Happy Half Birthday to our lil mister!

Our binkie loving, smiley, content, easy going, loved on hard by big sisters, ticklish, hair pulling, cuddle bug, spitting up king, big blue eyed boy is six months old!

A few milestones and other things about Cannon:

• Wants to sit up but is not quite there yet
• tries to push up on his toes during tummy time
• likes his bottles really warm-drinks 4-6 ounces every 3ish hours
• likes to be swaddled-maybe? He doesn't seem to mind. 
• almost always has his binkie in his mouth or his hands
• gets excited and kicks his legs 
• starting to get on a nap routine. don't ask me about night routine. he sleeps well, but is still in ned with me. 
• such a happy baby. you can't talk to him without a giant grin on his face
• wearing 6-9 months clothes
• has been able to roll over, but is getting better this last week
• always tries to watch shows with his sisters
• likes the exersaucer 
• is spending less and less time in the swing since he naps in his room now
• likes to lay on the floor and suck on toys

I feel like Cannon has always been apart of our family. He just belongs. He is so very much loved and is the sweetest and most loving baby. I call him my boyfriend. Taylor loves his girls and loves his boy just as much. The girls adore him. Harper always lets me know if "baby cry."Con-in" cry!" They both are so loving with him and I often find them reading him books or singing him songs. I love my boy. It is amazing how immediate and immense the love a mother feels. I love being a mother. I love being Cannon's mother! Our family is so blessed to have in apart of it! 

Harper Lee is 2 years old!

Our Harper Lee is 2 years old! Right from the start we knew she was just what our family needed. She is perfect for us. Harper is kind of hard to figure out. Although her terrific two year old self has shown a little signs of a temper and stubbornness, she is as sweet as they come. She is a natural helper. She is an observer and can be quiet, but is starting to come out of her shell and finding her voice. She is usually really easy going unless it involves her bottle and "prizes" (treats). Like most girls, she knows what she wants. She loves to be held and read to and loves to sing songs. Her favorites are twinkle twinkle and Down By The Bay. She thinks she is eight years old. She loves playing hide n go seek even though she doesn't quite understand the concept. It drives her big sister crazy that she counts "eight, nine, eight, nine" while she hides. She likes milk, grapes, goldfish, crackers, bananas, fruit snacks, waffles with lots of whipped cream, soup and pasta. She enjoys playing school, church and house with Sage. She is spunky and has a funny sense of humor. We have a feeling she is going to be very witty. She likes to watch Barney and Frozen. She is a lover of chapstick, bubbles, dancing and "pops" (lollipops). She loves to jump and try and do summersaults. Harper loves her grandmas and papas. She loves just about every one and every one who knows her can't help but love her!

This year for her birthday we had a Minnie Mouse party for her. We invited her cousins Lydia and Abbie and her friends Daphne and Kate. They played playdough, colored and did stickers, played pin the ears on Minnie, played pass the Minnie and had lunch and of course Minnie Mouse cupcakes. We ended her birthday by going to play at the park and out to dinner to Red Robin. 

Cannon's Blessing

We blessed our sweet Cannon on Saturday, January 24th. I am grateful for a husband and father to my children that honors the priesthood and is able to bless our children. We blessed him at our church building on Saturday and had a brunch to follow. A few thoughts and things we want to remember about the blessing: that he may always be worthy of the spirit, recognize the power of the priesthood and be an example to others, follow the example of sisters and learn about the gospel, desire to be baptized, go to the temple and always know that he is a son of God. I also want to note that I felt the spirit and know that is was present with us. We are grateful for the gospel and so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has sent Cannon to our family. 

Christmas

So I got this beautiful new camera and Christmas morning was starting off stressful trying to get the best pictures shooting in manual of course that I decided to put the camera away. I was seeing all their excitement through the camera and fiddling with the settings... maybe by next year I will know how to use it. So here are a few pathetic pictures. Christmas was perfect though. Christmas Eve we went downtown to the condo to have dinner and open gifts.  When we got home we made reindeer food to sprinkle out on the grass, put out milk and cookies and carrots of the deer, read in the scriptures and read The Night Before Christmas. Christmas morning was pure excitement. The girls were up bright and early as usual. We had all the gifts open by 5 am. They spent the morning playing with their toys before going to Jodie and McKay's home for the day. We had such a nice time relaxing, playing games, visiting, eating and the kids played so well together. We all slept well that night. We love Christmas time and are so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Son. It was so nice celebrating his birth and reflecting on His life over the month. Christmas just keeps getting better as our kids start to know their Savior and as they get into the magic of the season. 

This boy has our hearts

Snowman Party

Our Christmas party this year was a snowman theme and as always my mother in law goes above and beyond. I didn't get pictures of all the fun, just a few, but they did a snowflake walk game and got fun prizes, had a snowball fight, had a little talent show which I forgot about and didn't prepare my kids for. Sage sang Frosty the Snowman with a few cousins. They did a cousin book exchange and acted out the nativity. Sage was the donkey for the second year in a row and was thrilled. Harper was so excited to hold the star. We had dinner and made snowman ice-cream sundaes. All the cousins got the cutest snowman jammies and also got new books to go along with Jingle as well as Belle. (They are the cutest dogs that bark as you read the book.) It was such a fun evening.