My Baby is 1!

Aaron turned 1 on November 18!  In some ways it is bittersweet since he is our last baby, but it is fun to see him grow and develop and become more and more part of everything.  The weather on his birthday was beautiful, which was great because he loves spending lots of time outside.  

 He really liked his cake.  I made him a pumpkin one because everyone else always chooses chocolate and it's not my favorite, and it felt festive.

 He really enjoyed opening his presents, he didn't really get the whole unwrapping thing but it was so cute to watch him, I think he kind of liked having all the attention on him.  This is one of my favorite pictures of him, look at that joy emanating from him!  He loves balls.

 He loves books too,

 and loves to crawl and be on the go, so he loved this tunnel.

 He also loves toothbrushes, he is constantly trying to get up on the counters and get them.

 He pretty much still puts everything in his mouth,

 he is getting closer to walking, he stands all the time for a long time, but he is just now taking steps, about 4-6 at a time.

 But man the boy can climb!  He used his chair to get up on the island,

 and purposefully pulls out the drawers to climb them and get to what he wants.

He is a  busy boy that's for sure, but he keeps himself pretty well entertained, even if it means I have to clean up after him a lot!  He loves to imitate what his brother and sisters say, and especially to laugh when they laugh, he loves to come check back in with me and give me snuggles often, is a very good eater for the most part, doesn't have stranger anxiety and loves people.  He doesn't really love the Y though, I think because he hates when someone closes a door, and that happens often there as parents come in and out! He also hates sitting still for a diaper change, and when he is kept away from something the kids and I are doing, so we pretty much have to wait til he goes to bed or make sure to do it at the table.  He is a lot of work but man he melts our hearts!

Paw's Funeral

My Grandpa, "Paw", J. Stuart Nebeker, passed away last month at almost 95 years old.  While we were sad to lose him, we were also happy because we knew he was reunited with Grammie who'd been gone for over 10 years, and he'd lived a full and good life. 

  My parents called to tell me the news and to tell me that Paw had arranged for us financially to be able to go to the funeral if we were able to so that wasn't a worry.  I went back and forth for  a few hours about if I should go, and who I should take, and if I could make it work.  I ended up going with Sadie and Aaron, and between Josh having a day off in there to help watch the kids and neighbors filling in a couple gaps we had with them needing to be watched after school, it worked out really well and I'm so glad I went.  One of the biggest reasons was that we got to see my parents, who are still on their mission in Mexico City but got to fly out for the funeral for a few days.  They hadn't seen Aaron since he was 6 weeks old, and the thing that made me the most sad about my parents being gone was them missing out on the first year and a half of his life, so it was a great blessing for them to be able to see him especially.

 And he sure loved them!

 Of course Sadie loved seeing them too, and I think in general really relished all the attention she got without Shane and Marissa around.

 We were able to get on the same flights with Shannon which made a world of difference and Sadie really bonded with her this trip too.

 We were also able to see Bryce and Alyssa and their cute Andrew who we hadn't met yet,

 and Charlotte, who Sadie had a blast playing with.

It was good to reconnect with my Aunt Tawnya and her family and share memories of Grammie and Paw, and the funeral was really a celebration of his life and the good man that he was.  I left inspired by his example and completely humbled by the realization of what a great family I was blessed to be born into.  

Happy Halloween From the Avengers!

No better time to post about Halloween than on Christmas right??  Josh has really wanted to do family theme costumes while the kids are still young enough to want to go along with it, so I made his dreams come true and we did an Avengers theme this year.  Aaron was Thor,

 Sadie was the Wasp, (everyone thought she was a bumble bee but she didn't care)

 the Hulk (which cracks me up because she wants to wear a dress pretty much every day but she came up with this idea all on her own)

 she got several "you're the prettiest Hulk I ever saw!"

 I didn't get a picture of just Shane but he was Iron Man Hulk Buster.  Here the kids are at the Tractor and Treat we went to at Summerfield Farms.

 It is a really pretty place, and they had food trucks and a little hay maze and some games, then the kids trick or treated to vendors from around the community out in field.  The kids got candy and a  fun experience and I got to learn about some cool businesses around the community. Win win.

We also went to Josh's office the Friday before Halloween and trick or treated and the whole downtown does trick or treating.  Boy the town he works in sure feels like a small town, which is what he wanted!

 The neighboring town that also feeds into his practice is called Mayodan and during October it transforms into "Hayodan", where different merchants and sponsors around town decorate hay bales into fun things.  There were about 50 of them and there is a map that shows where they all are so you can go find them.  Here the kids are in front of the treasure chest.

 We carved pumpkins the night before.

 Shane still didn't love the guts but did more this year than ever.  They told us what they wanted to carve theirs into, we found a pattern and they punched the holes in it so we could carve it for them.

 Marissa chose a face, Shane chose Pikachu, and Sadie wanted a face with glasses like her:)

 Sadie had a cute litte Halloween party at her preschool Aaron and I got to go to, and we pulled out the old dinosaur costume for that.

 All the kids had the day of Halloween off for parent teacher conferences so we took advantage and went to the library for a Halloween storytime,

and Krispy Kreme after for free donuts in costumes.

 Our neighborhood does a pre-trick or treating party where they order pizza and people bring sides and desserts and then we trick or treat from there.  Trick or treating in our neighborhood is a bit of a workout because the lot sizes are big and the driveways are long but the kids were richly compensated and had a lot of fun, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

 Here we are with me (Scarlet Witch) and Josh (Vision).

It's Great to Be 8!

My baby is 8!!  Unfortunately I came down with strep throat on his birthday, but it was a good thing that Josh had that day off so he was home and he took over everything while I rested and tried to keep everyone else from getting it.  Josh made the cake, the bbq enchiladas for dinner, 

Took the kids to Barnes and Noble so Shane could spend his gift card from Grandma Dettinger,

And then to the scout store to get all his scout stuff.  He is so excited to be a scout.

He is still ever the bookworm and got lots of books,

 and a "magic treehouse" bookshelf to put them in.  He was thrilled to get money and a gift card from Grandma Elkins to pick something out.  He got a Nerf gun that we used at his birthday party.

 Yes, I gave in this year and gave him a birthday party even though it is something that makes me go out of my comfort zone.  I figured 8 was a big birthday and I better do it while he was still young enough that the kids would still be excited easily.  So we had a few school friends and a few church friends over for a Magic Treehouse Birthday Party where we completed missions (that were really games) from different book themes.

Shane makes me emotionally exhausted a lot of days, but he also brings me so so much joy.  You know the phrase "Dance Like Noone is Watching?"  That's kind of how he lives his whole life.  He doesn't really care too much what other people think, he does things his own way and with such passion and gusto.  He sings his little heart out every Sunday in church and is very sensitive to the Spirit.  He wants to do the right thing, and wants to please others, especially me.  He is very inquisitive, and wants to know everything about literally everything, which drives me crazy sometimes because he asks a million questions a day but it's also why he loves to read so much, which I love.  He told me "I've never met a book I didn't like."  He has a huge imagination, loves "relaxing", and soft and comfy things.  He can sometimes be lazy and obstinate to things that stretch him or are difficult, and we've had many a conversation about the value of hard work and what it takes to be successful at something, and hopefully they are starting to sink in.  He is super happy most of the time, that is what he's known for at his school.  And he is a great big brother, especially to Aaron, who often finds  Shane and will come up on his own to cuddle him.    

We sure love you Shane!

Merry Christmas!

The month flew by and I can't believe it's already Christmas!  On Christmas Eve we hung out for awhile, went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, made gingerbread houses (something I had the kit for all month but finally got around to with Josh's help), cookies for Santa, and had lasagna for dinner.  

The kids worked hard all month on a chore chart to earn money to buy one of their siblings a gift and I'm so glad we did this.  Marissa had Shane and she knew exactly what he wanted and was so excited to give it to him.  

 They all got each other Beanie Boos and were thrilled with what they got.

We sent them to bed at a decent hour so Santa could come, he had a lot of work to do at our house!  I think he was excited to finally have a home big enough to bring us some big gifts.  The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

 Shane's (the NBA sticker says go look outside on the back)

 Marissa (she was so cute as she came downstairs and checked everything out so excitedly' "Santa knew I loved Elephant and Piggie books!!  And he knew I wanted some more sparkly pants!!"

 Sadie's.  She literally jumped up and down and squealed "Santa brought me a basketball hoop!!"

 Aaron's train table.

 A view of the whole scene.  Christmas magic right here!  Our kids are at such fun ages for Christmas.

It was kind of funny when he read the note to look outside we looked and right then saw some deer in the yard!  Did Santa leave you a deer?  But they ran away and he found his basketball hoop.

 Aaron seemed to like his train table a lot, maybe more so breaking the pieces apart and climbing on top of it, but we are happy that it is a gift that he can grow into too.

 And the older three all loved it too.

 She shoots!  She scores!

 Our bookworm.

 Santa must know Marissa well, she loved this chalkboard and knew just what to do with it. She will make a good little teacher someday.

 Here she's telling Shane that he needs to do "3 star coloring" and what the requirements are for that.  Later on I was cutting an apple and a pear for lunch and she asked if she could use the cores to compare them.  I said sure and she got her teacher voice on and said, "Ok class, we're going to use our math skills today to compare this apple and pear.  Now, who can tell me what's the same or different about them?"  Shane-"the pear stem is longer"  Marissa- "Good, I'll write that on the board.  (she writes it).  Now, who can give me a different observation?  It can't be the same as Shane's?"...

 Aaron just wanted the chalk!

We had a 3 ward combined sacrament meeting at 10, so after looking at what Santa brought and going through their stockings we got ready for church.  Unfortunately, Josh woke up around 4 am with a stomach bug so he stayed home while we went.  It was packed and a little crazy but I'm glad we went.  Then we came home and they opened their presents.  Aaron still isn't super gung ho with the unwrapping yet, but he really enjoyed his gifts.

 Sadie was happy to get a lot of things the same as Marissa, and was thrilled with her Curious George coloring book.  He's her favorite.

 Shane finally found someone with the stamina to answer all his questions!  The Magic 8 Ball!

 Marissa was the most fun to watch open presents.  She gasped at several things she opened, like these boots.  I think she thinks she's pretty hot stuff in them:)

Living in North Carolina means no White Christmas the majority of the time, but I'll trade that for being able to go outside and play with our new toys in the warmer weather!  It was a little bit of a crazy day with Josh being sick and trying not to spread it to anyone else, but we still had a great day and are so greatful for all our many many blessings, most especially  a Savior who perfectly understands what we need and allows us to be together as a family forever through the gift of his Atonement.  Merry Christmas!