December

Three cutie pies! Great Grandma Stock made the kids matching hats for Christmas. 

this is a good picture of Esther's crazy hair. It lays flat on top but the sides are the perfect length and thickness to stick straight out. Her hair is still dark brown. I hope it stays :)

I'm not sure what he said to her...

Benson wanted to sleep with "Daddy's basketball" and David delivered. He frequently asks to sleep with different balls or toys. I don't know how it doesn't bother him to have other objects in his pack in play. He is pretty big in the pack n play.  But he doesn't know any different. I think we'll switch him over to a twin bed sometime around his 3rd birthday. He's definitely not ready for it yet.

We love this handsome boy! Funny story about him: We have a new framed picture of Christ with a group of several black children who are shirtless. Last night, he pointed to it and said "basketballs." I eventually interpreted what he was saying and he confirmed that he thought they were basketball players. haha :) I guess he pays attention to the dominant skin color in the NBA.

We made a big shopping trip to Costco to buy food for Abby's reception 2 weeks before the wedding. I overestimated the amount of food we needed. And there definitely wasn't anywhere near 200 people, like we were planning for. For example, we went through 4 cans of spray whipped cream at the reception. And I bought 21. Whoops :) We enjoyed waffles and the yummy orange sauce and buttermilk syrup and nutella spread all through Christmas break. (And we still have plenty more!)

mohawk baby! We love our bubbly and sweet baby!

one of Annika's cute dogs. She drew lots of dogs this month. It's her new thing.

One of Annika's awesome outfits. Stripes always match stripes.

I went back into Annika's room one night and found her working hard on her Christmas list. She was sitting at the head of her bed, using her headboard as a desk. I asked her to tell me about her list after.  We have: a pony, baby doll, bike, shovel, rake, ornament that says Annika, a toy house, a match for daddy, wood to build a boat, birthday cake, box, sword, shield, baby doll, a bench for mom. My favorite Annika quote of the season was, "I think it might be easier to order my presents from Amazon instead of Santa bringing them. Then they will get here before Christmas Eve." 

more dogs by Annika

I found her working on copying all of the words and numbers. I was very impressed!

Benson got into Abby's wedding cake before I could get it out of the house to decorate with Megan Baker :)

This has been a month for puzzles for Annika. She has always loved puzzles. But she has really taken off this month. She has a few 60 piece puzzles that she does on her own. And she loved working on our 1000 piece Christmas puzzle while the family was here. Dustin and Cassidy stayed for 3 days after the wedding. Zack stayed for 12 total. Papi is leaving tomorrow morning, making it 1 17 day stay. Keenan left this morning. It has been great to have everyone here and I really will miss them. But, I have to say I'm looking forward to having our house all to ourselves again.

Annika at the ward Christmas party. You can't really tell by the picture, but she stood in front of all the primary kids while they sang on the stage. She pretty much made a row for herself. It was pretty cute. She has loved learning the Christmas songs in primary. Her favorite is "The Sheperd's Carol." She sings it often and loves knowing all of the words. She came home from church pretty excited a few weeks ago and told me that Sister Baker had taught them the second verse! :) Today, she pretended she was conducting Primary in our living room. She introduced lots of visitors and had the "kids" with birthdays come up. We got it on video. Sometimes, I can hardly stand her adorable personality!

There are few people, other than family, that Benson will go to. Bishop Sorenson is someone he has always loved. He sat on his lap after dinner at the Christmas party ;)

the picture with Santa went well this year. No tears. Santa asked Benson what he wanted for Christmas  this year and he said "candy." :)

at Abby and Shaun's wedding luncheon. Benson was the ring bearer for their short ring ceremony. He did great. He gave them the box and said "open it." :) The temple ceremony was beautiful. The pictures after were FREEZING. But they turned out great. The reception was beautiful.  They had waffles, just like our wedding. It was a long day and I don't know if I've ever been more relieved to see the end of a day arrive. I don't want to be in charge of any more weddings until one of my kids gets married! I'm so grateful for all of the awesome help!

cutest little ring bearer :)

CHRISTMAS MORNING! Papi gave Benson a motorcycle. He also got some motorcycle books, firetruck puzzle, socks, shirt, pjs, water bottle, and a dog that chases its ball. 

sweet siblings

Annika with all of her skorts laid out :) She got lots of clothes, a dog and kennel, water bottle, several matching shirts for her and Esther, and socks. Papi got her an art set, several "how to draw" books, a darling pink pea coat, lace up boots, and a baby carrier to attach to her bike. Zack got her real ballet shoes. Today, she put on her leotard, tutu, and ballet shoes and asked for music. She danced for 10 minutes and said she was teaching a class. :) She always dances in the entry way, facing the tv living room. She says it's her stage. I love watching her dance. Who knows, maybe she will get into dance when she is older.
Esther babe got clothes from us and some cute cowgirl Robeez boots from Papi. I gave David a bunch of clothes and Rowley's apple cider. He got me two maxi skirts, a storage bench for blankets, and a blue tooth speaker. It was a fun Christmas for gift giving. It's sweet to see Annika as she starts to grasp the true meaning of Christmas.

our babies on Christmas morning :)

Uncle Zack and Benson on our day after Christmas walk

Beusie got the kids a wagon. I took Benson for a walk in the freezing weather! He looked adorable with my coat zipped around him as an extra layer :)

Esther is 7 months old! She started sitting up officially on Christmas day! We love this sweet babe. One of our favorite things is how often she gets excited when she sees us. She bounces up and down and opens her mouth wide. She is loud, in a joyful way. She sleeps well for naps, but she is TERRIBLE at night. It's common over the last few weeks for her to wake up at 10:30, 12:30 and 6:30 to eat. I think she is teething and she does have a cold. But, still. It's ridiculous. I don't know how to help her though. I don't let her cry for long because she shares a room with Annika. But, when her teeth come through and she is healthy, I think I need to let her cry more. She is just so inconsistent with her stretches of sleep. I think she is eating plenty during the day and shouldn't need to eat at night anymore. She eats nearly two jars of baby food a day, once with cereal mixed in. She is a good eater :) At her 6 month appt she weighed 14 lbs 5 oz (I think that's 20th percentile). I love watching her put on the ounces :)
Annika and Benson adore her, and the feeling is mutual. I love seeing them all interact. Those are some of the sweetest moments. I know that Esther will sleep, some day. I would just love to sleep through the night sooner than later. It is amazing how my body and mind have adjusted to the sleep deficit. I know Heavenly Father is mindful of my efforts and desire to be a good mom and wife. And he blesses me by magnifying my energy and helping me do the work I need and want to do for my family.

the most precious babe in the world!