Tahoe in November 2015

In November, during the weekend before Thanksgiving, our family took a trip to Tahoe and Jen and Abby joined us for part of it! It was a lot of fun and then my Brother and Will Cox joined us too.  We did a lot of fun things and enjoyed the comfort of the cabin as well.  We love Tahoe and the beautiful get away it has been over the years.  We went to a children's museum in Truckee, walked near the shore, made yummy food, took the kids for a walk and enjoyed each other's company!!  

I am 30 - time to celebrate!!!

In October I turned 30!!! It was an awesome birthday, but one more thing would have to make it complete....a girls night in the city!! My friends and I enjoyed a tour of Ripley's Believe it or Not, dinner on the wharf and a walk around Ghirardelli square! It was a ton of fun and such a nice break from every day life.  I think I might have to do this every year ;)

Playing Catch up - December Activities

It's time for me to play a little catch up before I get too far into 2016!! Back in December we were able to do a lot of fun and fulfilling things as a family.  Each year on the first weekend in December we try to take the kids up to the temple to set our sites on what Christmas is really all about.  We bring hot chocolate and enjoy the beautiful lights.  This time we invited friends along.

A few other things we enjoyed were our ward Christmas party, Christmas themed music makers and seeing the tree lighting in San Ramon.  My mom came for Christmas this year which was really nice and we celebrated Christmas eve with the Wolf's.  While my mom was here, we went and looked at local Christmas lights and did puzzles.  It was so much fun! A tradition we started with Mason was the Elf on the Shelf.  He LOVED it and is still talks about how he dreams about Frank (that's what we named our Elf).   

Christmas is a wonderful time to reflect on the Savior and his love for us.  I still can't imagine what he suffered for us.  I really don't get it.  It makes me so grateful for my many blessings.  I have 2 beautiful, healthy children and a husband who I love more today than the day we got married.  I really have felt the Lord's hand in my life and I am so grateful for that. 

Mason's 4th Birthday

Can I just say that birthdays get way more fun as your kids get older.  This year it was so much fun to surprise Mason with little things on his Birthday!! The night before I decorated his door with crepe paper, made some healthy chocolate muffins for our preschool snack and Terrill wrapped his gifts.  When he woke up he was so excited it was his birthday.  It just so happened that it was my week to teach preschool so I decided that we would sing him happy birthday and play a couple of fun games to honor the birthday boy on his day! He was thrilled.  His face just lit up when all the kids were singing to him.  During preschool Ashley and Laurie dropped off some birthday balloons for him which was so sweet.

In the afternoon he didn't have to do quiet time but we snuggled up on our big chair and we fell asleep together....it was heavenly.  I had been asking him and asking him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and every time I asked it would change.... bottom line is this: Mason doesn't love dinner so all he cared about was the cake.  I can't even remember what we had for dinner that night and it wasn't even a week ago.  Haha!  After dinner we had cake, opened presents and headed to Chuck E. Cheese to play games.  He was so excited all day and he said thank you a lot too which just shows he has a really sweet side to him.

We love him so much and he bring such a bright light to our family.  He is a caring older brother (most of the time) and has endless energy.  Here are some more highlights about our newest 4 year old!!!

- Draws people (a circle with two legs coming out of the head and two arms)

- Can almost write his name (working on the order of the letters!)

- Gets SOOOO excited when Madison wakes up - he can't contain himself and she usually just sits there and watches him in a sleep fog as he bounces up and down

- Puts his shoes on the wrong feet and when I tell him that they are on the wrong feet he says he likes it like that

- HATES it when we have to leave something fun like: preschool, the park, a friends house, grandma and grandpas house...its tough on mom!

- Fully potty trained during the day and night and has been for about 8 months

- He can savor his treats meaning if he has some candy, he won't eat it all and will save some for the next day

- Shares everything with Maddie

- Memorizes books and reads them to Maddie (very recently)

- Learned to ride a bike with training wheels

- Continues to be obsessed with large sticks, swords and weapons in general

- About every other day will randomly tell me I'm beautiful...sigh

- 42 inches tall (85%)

- 37 lbs (60%)

- Plays quietly during an hour of quiet time every day (usually), but in general is excellent at playing alone

Madison is 15 months!

Madison is growing up too fast and she is just so much fun.  He is very communicative and does baby sign language, screams, yells, and does just about anything she needs to make her wishes known.  We love her spunk and pep she brings to life.  She can say: hi, that, this, mama and dada.  She is climbing up and down stairs almost safely, has her binky only during naps and night time.  Takes 2 naps a day and sleeps through the night consistently.  She loves almost all food and loves to chase around the big kids like she is one of them.  She doesn't love to give kisses unless it's on her terms and she definitely has stranger danger.  I can't wait to see what life has in store for this spunky, sweet and funny little miss!

Weight: 23.5lbs 78%

Height: 32 inches 88%

4th of July in Tahoe

Once again we spent a wonderful 4th of July in Tahoe! We had a blast with the family and also got to enjoy the fireworks this year from the boat!!