Gobble Gobble

Navy Adele tried her first food for Thanksgiving! A bite of mashed potato.

She most certainly approved!  I don't think solids are going to be an issue for this good little eater. 

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving at our house rocked this year.

literally ;) there was lots of singing and music.

We had lots of family and friends including my second cousin Erin, my cousin Justin, Kelly and Lance and their girls, Flora and her roommate Amanda. It was good stuff.

Stuart and I were pretty busy in the kitchen but our labors paid off pretty well. Sadly with all the fun this is the lone food picture I have :(

But everyone looks happy at the end of the meal so I will call it a success.

My cousins were happy to help keep the kids (and themselves) entertained.

There were, of course, card and board games.

Even the shorties got in on the action.

 Little Cousins 

and Older Cousins

We are thankful we had so many people to celebrate this year.  We are blessed abundantly!

Navy at Four Months

Beary Fun

Four Year Old Interview

What's your favorite color?  Pinkish Purple
What is your favorite toy? My new Lalaloopsy and my Kitty
What is your favorite food? Strawberries and Watermelon
What is your favorite T.V. show? Lalaloopsy
What is your favorite outfit? My owl outfit (that we just bought today...pretty much anything new is her favorite)
What is your favorite game? My Bear string (lacing cards)
What is your favorite song? ABC's and Beautiful World (Heavenly Father Loves Me)
What is your favorite book? The Cat in the Hat
What's your favorite holiday? Christmas
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the Jumpoline
Who is your best friend? Olivia
What is your favorite dinner? Honey and Bread
Where's your favorite place to go? Chik-fil-a or McDonalds
What is your favorite animal? Kitty Cat
What makes you happy? Shows,and fireworks
What makes you sad? When Asher fights with me (this mostly means when he doesn't obey her!)
What do you want to be when you grow up? A mama

We were pretty chill about Chiara's birthday this year, pretty much throwing together something last minute a few weeks before so that Stuart could be there for her party.  What little girl doesn't love a cuddly friend and a tea party? So we went to Build a Bear at the Mall (she chose a pink and purple bear that she named Fluffy. Asher "chose" under daddy's direction "Dude" the camo bear) and then we (Reagan,Grace, Maddie and their sisters and moms) had a tea party at our house right after.  

Chiara's big present this year was this kitchen

which was also a pretty big hit at the party.

For her actual birthday we had a girls night with Kelly, Reagan, Meagan, and Grace and went out to Disney on Ice.  Chiara loved it!

She also opened some presents from family:

First Barbie! (and one exhausted girl!)

THANK YOU GRANDMA!

So fun to celebrate four fun filled years of this little girl's life.  She is so sweet and really has a very pure heart.  She tries so hard not to make mistakes and has a real desire to do the right thing. She also has quite the imagination and sense of humor.  She loves to have fun and will happily agree to do just about anything as long as she can do it with her "friends" of all ages. She has a fantastic memory and can recite almost every book that is read to her word for word and she also remembers past events and friends with astonishing clarity.  As part of this she sometimes misses her life in South Carolina but it makes it easy for her to learn and remember new things.  One of her favorite things is to hear the story of how everyone in our family was born, as well as the story of how Stuart and I got married.  She really loves her "aunties" which includes all her aunts and uncles and prays for them by name at night and asks when they can come over. She is such a great big sister.  She is always so anxious to help with Asher and Navy Adele and gets very worried if she senses anything amiss with them.  She is also super snuggly and loves to be touching and touched.  One of her favorite treats is to climb in bed with Mama and Daddy and snuggle.  She makes up funny songs in the car and loves to talk, unless she meets someone new.  She is still our shy little girl and gets embarrassed easily, but she tries very hard to be brave and make new friends.  Her personality is so bright and fun and I have loved getting to know it even more this year!

She is becoming such a little lady!

Moments Like This

One of the ways that Stuart's job and so much travel has blessed out lives is that I feel that I appreciate little things like this so much more than I would have if he was around all the time. I'm always so happy that I picked this awesome man to marry.  He is the best Daddy and his little kiddos love him so much!

Welcome Home Uncle Evan!!!

Uncle Evan was honorably released from his mission and we got to go hear his homecoming speech!

We are so proud of this missionary

I would like to blame my lack of pictures on our Colorado trip on something cool...but it was mostly my airheadedness that kept me from taking a single picture! Luckily Stuart took a few gems for yall.

Grandma Snuggles...the best kind!

Guess what the boys spent most of their time on :)