Kites

It's a rare day in Lubbock that the wind isn't blowing- so today since it was warm (70 degrees) we made a flew kites.

These kites kept them all entertained for at least an hour.

The show must go on

The girls have been putting on little shows for us lately. This past week we finished reading  The Magic Tree House- Hurry up Hudinni; so the girls have been into magic. They did a whole magic show for us with their amazing tricks.

All of the kids have been a little obsessed with the music from Frozen. Hardly a day goes by that we don't listen to all the songs multiple times. Even Austin requests "let it go" or "happy snowman". Jake and I have watched a lot of dance shows and have had to participate at Austin's request "dance mommy, dance dad".

Doctor Visit

I took all 3 kids to the doctor for their yearly check ups. We finally got our insurance and doctors picked so I figured I would get it all done in one shot. It took a long time with a lot of paper work but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The kids all cooperated (they may have been bribed motivated with ice cream.)

Here are the yearly stats...

Kaylee- 37lbs -46" (She's the 3rd percentile for weight. The doctor suggested some high calorie drinks to try and put a few more pounds on.)

Brooke- 33lbs- 42"

Austin- 23lbs- 33"

There were no tears until Austin had to get shots. The girls made sure they weren't watching the poor little guy. The kids each got a book, a sticker, and a sucker from the doctor and we went and got ice-cream after. I think they decided the doctor isn't so bad after all. I hope I don't have to take them all at the same time again though.

Big boy bed

For the last week Austin has been enjoying his "big boy bed". We wanted time for him to adjust to a bed before his is evicted from his crib in a few months. He has done really well! He made me lay by him the first few times while he fell asleep but since then has been fine.

I was worried he would get out of his bed and play but so far he just stays there. We used to hear Kaylee up playing with toys at 2 am when we moved her to a bed at this age. :)  Now our next big transition for him will be to get rid of his binky. He is so attached to it but hopefully it will be as smooth as the transition to a bed.

Last few days...

Our last few days in Utah were spent with my family again. We went to Ikea one day (I had never been before and wanted to see what it was like) visited my Grandma and some old friends.

 

The next day we rode front runner since Austin and cousin Jack like trains. We rode to the Farmington stop where there are lots of store- did some shopping and ate lunch. My poor mom was sick but came along to spend time with family. I'm sure it wasn't much fun for her but the kids enjoyed it. Austin really liked riding the train. We went from Farmington to Ogden and back to Clearfield.

Of course no trip to see Grandma and Grandpa would be complete without going to Chuck E Cheese. My kids seem to expect it now. Austin wasn't such a big fan of the rides but he liked putting tokens in the machines and pulling tickets out.

My aunt usually does a Christmas Tea party but it didn't happen this year so we did one on our own. It wasn't quite as fancy but we still had fun dressing up. It was so fun that Austin even joined. Jake was embarrassed for him. ;)

 

We had a lot of fun vising family. Thank you for letting us stay, the food, watching our kids.

 (Oh, I forgot to mention a few days before Christmas we went on a group date with my brothers and their wives. While we were gone Kaylee and Brooke both threw up and my poor parents had to clean it up! I have to admit I'm glad we weren't there!) It's always hard to leave. Maybe someday we'll live close to family....

 

The drive home was not as good as the drive there. We were all tired and I didn't have new dollar store toys this time. We drove to Albuquerque to spend the night and there was crying from all of the kids on the way. We had a really nice room there thanks to my mother-in-law. It was a 2 room suit so we all slept better. There was also an indoor pool we swam in the next morning. The last stretch home to Lubbock wasn't fun but we made it. Now we have the fun of cleaning up and putting Christmas decorations away for one more year.

Christmas

We went to Jake's parent's cabin at Bear Lake on Christmas Eve. It is so pretty there!

We played in the snow a lot! Kaylee couldn't get enough sledding with Sage. Austin kicked and screamed while we put his winter clothes on but really liked it once we got outside. He loved the "snowmobile" sled. I realized how out of shape I am walking back up the hill- especially when I was carrying Austin. I sure miss going to the gym!

Christmas Eve night we had the usual acting out the nativity and the kids all got to open a present (which was pajamas) from Oma and Papa.

 

Kaylee and Brooke got to sleep downstairs with Maddie and Sage. They love their cousins. I don't think any of them got much sleep that night. They stayed up late talking. They were so excited for Santa to come they were all awake by 4:30 running up and down the stairs (very loudly). They were not allowed to see what Santa brought until 7:30 so they had to be patient for a LONG time.

This year Santa filled their stockings and left one small present. There were no other presents so it was a pretty casual fast Christmas morning. Kaylee got a hula hoop which she had been asking for, Brooke got a Fur real bunny that hops, Austin got a toy tool set.

Later that day we made some school kits, hygiene kits, and newborn kids for a local women and children's crisis center. It was nice to serve others and the kids enjoyed it. The rest of the time was spent just handing out with family.

We played some minute to win it games...

It wouldn't be Christmas at the Williams' without making gingerbread houses. My mother-in-law makes all the gingerbread from scratch! It's a lot of work but everyone loves it.

We went on snowmobile rides, teryx rides, saw some deer and moose. They boys got out the guns and shot the gingerbread houses we made (what else would we do with them anyway?) and just enjoyed being together.

 

Despite the lack of sleep (the kids stayed up too late with cousins and the rest of us stayed up even later talking and playing games) we had a great time! My kids want to live at the cabin, and who wouldn't with these views...

 

We went to see the lights in Ogden. They have lights and little houses/window displays. The police officers happened to be giving out free teddy bears while we were there! Score! We also got to go on a train ride around the park.  

Saturday was the annual Hanni family Christmas party. I haven't been to one in a few years and I don't even recognize my cousins kids anymore. We had good food, crafts, and played Christmas Family Feud.

Austin's 2nd Birthday!

Austin turned 2 on the 20th. It was fun to be in Utah and celebrate with family!

Austin loves trains so my mom made him a train cake.

This little boy also LOVES pizza so of course that's what we had for dinner. When he eats pizza he always has to "pip it" (dip it) in Ranch just like his sisters.

 

Last year Austin would not eat his birthday cake. I was so happy that he enjoyed it this year.

Playing with his new toys with cousin Jack.

Kaylee likes his birthday present as well.

 

Austin is such a fun boy! He has such a funny personality. He is always making us laugh. He loves cars, trains, and balls. He is all boy despite having 2 older sisters. He talks pretty well and knows his colors, he is working on shapes.  He insists on walking all the way to school and back when we pick up Kaylee (which takes forever since he has to stop and pick up rocks etc.) We love having this little boy in our family!

Utah Christmas

We headed to Utah on Dec. 18 for Christmas. It was a LONG drive!! I was well prepared for the drive there- we had dollar store "presents" they got to open every few hours, books to read, and movies to watch. We drove to Moab, UT the first day and the kids did great! Austin only cried the last 15 min or so.

 

The next day we had to drive through a snow storm from Salt Lake on. It wasn't too bad though and it meant the kids had snow to play in when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

 

The first thing they wanted to do when we got there was play in the snow. Austin my Texas boy had a hard time putting a coat, hat, and gloves on. He decided he wanted to go out in sandals with no coat so we let him try it... he even sat in the snow. He was a little better about putting on a coat after that.