Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! And yes I am as tired as I look in these pictures. Oh well my kids look cute!

I was really surprised at how interested Callie was with the presents and actually unwrapped her presents (with a little help)! She went crazy over this baby doll walker thing that Santa gave her, Ron couldn't put it together fast enough! So fun to watch her play with an actual girlie toy (we don't have very many of those around the house).

Mason and Noah got Just Dance 3 game for the Wii. We had a lot of fun trying it out! ok. Maybe I had a little too much fun!

And last but not least Santa left a trampoline for the boys. When Mason saw it he yelled "It did fit on his sleigh!" They LOVE it!!!!! Even Callie can't get enough of the tramp. She kicks and screams when you take her off of it. The bouncing doesn't scare her at all.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve tradition! Every Christmas Eve my family does a big dinner and some sort of Christmas program. My Aunt Kelly goes all out with beautiful decor and yummy food!

This year we made it a Christmas Eve Pajama party.

And then of course we stopped by the Huber household. Harley and Tanner planned an adorable program with songs and a sweet message. Crazy night but I loved it! Good thing I stayed up until 2 am the night before wrapping presents! That way I did manage to get some sleep.

Hmmmm... I wonder why these dogs LOVE Joyce so much?!

Best early Christmas present!

Tradition! Every year for Christmas my family does a gift exchange with all the siblings. It has changed over the years as our family grows. The past few years we have been doing our exchanges as couples and we go out for the evening no kids. It's kind of nice to socialize with my brothers and sisters minus the crazy kids!

This year Corinne had me and she surprised me with pictures/framed with shots of my children. She sneekily took my kids and had their pictures taken! I LOVE the pictures and already have them hanging in my home.

Temple Lights!

For Family Night we went to see the Christmas Lights at the Temple tonight! I love taking my family to the temple no matter what time of year. Something about walking around those beautiful grounds. My children get very excited every time we visit the temple. Noah even asked me who was going to get married tonight. (He knows that people get married in the temple.)

9 months old!

I can't believe my baby girl is 9 months old! I can't imagine our family with out her! She is so fun! Being my first girl I have already noticed a difference between her and my boys. She threw her first tantrum last month rolling on the ground and everything! I was laughing really hard.

Callie's 9 month stats:

weight- 16 lbs. 8oz (which is in the 10th percentile)

length- 27 3/4 in. long (average)

She has been waving Hi and Bye Bye for a couple months now. (And I PROMISE has even said Bye a couple times... Maryann is my witness!) Other then that her only words are Ma-Ma and Da-Da.

She lights up when anyone talks to her. I think she just loves attention.

She loves to clap her hands and give high fives.

She LOVES her brothers and wants to do whatever they are doing. Including playing outside! Callie would live outside if I let her. If she is being cranky and I can't get her to calm down all I have to do is step outside and immediately she is happy. When her brothers are outside she stands at the sliding glass door yelling and screaming, as if to tell them "How dare you leave me in here! Come save me!"

She doesn't want to eat babyfood all that often. She wants REAL food. It's really hard! I have to watch her like a hawk. I don't remember going through this with my boys. But maybe that's just because I have 2 little boys leaving crumbs behind for her to find.

She LOVES ice water. It's the funniest thing ever. If you are drinking water she gets really mad if you don't share!

She also LOVES the bathtub and bathroom. We have to be extra diligent about keeping that door shut. Everytime you walk by the bathroom she gets really happy and kicks her legs because she thinks you are going to give her a bath.

Office Christmas Party

My work Christmas party was this weekend. I have worked at Mesa Dental Care for almost 12 years! (Yes I'm getting old!) I started working here right out of high school. I remember the day of my interview (even what I was wearing!). After my interview I ended up showing up again that same day with MCC class schedules where Marge (the office manager) and I picked out my classes. We did this because she needed a full-time employee. I took classes before work, during my lunch hour and after work. My boss was always very supportive of my education and I was able to both work and go to school full-time. Marge even paid me $10 for every A I got at MCC! I will always be appreciative for her encouragement.

Even when I was in Dental Hygiene school they allowed me to work the days I was off. (Which was constantly changing with my class schedule and lab/clinic times. Then they hired me again right out of Dental Hygiene School. Even though alot of things have changed it's still a great place to work and be myself.

The Dynamic Trio:

I love these wonderful women! Jo Ann and Myrna taught me everything I know about Dentistry. I wouldn't be the same nerdy hygienist with out them and I mean it! Myrna (pictured left) is an amazing office manager and friend. It's really nice to work for someone who apprectiates family values, is honest and is understanding. I really learned good hard work ethic from her!

This is one of our ads from the yellow pages. And yes I used to be blonde.

Jo Ann was not only my mentor but is a close friend. This woman is the funnest, smartest and super tallented at what she does. You have to watch out working her! You are likely to get shot with a rubber band or sprayed with water (and you really have to be careful when she is cleaning the nasty traps! Haha! Her hands go flying! Ewwwww!). She really should have been a dentist. She is literally Dr. Nia's right arm, he'd be lost with out her. I am very lucky to have worked side by side with her for almost 12 years now.

And yes this is a picture of them endulging in CANDY!

Dr. Nia is an excellent dentist and wonderful boss.

Hallelujah!!

Yay!!!! Callie got her first teeth this week! FINALLY!!!!! I feel like she has been teething since she was 2 months old. Callie has been a very "drooly" baby from the get-go. I guess that's what I deserve when I brag about not have slobbery children! I still think she is absolutely adorable but sometimes the drool is ridiculous!

With Mason and Noah I never knew when they were "teething" it was just like "Oh! Look another tooth!" Kinda nice. With Callie she is cranky, slobbery and tries to chew on any and every object she can get her hands on! It's hilarious!

(Great Grandma Hopkins and Callie!)

Sadly, even her crib has been victimized by Callie's path of chewing destruction! I have NEVER seen this before! The other day when I got Callie after her nap I noticed she had a couple little black flecks on her face and binky. Uh-Oh. Upon further investigation I discovered this:

I have heard of babies biting the crib but come on! She's only had her 2 bottom teeth for a few days now and look at the damage. It's crazy too because Ron and I are kind of wimpy parents. We don't let her cry very much in her crib before we go and get her. She really isn't in her crib for long periods of time. Poor Ron! He spent so much time painting this crib. I'm really nervous for when the top 2 teeth come in! I can only imagine what her crib will look like then.

McCormick Stillman Railroad Park

We went to the this park as a family last week. We had planned this Family night activity for a few weeks and I had looked forward to taking my kids to visit ANOTHER Santa Clause on the Polar Express, ride a train and carousel. It rained all day Monday! I was really nervous because I had already told my kids about going and now the weather might not let us. My kids really don't forget things either! Well, we decided to go anyways and I am really glad we took that chance! Mason and Noah really enjoyed the train ride! Callie was mezmorized by all the Christmas lights along the ride.

It didn't rain one drop the whole time we were there. Poor Ron, he hadn't been holding Callie too long when he felt wetness! Yep! Her diaper leaked! haha! Parenthood! Gotta love those moments. Then as we were leaving Noah dropped his Hot Chocolate and it splashed all over Ron and Noah! Kinda funny! Despite all the adventure we did have a very nice Family Home Evening.