Christmas Parties

Since we had a family cruise planned for the end of December, I was so paranoid we'd get sick right before or during the trip because of all of the sugar and lack of sleep during the month of December.  Luckily we did not!  The first Christmas party was at Hazel's school.  It was super cold that night.  There was a train and hay ride outside, and hot chocolate, ice cream, Santa, snacks and crafts inside.

I didn't take a picture of it, but they also decorated graham cracker houses one day, so we picked that up the night of the winter party as well.  A few days later, they had a Polar Express party.  I helped put up some of the black paper in the hallway earlier in the week, and I have to say that at the time, I thought, "What a waste of paper."  Ha!  Then the morning of, we punched the kids' tickets, and we all boarded the Polar Express.  With the sound of a real train going, it really felt like we weren't in a school anymore.  It was so fun.  They passed out hot chocolate with candy canes and listened to the actual story of the Polar Express. 

Next up was the Christmas party at Highland.  The kids have been looking forward to this all year because they looved the animals last year.  Thank goodness they decided to bring animals again!  The kids were thrilled.  Plus there were yummy snacks, crafts, goodie bags, and Santa.

We didn't win the family ugly sweater competition, but we did get to use our $5 sweaters twice.  The Otts had an ugly sweater party, and it was super fun.  

Last but not least, we had Hazel's class party.  Grayson loves all of these Kindergarten parties because he gets all of the fun with none of the school work!  Do you spy Jada in the back?  She gets a lot of attention every time we go to the school.  Love these little cuties.

November and Thanksgiving

On the 50th day of school, Hazel had a 50s day, so we went up to see all the Kindergarteners dance out in front of the school.  I met Hazel's new best friend, Tina.  Cute little friends.

A few days later, they had a Kinder Fall music program.  

My friend Emily Dorman, who moved out east, came back to visit, so we had a fun girls' night.  

Fall is football time as well, so when the games aren't too late, we watch the BYU games with friends.  One of the times we had chili and s'mores at the Maloufs'.  Look at all the cute cougars!  

My last event as a Young Women leader was YW in Excellence.  I helped some with the decor, but my favorite thing was playing for some of the girls who sang, "Valiant Faith."  We performed it in church the next Sunday.  I sure will miss the girls.  

I felt like we were at Hazel's school a lot in November and December.  It was fun to stop by and put a smile on her face.  Around Thanksgiving, we went up to help with the Friendsgiving Feast in the kinder hallway.  We also went up for Thanksgiving lunch in the cafeteria.  

James agreed to do Movember again (they actually raise a lot of money for men's health by doing this), and I think his horseshoe stache was pretty good.  Unfortunately, it only won 2nd place with no prize.  

My parents headed to Waco for Thanksgiving, so the rest of the family tried to make it on the same day so we could have an early Thanksgiving together.  It was beautiful weather, and we enjoyed it outside at Magnolia Market.  This place is getting so popular because of Chip and Joanna from Fixer Upper.  

Love cousin time!

James stayed in Dallas, and the plan was to have Thanksgiving with the Palmers, so we drove back home on Thanksgiving Eve.  It was great to have time with both sides of the family for the holiday.  Tami and Kaye hosted Thanksgiving dinner, and they outdid themselves as usual. 

Both Jada and I got hand-me-down matching shirts, so they seemed like the perfect shirts to wear on Thanksgiving.  We are so so thankful for our many blessings!  

That weekend we put up our Christmas decorations, and Hazel and I went on a Mommy Daughter date to see Disney on Ice.  She loved it!  We thought our seats would be way up high, but they weren't, and we didn't even really need our binoculars.  Our favorite part was during the Tangled story when Flynn and Rapunzel were flying above the ice.  

October Cont.

October was filled with activities, not just birthday and anniversary celebrations.  One day we went to a cute pumpkin patch with the Maloufs.  These types of places are usually my worst allergy nightmares because of the animals, hay, etc., but I survived.  The kids had a great time, and the only thing I wish was that the pumpkin cinnamon fudge wasn't sold out.  I guess we'll have to go back next year.

One night for FHE, we carved a pumpkin.. well, James did, and we watched.  It's Skye from the Paw Patrol.

Our ward had their annual Truck or Treat, and the kids had a blast gathering candy, doing the cake walk, and dancing the night away.  (I'm a lame, last minute Abu)

My parents also got to come for a few days, and we always love that!  

On Halloween, we went to a family party at our friends' house.  Grayson agreed last minute to be Abu so there was an Aladdin costume theme for the kids.  

These are some of Hazel's school/soccer friends.  We went trick or treating with most of this cute group as well.  How cute is Rajah?

A few final notes about Jada at 6 months.  Besides being the sweetest baby ever, she's sitting, up on hands and knees, rocking, owning her awesome curls, sitting up in shopping carts, and taking a bottle!

Killin It

Hazel is kind of awesome, as are the other 2 little Palmer people.  She stayed on the same soccer team for the Fall, but this league is all girls and it's outside.  So now it's bigger field, less subs, and longer games.  Hazel is fun to watch out there.  She runs all over the field and is great at defense.  The coach's wife does photography, and she caught a few cute ones of Hazel.

She was also given the Sunshine Award at school, which is given to 1 student out of the whole grade each week.  She was the first one for Mrs. Garcia's class.  We're so proud of her!  She definitely brightens our day every time she comes home from school.  Grayson and Jada just light up.  It's so cute.  Funny fact: Mrs. Garcia told us it was a secret that she was receiving the award, so on Friday at Tibbals Tracks, they announced her name, and she didn't even hear it.  They said it a few times, and finally a friend walked over and helped Hazel get up on the stage.  Next time, I'll probably let her know!

It used to be painful to try and get her to sound things out and attempt to spell.  Now she comes home from school and recreates things she did at school.  She's told me a few times that her teacher has shown her work to the whole class as an example of quality work.  Again, so proud and impressed! This picture is just what she quickly did after school to show me what she did at school.  

During General Conference, Hazel drew President Uchtdorf.  I'm always amazed by her drawings.  She just whips out stuff all day every day.  She says Art is her favorite class at school, then P.E.

Grayson is pretty awesome as well!  He started a preschool co-op with 4 other friends, and he said he really liked it.  He's looking too big!

It's true he's a little more reserved and cautious, but he's learning to step up and be the man of the house while it's just Jada, him, and me at home.  I'm bringing him to a lot more playdates, and I think he likes getting more attention.  He's such a sweetheart and tells me he loves me several times a day.  

I mean, look how helpful he can be.  Jada was hungry, so naturally she needed several choices for dinnerware.

He's getting more confident and is trying more things at parks too.

My favorite thing recently is when James and I heard him recite Hazel's part for the primary program on his own out of the blue.  We cracked up.  That morning I had been going over it and over it with Hazel so she could get a treat at church for memorizing her scripture.  Well, I guess Grayson was listening because he knew it perfectly - big words and all.  "For behod, this is my wuk and my gwowy, to bwing to pass the immotawity and etornal wife of man."  Nailed it.  He's a smart one.  He's pretty good at math, and I'm also finding he knows pretty much all of the letters and sounds, which is impressive because I don't really go over them that much. 

Then there's sweet baby Jada.  I love that her name is "Baby Jada".  She has her own jingle that is sung multiple times a day: "Jada Christine, you're the cutest baby I ever have seen!"  She really is the epitome of a cute baby.  She's squishy, happy, and perfect.  We eat her up all day long. 

The squishiness!

She knows what she likes (and that's not the bottle).

She is so patient during soccer practice, etc.

She lets us dress her up and play with her like a babydoll.

She loves tummy time and is getting pretty good at pivoting and scooting back.

Her favorite hobby is doing yoga. 

She's tried some foods, and she's pretty open to new flavors, as long as they're not cold.  She puts herself to sleep now, and is just the best baby ever during the day.  At night I think she wakes out of habit, and I can't tell that sweet face no.  Most obvious of all, her hair is super impressive.  Not an outing goes by where her curly mohawk is not mentioned.  We're pretty proud of it.  

These are just a few of the recent brag stories that I want to look back and remember.  James and I can't believe how blessed we are to have these 3 precious kiddos.  Mommin' ain't easy, but it's so worth it.