HIP HIP HOORAY!

It is finally done! It has taken two years, a few different plans, many headaches, and a lot of help from family, but the upstairs is finally finished! The boys officially moved up to their new room last Saturday!!! There are still a few odds and ends left to do-hang up the fan, paint the closet door (that will have to wait for spring), and get all of their BSU gear hung up and then it will be the proper Bronco room. They are so excited...Evan says he is sleeping better up there. :) Paxton said,"it's awesome."


Jeff has always said he wanted to buy an old house and fix it up...we've learned after this project that we are not so much up the "fix it up" type. We aren't so great at it and I can't stand the continuous project part...I want it to be done and not always "in the process." So, now Jeff is saying we'll just have Zach Evan's (a builder whose houses we both love) build for us and it won't need any fixing up. Sounds good to me!
This is the cute plaque my mom got my boys last Christmas and we just got it hung up. We knew I was pregnant, that is when we decided to move the boys upstairs, so we were waiting to hang it up in their new room. Isn't it cute?

Away in a Manger

It has already been such a crazy month with parties, shopping, and life, but we have had a fun December so far! We had our ward Christmas party/talent show last weekend and Paxton was the donkey in the nativity. (I thought it was a pretty good match...aren't donkeys supposed to be a little on the stubborn side?) I know that I am a little biased, but I think he was the cutest darn donkey ever! He got a little wiggly and kept playing with his ears, but did pretty good. Although Rilynn didn't perform on stage in the talent show, she did announce to everyone that she went pee in the potty (she yelled it to Jeff from quite a distance). She also thought her church shoes on the gym floor made the best sounds as she tapped and danced around. I had to remove her shoes part way through the program to keep her quieter. She kept posing and saying, "take picture of me!" Oh, the talent we Waters have! (Evan wasn't there because he was at a friend's birthday party)

The night we got the decorations out everyone was helping set them up and really excited about it, then suddenly all of my help disappeared. I went to the hall to find Ev, Pax, and Ri all sitting on the ground putting the Christmas stockings on their feet.
Cooper has loved the Christmas lights. He just stares and stares at them. The other kids were most excited about setting up our nativities. One of them was set up so it appeared everyone was in a long line waiting to see baby Jesus. The other was set up the exact opposite, everyone was in a very tight circle, but they did have baby Jesus in the very center.


Evan had his school Christmas program this week. It was 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" themed. It is so different from when I was a kid. Our music teacher, Ms. Haine, played the piano while we sang. Now the music teacher just leads the kids and there is a whole orchestra playing in the background thanks to the music teacher's handy little Ipod which she has hooked up to speakers. It was a really good program though. Rilynn kept waving at Evan and he couldn't resist smiling and waving back at her every single time.
It has since snowed more, but the first day it snowed it wasn't really that much, it didn't even cover the whole ground. Evan was sweet, he was really excited for Cooper to see the snow since "he has never seen it before." Paxton and Rilynn were really excited too. They were all bundled up, outside, and ready to "build a snowman" by 9:15 in the morning! Rilynn lasted all of 1 minute before it was "too cold" and she was back inside. It took ten times longer to get them ready than they actually lasted outside. Needless to say, Frosty will have to wait for another day.

Booper is 5 months

Booper (as Rilynn says) has been 5 months for a little bit, but this is the only journaling I do ( I know I'm horrible), so I still wanted to journal on his 4th month. He is such a happy guy and lights up at anyone just even saying hello. He started rolling over...from his brothers and sister's reaction you'd think he's magic. They love to lay him on his tummy, sit around him, and wait for him to roll. When he rolls the "audience" all start laughing hysterically and cheer for him. This baby loves to suck his thumb and has become quite the little chubster, his thighs each have about 4 rolls. Cooper thinks he can sit up by himself and is always pulling himself forward, but then tends to kiss the floor. We love every chubby inch of him, but he is still a little stinker at the whole sleeping at night thing (or lack thereof). At least he is cute to look at when I am up with him 3 times a night.

P.S. on a side note, we just had Rilynn tested and she was negative for Celiac Disease! YEAH!! So she can eat pizza, cookies, cake, bread, crackers, ANYTHING!

Don't Blink

So, I'm not sure if I'm just crazy and obsessive, or if other mom's feel this way too (maybe I am just getting old), but sometimes I feel like I don't want to blink because I am going to miss something with my kids. I don't want to go to bed because when I wake up they will be a day older and I feel like they are growing WAY too fast! I want to capture time in a bottle and hold onto it forever. Every time I turn around they've learned something new and gotten bigger. I love being a mom and I love my kids...this is where I've always wanted to be- a stay at home mom, with my little kids, a husband/father that is beyond measure, and I really couldn't ask for more (except time to slow down). I am so thankful we get to be together forever!
I was going through picture and found some funny ones of Rilynn...more moments that remind me I don't want to blink because too soon these days will pass, well---I guess then these pictures will be good for ransom or something!
Love the church shoes with this particular ensemble!

Edward & Bella?


Yes, that is butter she is eating w/ a spoon!
She gets her "fashion sence" from her dad



Shampoo mohawks and Super Chick
This video is when she was potty training, she obviously wasn't scared of the "big trouble" she would be in if she had an accident. Everytime we put on her panties we had this exact conversation and she would always turn her head to the side like this when she said "big trouble."

My New Ride

So, it isn't brand new now, but it was two months ago on my birthday, I just didn't have picts and I had other things to write about. But on my birthday my husband was amazing! He found a wish list I had made my mom, took it, and got everything on it. He also made dinner plans (PF Changs-yum) with two other couples, got a babysitter, and then when we got home from eating I opened the garage and found a new bike...not just any bike a pink cruiser!
Now this would be fun and exciting for anyone, but I had still been riding my bike that I had gotten in 5th grade for getting straight A's...needless to say I was overdue for a new bike. Well now I had a bike, but I have all these kids that can't ride yet, so I got super lucky and found this great two kid bike trailer/stroller on Craig's list for the exact amount my dad had given me for my birthday! :) We've totally been "cruisen" the neighborhhod a ton and lovin every minute of it!
P.S. Only 3 more days...do you have your ticket for Twilight?

My little skunk

So, you know since about 18 months Paxton has been a little skunk! I have had many people say he has gotten so much better...to that I say, no-he has just evolved, gotten smarter (aka sneakier). Take this picture for example.
Now I know you can't really see what's going on, but what you can't see is Paxton with the dog chain in one hand and his sister's belt loop in his other, and he is trying to connect the two. That's right, he is trying to chain up his sister. She was cooperative at first, but once she realized what was going on, she naturally began to resist. So to this, Paxton grabs her shirt and continues to try to chain her up. Don't worry, I am not a horrible mom, I didn't let him finish his goal,I quickly grabbed the camera took a couple picts, then I hurried and put on a straight face, went to the back door, and informed Paxton that it was not appropriate to chain his sister up with Skeeter's dog chain. He is still a skunk, but boy, do I LOVE that skunk!

Happy Halloween/B-day!

Halloween was great this year! Ev didn't have school, so we had the whole day to play! Ev was red Spidey, Pax was black Spidey, Ri was a BSU cheerleader, and Coop was a little blue monster. We went and saw all 3 Grandmas. My mom took us out to lunch and she gave the kids enough candy that we really didn't need to do any more trick-or-treating. That night Jenae's family came with us to our ward trunk or treat. There was a man there dressed up as a slice of pizza. Rilynn was so scared of that walking pizza! Even this morning she said, "Mom, I staired (scared) pizza." We went to a few houses afterwards and then back to our house for Jenae's b-day cake. Happy Birthday Jenae!

Cooper is 4 months

Okay, I know this is late, but when you are a little unorganized, have 4 kids, and a holiday; something is bound to be late. We went to his 4 month check up and he weighs 17 1/2lbs, putting him at 90% for ht, wt, and head-I guess if his head is going to be big at least it is proportionate:)! He has the cutest chubby thighs in the whole world (I wish my chubby thighs were considered cute). He is starting to try to sit up and plays with toys. He also loves to goo and especially if you'll goo back. He is so patient with his brothers and sister who are constantly in his grill and trying to hold him. October was a naughty sleep month-he was waking up about 3 times a night, but the last 3 days has only been once a night so we'll keep our fingers crossed. Our 4 month photo shoot was cut a little shorter than planned, it must have been a bit exhausting.

Pumpkin Patch, Potty Training, and Peanut Butter

Well it started last Sunday evening, we went to change Rilynn's diaper and they were all gone... so we got out a pair of panties and the potty training began. We spent most of the week on lock down in the house, but I am proud to say she has done it! She is pretty offically potty trained!

During the potty training process there was much bribery used-one being gum. They all got gum when Ri went potty. Well Paxton didn't spit out his gum one night and woke up with gum all over his hair. Thank heavens for peanut butter! Paxton wanted me to wait until after pre-school to use the peanut butter to get it out so he could show all of his friends the gum in his hair...boys are so wierd! (I didn't let him)

Saturday we went with my family to the pumpkin patch. Thank heavens for fun Grandma Sharon! They got fun pumpkins and played in the bounce house. There was also a petting zoo there; I feel bad, being a mom I feel like I should like petting zoos because the kids do love them, but really I think they are stinky, dirty, and gross, but I did get cute pictures. And like I said the kids of course LOVED it.

Cooper

Well I am trying to start a blog, but I am computer illiterate so here is my attempt. Here is our Cooper boy, he is such a sweet pea. He is now 3 1/2 months and getting so big so fast. He is in the 90% for height and weight. While I am writing this, Paxton is squishing Cooper's face and Coop doesn't even mind. Well, I'll see if this worked! If anyone has suggestions for how to do this, let me know!