Goodbye 2008

A few weeks ago I tried blogging all about what had been going on in December but my pictures were all messed up and after an hour or so of trying I got ticked off and quit trying to get it to work. So here I am, already a week into the new year and so far behind. For memories sake, I'll do the quick rundown of our December....then next we'll do Christmas. Things started off a little slow for us....then once we got to the middle of the month it started picking up. Tyler turned 6 on the 18th, but not before losing his first tooth late the night before. I honestly think it might have been the most exciting thing that has ever happened to him. I think he prayed for his tooth to get loose and fall out for over a year. His birthday was great. We had a very last minute party thrown together for some of his friends. It went pretty good until the last minute or so when he decided to throw down one of the neighbor kids WWF style and bash his head into the ground because he doesn't bring suckers to school anymore...seriously, the kid looked like he'd been hit in the head with a bat. The family all came over for cake and ice cream and to shower him with every present known to man.....what was left for Santa to bring???? The kid even has more money than his old man now. That weekend we headed to Utah to see the lights at Temple Square. It has been so long since we've been down and we couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect. It started snowing HUGE flakes right before we went. Everything was covered in white...it was so pretty. The boys were more excited about sliding on the slick sidewalks than the lights, and Allie thought it would be a good time to scream because she wanted held, but other than that it was great. Spencer brought his ended up coming with us and proposing to his girlfriend so that made it even more fun. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with cousins and swimming at the hotel. Even Alexis got to take a dip. The pool was extra warm so she was in heaven. We got home just in time for our annual family sing-a-long at Eli's grandparents. We dressed Allie in a little Christmas outfit that my grandma gave her and I think she stole the show. Her brothers kept saying she looked like Santa (even though I'm pretty sure Santa doesn't wear a dress). Santa came and talked to the kids and everyone had a great time. It got us all in the mood and ready for the big day to come.

I am a Child of God

I know I just posted a long old thing, but I did not want to forget this. Last week we had family home evening and Eli did the lesson on having a new baby in the home and how it is a child of God. It was such a great lesson and at different parts he had the boys sing her the verses to "I am a Child of God." The boys couldn't sing without holding and hugging and kissing Alexis. She just laid there and stared at them the whole time. They love their little sister so much and she loves them right back. It was so nice to have some time with just our little family to be reminded of how blessed we are and that our children are the most important thing to us. It is amazing how much easier it is to realize that when they aren't throwing mud at the neighbors house or throwing the cats off my dad's deck.......somewhere inside of the little devils are sweet little angels.

Our lucky & loved little girl. She looked so cute at the wedding.

Ok, this is exactly what I mean when I say little devils. I think Tyler is morphing into one right now...

Another great self portrait of Tyler and his sister, I'm starting to think I don't ever pay attention because I never see him with the camera anymore and everytime I turn it on there are at least a dozen of these.

And last but not least, Allie got to take a big girl bath with Zach the other day. I usually have her in the tub, but this time the water was pretty deep and she loved it. Her not so little belly makes her look like a frog and she was right at home in the water kicking her legs and smiling.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Peña

Last Friday Eli's brother Jared got married. It was such a busy week but everything turned out so great. We got to have their rehersal dinner at our house Thursday night too, so we have had plenty of good food, friends and family over the last few days. It got a little chaotic a couple of times (but it's a wedding, right!!) but everything was worth it. The ceremony was beautiful and their bishop had such great words of advice. I'm so excited for them to start their life together, and to have another member of the family. Jared and Maquel are both so laid back and seem like such a good match. Good thing for co-ed softball or they might not have ever met!! Anyway,

we had a lot of fun. Eli was in the line and Tyler got to be the ring bearer. He was so cute...and so well behaved. We need to put that boy in a tux everyday! You could tell he knew he was important and it was so cute! I do have some handsome boys (and a man) in my family. How did I get so lucky!! Zach was so excited before things got started that he couldn't sit still. I don't think he knew what he was excited for, but he knew it was a big day. I think most of all, he was excited for his pink tie. Somewhere along the line during the last few weeks he decided he had to have a pink tie for the wedding. I ordered one from some crazy place in Canada that took my money, said it was on it's way and then disappeared. Every day he'd ask me about his tie. It showed up in the mailbox 2 days before the wedding and saved me from a bucket full of tears. He had to show it to everyone at the wedding. It was so funny. The best was at the reception after the happy couple had their first dance. They played another song and everyone else started dancing. We had each of our boys grab their grandma's to dance with, and about halfway through the song Zach dropped my mom's hands and ran across the gym, found the 3 yr old flower girl and started twirling her around. It was so cute! Sorry mom, but he had to get his moves on! It was so funny because he is usually shy. This little girl is packed full of personality too and obsessed with Cinderella. After the song she went up to her mom and said....."I think I found my Prince Charming!" What a fun night. Now that it is over, we are on to the next big adventure.....Thanksgiving at our house. We got the vote to do it here again with both of our families. I know, I know....everyone keeps telling me I'm crazy. But this is one of my favorite holidays, and I am an anal freak when it comes to the turkey. I love to cook it and have issues with letting anyone else. It really is a problem. If any of you watch Everybody Loves Raymond and you've seen the episode when Deborah cooks fish for Thanksgiving. I would be the annoying, overbearing character of Marie (Raymond's mom). Even though dinner is taken care of she makes and brings a turkey anyway...... Oh yeah, and I'm a loser because the only pictures I have of Jared and Maquel are when they cut the cake. What kind of photographer am I?

Our happy little family

The extra-handsome ring-bearer

Prince Charming and Cinderella at the ball

And this was too good not to post. Eli's Grandpa Phillips. The best thing about this picture is that this was the day before the wedding, when we had the rehersal dinner. Even better is that it is before anyone else had shown up, before the dinner even started. Check out the glasses...now that is a good nap. We love you Grandpa!!

Blessing, garments and boys

We blessed Alexis yesterday and it turned out to be such a special day. All of our family came to church and we had everyone over to the house after. It was so nice to see my sisters and have my granpa there. I love that having a baby brings everyone together. She looked so beautiful in her dress and was such a good baby through the whole day. I'm so thankful for how blessed we are to have such great kids. We couldn't ask for better. And I'm especially thankful for such a wonderful husband who honors his priesthood and sets such a good example for his sons to follow. It is such a comfort to me to have him around and to make me want to do better myself. Thank you so much honey for everything yesterday. You made the day perfect!

Ok, now for the fun stuff. Saturday night Eli was getting Alexis in her pajamas and changing her diaper. She was only in a little white onsie and Zach came in and said..... "is that her garments??" This coming from the kid that during sacrament yesterday got sick of his bright blue gum so he took it out of his mouth and looked at his Uncle Spencer and asked him if he wanted it (after it had been chewed on for about 30 minutes). When Spence said no, he said..."but it matches your shirt!". Makes sense.

And just to finish up...this is what happens when boys get sick of having their sister get her picture taken and get a hold of the camera......how can you not love those little faces??

6 weeks old

Our little Alexis is already 6 weeks old. She is such a fun little girl to have in our home. She found her smile about 2 weeks ago and loves to flash it around. She is extra smiley in the morning. (Maybe she'll be a morning person.......definitely not like her mama!!). She is still so little but getting some chubby Peña cheeks in a hurry. We love her so much!

Happy Halloween!

Our ward had it's Halloween carnival last night and the kids had a blast. I think it took me longer to get them ready than it did to play all the games, but it was worth it. Tyler was so mad at me because we missed his school carnival. He was so bummed because he didn't think he was going to get to dress up. Anyway, dress up he did, and it was a hit!

Our scary little werewolf. Everyone at the carnival loved his fur.

Zach insisted on wearing Tyler's Darth Vader costume from two years ago.



Our little angel...little girls really are so much fun.

LUVING MY FAMILY

Tyler, Zach and Alexis right before we left for church. She loved church so much she had her first blowout, clear up to her hair.....and you'd think after 2 other kids I'd remember to pack extra clothes in the diaper bag....nope!! Our pretty little 3 week old. Her cheeks are getting chubbier and cuter by the day!
I tried all day to get a picture of her smiling, but every time she would grin I'd be a second too late.....this was as close as I got.
The last couple of days I've caught her holding her binky. I finally got the proof...what a smart little girl!!

I can't believe that Alexis is already 3 weeks old. I swore when I was pregnant that I couldn't make it one more week, I was so ready to be done. And here it is 3 weeks later already. The time is already going by so fast. I really have been trying to enjoy every moment that I have with her because I know that time doesn't slow down. Even doing that it is still blowing by me. Having the boys running circles around me all day long might have something to do with it. And as much as I have been a big fan of spud harvest break since I was a little kid, I think I've decided after the last 10 days that kindergartners probably would be better off at school (at least their moms might be better off). The kids have had a blast being at home, running wild, disappearing while I nurse the baby, slashing our couch/end tables/entertainment center with a utility knife, playing in the mud and snow, riding around the farm with their dad, drawing on our dining room table with a sharpie, learning to change diapers so their wives will appreciate them even more when they have kids of their own, having "sleepovers" almost every night on the bottom bunk because they don't have to get up, making cookies to take to the farm, making cinnamon rolls for the first day of snow.....did I mention I'm kind of tired??? Yes, Tyler slashed our couches, I should take a picture but I still don't know how I feel about it. He wasn't mad, jealous or anything else I can think of. He just saw the knife and thought it might be fun. I'm pretty sure he has decided that it wasn't very fun at all. I don't think it is possible for my head to get any closer to exploding than when I discovered his little art piece. Thank goodness for once in my life I remembered to excercise some self control.....after a little bit of yelling. I just keep reminding myself that our furniture is just "things" and that I am thankful for the real "things" that I have. I do love my family so much, even my crazy, independent little boys. I have been reminded of how much I love being a mom and how important my role is to my family. I know I still don't have enough patience, and I realize that might not ever change...and that's ok. What I get to wake up to every morning is a blessing. I'm thankful for a husband that is not afraid to work hard to support our family, that is still so helpful when he is home, that he honors his priesthood and sets such a good example for his boys to follow. I'm thankful that now I have a little girl that I can set an example for, that she may grow up to be a good mother some day too. I've got my work cut out for me, but I'm grateful for the extra responsibility. I know this is a loooong post, but I have been filled with the knowledge of the blessings I've been given, and since this is the closest thing I have to a journal this is where it goes.