You've Had a Birthday Part 2 (And Very Overdue!)

I finally loaded the pictures from my camera to my computer and I wanted to post a couple more pictures from our family birthdays and Christmas.

Brielle's Birthday Cake

Brielle and the Grandma Greats!

Brielle and Bampa on Christmas Eve at Grandma Red's house

Luke, Tanner, and Brielle in their new Christmas Jammies from G-ma Red

Luke and Tanner (If only they were really as sweet as they look!)

Tanner with his Tractor Cake

Luke at the Kay Family Party

Tanner at the Kay Family Party

One Year Older and Wiser Too!

So this is certainly the season for celebration around the world, and it may be even more so, just a little bit, in my family. The reason being, Tanner and Brielle both celebrate birthdays within a week of Christmas.

I guess I will start off with the must-writes, Christmas was wonderful. We all had a great time and the kids must have been very well behaved because Santa managed to find them. I didn't take many pictures because I was too caught up in video taping and enjoying myself. I am having major regrets now.

(Don't be offended if you didn't get a Christmas card, I never actually printed them!)

Tanner's birthday was before Christmas and he had a great little party. I made him the tractor cake he had been dreaming of and he got more toys than he know what to do with. I still can't believe he is three. He is such a fun little guy and he is just as melt-your-heart sweet as he is pull-out-your-hair wild. He constantly has us laughing our heads off. We are very proud of him and I can't wait to see what fun and surprises this year brings.

Brielle's birthday is after Christmas and I can not believe that my sweet little baby is one! She fell asleep in my arms this morning and I just couldn't get over how much she has grown. I thought of holding her a year ago as she slept in my arms. She was a tiny little princess with a head full of sporadic black hair and the softest skin in the world. Now she is still a little princess only quite a bit bigger than before, she has too little pig tails and can walk on her own two feet. She brings so much joy to our family and I am so excited for many more wonderful years to come.

It kind of feels weird not to mention Luke even though his birthday is nowhere in sight. He is such a good big brother and I can tell he truly loves his brother and sister. As I am typing this I can hear Luke saying to Tanner in the other room, "fine, I'm not playing with you unless you do what I say! Now, make a funny face!" I don't know about you, but I can definitely see the love in that statement. But in all honesty he is a great kid and a wonderful helper. I love them all more than I can say.

I haven't downloaded my pictures to the computer for a LONG time now so I will have to get on that and post some when I get them.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

So I guess my sweet little home town has started a grand (yes I do mean grand, not brand) new tradition, one which we were fortunate enough to witness. They are beginning an annual light parade and lighting ceremony which sends the entire town ablaze with tiny twinkling lights in a variety of hues. It was stupendous. This fine ritual actually took place the Saturday after Thanksgiving, however I am just now getting around to posting about it.
The little ones thought that they were just about as close to the North Pole as they could get in the middle of the mid west, and they were tickled pink. Well actually they were a little closer to blueish-purple, but they were tickled none-the-less.
I myself enjoyed the festivities quite a bit and I can't wait to continue the tradition for years to come. Maybe next year I will kick the guy in the big red suit off the fire engine so that I can have a place there waving to the little children in grand holiday merriment! We'll see.

This is our humble abode with our brand new Christmas Tree! This year is the first year that we have had a tree that actually stands taller than me without being on milk crates! Hooray for Sam's Club.

I just can't believe it!

I woke up this morning with a little knot in my stomach. My baby is ELEVEN months old today! Do you know what that means? In a short month she will be a YEAR old. I am not ready for her to be a year old. I am not ready for her to be eleven months old! It's bad enough that she has been walking for a little over a month now, but on top of that she is actually getting older too. I just can't take it. I am excited to see the little person she is becoming and all of her little personality traits she is developing, but does it have to go by so fast?

She climbed in the shower with the boys while she was still dressed

Needless to say, I love everything about her. I love how she wrinkles her nose when she smiles and how she walks down the hall "fake burping" because it makes us laugh (yes I know she should be a little princess, but it is really quite comical). I love to see her strutting her stuff and looking like she feels so cool when she follows her older brothers around. I may have said this before, but she really does make life a little softer around the edges, and if it continues to be so much fun watching her grow. . . grow on baby, grow on!

This is our sweet baby the day we brought her home from the hospital.

Here she is at one month

2 months in her blessing dress


3 months

4 months in Primm Nevada on the way to her first Disneyland trip!




5 months


6 months

7 months

8 months (first pony-tail)

9 months


10 months. I know this picture isn't the best and her hat doesn't match her clothes, but I just love her concerned look and her cutest little dimple.

I kinda really dislike this!

First off, thanks for all of your input on the privacy issue. I have decided today that for now I will stay public and just kind of be smart about the info I post and go with my gut feelings. If you haven't weighed in and would like to about the privacy issue, please feel free to post your opinion.

Now, let me explain the title of this post. I really enjoy playing with my photoshop and last year I was a little obsessed with making Christmas cards. I made some for a few of you, and a couple people have asked me if I was going to do it again. Okay, on to the title of the post. . . I don't really dislike making the Christmas cards, I actually like it, but I really dislike coming across as somebody that is trying to sale something to my friends. So, I am only posting this because a few people have asked about it, not because I am trying to get any body's "business." I really don't consider myself "good" at this, and I am by no means a professional. So please forgive this post and if you feel the need, continue to browse through my more thought provoking and informational entries. I don't know if this made a bit of sense to a soul out there!

Last years designs can still be seen at

http://kaydeem.tripod.com/christmas_cards

Here are a couple I have designed this year

Playing it safe, or living in fear???

Okay, so my mom has been going on and on about all of these horror stories about blogs and psycho creeps that use the blogs for evil. Since then I have been having an inner-self battle about whether or not to go private. Here is how my battle plays out.

Pros:

It is private therefore I have control over who is learning many details about my children and their day-to-day activities.

I don't have to worry about all of those psycho creeps out there who spend their lives fighting for the wrong team (the adversary's team) and may do something to wrong my innocent children.

Cons:

I really don't want to live my life in fear.

I don't mind people, even if I don't know them, reading about our day-to-day activities, (as long as they are not the aforementioned psycho creeps).

I want to continue to believe that the world is more good than evil.

Conclusion:

I really don't ever want to do anything that puts my children's lives or well being in danger, especially if doing so can be avoided. But for some strange reason I am still torn. Please, leave your input!!!

PS Any of you who are going private or have already done so, I would love to be added, my email address is kaydeem@yahoo.com

Here are some cute pictures of my kiddos. They have nothing with this post, but they are quite pleasant none-the-less :).

Tanner and his Luke-Made Pirate outfit, apparently Mommy's Headband + Super Tanner Cape= Pretty Awesome Pirate

Luke's Pirate costume always consists of his favorite red hat and dracula cape!

I love Her!

Cutest little fan at the Juab Football Game!

McCain and Obama

This was Halloween . . . and various other activities

Okay, so most of you know that we are total Disneyland fanatics, but we usually say that we go so often because the kids love it so much. Well that's not the case this time. Launey and I went to a timeshare presentation in Midway a few months ago and scored two free plane tickets to LA and a free hotel room for two nights in Anaheim. So, we packed up our things, dropped the kids off at their grandparents' house and flew to sunny California. And yes, it was sunny. In fact one day it was 98 degrees, at the end of October! We had a great time and we really appreciated our parents for watching our adorable kids while we took some time to reconnect. . . . with mickey of course!

Launey loving the Disney Sweets!

The two of us on the infamous Splash Mountain


I found a load of treasure!



Launey got locked up for it :(




I am not sure where this picture is but it is somewhere in the happiest place on earth.





We scored some free mickey ears, yes I know we look like geeks.

Launey apparently very frightened as we waited in line for Indiana Jones

How cute is this Jack-o-Lantern!

Okay, on to the children. These pictures are actually from our annual Ivers Family Halloween Bash which took place about a week or so before Halloween. I have actual Halloween pictures but the are on my memory card, in my camera, in the car. So, these will have to due.




Brielle was the cutest little ballerina ever!

Tanner was SUPER TANNER. He didn't want to be anything for Halloween except "just Tanner" but we got him to amp it up a little bit.

Luke was totally in his element dressed as a zombie, check out the zombie pose!

One more picture of my tiny dancer. Please ignore the messy shirt, it got that way from a variety of Halloween activities.