Talmage and Family Photos

While we were at the hospital a lady came in and took "complimentary" pictures. She said she could take pictures of whoever was in the room. It was just Talmage and I, but I told her that my family would be there soon, so she said she'd just come back later. She did a great job taking pictures. It was really fun. The lady said she had never had so many kids in a picture before. She also said it was one of her favorite photo shoots ever. I wonder if she says that to everyone :) Well anyway, the pictures turned out great. Unfortunately we don't really get any for free, but that's okay.

Baby Talmage is here!!

We finally have a REAL BOY!!! :) Talmage was born on Sunday night at 7:09. He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He has a pretty good amount of strawberry blond hair. The girls all had fun holding him, but I think Rachel is in love. She wants to hold him every second she can. It's so sweet. We're excited to have 5 kids. Yikes! Jared is already dreaming up all the sports Talmage can be in :)

Rachel and her clothes

 

Rachel knows what she wants :) She is very particular about the clothes she wears. She has 2 pairs of purple legging/pants that she will wear, and numerous skirts. She hates pants. Good thing it's starting to be nice outside. All winter long she managed to wear a skirt or dress, I just made her wear thick tights or her favorite pants with the outfit. I had to laugh one day when she came out dressed like this. Hello 80's. She hardly ever matches, but I've gotten to the point where I say, well, I guess it's okay as long as she's warm. She is full of spunk and so much fun to have around. I can't believe she is so particular with her clothes at 3... Yikes! :) Oh, and if you notice her shoes, those are a special thing in and of themselves :) I got them at a garage sale, Rachel was actually with me, last year for 50 cents. She has worn them almost every day since and many times without socks. They stink :) That's another reason it's good it's spring- flip flops and no socks :) I'm sure Rachel's sparkly white shoes will stay her favorite for as long as she fits into them.

Fruitloop Necklaces & General Conference

 
 

During conference weekend I tried to have activities planned for the kids to do during General Conference to keep them quiet and occupied. It actually worked really well. I think fruit loop necklaces were one of their favorites. Madeline made a rainbow pattern, Rachel worked very hard on hers for at least 30 minutes, and Aliza (and Amaya)enjoyed eating the fruitloops. Aliza wasn't quite patient enough to make one :) I also had church coloring pages for them and a bingo game too. Conference was so nice this year. It was especially nice that the kids are getting older and weren't as much of a distraction. I'm excited to listen to the talks again. I'm glad we have living prophets to guide us.

Friend Collage

 

Matching Friend Pictures

One of my best friends, Tristan, and I made matching skirts and flower bows for our girls and then took pictures of them. The girls LOVE wearing skirts. I've tried to hold off as long as possible during the winter, so thank heavens it's starting to get nice :) It's amazing I actually got one of all of them looking! Trinity, Izzy, and Tilly are some of my girls best friends too, so we all love hanging out! We're definitely going to miss them when we move!

The Bun is Almost Done!

Madeline took this picture of me a week and a half ago. Baby boy #1 should be here soon and we're all so excited!!

Happy Birthday Amaya!

I always let the kids lick the bowl of batter for their birthday cake. Amaya was nice to share with everyone. Usually the other kids do not share :)

It's hard to believe that Amaya is already 2 years old!! She is getting so big. She is so much fun to have in our family. She is at a really fun stage right now. She repeats everything everyone says. In the morning the girls like to lay in bed with me and have me tell them stories from when I was a little girl. Amaya has started saying, "little girl" and waiting to hear a story. She also loves one of Madeline's school books called "Cows in the Kitchen". Frequently I will hear her saying different parts of the story, "ducks in the dishes, quack quack quack". It makes me smile.
She also likes to run around in circles in the kitchen saying, "clap your hands, clap your hands" while clapping her hands. I think that is one of my favorite things.
She is definitely the most cuddly out of our kids. She loves sitting on my lap. Jared says she can hold her own with her sisters though. She isn't usually bullied around too much, which I guess could be a good thing :)
We love our little Amaya. Soon she'll be a big sister!