The Last 6 Weeks of Winter (Pearl of course)

Go ahead, watch her grow before your eyes!

Winter loves to have pictures taken after church in her Sunday best, can't you tell?

Out for the count

Cuddling with big Brother

No really she loves having her picture taken after church

Sleepy kids and sleepy mom

And finally, a happy Sunday afternoon picture

Sisters

I think I have a picture of all my kids with their blankets all around their head/face. They have all loved to be smothered in their blankies

Spook eyes, as Aunt Sar calls them

One of my favorite Sunday outfits yet! Now only if her tiny feet would grow so she can start sporting all of her cute shoes.

What We Loved About 2009

So for those of you who did not receive Christmas greetings from us (oh, wait, that's all of you:) here is our year end update in Valentine's Day form!

When asked what they loved about 2009...

Halle said:
*getting our baby out so that we are not just sitting around looking at baby names
*going to Hawaii
*starting second grade
*starting piano lessons and performing in two recitals
*going to Build-A-Bear
*craft time at our family reunion
*winning the family reunion talent trophy for "mind reading"
*reading Boxcar Children, Babysitters Club and the Friend Magazine
*learning how to play chess
*being an art helper at school

Haven said:
*Hawaii, namely cracking a coconut and visiting Pearl Harbor, but not getting a prickly in her bottom or saltwater in her nose
*going to Ensign Ranch two times in December
*starting kindergarten
*playing with stuffed animals and barbies
*learning to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels
*losing two teeth
*having a baby sister
*getting Nancy (a huge stuffed dog)
*going to the drive-in theater in the summertime

Asher said:
*Halle and Haven
*toys
*camping
*going to the beach in Hawaii
*riding on the airplane and seeing the beach from the sky
*feeding the animals at Grandma and Grandpa Lemme's "property"
*riding on Grandpa Soptich's tractor
*going to Aunt Sarah and Parker and Kaden's house
*his teachers at church
*going to Home Depot (he said he loved this one A LOT)

Mike said:
*having a sweet new baby girl
*jumping on our new trampoline with the kids
*going to Hawaii for a dental conference (next time he wants it to be a "real" vacation)
*going to LVI, another dental conference, this time in Las Vegas
*sleeping in a trailer (instead of our tent) at our family reunion
*getting a new car, that's right he's no longer driving my college car
*going on a road trip with the youth of our ward to Salt Lake, his mission stomping grounds, for General Conference
*being at home the week after Christmas without any plans
*watching Halle consume books like he does
*volunteering in Haven's kindergarten class
*wrestling with Asher

I said:
*welcoming baby Winter Pearl
*playing softball, I was 4 1/2 months pregnant at the end of the season
*experiencing General Conference with the youth of our ward
*beach hopping in Hawaii with my kids and my "personal assistant," Jenna
*working out at CrossFit
*living up life with three "big" kids before having a new baby
*reuniting with old Issaquah friends on the 4th of July
*finally joining the ranks of homeowners
*mastering an amazing bread recipe
*seeing White Christmas, live in Seattle, with Mike the girls and our parents
*being surrounded by so much family

Baby Girl is Growing and the Catch-up Post (just keep scrolling!)

Above are the amazing pictures that my sister took of Miss Winter Pearl when she was 8 days old. I love them and am so grateful that she was able to take them. (Go ahead and checkout her other photography masterpieces here.) I have some serious anxiety this time around about how fast my baby is growing. I'm really trying to just soak it all up and hold her even if other things feel more pressing. The following are just a few of the pictures we've taken of our little weed over the past few weeks.

We ventured to church for the first time last week. Winter looked pretty darn cute in her new dress and accessories!

This is where she sleeps for 6-8 hours at a time every night. Mike thinks this swing looks like it will send her into orbit! I don't care, I like it anyway.

4 week old Winter

Now starts the back-blogging...

Mom and Dad got the kids a trampoline for Christmas and when they delivered it, my dad thought he was so funny making the kids think they were getting these really cool pvc pipes. Honestly, I'm sure they could have thought of some great uses for them.

This was when they saw their real gift.

After it was finally assembled, the kiddos and Mike tried it out in the dark.

We took our parents to see White Christmas for their Christmas gift this year. It was a super fun evening and the girls are still singing the tunes.

We picked out the perfect tree that was only crispy the second half of December :(

We celebrated my birthday at Ensign Ranch with all of my dad's family. My cake said happy birthday Princess Crystal, which my brothers really got a kick out of.

Aunt Becky provided hours of crafting. The little girls were on cloud nine.

Asher and Ryry kickin' back with a good book.

Halle and Gracie performed a little impromptu Christmas recital for the whole group. I used to love to do the same things with my cousins when I was their age. Except we gave out tickets to our shows!

It snowed our last night at the ranch. I think my kids were pretty excited.

I love this picture of Asher getting all of his great aunts to play ring around the rosie with him.

When we got home from the trip we all took a little nap. The girls opted for a quiet time instead. When we woke up, we couldn't find them anywhere. Mike was really starting to freak out when I discovered them sleeping tightly in soon to be baby's closet with the doors closed.

We attended the annual Fire Department Christmas party, which has been a tradition since I was 8 years old. Santa loves to tell my kids that I used to sit on his lap when I was little.

My niece, Kendal was in rare form that night, but was content hanging out on the concrete floor of the station.

Halle also played in her second piano recital. She played Up on the Housetop and Away in a Manger. She did awesome!

My crazy kids the Sunday before Christmas (posing next to our crispy, yet beautiful Christmas tree).

We ventured back to Ensign Ranch on Dec. 16th (yes, two days before Winter was born) for my family Christmas celebration. As tradition has it, we acted out the nativity and of course I got to be Mary.

The kids all got costumes and had a blast dressing-up the rest of the weekend. This picture of our army boys cracks me up. They look like the 3 stooges reporting for duty!

It wouldn't seem like Christmas without some fun in the snow. Does anyone else have grown brothers who still wrestle? This was Dustin and Jeremy seeking revenge on Mike.

My three "little" brothers.

My last preggo pictures, the day before we went to have Winter.

Mike had off the 23rd thru Jan. 4th which made for an awesome Christmas break. Honestly, between having a sweet newborn and having my hubby home for so long, I couldn't have asked for anything more. He took the kids to Christmas Village where they enjoyed a train ride.

We made snicker trains before Christmas. Halle hearts Bing Crosby ever since we saw White Christmas.

Asher ate most of his ingredients in the construction phase of this project.

We spent Christmas Eve with Mike's parents. Aren't they a good looking group of shepherds? (BTW, that's one of the sister missionaries sitting next to Mike, holding Winter.)

After opening Christmas jammies, Halle got everything set for Santa. Click on the picture to read her special signs/notes.

I think she wanted Santa to leave his dirty "dishes" as evidence that he actually came and enjoyed the treats. I love that girl.

Sisters

Christmas morning! Halle had asked if they could get up at 8 AM, which I told her was a great plan. She then said if she woke up early, she would just read a book until it was time. And they really did stay in bed until 8. Again, love her.

The aftermath. We didn't bother with still pictures while opening presents.

1 week old Winter
The whole day was simply exhausting for her.

Our friends, the Yeates, came to visit a couple weeks ago. They had a baby boy two weeks before Winter was born.

Freddy and Halle with matching smiles.

Ali and Haven

Asher and Henry

The whole gang which has doubled in size since we started hanging out in dental school! We love you, Yeates family!

Catherine and Aunt Marge (aka Ciera) made Winter a box full of beautiful flowers to wear on her sweet little head. We all love them, but the girls have been particularly fascinated by them.

One of Mike's projects over the break was to build a loft bed for Haven. For FHE last week, we all helped sand the wood. Don't worry, everyone was provided with eye protection. After pictures of our completed project to come.

I wore a mask when I spray painted the bed today, but some how I still ended up with paint on the sides of my nose and upper lip. Click to enlarge.

And now, I think I'm finally caught up. See, we really were alive in November and December!