November pictures

November started off with Graham getting his helmet.  We had gone back and forth for whether or not to put Graham in a helmet or not but we finally decided to do it.  He has had a mild case of torticollis since birth and he always preferred to look left and no matter how much we tried to have him face to the right and make sure he didn't spend time on his back more than he had to, he still developed a flat spot.   We finally decided to put him in a helmet so we wouldn't ever regret it.  I had so many sleepless nights and tears deciding if it was right to do.  At times I felt like I needed to (because as parents we want the best for our kids of course) and then other times I felt like it would be mean to make him wear a helmet and I was really sad over the fact that I wouldn't get to see his little head every day.  And I knew snuggling him would be a lot harder.  And on top of that, helmets are not cheap and we had to pay a hefty price for it.  All of those factors (plus more) weighed on me for a few weeks and I was sort of a mess.  But we decided to just do it in the end. I was so worried he'd hate it but that was definitely not the case.  The first time we put it on he didn't seem to care at all!  And every time we've taken it on or off since he hasn't cried or moaned or seemed bothered at all!  It has been such a blessing and I know we made the right choice.  And already he's done with his first month in it and he'll most likely only need two or three more months.  And the helmet looks pretty cute on him too!  When we take it off now he looks naked almost :) It's just become part of him for now.

In other random news - I voted for the first time ever!  I was 29 so it was about time.  I didn't pay much attention to the election because it was Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump (and there was so much drama and crazy between the two) but I wanted to do my civic duty.  And Donald Trump won!  Who knew that was ever possible?!

 My parents give us Christmas money each year to do service.  It's a favorite tradition of ours.  This year we loaded shoe boxes full of presents for children in other countries.  The kids had a blast picking a kid their age and then going to the dollar store and gathering all sorts of toys and trinkets for their kid. The charity is called Operation Christmas Child and it was a great experience so we hope to do it next year. 

Brennan finished his basketball season.  He was a little star our there and it was so fun to watch him!  He had tons of his little buddies on his team and it was a really fun season so we were sad to see it finish so fast. He's a natural athlete and I am starting to sense that between my two boys sports will be our life.

For school, Aiden was asked to dress as an Indian in honor of Thanksgiving.  Nate got out his cool head piece from Paraguay for him to wear but Aiden didn't want to wear it.  But the others kids had fun trying it to.  They made pretty cute Indians.

 We had a great, low key Thanksgiving Break.  With Nate's parents now in Colorado and my parents on a trip to Japan, it was just our little family for a lot of the break.  We loved spending quality family time with just us.  I love this little family of mine!

Notice Callie's red shoes and socks.  She LOVES these shoes and wants to wear them every day - whether or not they match her outfit.

 Over the break I also decorated my new Christmas tree!  I have never had a beautiful tree but I've wanted one.  Luckily, my good friend Alison is amazing at it and was kind enough to help me.  I decided to go with a gold and bronze theme and I LOVE how it turned out!  I just go in our living room and stare at it a lot :)  

On actual Thanksgiving, we went bowling with the Blackhams and then went up to my Uncle David and Aunt Deanne's house for dinner.  Bowling was a blast like usual.  And we had a really great time at David and Deanne's.  They were so hospitable and we had a good time visiting with my cousins and family.  

 Since my parents were in Japan all during the break, they were kind enough to give us their BYU season tickets to basketball and football.  Nate and I went on a date to a b-ball game one night and another night he took Brennan.  And Aiden got to go to the football game with him.  These boys are huge and loyal BYU fans so it was a fun experience for them. 

The boys have their bonding time and Callie and I like to make time for our girly stuff!  She loves when I do her nails and she loved doing a face mask with me one day.  I love that she's such a girly-girl!

She also loves making messes.  Like every day all day long.  She loves playing "family" and being a mommy to all her babies.  It is so sweet to listen to her be a "mommy" while she plays.  Maybe one day she'll learn that to be a mommy you need to clean up too!

 We had a long, nice fall but it finally snowed at the end of the month!  The kids were thrilled and spent a long time out back playing in the snow.

 Graham and I had a great time watching them play from inside our warm house :)

That kind of sums up November but I had to share these adorable pictures I took during the month too.  Graham LOVES the bath and once he's in there he's splashing and moving all over and having a grand old time.  He is such a happy little guy and we're so blessed he's ours!