Do we live in Arizona???

SEE...it DOES get chilly in Arizona!! It was cold enough this morning to have the girls wear hats and gloves. Although, they really only needed hoodies and not real jackets!! But still...it was cold for what we're used to!! :-) We headed to the park anyways to let the girls ride their bikes and enjoy being outside. It was a fun way to spend the morning on the last day of the year!

~Our Loves~

Potato Facial Anyone???

Can you tell we had mashed potatoes for dinner tonight???? :-)

Apparently, Payton is very concerned about her skin and felt a potato facial would help with all her wrinkles!!!

Oh how we love this girl!!

~Christmas 2010~

Christmas morning was so much fun at our house! Alexa REALLY got into the whole Santa thing this year and Payton was sooooo much more interested than last year too. It was so much fun to watch their excitement and joy!

Alexa has been asking for a pillow pet FOR.EV.ER!!!! And so Gramma & Grampa Mortenson gave them each one for Christmas. We decided on the same for both girls to cut down on the fighting over them...however, already today, Payton has been wanting the one Alexa has even though it's EXACTLY the same!!! Silly girls!

Alexa's BIG present this year from Santa Claus was her first big girl bike! And Payton gave her the helmet. As you can see...she was just a leeeeetle bit excited!!!

And Payton was more than happy to take over Alexa's old Dora Trike!!

We had a great morning but now it seems like sickness has taken hold of our house...or rather just Kevin! Hopefully it'll pass soon so we can enjoy the rest of our holiday weekend! Merry Christmas everyone...we hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas, full of the Spirit of our Lord and Savior!

One last picture of the girls in their new dressup clothes!!

Thanks Uncle Darron & Aunt Ann (and peeps) for the fun present!!!

..::Christmas Eve 2010::..

Our day started off with the girls playing with Gramma and Grampa! They loved having them here when they woke up. We decided to give them their Christmas present then, since we wouldn't be around them on Christmas morning to see them open it. Alexa, of course, had to be part of the action! Merry Christmas G&G, we hope you enjoy your photo album!!

We then ventured out to the Arizona Sonoron Desert Museum for the morning. I think this may be a new Christmas Eve tradition for us. We got there shortly before they were starting a show where we got to see a bunch of the behind-the-scenes animals up close and personal. The girls loved it. We got to see ferrets, pelicans, skunks, quail, birds, porcupine...I think that's it. They let the birds fly through the little auditorium and they just about took off our heads. It was pretty cool. And it was such a fun family activity to do on Christmas Eve.

We enjoyed the rest of our day and even went out for dinner tonight since we'd had our "Christmas Eve" party last night. That was another relaxing thing that I think we'll have to make tradition!! As long as we're not having a family party on Christmas Eve, that is. Then it was on to opening our Christmas Pajamas. This is another tradition carried on from my side of the family and I love it. I love seeing the girls in matching jammies and how excited they get to open them. Aren't they the cutest little "Santa's Helpers" you've ever seen??!!!

Once the girls were in bed, Kevin and I got busy helping Santa get everything ready! Alexa had made a note for Santa several weeks ago advising which tree the presents needed to go under. She didn't want him to get confused!! And she wanted to leave cookies for Santa and some veggies for his reindeer, along with a drink of water for both too. She's really been into Christmas this year and I've loved seeing her excitement. Payton has realized a bit too...she knows who Santa is and that he says "ho, ho, ho". She points him out whereever we go these days! I can't wait to see their sweet little faces tomorrow morning!!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!

Christmas Party

We had our very first Christmas Party at our house tonight. Kevin's parents came up from Elfrida as they're heading up to Phoenix tomorrow to spend the rest of the holidays with Kevin's other siblings. Duane & Emily and family also came. It's so fun to be around family again and be able to celebrate the holidays with them. We had a big smorgasbord feast as is tradition on my side of the family...Christmas Eve is all about the appetizers and treats and so I wanted to carry that tradition on. We had sooooo much yummy food. Christmas really is so much more fun with kids! Thanks Mortensons for celebrating with us, we had a great time and are looking forward to the rest of the Christmas season!

Baby Bump Update: 5.5 Months

Well, here we are at 5 1/2 months. Baby boy is moving like crazy!! And apparently, growing like crazy too! I swear I'm bigger with this pregnancy than my first two. Perhaps I'll have to do a comparison at 6 months with pictures from all my pregnancies!

::DDD = Daddy-Daughter Date::

For Kevin's Christmas present this year, he requested the Christmas Package Basketball Tickets for the U of A games. This includes 4 games around the holidays. Tonight was the 2nd game and Alexa got to go on a date with her daddy! She was sooooo excited. She'd already been to a U of A Football game but now she got to go to a basketball game too. Kevin said she was totally enthralled. And she actually made it the entire game! Some popcorn and a lemonade, not to mention her good little friend Pierson being there too, didn't hurt!! I love that Kevin makes it a priority to spend one-on-one time with his girls!

~I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home~

The girls get sooooo excited when they know daddy is almost home! Kevin always calls right as he leaves work, so I can alert the girls right about when we expect him to pull in the driveway. Well, tonight, they were extra excited and were waiting for quite some time before he actually got home. And this is how I found them!! I sure love how much they love their daddy!

**Christmas Cuties**

..::Dear Santa::..

Alexa insisted on writing her own letter to Santa this year. She dictated to me what she wanted written so that she could SEE it and then copy it in her own handwriting. Here is her letter to Santa Claus:

Translation:

Dear Santa

I would like

For Christmas

little fire truck

Doll house

Pillow Pet

Bike

Stuffed Animal

School Book

Love Alexa

Then today, we went to the mall to mail the girls' letters at the special mail box especially for Santa Mail located at Macy's. After that adventure (you can tell Payton LOVED it!!), we headed to our community center for a picture with Santa. This is the first time we've done it and Alexa was so excited. Payton, on the other hand, wouldn't go anywhere near the jolly old man without her mama near! So our first picture with Santa, yours truly gets to be along for the ride!

Here's Alexa telling Santa everything she would like for Christmas!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas with all our fun Christmas-related festivities!

~Gingerbread Houses~

We did our annual making of the gingerbread house tonight. I let Alexa pick out a little village as opposed to just one house and we will definitely be going back to the ONE house next year. It was soooo much work putting those little things together that we only got 2 made. Alexa had a lot of fun decorating and eating the candy and Payton just enjoyed eating the candy!

A First for Alexa...

Today we took the girls for their first official visit to the dentist. I know what you're thinking...Alexa is FOUR and she's just NOW going to the dentist??? Well, being that her daddy was in dental school when she was born, he'd periodically check her teeth and we figured she was fine. We knew that once Kevin graduated, we'd have a VERY affordable :-) dentist to go to. So that's what we waited for!! Kevin is loving his job and where he works and so I finally booked an appointment for the girls and I to get cleanings. Alexa did sooooo well! She wasn't nervous at all. And Monique, our hygienist, was wonderful! Payton on the other hand...she didn't want to have anything to do with the big scary dental chair (even if it was at her daddy's office), so her first official visit will have to wait for another time!

...:Christmas Lights:...

This weekend, we headed up to Phoenix to go to the Christmas Lights at the Mesa Temple. The last time Kevin and I did this was the first year we were married, so it was fun to go back and take the girls with us. We coerced Kevin's brother, Darron, and his family into coming with us since we were staying at their house and we all had a great time!

***

Alexa loved the lit up plastic bubbles in the reflection pond!

We tried to get a family picture, but Alexa didn't want to be a part of the family apparently!

Aaaahhhh....we finally convinced her to be in at least one picture!!

It was a beautiful night at such a beautiful place. We truly felt the Spirit of Christmas as we walked through all the lights and looked at the various scenes from the Bible, depicting the story of our Savior's birth. I think we'll make this a family tradition from now on!

What Alexa Sees...

Alexa LOVES to take pictures. For some reason this morning, she wanted to take pictures of Payton drinking her milk. And since I was trying to get ready for the day, anything to keep them occupied was good with me!! I might be a little, okay a LOT biased, but I sure do have cute girls!!

Comparison

Every once in awhile, I get Payton dressed for the day and am suddenly hit with a total deja vu moment! And I realize I have totally seen this little girl somewhere before, just a little bit different. Today was one of those days. The outfit, the smile, the piggies...it all came back to me from a different time and place...so I had to share it with you! I love the similarities in my girls but I also love their differences. Plain and simple...I just love them to death!!

****

On a side note...Alexa had her 4 year check up last week and even though she had to get FOUR shots, she did awesome!! Her current stats are 41 1/2 " (85th percentile) and 38 lbs (65th percentile). She is a complete joy (most of the time!!) to have around. She's my sweet & sour little lady...most of the time, she's so sweet, but we definitely have our sour moments too!! She's so smart, TOO smart sometimes, and is thriving on learning about everything around her right now. She loves being a big sister, a little too much sometimes, and is very excited about having a baby brother. In her words, right after we found out, "I knew I was right, Mom!!"

We love you Alexa and are loving watching you grow up!

IT'S...

Looks like we'll be adding a lot of BLUE to our massive amounts of pink in this house!!!

~Gaslight Theatre~

If you live in or around the Tucson area, you NEED to experience The Gaslight Theatre! Kevin first introduced me to this place when we were dating. And it's taken us almost 7 years to go back again. But it was well worth the wait.

***

It's an old saloon type theatre where they put on musicals...the kind where you boo when the villain comes on stage and cheer when the good guys come on! It's totally interactive and really just so much fun! We went to their Christmas show, The Secret Santa, and it got me into the Christmas mood for sure...I think it'll be a holiday tradition from here on out, especially now that we're back in Tucson!!

What a fun date night with my man! Thanks babe for a great night out. And a very BIG thank you to Kevin's parents for staying with the girls so we didn't have to pay for a babysitter!!! :-)

--Baby Bump Update: 4 1/2 Months--

Here I am with baby bump #3 at 4 1/2 Months!

****

I'm definitely not as on top of taking pictures this pregnancy at each month milestone like I was with the first two so this will have to do! Things have been going as well as can be this pregnancy. I have the normal aches and pains that I am so blessed to experience! But I have been going to the chiropractor and now to a physical therapist to help with that so hopefully we'll be able to maintain a lot better this time around as compared to my pregnancy with Payton. The first trimester nausea has come and gone which is FABULOUS!! It makes dealing with everything else so much easier. I am bigger earlier this time around but I'm blaming that on this being baby #3!!! So it goes...I just have to accept it! The best part is, we find out on MONDAY, just a few days away, what we're having and I'm oh so very excited! I have had no feelings one way or another as to what gender this baby is and so I'm looking forward to being able to start thinking about names, colors, etc!! Let's hope this baby cooperates. Here's to Monday!!!

~Thanksgiving 2010~

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

***

We had a great Thanksgiving today. Dinner and fun with the family! Thanks Duane & Emily for hosting a great get-together! We've had some pretty fun Thanksgivings in the past with friends in Louisville, but it sure was nice being back with family to celebrate this holiday with. That's definitely one of the things we are grateful for this year!

****

Alexa had a blast playing with her cousins!

Payton enjoyed the food!!!

And Kevin and I just really enjoyed being back in Arizona around family!

Our camera died while we were there, so hopefully some family members will send me more pics from our fun day and I'll add them to this post!

***

Anyways, we definitely have so much to be thankful for this year. To name a few: Our Savior and Redeemer, the gospel, our family (and that includes all our extended family members!!), our sweet girls and the addition of another baby to our family, our health, Kevin's good job, our home and vehicles, wonderful friends (all over the place!), and each other! The list could go on and on. We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful and safe holiday too!

..::Got MUD??::..

This afternoon, the girls were playing outside and I noticed that Payton was playing in the dirt. She does this quite often as she likes to use a shovel and bucket...but never has she done THIS before!! After playing for awhile, she showed up at the patio door, saying "Num num num num!" and I saw her face. I immediately had to grab the camera!!

***

And then later after dinner, the girls got oreo cookies for their family home evening treat and once again, her face looked like a muddy mess! At least it wasn't dirt this time!

Happy 4th Birthday Alexa!!

To say Alexa was excited for her birthday would be the understatement of the YEAR!!! She has been talking about her birthday since LAST November! Crazy girl! We've been counting down on the calendar for quite some time now and so she was absolutely elated, to say the least, to finally wake up this morning, on the anniversary of the day of her birth!!! I can't believe I have a FOUR year old! I know most of my friends from high school have kiddos MUCH older than Alexa...but it really just boggles my mind that my oldest baby is now a whole four years old! How did that happen???!!! :-)

***

Anyways, we started out the day with chocolate chip waffles, a highly requested favorite of the birthday girl's!! Then she asked me if she could exercise! And, of course, Payton wanted in on the fun!! Nothin' like gettin' the blood pumpin' to get your party started, right??!!!

After getting ready for the day, Alexa got to go on a birthday errand to the post office to pick up her birthday package from her Gramma Jenny and Papa Ken. My mom had told her several days ago that something was in the mail and so I have heard non-stop, several times a day even, "mom, when is gramma jenny's present going to get here?"!! It's been fun!! :-) She was super excited to open it. Here's the video too, as promised Mom!! Enjoy!

Then it was onto the party!!! I think if Alexa could have invited every. single. person. that she knows, she would have!! We have been blessed with a lot of fun friends here, Alexa especially, and so it was hard to narrow it down! Here are the preparations for the party...can you tell Alexa is excited??? We took away nap time this week and so it was a looooooooong afternoon for the birthday girl before the party actually started!!

But FINALLY...it was time for friends to show up! And we had a great time! We played games, ate pizza, opened presents, cracked open a pinata and devoured cake and ice cream! It was fun had by all!!! THANK YOU to all of Alexa's wonderful and generous friends!

She was spoiled rotten!!! :-)

Drum roll please....here's the cake! She's been wanting a Dora birthday for pretty much the whole year and so I had a lot of time to think about what I was going to do for her cake. But when it came down to it, simple was what I decided. I think it turned out great though. She loved it and that's what counts, right?! And the bonus part...she gets to play with all the toys I used as cake toppers!!

And we can't forget the singing of the birthday song! I think this is Alexa's favorite part! Seriously. Her face lights up when she gets sung to, it's pretty cute!

Happy Birthday Alexa!

We love you so much!