Finley Turns Four

Tonight we celebrated Fin's fourth birthday with batman cupcakes and a new fish! Daddy finished up his last day in Calgary and is now home for good. We are looking forward to a few weeks together as a family before he starts work in January.

Finley put in a request for Batman cupcakes a little while ago. If I had used icing instead of sprinkles, they may have turned out a little bit nicer looking, but they sure were tasty!

He put on two yellow and two blue candles, and eagerly blew them out!

I can't believe how big he is getting! He served up everyone else before keeping a cupcake for himself. 

A little while ago when we were at the pet store he asked if he could have a fish. He was thrilled when he opened his present to find a bright blue Beta fish. He promptly named him roll-down-windows and spent the rest of the evening watching him swim!

Four Years

 Four years ago we were living in Edmonton, Mike was finishing up three months of work in Calgary, and my little sister was just married. It was a crazy time for our family. I was due to have our fourth baby on December 27th and was hoping he or she would stay put until after Christmas. We were pretty surprised when our Finley arrived a week early and loved celebrating Christmas with a new babe at home.

 It's so crazy to believe that tiny baby is now FOUR years old! He is so grown up and such a wonderful little soul. All day today he has been saying things like, "I'm four now, so I can be patient." or "Hyrum can go first, I'm four now, so I'm big and I can wait." He's always been pretty easy going and obedient. At the grocery store he typically behaves better than his older siblings and is such a great listener. He adds so much character and fun to our family, I couldn't imaging it without him!

 We sure love our Mr. Finnegan! Happy birthday buddy!

Christmas Concerts

The season of school concerts has arrived! I went to the children's school at noon today to enjoy their Christmas concert! It's so crazy having three kids in school. I got to the gym just as they were turning off the lights. With the baby in the sling, I found a little spot of floor in the front next to a few other parents who were almost late. It wasn't the comfiest, but it gave me the best view in the house! Joe's grade did a fun candy cane rock song and dance. Camilla's grade did some 80's music and costumes and Hyrum's grade sang in their pajamas! They went through all of the era's and how each celebrated Christmas. It was pretty fun! 

All the Feels

Today brought....

A genuine melt-your-heart baby grin from Sawyer.

A feverish boy with the sweetest blond curls.

The fresh scent of lemon bread in the kitchen...

A surprise visit from Mr. Clause.

A little girl who still believes.

A Quiet, but content little boy.

Snow Day

I think the best part about living here is all of the "snow days" we get in the Winter. The littles were pretty excited to be home from school today! I was able to sneak in a little bit of a study this morning and really enjoyed this article in the Ensign. As I read this quote tears stung my eyes as the Holy Ghost testified of the truth of his words. Even though we have some pretty crazy days around here and we are continually practicing the art of forgiveness, there is no better place to be!

"Though earthly families are far from perfect, they give God's children the best chance to be welcomed to the world with the only love on earth that comes close to what we felt in heaven - parental love. Families are also the best way to preserve and pass on moral virtues and true principles that are most likely to lead us back to God's presence." - Henry B. Eyring

Counting Down

Today we enjoyed a slow morning and big breakfast together as a family. Daddy has one more week left in Calgary, so the count down is on! It will be so nice to have him home for the holidays and working so close again.

After breakfast we put on semi-coordinating outfits and tried to snap a family picture for a Christmas card. It was a tad chilly outside and the kids did pretty good for the most part. It's always hard using a self timer with a family this size, but we did manage one or two okay pictures. With baby being late and so close to December, I haven't gotten around to half of the things I am usually able to do for Christmas...

We spent the afternoon watching movies with the kids and taking turns snuggling Sawyer. He's pretty cute!

Watching Mike hold our babies is probably one of my very favorite things. He's such a great Dad and I feel so lucky to have him! 

Our evening was spent soaking in the glow of the Christmas tree. The ornaments we brought back from Amsterdam make me so happy! I wish I had bought a bunch more. It was fun to reminisce about our time in Europe after the littles were in bed. I'd love to go back there one day!

Three Weeks

'Tis the season for Christmas sweaters! This little guy is three weeks old already. I can't believe how much he's growing and changing!

Sweet Dreams

I love when morning brings me a sleepy baby on my bed!

Sawyer's Photo Shoot

 My sister was in town this weekend and offered to take a few pictures of Sawyer for me. She is super talented with a camera and was able to get some amazing pictures that I will cherish forever! He slept through the chaos and noise in the house while we made use of the natural morning light and a nearby window. I picked up this little red handmade hat at a little shop in London last May and I've been dreaming of putting on a little baby ever since. I adore the way that these turned out, and probably posted way too many! We are kind of in love with this sixth babe of ours though!

Merry Unbirthday

 Today Nana, Uncle Mike and Auntie Chris drove out to visit. They came with a big surprise! Since we weren't able to get together for the kids birthdays this year, they decided to have one big birthday party for everyone. The kids were so excited about their gifts and blowing out all of the candles on their cake. We spent the afternoon playing with their new toys and visiting. Ollie really hammed it up when it was cake time and had us all laughing. We're so glad they came!