Pretend City

Ellie's preschool had a field trip to Pretend City. We had never been there before and were super excited to go! It was too cute there! You name it they had it: Bank, Grocery Store, Stage, Theatre, Post Office, Restaurant, Farm, House, Gas Station, Fire Station, Police Station, Beach, Doctor's Office, Art Studio, ATM, Park, and the list goes on!! So the kids got to spend time at each station with the opportunity to work at that station and earn Pretend City money. Ellie had lots of fun with everything, but her favorite was the Restaurant! She loved making food in the kitchen and serving me and the other Moms. All in all it was a fun time, and Ellie wants to come back with her brothers. She says they would really like it here, and she is probably right!!

Built a Bear Fun!

For Christmas our kids got Build-a-Bear gift cards from their Aunt Jeanette, Uncle Chris, Kayla, and Austin. So we decided to take a trip to Downtown Disney and make some new cuddly friends to bring home with us (our kids LOVE stuffed animals, so thanks for the great gift Kahn family)! The trip started out great! The kids picked out their animals and once we got Ellie down to just 1 we were smooth sailing. That was until we headed upstairs to check it out and Carson didn't get to push the button for the elevator. Well you would have thought the world ended!! His mood totally went from excited to MISERABLE! For those of you who don't know our little Carson we call him our Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde (when he's sweet, he is so sweet, but when he's cranky everyone watch out! Problem is you never know which one you are going to get?!) So Mr. Hyde came out and we all ducked for cover :) We kept pushing forward trying to ignore his fowl mood as much as possible. It seemed to work through the stuffing and fluffing of the animals, and then came time to pick out the clothes. Ellie being the girly girl that she is picked out like 5 outfits. To her misfortune she desperately tried to narrow it down to 1 again :). It took some time and coaxing, but she finally made her final decision! Then there was Carson who decided he wanted nothing to do with picking out clothes for his bear since he was still pouting about the elevator button! That was until we were ready to go, then he bursted into tears cuz, "My amnal is naked!!" So it was back to the drawing board, and after 45 minutes of decision making and Mommy and Daddy having lost our patience about a half hour pior we made it out of the store with clothed stuffed toys! I told Matthew NEVER again! We should have given Ellie all the money to have her 5 outfits! But now that time has passed and Mr. Hyde is gone Carson loves his bear more than the other kiddies :) Me sleeps with him every night and makes sure he is always covered up under the blanket with him!!

Hunter with his Doggie friend

Carson with his Bear (pri-meltdown)

Ellie stuffed her bear and made a wish on it's heart before she put it inside (cute huh?)

Carson handed the girl his bear, but wouldn't stuff it (oh so difficult!)

Hunter had fun stuffing is Dog! The machine was kinda loud and he thought it was funny!
Next came the fluffing! Ellie was the only one who fluffed her animal. Hunter was too short, and Carson, well...

Then it was on to dressing! Ellie was so excited that they had Hello Kitty panties for her bear :) "I wish I could have panties like these", she told me :)
Here's my cute little boy with his new friend Dodger! Daddy picked out a Dodger shirt for Hunter's Doggie (how appropriate :) )

Ellie with her fairy bear! She was so proud of herself for picking out the perfect outfit and dressing her new friend all by herself!!

Now what would a trip be to Downtown Disney without stopping at Disneyland? We stopped by Disneyland BEFORE we went to Build-a-Bear haha!!! (trust me we were in no mood to go after!)
It's a Small World

Hunter's first time on the carousel all by himself! My baby is getting so so big!!! :(

Ultrasound

This was the first time that Matt couldn't go with me to find out the sex of the baby :( I really wished he was there, but when you have 3 other kids to take care we often have to break-up our dynamic duo :) I was so anxious to find out what we were having 1st because I was sooo ready to tell everyone that I was pregnant, and 2nd because Ellie desperately wanted a sister and I was secretly hoping that she would get her wish!! Well the ultrasound went great and according to the technician SHE looks perfect! I am so excited to be having another girl :) I get to pull out all the little bows and dresses as opposed to the t-shirt and jeans from the boys!!

We can hardly wait to meet you Macie and tell everyone about this exciting addition to our family!!!

SNOW DAY!

Today we were able to take the kids to the mountains and play in the snow for the first time!

We had a little detour on the way there! Our friend Josh took a wrong turn so did a turn around in this lot. Well they drive a suburban and made the turn with ease. We were not so lucky! We got STUCK :) After alot of shoveling and some sweat and pushing from the guys we finally made it out! (just for the record i predicted this would happen)

All's well that ends well! We finally made it to the snow, yay!!

Ellie was so excited she had been counting down for the past 4 days til we got to finally go to the snow! She could hardly wait til we got there. I have never seen her eat her lunch so fast!!

Unfortunately not everyone was as excited :( Carson was excited to go til we actually got there! He was not a fan to say the least and was mad that I put him down to take this picture.

Hunter wasn't too sure about it either. I don't think it was the snow, but the fact that he had to be all bundled up! He was pretty stiff. It reminded me of Halloween in his dog costume, where he would just sit exactly where you set him and barely move a muscle. Well he didn't last long, he ended up sleeping most of the time :(

Carson spent 99% of his time on this bench that Daddy cleared off for him, and found great joy in throwing snowballs at everyone! That bench was seriously a life saver for us and he only got off it to go down the sled with Mommy (not by choice, but by force) We weren't quit sure if Carson had fun or not, but on the drive home he told us he did!

Ellie on the other hand had a total BLAST!! It was so fun to see her having fun :) She loved going down on the sled with both Mommy, Daddy, and even by herself! She even built a fantastic snowman with Matt (i was pretty impressed with their "frosty" skills). Minus the cold hands she couldn't get enough and didn't want to go home!

We had a great time and are definitely planning on returning. Thanks Stallings Family for inviting us, we love hanging out with you guys :) Landen, Sara, Josh, and Jason (minus Evrett).

Hunter, Danielle, Ellie, Matthew, and Carson posing with the awesome snowman that Ellie built with her Daddy!!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It has been raining like CRAZY here lately! I'm sure in other states and countries a weeks worth of rain isn't THAT big a deal, but here in Southern California it feels like FOREVER! So between the kids having the flu and then all the wet weather the Moss' have been trapped in the house for 2 weeks now and were are DONE!!

Here are the boys checkin out the rain, and yes Carson it is STILL raining! He would ask me like everyday where we were going that day and everyday I would say "No where". "AGAIN!!" we would disappointingly reply. Sorry dude :)

The plus side to all the rain is that it has allowed us some quality family time, which I think was much needed! Another plus was that the kids can now play and LOVE playing Mario Kart on the Wii (which matthew is so excited about, i just know it!) So even though we are ready for the rain to go away, it can come again another day :)

Opa

This past October 30th was my 29th birthday, and the worst day of my life! My family and I went to Disneyland for my birthday when I got a call I never wanted. My Opa had stopped breathing and was on his way to the hospital in an ambulance. It felt like it took years to get there, but in the back of my head I keep thinking that everything was going to be okay because my Opa was invincible in my eyes. To my dismay that was not the case and when I arrived at the hospital my Dad informed me that we were suppose to say our goodbyes. I couldn't believe it, and I didn't know how to say goodbye to someone who meant so much to me! He was the most amazing person, and I looked up to him so much! He was a very patient person who would try time and time again to teach me how to play cribbage (a game i still can't play, but he never gave up on me) He did teach me alot of other cool card games, and looking back on it now I know that he LET me win half the time to make me feel good :) He was a good listener especially when I would call him to tell him that his daughter was being mean to me. Even though I deserved being in trouble he would let me tattle on my Mom without any lectures. He was sensitive. I have this bottom lip that can stick out pretty good when I'm sad. Everyone else was pretty much immune to it except my Opa. When he would see that lip come out he was done for from the time I was itty-bitty til adulthood and would do whatever it took to get that lip to go away! He was fun! I loved going swimming at his house in the summer and jumping off his and my Dad's shoulders into the pool. If you slept in too late he would come in and literally grab you by the feet and yank you out of bed (he was a early riser, i am not). He would take me and my brother on walks to the river and taught us how to skip rocks. He loved history and space. He was always telling me cool facts about the universe, and stories from the past. He loved being outside. He has the most amazing yard, it is beautiful. He took such good care of it. I remember helping him trim bushes in the summer, something that I have now have come to actually enjoy. I now do the trimming at my own house, I find it relaxing and quiet. He also loved golf, something my Father always tried to get me interested in but never did. So the 2 of them would always go when they were together. Not only was he a fantastic Opa to me, but also to my kids! He always would let Ellie help him do things and get away with things that Mommy never would :) People often ask me if I spell Ellie's middle name with an "e" or a "y" and I always reply by saying it's R-A-Y after my Opa. All my children have middle names that are special to me and I hope he thought it was just as special as I do. I could go on and on about all the amazing attributes he had and all the fond memories I have of him. This is the hardest thing I have ever gone through and I miss him more than anyone knows!

I am truly grateful for the time I was able to spend with him, and am grateful to know that I will be able to spend alot more time with him someday!

HUNTER IS 1!!!!

My baby is 1!! How did that happen?! This year has flown by so, so fast I can hardly believe it! I love my little bubba so much and feel so blessed to have this wonderful little boy as apart of our family. He has been such a fantastic baby, easy going, always happy :). I use to always tease that he is the kind of baby that gives new Mom's false hope that Motherhood is easy :). But as he is learning to walk the easiness is slowing wearing off and the marathon of chasing after him (especially when he is too quiet, that is NEVER a good sign in this house, it ALWAYS equals trouble) has begun! Like they say it's fun to be one, and Hunter sure knows how to have fun :) Here are some things that makeup our busy little boy:
- He can say Mamma, Dadda, Ellie, and Hi
- He can take 5 steps at a time
- He loves his brother and sister, and tries desperately to keep up with them
- His favorite food is pasta, and refuses to eat baby food (can you blame him)
- He loves cars, and balls
- Loves to wrestle with his brother (already)
- Would prefer to play with things he is not suppose to like, cellphones, remotes, toilet paper, TOILETS!, television buttons, dog food, and trash cans!
-He likes to cuddle in the mornings
- He is ALWAYS hungry
- Has the bluest eyes that light up a room whenever he smiles

I have thoroughly enjoyed being your Mom this past year and look forward to all the great years I get to spend with you. I love you so much Bubba!!!