Wow, how fast did Christmas come and go this year? I was ready for it, shopping was done long before the big day came this year. We had some other fun things going on in December as well. First off, Katurah discovered Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, life may never be the same. She now introduces herself as "I'm Katurah, and I like Rudolph, and his girlfriend."

I got a sweet projector for shadow puppets.

There is a little girl who comes over to play every now and then. As soon as she comes in she asks for "Lipstick, white eyeshadow, and wedding nail polish." This little girl is 3 and LOVES to be a princess. When she came over the last time Katurah asked for lipstick for her "red nose" so we had a princess and a couple of reindeer. And don't you even mess up the lyrics to the song...you will be in for the deathiest of death glares from a 4 year old who thinks she is 5.

 Seneca does whatever her sisters do, but just a little (a lot) rougher. She is such a sweet little thing will run full force into your arms and say "I wuv you mom." Then she will squeeze my cheeks and proceed to climb all over me. For a while there her favorite phrase was "No way!" and she said it so funny. She also loves "Be right back." Jess was watching them jump on the trampoline through the window the other day and said he just saw Seneca take Amari to the mat, then put her in a perfect headlock all while grinning from ear to ear. I used to always tell them to be gentle with her, now she is the one I have to remind...like all the time.

Amari is doing great in her studies. She absolutely loves her teacher, and so do I. She told us she has 2 boyfriends "Dad and Carter." Carter is a boy in her class. I am not ready for another boy crazy little girl, but I got to go to her class for a Christmas party and meet this Carter kid. He is so stinkin' CUTE!!! Pantera was sad that I said that about the boy Amari has a crush on, but never say it about any boys she likes, I just told her Amari has better taste.

 My dad came out to visit for a week and a half. He and I are trying our hands at flipping furniture. I had so much fun while he was here, just doing project after project after project. The kids loved having him around and gave him the best greeting when he first got here. It was like he was a superstar and they were all his biggest fans. Ok I guess that is not to far away from reality.

 Seneca is just so flippin cute.

 Jess went back to school....

 So not really but if he did I bet this would be his first day outfit.

This was Katurah's reaction to seeing Santa Claus on a firetruck...

Zeke had a big month with his Read a thon. He called all of the family and gave this amazing pitch about sponsoring his reading. He set a goal of 1400 minutes which he easily achieved. Then he called and thanked all of his loving sponsers. His speech is so mechanical it is just adorable. He ended up winning first place for the 1st grade at his school. He got a trophy and a bowling/pizza party. He was so darn proud when he got home, just beaming! Way to go Zeke! He had his first sleep over this week with his buddy Wyatt. Jess took them to see the new Star wars movie, they had so much fun.

Pantera has had what seems like a bazillion sleepovers this year. She had her friend Victoria over Monday night and I took them to a trampoline park. They are so goofy around each other.  This girl is my favorite one of Pantera's friends by far, no drama just silly fun. Reminds me of my friend Charity, staying up late and laughing. Pantera also confessed a love of One Direction (a boy band) this week. She has dishonored our family;)

Merry Christmas!!!!

 

 

Katurah is 5

 My cutie pie Katurah turned "5" last month. You may be asking yourself, didn't we miss a year? Well you may just be right, she did not want to be 4 and would show me on her hands over and over again saying "I am 5 see...1,2,3,4,5." Then I would count again asking her what comes after 3 and she would quickly say "4,5" so there you have it. She was so insistent upon her new age that I just decided to go with it and she got a 5 candle on her cupcake.  Of course Amari was not too thrilled with Katurah claiming they were the same age, oh well.

I love having the one on one time with her during the day while the older kids are at school. She is so fun to hang out with. She can still do a killer cucumber hop, but is currently obsessed with Rudolph. I really don't know why she decided she needed to see the old Rudolph movie but I found a copy for her and she watched it several nights last week. Then I found  a mini singing Rudolph toy and she has been carrying with her everywhere for the past week. Now it is "You have to say, Is that a red nose?"

 She had a friend over last week who always wants to dress up like a princess. She asks me for lipstick and eyeshadow and a dress EVERYTIME she comes over. Well this particular day Katurah saw the red lipstick and decided she should have a red nose. Then we found some pipe cleaners and fashioned some antlers. So we had the princess and the red nosed reindeer, a classic tale indeed.

She is such a fun helper, any time we make anything she is right there wanting to participate. She loves to read books with me. She loves to play piano with me and I think she might be the one who actually wants to play down the road (no pressure, but that would be awesome!!!). She is a great negotiator especially when she wants a snack "I want 5 choices" when I originally give her 2. One of the choices that she names is always "Swissarolls."

Katurah, I love you so much. You make me so happy. I love your big brown eyes and your happy smile. I love how much you love to participate in Primary. You are a wonderful young lady!!!
Love,
Mom