Feeding the Ducks

We love to feed the ducks! It is one of those times as a family, where everything else doesn't seem to matter and we can just enjoy being together!! Saturday was one of those beautiful "Winter" days in St. George. Perfect weather for visiting the ducks. It was Sydney's first time seeing the ducks. She loved it. Mckenna absolutely loves feeding the ducks. I am so thankful for little moments like these spent with my adorable little family!

We have been really busy lately! Here are some of the things that have been keeping us so busy during the month of December:

• Chris's school! He just finished his finals this past week! He did so awesome! We are all very proud of him and are glad he has a few weeks break from school to spend time with us!
• Becca's school! I'm so busy teaching school! I got offered a new position just this past week. I was offered to take over as the 3rd grade math teacher! I accepted it and am excited (I think...) to take on the job. It should be fun, but will take a lot of getting used to. I get to spend my holiday break planning for that class...not looking forward to that but I am looking forward to this great opportunity for me. I will miss being an aide for Kindergarten. I loved my little kindergartners so much! I will miss helping them out each day, but I feel taking this new position on will open up new doors for me and give me some good experience.
  
• Mckenna....she keeps us very busy. She is always finding new things to get in to and always wants new "projects" that are suppose to keep her out of trouble.Ha ha...we try out best to keep her entertained. She loves being at grandma's during the day and keeps her very busy as well! (Thanks grandma!!)
• Sydney....well this little girl is very much like her sister and is very busy. She is the fastest crawler around and pulls herself up onto EVERYTHING! She can stand by herself and will be walking in no time I am sure!
  

We just finished up a short trip to SLC to see the Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring David Archuleta and Micheal York. IT WAS AMAZING! Chris and I loved it. It really got us in the Christmas spirit. We were able to spend time at temple square withe Mckenna and Sydney and Chris' parents and sister too. It was a lot of fun. Mckenna loved the amazing Christmas lights!

I am excited that this year we get to go to Moab for Christmas. It will be so fun to be with my family for a week or so. We haven't gotten together for a while, so I'm very excited!

I love this time of year and am so thankful for all of my wonderful friends and family. Chris and I are truly blessed in our lives. I am thankful for this time of year where we get to pause and reflect on the most important things in our lives...friends, family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us all remember the true meaning for the season...the birth of our Savior. I am thankful for him and I am also thankful whenever I get a small excuse to teach Mckenna about Jesus. Christmas is the perfect time to teach our children about Jesus. She loves the manger scenes at the temple and our nativities in our home. She loves Jesus so much. What a wonderful time of year! Merry Christmas to everyone!

Life...

Well can I just start by saying LIFE IS TOO BUSY!! Between Chris's full-time school schedule and my full-time teaching schedule, we never seem to get a few spare minutes just to relax. Even our weekends are always jam packed with stuff we need to do and errands that need to be ran. What a crazy life we are living right now! But, I honestly wouldn't change a thing! :) We are doing what we need to be doing right now, and for the most part enjoying it! We are both happy and healthy. Our kids are both happy and healthy....I guess there isn't that much to complain about! Life is life and we are definitely living ours to the fullest right now!! :) I am thankful for life! (and I am thankful that Thanksgiving break is right around the corner!! =D)

Halloween 2010

We had such a FUN Halloween this year. My girls were "The Princess and The Frog." They were so cute. Kenna wouldn't be anything other than a princess, so we worked with it and made Sydney a frog! They were adorable. For school, I wanted to dress up in something easy so my mom made me a costume so I could be Little Red Riding Hood. Chris found this great "big bad wolf" costume to go along with me! It was so fun. Mckenna and I put fake Halloween finger nails on too. Mckenna picked out some for her princess costume. :) I was surprised they had some so small for her nails, but they did. I figured since it was for Halloween it would be fun. She loved them!! They were really cute too. (didn't last very long...but they were cute while they lasted!!)

We went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Kenna had a lot of fun. She got LOTS of candy. Chris was pretty thrilled about that. We carved pumpkins Friday night with my sister Sarah. Chris carved a transformers pumpkin, I did a Cinderella one (at Mckenna's request), and Sarah and Mckenna did a "cookie cutter" bat and star one together. I think they turned out really well. We had a lot of fun making them. I love Halloween!

Our Sydney Grace...

I don't know how Sydney is already 6 months old? Time sure does fly by these days! We took Sydney to the doctor for her 6 month check up last week and these were her stats:

• Weight: 13.3 lbs (5th percentile)
• Height: 25.5 in (8th percentile)

I guess she is a little on the petite side, (surprise, surprise) but we aren't complaining. :) She was healthy as can be. She is progressing very fast. She is already crawling and starting to pull herself up on things. She rolls over so fast and has very quick reflexes. She is actually smaller than Mckenna was at this age. Mckenna weighed 15 lbs at 6 months. I would have never guessed we could have a child smaller than Mckenna! =) I love my small girls!! I guess sometimes the best things really do come in small packages!

Some of the things we love about her at this age:

• Her smile!! She is always smiling and so happy! :)
  
• Her big, beautiful, blue eyes!
• Her hugs! She loves to give hugs...especially to her daddy! :)
• Her laugh! She loves to giggle! (especially at her sister!)
• She loves to eat baby food and sit in her high chair!
• She LOVES her big sister. She is always watching her very closely.
• She is a daddy's girl! She gets very excited whenever he is in the room and reaches for him!
  

We are very lucky to have Sydney in our family! She adds so much joy and excitement! I love the age she is at. She is learning so much and is genuinely so happy! We are having so much fun with her. Mckenna is a great big sister and loves to play with Sydney.

Everything else is going well for us. Chris is busy in school. He is half way done with this semester. He made it through midterms and is doing very well in school. I am busy at work. Teaching takes up more time than I really ever expected, but it is worth it. I love my jobs...both teaching and being a mom! Both of them take up all my time and then some!! :) Being a working mom is a full time, and most days an over time job! But, we are enjoying this phase of our lives. At times it is challenging, but together we are making it through it! :)

Family Pictures

On Sunday, Nicole and Toby were down to bless Taylee. It was a special day. We all were there together as a family. We took some family pictures that same day.

Mckenna is going to be 3 next week and Sydney is 5 months. They are growing up so fast! I wish they would slow the growing down, but they are at fun stages and Chris and I are loving being their parents. (Although...Mckenna is at that age where she just makes you want to....well, you know!!) But we love her and her adorable smile makes up for it!! Little Sydney is such a happy baby. She is ALWAYS smiling. She loves tummy time and rolls over all the time! She is such a joyful little baby!

We are doing very well. I have been working for almost a month now at Vista School. I really like it. I am enjoying teaching and I really like the people I get to work with. Chris is busy in school. He studies a lot and does his homework early! I'm so proud of him. =) He is turning into a great student!

My funny little girl...

Yesterday in church, the speaker was talking about being a good example. Mckenna heard him say the word "example." She turned to Chris and I and said, "I love samples! Costco has good samples!" =)

Oh my goodness! She always is saying things to make us laugh! But hey, at least she was trying to pay attention in Sacrament Meeting!!

I love my little 2 year old!!