Over the last 7 months........

Jeff, Jane, and I went to Washington DC to visit Jeff's parents before they came home from their mission. (We also got to spend a day walking around New York City.)

We celebrated Easter and Jane just kept getting cuter!

I ran the Dirty Dash with my brother, his fiance, my sister, and my mom.

My brother got married, and we are so excited to be able to officially claim Jessica as family!
(I made four flower girl dresses, and they turned out so beautiful.)

My Dad turned the big 60 and we had a very fun party for him at our house.

Jane turned one year old, and started walking two months later.

Max learned to ride a bike.

We went to Bear Lake with Jeff's family and had so much fun in spite of the mice and bat in our cabin. (Actually, Sherry's reaction to the mice was half of the fun!)

Max started kindergarten and has loved it from day one.
(I guess I didn't need to worry so much last year!)

And we carved pumpkins and celebrated Halloween, which involved more sewing.

Now we are getting excited for the holidays and LOVING the fact that my sister just moved back to Utah and is only minutes away instead of a 12 hour drive. Max is on the verge of loosing his first tooth and I am not so excited that he is growing up so fast! (Too many big milestones in too short of a time!) And I'm hoping that maybe I will finally be able to stick with blogging again, although I don't promise anything. Having three kids has limited what I can get done in a day, although we would take Jane over the extras any day, she brings so much love and joy into our home. I am constantly looking at my little brood of children and feel so happy and content with our little family right now. We are definitely blessed!!

Valentine's Day

Christmas

We had a great Christmas and we were lucky enough to have half of my family over to spend the evening and day with us. I had Max and Emily pick out a small gift for each other because I wanted them to start thinking about giving at Christmas, not just about what Santa was going to bring them. It took a little convincing to talk Max out of giving Emily a truck, but we finally got him to think of something SHE would like. They opened their gifts from each other on Christmas Eve, which was nice because they're gifts got a lot of attention instead of getting lost in the pile of presents the next morning.

Max picked out a Polly Pocket mermaid for Emily. She spent the rest of the evening "swimming" and singing for her little mermaid. Emily picked out a monster truck for Max. It's one of those cars that you can pull back and it will then propel itself forward. It was fun to see how excited they were to give their presents to each other.

And here's the reason I stopped blogging again last month:

I was spending all of me free time building this play kitchen for the kids for Christmas. It's hard to work on stuff like this with three kids, one of them a nursing baby. It turned out so cute, and I'm trying really hard to not nitpick about all the little imperfections. I got the plans from this website. She has free plans to build practically everything. I made the kids beds this spring from her site, that I never blogged about because I was lazy. Next on our plans is the play house with attached swing set. Oh, and a bed for our room. And some shelves to hold my fabric.

The kids played with their kitchen for a while and enjoyed their stockings while Jeff got breakfast in the oven and we waited for Seth and Jessica to arrive. The kids also got hooded bath towels that my wonderful friend engraved their names on, matching dresses for Emily and Jane, and Max got a piggy bank and his own soccer ball. He was trying to drag his dad and uncles outside all day to play soccer with him.

It was such a nice relaxing day, especially since I was finally done with my Christmas crafts. I've got to scale back next year because the holidays are not very fun when I have too much on my plate. Now I'm just trying to summon enough energy to take down the Christmas decorations.

Halloween

Since the kids have so many dress up clothes I decided to not make any costumes this year to cut down on my stress. Max decided early on that he wanted to be a pirate and Emily was a fairy. She wanted to be a princess, but all of her princess dresses are too big on her and after one of them got ripped at my dad's Halloween party I was pushing hard for a costume that fit on her. My neighbor had a little cheer-leading costume that we borrowed for little Janey to wear.

We had our neighborhood trunk or treat and chili cook off on Saturday early in the evening so that everyone could get home in time to go trick or treating, which I think is silly because why do we need to do both? I'm not a fan of trunk or treats anyway because I want my kids to have to WORK for their candy! ;) (I do think they serve a purpose if you live in a place you would not feel comfortable taking your kids trick or treating in, but that just doesn't apply to our neighborhood.) However, since it started raining during the chili cook off I was glad that we had the option of not taking the kids trick or treating.

A little after we got home the rain calmed down and the kids wanted to go out trick or treating so Jeff took them out for a little bit just up and down our street. Apparently Emily started doing a little diabolical laugh when people would give her candy.

It was a fun night but it just didn't feel like Halloween to me. I think the fact that I didn't do anything to get us ready for Halloween played a big part in that, because not only did I not sew any costumes I also never bothered to get out my fall decorations this year. Oh well, I think I'll just wait to decorate until Christmas!

Magic Grandma's Carnival

The theme for this years Halloween party was magic. The kids got to make wands, get tattoos, and have their fortunes told. Then they got to watch Magic Grandma's magic show.

Max went as a pirate this year and Emily decided she wanted to be Belle.

And of course, it is always fun to hang out with cousin Ellie. I'm sure it will be even funner when Brock and Isaac are big enough to play, too.

Jane isn't big enough to participate yet, but she's a cutie anyway. I can't believe how big she is getting and how lucky I am to have such a sweet baby!

Thanks for such a fun night, Dad and Sharon!!

*Erin - I hope you don't mind that I "borrowed" some of the photos off your post!*

Happy Easter

We had a nice, quiet Easter at home this year. It was extra nice because it was the same weekend as General Conference, so we all got to sleep in and have a slow and relaxed Easter morning before watching church in our pajamas. And it was wonderful to get to listen to the Prophet on Easter Sunday.

We got pictures of Max and Emily last Sunday in their new Easter clothes since they wouldn't be wearing them on Easter Sunday. Max was being a little stink that morning and WOULD NOT sit next to Emily on the stairs or sit up straight or smile at the camera. He sure is good at being a stubborn little stinker.

Normally I would make Emily a dress for Easter, but after over 5 months of being tired I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to get back to my normal energy level until after this baby is born. It makes me a little sad because I had so many things I was planning on getting done BEFORE the baby gets here. I'm kind of scared that having three little kids is going to completely overwhelm me. Oh well. I was able to get Emily two spring dresses along with Max's new church outfit for less than I would normally spend on Max's new church clothes, so that will have to do for this year. I have to admit that it is nice not having one more thing on my to do list that might not get done for several months.

Christmas! (and only one month late.)

We usually spend Christmas Eve with my family, but ended up doing our own thing this year since Max spent all of Christmas Eve throwing up. I felt so bad that he was sick on Christmas Eve, especially since he has been so excited this year, telling me "Merry Christmas, Mommy!" at random times and talking about Santa Claus coming. Luckily, he stopped throwing up that night and was able to eat dinner with us and enjoy some Christmas Eve fun. I made pajamas for the family that we all opened Christmas Eve. We read about the birth of Jesus and sang some Christmas songs and then Max and Emily danced around the living room to Christmas music, which has been a favorite evening activity all month.

Santa brought the kids dress up clothes for Christmas this year. (I think he might have gone a little overboard!) They got dresses, lots of super heros, and a bunch of animals, not to mention purses, necklaces, wands, wings, swords, all kids of hats, etc. They don't really play with the dress up clothes yet, but are constantly playing with all the accessories.

Max also got a doctor kit and some playdough, while Emily got a doll stroller and a cabbage patch baby I got at the DI, along with a diaper bag, blanket, and two outfits that I made to go with her. The stroller was actually the hot item Christmas morning and caused a few fights. Who knew?

Since Max was feeling better we headed up to my sister's to spend the rest of the day with my family. We spent the night there and headed over to Tremonton the next day to see Jeff's family. Since Jeff's parent's left on their mission in November we decided to set aside the 26th for Jeff's family so it wouldn't conflict with other Christmas plans. It was so fun to spend the whole day hanging out and playing games and rock band.

It turned out to be such a nice Christmas, after Max felt better. I have to admit a shed a few tears when we decided we couldn't spend Christmas Eve with my family, but it ended up being so nice to stay home with just our little family that we ended up being glad at how things had worked out.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a busy and fun Thanksgiving weekend, first with a nice quiet dinner at my mom's with my little sister and her husband. Then on Friday we went out for our annual post-Thanksgiving dinner with my dad and his wife to PF Changs, this time with both my little sister's and their husbands. We look forward to those lettuce wraps every year.

On Saturday we went and cut down our Christmas tree. Since Max has a broken leg and still isn't walking we decided to put him in the baby carrier on Jeff's back. (Apparently he was giving Jeff advise on how and where to walk the entire time.) I figured I could carry Emily or help her walk, but didn't realize she was going to be a little pill and cry unless I carried her, which proved to be more difficult than planned since the hill that didn't look so big when we chose it sure felt very steep when we were climbing it. For some reason we picked out our trees pretty quick this year!

After cutting down our trees we headed over to Meghan's baby shower at her in-law's house. It was fun to get to spend a little bit more time with Meghan before she heads back to LA. Isn't she the tiniest 32 week pregnant lady that you have ever seen in your life!! I don't look this good right now!

Tomorrow we get to head back to the Dr.'s office for Max to get his cast removed and it's back in the walking boot for a couple of weeks. I have a feeling life isn't going to slow down until after Christmas!

Happy Halloween, 2009

Max and Emily were both so cute for Halloween this year. I didn't sew them costumes this year, but we made some unique costumes with some very cheap supplies. Max went as a robot and Emily went as a flower.

Emily was a little unsure about putting this big flower around her face, but she didn't mind once we got to the trick-or-treating and she realized that it would secure her a bucket full of candy. She got the trick-or-treating thing down right away, except that she didn't want to go the direction Mom wanted her to go.

I was really excited about Max's costume, but when it came time to actually trick-or-treating in it I realized how poorly I had thought it through. The poor kid could barely see for climbing up and down stairs. Since almost every single house in our neighborhood is split-entry, it only took us three houses to realize that we would need to relocate or it was going to be a long night. We decided that I should take the kids to the neighborhood next to ours were most of the houses don't have more than one or two steps and that worked a lot better. He was such a trooper, never complaining once, even when he couldn't get his candy from the bowl into his bucket. Oh well, he looked really cute and we got so many comments on his costume.

Crockett Family Festivities

After church on Sunday we headed up to Jeff's parent's for dinner. We were heading up to Pocatello on Monday for the annual Crockett family Memorial Day lunch and thought it would be fun to spend the night and save us some time on the drive Monday. I love watching Max and Emily run around with their cousins and enjoying spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. Max especially loves his Grandpa Crockett and is always trying to drag him somewhere.

It was fun to get together with Jeff's aunts and uncles and cousins. Bill is the oldest of ten children, so I still feel like I hardly know who anyone is. The kids of course had a great time running around with their cousins and second cousins.

We were a little worred with all of this traveling only one week after starting potty training with Max that we were going to be setting ourselves back, but Max woke up Sunday morning and was potty trained. We didn't have an accident the rest of the weekend, even though we were on the road and in unfamiliar places. We have had a couple of accidents since, but overall the potty training went a lot better and faster than I think either Jeff or I were anticipating. It is nice after 16 months of buying diapers for two kids to be able to cut back on that part of the budget!

Mother's Day Conversation

Jeff and Max made me pancakes this morning. I could tell when they brought them to me that Jeff had been coaching Max to tell me, "Happy Mother's Day!". It was so cute and sweet and Max remembered what he was supposed to say and then they left me to enjoy my breakfast in bed while they went back downstairs to eat their own breakfast. After Max was done eating he came to check on me.

Max: "Where's your pampakes, Mommy?"
Me: "I ate them."
Max: "You ate them?"
Me: "Yeah, I ate them. They're in my belly."
Max: (In an aggravated tone and pointing his finger repeatedly at me) "Aughhh! Those were for Mother's Day!"

Easter Sunday

We had such a great Easter. The kids came downstairs first thing to find their Easter baskets. Max just wanted to play with his Hot Wheel's cars that he got, but Emily immediately shoved some jelly beans in her mouth and proceeded to find three eggs before Max even realized that the Easter Bunny had hidden eggs all over the house. I had one of those moments were I felt like my mother when one of the eggs wasn't found and I couldn't remember where it was. I guess we'll find it some time. Jeff wondered if it made me feel like my mother because I couldn't remember where it was hidden or because I couldn't seem to stop trying to find it for the next 30 minutes. To be honest, I'm not sure.

The kids got new Easter clothes. I made Emily's dress but not Max's clothes, which I kind of feel a little guilty about. I had prepared myself for Max to have a hard time putting on new church clothes, but that went over fine until we got to the new shoes. What followed was 15 minutes of screaming as we tried to get Max's shoes on. I ended up taking pictures of Emily in her dress while Jeff, who is the calm one, managed to get Max's shoes on. (They ended up coming off in nursery after all that work.) Because of the shoe debacle I got one lone picture of Max in his new clothes before we had to rush out the door to church. I was singing in the ward choir and was excited to sing the beautiful cantata we have been working on for the last few months. Our last song always makes me cry and I was trying the whole time to keep it together so that I could sing. I love songs about the Savior, especially on Easter and Christmas. What a great time of year Easter is!

After church we headed up to Jeff's parents for Easter dinner and another egg hunt for the kids. I always love going to Jeff's parents. Their house just feels so comfortable and Jeff's family is just the nicest family I've ever met. I am so blessed with my in laws and the kids LOVE going to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

The Hunt Begins

We started out our Easter weekend by heading down to Grandma Sharon's Easter Egg Hunt Saturday morning. (That was a lot of capitalized words in a row!) It's funny to me how Max is just getting into holidays this year but Emily picked up the concept of the Easter egg hunt almost right away! The eggs were hidden on a little hill so Emily fell down as often as she found an egg. After the egg hunt we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for lunch and to play some games. Jeff actually didn't come with us since it was the last day he could use his season ski pass he got from my mom. He had a great day skiing and has really enjoyed getting to ski so much this year. (Thanks, Mom!)

After Emily went to bed, Max and I decorated Easter eggs together. This was a first for Max. My mom always went crazy with the amount of Easter eggs we would boil and color and I have a lot of fun memories decorating Easter eggs with my siblings. I showed Max how he could color on the eggs with crayons before you dye them which resulted in every egg getting a quick squigle on it before it was allowed to get colored. It was fun to watch him get so excited about dyeing Easter eggs.

As if we didn't have enough going on, we decided to make a bunch of freezer jam. I didn't make quite enough to last us through the winter last year and our local grocery store was having a sale on flats of strawberries. We're so excited to have freezer jam again! (YUM!)