The Walkers

I swear, Kaiya was happy Christmas morning. I toyed with the idea of doing her hair, but I figured it was funnier to showcase her morning do. The poor kid looks like this the majority of the time. Christmas sure was great this year! Marsha and Andy came over to see the kids open their presents in the morning, we attended church, and then went over to the Walkers' for our annual Swedish pancake inhalation. Kaiya got a princess scooter and Ben got a basketball hoop from Santa Claus. FYI, That misshapen blob on the love seat behind Kaiya is a loaf of bread from Mrs. Claus's bread machine... my daughter seriously asked Santa for two things this year: a piece of bread and an airplane. He didn't disappoint :) This was the only present Ben really cared about unwrapping: the chocolate Santa from his stocking. Christmas morning aftermath. Ben was SO entertained. Here are Ben and Papa after brunch... Obviously Ben was a bit too focused on his toy here; you gotta love an awkward pict...

Kaiya turned three just before Christmas and we celebrated at a Mickey Mouse birthday party. We had Mickey cupcakes, rice krispies, and ears for all the cousins (we're up to eleven, btw). I am so grateful to have such a supportive family - we had all of our Utah family here for the big day. I love knowing how much my kids are loved! Brett and Robyn had a contest to see who could draw the better Mickey on their cards... I don't think Kaiya cared. This Barbie car was the hit of the party (thanks Alicia) it is now parked beside this, in Kaiya's room. Don't worry about Benzilla climbing into the second story. I can't remember why Vance isn't in this photo... but I wanted to try to get a shot of all the crazy kids in their ears. (Some were more cooperative than others.) Megan outdid herself with Kaiya's new beanie. Check out the built in Minnie ears! A--wait for it--mazing. I love love love this picture of Ben with Scott and Megan. And now that it's Janua...

I know I just posted Disneyland pictures, but these ones from December are too good to pass up.

Sayla Larsen and Kaiya have dance together on Tuesdays. Imagine a dozen uncoordinated three-year-olds running around a studio in tutus. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever. The girls were playing at our house after class the other day. They are so funny together... See? Told ya.

While uploading Disneyland, I found these other pictures that deserved shout outs. In no particular order... Ben is getting more stable standing and will take a few steps at a time now. It is so cute to see how proud of himself he is. Just ignore the white-trash-too-small-onesie-and-socks-ensemble. So, the kids were all bathed and ready for bed the other night, and I had just lain Ben down and returned to the room to find Kaiya in his crib. They certainly don't look too tired, do they? I don't have pictures of the kids' Halloween costumes; I'm still waiting on Laurel for those. She also has all the pictures from Ben's birthday party. Come on, Rojo. Get a move on!! (Okay, so maybe I just haven't been proactive enough to request them yet.) Anyway, I was pretty proud of my Halloween costume this year for The Carters' party. I was going for "Frumpy Teacher" but I think I ended up nailing "DeAnn Lee circa 1992". I'm sad to say that my ha...

We really do have impeccable timing, don't we? It has rained at Disneyland the last three times we've been. Oh well. It makes for shorter lines. Plus, Ben didn't seem to mind. Seriously - I don't think kids on carousels get much happier than this... Awkward family photo #1 Awkward family photo #2 (How sexy is Brad's poncho, huh?) I had to include this picture - Kaiya had just completely butted in line in front of about 20 kids. I didn't have the heart to pull her away from Goofy, as she was SO excited. DAY TWO: The battery in my camera was completely dead, so these pictures are taken on our friend Kyle's camera. Thanks, buddy. Kaiya complained that she couldn't see the princesses dance, so she weaseled her way up front-and-center. She's a funny, independent kid. "Oh. My. Gosh. Daddy, that is the REAL Buzz Lightyear. I want to give him loves." I love Ben's face in this second one. I'm not sure if he's excited to see Mickey or jus...