Family Photos

We tried to get some good family photos when we were all dressed up for Claire's baby blessing...




We had a lot of silly faces by Ollie



Some crying by Claire



Some not looking at the camera by Lily



More silly faces by Ollie



And finally a good one of the kids!



Three generations of girls



The best one of our family

Claire's Blessing

Here's a few cute pictures of little Claire in her blessing gown. Isn't she beautiful?

Grandma Beck's Visit

My Mom (Grandma Beck) came for a wonderful visit this past week. The first night she was here Lily slipped and broke her collar bone so... we spent most of the time at home. We did go to the Mayborn Museum on saturday and had a lot of fun. Grandma also took Ollie on a date which he really enjoyed. Lily had a movie date at home with Grandma which she thought was really fun. Grandma also got to see our new little Claire and our new house! She was a HUGE help in taking care of our children. I enjoyed visiting with her and catching up on all the news of happenings in Utah.
Thanks for the wonderful visit!



Grandma, Ollie, and Lily making music at the museum.



Grandma and Ollie being elves.



Grandma snoozing with Claire.

First Broken Bone...

So we had the first broken bone in our little family. And the winner is. . . Lily. She and Ollie were racing into the bathroom to brush their teeth one night. As she was going from the carpet to the wood floor she slipped. She's fallen on the floor many times before but this time she landed on her shoulder and ended up breaking her collar bone. She has to wear a sling for a few weeks and she had a few rough days at the beginning. It's been a week now and she is doing much better. Poor kid. Luckily for us my Mom was here when she broke it. Between Lily needing extra care, Ollie being out of school, and Claire eating non-stop there is no way I could have done it all! Thanks for all the help mom!

Claire's First Bath

Our family has a tradition that our babies first bath is given by the whole family. Ollie was easy- it was just Mom and Papa. Then when Lily was born Ollie got to join in on the first bath. Little Claire had her first bath with the whole family. There were a lot of hands all over her helping. She did very well and didn't get upset until it was time to come out of the water and get dressed again. Ollie and Lily sure love their little sister and want to help with everything. Claire is sure loved!

Transformation

One day over Christmas break I sent Ollie and Lily into their room to have "rest time". That basically means that they have to play quietly in their room. After rest time they came out giggling. Ollie had decided that they would switch their clothes. I was amazed that Ollie could even fit in Lily's clothes but he managed. I laughed and took these pictures, then every rest time for the next few days they came out with switched clothes. I guess if it's funny once it must always be funny???

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas! Both kids were super excited for Santa to come. The night before we gave them new pajamas and a book. Then we acted out the nativity.



Here's a picture of Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus.

The kids loved opening their presents and stockings.



Lily loved this new dress that has a matching doll dress.



Ollie loved his nerf dart tag game.



Claire was oblivious to the whole event but she loves the bouncy chair Santa gave her.



Lily had fun crawling with her new baby that crawls.

We spent the afternoon with some friends and had a wonderful dinner with them. We enjoyed spending time together as a family!

Grandma Stirland's and Aunt Lizzy's visit

Grandma Stirland and Aunt Lizzy came for a visit during the first part of December. They came to help when the baby was born... unfortunately, Claire wasn't born until after they had to go home. They did help get things ready and make some freezer meals which we greatly appreciate! We had lots of fun while they were here. We went and had lunch at school with Ollie one day. He had fun getting extra attention. We also went and saw where Spencer works and met his work friends. Lily loves to go visit Papa at work so she especially enjoyed that. We went to story time at the library. We had fun playing at home. We had a wonderful "Thanksgiving" meal. They babysat for us while we went on a date and also during a doctors appointment. We also went to Chuck E'Cheese for Ollie's birthday. He got to invite a friend. We all had a great time playing games and eating Pizza. Here's a few pictures of their wonderful visit.




Lily and Papa riding the jet ski



Ollie and Cole playing air hockey



Grandma, Aunt Lizzy, and Ollie



Dog pile on Aunt Lizzy, who was cold the whole time she was here... the day after she left it warmed back up

Thanks for the wonderful visit!

Happy Birthday Ollie!

Ollie had his sixth birthday a few weeks ago. He had a fun day. He was so excited about all of his presents and his Toy Story cake. I can't believe that he is six already! How time flies. He is such a joy to our family. He is such a caring person. He loves and adores his little sisters. He and Lily are best friends. They love to play together! Ollie has a nurturing personality. He loves to take Lily and teach her things and explain things to her. He loves to learn new things and is always asking questions. We sure love our Ollie!