Shoe tying class

We signed the girls up for a free shoe tying class at Nordstrom and it was the best hour we've spent in awhile.  For some reason I was struggling to teach the girls how to tie their shoes.  They would start off fine and then get frustrated and give up.  It was perfect for them to go to the fun kids dept. at Nordy and take orders from someone that's not their mom.  They got the hang of it quickly and were tying their shoes and double knotting like pros.  They got a free goody bag to take home and were so excited :)

Cottie & Lilly's first shenanigans

 Our little elves are usually pretty good but they started off with a bang this year.  They found some mischief in the Alpha Bits and decided to blame Reese & Ryan.  We thought it was hilarious.  Ryan saw it and immediately decided to eat her name so the evidence was gone.  I was rolling on the floor laughing.

Santa came early

My computer is way outdated.  It's from 2009 and that's like 100 in computer years.  My friend, Lori, gets an amazing Apple discount through her work 2x a year and the latest promotion was coming up.  I talked to Cory about it and I could get a great deal on a new MacBook with the Retina display and an Ipad Mini with 3G & WiFi.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a great deal on something I needed (& wanted with the Ipad mini).  Let me tell you that they are both amazing.  I'm in love with the screen size of my new computer and the Retina display is pretty amazing.  I also love the size of the Ipad mini.  It's perfect and having 3G on it is pretty amazing too.  Cory used it the other day showing houses and it's perfect for Realtors on the go.  I am officially all Mac'ed out over here and I love it!

Our three princesses

This dress up stuff with Ryder happens way more than Cory would like.  

He looks pretty happy with his big sisters :)

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a fun, relaxing Thanksgiving this year.  We started off at Mimi & Papa's house around noon and the kids played on the trampoline. We ate outside because the weather was so gorgeous.

I still got a little cold even though it was 80 degrees.  I thought it was cold in the shade :)

Mimi's turtles joined us for dinner.  They are too cute!

Reese took photos of Ryan.

Ryan took photos of Reese.

I took photos of Ryder with his crazy face.

We were trying really hard to get a photo of Mimi & Papa withe the kids by the fireplace but it was a no go.  We did snap one cute photo of Mimi & Ryan together.

And one of Mimi with the grandkids minus Will.

Then we headed over to the Whytes to eat some more turkey and dessert.  Cory's grandparents were in town and let me tell you that I just love Gigi & Great Poppa.  We helped Gigi set up her Gmail account on her Ipad.  I hope when I'm almost 90 I will still be emailing people and using my Ipad or whatever latest gadget is available.  She is so awesome and I love her to pieces.

Ryan, Jasmine, & Haley posed for us.

Then Reese jumped in.  The girls performed a Winter Wonderland show for us and I didn't get any photos because I was too busy smiling and watching the show but it was the cutest skit I'd ever seen.  They are the four sweetest girls I know!

The many faces of Ryder

He's such a ham.  This is his silly face,

 his scared face,

 his Home Alone face,

 pensive face,

 little cheese face,

and sweet little boy face.

What a little character!

Ryder's haircut

This kid is a laugh a minute.  He says and does the funniest things and I find myself wishing there were other people around all the time to hear and see his crazy antics.

He was super shaggy so we went in for a cut.

He wasn't so sure about the lady putting on the cape and then he made the face below.  

I was dying with laughter!

This is the after shot below.  Curls are still in tact but my car handle won't be for much longer if he keeps hanging on it like that.

 And then he decides he's going to practice gymnastics and do a flip.

 And then he fell.

Cottie & Lilly arrive

We knew our elves were coming soon but we weren't sure when.  The doorbell rang while the kids were in the bath and when we opened up the door there were two boxes wrapped up for our family.  It was all very exciting.  They tore into the boxes to find our old friend Cottie & our newest elf, Lilly.  

 She is adorable with earrings and a skirt!  Very fancy.  

 Their faces were priceless.  I wish I could bottle up that excitement and save it.

Ryder was checking it all out.  He took a bit longer to warm up to the idea of Cottie & Lily.

It's going to a be a really fun year with our elves.  Really. Really. Fun!

Reese & Ryan's stats

We visited Dr. Matsumoto today for the girls' six year well check.  They are doing well but a few things came up during this visit that we need to keep an eye on.  First thing was Ryan's eating habits after she had a choking incident in Pinetop.  Her weight has dropped a bit and she told the Dr. that she's scared to swallow her food.  The Dr. gave us the names of some workbooks that we can do together to overcome the fear and she said if the issue doesn't seem to resolve itself by the first of the year then we can look into food therapy.  This is the first time that the girls have been pounds apart in weight.  It's usually just a few ounce but this visit Reese weighed 46.6 lbs and Ryan was 42.8 lbs.

They also got their eyes checked and the Dr. referred us to another eye doctor to get a 2nd opinion.  We visited the eye doctor and each of them has one eye that's weaker than the other.  Ryan has a bit of astigmatism and Reese has some nearsightedness.  It's currently not enough to get glasses but we have to keep an eye on it.  He said it could either improve or get worse in the next year but we'll know in the next year or two if they'll need glasses.

Here are their stats from the visit with Dr. Matsumoto:

Reese 46.6 50%tile
45 1/2" 50%
BMI 15.6 25%
PB 86/50

Ryan 42.8 25%
45 1/4" 50%
BMI 14.5 10%
BP 90/44

Birthday interview with Reese

1)  What is your favorite color? Pink
2) What is your favorite toy? Art kit
3) What is your favorite fruit? Apple
4) What is your favorite TV show/movie? Mary Poppins
5) What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ham sandwich
6) What is your favorite outfit? Christmas shirt from Ryan
7) What is your favorite game? Sorry!
8) What is your favorite snack? Apples & pears
9) What is your favorite animal? Butterfly
10) What is your favorite song? Walking in a winter wonderland
11) What is your favorite book? Anything by Dr. Seuss
12) Who is your best friend? My sister & Rylan
13) What is your favorite food? Chicken & Dumplings
14) What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing on the swings
15) What is your favorite drink? Water
16) What is your favorite holiday? Christmas & Halloween
17) What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My yellow blanket
18) What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal & waffles
19) What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? Mac & cheese
20) What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
21) What makes our family special? We have peace
22) Who do you look most like? My sister
23) What is one thing you are really good at doing? Soccer
24) Who is the smartest person you know? My sister
25) Who is the funniest person you know? Mrs. Ellinwood
26) What do you want for your next birthday? A new Elf on the Shelf
27) What is your favorite treat? Gum
28) What is the best present you've ever received? Peanuts the Elephant
29) What would be the one food you would pick to eat for the rest of your life? Apples & Raspberries
30) If you had $1,000,000 what would you buy first? A stamp kit

Birthday interview with Ryan

For the past few years I've been interviewing the girls and asking them questions each year on their birthday.  It's fun to see their answers change and grow through the years.  I sat down first with Ryan.  Here is my interview with her:

1)  What is your favorite color? Pink & purple
2) What is your favorite toy? Cinderella doll
3) What is your favorite fruit? Apple
4) What is your favorite TV show/movie? We Bought A Zoo
5) What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Gogurt and cheese sandwich
6) What is your favorite outfit? Butterfly shirt from Sedona w/ my butterfly skirt
7) What is your favorite game? Ghosts in the graveyard
8) What is your favorite snack? Fruit & yogurt
9) What is your favorite animal? Zebra & Butterfly
10) What is your favorite song? Call Me Maybe by Carley Rae Jepsen
11) What is your favorite book? Sand Castle by Robert Munch
12) Who is your best friend? My sister & Freya
13) What is your favorite food? Chicken & Dumplings
14) What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with Juhi & Kira
15) What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice
16) What is your favorite holiday? Christmas & Halloween
17) What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Pillow Pet Dream Light
18) What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes & waffles
19) What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? Chicken & Dumplings
20) What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
21) What makes our family special? They love me so much
22) Who do you look most like? My sister
23) What is one thing you are really good at doing? Gymnastics
24) Who is the smartest person you know? My sister
25) Who is the funniest person you know? My dad
26) What do you want for your next birthday? Bubblegum
27) What is your favorite treat? Candy (can you tell she's our sweet tooth?)
28) What is the best present you've ever received? Ladybug farm
29) What would be the one food you would pick to eat for the rest of your life? Chicken & Dumplings
30) If you had $1,000,000 what would you buy first? A new bike

Happy 6th Birthday, Reese

Reese Michelle is six!  Our sweet Reesie pie is growing up and it's hard to believe how fast time flies by.

It's been such a fun week celebrating her birthday and reminiscing about when Reese & Ryan were brand new babies.  It seems like yesterday I was lying in the hospital, holding my twin girls and thinking about how God was SO good to give me these two perfect babies to care for.  

Six things I love about our Reese Michelle:

1.)  She is a sweet old soul.  She is wise beyond her years in so many ways.

 2.)  She finds beauty in everything.  She loves pretty skies and rainbows.

 3.)  She has sensitive heart.

 4.)  She loves being a big sister and wants more babies to take care of in our family (sorry, sweetie!)

 5.)  She gets so excited over the littlest things and find joy in almost everything.

 6.)  She is laid back and is usually the one child that will always do what she is told.

What a blessing you are, Reese Michelle!  Thank you for being you and adding so much joy and beauty to our lives for the past six years.  Love you to the moon and back, my sweet girl.

Happy 6th Birthday, Ryan

Ryan Whitney Whyte is six!  It's hard to believe our baby girl is six.  This has been a big year of changes with Kindergarten and new adventures.  There are days that she seems like she is 6 going on 16; other days she seems like she will be our baby girl forever.  Here are six things we love about Ryan Whitney:

1)  Her laughter is one of the sweetest sounds you'll hear.

2) She is curious and wants to know the answers to everything.

 3)  She is tenacious and usually won't take no for an answer.  This trait will serve her well when she's a lawyer someday :)

4.) She is competitive and likes to win.

 5) She is the life of the party.

 6)  She is smart as a whip and it's fun to watch her learn so many new things this year.

Ryan Whitney, I love you and your sparkly personality more than all the stars in the sky.  You have brought so much joy and spunk to our lives in the past six years.  Happy Birthday, my precious baby girl.

As You Wish Party

Wowza.  Reese & Ryan's 6th birthday party was a crazy one.  We had 21 kids painting pottery at As You Wish and they loved it.  The kids all got to pick out the pottery pieces they wanted to paint and go to town.  It's so fun to see what everyone chose and how creative they all are.  Ryan chose to paint a dolphin.

Reese chose an elephant.

Me and my girls.

They each got to pick out a plate that their friends signed.

Gotta love a Costco cake. 

Then it was time to open presents.

I'm not gonna lie.  This part stresses me out a bit.  I want things to be organized like keeping the cards/receipts in the bags that they came in with the gift.  I want my kids to be gracious and gush over each present.  None of this seems to happen.  Ever.  Thank goodness I had some moms around to help me keep it somewhat under control.

Cory tried his best to stay away from the melee.

Just the four of us.  We were SO grateful that Grandma took Ryder home to her house for a nap.  He would have been a 2 year old bull in a china shop and added waaay too much stress for me.  It was nice to enjoy the part with just the four of us.

The party was a success and I would do it there again in a minute.  I love leaving the mess behind and going home to a quiet house where our girls can enjoy their new fun gifts :)