welcome little McCoy

Heidi and Trevor welcomed McCoy Keith Wood on December 27th, 7 lb 3 oz, 21 inches. What a cutie pie. I am in love with his name and those chubby cheeks! Matt and I are so bummed we won't get to see him for a while.

Here he is with cousin Ruby Rose.

Congratulations sweet little family!

chubs

Becks is 4 months old, and getting chubbier every day. Who would have ever guessed he was so tiny and skinny when he was born? I love the chubby cheeks, rolls on the wrists, and frog belly. He is smiling all the time now, and starting to laugh. He finds me in a room and watches my every move. Beckham is such a joy in our home. He is a little furnace too. I tend to always be cold, but when I snuggle with him in a blanket, he toasts me right up. He is such a good, mellow, easy-going little guy. He's been sleeping through the night for about a month now which is the best thing. I am so in love with my cute little boys.

my buddy is 3

Kaden turned 3 on the 20th. I can't believe it; really, I can't.

He kind of had a rough birthday. We spent a fun-filled weekend up at Aspen Grove with the Barnes-Wood clan and it was a great time. Kaden got tons of attention, too many sweets, and not enough sleep. He was so excited and ran around like a maniac the whole time-he absolutely loved it. His birthday was sort of a comedown/hangover from the weekend and he was whiney, tired, and grumpy. When he finally woke up from his nap he blew out a few candles and opened a couple of gifts. I felt like a bad mom because I didn't really plan anything or do much for his special day. I was so busy packing for our trip, getting things ready for Christmas I didn't put a lot of effort into his birthday. I still am feeling bad about it. He had been so excited for his birthday to come, and when it finally did, he just wasn't himself. I think we'll have a little party for him in January.

I love his face in this picture.

He's a little train freak right now, and doesn't care about much else. He was quite happy with the birthday and Christmas loot this year.

Happy Birthday, little man!

a lovely christmas eve

We enjoyed a wonderful meal with family and the missionaries tonight. Conversation, laughter, and the sweet smells of Christmas filled our home. We read the Christmas story and remembered the true reason for this time of year. I love this beautiful season and the warmth it brings into the soul.

Wishing everyone a warm, sweet, and very merry Christmas.

new little one

Beautiful Ruby joined the family on December 20. She was 7 lb 1 oz, 20 inches with a head of dark hair. What a sweet little baby. We are so happy for Craig and Kara.

I am in love with this special moment of mommy and baby.

2009 babies. It is amazing how fast they grow and change. Heidi is due any day with McCoy. It is going to be so fun to have them all so close in age. Congratulations Kara and Craig, we are so happy for you.

no wonder he sleeps so much

he's growing like a weed! This kid is getting so squishy and chubby. I can't help but stroke and kiss those chubby cheeks all day long. Wow, I love him. I am kind of sad that his hair is thinning out. He totally has the balding pattern of a little, old man. Today Kaden just laid down right on top of him on my bed. I just saw Beckham's little arms and legs wiggling around like a bug stuck on its back. Kaden got off and Beckham was smiling the biggest grin. Kaden is never mean to him; he just gets so overly-excited to love on him that he's a little rough. Beckham has survived so far, and getting tougher by the day.


Those cheeks are just screaming "kiss me!" Don't you just want to smooch on those things?

Cleavage. He's got more than I do.

and so it begins...

We'll definitely have a white Christmas this year. It has snowed well over 2 feet in the last 24 hours. The wind has been CRAZY and the drifts are quite spectacular. Absolutely beautiful.


I shoveled that huge driveway twice, thank you very much. It almost killed me, but I did it. I am so satisfied with my work (so sore too!). I am in love with our cute little house. It makes me so happy and it is completely me.

The snow was almost as deep as Toby and he had quite the time trying to make his way through it. Kaden got stuck a few times and had to be rescued, but he sure did love playing in it. While I shoveled our neighbor was out shoveling. She isn't married, and we were talking about how we needed someone to come and rescue us. Not too long after that, her home teachers showed up and shoveled her out then came to help me finish. I was nearly done, but so grateful for the help. It took nearly 2 hours to shovel each time. Then, my sweet dad and brother came to shovel my deck, after they had already been working all day. I was so appreciative.

Oh, and just for kicks, I decided to wear my heart rate watch; I might have burned every calorie I ate in the past 2 days. (Well, maybe not since I ate a lot of brownies, cider, doughnuts, and the like.) Seriously, this shoveling business beats the pants off carrying my giant child in the backpack. I am super woman.

I threw a party

I know; I can't believe it either. I think I might be one of the most social people I know. I will go anywhere, almost anytime, but I never like to be the entertainer. I feel too much pressure! Is everyone having fun? Is anyone being left out? Is my house clean enough? Do I have enough food? Is it time to start an "activity" or is everyone having fun chatting? Am I super fun, or super lame?

Last night my friend Marisa and I threw a fabulous--if I do say so-- party. Everyone we invited came and there were 12 girls (no kids!). Poor Matt! We did a homemade ornament exchange, white elephant gift, and had lots and lots of delicious food. I laughed so hard I was crying. I might just be more open to hosting these things a little more frequently now. I think everyone had fun...

I took so many pictures of Rachel laughing. I just couldn't get enough.

Two Chinese calenders? Pretty random, and pretty funny. The white elephant gifts were awesome. We had classic, super tacky, random, weird---the best white elephant exchange I have ever seen.

What a fun group. We're making this a yearly event...but next year, we are also going to incorporate ugly sweaters.

a little outdoor adventure

This Thanksgiving ended up being one of the best, even though we didn't get to spend it with family. My best friend in the whole world came, and we were together almost every minute. I love Andrea so much. I guess I don't realize how much I really do miss her until she is here. She is a breath of fresh air. We have everything in common, can talk about things serious or not, and we both LOVE to be outside. She just finished nursing school and I am trying so hard to convince her to come live here. Andrea is the most Christ-like person I know. She is kind to everyone, compassionate, empathetic, and loving. I can't imagine my life without her. When she is around the sun seems to shine a little brighter. She made my Thanksgiving holiday absolutely wonderful.

While she was here, we went on a few hikes, went to dinner, movies, and she even helped me clean my house. She mopped my kitchen floor...just about the nicest thing anyone could do for me. I hate mopping. We talked, laughed, and had the best time I have had in a while. She brought her "friend" Justin, and he was the nicest guy. It was such a great week.

The first hike we went on was to a lookout over Bayfield. I had never been on this trail before. It was so beautiful. We all took turns toting Kaden in the pack. That kid is heavy! What a good workout carrying him around--especially when he leans from side to side and practically jumps in there. I love to carry him though...I am sad that by this summer, I am sure he will be too big.

We let him out when we got to the lookout. It was only a little over a mile, but he walked, and RAN the whole way back. He was so happy. He would stop every now and then and run his train through the dirt and snow. What a happy kid he is.

Taking a little break to feed the little one. This baby is a bit spoiled. He HATES the bottle--at least when I feed it to him. He chews on it, gags, cries, and puts up quite a fight. He also has to have his milk very warm. Kaden would eat and drink anything, he didn't care where it came from, how it tasted, or how warm it was.

Our next hike was around the lake in Vallecito. It was quite a brisk and chilly day. We bundled up and had a great time. Kaden insisted on running most of the way. He seems to be quite an agile and athletic child. I can't believe the endurance he has.

When he was tired, or we were tired of him getting distracted, we put him in the backpack--quite a team effort.

Justin and Andrea are so cute. He treats her so well. I keep telling her to quit introducing me to guys that I end up getting attached to.

I think one reason I like Justin so much is the way he treated Matt. He took time to listen to him, and took interest in him. I am so protective of Matt and I hate it when people are not patient with him, don't listen to him, or treat him like he is dumb. Justin didn't do any of that and was so nice to him. He told Andrea he wished he could live by Matt so he could help him, take him to the gym, and do what he could to help him improve.

My turn! What a workout.

Kaden got sick of riding and kept saying, "Momma, I want to get off the horse!"

This was a cool frozen stream. Kaden wanted to slide down, which might have been kind of fun. We had such a great time last week. A family in our ward invited the boys and I over for Thanksgiving dinner, then after I picked Matt up, we went over to another friend's house for another dinner. We felt so much love from our friends and I didn't even have to cook. It was a wonderful holiday, and now we are in full-swing Christmas mode. My house is all clean and glistening with Christmas. I love it. I love this time of year. It makes me happy from the inside.