Merry Christmas!

So I'll be honest I didn't get very many good pictures this year. I just forgot to take regular pictures. I guess I was so preoccupied with playing with my new Christmas present a digital video camera. Oh well at least it is documented in one way or another. Kaylan got a new/refurbished wagon. (Thanks Uncle Derek for doing such a great job!) She also got lots of new books and a Belle dress-up outfit. Kaylan would say the funniest stuff after she got a gift like "how does Santa know this is just what I was wanting". It seems to be more fun every year playing Santa. I hardly got any sleep Christmas eve because I was so excited. Ethan had to work Christmas eve night so it was tough for Kaylan to wait to open her presents until her Daddy came home from work that morning. It was a beautiful Christmas and we have had so much fun as a family these last few days being able to have Ethan home from work and school. It doesn't happen very often around here so we take advantage of it when it does. Our family has had so many wonderful things happen this past year. We are truly blessed and grateful to have the wonderful life that we have. I hope you all had a great Christmas and we wish you much happiness for the New Year to come!

Looking For a Good Preschool Teacher?

There is no doubt in my mind that when I leave Kaylan with her preschool teacher Mrs.Ranelle I know she will be receiving the same type of care and love she would receive with me. She also does the most amazing field trips and classroom activities. I have never seen someone so dedicated as her. So in case you are looking for the B.E.S.T. preschool teacher ever look no further than Color Outside the Lines with Mrs. Ranelle.

Kaylan's New Hobby!

Kaylan got a camera from Grandpa Sherwood so her new hobby is to go around everywhere taking pictures. I am surprised at how well she can take them for only being 3. A few days ago we let Baxter outside to play and Kaylan went out there to get some pictures of him. So here are some pictures of Kaylan taking pictures of Baxter.

One Little Indian!

Kaylan is always begging me to do a craft with her. So for Thanksgiving we made a Indian headband and she had fun running around the house pretending to be a Thanksgiving Indian.

Halloween!

This year Kaylan was very adamant that she wanted to be a "good" witch. So here is our good witch at some of our different Halloween activities this year. We had fun at our traditional family Halloween carnival and Kaylan started preschool a few days before Halloween so we went to her preschool carnival (it was awesome her teacher goes way above and beyond). Then I ended up throwing a Halloween party for my activity girls. So we definitely weren't lacking for Halloween parties this year but we were glad that we were able to go to all of them because they were all so fun.

Carving Pumpkins & Schnepf Farms!

Ethan helped Kaylan carve her pumpkin this year. It was kind of funny because she was really scared of the guts. Later that day we went to Scnephf Farms. Kaylan got her face painted. Then we rode a bunch of fun rides and watched a really cool dog show.

Kaylan Playing Happy Birthday!

Holding on to my baby!

Recently Kaylan has been trying to stop this habit of sucking on her hand. She started doing this when she was only two months old, one day she just stopped taking a pacifier and started sucking on her fist. Well as she has grown she has continued to do this and it has become kind of a bad habit. She went to the dentist last month and she came home and said "the dentist said I can't suck on my hand anymore" she was so sad. I know she is getting old enough that she probably needs to stop but it is about the only "baby" thing left that she still does. So it makes me a little sad too. Pictured below is her hands when she sucks on them. She loves to have her nails painted but her index and middle finger always lose the paint first because of them being in her mouth. Ever since her talk with the dentist she has done pretty good about not doing it. But ever so often when she is sleepy I see her hand go to her mouth and how terrible is this I don't stop her even though I know I should. I just think that I will have all the time in the world when she is all grown up but only a short time when she is a baby. So I'm hanging on to that one thing that makes her a baby still for as long as I can.

Camping!

This summer we had fun camping up at Greenspeak. One of Kaylan's favorite things to do is to roast marshmallows to make a smore. This year we were able to see a bear. It was pretty awesome but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to get a picture. We found a tree stump that someone had made into a tree house. Pretty neat tree house for in the middle of the forest.

Graduation!

Congratulations Daddy we are so proud of you!!! Officially an RN!!

"The tassle is worth the hassle". One down and only one more to go.

Lake Boarding!

We love to go to Canyon lake as a family. This year Kaylan was old enough to try wake boarding with her Daddy. She absolutely loved it. However she thinks that wake boarding is "lake boarding", and I've stopped trying to convince her otherwise. So to heck with it we love to Lake Board!

Potty Training for a Kitty!

About the middle of July we were exhausted with trying to get Kaylan potty trained. So we thought we would give her a little incentive. We told her she could get a kitty when she was finally potty trained. It is amazing what bribery will do. Within a few days she had her kitty. And after going through many different names she finally named him Baxter after the Diamondbacks Bobcat. These are the before and after pictures.

Family Reunion!

The Sherwood Reunion was the weekend of the 24th of July. We had all kinds of fun activities to do with our family. Kaylan played games, raced and made crafts. But her favorite thing was the dance. She can dance non-stop for 3 hours and she proved it. She does have pretty good moves for a three-year old.

Cinnamon Rolls!

There is no place like home except for Grandma's especially when she is making cinnamon rolls!