Pierce

The best way I can describe Pierce is RANDOM.  You never know what you are going to walk into with that kid.  In December he was obsessed with taping random papers together and then I would find them all over the house, like this. . . .

 He is obsessed with playing Where's My Water on the iPAD . . .

He has an obsession with sacks.  Everything from papers he has torn out of coloring books, to balls, to cars, to stuffed animals, to a shoe box is placed in a sack.  This is what his closet currently looks like . . . 

 He LOVES to draw and color.  At times it is frustrating the amount of computer paper he goes through.  I am seriously considering buying him a ream of paper for his birthday, NO KIDDING!  I am glad he has an imagination though, and he tells me he wants to be an artist when he grows up.

  He is a loving big brother.  He loves to snuggle Layla and is always willing to get me her paci, or grab a diaper and wipes (granted he always needs an extra wipe for a car wash). 
He will play school for hours with Allee, and is her little shadow. 

Pierce is one random kid, but I wouldn't have him any other way!

Christmas . . .

I am finally getting around to posting about our Christmas.  It is always so hard to go through the pictures and sort out the ones to use!

This was our first year staying in Missouri and having our own little Christmas.  On Christmas Eve we were able to go to a Kansas City Chiefs game.  It was surprisingly warm once we got inside the stadium and it was the kids first professional football game.  Up until half time things were going great.  Layla was sleeping, Allee and Pierce were paying pretty good attention, and we were having a grand old time.  Then when the third quarter started a Raiders fan who had been using awful language the entire game was confronted by a Chiefs fan.  Needless to say there was pushing in the row right behind us.  I quickly ushered the kids over away from all the craziness and we changed seats.  A few minutes later Pierce had fallen asleep and Layla had had enough.  We decided it was a good time to head out!

Later that night we did our traditional pajamas and as hard as I tried I couldn't find my girls matching PJ's.  They did look pretty cute though!  As the evening wore on, I started feeling pretty icky.  The stomach flu has NOT been our friend this year.  We went to bed early and by morning I was feeling much better.  We opened presents from Santa and then headed off to church.  Once we got home and started opening the rest of our presents Derek started with that icky feeling. . . have I mentioned how much I LOVE the stomach flu?!  Derek fought it the rest of the night.

 Allee got an iPOD touch from Santa and an American Girl Doll carrier.  She also got some cute boots, a Missouri shirt from Mom & Dad and a cute puffy vest from Pierce and Layla.  My favorite quote from her this year was, "Mom I thought Santa was going to fail on the iPOD touch, but he didn't. . . He failed on the Justin Beiber Christmas CD." 

I explained that Santa also gave her an iTUNES gift card that would allow her to get the CD, but it didn't hit home.  According to her Santa failed at the CD. 

 Pierce got a new bike, a Comet, and a bouncy ball from Santa.  He also got a Missouri shirt and a marble run from Mom & Dad.  The girls gave him a cool tire that opens up and holds some of his cars.  This gift sparked my favorite quote from Pierce this year, "A tire. . . Seriously?!"  Once he figured out what it did, then he thought it was a pretty cool gift.

 Layla was just easygoing about the whole ordeal.  Santa brought her a Comet as well and a Bumbo.  She got an outfit and toy from Mom & Dad, and Allee and Pierce got her some cute boots.  About half way through the presents after church she just gave up and slept as Allee and Pierce finished unwrapping her gifts!

Even though Derek and I were sick this year, it was a great experience to have Christmas just the five of us.  Luckily Christmas day our kids were happy to watch Cars 2 and have Spaghettio's for dinner! 

4 Months

How is it Layla is four months already?!  She loves to smile and giggle, especially at Allee and Pierce.  She loves to be looking out.  She is starting to babble and loves to chew on her left hand.  She is so happy and easy going as long as you don't leave her alone in a room.  Her cheeks are unbelievably kissable and she loves it when you kiss her neck, it makes her giggle.  What a blessing this little girl is!

Basketball

This winter Allee played basketball.  It was by far the funnest thing to watch EVER!  All these girls learning how to dribble, how to shoot, and how to shuffle their feet across the court.  Allee wasn't so sure if she liked playing but by the final two games, she decided it wasn't to bad and wants to play again next year.  Some of my fevorite memories of her season were the first time she got the ball, she just took off running.  No dribbling, just running.  The last game she was so excited when she got the ball right before half time that she dribbled up the court the wrong way.  Derek and I were yelling for her to turn around.  Her team went undefeated with the exception of a tie.  That game was quite the experience. The stands were packed fans were cheering so loud, the coach was jumping up and down every time one of our girls took a shot.  Derek and the other dads were pacing the sidelines.  It was absolutely hillarious!  With only about 10 seconds left and the game tied up, Allee's coach called all the girls in and even drew up a play for them.  He was an awesome coach and we were constantly impressed with how he worked with all these 7 & 8 year old girls. 
We are so proud of Allee for trying something new and working hard to get better at it!