Hair Cut

 Got the little guy's hair cut and he looks so grown up! 

Love that I can see those baby blue eyes though.  His hair was pretty shaggy :)

 Tried to get a picture with all the kids, but Tanner laughed and crawled out of every picture!

Storytelling Competition

Emily competed in the School Story Telling Festival.  She was awarded 3rd place and was delighted with this awesome trophy!  (She's wanted a trophy for a long time).  She told the story, "Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse", which is one of her favorite picture books.  Its quite long but she memorized the whole thing, added her own actions, and had this adorable cowgirl accent when she told her story.  Such a fun moment to see her shine!  It was so adorable!  And she didn't get nervous performing in front of the whole school, by herself.  It amazes me!

 

It was quite a feat to even make it to the school storytelling festival.  First, she won her class contest.  Next, she won the 4th grade storytelling competition so they let her advance to the school one.  When we arrived at the competition we realized that two of the finalists were neighbor friends from our street!  What are the chances of that in a school of 1200 kids.  I guess all the time they spend putting on shows for fun is paying off :) 

Carter Turns 7!

 Carter turned 7 on February 4th! 

We celebrated with a mad scientist themed birthday party.  He LOVES science and was so excited for an afternoon of experiments.  He was fully in character throughout the party, and he is quite a character! 

 Here is the birthday crew.  We made slime, did several fun science experiments, and made erupting volcanoes.  The kids got safety goggles to wear which they thought was awesome and Carter wore them in every picture. :)

Their favorite was the exploding diet coke.  They were all screaming and thought it was the greatest thing ever!  :) 

 That's my crazy, mad scientist!  Carter keep us laughing and on our toes.  He loves basketball, soccer, science, and pokemon.  He loves to make people laugh and loves telling jokes.  He loves 1st grade and is teacher tells me that he is the best behaved boy in the entire class and is a great reader.  He is determined and driven which is a both good and bad when you are a 7 year old boy.  But, when he sets his mind to something he sticks to it!  He loves drawing, doing projects, and helping his dad build things.  He makes leprechaun traps year round and is entertained for hours with a cardboard box and a roll of tape!  I know he will accomplish great things!  We love you, Carter John. 

Great Grandma Hansen

Loved having my Grandma come to stay at my mom's house for a couple weeks.  I cherish the time I get to spend with my Grandma.  She is one of my favorite people in all the world.  I hope I'm this healthy and active when I'm 90 years old!

Tanner was drawn to Grandma and wanted to be right next to her.  Seems his stranger danger doesn't apply to his Great Grandma.  He kept gazing into her eyes and pulling her closer.  It was so sweet!

Tanner and Great Grandma Hansen.  I loved seeing these two hang out together!

Somebody is giving the baby chips!  Aunt Janae is famous for trying to sneak forbidden foods to babies.  Don't worry- we grabbed the chips away just in time.  :)

 These two cousin buddies adore each other!  And this is proof that they do sit still once in awhile!

 Great Grandma Hansen with all the great grandchildren from our family.  The kids all adore her and are so blessed to have the chance to know her and feel her love for them. 

Sledding Fun!

The day after Christmas we took the kids sledding and tried out the new zoom lens we got for Christmas.  We had a blast sledding with the kids and captured some fun action shots.

8 months old!

8 months old!  He just started standing up (when holding onto something).  He claps his hands, is starting to wave, loves to crawl around, and eats everything he gets his hands on.  He's a happy little guy!

Christmas Morning

We woke up to snow!  It was the best Christmas present of all and our favorite part of the day.  It FINALLY felt like Christmas!

Carter was past delighted with the DSi Santa brought him!  He was VERY surprised!  Later he told me that he isn't going to make a list or as Santa for anything specific ever again.  He said he likes it to be a surprise and Santa got him something way cooler than anything he asked for!  :)  He's a cutie and very appreciative of the things he gets.  For the record-he was asking for a $100 robot dog he saw on TV :)

Matson got a marble set!  He loves it!  He can't say his "r" sound so he tells everyone he got a "mawwble set".  It's the cutest thing ever!  He also got an imaginext set (that he has not interest in-although he plays with his other Imaginext toys everyday) and Pokémon figures.

The little guy was interested in climbing in the boxes and trying to eat the wrapping paper!  His favorite was this yarn Emily got with a knitting set!  He got a Scout dog from Santa.  He had no interest in opening anything else.  Some of his gifts are still wrapped in our closet.  He's getting them for his birthday!  :)

Carter also got a Magic Set and the game Battleship and loves both!

 The girls got a Karoake machine!  They love it and I love hearing them sing away up in their room!

 Kelsie also got boots, scrapbook stuff, etc.. 

 Emily got craft supplies, but her favorite were these two little Barbies that I bought off the yardsale sight.  :)

Matson spent most of the morning trying to keep Tanner from choking to death on his little pokemon figures and other small toys.  It really is a full time job!  He eats everything he sees!

 Tanner and Emily!   We had a great Christmas break full of jammies, resting, and sleeping in late!