DECEMBER

Winter means cute kids bundled in snow clothes

The boys are doing great at skiing. Jack has gotten better and enjoying the actual skiing, not just the gatorade they get on the way up

Present exchange party at my house

Choir concert

(Jack right in the middle of the 2nd row)

tumbling performance

We spent a good chunk of time with neighbors fighting the new elementary school boundary change. The district wants to move us from the elementary school right outside our neighborhood, where the kids can easily and quickly walk to, to the one we used to attend, which is further away and on busier roads. Our neighborhood attended board meetings, filled out surveys, sat on street corners counting cars for a traffic study and on and on.... 

Instead of sitting on the corner counting cars I chose to tend someone's baby so that person could. The kids loved having a little baby around

School Christmas performance

Kate got a hankering for sleeping in a sleeping bag

Christmas Eve Eve at moms house

Christmas Eve at Aunt Ronda's 

kids gift exchange- no picture

teen gift exchange

adult gift exchange

Christmas morning 

The kids found a fun surprise in their stockings this year.... NOTHING!
Oh wait, there was one thing, a note from Santa encouraging them to work on a couple things so that he can fill their stockings next year.

Thank you Santa for all the fun gifts

Ivan's pile

Emerys' pile

Jacks Pile

Kate's pile

Christmas day at Sharons

Finally after Christmas was all over we decided to visit the sights. 

Grand America hotel display and temple square

New Years eve

Second year in a row 1/2 of us were sick. I stayed home with Jack and Emery. Mike took Ivan and Kate to his moms

Happy New Year

Oops I left Mike out of November

Well gosh, I almost forgot that Mike also had a birthday in November. I'm sure we did something super fun to celebrate, it's just that it's now March 30th  and I can't remember.

But Mr. Mike Balle is #1 dad and spouse. 

There are lots of #1 dads and husbands out there and I'm so glad, because the world needs them. Just today Mike and I watched a little video clip showing a dad putting his baby to bed. While the video played the words across the bottom told different statistics about girls and boys who grow up without a dad. This dad in the video laid his baby in the crib, she cried and stood up, he laid her down, she cried and stood up and soon enough he crawled right into the crib with his baby girl. I'm not saying dads have to do that, but it was just making a strong point. He got in there and that baby laid right on his chest and fell asleep. The struggle of him getting out from under her to get out was funny, but it was an awesome depiction of a dad really being there in his child's life. 

Mike is definitely the better parent. He is willing to play house with Emery, football with Ivan, Power Rangers with Jack and whatever else with baby Kate. He works harder than I ever want to in his profession. He is good to his mom. He is good to me. He is true to his beliefs. He helps take care of the house. 

He creates a very good life for us all. 

We love him

  You would think that since we love him so much we would have a thousand fun pictures of him..... and I can't find a single one. (execpt these two). 

Shoot. 

Note to self- take more pictures of the man we love

Happy Birthday Mike

Kate's spotlight

Kate LaVer Balle
Our big two year old is STILL so much fun. You think you'll never forget how cute your kids are at each stage, but I'm so sad as I look back on my other kids and I can't really remember them so little. I wish I could video every move she makes.

She loves to draw and I love it how she lays down on her belly to do so...

She likes her books

and to copy the older kids

She loves her baby dolls

and real babies

She likes to get into Emery's toys

She gives the best hugs and kisses. She cleans up her messes, she loves to dance, she's started to want friends, so lately (i'm writing this in march) she'll come out in the morning and say, "mom, you text my friend come over." For a while she would repeat the things I say in a question. So if I said, "ok lets get you dressed." She'd say, "lets get me dressed?"  She says, "thank you mom" when I do things for her and "excuse me." when she burps or gets in the way. I don't know if it's from Christmas or her bday, but she wants to know who gave her what. So if I pull a shirt out of the closet she gets excited and says, "who buyed me this?" or "did grandma get this for me?" When we are headed out the door she says, "I need to nurse real quick." I could go on and on. 

Mainly everyone just wants to be snuggled in with this girl.

She is our little doll face!!