November =)

November has been a super fun and BUSY month so far!  Several of Sean's coworkers went to Brazil for a medical mission type thing and left Sean and 1 other second year to cover for all of them while they were gone.  Things went okay, it was just tricky to keep up with all the prescription refills etc.  The clinic also offers 2 night clinics a week and these slots are filled in with different resident.  It's a nice deal because you make $75 an hour, but its exhausting to add on too many.  Sean ended up doing several of those since many of the residents were gone or otherwise occupied.  The clinic also works at a rest home thats nearby.  Sean ended up doing some shifts there too.  He is all done though and everyone is back!  Luckily he had normal clinic hours since the first 2 weeks of the month he worked in his clinic and a diabetic clinic, and the last weeks he's doing some community health visits.  He is working with the ward mission and has been enjoying preparing for the church choir performance.

I've been trying to get ready for Alana's birthday and the holiday season.  I love to make the birthday movies and do birthday pictures, but all the editing takes a lot of time.  I've also been making a blanket for Alana's birthday and Sean and I have been trying to finish Lizzie's Christmas stocking.  I finished Alana's blanket last night, her video and pictures today, and we only have 2 more steps on the stocking.  The kids and I also got Alana's cake baked this morning.  We tried a new recipe, so hopefully it will turn out yummy!

Brett has continued to flourish in school.  He can count as high as he has an attention span for.  He can also count by 5s and 10s.  He is reading so much!  We bought him some BOB books and he has finished all the kindergarten and first grade books in the pack.  He is going to go through them again so he can get better at all the sight words.  He has also been practicing piano a lot!  He learned about treble and bass cleft the other day and is now learning that different fingers can play different notes.  We visited the dentist the other day and he's been very diligent about caring for his teeth.  He mentioned that he may want to be a dentist when he grows up instead of a doctor =)  He loves cars and watching while we drive around all the time.  He saw part of a nascar race the other night and was so happy.  He also loves (as does Alana) driving on the freeway.  He is working on being patient with his sisters and mom since we don't always do exactly what he wants.  In general he is super sweet and kind now.  I LOVE having a 5 year old.

Alana is so polite and I just love the way she uses words.  She is always so good at saying please and thank you and has really started talking ALL THE TIME.  I love the random things she says like "the sugar bugs (bacteria on teeth that cause cavities) like to go fast" while we are driving on the freeway.  Or last night when my grandma asked if she like nursery at church and she said she likes to wear her panties to church.  She also told my sister on the phone the other day that her new panties were very healthy. =)   She's funny because she will wake up and act as though she's wide awake, even if its the middle of the night.  She loves to snuggle in bed with me and so we are working on keeping her in her own bed at night.  She still adores Lions and all things animal.  She says she likes princesses okay now, but still not a lot.  She asks me most days if shes big enough yet (meaning is she big enough to go to school?) She calls messes mistakes.  She was horrified of the dentist.  She loves to color and is definitely left handed.  She is really excited for Christmas and wants a red present and some pez.  One of her favorite things to do right now is read books with Sean or I.  A lot of afternoons she and I get to read while Brett is at school and Lizzie is sleeping or playing.

Lizzie is 7.5 months now.  She got her first tooth 2 weeks ago and was a champ about the whole thing!  She loves to snuggle stuffed animals especially her bear, mousey, and bumblebee.  She also loves to climb and get into everything she's not supposed to.  She is loving food still and is starting to eat some table foods like bread, soft veggies, and banana bread.  Of course she also enjoys crackers and cookies.  She's been sleeping really great.  The other night she slept for 13 hours straight.  Usually she wakes up one time, but is going to bed about 7 and waking about 7:30.  She has developed stranger danger and really doesn't like when I leave her.  My mom and dad babysat the other night so Sean and I could go do some Christmas shopping, and Lizzie was horrified that I would leave her.  She wouldn't sit with anyone else in Relief Society yesterday so she ended up conducting with me.  What a cute junior member!

They were being cute on my bed one morning and asked me to take a picture. 

Brett was feeling sad before we took Alana's 3 year old pictures.  I made him smile but caught his sweet tears.

Love those eyes!

The kids have started trying to carry Lizzie around or push or or pull her as she plays more with them.  She isn't always the biggest fan!

Bathtime is so fun! 

Big girl

My 3 angels

I made 75 sugar cookies for my wards Relief Society VT conference.  The kids were great helpers!  

More of these cuties

Baking the cookies

Lizzie and I were matching one day and so we took a bathroom selfie

Brett entered the Reflections contest at his school with this picture of seeing a rainbow in New Mexico with Papa and Mimi

The kids and I went to an art show at the school to see all the entries.  Sean' had to work that night so we were sure to take pictures to share with him. 

It seemed like we were never really using the double stroller so we switched it in at my parents garage for the single.  Now of course, Alana wants a ride all the time. 

We went to a Brazilian grill with my parents one friday, the kids had a lot of fun with the new coloring books I bought them and Lizzie enjoyed sitting between her grandparents, throwing things on the floor and watching them pick them up.  Lizzie had a nice snuggle with Grandpa at the end =)

Sean took all 3 kids to the grocery store so I could finish frosting and bagging all 75 cookies. 

Lizzie had her first try in a swing.  She was a big fan! 

The tooth is there, its just really small! 

One day after school I took the kids to Target to get an idea of what kinds of things they would like for Christmas.  They had so much fun looking at all the toys and dreaming of what they'd like for Christmas. 

We saw the Trolls movie a few weeks ago and we LOVED it.  The music was so fun and we listen to it all the time! 

We purchased a giant gate to help keep Lizzie safe.  

It has turned into a really fun toy for all 3 of the kids.  They love making it into a tent, zoo, or just fun place to play.  

I was having a hard time a few weeks ago with how much Sean was working and how crazy life can be.  Sean came home with some beautiful flowers!  

Gerber daisies =) =)

We went to the zoo with my parens and had a great time looking at the lions and elephants.

We were only there for a few hours, but it was a perfect outing!

We rode the carousel and of course Alana picked a Lion.

Lizzie had her first carousel ride.

Brett's favorite animal is a tiger.

Brett loves to feed Lizzie

We love to eat Trolls yogurt

Alana had her 3 year well child check and she knew she needed a shot so she was super super nervous! 

We tried taking pictures because someitmes that cheers her up, but it didn't work

The doctor came in and saw how nervous she was.  She left the room and came back with a coloring book, an eye spy board, and a little bee that buzzes on your skin to help with the sensory part of the shot.  It earned us a smile.

In the end I had to hold her down on the table while they gave her a shot.  Then another nurse came in to help with Lizzie since she needed a shot too, and was crawling toward the biohazard trash can. 

Snow Clothes

Because it snowed

A quiet morning. 

Helping Grandma with Thanksgiving decor.

pretty