KDA-KREW Christmas Parade 2009

This week has been a busy week. I can't believe December is here! After a hectic week, the girls had competition practice Friday afternoon in preparation for dancing next week at The Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. Then, the girls and I had to be up super early to attend the Bentonville Christmas Parade. It was in the teens! Brrrrhhhhhh. I was freezing as I was one of the teachers who rode with them! The girls had a great time and a wonderful turnout despite the cold weather. After the parade, KDA had a super fun Christmas Party for the girls complete with yummy food, craft stations, dancing, bake sale, and dance performance at the end!

Is This Normal?

I just have to laugh! Little Weston is growing up so very fast. It is really bitter sweet for me. Sweet, because I love watching all of the new things he does and the personality that is developing. Bitter, because I know that these new firsts, along with his "fluffy" baby hands and feet, will be that last that I get to experience and hold for a very long time. Not to mention the fact that this sweet little butterball turkey is a BOY and a whole new experience for me.


Speaking of first, Weston is such a nosy baby! He has been sitting in a walker since he was 3 months old! Just perched there....like he was a big boy or something. He also started holding his bottle this month. He has actually been doing it for some time, but only after the bottle was half gone. Don't even get me started on teething! Anything that he can get in his mouth is free game. I sa-wan-neey, if he could get a hold of a fur ball he would have it in his mouth! I can't tell you how many times he has gagged with the little blanket "hairs" that get caught on his tongue. Talk about faces!

I am also a firm believer that if it didn't kill our parents or ourselves, then it won't kill my baby! I never ever wait till the baby is X amount of age to feed him something etc. I am not stuffing chocolate down his throat, but he has been eating cereal since he was 3 months old and Lurrrvvves it! Sleeps the entire night since he was 6 weeks and started waking up again. The cereal fixed his red wagon. I am talking 10 hours. Jealous anyone? I have also given him mashed potatoes and yams for Thanksgiving. Let me tell you...the little man's heart is a lot like his daddy's. It is thru his stomach. Okay, having said that, I do respect your choice to starve your baby till he is a year old with only breast milk and a very irritiable disposition from watching his parents stuff their faces. Only teasing ladies!!!! What ever works for you and yours!!! Seriously :0P! Lighten up...just kidding. No nasty emails to Dr. Phil or Oprah.
So, having said this, Weston turned 5 months old November 22 of this year. Last night we went to our local "Beefs" for a very late dinner after some much needed shopping. Weston was going nuts over my drink. I thought....what the heck, so I stuck the straw in his mouth to see what would happen. That little "man" started sucking away. For real! It wasn't an accident either. I tested it repeatedly. So, my question is: is this normal for such a young age and what ages did your babies learn to suck from a straw? I remember most of mine were a year or so, but heck, not before they could sit up steady! I just have to laugh!

Okay, and before some of you start to think that I am saying he is a genius.....I am not. Come on PEOPLE, this is not my first rodeo. I have had kids walk at 8 months and 14 months. I have had kids talk at 4 months (seriously...dada) and 13 months and some only 50 words at two. Want to guess which talker was my slow start? She is now my Chatty Kathy!!!!! I have had kids read at 3 and some barely at 5/6. My point is....kids are all different. Some progress fast and slow down, while others are slow to the start, but finish with a bang. Aren't they fun to watch? Oh, and one more pieces of advice, since I feel the need. This one, I am dead on and sooo not kidding. NEVER...say NEVER., or mine will NOT! You will make liers and fools out of yourself if your kids don't beat you to the punch! Just give yourself a kid or two.

The October That Came and Went!

This Halloween has come and gone so fast. Probably because our family had the PIG Flu for 3 of the 4 weeks in October. I simply love Halloween parties, Halloween food, Halloween decorating, Halloween....well, you get the picture, right? Having said this, the week of Halloween I was still not feeling 100%, so the holiday was simplified just a wee bit. We did have Carson's 10th birthday at the beginning of the week, but not much more in the way of parties, food and decor.

Tradition in our family, is that you get to chose your favorite meal for your birthday. Carson chose roast, mashed potatoes, caramelized carrots and onions, and yeast rolls. A girl after my own heart. It was very simple, no friends or other family as I had planned. I think we were all kind of glad to just have a restful day with the crazy month we have had. Carson is at the age where she loves clothes and accessories. So for this birthday, she got several outfits from us, which is to be followed up by a day of shopping and lunch with me. My mother also sent her a gift card, cute swim suit for next year, and a great outfit. Her grandparents in Utah sent her a little birthday money that she is dying to spend at Claires! That's my Carson.

On Friday, Walmart Home Office opens up their doors for the employees children to come trick-or-treating. I forgot about this completely and Aaron called at 1 to see if I was coming at 3. Ahhh, NO! My hair was tore up! No makeup on. Spit up clothes on. Babies looking like rag-tag children and he wants me to get all the kids home from school and get their costumes on and be there by 3? Ha! Well, thankfully, Kelly came to the rescue. Her husband had better communication skills that day, so she was able to swing by and get the kids. That was a huge hit and they so enjoyed going to daddy's office. Thanks Kelly!

For Halloween, I really didn't feel like making my usual chili, corn bread and fun appetizers to munch on. So, we decided to take the kids to the free Sonic Night where they ate hot dogs and drinks. It wasn't the greatest, but there was no preparation, work, or cleanup involved, so it was all good to me. After that, we went with the Stephan's to the Burkhart's Halloween Party to eat and Trick-or-Treat in our old neighborhood. I sooo miss all of my friends there! Shannon's husband, Bill, had a flatbed trailer complete with hay so that all of the kids could pile on and ride through the "hood" trick-or-treating. My girls had a ball! I won't even tell you about the amount of candy that a large family can gather, especially when vendors hand out whole candy bars. It is insane.

The day after Halloween was Sunday this year. I have to admit, it was hard to get up and get ready for church. Maybe it was from the late night or too much sugar? Either way, we did arrive, but were 5 minutes late. Our ward is huge! You snooze, you loose! Being 5 minutes late and there was still no room in the gym, so we headed for the Relief Society Room. Nice cushioned chairs there, so it wasn't all bad. After church, it was too pretty to go inside after being cooped up indoors for weeks on end. Most of it was because of the flu, but the other reason was that it has rained most of October! Our family took a picnic and enjoyed a great drive. I was able to capture some cute fall pictures with my cell phone! Yes, my cell phone. My camera battery died. Go figure!

I really hope that the rest of the year goes by much slower so that I can enjoy all of the things I like to do. I am thinking about having an adult progessive dinner party. I simply love those! So it must slow down, so that the season doesn't "progress" right on by before I get the chance to get it together! I already have one host besides myself, but am in need of 2-3 more to open up their home for a bit...items left are 1: appetizers and 2: salad portion. If you decide to help, you will be able to have input on the guest list for sure! Any takers? It is sure to be a fun night! Happy Holidays!

What To Do With All Of That Halloween Candy!

My kids and I always make a cake or something with left over halloween candy, or even stained glass cookies for Christmas and freeze them. With 6 kids.....that trick-or treat, you can imagine the amount of candy. Here is a great site that has some of the things we do, plus new ideas too. Think we are going to do this tonight and freeze some treats for the holidays! Atleast this way, if I try to sneak into it...I will break a tooth!???
http://www.squidoo.com/leftovercandy

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween Ya'll. Can you tell, I am easily amused?