Blessing Day

I think those are the cutest kids I have every seen.

Blessing

On Sunday we blessed our sweet little Ava. It was wonderful to have so many of our friends and family with us for this special day. What a great occasion to not only officially have her name added to the church records, but more so to celebrate her arrival to our family. I couldn't have imagined how much love Bennett and Carter could have for her from day one. It makes me wonder what goes on in Heaven before these little spirits come to earth. She has definately completed our family and we feel very blessed to have her. And thank you Nana for being able to make the most beautiful dress that is exactly how I imagined it would look.

Say, "Circus!"

Every year we get all the Charlesworth cousins together for a picture with Santa. Many mall shoppers rolled their eyes at us as our boys ran around being various super heros and possibly getting in peoples way. Speaking of rolling eyes, as we walked up to Santa I noticed he was looking up and to the left as if checking on his reindeer. I looked up and saw nothing but a plain white ceiling. I thought maybe he's overwhelmed by the heard of children I'm bringing toward him. As we arranged all the children and were trying to get them all to look at the camera, I again noticed that Santa was not looking at the camera. To my surprise, our sweet, special, Santa was cross eyed. There is nothing like paying $40 for a Santa picture and working hard to get all 7 children under the age of 5 to look at the camera, and have Santa looking elsewhere. However, I am grateful that he has a job and that Santas helpers come in all shapes, sizes, and visual abilities. Thank you Santa for putting up with our circus.

Santa's Visit

Bennett wanted to show Santa the picture he made of him today at school.

I am still amazed that none of my kids cried or were scared of Santa. They climbed right up on his lap. What a fun night!

Here Comes Santa Claus

It is a little hard to tell, but if you look out the window you can see who came to visit my kids tonight. Santa! Just as we were sitting down to read stories before bedtime, Bennett saw some white fluff and two little eyes peaking through the window. Bennett and Carter were so excited they were running in circle. As soon as Santa came in they acted as if Santa comes to our house everynight. Bennett was casually telling him about his day and asking him questions. Carter was only interested in what was in Santa's sack. He brought the boys advent calendars and they each got a little stuffed animal. I asked Carter what kind of animal his was and he said, "no tiger, chocolate". He was a little upset at the fact that he could only open one window and have one chocolate. While I wasn't looking, he opened another window and quickly ate that chocolate. It was melt down city when I had to put the calenders away.

Tis the Season

It is officially the Christmas season. Bennett has reminded me of all the traditions that he expects to happen this month. It is going to be busy, but fun. This picture with Santa is a tradition that started 4 years ago when I just had little Bennett. I feel like Santa's lap is complete this year with my three absolutley adorable kids. I love this time of year. I love to see Bennett and Carter get so excited to turn the Christmas lights on and decorate the tree and Ava is my perfect little angel who sleeps so peacefully at night. I told Bennett I saw Santa's elf looking in the window while he was being naughty and it made him a little nervous. He promised to be good from now on, but does not want the elf to look in the window while he is going potty because he needs his privacy. I assured him that elfs never peek in bathroom windows. I wished this tactic worked on Carter, but he appears not to care who is watching when he is naughty. Even amongst their naughtiness, I couldn't ask for three more perfect kids.

Three Little Blessings

I am so thankful for these three little kids. I am sure you have heard me complain or give a frustrated sigh over the past couple of months and where I do feel crazy most of the time, I wouldn't trade my life right now for anything. I have so much to be grateful for and I don't take a second of it for granted. I have learned so much from my kids. I am grateful for the quiet times when we read books together or the little questions Bennett asks when we are driving in the car, my heart melts everytime I see one of the boys give Ava a kiss and Ava's smile can brighten the worst of days (even at three in the morning). Sometimes I wonder what made me think having three kids so close together was a good idea, but when I see them with each other I am overwhelmed with love and know that this time will pass to quickly and I need to remember to enjoy it. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving with much love wherever you are this holiday.
Love,
The Waddell's

Christmas is Coming

Over the weekend, Bennett and Ava helped me get the yard ready for winter and put up some Christmas decorations. I am not usually the type that brings out Christmas before Thanksgiving. However, with three young kids I have learned that if I don't get it done when there is time, it might never happen. So, to assure that there are some decorations up for Christmas we had to start early.

Trick Or Treat

Carter

Carter yelled trick or treat all the way from the side walk to the door of each house and thank you from the door to the side walk. I don't think he stopped talking all night.

Bennett

Bennett and Beck were great buddies tonight. He definately has trick or treating down.

Ava

Ava was happy back at Jen's house with grandma.

Ava's 1st Photo Session

A couple of weeks ago Scott and I took Ava for her 4 week old pictures. They were done by Lookie Loo Photography. Suzanne did a great job. Ava did not cooperate very well, but you can't tell in the pictures. Ava started out by projectile spit up on her studio floor. Then she peed all over Scott and the floor. When she started grunting I insisted that a diaper be put on her. Despite all of this, she appears to be the sweetest baby in the pictures. Thanks Suzanne.

Ride To A Witch

 

Last night we went to Ride To A Witch and Gardner Village. We went on a hay ride through a field to an old train car that was decorated like a witches house. Inside the witch, Mildew Rose, showed us what she likes to eat and the proper way to eat a fly. Out in the yard another witch named Matilda told us the secret for keeping salesmen away. I can't believe the boys were not scared at all. They loved it! It was another successful Halloween tradition.

 

These were the tickets for getting in the witches house. The boys thought it was funny to scare us with them. Of course, Carter tried to eat his.

6 Weeks

 

I can't believe my little Ava is 6 weeks old already. While I feel that I have been extremely unproductive over the last 6 weeks, Ava has accomplised a lot. She abandoned her bassinet at 3 weeks old, preferring her crib in her own room. She has definately put on weight. She watches her brother intently. She holds her head up very well. She has had her first runny nose:( However, my favorite accomplishment is that she has learned to smile and despite my sleepless nights and crazy days, it melts my heart and I can't help but to smile back. It makes it all worth it.

Happy Girl

Ava is a happy girl today and so is her mom. She slept from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. last night. She went back to sleep at 5:30 and woke up with the boys at 8:00. I couldn't ask for better sleepers. Now let's pray that it happens again.

First Day of School

Bennett was so ready for his first day of school that he woke up 4 time during the night to see if it was time yet. I can't believe that he is 4 and that next year at this time I will be sending him off to kindergarten. If you ask him, he had a great first day of school. If you ask his teacher, you might get another story. When I picked him up she told me that he had a rough day and was a little naughty. She said that he tested boundaries all day and that she stayed right on top of him so that he would learn right up front what the rules were. She also told me that they were going to bond quickly and be good friends. As a teacher I know what that means. I was deciphering everything she said and knew what kind of day she had had with him. I might of cried a little and blamed it on just having a baby. When he got in the car he told me that his teacher took his name tag off because she already knew his name. He was proud of that. Even though the first day was rough, the second day his teacher told me he was a totally different kid, more like the Bennett she knew from last year. Phew, was I ever glad to hear that. Leave it to Bennett!

Bath Time

Ava did not enjoy her first bath. Bennett wanted to take pictures of her having a bath. As soon as I put her in the water she started crying and flopping around like a fish out of water. She was so upset that she knocked off her umbilical cord with her arm. Bennett put the camera down and ran downstairs. After I got her rinsed off and calmed down in a towel, Bennett came back upstairs to check on her. He told me that it made him so nervous when she cried and "did hers belly button really fall off". Truth be known, the whole thing made me a little nervous as well. We'll try again another time, but as for now she is having spit baths with a wash cloth.

Ava Joy Waddell

Two days after Carter's birthday party, Miss Ava was born. Weighing in at 6 lbs 8 oz and measuring 20 inches. She is so sweet. Her brothers love her so much. They love to kiss her on her head and Carter loves to look at her toes. I love being surrounded by pink and it is sweet to see Scott's little black heart melted by her smile:)

Choo, Choo!

For Carters 2nd birthday we went to S&S Shortline Train Park. Carter is obsessed with trains and cars right now. He had a lot of fun riding trains with his friends and family. That night after he went to bed, I could hear him over the baby monitor saying, "Choo, choo" over and over again. I went down to check on him and he was sound asleep, a sign that the party was a success. Thank you to everyone that came and for all the great gifts. We are spoiled with great family and friends. I still can't believe he's 2.

August

August was not a super exciting month, especially for my kids. Being mega-pregnant withheld us from getting out of the house much. However, I did make it down to St. George for a girls retreat with my family (except jor Jana and Jaquel). I left the boys home with Scott. I don't know why I've never done that before. I love my boys, but it was a great weekend of doing things on my own time. We had a shower for my cousing Ashley. She is so cute pregnant. I can't wait for her to be a mom. It does make me feel a little old when I think that I used to babysit Ashley when she was little and now she is right along side of me with being a mom. Congratulations Ashley, I can't wait! What a great weekend we had. Thanks girls.

Days of 47 Float Preview

We love to go and get an upclose look at the floats before the parade and choose our favorites. This year was Carters first year getting his face painted and having a balloon made for him. He loved being Spider Man!

Indigo Girls

Three of my roommates from college (Cham, Brynn and Heather) and another friend Emily, went to see Indigo Girls at Red Butte Gardens. What great memories it brought back. I can't believe it's been over ten years ago that we lived at The Wedge. Thanks girls for a fun night.

The Best Part...

The very best part about our 4th of July traditions is that it brings Aunt Jaquel home. My boys love when "Aunt Jackel" visits. Thank you Jaquel and Jeremy for spending your vacation time with us. We love you!

Cousins

After naps the kids enjoyed playing on the slip and slide in the backyard and then a delicious bbq. After that we get the wagons out and walk to Sugar House Park to watch the fireworks. I hope this is a tradition we can continue. Rumor has it that this was the last year the park will be doing fireworks.

Scott and Carter

My handsome boys sitting by the fire.

4th of July

The 4th of July is probably our favorite holiday. I love the traditions that we have. I think what I love so much about them is that it's what I did with my grandma when I was little and now I get to share them with my kids. It's fun to see them do the same things I remember doing. We start out the day early in the morning with breakfast up the canyon. We always go to Church Fork up Millcreek Canyon. We have a great breakfast and the kids love to play in the dirt.