Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

I am so excited about sending out Christmas cards this year! The last time we sent them out was the year Arden was born. Since our family has had two additions this year, I figured it was time to send them out again. Plus, we're buying a house. What better way to get your new address to friends and family?! Oh, and did I mention we should be getting 50 cards for FREE this year? Yeah, you cannot beat that! Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers who promote its products. Check out the details here!

I was looking at the new designs at Shutterfly, and they are so awesome! I really love the ones where you can put tons of pictures on them. Gotta show off my cute kiddos! I've actually experimented with several layouts already. When I say several, I mean 13! Here's a few that I love: Joy Love Story, Monogram Snowman, Red Glee, Joy Dots Chocolate...my there are so many...and I'm so indecisive! I mean, just go here, and you'll see what I mean!

Of course, Shutterfly has way more to offer than just holiday cards. They have photo books! I love photo books, and they're so easy to make. I made the cutest photo book of Arden's first Christmas. It's such a special thing to look at every year. I'm really excited to make one for Rogan and Grayson this year. Yay!

Seven Months!

I realize it's been forever since I've posted anything about the boys. They've grown so much! I can't believe they're seven months old now. (Their corrected age is 4.5 months.) At their six month checkup, they were both over 13 lbs and 24"! Compared to Arden, they're big babies! They're becoming really fun. They both want to sit up by themselves so badly. I think we'll all be happier once they do! They take three naps a day, but they aren't necessarily at the same time...which kind of stinks. I'm hoping they'll get on the same schedule soon. They also wake up once a night to eat...although occasionally one will sleep through the entire night. Life will be awesome once they both start sleeping through the night!

This past Monday, we went to Amy's house. She took some great pics of us in our Halloween costumes! Mary Bernice did such a great job on the boys' costumes, I knew I had to get some professional pics of them. I'm hoping to use their overalls for Christmas, too.

If you need a professional photographer, Amy is your gal! You can check out her work here: http://simplemomentsphoto.com/blog/

and here:http://www.simplemomentsphoto.com/

She's awesome!

Rogan: has one tooth; can roll from his back to his tummy (he doesn't like it too much, though;) can put himself to sleep in his bassinet (and has slept through the night there on several occasions!)

Grayson: has two teeth; will eat your nose if you let him; still has to be lulled to sleep in his swing (and will sleep there the entire night until he wants to eat!)

Looks like Alice is looking for some rabbits...

Grayson will touch anything he can get his hands on! He's become quite the playful monkey.

Looks like Alice caught her white rabbit!

Amy told Arden to put her hands on her lap...and she totally listened!

My cute, mischievous girl!

Graysie Face

Rogan and Grayson

Rogi Bear

Rogan and Grayson

My Sweet Angel

Amy took some pics of Arden in her birthday tutu dress. I am in love with them! I can't wait until we close on the house so I can actually order some pictures!

Happy Halloween!

I was so excited for Halloween this year. I've been wanting to do Alice in Wonderland for so long. Having the boys made it all happen. Mary Bernice made their costumes, and they were super cute! Unfortunately, our church didn't have much of a Halloween event...just trunk-or-treating. No costume contest, no games, no food. It really bummed me out. I kind of feel like our family-themed costumes were pointless. Sad!

Anywho...onto the pics!

Rogan and Grayson...Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum!

The fam: The Queen of Hearts, The Mad Hatter, Alice, and Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum!

I picked up the red skirt and black dress at goodwill. I bought some felt, cut out some hearts, and hot-glued them to the black dress.

Below are some pics from last week. I count these as the boys' 6-month pics.

Grayson loves his mummy! Rogan is daddy's little monster. :)

We went to a Halloween party, and Arden loved this peek-a-boo cat!

She also loved playing with someone else's costume. In case you can't hear her, she's saying "ROAR!"

Ok, Grayson, turn her head this way...mommy wants to take a picture!

Rogi Bear

Graysie Face

Such cute kids I have! Man, they look alike.

And I'll leave you with a few kicks.

Yo Arden!

We celebrated Arden's birthday on Saturday! We had lots of family over, and Arden enjoyed every second of it. She got lots of stuff to add to the lots of stuff she already has....yeah!

Our "little" family celebrated the day after her birthday. Adam got cupcakes from Harris Teeter, and Arden loved them. Now she expects to eat cake every night!

Here are the many family members who came! Yes, I took pics of them while they ate pizza.

After pizza came presents! Arden became distracted by every present she opened, so Gavin and Jasmine helped move the event along. She loved everything she received.

And then came the cake! Arden loves the show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" She lovingly calls it "Babba!" So I thought I'd make a Yo Gabba Gabba cake. I just wasn't sure what I was going to do. Then I thought it would be really cool to make the characters out of modelling chocolate or chocolate clay.

It was pretty easy to make: I bought a bunch of candy melts in different colors from Michaels. To make the clay, I melted 10 oz (by weight) of candy melts and folded in 1/3 cup light corn syrup until it formed a sticky ball. I then spread it on top of wax paper and let it set for 2 hours. Voila! Chocolate clay!

I also made a rice krispie treat base which I covered with melted candy melts. The cake itself was dark chocolate fudge with oreo cream cheese filling and buttercream frosting. Super sweet!

Arden with her cake!

Adam and I made all the characters. It was hard keeping them hidden from Arden!

She was so excited to finally be able to touch them!

Mmmmm!

Here she is seeing how tasty Plex's head is.

Arden's plate after all was said and done. Oh the carnage!

Happy Birthday, Gi! We love you so much!

Two Years Ago at This Very Moment...

My Little Miss Arden was born! She made me a mommy for the first time, and my life has never been the same. Has it been hard? Yes! But, when she comes up to me and hugs me...or when she giggles and shows me her goofy-tooth grin...I know she's worth it.

Here are some things about Arden.

She LOVES to talk! I have no idea what she says most of the time. Like today, she was trying to get my attention by saying "Mama, mama, mama!" When I finally turned to look at her, she started jabbering away...obviously telling me something important...but I have no idea what it was! She tickles me so. Her new favorite phrase is "C'mon Mom!" She says this whenever she wants me to follow her somewhere. We were at Meredith's the other day to visit my cat, and she said "C'mon dat!" as she chased him around the house. He did not appreciate it!

She's a social butterfly! She loves going to nursery at church. She loves being around other kids. I love that she isn't clingy. I think the boys will be the opposite...we shall see!

She's a smart little cookie. She can say most of the alphabet when I point to the letter. She can do her puzzles easily and even remembers which piece goes to which puzzle. She loves to count. She started out by pointing to things and saying "One...one....one..." She now counts by saying "One...two...one...two..." She also loves to read books. If it were up to her, we'd spend all night reading books instead of going to bed!

She loves the tv and the computer! I know, I know...she shouldn't watch tv. But sometimes it's the only thing that'll occupy her while I'm dealing with fussy babies. Her favorite shows are "Barney and Friends" (which she calls "Bop!" after Baby Bop) and "Yo Gabba Gabba!" (which she calls "Babba!") This year's cake will be "Yo Gabba Gabba!" themed. Can't wait to finish it for her party on Saturday! As far as the computer goes, she loves playing online learning games from Fisher Price. She also loves using our painting program. Our computer is touch-screen, so she can work it pretty well (maybe a little TOO well!)

She is a wonderful big sister and loves her brothers! She seems concerned when one of the boys is crying. If they see her, they usually stop crying for a bit. They love her, too! She loves putting their pacies and bottles in their mouths. Of course, she also loves putting them in her mouth...haha! She'll also pat them on the back or caress their heads. Occasionally, she'll smack them on their heads and make them cry! She gets so tickled when they touch her with their hands or feet. She also loves to hold them, and will attempt to pick them up. She really is a great little mommy!

She loves the outdoors! If it were up to her, she'd live out there. She loves playing on the playground. The slides and swings are her favorites. She also just loves walking around. I wish I could take her outside more often, but it's hard to watch her and the boys. I can't wait to get a house with a fenced-in yard! She also enjoys staying inside to color...and not necessarily on paper!

At 31" and 20 lbs 5 oz, she's still a petite little thing. The boys are going to outgrow her in no time.

Below are pics of Arden on her birthdays! Happy Birthday, Gi!

Two Years Old!

One Year Old!

Zero Years Old!

Jonathan Goes on a Mission

Jonathan received his mission call back in May. He left this morning for the MTC in Provo, UT, where he will stay for 7 weeks to learn Portuguese. Then, it's off to Brazil until September 2012! I know Adam will miss his younger brother greatly, but we all are very proud of his decision to serve a mission for the church.

Good luck, Jonathan! May you find the souls who are seeking out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jonathan receives his mission call to Brazil! What's funny is that Jason and Adam served their missions in California, and the place that Jonathan is going is known as the California of Brazil...haha!

We were so blessed to be able to go to the temple when Jonathan received his Endowment. It had been a few years since we last went. The temple is so close...we really should go more often.

Beautiful House of the Lord

The temple grounds are beautiful...even the butterflies thought so.

Angel Moroni

A Father and His Sons

Raleigh, North Carolina Temple

Can't wait to take this picture again in two years!