Makayla lately

 Makayla LOVES emptying the wipes container.  (so it got moved to the dresser)

 Makayla and Cielo playing....in february?  This picture really shows how Makayla has grown a ton & Cielo...hasn't.

 Makayla has mastered climbing up & down the stairs.  she was the earliest one to do it & it makes my life soo much easier- she has free reign of the house.

 walking when pushing her 'bike'.  And so smiley lately!

 sorry its out of order...stairs again.

 happy girl on my bday

 dressed up in a cupcake shirt- so cute!!

 And then she got stuck.  Haha

 and her bow is falling off

 can you tell I thought that was soo funny.

 speaking of stuck....she likes to climb & get stuck.

 (get those 3-6 month clothes out of there!) (and now I put the 9 month ones away)

another favorite get stuck place.  yes, that was the same evening.  next month we celebrate her 1st birthday!

Has it really been that long?

I am soo behind in posting.  I can't believe I didn't post in March because we did so much.  Which is probably why it isn't documented yet.  Way back in January (i think?!) Rob when snow camping with his brother Brian, Brian's wife, Kelsey, and Christopher.  Well, Christopher and Kelsey didn't make it all the way up Rock Canyon.  They came back to sleep in warm beds.  (yes, the adults had snowshoes).  And yes, these guys are crazy.  I wouldn't want to sleep outside in the cold.

 See- ccrazy!  its up to his knees!

 The campsite

 finally, a picture of Rob, (since Rob was taking pictures, he wasn't in the other photos. This is the morning after.

 Christopher lost one tooth. (end of January)

 Then 2 days later the 2nd one got knocked out by a (nerf) basketball.  We could already see the adult tooth coming in right when it fell out.  Yesterday he lost his 5th one as he was eating!

 I made these yummy desserts for v-day.  Rob loved them.

 Even I loved them and I'm not usually a cheesecake fan.

 My friend Melissa posted this on her food blog and I just had to make them: http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/01/red-velvet-cheesecake-bars.html

 I saw this idea on my friend Linda's preschool blog and just had to make it.  I love her blog because she uses stuff around the house for fun learning.

 He's feeding the penguin a fish with a letter written on it, so we can practice letter recognition.  See how she made it here: http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2013/01/feed-penguin.html

And I turned 29!  I celebrated by volunteering in Christopher's class, going to lunch at Tucanos with Rob, and a relief society dinner & program later that night.  Sadly I ate myself, and didn't sleep well that night.  but I think it was worth it. ;)  Oh, and I got tons of new clothes- which is just what I wanted!

Makayla @ 9 months

 Better get this up quick, before she's 10 months ;).  At Makayla's 9 month appointment she weighed 20 lbs & was 28" long.  She grew 5 lbs and 2 inches since her surgery 3 months ago!  She is rivaling Michael in size.  Her iron was low that day, so we have to give her iron drops once a day, with a recheck in a month.

 She is smiling and laughing more.

 sorry, I couldn't choose, they were all so cute!

 She eats cheerios like a champ.  And anything else she can get in her mouth. (i've pulled out cardboard, onion peels, etc.  I only found them because she was trying to nurse, but couldn't.  so I looked in her mouth (which she hates) and there they were.  This was after I swept the floor.)

 This doesn't really show it, but she's starting to scrunch her face up like I do in a funny smirk.

 This is the first outfit we bought for her, before she was born.  I found it on clearance at Sears for $8!  It even came with a longsleeve onesie & it feels like a blanket.

 This was a rare, but special bonding time with Daddy. Feeding the bottle is rare, bonding is not.  She makes a zzzz-ckkk sound w/daddy when he "flies" her around the room chasing her brothers.  Or her mommy.

 She loves standing up next to & walking along the furniture.  Last night she cried out in her "worried" voice, so I looked at her & noticed she had both hands clutching her toy, instead of the table.  She was afraid to move.

 We bought a fireplace insert with our tax return.  We've had tons of fires because it blows the warm air out, instead of sucking it up the chimney.  It raises the upstairs temperature 3-4 degrees, but lowers the basement by atleast that much.

 She also navigates the stairs perfectly (knock on wood).  She knows how to turn around, so I don't have to watch her on the stairs anymore. (yes!)

 Michael wanted to take our picture.  This was the best of the three.  Haha-Makayla looks like an oldfashioned 'serious' picture & you can tell I'm giving him directions through my teeth.

 And then he wants his picture taken.

 Happy girl! (LOOOOVVVVEEE pink!)

Close-up of the fireplace insert.  Its very hot when there's a fire going, so we watch her close during that time.  But when there's no fire, she loves strumming the handle.

Christmas 2012

 The boys slept in a tent in Makayla's room so that they wouldn't peek at the gifts
Santa brought them, on their way up to wake us up.  The downside was they woke Makayla up before 7, and Daniel & Lindsay weren't coming until 7:30am, so we had a little waiting.  Rob set some chairs up by the stairs so no one would 'sleep walk.'

 Makayla & Christopher are wearing their new jammies

 Look what Santa left in their stockings- giant crayon banks!

 Makayla got a toy remote from Santa.  Fitting because she always wants the one we are using while watching tv.

 Ice cream anyone?

 Michael is very excited about his giant blow pop.

 We got the boys their own art sets (no arguments!)

 Makayla had to take a nap part way through, so she had more presents to open when she woke up.

 She LOVES her first doll, from Grandma & Grandpa Stephenson.  They bought it in Alaska (we have Loftus family up there too, so it is special for many reasons)  She likes to touch her eyes and hair.  We let her play with it because Grandma wants her to enjoy it, but we'll put it up when friends are over.

 Christopher got this awesome hot wheels set from Santa.  He's holding the remote that makes it go fast!

 Michael got legos & we found a tub to put them in.  On the couch you can see how spoiled I am.  I got a sewing machine!! from Santa, fleece sheets (heavenly), new slippers, tons of chocolate (all gone now :(.  My inlaws gave me a necklace and that awesome steam cleaner!! in the background, so now I actually mop our kitchen floor.  My parents gave me a long sleeve work-out shirt!! (now, if it would get above 40 degrees outside instead of 10, then I can use it.)  and digital picture frame!! (enjoyment for everyone)  

I was really excited about Rob's presents too.  Usually I can't think of what to get him, so I have him tell me or buy them himself.  This year I actually surprised him!  I got him a digital picture frame for work!  And Santa got him this little camera that is on a hot wheels car that can hook to a bike helmet & video record while you are mountain biking (or going down a hot wheels track).  His parents got him a stand that turns his bike into a stationary bike so he can exercise inside during the winter.  He's been talking about getting one of those for a while.  My parents got him a home depot gift card (he LOVES that store) & he already bought some cool things with it.

Grandparents sent the kids awesome presents too, that aren't pictured.

Now the reason for the season:

 The nativity (on Christmas eve).  Of course Daniel, Lindsay & baby Kate had to be Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus.  Makayla & I were Angels.  Rob was the narrator.  Michael was a shepard and Christopher was a wise man.

 Michael's present on Christmas Eve was huge!  We went through alot of wrapping paper trick wrapping this year.  He got Candyland & we played it while we listened to my new Christmas CD (David Archuletta).

 Christopher and Makayla opened pj's.  Rob opened a (homemade) gift card for a new suit.

 Daniel fell asleep to Simon nibbling his ear.

Family sleep party while we watched a movie (probably one of the new ones we got...Harry Potter 7 &8...oh wait, the kids didn't watch those...Horton hears a Who or the Lorax)  Isn't baby Kate so cute!