Year in Review

What a crazy year 2016 has been.

Honestly, 4 kids has rocked Pete and I's world. We have LOVED all the smiles, laughter, and fun times, but we are making it through a day at a time with all the needs of 4 little ones.  It's exhausting!

The girls are to a place that they play really well together which has been so fun to watch. The 3 of them will go downstairs and play dance class, or tea party, or pet shop, or some fun thing for hours at a time. It's been an adjustment with Adaliah being at school all day, but Norah and Elizabeth have become the best of friends. The 19 mth gap has seemed to get smaller and smaller. Sometimes people even ask if their twins.

Pete is still serving in the Elders Quorum Presidency as the 1st councilor and he has really enjoyed that. He is with Michael Mckay, Grant Ensign, and Jordan Flygard. Those 4 guys have way too much fun together. He is still working hard at his job. The name has changed from PMI to Nudge this year, and then changed again to Response at the end of the year. Him and Trevor Pace still work together as team leaders.  He is also keeping busy with his buddy Josh Chase flipping houses. Also, he and his brother Chris are designing a pack pack that turns into a chair.   He still goes to Crossfit faithfully every morning. He's been doing that for 3 years now. He's a busy guy to say the least.

When Jimmy turned about 8 months I started feeling like myself again. The post pardon anxiety got a lot better and I started to be able to relax and enjoy life more and more. I served in sunbeams and 9 year old activity days all year long. I started running again and really enjoyed that. In December I started going to a boxing gym called "Legands". It's been an adjustment having Karen live farther away and be more busy with her new life. Also, my best friend Julie moved out of the neighborhood near the end of the year. Politics and world affairs have been very troubling this year.  There has been a lot of good times, but a lot of hard times for me in 2016

Here are a few moments I don't want to forget

October 2016
A few days ago I was snuggling with Elizabeth and telling her all the reasons I loved her. My emotions got the best of me as I listed all of the amazing and sweet qualities she posses. She asked me why I was crying and I replied, "sometimes when you love someone so much it makes you cry".

Today was a very long hard day for me, and Elizabeth is always the first to notice when I'm struggling. When Pete was putting Elizabeth to bed tonight she started to pray for me and then ran out of her room sobbing... and ran right into my arms and with a tight squeeze around my neck she said "Mom! I'm crying! I love you so much I'm crying!" And then we held each other and cried together.

September 2016
Elizabeth woke up and asked for oatmeal. Norah said she wanted oatmeal too. Elizabeth changed her mind, she wanted cereal. Norah changed her mind too. I pored two bowls of cereal.
Elizabeth starts to cry "She always copies me!! I don't want cereal if she's having cereal. I want oatmeal!" I dump one bowl back into the box and give the other bowl to Norah.
Norah starts to cry "I want oatmeal too!" I sit down and start eating the pored bowl of cereal. "Okay Neither of you get anything until you stop crying, I'm eating this cereal"
Elizabeth continues to cry "Norah always copies everything I do and I don't like it!" I explain to Elizabeth that Norah copies her because she loves her and wants to be just like her. Elizabeth calms down so I get her a bowl of Oatmeal. Norah asks if she can finish the pored bowl of cereal. I let her.
Elizabeth starts to cry again, "I want Norah to have oatmeal like me!!"

(this pretty much sums up my day to day life!)

August 2015
We Traded in our 2007 Maroon Sonata for a silver Hybrid Sonata. I was feeling a little sentimental because it was our first (and only) car we had for a long time. So here  is my tribute:

We got this car 7 months after we got married, in May 2008. It was our ONLY car for the next 4 years of marriage. It brought Adaliah home from the hospital. It came with us to our new home in Lehi where it had a 3 car garage all to itself for almost 2 years. It got rear ended twice (Thank you teenage texters)

We put 110,000 miles on it in 7 years. We made sweet memories (and love) in that car. Today we bid our farewells forever. Goodbye maroon light sonata. It's been a fun ride together.

Christmas 2016

This was my FAVORITE Christmas EVER. It was such a perfect balance of extended family and our little family of 6. 

On Christmas Eve we went to the Jakermans for some food and Christmas carols 

(Pete and Jake with their baby boys)

Then we came home that evening for Christmas Pj's and stories. We got to have my parents ALL TO OURSELVES this Christmas. It was so nice! 

Christmas fell on on Sunday this year. We woke up and did stockings and then went to a beautiful sacrament service with my parents.

After church we had the most relaxing day with just our little family opening presents, playing with our new things, playing games, coloring, and eating a humble christmas dinner. It was perfect.

Christmas Night the MAckerman Family came and slept at our house for a few days. Again- Jimmy was in boy heaven! He followed his cousins Levi and Woody around with a giant smile on his face.

We celebrated Christmas at the Ackermans that next day

Pete surprised me and took the entire week after Christmas off! It was amazing. We had so many lazy days just spending time as a family. We went sledding a few times and probably played 15 games of "Sorry"

This year the Armstrong Christmas was at our house. It was fun hosting my family.

This is my parents with the 4 newest grand-children. On a side note, my mom got a surgery in March to help her loose weight. She has lost 115 pounds taking her down to 145. It is crazy to see her so thin and have so much more energy!

Jimmy 8 & 9 months

This is a busy, busy, busy boy. 

9 month stats:

22 pds 13 ounces - 90%

29.3 inches - 90% 

Jimmy has finally stopped spitting up everything he eats

He has started signing more and all done

He's very determined to master the art of being mobile

He is totally a daddy's boy. He'll choose Pete over me any time (expect for when he's hungry)

He LOVES other males. One day at church he walked across the isle to a family we don't know and motioned to a teenage boy that he wanted to be picked up. So the boy picked up Jimmy, and Jimmy snuggled in for a good 3 min hug. 

Whenever Jimmy wakes up from his nap, Norah loves to climb in his crib and snuggle with him.

Jimmy got to go to his first BYU football game in style. We enjoyed great seats and passes to the tent at half time.

What a memorable and crazy election its been in 2016. Jimmy is a little young, but he he still did his job as an american citizen and voted this year.

The girls will often "Baby sit" jimmy by building a corral of toys around him and keep him entertained. What great helpers.

Jimmy got to enjoy his first snow- and loved it 

He started walking on the first few days of December (Right before he turned 9 months) 

Seriously....how cute is this boy?!!

December Highlights

Festival of tree's 

(Norah didn't want anything to do with Santa this year)
Adaliah asked for more palace Pets
Elizabeth asked for a new Lady stuffed animal (From Lady and the tramp)
Norah asked for a jewelry box

There has been a TON of snow this winter. The kids have had fun playing in it

Norah, Elizabeth, Grace Mckay 

Adaliah did her "Christmas Sing" at the elementary school. They sang a Kermit the frog and Miss Piggy song about Red and Green.

This is me trying to keep the house in order with at 23 pd baby that wants to be held

Norah had her dance recital and did so good. She was SO excited. She literally talked about it everyday for MONTHS. They danced to "Where are you Christmas" The girls knew how excited she's been, so they made her signs to hold up at the recital.

We went to a live nativity here in Lehi that was pretty neat. The Holy Family was taking a break so our family got a picture in the stable.

Kai Casperson (age 14) has been dancing in the Professional Training Division for ballet west, and had a part in this years nutcracker. He was the nephew on some nights, and a servant on other nights. We got to take Adaliah out on a special date night to see him perform. 

The girls got to meet Karen's sweet baby Nellie for the first time, and of course were all smitten.