Baby Face

 Babies make the funniest faces.

 First smiles. At 8 weeks old. It seemed to take forever for him to learn to do it, but now he smiles all the time. I just love how happy he seems.

 What could he possibly be thinking here? "Mom, you're crazy. Put that camera down already."

Max's Blessing

We blessed Max on November 6. It was a great day for our family. We all love baby Max so much and are grateful to have him here with us. What I remember most was that he was blessed to be kind and compassionate and to remember the promises he made to Heavenly Father before coming to earth. I hope that I can help him live up to the many good things the Lord has in store for our sweet boy.

Family photos are kind of a joke. We have 80% of us looking at the camera here, which is pretty impressive.

Trav and I looked at this picture and both said, "Wow, we look so old." It's the first time we've actually looked like we were old enough to have kids at one of our kids' blessings. :)

Fall Hike

Trav discovered a hiking trail super close to our house one morning, then decided to take the rest of us for FHE the next week. It was fabulous, and I am grateful we were able to get it in before the weather turned cold.

 It was only a little chilly. :)

 Someone should really cut Eve's bangs. But probably not me because they are always crooked when I do it.

 the view from the end of the hike. That's our beautiful town down there, doesn't it look amazing? We were seriously able to leave our house and be at the top of this mountain in 40 minutes. I love living here!

Proof that Max was there, carried by me in the Snuggli.
Incidentally, I took my old (crappy) camera on this hike because I didn't want to carry my huge DSLR.... and the pictures really aren't as good. It makes me glad for the nicer camera, so I get the occasional awesome photo. I'm also glad that the old camera still works so that I can use it like this.

Halloween

We pretty much spent the month of October being sick, and Halloween was no exception. We were scheduled to do our traditional trick-or-treat with Trav's family, but Anna wasn't feeling good enough to go all the way up to Salt Lake. (notice how forced her smile is in this picture?)
We ended up staying here and doing a little trick or treating in the neighborhood. After Anna had a nap and some dinner, she said she felt fine and wanted to go out with the other kids. So we all went together, and I think she had the most fun of anyone!
Anna was a bride, Kate a ladybug, Eve a bumble bee, and Max a frog. Eve still wears her bee dress all day every day. I love two year olds.

Anna's 7th Birthday

Anna wanted an Under the Sea birthday party this year, so that's what we did. A bunch of giggly little girls playing hot potato with a fish, drawing sea animals in pictionary, and the classic fishing pole game. The bummer is that I was feeling pretty sick the day of her party, so there's not many good pictures.

 Can I just say I love having a Silhouette?

this is Anna on her actual birthday. Her party was actually two weeks later, in my efforts to not go insane with a new baby. For her birthday this year, she told us she was too old for toys. She just wanted a BYU sweatshirt, a picture of Jesus, and to go see a play. So that's what she got, but it is beyond me how a seven year old can be too old for toys.

Life with a newborn

Four kids has been a bit of a challenge, I must admit. There have been days without showers, nights without sleep, meals without nutritional value (hello, corndogs!)..... but for the most part we  are doing well. I feel like we had so much going on during October, but November is more relaxed and we're able to catch up a bit. 

Here are some photos from Max's first few weeks at home:

 There's a lot of love for this little guy from his sisters.

 Anna demonstrates the proper way to hold a baby brother.

 Eve demonstrates her inability to be trusted with said baby brother.

And Kate demonstrates what a happy helper she has become. This girl will hold the baby for me anytime, anywhere! It's been great so I can do my hair or make dinner, or anything.

And Trav demonstrates his multi-tasking abilities: holding baby, entertaining dog, and cheering for BYU football.
Max had some trouble with jaundice at about a week old. He is fine now, but notice how much darker his skin looks back then compared to now. We were thinking he'd be dark like Eve, but I think he's going to end up pale like Anna and Kate. and me :)