Christmas Time

It is a magical time of year when we you have a new baby in the house for Christmas. We have had so much fun getting to know Piper and making her part of the family. I love to sit and watch Lily as she talks her own version of baby talk to Piper. She runs in the house any time she leaves to give her hugs and kisses and tell her how much she missed her. Mia has become my big helper, and loves to give Piper her bottle and burp her. She is quite handy to have around when I am trying to make dinner and Piper wants to eat. I am amazed how big Lily and Mia seem to me now...they are growing up so fast. I want to slow time down because I want Piper to stay small forever. But since she started at 9 lbs, she is getting big super fast!!

We had a nice quiet family Christmas Eve - we went to a Nativity production at a local church. The girls were excited to see the camels, sheep, donkey and elephants that come onto the stage during the show. The music is wonderful, and it sets the stage for a great Christmas spirit in our home. Christmas morning there was lots of presents to open from Santa. Piper was awake to see her stocking and a few presents, but then slept through the rest of it. Mia and Lily spent the day going from one gift to another...and mom and dad spent the day opening boxes, putting together toys and hunting down batteries. Next year Santa needs to make a note of all the batteries needed so we don't have to call neighbors looking for the right sizes. :) Finally, around 5pm we finally got dressed and went to our neighbors for dessert. We missed our family, and having a white Christmas in UT, but it was peaceful just being with the five of us. And even with all the new toys, I think the girls were still the most interested in playing with Piper - she is still like a fun little doll for them and is the best Christmas present of all.

Getting ready for the Nativity program.

Putting out cookies for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.


Piper and her stocking.


Christmas morning. :)


Our Christmas girls!!

Having Piper Home and Giving Thanks!!

So this is a late post, but I wanted to share some of the having Piper home, and our wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. My mom was still in town helping with the kids, grocery shopping and cooking a delicious meal. I was busy feeding, sleeping and adjusting to being a mom of an infant again. Our holiday wasn't quite complete because my dad couldn't make it into town -he discovered a few days before he was supposed to come to TX that he has shingles, so he couldn't come and be near the baby. So sad!! We missed him so much, and Thanksgiving wasn't the same without him. But he promised to be on a flight as soon as he could. (And we was - he came last weekend to see his newest granddaughter.)

The girls have been so good with the baby! And Piper is a great baby. I hate to say it because I know that can change at any moment, but all she does it eat and sleep (and poop)!! She typically only gets up once a night to eat, so I am able to get some rest at night. I am a believer in those big, cuddly babies - they are cute and content. Mia and Lily can't stand that she sleeps so much, they are just ready for her to play.

Here are some photos:

PIPER SOPHIA RAY

Well, she is finally here!! Precious little Piper joined our family on November 18th at 7:18 am, weighing in at 9.2 lbs and 20 inches long!! She is beautiful. We were all shocked at how big she was, but she is perfect and we love every pound of her. I was in the hospital Thursday - Sunday, so the girls came up each day to check in on their new little sister. My mom was home keeping things going at the house, and Jason was with me at the hospital most of the time. I just enjoyed the quiet time alone in the hospital holding and bonding with Piper, knowing that when I got home the quiet, peaceful time was over. We are so blessed to have added another wonderful baby girl to our family!







Mia and Lily just adore her, but are ready for her to do more than just eat, sleep and poop. Lily loves to help change her diapers (even the poopy ones) and gives her lots of hugs and kisses. Mia just wants to hold her all the time. They are being so kind and sweet with her - they will be the best big sisters ever!!

BIRTHDAY DAY!!

On November 6 both Jason and Lily have a birthday, and this year was a biggie!! My sweet husband is now FORTY!! For months I have schemed and dreamed up party ideas, but Jason made it clear that they only thing he wanted on his big day was to watch his beloved Utes play TCU. No party, no hoopla, etc. Boring! But I have to admit, being 38 weeks pregnant and not at all interested in entertaining, cooking or cleaning - I happily agreed to his plan. We decided to keep it a low-key family day. However, sweet Lily was not so excited about the days plans. She woke up that morning and started asking when her friends were coming over for a party. I had to remind her that she already had her birthday party and that today we were going to party as a family! She quickly responded, "I do not like that kind of party!" Sorry Lily. Jason and Lily got pancakes with candles for breakfast and then we opened presents. Lily quickly forgot her party woes when she opened her new scooter and hurried out the door to ride it - now she can finally keep up with the big kids. She and Mia spent that rest of the day outside playing with their friends. Jason got to enjoy the football game in peace (and with his favorite tacos), while mom got to rest. What a great birthday.

The birthday breakfast buddies!


Opening presents...and so proud to be 4.


The new scooter.


Ok, so have I mentioned what great neighbors/friends we have? Our friends knew I hadn't planned much (and I think they felt sorry for Jason), so they planned a fantastic dinner for us at their house. It was so wonderful!! The kids played, and we got to eat a nice dinner and chat. I did do some baking and made Jason's favorite key lime pie and Lily wanted chocolate cake - so they each had their own dessert for candles after dinner! With all of Lily's chocolate requests this week we are all sick of chocolate, for now. :) Bring on Thanksgiving and some good old pumpkin pie.



I had to add this picture - it is Lily with her birthday crown on (again) and finishing off her cherished chicken nuggets for lunch of Saturday. What a precious birthday girl. :)



Getting through these birthdays was the last thing on my list before this baby comes!! Now I am just counting the days until we have a new little girl in the family. So stay tuned - I hope to be posting baby photos soon.

Pre-Birthday Party

Lily had her birthday party a few days before her actual birthday this year. She really wanted to go bowling, but since I have a huge bowling ball inside my belly there is no way I wanted to do that. So, I convinced her to have a painting party at the kids art shop, and she jumped all over it! No matter what we did she was certain that it had to be decorated with My Little Pony and she wanted chocolate cupcakes! She is a girl who knows what she wants!! We had a great day. She had 8 little friends come and pick a ceramic piece to paint...and they all created masterpieces to take home. Of course there was some play time, cupcakes and presents, too. Here are a few shots from the party and our little Lily, that isn't so little anymore now that she is FOUR.






On Friday she got to be the Birthday Queen at school, and I brought treats for her class - this time her request was chocolate brownies with sprinkles. I bought her a birthday headband that got tossed aside for the paper crown her teachers gave her to wear for the day. She wore her birthday crown home and went outside to play with her friends, refusing to take off the crown. She even pulled it out again on Saturday to wear.



For dinner I surprised her with her favorite meal - McD's nuggets and fries for the whole family (to try and be healthy I did make some coleslaw, which of course no one ate). Did you know they have a 50 piece nugget family meal deal? At first Jason thought I was crazy, but believe it or not - we finished off a good amount on Friday night, and then the kids ate the rest for lunch the next day. It sounds gross now, but at the time it was kind of fun. :)

TRICK-or-TREAT

Finally, the time for more candy than our family will ever consume in one year!! The girls looked so adorable in their costumes - Mia chose to be a cupcake and Lily wanted to use the clown costume that Mia wore a few years ago. It was dad's turn to do the walking around the neighborhood since mom is too big and pregnant for the job this year. They were gone for a long time and returned with bags full of candy. Even today when I ask Mia what she wants to eat her first response is, "Candy from my bag!" and it is usually followed with me saying something like, "That is not an option right now. Would you like a sandwich?" We have two little girls that LOVE sugar (especially chocolate) - who needs protein and vegetables??

Mia posing as our cutie cupcake!


The girls and friends ready to start to the fun!




Lily and Russ - our great neighbor, and the girls like to call him "uncle Russ." He turned 50 on Halloween.

Lily and Annie back with their loot, and trying a little of it all. I love the sugar smiles!!

Pre-Halloween

I cannot believe these days how many ways people come up with to stretch out Halloween and the chance to dress up (and to increase opportunities for lots of candy). To name a few we were involved with - dress up and a party for preschool, for dance class, for church trunk-or-treat and then for Halloween night. I guess the good news is that you get a lot of use from the costume you purchase each year! There was lots of discussion this year about Halloween's official night out since it was on a Sunday. Some in our neighborhood and at church went out of Saturday, but the Rays are traditional and we stuck to Sunday evening out with our neighbors and friends.

Here are some photos leading up to the big night out.

Mia's school doesn't have a dress up day for Halloween, but they have spirit week leading up to it and each day is something fun. Her favorite day was slipper day.


Lily got to dress up for her school parade and party.


Our cute clown - and one of the only non-princess costumes in her class.


The kids of the cul-de-sac enjoying dinner before we got costumes on to go trick-or-treating.

Short Break

Ok, I am back...my husband decided to buy a new computer (finally he got the mac he's been wanting) and it has taken me some time to get used to using it for photos and blogging, but now I can say that I love it (after many frustrating hours of figuring it out)!! Plus, with getting everything ready for the arrival of our new baby (my c-section is scheduled for Nov 18, but I won't complain if she wants to come earlier than that), Mia's many hours of homework and school projects, October/Halloween and its many parties and preparing for 2 big birthdays (Jason and Lily) - life has gotten away from me over the last few months.

So, I am going to try and do a quick catch up...

A few weeks ago we spent a morning at the pumpkin patch finding just the right pumpkins for carving and for Mia's school project.


Here is Mia's Pout Pout Fish pumpkin for school - she was one of the winners for first grade!


Another one of Mia's projects - a diorama of the desert. She got to pick an animal, and she went for the camel.

Back to Preschool

Lily just finished her first week of preschool - and she loves it! It was a rough week and a half watching Mia go off to school every day, and knowing she had to stay home with me - all alone. Not only was her sister leaving her behind, but her good buddy, Annie, was starting kindergarten this year and she was no longer around for play dates. She wouldn't want to play with me because she said "it was more fun playing with kids, not moms!" She was dying for her school to start. Finally the first day came, and she was all smiles - with her nap mat and lunch box ready the night before. She has fantastic teachers and was sad that today was Saturday and she couldn't go to school. I have to admit, I really do miss my great shopping companion during the day while she is gone. But I am taking advantage of the time alone, realizing that in about 9 weeks it will all be over for a while. :)

Lily and her gear for the day!

 

All smiles, and looking so cute.

 

In class, and ready to go.

 

Little Dancer!

So, this was Lily's first week of ballet/tap class. I am not a mother that ever encouraged dancing (I am so not a dancer) but Lily has wanted to do it for a while now, so I finally broke down and signed her up for a class. Lily tried on her shoes and leotard so she could practice the night before class started, and she searched all morning for the bag she wanted to carry her shoes in for class. Once we got there - she was in heaven!! And I have to admit she was so darn cute to watch and actually did very well in her class. She may be the ballerina/dancer I swore I would never have. Jason and I never wanted to have to participate in the recitals, costumes, make-up, etc. but with 3 little girls I guess we are bound to have at least one! :)

Lily - ready for class!!

 

She found the perfect bag to fit her ballet and tap shoes.

 

Nice pose!!

 

Mia Starts 1st Grade

This past week Mia started 1st grade! It was a big week for her and she was very ready to get back to the school routine (and so was mom). Summer was fun, but we had lots of togetherness and Mia and Lily were ready for a break from each other. :) Mia was excited to find out that she has several friends in her class this year. The year is starting off with a sub because her teacher had a baby a few days before school started, so we're excited for her to get back to teaching. But it was a great week and she loves everything about 1st grade!! The sad part for me was realizing how fast she is growing up -- the first day of school she wasn't that sure she wanted me to walk her all the way into class. I told her I was because I wanted to meet some of the other kids and take some pictures. She made me promise that the next day I wouldn't walk her into school. She is 6, and already she doesn't want her mother around.

My first grader!

 

In class on the first day of school.

 

Mia's new bike she got for riding to school this year.

 

We love UTAH in August

We just got back from a fantastic 2 weeks in Utah. There is no better time to escape the heat of Texas than in August. We loved the time we spent playing with friends and family, camping, hiking, shopping, eating out and being outside without sweating to death. In fact one day we were swimming at meemaw's condo and Lily wouldn't get in the water because it was too cold - she is truly a Texan now. The main reason we went and stayed so long was to help my mom after her foot surgery. She had to have her foot reconstructed after dealing with lots of pain and a wearing a walking boot for the past year. The girls were sweet and gentle with her and were very interested in her cast. We were able to get her out and about during the day - the girls favorite part was pushing her around stores in the wheelchair. :)

We spent the first weekend camping in the Uinta's with Jason's family. Incredible scenery and weather!! The girls and Jason had a blast. I enjoyed the time away, but camping while pregnant isn't the most enjoyable experience - especially trying to sleep at night in the tent. But we made it, and we all loved the hikes we were able to do.

It was great to spend time with friends and family that we don't see very often. We stay in Bountiful, but we always find ourselves spending lots of time in Park City - we love it up there. I was also able to take the girls to see temple square and to the children's museum one day. They amazed me with how much they learn at church and could tell me as we walked around talking about the temple and looking at the pictures and exhibits in the museum. I am so blessed to have such amazing and smart little girls.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip - probably since this was my last getaway before our new baby girl arrives. I took full advantage of eating at my favorite places, shopping for cute baby stuff and taking long morning walks as I took in the peaceful, beautiful scenery and the cool, crisp morning air. This was our first long trip to UT where I wasn't totally ready to come home. The girls have gotten to such a great traveling age. I hope to stay as long, or longer, next summer. I forget how much I do miss the dry climate, cool mornings and evenings, super green mountains, etc. But coming home has been nice, too. And we only had a few days to get ready for school to start. 1st grade - here comes Mia!!

The girls at temple square - love the summer flowers.

 

Mia, Lily and meemaw (and her cast)!!

 

I didn't take nearly enough pictures, but here are some of what I have.