Ward Christmas Party...

 Jackson is so cute to watch when he "performs," he gets so excited and it doesn't seem to phase him that he is singing in front of a crowd. I love it!

 Bradley was  a little bit jealous that Jackson got to sing with the primary kids and he didn't, so he marched right up there and stood while the other kids sang.

 I was asked to sub for the primary pianist...I was nervous that Bradley would "help me" play the piano. From the picture it looks like he was definitely contemplating it as well.  

Our boys were SO excited to see Santa, Jackson forgot what he wanted and had to ask me. (superman, legos, batmobile)  Bradley decided that sitting on his lap was good enough, because when Santa asked him what he wanted , he jumped off and ran away.

Snow much fun!

 John did it again, he made another awesome snow slide with almost all the snow we got last week.

 I seriously don't know what I would do without John especially while I am pregnant, I'm just not as much fun for the boys anymore.

 Jackson made use of our trusty old sand toy truck.

 Not only was the slide cool, but John built it over the playhouse so the boys could have a cool...and safe...snow fort.

Ta-Da!

It's Tradition...

 It's tradition for our little family to go see the Christmas Lights downtown. This time proved to be very warm, we couldn't have picked a better night. Despite my ever-increasing pregnant belly and the unfortunate contractions that always accompany my pregnancies, we were able to slowly see all the lights. 

 The boys were troopers and for whatever reason agreed to sit in the stroller for much of the time.

 Our littlest man in front of the beautiful Salt Lake Temple.

They were just as excited to ride on the train as they were to see the lights.

It only feels right that our little family should head down to the temple every year to bring in the Christmas season and think about our Savior and the peace and joy the Gospel brings!

Handsome!

 Ready for church in their new snazzy outfits! 

 He even let me do his hair!

So handsome!

SNOW!

First big snow of the year! The boys couldn't wait to get into their snow clothes and into the snow. 

 Brotherly love...or torture.

 John was good enough to regulate the boys as I can't move as good as I used to with this big pregnant belly.

 John is so much fun and created a snowslide for the boys to go down. It was a hit. 

 John made steps so Jackson could climb up the slide by himself and slide down on my cookie sheet...we really need to invest in a sled!

Bradley struggled climbing up the steps on the back of the slide, so John decided to give him a lift.

The smile says it all!

Jackson was pooped after all the times he went down the slide. I laughed so hard when he would slide down and lay there laughing. What a fun day! 

It's a....

GIRL!

We were both quite shocked to learn that we were having a baby girl. We both hoped for one, but thought that we make such cute boys that maybe that's all the Lord had in mind for us. We couldn't be happier to mix up our all boy assemble and add some pink.

Jackson came with John and I to the ultrasound and has always been sure that he was having a sister. He logically told us I already have a brother, so I'm going to have a sister now. He patiently sat through the ultrasound but was nervous that there was a monster baby inside my tummy instead. After explaining that this only looks at the baby's bones and such he felt a little bit more assured that his sister won't come out a monster. Bradley on the other hand will point to my belly and acknowledge that there is a baby in there, but has mentioned be wants a truck instead.

This pregnancy has been night and day different than my other ones. I have been very sick with this pregnancy and have had a hard time wanting to eat. So, I am not as big this time around...at least right now. I also have been able to avoid having major contractions now as well. Although I still have them they are not as frequent as with my other pregnancies. I'll take whatever borrowed time I get in that department as well.

So until March 17th, my life will be consumed with hitting all the baby clothes sales and making bows and headbands.

Bumblebee and a puppy

While our ward family does not have a lot of children there were tons of kids out in our neighborhood for Halloween this year. I am definitely going to have to double or triple my candy supply to give out next year. I felt horrible giving only 1 sucker out to some of the children that came later. Lame!

 Our kiddos are ready to go to our ward Halloween carnival! The first time we put the costumes on for the year is always the best time to get happy pictures. I was so surprised at how excited they both were to wear their costumes. So while this is a week or so before Halloween, I opted for the happy costume pictures this year.

 Bradley would go around to everyone and say, "Ruff, ruff." and then make loud licking and slurping sounds. It was a great touch as his hood with the puppy ears was always pulled down. He was pretty good about walking around for candy this year and even cried when it was time to take his costume off.

Jackson has been in love with transformers. While he doesn't like watching the cartoons, he loves playing the action figures. Here he is striking a superhero pose. He lit up the magic of Halloween this year and actually pleaded and pleaded until John was kind enough to take the kids out for a second time Halloween night.

Lego's Party!

Jackson loves Lego's, anythings with wheels, preschool, playing with friends and being around the family. He is very conscious of others feelings and is often found comforting someone crying. He has absolutely loved preschool and looks forward to it every week. He loves chicken nuggets, pizza, spaghetti, and treats! We couldn't imagine a life without our happy little boy in it!

Jackson has been waiting patiently to have his party almost since his fireman party last year. He was extremely excited to finally get his very own Lego's party this year.

 We were able to arrange to have all his cousins in town to come. They played "I Spy the Lego Guy" and "Can You Find this Matching Lego." It was a hit and everyone participated so well and received Jackson's favorite treat...fruit roll ups.

 Everyone was so excited to see what fun presents he got!

 I think that face explains how excited he was to get this fireman Lego set from Grandma.

 We are so blessed to have both sets of Grandparents close by, my kids just love their Grandparents. Bradley runs up to Grandpa Riggs every time he sees him pulls his keys out of his pocket in hopes of "driving" Grandpa's car.

 Jackson was so happy to have a Lego cupcake for his cake this year, he told everyone he knew and even those that he didn't.

The birthday loot!

Tractor party!

 I can't believe that my little guy is 2.  He has been obsessed with tractors, trains, garbage trucks and basically anything with wheels. He is quick to tell me when he stops it in his cute little boy words. He loves to eat fruits and pancakes. I feel like he may be a closet vegetarian. He loves to run around and play, but still gets nervous to be left in nursery class in church. He is very sneaky and quick to learn from his brother as to what you can get into or not in front of mom and dad. Sigh, I think he got that special trait from his mother. He is such a joy to have in our family.

 All the cousins in town were able to come and have a little cake and ice cream.

 He was very impressed with his cake and told everyone over and over just what kind of cake it was.

 He has been practicing blowing out candles everything we mention birthdays, so he had this years candles out in no time flat.

Bradley is so loved and lucky to have so many fun toys from all his family.

Dinosaurs

It was free museum day on John's birthday, what better way to celebrate than seeing some prehistoric giants!

We visited the Museum of Natural History, I think everyone loved it. Jackson and Bradley, however, were not impressed with the trianchulas...I wasn't either.

 They had so many kids friendly places and things to do, this is were you learn to make pipe cleaner animals.

 I had no idea there were so many different kinds of -ceratops.

 Although we had the stroller, Bradley preferred the scenic route on top of Daddy's shoulders. He would put his little hands on either side of John's face and turn his head to where he wanted to go.

 Jackson loved seeing all the carnivores and wanted to touch them.

They may have a future in paleontology. What a fun day and an even better way to celebrate 32 years for  love of my life.

A Preschooler

Jackson is so excited to be in preschool. He has been wanting to go to school for over a year now. So seeing as how he has 2 more years before he even goes to Kindergarten, we decided to let him go to 2 years of preschool. He attends the Little Wonders preschool that has 6 other students. His teacher is Miss Kayleen and she happens to run the preschool in her basement. We love that she lives so close that we walk to school every Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Don't I have the cutest little preschooler around. He was very good on his first day of preschool and loves going and seeing his friends.

Bradley loves the thought of going to school too and was quite disappointed that he couldn't go with Jackson.

Big Boy Beds...

In lieu of our big news, we decided to move Bradley from the crib to a big boy bed. He was more than thrilled that he got to sleep in Jackson's room and even more so, if possible, that he got to sleep in tractors.

He is holding his favorite stuffed animal which affectionately calls, Burr....because that's how elephants sound when they trumpet!

 We decided to keep the beds separate instead of bunk beds, John has too many memories of jumping off his bunk bed and doing all sorts of tricks. These are, however, the bunk beds that John and Spencer used while growing up. They were originally stained, but with all the love and years John painted them white. I think they turned out really cute.

Proof that he actually sleeps in his bed. It took a few nights and trying to figure out how to best get the ambiance before Bradley actually slept in the big boy bed instead of the crib. Jackson loves having Bradley in his room, I hope it lasts.