Thanksgiving 2011

We were in Dallas this year for Thanksgiving. The food was fantastic and tasty! Ethel, Brandon's mom, did a great job fixing everything! The food tasted great. One of Brandon's favorite things his mom makes is orange rolls and she made them for Thanksgiving and he was in heaven!! It was nice to spend Thanksgiving with Brandon's family.

Little Lucy's first ThanksgivingBrandon and I have so much to be grateful for this year. We had our lovely Lucy enter into our family. We have FOUR beautiful, healthy, smart children. Brandon GRADUATED from Optometry school. Brandon was able to get into the residency program we wanted. We were able to MOVE into a beautiful home that has brought much peace and comfort into our life. We have the GOSPEL to help us and bless our lives. I really don't think our lives could be going any better. We give thanks and gratitude to our Heavenly Father because we know that all things come from him.

Lucy First Smiles

Around Halloween Lucy started to really smile. At least I like to think so...maybe it could still be gas. It is so cute watching her trying to master the art of smiling. The two good pictures were taken Halloween day. The other one was taken about a week later with my phone. I love that she is starting to smile at me when she sees me. It just melts my heart.

Captain America and Hello Kitty

On October 20th we had a smashing Hello Kitty/Captain America birthday party for Ben and Emmy. I tried to talk Emmy into having her own party, but she insisted on having her party the same time as Ben. In fact, she was quiet upset at the idea of having her party at a different time than Ben. As a result, we had one large birthday party.Emmy insisted on me putting fun whiskers on her cheeks for her party!
The party was held a little over 2 weeks after Lucy was born. Crazy? Yes! Thank goodness I had Brandon's sister Lorri and Brandon to help. The party wouldn't have been possible without them. Once again Brandon made the awesome cupcake cakes.At the party we played Birthday Bingo, Balloon Popcorn, Pin the shield/bow on Captain America/Hello Kitty, and the sock game. We divided the kids into two groups of boys and girls while playing the games. After we played the games. Ben and Emmy opened their presents from their friends. They received many nice things and were completely spoiled.The kids loved it when everyone sang Happy Birthday to them. Then we had yummy cupcakes and capri suns to drink.To finish the night, we played what time is it Mr. Fox until parents came and we got to cold. We then went inside and played with the balloons while the parents were arriving.

It was a crazy and fun party! Thank goodness for the help that I had! Happy Birthday Ben and Emmy!!

Sweet Ben

Our lives wouldn't be the same without our sweet and happy Ben. One of my first memories of him is holding and rocking him in the NICU singing to him I am a Child of God as we snuggled close. There was such a sweet spirit in the room. It is one of my treasured memories about my sweet Ben.
Ben is such a ball full of energy. Rarely does he sit still. Most of the time he is running, skipping, jumping every where he goes.

Ben has quite the sense of humor and thinks many things are funny. He always has a smile on his face. He is a happy kid who loves life!

Ben loves to be silly and crazy and have lots of fun. He has a great laugh and always has a little sparkle in his eyes that testifies of his enjoyment.Ben is quite friendly and will go up to anybody and strike up a conversation.

Ben loves learning new things and always asks lots of questions.

Ben loves going to school. He is a FANTASTIC reader. He is so smart. When Hyrum does his homework, Ben hops up to the table with him and does writes Hyrum's spelling words with him.Ben and Hyrum are best buds. Ben thinks Hyrum walks on water and tries to be just like him.

Ben and Emmy have a special bond. They always seem to have a great time together (when they aren't fighting).

I love that Ben randomly tells me that he loves me many times. It just melts my heart.

I love his big brown eyes and long eyelashes.

Ben has been loving his cowboy boots recently and wears them often.Ben was concerned about my owie for a long time after I had Lucy. He asked me quite often if my owie was getting better.

Ben comments all the time about how cute Lucy is and that he loves her. However, he isn't a big fan of holding her.

When Ben sings, he sings loud. I love hearing him sing during primary.

When Ben gets really excited about something, he talks really fast and you have to pay really close attention to him or you can't understand him. He won't stop talking until he has said all he wanted to say. It is pretty funny.Ben loves to read.

Ben loves to play with cars.

Ben hates getting his picture taken. That is why he looks grumpy in most of the pictures that I take. The only way he let me take the picture below is because he has vampire teeth in.
We are so grateful to have Ben Boo in our family. He bring much laughter and joy into our lives. He is the funniest, cutest, smartest five year old boy we know! We love you Ben!

Beautiful Emmy

Oh how I love my sweet Emmy! I remember looking at her shortly after she was born and thinking she was the most beautiful baby girl in the world. I loved her from the moment I saw her and nothing has changed. She still is beautiful and I still love her more than words can say.Emmy loves to draw, color, cut, paint, etc. Anything crafty, she loves it.Emmy loves her brothers and always wants to be part of the fun they are having.

Emmy loves going to school. She loves learning and having fun with her friends. Emmy is doing
such a great job reading. She can read/sound out many words and is progressing really well.

Emmy loves soccer and is such a fantastic player. She gets in there with all the boys and plays aggressive.Emmy loves to help out in the kitchen. She is always on my counter trying to help me with anything and everything I try to make.

Emmy gives such big loves. You haven't had a hug until you have had one from Emmy.Emmy is still shy, but will warm up after awhile. Emmy is also very scared of dogs. Terrified might be the accurate word to use in this instance.

Emmy loves to read and being read to.

Emmy loves all holidays and gets into them.

Emmy loves Lucy and is so excited to have a baby sister. Emmy will proudly show off Lucy to anybody and everybody. It is wonderful to see how much she loves her sister. She can't wait for Lucy to come and sleep in her room.How we love our dear beautiful Emmy. We are so lucky to have her as part of our family. She is smart, beautiful, talented, shows much love and kindness for others. She is the best five year old girl around!

Thankful Turkeys

On November 14th, we made thankful turkeys for our activity for Family Home Evening. The activity was very similar to our thankful turkey last year except everyone filled up their very own turkey of what they were thankful for.
On Emmy's turkey she wrote:Mom, Emily, Prophet, Family, hearts, numbers, Thanksgiving, Happy Faces, Lucy, Emily, Jesus, Friends. Emmy also put adorable eyelashes on her turkey.
On Ben's turkey he wrote:Papa, Numbers, Temple, Lucy, Mom, Jesus, Hearts, Book of Mormon, Eyes, and more numbers.On Hyrum's turkey he wrote: Numbers, Friends, Grandpa, Grandma, Papa, Scriptures, Jesus, Family, Hearts, Temple, Thanksgiving, Home, Mom, Dad, Hyrum, Ben, Emily, Lucy, Book of Mormon.It was a fun activity to remind everyone to show gratitude for what we have been given. It was a fun night.

My Two Five Year Olds!

Back in the middle of October, my cute Emmy and sweet Ben turned five years old. I can't believe it has already been five years since they were born. They were so excited to have their birthday and looked forward to it for many days.
They woke up to the traditional Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes for breakfast. At preschool that day, their teacher had a cute sign out for them that said Happy Birthday. Right before their school got out, I took cupcakes and capri suns to give to their friends in their class to celebrate their special day. Also, Ben and Emmy each chose a book for me to read to their class while they were enjoying their treat. I wasn't at all surprise with the books they picked. They each picked a Halloween book to share.

After Ben and Emmy's preschool was over, we went to Chick-Fila for lunch. Ben and Emmy's birthday again this year fell on Fall Break so Hyrum was able to go with us. Later that night, we looked at and read Ben and Emmy's baby books before the kids went to bed.

We saved the presents and cake and ice cream for the next day so Brandon and Lorri could celebrate with us. The kids received many fun things for their birthday.
It is such a joy to watch Ben and Emmy interact with each other. For the most part, they love each other and really enjoy each others company. They always have a buddy to play with and do a great job with imaginative play. It is fun to hear them as they play and giggle and laugh with each other.

I love that sometimes when they walk together they hold hands.I love how they are each others best defender. They bug each other all they want, but no one else better mess with them.

I love how Ben volunteered to scratch Emmy's back the other night for her (Emmy loves a good back scratch).

I love how Ben drew Emmy a hippo in her notebook because he know she loves hippos.I love how they snuggled up a couple of weeks ago to listen to our fun Halloween CD together. I am so lucky to be their mom! I am so grateful that they love each other!!