Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas!

We hope that whatever your plans are for the remainder of this holiday season that you fully enjoy it and do so safely!

Happy Holidays!!

*I have to put a plug in for my sister in law who did our card...she is amazing!! Check out her etsy shop, Cards Etcetera, for more adorable cards!*

Holiday Fun

We have had so much fun this holiday season! Unfortunately, being the awesome mother that I am, I have forgotten the camera for ALL the fun activities, so all we have are a few cell phone photos.

Brychan and Kehlton had their first visit with santa at our ward Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. Brychan was a little shy at first, but quickly warmed up and told Santa that he wanted "presents and toys" for Christmas. Is it too much to hope that those requests from Santa always be so vague? Kehlton didn't care for Santa at all.

At David's office, they did a morning of cookie decorating for all the realtor's children. Brychan had fun decorating (and eating!) his cookies. He also made a little foam gingerbread girl and drank a lot of hot chocolate.
This weekend, Ashley and I did a ton of baking and candy making. I ran out to get some lunch, and while I was gone, the boys quickly ganged up on Lala! You can see Kehlton eyeing the goods...
And Brychan screaming at Kehlton "NO COOKIES!!!!". This, of course, came after he had already stolen one himself.
We have enjoyed driving around looking at all the Christmas lights (our neighborhood goes ALL OUT each year), watching Christmas movies, drinking lots of hot chocolate and singing Jingle Bells a gazillion times (it's Brychan's favorite!!). Yesterday we had fun delivering goodies to all our friends in the area, and tomorrow we have one more cookie decorating party to go to before we get ready to head up to Idaho for a week.

We hope all of you have had just as much fun this holiday season!

Bubble Bath

Who needs soap and water when you have a box full of peanuts?

Children's Museum

As a continuation of Kehlton's birthday celebration, we went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix today. We had SO much fun!! I cannot wait until I get my car back and can make a year's membership worth the money. Sorry there's so many photos, but we just had so much fun! Brychan called this giant tub with wings an eagle. And he didn't care for it much, either.

Playing at a light table

Riding bikes at the "trike wash"

Painting the castle in the art room

Exploring with all our senses!

Crawling through tents in the building room

And tasting the goods at the market

Happy Birthday Boy

My baby turned one yesterday!! How can that be?!?

A few recaps of his day yesterday and then a little bit about why I L-O-V-E this little one so much!

His cake. It taught me many things in the hours that I spent on it. First and foremost that I really don't have the patience for such things, and secondly that as much fun as I think they look, Gingerbread Houses are NOT for me. I just can't. But, both boys loved the cake, so I guess that's what matters, right?

Brychan stared at Kehlton's mountain of gifts piling up over the last couple of days, repeating "It's a party, Momma - a party!!". He did really good and only tore into one present beforehand. He was even pretty good about standing back and letting Kehlton do most of the opening. Today, however, is a different story. The toys may as well all be Brychan's, because he is not up for sharing them quite yet! :)

This little baby dinosaur took the cake. Kehlton really does love all his toys and has been playing with them as much as big brother will let him, but he absolutely adores this little dino. He's been growling at/with it and kissing it all afternoon.

Enjoying his cake!

Getting down to business. At one point, I looked over and he had the entire plate up to his face licking it clean. This boy definitely has a sweet tooth the same size as his daddy's!

Kehlton is such a sweet, happy baby! I love that he is so quick to laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more! It doesn't take much and he is all giggles. I also love that he and his brother love each other so much. There are many times when Brychan is just in such a cruddy mood, and the only person that can get him to snap out of it is Kehlton. Kehlton will get his brother smiling and laughing again when nothing else can.

I've said it a million times - I am positive that Kehlton will be my first trip to the ER with one of the kids. He's a daredevil. And completely fearless. And into everything. And goes non-stop. I'm just waiting for the first round of stitches to come about.

He is also amazingly persistent. He just does not give up! As much as it drives me crazy now, I hope that never changes for him.

And a quick little story about Kehlton joining our family:

Right at Brychan's 1st birthday is when our massive family tragedy hit. And I clung to that little boy as if my life depended on it. Out of all the family members that were there for my support, it was my little boy who was my ultimate lifesaver. I shared that one night with David and he responded that he had had the impression that Kehlton was working just as hard on the other side of the veil trying to keep our little family safe, together and in one piece during that same time. I get teary every time I think about it. But I think that explains why he joined our family so quickly after. We weren't planning on another baby right then and it was a bit of a surprise to find out I was pregnant before Brychan was even 13 months old. It's like he was saying "I worked really hard for my family and I'm not waiting anymore! I'm coming whether you're ready or not!". That stubborn perseverance again... ;) It just really strengthens my testimony of eternal families. I have no doubt that both boys worked equally as hard to help out their parents during that time. Even if they weren't aware of it. And if it's possible, I love each of them even more for it!

Anyway. Happy Birthday my little Baby K. Thank you for being such a fun, loving and snugly little boy. We love you so much!!