Hair "Things": Our Never-ending Craft Project

The craft hair "stuff" may get put away for a time, but it always makes it's way back out and onto our counter top. We love having new hair things! Here are a some of the more recent creations...

Drawings

Gracie has been drawing the family a lot lately. She definitely have a unique style. What a cutie!



And an attempt at making a smiley face into a Princess...Pretty good, Grace! (I think she may have had some help from Millie with the feet)

And here's Millie's most recent self-portrait. We were very impressed that she figured out how to draw a heart. Cute, Mills!

Claire's Newest Discoveries

Brushing
Claire LOVES to brush her teeth! This is her all-time favorite activity right now. She begs us many times a day to get up to the sink to brush by saying "up." Then she says "ush" to get a brush, and then points to the drawer and whines for the toothpaste (which she hasn't figured out how to say yet). She grunts and moans until we open it for her, and then she is set. She has learned how to turn the hot water on full blast. She would spend all day here if we let her. She and Gracie are both pretty obsessed about clean teeth! (Grace will flat out reject treats at times because they can cause cavities, and she will often ask us to inspect her teeth for cavities)





Standing & Walking
It's funny how children will learn something, and then lose interest in doing it again for a long time. Claire learned how to stand a few months ago, but then she hasn't done it since. Just last week she rediscovered the skill. Now if we ask her to stand, she will stand up all alone. And when we told her to show Carolyn how she can stand, she decided to take her first steps! In just a few minutes, she went from not walking at all, to making 5 steps, pivoting, and turning in circles! She still crawls most of the time, but if we ask her to show someone, she gets a big smile and walks a bit.




Sweets
It's nice when babies are oblivious to the fact that people around them are eating delicious treats. But once they've discovered the tastes they have been missing out on, there is no turning back! Claire managed to get a taste of a creamy, and after that moment, she used all her persuasive power to get one in her hands. She can be pretty determined, and although she only has a few words, she definitely has a voice! And as you can see from these pictures, she is very happy when she gets what she wants!

Sisters Share Clothes

Cousin Brookie (age 2.5) was so nice to give Claire a bunch of hand-me-downs. But before mommy could make it through the bags, Millie and Gracie had each found themselves an outfit to wear too. I guess these tops were originally dresses, and the shorts are really toddler pants, but these girls have found a way to make them work! My favorite part about this picture is their smiles. They were ecstatic about the new clothes! Girls love clothes, that's all there is to it! Hey, as long as they fit, they don't care what the tag says! I'm so glad we'll have a home full of girls who can share clothes, because I loved sharing clothes with my mom and my sister. In fact, I "borrowed" a piece of clothing from Millie for the first time tonight. It was a sash that came with one of her shirts. So now it's begun!

Millie's Latest Trick

Millie has always been good at learning new things. If she sets her mind to doing something, she will practice and practice until she figures it out. One evening she got some gum and decided she wanted to learn to blow a bubble. She tried for a bit, then I gave her some tips, and the next thing we knew, she had it down! Now she loves showing everyone her trick, and gum has become a very powerful bribe!

Almost an Austrain Alps Getaway

Who says you can’t have a fun vacation in the middle of Winter? We were really looking forward to this little weekend getaway with Paul's mission friends, but we had no idea just how fun it would be. The Lifferth's built a beautiful cabin up east of Smith and Morehouse.

In the winter, the only access is by snowmobile. We rode 8 miles in to the cabin. It was such a beautiful ride! The Dodge’s came as well, and made it a fun mission reunion for the guys.

As much as the girls hate wearing layers, they were glad to be bundled up once we were riding.

Sledding Down the hill…

and catching a ride back up on the snowmobiles

The men went out on a snowmobile adventure, and the women tried snowshoeing. But most of the time, we relaxed and played inside the cozy cabin. We enjoyed an authentic Austrian meal of schnitzel, kartoffel, salat gurkin, ate plenty of goodies, and had some very fun times catching up! Thanks everyone!

Hill Airforce Airplane Museum

We’ve been driving past this place for years on our way up to Cache Valley, always saying that "someday" we’ll have to come see the airplanes. We finally made it there with Tracy and Walt. It was a fun outing!

Raising Little Mothers

Millie’s motherly instinct kicked in around 8:30 one night and she was determined to stay up until all her babies were well tucked in bed (much to my dismay!). She was very determined, so I decided to just appreciate the cute moment and be grateful that she wants to be a mother.

Thanks for finally going to sleep, girls!

Hair Drama with Grace

In case you haven’t noticed, lately Grace doesn’t let us do anything with her hair except for straightening with a small curl up on the bottom that I sneak in there. On occasion, she decides a clip would be nice, but then it comes out within minutes.

Well, one day I was feeling brave and I just started doing curls. When she discovered it, she was sad and wanted the curls out. I bribed her with a candy if she let me curl it all. She reluctantly agreed, but then as soon as she got her candy, she was determined to get it straight again. So while I had a chance, I tried to take a picture. She was NOT happy about that. A few seconds after the pictures were taken, she and Millie discovered that water can straighten curls. How sad! A mom with girls, and I’m already unable to use my creativity and skills to do their hair! I just keep reminding myself that "this is a stage!"

Bowling

We’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time!

Gracie wanted the orange ball (her very favorite color!), and luckily it was her size

The girls love the candy machines as much or more than the bowling

Claire was in heaven with all these balls

And here’s the dance for hitting pins down

Christmas Letter 2010

We finally got our "act together" this year and sent out a family Christmas card and letter. We actually only sent it to mission friends who we don't have internet contact with. We had good intentions of emailing it out to the rest of our friends, but things got busy...and it just didn't happen! So for the record, here's what we said...


We hope this letter finds you well. Here’s a little family update:

Paul is still working for the Church, but has moved to the Family History department, where he has really enjoyed the change and the challenges that have come along with learning new skills. More than anything else, Paul loves taking care of his girls. In the evening, he turns into “Prince Charming” to dance with the princesses, & then becomes “the dragon” to captures them. In the end, “daddy” returns to tell them exciting bedtime stories.

Jen is grateful to be a stay-at-home mom and a full-time teacher to her little ones. She fills up her days playing, coloring, changing diapers, doing playdough, teaching joyschool, painting nails, reading children’s books, teaching sisters how to play nice and share, driving to and from preschool, teaching violin, napping, and teaching the girls to clean up after themselves! Even though her girls are a great source of joy during the day, she loves her own time at night when the girls are all asleep.

Millie (4) is our ballerina princess. She loves to “make” her own hair, paint her own nails, & choose her own outfits. She insists on wearing skirts or dresses everyday. And most of her drawings are of herself, as a princess. One day, she said, “I am the most beautifulest of all the lives!” Still, Millie is learning to be beautiful within as well. She is a big helper with baby Claire and a fun friend for Grace. And she often whispers sweetly in our ears, “I love you and I always will.”

Gracie (3) loves to color, do puzzles, dress-up like a princess to dance, and read. Even though she is a picky eater, she loves to cook. The other day, she was stirring dinner and saying, “yuck!” all the while. Gracie is such a “daddy’s girl.” Whenever he leaves, she sadly says, “Oh, Daddy, I will sure miss you!” She loves to pray, and is willing to say every family prayer we have. She likes to remind us that we are still learning. The other day when mommy got upset, Gracie said, “When you are older, you will be nicer.” She keeps us laughing each day!

Claire (1) is a happy girl! She loves to play “doggie,” roll a ball, & help unload the dishwasher. We know when she really likes her food, because she says, “um” with every bite; and the food she dislikes goes right off the edge and onto the floor. In church, she keeps the people sitting behind us distracted, smiling, talking, and picking up her toys. Claire has brightened up our days in 2010.

Like you, we know that all of our blessings come from God, our Heavenly Father. He helps us through our trials and challenges and has given us the hope of salvation through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He is our joy this Christmas season and always.