Christmas Is Here!

So Jake and I were realizing that this is the very first Christmas in the 10 Christmases that we have had that we have spent at our own house. While it's fun to be around lots of people and all the commotion, it was really nice to have a quiet low key morning. We really enjoyed being with the boys and opening their presents, putting their toys together and all of us playing together. We had a wonderful Christmas morning.

Later that afternoon we went to go visit with Jake's family down at his sister Heather's house. Marcus and Carson got a big red wagon from Nana and Gramps that love! All the little kids wanted a ride in it so we figured they better give it a try!

What a fun Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we had my family over for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious Brisket dinner then had a little scavenger hunt for the kids to find their Christmas PJ's. They had a lot of fun running around the house trying to find them. Carson got some "Cars" pajamas and slippers while Marcus got just some bright red pajamas to match his little elmo slippers. Here is Carson and Marcus showing off their new jammies:

Then we opened all the presents from eachother since we were all together. The kids also had drawn eachother's names so they opened those presents as well. Everyone got lots of fun things.

Marcus got a little radio from his cousin that he just loved! He kept wanting it to play music and would get mad when it stopped, so we had to listen to this little radio play music for quite some time!

Carson got a "Whack-A-Mole" game from Nono and Nona and tried it out with his uncle "Da".

Then Carson and Marcus had even more fun with their uncle Da while he pushed them around and gave them rides on Carson's little 4wheeler. What a great uncle!

After all the presents and fun, Darvell and my dad suprised us by pulling out all our old band instruments! Darvell had been practicing and played some Christmas songs on his saxophone while my dad played the piano for him. Tashina got out her old flute and played along and I got the old clarinet and did the best I could, which was probably like 3 notes that I could play! But I figured that was pretty good for not playing in over 15 years... So that was really fun to take a trip down memory lane to the jr high band days. After that and the little kiddies went to bed, the adults stayed up playing card games, Xbox and eating lots of yummy treats till around 1 in the morning. It was a great Christmas Eve!!

Fun With Nana & Gramps!

We have been fortunate this Christmas season to be able to spend a lot of time with Jake's parents. We picked them up from the airport and had dinners and movies and all kinds of fun with them. Carson and Marcus absolutely LOVE spending time with them. Here are some pictures of them with their Nana and Gramps!

They even got to sit and read books with them before they went to bed.

After it was all said and done, I think Marcus was pretty tired! He just laid his little head down on the floor, closed his eyes and rested for a while, it was pretty funny.

Battle Wounds...

I know when kids start crawling and moving around more they are bound to get bumps and bruises, but Marcus sure got quite a shiner! He fell off a chair at his grandma's house and the poor kid got a big goose egg on his forehead and now he can barely open one of his eyes...

I guess the good news is now it's easier for him to do his squinty little smile!

Carson & Cousin Peyton

We babysat my niece Peyton the other day and Carson just loved her! He wanted to hold her and take pictures so I put her on his lap and when she fussed a little bit Carson said, "It's okay, baby, it's okay" and he put the binky in her mouth. It was very cute.

Here are some of his happy and excited faces that he made when I told him I was going to take his picture with Peyton:

More Snow & Christmas Pictures!

Just one short week after our last snow storm, we got another 8 inches or so on Satruday! So Jake and Carson suited up and went to work plowing the snow with the 4wheeler. This has quickly become Carson's faovrite thing to do. He asks me also most every day now to go "outside, snow, daddy!!!"

After playing in the snow we got ready to go to my parent's house to take pictures. They wanted to take a picture of all the kids to put on their Christmas card. Here is the best picture, meaning at least all the kids are looking at the camera!

Once I started looking through all the pictures, I realized that in almost all of them Marcus has this super cheesy grin. Here's a close-up:

I guess he's got the smile down! He does this at home all the time now too. Carson has a little play camera that he uses and points at us and says "smile! say cheese!" And it looks like this is what Marcus has taken that to mean! I love my little cheesy smiler!

Let it snow!

December came with a huge amount of snow! Jake went out on the 4Wheeler to plow the driveway and ended up having to plow it again later in the afternoon. Here is a picture of Carson getting all geared up to go out in the snow.

Once Carson got outside, he and Jake went and plowed many sidewalks and driveways in the neighborhood. They were outside for hours! Carson had a great time helping his Dad. When they got back, we decided Marcus needed a turn, so they went for a little ride around the driveway so Marcus could see what all the fuss was about! What a fun snowy day!!

Fun at the Fitness Center

We went with some neighbors to the Family Fitness Center in West Valley and had a great time there! It's almost like going to a children's museum. They had a big treehouse with all kinds of slides and tubes that went all over the place. The kids played for a long time in the "toddler area" where they had tables with puzzles, Legos, and car track with little cars. Carson and Marcus both loved it!

They also had a cute little "Harmons" grocery store with carts and empty food boxes and bottles on shelves. Mostly Carson just liked pushing the cart around, but he thought it was pretty cool!
He spent a lot of time running in circles with one of his little friends from one entrance of the store to the other. They also had a little track that went around the whole play area that they could ride little go-carts on. He thought that was pretty fun too!

Bath Time!

So I usually bathe Marcus in our kitchen sink just because it's easier and I don't have to lean all the way down in the bathtub to give him a bath, so much work, I know! And bath time for Marcus is usually after Carson has gone to bed and now I remember why I do that... So i happened to be giving Marcus a bath before Carson had gone to bed and he saw that Marcus was taking a bath in the sink and was just freaking out because it looked like fun so I decided to let him get in as well. He's way too big for it, well they both are, but they had a great time taking a bath in the kitchen sink!

Happy Birthday Marcus!

I can't believe Marcus is already a year old! It doesn't seem like it has been that long! He had a great birthday with cake and presents and lots of fun. I decided to make a cupcake type cake for him which worked out great. Here is a picture of it:

After cake, Marcus sat on his granpa's lap and opened some presents. He was probably more excited about the paper than the presents. It was fun watching him open them.

After presents we proceeded with the cake. I made his own little cake for him to eat, or should I say play with. :) He was much more interested in touching it and playing with it than actually eating it.
After a while of sticking his hands in the cake, uncle Tairel thought he'd help him along and put a good chunk of the cake in his face. At first Marcus was pretty upset about it but then he started laughing and licking the frosting off of his lips.

Seeing him on his birthday made me think of all the things that he does that bring so much joy to our family. He probably didn't know what to do with himself as the center of attention, because usually he is the silent observer. Oh he can be loud when he wants to be, but he is definitely a people watcher and loves to interact with people. Marcus is a snuggler and loves to be held. He is sweet and happy and it takes nothing to get the kid to laugh and smile! He is such a precious part of our family and on his birthday we want him to know how much we love him! I also thought it would be fun to record some of his favorite things at this milestone in his life:

1. Socks! Some kids like to snuggle blankets or teddy bears, not Marcus, all he needs is some socks and he is a happy camper!

2. Reading books with mom and Carson.

3. Throwing balls and rolling around on the floor to go get them.

4. Being held, he loves when anyone holds him.

5. Carson. He adores Carson and no one can get him to laugh as hard as Carson can.

6. Playing Peek-A-Boo and Pat-A-Cake.

7. All of his family and friends, he loves people.

8. Food, the kid can't get enough food and usually has to be cut off!

9. Music, he loves to "dance" when music comes on. He bounces up and down and laughs.

10. Movies, he loves to watch anything that is one, it fascinates him.

Happy 1st Birthday Marcus!

Mischief, Mischief...

I decided to compose a post of some of the pictures that I have of Carson causing mischief. These are stories that I want to be able to remember later so I figure if I blog them then they will be permanently recorded! With Carson if he's quiet it usually means he's getting into mischief and that means get the camera first and then go see what he's up to!

In this picture he had got the Q-tips out of the bathroom and decided to throw them all over the family room floor and coffee table. I walked into the room with him sitting there playing with them, and of course he had his sippy just incase he got thirsty! The computer desk has always been a facination for Carson and no matter what room the computer is in or how high it is or how far away a chair is, he will always find a way to get to it!

The bathroom is another favorite place for Carson. If we ever leave the door open and unchild locked for any reason he will run in there at top speed, climb on the toilet to get into the sink and then proceed to get his toothbrush and toothpaste out. I have found him many times in this exact place. I guess on the one hand I should be happy that he wants to take care of his teeth!
Carson loves to play with the buckles in his high chair, carseat, stroller etc. Whenever we tell him that it is time to eat he will run and climb on the chair then shimmy across the table and put his head into the chair to "buckle" it. Often times he will not sit down to eat until the buckles are exactly the way he wants them.

This is Carson's idea of "helping" dad. This is a cabinet in our kitchenette downstairs. Jake had taken out the drawers to put in outlets and Carson ran in saying "help me" which means he wants to help and crawled inside the cabinet to help. I guess all he needs now is a screwdriver and he can get those hard to reach screws in the very back for us!
Carson loves to play with the laundry baskest, which wouldn't be a problem except that he usually wants to play with them after the basket is completely full with folded clothes. He will dump everything out and then get inside the basket to play. This time it looks like he enlisted his brother to be a part of his mischief team.

Carson has ears like a hawk when Marcus wakes up from a nap. I can sometimes tell because I will hear Carson yelling "baby!" from all the way across the house as he runs top speed to go "get him". Or sometimes I will go in and see that Carson has beat me there and is in the crib with Marcus. That's his idea of "getting him". I guess he figures that Marcus needs some company until I come get him.This one happens to me at least 4 times a day. I get a tupperware out, I turn around to get whatever it is I am putting in the tupperware and then by the time I get ready to put it in the tupperware, Carson has it and is running away from me with it on his head! For some reason he thinks they are all hats! In this picture Jake is trying to get him and he is running around the table to get away. Although I sometimes get frustrated with his little mischievious acts, I have to admit that it makes me laugh. He is so full of energy and curiosity and loves to explose and I love that about him. And hey, it makes for some really great pictures! :)