Happy Birthday Dakota!!!

(Pretend it's January 4)
Happy birthday to my little Koty!  I can't believe that she is 3 years old already!  She is so smart and such a little nut.  She is absolutely gorgeous and I love her sweet little laugh.  Dakota has definitely kept me on my toes, but I couldn't imagine life without her.  She is becoming such a big girl and surprises me daily with the things she knows and the things that she can do.  I love my Koko-nut so very much and am so happy to be her mama!

Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!

We had a great Christmas this year!  It was fun to have all the kids at an age where they could enjoy and participate in the festivities.  Taylor had a cheerleading christmas party with a spa theme.  I went and helped do the girls' hair.  They also got their faces and nails painted and their hair colored (the kind that you spray from a can).  After that they had a Webkinz exchange.  Taylor had an absolute blast!
Here she is with her new look and Webkinz dog named Alan (after her father, Richard Alan, of course).

We headed to my parents' house on Christmas Eve morning.  But before we left we were delighted to discover that a hooligan had given us a thoughtful pre-Christmas present.  He/She smashed Richard's new truck's driver's side window.  Merry Christmas!!!!  As we left we saw that they had done the same to another truck on the street.  Little terds.  We live in a nice neighborhood too.  Oh well.  We had a great drive there, everyone took a nap...except poor Richie (he was doing the driving!).

We had a lot of fun with my family (minus Danny/Leanne and crew).  The kids always love to attack Uncle Kendal and Uncle Clark.  Cooper was so funny when he opened his presents.  He would rip off a little piece of paper and then run to the trash to throw it away.  He is so happy to have lots of 'boy' toys now!

We then headed to Rob and Jan's for the annual Jorgenson Christmas Eve celebration.  I hardly saw Dakota and Taylor, they had so much fun running around with cousins.  Cooper was quite social as well so he had a good time too.  Santa made his usual stop while out delivering presents.  Dakota couldn't wait to get her little gift from him.  After she opened it, I thought she looked upset and she told me that she had asked Santa for a Pop-n-Style cabbage patch doll...why did he get her this little thing?  She thought that his stop at our party was it.  She didn't get the part that he would still be stopping by our house that night.  After we sorted it all out, she was very happy with her cool princess purse. :)

The kiddos and Santa (note Cooper's avoidance tactic)

We ended up driving home that night.  We usually stay over at Gene/Millie's, but this year we really wanted to have Christmas morning in our new house.  I'm SOOOO glad we did that.  We got home by 10pm and everyone slept like a dream in their own beds.  The kids were able to make a huge mess and dismantle everything since we didn't have to worry about packing it all up and taking it home.

  

The Pop-in-Style!!!  She has wanted that thing for months...I think she has played with it once or twice since Christmas Day.  I guess it's not as awesome as the commercial made it seem ;)

The Cooper-man got an awesome Lightning McQueen bike.  It makes tons of cool sounds and he LOVES it!  He especially likes to rev the engine.

I was stuck with a gnarly head cold for Christmas Eve/Christmas.  Taylor threw up Christmas night and had a nasty flu for a day or so.  Cooper had...well let's just say I was changing lots of diapers and Dakota had a low grade fever.  I am basically over my cold, but Richard is starting to get it and all the kids have yucky coughs which are especially bad at night.  Hopefully we will all be better soon.  We had a long run of being well and I knew it had to end sometime.  Just think how strong my kids immune systems will be when they grow up...

New Year's was a thrilling experience.  The kids went to bed at 7.  I cleaned the living room and kitchen.  Richard and I cried through...I mean, watched Marley and Me and then hit the hay by 10:30.  I was awoken by fireworks at midnight, so technically I saw the new year.  For those of you who are disappointed by the festivities...my kids wake up at the crack of dawn, I need my beauty sleep or I cannot function in the morning.

Pictures from lately...

Outside...Coop's favorite place to be

I told Koty that I wanted to her to turn around so I could take a picture of her...she shook her booty at me instead.  Little stinker.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE him!!!

Lookin' good on his bike.

Tay Tay

Koko

...and the big tough guy with his blankie under his nose (note his shoes with pajamas...he LOVES to wear shoes.  Sometimes we have to hide them since they don't fit over his sleeper feet very well.  Out of sight, out of mind).

Busy Busy Busy

  This month has had so much going on already and time is just flying by.  Taylor has had so much going on with school and cheer that I don't know how I'll get everything done when all 3 babes are in school.  First, she was in the Bakersfield Christmas Parade.

Daddy took her to McDonald's after

Then she was in another Christmas Parade.  It was a much smaller one than the first and it was also in the morning so Koty and Cooper were able to go to that one.

Cooper was so good and stayed in the stroller for over 2 hours.  Such a stud.  He loved all the drums in the marching bands.  There were some fun animals to watch too.

Dakota was a good girl too and did a great job staying close and not wandering off.

We let the kids pick out an ornament each year of their very own.  Then, when they move away from home, they will have their special ornaments to take with them.  This year, Tay picked out a ballerina Barbie, Koty picked Barbie as a muskateer, and Coop picked a fire truck.  After that, we picked out a Christmas tree.  It was decorated beautifully and now (after a few ornament casualties) all the ornaments from the bottom half of the tree are squeezed up to the top, just out of reach of little grabby hands.  I came out of the bathroom the other day to find that Cooper had unstrung a bunch of the lights, pulled them across the room, and was tugging on them.  Thank goodness the whole tree didn't fall over!

Everyone loves to help :)

Christmas crack

Cooper is a man's man.  He loves all things related to tools, engines, wheels, balls.  Anything that Daddy does, he wants to do too.  He had to wear these gloves after Rich did.  He's so funny.

The girls and I decorated a gingerbread house.  It was a lot of fun and now, sadly, it hardly has any candy left.  Whenever Cooper sees it, he passionately demands some "yum-yum."

  

The finished product

It's been so fun this Christmas season, the girls are both so excited and even Cooper has been able to enjoy some of the festivities.  Now, I have to get my act together and go Christmas shopping...AHHH!  Time is running out!

Here are some pics of the kids being their crazy selves.  They are such goof balls.

I love this pic of Koko (poor Taylor had just poked her own eye so she was straining to keep them open)

Dakota asked me to take this of her.

She has given up naps, but some days, she just can't keep her eyes open.  She was watching a cartoon and Mr. Sandman got the best of her.

Little man

This is my all time favorite picture.  Dakota was pretending that 2 rubber balls were her babies.  Well, those babies had to start out in her tummy.  She was very proud to show me how pregnant she was.  LOL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!