Billy's First Lost Tooth

A couple of months ago I noticed one of Billy's teeth was loose. It wasn't one of the middle four so i new something wasn't right. Amd the more days that went by the more it looked like it was pushing up into him gums. He had a dentist appointment already so I just waited for it. (all the kids are cavity free :):) The roots of the tooth are pretty much gone. He went in a few days after the appointment to get it pulled out. He is such a tough guy. Didn't even phase him. He was excited for the tooth fairy to come. He put it under his pillow. I didn't forget to put money under (I did once for one of Katie's teeth). And I had to ask if the tooth fairy came and he said in a calm voice, "yep, left me a dollar". I put two under so had him check and sure enough one fell behind the bed. He is so much more calm in exciting events. He is cute and I love him so much. He has been working on his temper. He gets angry alot and we came up with a deal that if he doesn't yeel, push or through things then I scratch his back at bedtime (which he loves). It has worked about half the time. And yesterday he was about to push me and stopped. I was so proud of him!

Ellie is a Toddler

Ellie is now a toddler. She can do alot of the stuff Katie Billy and Johnny can. At least she tried to. She uses her words and can express herself very well. She doesn't throw as many fits as she used too which is very nice. Loves animals and ponys and barbies. She also likes Mickey Mouse and Blues Clues. She is also growing out of naps. Which isn't a bad thing. She has such a cute grin:)I am so greatful that she is a part of our family. She also tries to get her sister katie to help her get something if I tell her no or am busy. She is smart and I love her to death!

Back to life

We had a great two weeks with Todd home and also on our trip to Manti. Coming back and getting back in the hang of things was a little hard. Kids went back to school after three weeks. Katie was excited, Billy indiferent. The hardest thing was to get back into routine with FRG. There was so much to concentrate on in January. But got everything done needed too even if late. We went to Christian Ayala's birthday party and the kids had a blast. It was at Chucky Cheese. Saturdays have been our days to spend as a family. I have been trying to come up with fun things to do. We have gotten together with friends, gone to the zoo, went bowling,went hiking, and even went to McDonalds so the kids could play on the toys (it had started snowing hard and I had promised the kids something fun.) Johnny wants to go hiking everytime we go do something. He is cute. I love my family and lately have wanted to do more and spend more time witht them. They are such cute kids (most of the time:) They ask about when daddy is coming home alot more now. They say they miss him and I let them know that I miss him too. Todd tries to call every Saturday morning so we all get to talk to him. July couldn't come sooner!

Manti

We dropped Todd off at the airport two days after Christmas. It was hard because we had such a great two weeks and I miss him when he is gone! We packed the car the night before so we could head to Manti after we dropped Todd off. I have learned that is is always easier to keep busy and be with family (if possible) after Todd leaves because then it takes the kids and my mind off of him leaving. We had a pretty good drive. We were stopped for an hour due to accidents but other then that the roads were good. I met Lelanya on the way for lunch. We went to a Thai place and it was delicious. It was also goodd to see Lelanya. It has been too long!
Travis and his family were in Manti for a couple of days so we got to hang out with them some more. Plus we got to stay with Typhena and Jesse. It was great to spend so much time with them. The kids have played all week great with their cousins. Travis and Jesse took the kids hooding and they had fun. Typhena, Jesse and I took the kids to the New Years Eve dance which the kids absolutely loved. Billy was shy and didn't want to dance but we had fun playing games in the game room. Johnny only wanted to dance with Typhena and Ellie loved dancing and running around. It was a nice way to spend New Years with the kids. Now we are getting ready to head back to Colorado Springs. We will miss the family here!

Shaving

Grandma got the boys shaving kits (for kids) for Christmas. They wanted to shave like daddy so Todd taught them how to shave. It was so cute to watch. The pictures tell it best!

Christmas 2010

The kids slept in today till 8:15 so we got to sleep in. They slept in the basement with Grandma so they came upstairs to wake us up. They were very excited to open presents. We took a stairway picture (another tradition) and then took down the stockings. Billy was Santa's helper and helped pass out the presents. Santa was nice this year. Billy got his erector set, Katie her dog that walks, Johnny the green sleeping bag he wanted, and dress up stuff for Ellie. Todd and I also got the kids Toy Story dolls. Katie got Jesse, Billy got Buzz, and Johnny got Woody. I got Todd a new laptop and I finally got my family stickers for the back of my car. We all got a bunch more fun presents and we had a great day being lazy together playing with our toys. The funniest part of the day was when Johnny opened his first present. It was the sleeping bag in a box. He got all excited and yelled, "A box"! He was all excited too and then he set the box aside and started opening a new present. We were laughing and asked him what was inside the box so then he looked in it. It was cute. I love my family and an so grateful that Todd was home this Christmas and that we could spend it as a family.

The Nativity

Todd's family has a tradition to reenact the Nativity. Ruby even has costumes and the grand kids love to dress up and do it. So this year I thought it would be fun to try to do it. Todd brought a dress and hats back from Afghanistan so they wore them. Katie played Mary, Billy Joseph, and Todd, Uncle Darrel, and Johnny were the three wise men. Halfway through Ellie decided she really wanted to hold the baby Jesus and so she got to be in the play too. I need to work on a few more costumes for next time. I need to get some angels and a Shepherd. It was nice to add a spiritual note to Christmas. After Todd read "Twas the Night Before Christmas," which is another tradition.
My Uncle Dan, his wife Theresa, and her daughter Brodie came over for dinner. Since Todd missed Thanksgiving I made a big Christmas Eve dinner. We had turkey and ham and all the regular stuff. It was yummy! Plus it is nice to celebrate Holidays with family! We opened up one present (plus exchanged gifts with Dan and Theresa). Tradition is to open one present on Christmas Eve (pajamas). That way we are all dressed in our new PJ's for Christmas day pictures. Then it was time for bed so Santa could come:)