Baby Ivy!!

Welcome to the World Baby Ivy!!  We are so blessed to have a new addition to our home.  I've been overwhelmed with the feeling of love poured down from our Heavenly Father.  What a miracle birth is.  Alex was able to assist in the delivery this time too.  It was a pretty amazing/awesome/exhausting experience.  

  

The kids were beside themselves with excitement over holding and seeing Ivy.  My oldest told Alex, "Ivy is even cuter than I thought she would be!!"

 Ellie SCREAMING and laughing at the baby.  

 Emmett saying how "cozy" Ivy was and was just so sweet.

 The whole gang!

 She was not a happy camper today at the hospital.  She does NOT like to be messed with.

 Telling Alex that I couldn't believe she fit inside my short-waist body.

 Examining the cuteness

Alex is Ellie's #1.  

 Cuddles before bedtime :)

Finding Joy

I love to see my kids play.  I love to see them laugh and just be kids and enjoying their childhood.  It's soooo nice to get out and relax and forget about a messy house and all the things that are distracting us.  I love these moments when in the midst of my crazy life I find joy. 

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

While they were sick:

Emmett passed the boring time by fixing all the broken things in the house.

 The sickest little girl of them all.  She was on the verge of ER a number of times. 

She rested on the couch and didn't move for 3 days.  This picture she actually had color back in her face.

 Ellie passed the time finding/discovering her belly button.

And of course - they waited for their daddy to come home.  It was the highlight of the day!

Video for Emmett

All About Emmett!

He has been asking me for a long long time to make a video all about him.  So since I have the stomach flu and up most of the night, I thought now would be the best time to get it done.  

He even picked out the music! 

Bismarck Temple Trip

Despite the craziness - we made it to Bismarck with three happy kids.   They loved running around in the gym before Alex and I went to the temple.  Emmett was running on 4 hours of sleep since the night before he had a bad dream that kept him up.

 Ellie smacked her head that morning and it was still bright red 5 hours later.  Yikes.

 New shirt for my growing girl.  I can't believe she's in a size 7.

 Bismarck temple.  It was wonderful to go with Alex and not have to worry about the kids.  They were being watched by some ladies in our ward at the stake center next to the temple.  I even ran into a friend of mine that I met in Texas.  It's a small world when you are mormon.

What Family Home Evening Looks like

We try to have a nice evening and it always ends up with tickle fights.

 Emmett loves his new Batman cape and uses it on unexpected family members.

 Zoë loves to be smashed.   It doesn't look comfortable to me but at least she's having fun.

 Notice the family book reading moment has a very focused audience.

 Ellie freaking out because Alex hid her favorite book.  Two out of the three kids focused for 2-3 minutes :)

Emmett's 4th Birthday

Emmett's Bday was a SUCCESS!  This was his first real birthday party and his boy cousins came along with his aunt and uncle and Grandma and Grandpa Winn.  Emmett was so SO excited it was all he could talk about.  After it was all done he had a huge meltdown : )

 We took the kids to the pizza place here and they played for two hours!  After pizza time they went and played football for another hour outside in the cold wind.

         Emmett was very clear on what cake he wanted.   Spiderman on the bottom cake, batman on the top cake.  Ok!  Alex started a little fire in the apartment trying to light the candles from the stove.  All in all a memorable experience.