Baby #4 is...

We were SO excited to find out what gender baby #4 would be! Bridger and Graham said they wanted a sister but Amber insisted that it was a boy because she wanted a brother! Jake and I thought about not finding out until the baby was born but I decided I couldn't wait and the kids wanted to know too.

It was very obvious that we're having another BOY!! He wasn't shy about showing his privates off. The kids were so excited and afterwards Bridger said to me, "Mom, I wanted a girl but I changed my mind and now I want a boy. I can play Legos with him." Phew! Glad they are excited too!

The technician was so cute and said this baby has "3 knees"--a left knee, a right knee, and a we-knee! Haha, so funny!

I can't wait to meet this new little guy! My due date is Feb. 9, 2015 which is my brother Tyler's birthday. Now on to choosing a name...this one is going to be hard.

Family Room Remodel

It was so fun to see the family room in our house come together! I had been collecting furniture and decorations and had to wait to put it all together until the floors and walls were finished. Here are some before and after pictures of how it turned out:

 This room was closed off completely to the dining room and kitchen. We knew we wanted an open great room so thanks to my Uncle Blaine, who's a contractor, it happened. Those shelves had to go since the wall it was on was the one that we were knocking down.

 This is a picture looking from the dining room at the wall that was coming down. Jake is pointing to it.

 Look how much brighter and better it looks without that wall closing everything off! Blaine and his apprentice, Jake, made a beam and put it up so that the house wouldn't fall down.

 

This is a painting of a picture that I fell in love with when we visited my parents in Brazil. My mom surprised me and painted it for me to hang on my wall. She's amazing! The colors in this painting were the inspiration for the room.

I love this little sitting area in the front window! The only thing left for me to do here is get some decent wood blinds and get rid of these old metal ones. The chairs are from Down to Earth at Gardner Village, the table is from the Black Goose, and the lamp is from Pier 1 Imports. And I got the drapes from Home Goods. 

You can see behind the loveseat in this picture where the wall was taken down. It opens up to the dining room and kitchen. I got my couches from RC Willey, pillows were from the Quilt Shop and Down to Earth at Gardner Village, and the rug is from Down East. I found my coffee table and end tables on KSL for like $120 and then I paid a lady named Jodi Brimhall (Cottage Charm Creations) in my neighborhood to paint them. She did an amazing job! I painted a computer desk recently and now that I know how easy it is I'll never pay someone else to do it again. The only thing I have left to do is get some nice lamps for the two end tables.

This has nothing to do with this picture but for the wall color I chose Gentle Rain by Benjamin Moore, I think. But I always take the paint color to Home Depot and just have them match it in Behr paint. It's less expensive that way.

There were no lights in the ceiling in this room so my brother-in-law, Skyler, put in some can lights and wired for a light in the middle of the room so Jake could put in this fan. We got it at Home Depot.

This entertainment center is directly across from the big couch. We got it at the RC Willey Outlet and it was one of the first things we bought for the house. Miraculously it fit the wall perfectly without me even measuring. It was meant to be. I'm not finished decorating it how I'd like yet though. We'll get there...

 

Kids' Pictures

Jenny took the kids pictures for me again and as always did a fabulous job! I can't believe how grown up these little cuties are getting. I keep telling them to stop growing. Whenever I tell Bridger that he says, "But mom, I'll always be your son even when I'm old." Thank goodness for that!

My handsome, Bridger

Bridger is so creative and artistic and good at anything he puts his mind to. He loves learning, coloring, putting together Legos, and just playing all day long. He's a wonderful friend and is always concerned about other's feelings. He is such a good older brother and is always looking out for his little brother and sister. Once when we were at the park and some older boys were not letting Amber go down the slide he says, "Wo wo wo, that's my sister! Let her go down!" Jake and I always talk about how lucky we are to have this little guy as the oldest in our family.

My little stud muffin, Graham

Graham is the happiest little guy and can make friends with anyone. He's fun to be around and loves to play! He loves sports, cars, trains, super heroes, racing, his siblings, and his family. He's a fiery little guy too and keeps us on our toes. He is also a wonderful brother to Amber and can make her smile whenever she's sad. She often asks for him when she needs someone to comfort her. He is VERY good with directions and can remember how to get places easily. He also finds things for me whenever I've lost something. He's such an awesome kid and we love him!

My beautiful girl, Amber

Amber is just a little delight! She is so happy and full of life! She loves her big brothers and likes to do whatever they do. If she is not included when the boys go out on a boys' night only she throws a fit until she's invited to go. She does NOT like to be left out. She loves girly stuff but also loves to play with batman, swords, guns, cars, and whatever her brothers are playing with. We are beyond grateful that she was sent to our family and can't imagine life without her!

I love these kids more than I can say and I'm so grateful to be their mom!

Graham's 3rd birthday

For Graham's birthday party this year we had a Mickey and Friends party. Graham loves Minnie Mouse (he thinks she's his girlfriend) so I decided to do a Minnie cake for him. He loved it!

We had some friends and cousins come over for the party

Bridger enjoying his lunch

Amber was the cutest little Minnie

Skyler, Brooke, and Graham

Mommy and Graham

 



The Minnie cake

All I did was rent a bounce house and the kids thought it was the greatest!

Best buds

Opening presents

Uncles are the best because they give toys that mommy won't buy (like Legos)!

After the party we got to play on the bounce house for a few more hours and then have dinner and open more presents. Graham got a Minnie mouse and lots of super heros. He's the cutest little guy around and we couldn't be happier to have him in our family! We love you, Grahamy!

Kiddos

We had Jenny do some more pictures of our kids since Graham is now 3 years old, Amber is 18 months, and Bridger is 4 1/2. Why can't they stay this little forever? I sure love these little munchkins!

 

 

 My little angels. Wouldn't it be nice if the kids were always sweet and smiley like this?

But this is more like our real life