Babies!!!!

My sister Suzie had her twin babies yesterday. She wasn't due until February 5th, (so they are about 5 weeks early) but had a few minor issues and they decided the babies were better out than in! No final names yet and also no pictures (ahem, Suzie :) but the babies were 5 lbs 3 ozs, and 5 lbs even. A boy and a girl and basically very healthy. There are a few problems but nothing they won't grow out of and be able to come home just a few days after mommy! Suzie is also doing well, she had to have a C-Section but is recovering great and I am sure is growing impatient to get home.We are SO SO excited for CT and Suzie. And can't wait to meet the new additions!

Towel Buddies

The boys got these Pottery Barn Kids, Towel Buddies for Christmas and Layton didn't look twice at it after he opened it up. But, We used them last night for the first time. Lance got Parker out of the tub first and wrapped him up, Layton was playing and when he caught sight of Parker in his frog towel he thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen.

He said he wanted to be a frog too and I told him that his was a doggie and so he started splashing around saying "woof woof" and trying to hurry and get out so he could be in his doggie towel. He loved it and would have stayed in it all night.

I Caught Santa!

I was up with Parker and caught Santa putting out the presents. Lucky me! :)

Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve we spent at my parents, we had a delicious prime rib dinner and then read the Christmas story. These are the kids being shepherds, Layton was NOT okay with putting on the shepherd hat.
We spent the night so that Layton could have fun with my Nieces and nephews. They did have a blast and we had a heck of a time getting them to settle down. I was up at 3 with Parker and saw Shelby and Austin headed downstairs to check out their Santa piles and I told them, don't wake anyone up until at least 5. I should have said 6, they woke us all up at 5:15 and were ready to open up their gifts.

Both boys got quite a haul

Layton was very sleepy at first but got into it quickly and was very excited.

Parker sat on my lap while I opened his gifts for him and was happy to play with the boxes mostly, of course. :)

Layton's big gift was this giddy up and go Pony. He was so excited and still wont get off of it. Parker's big gift was this dog named biscuit, it is so cute. Follows commands and just acts like a dog. Very cool and Parker loves to watch him. With no fear of being licked to death like with our dog Sugar.

We had an amazing Christmas and feel so blessed to be together and for a wonderful year.

Rush Valley Christmas and... Santa (again) :)

On the 23rd we went to Lance's parents and had a nice dinner and then opened up presents. The whole family was out and it was so good to spend time together and to see everybody. The kids had a so much fun playing together with all their new toys. All three boys got a dump truck like this from Aunt Ashley and Uncle Devin and they really loved them.

On Christmas Eve morning we let the kids play a little more and then headed to Lance's grandparents house for the annual Christmas party. Again it was nice to see the extended family and the kids had a great time. Santa always visits and Parker was asleep when he came. We woke him up, thinking it would be good for the drive home, but Parker, the worlds lightest sleeper would not wake up. He opened his eyes when Lance handed him to Santa but went right back to sleep (they have seen him so many times, he probably thinks he is just another family member by now) but it was cute, and we got the picture.

Layton is getting used to him also and although he was still a little nervous, he was able to tell Santa that he wanted a horse with reigns for Christmas. Hey, no crying at least.

Thanks everyone for your effort and of course, for the gifts.

Gingerbread Houses

I bought these foam Gingerbread house kits for the kids to do. I didn't want to tackle the real stuff this year, although I do make a killer gingerbread :) The kids had a lot of fun and this is what entertained them while I got some gifts wrapped. Before the project started I was very clear with Lance that it doesn't matter what it looks like and the most important thing is that Layton does it himself. When I taught preschool it would always drive me crazy when moms "help" with projects, whats the point? Anyway they had a blast and Layton was proud of the house he did all by himself!

Polar Express

Thursday night we went to Heber to ride the Polar Express. Layton has been into trains lately and I thought it was something he would enjoy. It was super cold but we had fun, it was kind of a long ride and both boys got a little restless.

Our train was from 7:30 to 9:00 and Layton was really sleepy at the end. Santa came on the train and Layton just covered his eyes while he talked to him, like if he couldn't see him it wasn't that bad. Santa gave him a jingle bell and he really liked it and held it in his little hand the whole way home.

Parker was happy and had a good time, as usual.

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas Party was on Wednesday and Lance was gone of course, but I needed to go to help lead the primary songs. It went better than expected. I was worried about the dinner part mostly and not having Lance's help getting all the plates but it went great and both boys were really happy the whole time. When Santa came Layton said he did not want to go sit in his lap, but I said maybe we should stand in line anyway. So when it was our turn Layton stood next to Santa and said that he wanted a motorcycle very quietly (ummm, he isn't getting a motorcycle for Christmas, oops!) then Mrs. Clause said come sit on my lap, and he climbed right up and Parker sat there with him and no one cried!

Layton was really excited to open up the present and "helped" Parker open his also.

So, it was a fun night. I'm glad that I went.

First Sleding of the Season!

Layton was so excited to see that it was snowing on Saturday. Lance had the day off of work because of the bad weather and so he was home with us. Lance had to go and do chores Saturday evening and was getting Layton bundled up so he could go with and last minute we decided to get Parker's snow suit on also and let them sled for a bit. Things always take so much longer than we think and by the time they were dressed and we were down on the farm it was dark. But they had a lot of fun anyway. We weren't sure how Parker would do but they loved it and there were no complaints of being cold from anyone but me!

Proof!

I just found this picture on our cousin's blog. It is of their little girl Kyla, she was the very first name called but she was sick and not in the holiday mood. Look closer and you see Lance and Layton there in the front row very excited. See... Im glad Julie had this picture so I can put in his scrapbook that he really isn't scared of Santa. The other kids just siked him out :)

Gone Fishin'

We were in the doctors office and I was busy getting Parker undressed and weighed and all that and I came back in the room and Layton was standing behind the Dr's light saying "here fishy fishy fishy" then he would jump up and yell "got a whopper!" I can not get over how hilarious he is. I mean, who thinks of that?

Excited about the Holidays!

Aren't my boys just the sweetest. Layton is so excited about Christmas. We have to read The Night Before Christmas every night, and our book also came with a DVD that we have to watch everyday.I bought a nativity yesterday so I can start explaining the Christmas is actually about Jesus and Santa is just a bonus. We will see how that goes...

I feel actually prepared this year, I am probably 95% done with all Christmas preparations and it feels great. Especially with Lance being out of town. But because he is gone I don't think our Christmas lights will get up this year, maybe he will have a snow day...

Anyway, I took these pictures yesterday mostly for Parker's 8 month mark (I know, can you believe it?) and thought they were just to sweet not to share. I hope things are going well for all of your holiday preparations!

Sagers Christmas Party

Last Saturday was Lance's, Dad's, side of the family's Christmas party. They haven't ever done one before and really don't have family reunions so it was good to see everybody. We missed those who couldn't make it.

I have been working hard at getting Layton to love Santa. Last year he screamed every time he saw him so I wanted a more positive experience this year. He has been watching Santa movies, reading Santa books, and he asks all the time "Santa bring present? Me good boy" it is the cutest. So when Santa walked in he was excited and ran up to the front to see him, but there were about 30 kids and they went up in the order that Santa pulled their present from his bag, and as luck would have it Layton was almost last. So he sat it the front and watched all the kids scream and cry on Santa's lap. Lance was with him and was trying to explain that Santa isn't scary but who would believe that when all the kids are crying?

Parker cried on his turn but he would have if I had handed him to anyone, he wasn't feeling well.

Layton was very nervous and so Lance sat on his lap with him.

Of course we had to get a family picture with Santa.

The Adventures of Layton and Tanner

Lance has been working out of town for the last month and just can come home on Sundays, he is working kind of close to where his brother Devin lives and sometimes stays with them for the night. So anyway, the boys and I went to visit Devin and Ashley for a few days so we could see Lance in the evenings. It was so nice to see Lance, and Layton loves to play with his cousins Sidney and Tanner.

Layton and Tanner are just 6 weeks apart and get along really well. We were in Gunnies shopping and Layton disappeared and came back with this stick horse and a pink cowboy hat. He found Tanner and they ran off together and Tanner came back with his own horse and pink cowboy hat. They played nonstop and were SO sad to have to leave their horses and hats behind.

Later, playing at Devin and Ashley's Layton and Tanner decided to hide in this little cubby together.

Aren't they so funny?

Free? at last!

Parker is almost 8 months old and he is finished wanting to nurse and I am finished getting bit with his FOUR teeth! I don't know if I like it or not, I wish he would have kept going through the winter for the health benefits but besides that I am pretty happy to be done. It is a huge pain to make a bottle in the middle of the night and to try to find warm water on car rides. But on the other side I don't have to go hide when he is hungry and anyone can feed him. So... Free at last!

Make Muffins?

Yesterday Layton was taking a late nap so at 4 I started trying to wake him up. He was so so sleepy and just wouldn't wake up. I kept saying "its time to wake up" and he would groan "noooo" and roll over and fall right back asleep. We did this for an HOUR! Then at 5, he rolled over, opened his eyes and asked "make muffins?" suddenly not sleepy at all. So we made muffins, anything to wake him up, right?

Layton loves any dough or batter, I don't know where he gets that from.

Pay no attention to his messy hair, remember that this is after a nap :)

Black Friday!

I love shopping and deals so Black Friday is a perfect fit for me. On Thursday night I got to sleep around 11:30 pm and got up at 1:45 am. I got to Wal-Mart around 4 am and met my SIL Ashley and her mom Valerie. We didn't have to wait it the cold outside, they let us in but we couldn't touch any of the things that were on sale, so everyone crowded around the different piles and waited for the OK. I try hard to be cheerful and upbeat about everything. I really think that it is fun. I love the start of the Christmas season and wish that I could put my tree up in October. It makes me so sad that we only have a month of all the holiday activities. We started at Wal-mart then went to Kmart,Target,Toysrus, seagull book, Gymboree,children's place,American eagle,gap, and finally Costco. Whew we got done at Costco around 2 pm and went to eat at Cafe Rio (yum!) then I drove back home unloaded everything at my parents and walked into my house around 5:30 pm. Big day, but really fun and I even came out under budget! So definitely worth it.

the checkout line at wal-mart

my car was so full, stuff fell out when we opened the doors :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This years was Thanksgiving at my parents house. We had such a fun day and are reminded of all our very many blessing. I am so thankful for my sweet husband and for my beautiful boys. Our families, and also for our home and the opportunity we have had to start a business. (just to name a few)

the whole crowd, about to eat.

while I was taking the picture of everyone, Layton started saying "cheese!" without any prompting, I guess I take a lot of pictures :)

Parker had a great time, but Brooke was pretty unimpressed.

Crawling for sure

Parker is definitely crawling now. He is getting faster everyday and can crawl anywhere he wants. Sometimes I leave him in a room and he crawls after me as fast as he can, crying all the way. Very sad.

Just in the last few days he has started pulling up to things. And he is beginning to get into everything. This is just the toy cupboard so it wasn't a big deal but I found him this way when I came into the living room. He had been clear inside of it with just his feet sticking out but when I went to grab the camera he came out a little bit. I can't believe he is growing so fast. Why can't my babies just stay babies?