and sister, and explore.
Her SMILE is contagious.
she gives hugs.
she has the deepest dimple in her cheek.
she just discovered herself in the mirror.


she is not afraid to go after what she wants.
disgustingly her favorite things to go after are shoes. she likes to find them, turn them over, and try to chew on the bottoms of them. sick. another reason we chase after her!
if you blow on her face she tries to blow back in yours, resulting in the cutest bubbles.


she gives the BEST kisses.
piper is a happy go lucky little bundle of wonderful.
we know she brings light and happiness to our family.
she is our little pipe-sicle and we know we have only seen a taste of her adorableness.



Monday, April 8, 2013

ali


miss ali is in a word..."spicy"
She is chalk FULL of Per-son-al-i-ty.
every outfit is an excuse for a picture and every picture brings with it a new pose.
she LOVES being on stage.
and being the CENTER of attention.


she loves to sing. 
both real songs and songs she makes up.
surprisingly if she makes up a song she can repeat it to you later pretty much word for word.
she LOVES to dance.
play ANY type of music and ali has the moves for it. from MC hammer to an irish jig.


see those big baby blues? She uses their powers to work daddy over. 
ali loves to cuddle.
she would sleep til 10am daily if it were possible.


she loves being outside.
she loves riding her bike.
her LAUGH is infectious.
she loves to play with friends.
she sings at the TOP of her lungs in primary.
she loves giving talks in primary too.
she doesn't miss a THING and she asks really smart questions.
she says she is getting married in the "smarkely temple" someday
she loves when the bus brings her best friend and big brother home to her.


she changes her outfit 5 times a day.
usually to put on a show for us.
she knows she is a princess.
her favorite food is asparagus. she also loves tomatoes.
she loves making cookies with mom. esp eating the dough.
she is obsessed with princesses.
she loves books.
she doesn't like being alone.
she would cuddle with someone every night to fall asleep if she could.


she has an INCREDIBLE vocabulary.
she knows how to manipulate a situation in her favor.
she likes to brush her own hair.
and while I can still tell her what to wear...she has definite opinions. and would long ago have taken over if I didn't put my foot down on the issue.
she loves painting her nails...but usually peels it off by the next day.
she hates sad parts in movies...like bawls uncontrollably.
she is not afraid to get dirty.
she loves ANYTHING sparkly.
she had her birthday party planned 4 months ago (its not 'til August)


she is tender yet tough.
she says a prayer when she is scared.
she starts kinder in September.
she screamed like a banshee when she received her kinder shots.
and limped out of the office.
she loves cute shoes, but would run barefoot outside if I let her.
she is brave.
I NEVER worry if she can hold her own or stand up for herself.
she HATES mustard. Its the only thing she won't eat.
she is in the 33rd percentile.
she carts piper around  like she is a grown up.
she can turn on tears like nothing I have ever seen.
she is crazy smart.
she is STU-BBORN. 
but generally obedient.
she will grow up to be the kind of girl I would want to be friends with.


she is genuinely hilarious. a truly funny girl. with an adorable sense of humor. 
her favorite movie quote is "Feast your eyes" while pretending to moon someone. (Brave)
she will play with anyone.
oh yes she is spicy. but we wouldn't have it any other way.
she is a very special and very strong.
We feels so blessed to have her strutting around our home, adding laughter to our family.

Cole


Cole is pretty much the best son you could possibly wish for.
I know, I know, I am totally bragging, but it's my blog and I'll brag if I want to.


He has had a huge year. Between moving and being an INCREDIBLE big brother to two sisters.


My mom wanted a few pictures with his jacket she sent him, and I thought they were the perfect eye candy for a cole update.

  
Cole is in first grade. (only 6 weeks left!)
He loves riding the bus.
He is huge. Somewhere over 60 lbs.
He is super tall, and loves playing football with his daddy.


He is an amazing reader. He reads on an end of third grade level. and we have to make him stop reading and go to sleep each night. He loves learning ANYTHING. He devours informational books. A few weeks ago when we were in San Diego visiting my family, my brother asked him who was on the $1 bill. When he replied with the correct answer. David asked him who was on the $5, $10, $50, $100. When Cole got them all correct David was quite impressed. But that's pretty much Cole in a nut shell. Quietly scooping up information. His new obsession is Abraham Lincoln.


 Don't worry, he's not all book worm. He knows how to have TONS of fun!
His LAUGH is contagious. 
He LOVES the Avengers and Ninja turtles.
He rides his bike anytime he has the chance.
He has an amazing memory.
He loves playing with friends. 
He discovered legos this year.
and he likes to wrestle with daddy.


despite the fierce face pictured below, he is pretty much the sweetest little man you'll ever meet.
He cares how others feel. 
Gets sad when he even thinks he has disappointed his parents.
Shares EVERYTHING the minute he is asked.
Asks me to wait to clean until he gets home so he can help.
I have caught him reading his scriptures several times when he thinks no one is watching.
very sensitive.
He is THE MOST RESPONSIBLE kid ever. Seriously, it's like having a third adult in the house.
He has a tender heart.
He tells his mommy and sisters how pretty we are.
He loves to cuddle.
He seems so much older than six.


He is a bottomless hole when it comes to food.
He loves yogurt, oranges, strawberries, oatmeal, waffles, pizza, his mom's chocolate chip cookies, salmon, macaroni, and STEAK! I think he could eat a whole loaf of bread in a day. He is going to eat us out of house and home by the time he is 12.


He is the BEST brother in the world.
Ali and Piper are soooo spoiled.
he is patient. kind. and loving.
He will play whatever they want.
He plays with Piper the minute he walks in the door from school.
He and ali are actually really good pals.
He is a peacemaker.
He makes his sisters LAUGH.
He has a really cute sense of humor.
He is a happy kid.
and his pants NEVER stay up. 


I know it seems like I view him through rose colored glasses, and maybe I do. 
But ask any mama and they will tell you their son is special.
Cole is amazing to us.
we know how lucky we are to have him.

Trying to get all OUR eggs in one cute basket


Easter Sunday duds were stylishly provided by my mom and my grandma.
So we needed some documentation to show our personal shoppers.


First up were the sister shots.



Followed by the whole gang.


At least we snapped a few winners. 


I just won't mention how many times we had to stop piper from running away.


eventually though...


she escaped.


but ali made sure to let cole known that he was not off the hook yet!


she got a few more clicks out of him.


but even the boy wonder was eventually photoed out.


don't worry.


ali wasn't the least bit sad to have the camera all to herself.