4 months in a nutshell

Taking a minute to update you on us!

Corrine turned one! She is seriously the love of our lives right now. We all absolutely adore her and her every move.
She loved the cake! George and Ruby designed the cake and insisted that we put a mug of Cocoa after her name because we call her coco all the time.

She sleeps and eats great and can entertain herself as long as she is making some kind of mess. She is pulling out all the tissues from the box right now and I'm not stopping it because of the sheer look of enjoyment on her face.

She loves to snack on crushed ice. She will bring me a cup and I know exactly what that means. She adores Steve and gives him kisses when she first sees him. She loves to dance! She eats almost as much as George it seems like.

She wants to be naked all the time. Right when I get her out of her crib in the morning she is pulling on her clothes for me to take them off and she doesn't not like when I clothes on her after a bath.

LOVE HER.

George turned 6!

Keeping with tradition George opened his presents in the morning at the kitchen table. He is always so grateful for the gifts he gets. The girls were excited that morning too.

George had his first friend party. It was LEGO themed. Yes I made the cake......I know I should really go into business.....I mean look at how straight I wrote the words "Happy Birthday George" ha ha ha.

At 6 George is pretty much the best boy I could ask for. He helps with his sisters, hangs up his clothes, practices his piano, makes his bed, and says the sweetest prayers. He also has crazy energy that makes my head spin, but seriously he has been the best thing for Steve and I and our family.

LOVE HIM.

It is sad but true....I have entered my last year in my 20's. Turned 29-celebrated by eating my favorite, traditional Brownie Cake from Baskin Robbins. Not a great picture but the only one we got of the festitivies.

There is more, but I must stop. Blog overload....can't deal with it! More to come.......

I have to just write this down

Okay so I feel like I have been playing house for the last 9 years and now life has hit me smack dab in the middle of my face.

Our Care-free days with one baby!

I have completely enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom since George was born. Yes, it was boring sometimes and I wasted time some times, but mostly I loved the freedom and the peace and the leisure. Then I had another little one and things took me longer, but still very fun. Then I had another sweet baby and things changed. I no longer had any leisure in my life. Everything became a struggle. Nothing was just done and finished and complete, there was always something to do: cleaning, cooking, shopping, reading with the kids, teaching the kids, laundry, callings, friendships to maintain, yardwork, not to mention my own spiritual and physical nourishment and a little fun-yes I like to watch movies and eat ice cream with Steve!

I know I sound like I'm complaining. My life is beyond blessed. I won't even start with the list of things that are great in my life, but somehow over the past week I have literally felt like I can't do it. Steve and I were planning out the week and I felt totally overwhelmed. Work, callings, kids, teaching piano, playing with the kids, family time, temple, date, visiting family & friends, housework, exercise (there is reason that one is listed last.) I seriously had heart palpatations. I felt like a terrible mother and wife-I felt like a failure.

Then I just sat there, something I never do lately, and thought. The thought came to me.........this is exactly what should be happening right now. You and Steve should feel pushed and tired and worn out at the end of the day. This is my job/test to see if I can balance it all and prioritize-making sure the most important things are being cared for first. Then I thought of this sweet lady who was in my ward in Riverton. A story she told me gave me another thought that the adversary doesn't just tempt us to sin, but he tempts us to doubt ourselves. I have heard this before, but haven't ever really felt it and that is exactly what I have been feeling. I wanted to give up and that would mean failing the test and that is what he wants me to do so of course he would tempt me to have those feelings. Well, I'm not going to. Period. I will do what it takes because I have to. I have spent too much time and energy to give up now. Our promised reward is attainable.


Today I have been balanced. Dishes sit in the sink, but Ruby and I played Candyland and George and I worked on homework together. Now I am letting them have wii/playing time for 20 mins and I am writing this down because it is reminding me of my committment to keep moving forward. Life is fantastic, fantasitically stressful sometimes, but fantastic none-the-less. Thanks for reading.

Why?

Why does CHRISTMAS come so much faster when you are an adult? I remember waiting and waiting as a child for christmas to come. It seemed like the tree was up for months. Now, I feel like I just barely put it up. I want time in general to slow down. I wish I could enjoy life more and not feel like it is passing me by. Does anyone else feel like this?

Okay, so I have been so on top of Christmas this year. I was practically done by Thanksgiving. I wanted to be able to just enjoy, watch Chrismtas movies, and cook treats for my friends and family, but in my haste I sent out my Christmas cards without including a letter. I never have done a letter before because I felt like we really didn't have anything exciting to share-lame I know. But this year a lot has happened and I LOVE getting Christmas updates from your families so I decided to put one on the blog to update y'all on us. I also didn't send out as many I as normally have because I didn't have a lot of addresses and frankly just wanted to get them out so I didn't spend too much time tracking people down. But I do think of so many of you from Riverton, Orem, Midvale, and SF. I know you can't keep in touch with EVERYONE, but I think often of the people who we have shared memories and time with and hope you all have a great Christmas!

Here we are a few days after Thanksgiving!

So our 2010 opened with the birth of our third child, Corinne. She was born on a cold January night. She has been such a blessing. I have enjoyed her so much. I think now that I know what I'm doing a little more as a mother, I have been able to just love her and not stress. She has brought me and the whole family so much love! I mean seriously....look at that face!

In February, George turned 5! He loves birthdays and presents and had a great birthday. He is such a home/family boy though and he didn't want a friend party. We had a great time as a family celebrating his birthday. He started school in August and really likes it. He gets bored sometimes, but has learned to read and has made friends with a few boys. It is fun seeing him have some of the same feelings I remember having as I started school. He loves his little sisters and is always concerned for me if I'm ever sick or tired or upset. He has such a good spirit. He is also a rowdy boy who jumps off of anything and teases me and the girls incessently.

In May we bought a home in Saratoga Springs. We love it here, although moving is always hard! Our home needed a new yard put in so Steve and some of our family members WORKED SO HARD digging up the absolutley dead, weedy yard, preping it, and seeding it. It now is Steve's pride and joy. He literally would come home from work and gaze at the lawn for about 15 minutes before coming in the house. It is lovely and the kids will enjoy having green grass! We have been painting and updating the house a little bit, but it has been the biggest blessing.

I began teaching piano when we moved our here and it is so much fun! I have 10 students who are all wonderful to teach. I'm so glad that my mom told me I COULD NOT quit piano. I think I will always teach, I just have to do it minimally right now while my kids are young. I have a neice who comes over to watch the kids while I do the bulk of my lessons. My love for music has been renewed through teaching and I love working on different songs.

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. I don't know what we would do without her. She loves life! She loves eating, playing, swimming, movies, daddy, coloring, dancing. She is so openly affectionate and loves her family. She goes to Pre-school once a week and always has fun. She loves to play outside and turned 3 in November. She had a Princess Party with her Pre-school class and loved her presents and cake. Whenever I come in the room, she says, "well hello mom." She is so precious and sweet. Steve started a new job in October! He works for TD Ameritrade and loves it. He is still finishing his Master's Degree with only 3 more classes. He works so hard for us and we all love when he his home! Corinne especially goes crazy when he walks in the door!

Steve was saying the problem with blogs is that everyone's lives look perfect. It's true we put on the good face for others. Not that we should focus on the challenges, but of course we have them. But overall this year has been filled with blessings, family, and great memories. We hope you feel the Spirit of Christ as we celebrate his birth and the gift that is his life!

Love,

The Davis Family

My view

This is the view from my front yard right this very moment....looks cold doesn't it? I love living by water. Okay so it is just Utah Lake but let me tell you how beautiful it can be. I should have gotten a picture when everything was green and the water was blue, but this will have to do. I have the best view and live in a beautiful place.

Okay is it seriously only 4:49pm?? This daylight savings thing is driving my nuts. My girls are up at 6:00 and it feels like we should be getting ready for bed right now. I used to love when it got dark earlier. I loved coming home and feeling like the day was over, but now I just want it to be light when Steve gets home. He won't be home for 2 more hours..........

Here are my Halloween kids. They loved it and were so excited to get CANDY!

Karate Kid

Cute Genie

Pink Monster with red eyes-very halloweeny!

So I tripped and fell at Lagoon....

I knew that would get your attention. Yeah, so I fell......like down.......on the cement.....in public. This wasn't just a trip, oh no- this was a flat out fall and tear my pants, bleeding knees, painful fall. I haven't fallen or really hurt myself in years. I watch my little ones fall all the time and get scrapes and bruises and bumps, give them a hug and tell them to keep playing. Now, I have a lot more sympathy for them. I must be getting old because they rest of the day I felt like I couldn't walk. My hands hurt and my knees were on FIRE! It must not affect kids like it does old people like me. It was kind of funny. Ruby said, "what did you do mom, did you just trip?" It must have been kind of shocking to see me like that flat on the ground. I'm healing up nicely thanks:)
So now that I've entertained you all with my humiliating experience of falling. Let's move on.

George and I at Lagoon (pre-fall)

I'm back. Come on, it has only been 7 months. Serious slackage in the blog department- Thanks to all those who haven't given up on me and encouraged me to update. I really love tapping into your lives and the absolute cuteness of your kids so let me share some cuteness with you.

Corinne is growing so much. She is 9 months and she is obviously very happy! Coco has been such a good baby for our family. She has made me a better mom-given me more perspective on what life is really about. She eats great and smiles ALL THE TIME- At least with people she knows. Like all my kids she has been wary of strangers. I don't know if I have done something to cause this, but I know it bugs some people that my kids aren't "good with other people" but I can honestly say I don't know what to do about it. They are who they are! Take us or leave us. I'm a little sensitive to issue lately......I'm working through it:)

George took Karate lessons over the summer. He loved it! He wants to wear his karate clothes for halloween. He started kindergarten and is reading really well. There is no more "baby" in my baby boy! He wants to do everything Steve does and would live outside if I let him. I love his personality.
Ruby started preschool-a few moms and myself take turns everyweek teaching the class. She is always a little hesitant to go, but then always enjoys it. This girl just loves life. She loves family, reminds us to read scriptures, takes care of all of us and adds such sweetness to my life. She wants to go to Grandma and Grandpa's or Grandma's every day. She talks about her cousins constantly and is a smarty pants!

We bought a home in Saratoga Springs in May. It is really nice having more room and having our own home. It is a lot of work though, the yard was in total disarray and the house needed (still needs) a facelift, but it is such a blessing. I love the area. It is absolutley beautiful out here. I have never appreciated Utah Lake, but it is so pretty from this side. I'm still getting to know people in the neighborhood, everyone is very nice. George and Ruby have found a few friends, but they honestly prefer just playing together.

Steve is still working hard and finishing up his Master's Degree. I have 10 piano students and am trying to play more.

I better stop here lest I lose my readers.....this is getting long. I will post some picture of the house soon. Thanks for reading!

Corinne's blessing

Several of my friends keep saying that I'm not posting enough pics of Corinne so here they are. It is true with 3 kids, the time I have to blog is even more limited, but I can hardly neglect to show my sweet CoCo on her blessing day.

She is wearing the blessing dress that was made for me by my mother's friend. Ruby also wore it, we are sentimental around here!

We also celebrated my 28th birthday! I've always wanted one of those ice cream cakes, so we splurged and got one from Baskin Robbins-it was heavenly and between the 4 of us, we ate it all!

Corinne is changing so much! I will post more soon! We are crazy busy right now trying to close on our house. It is never as easy as you think it will be. For those of you who have read all the way to the bottom of this, I have a question. When you are painting your walls a color (just a neutral color) do you leave the ceilings white? Erin C-I know you have the answer!

The happenings

Hey! We have been so busy and happy since our sweet Corinne was born. Things are definitely busier with 3 little ones, but not nearly as bad as some people said it would be.....I heard many times that 3 is the hardest. I disagree. Two was a tougher transition than 3. Things are getting back to normal and we are loving having a baby around. We've celebrated a couple of Birthdays and had the baby blessed since I last blogged. We also found a house and will be moving the first of May. I am sad, once again, to leave a place I have grown to love, but the space is much needed and appreciated and we have been really blessed in finding this home!

CoCo (Corinnes nick name the kids gave her, so subsequently I call her CoCo Puff) is growing! She sleeps great at night! She isn't really on a schedule during the day yet. She is smiling and loves to be held, especially by ME!This is fun most of the time until I need to do something. Suprisingly she doesn't love Steve. Ruby was such a Daddy's girl at this stage. He would pick her up and she would melt into his arms. Corinne is the opposite. She knows where the food is and she wants to remain close to the source. George turned 5 and is getting ready to go to kindergarten. He is starting to read and is so proud of himself that he can read to mommy at bedtime. Ruby has transitioned really well to the baby, but she does like her Mommy time and is constantly telling me she loves me, she melts my heart! Steve is doing great at school and work. He works hard for our family. I'm so happy we are on the same team and are working together toward our goals. We are incredibly blessed. Now on to the pictures.

George turned 5!

We have this weird tradition of opening b-day presents on the top of the kitchen table!

The Dino cake! That was actually fun to make, I usually don't "do" cakes.

The grandkids on the Davis side. Little sweeties!

This picture is too funny.

Me and the Rubster.

BLESSING PICS ON THE NEXT POST!