Our little Jedi

38 years ago, Dave's parents lugged their newborn baby out to see Dave's first move ever: Star Wars, the New Hope. With the reawakening of Star Wars, Dave was excited to take Sawyer to his first movie ever.

Sawyer was very well behaved for his first movie.

A few days later, Dave had to take his oldest girl for another Star Wars viewing with her best buddy, Alexa.

Christmas season fun

We started out Christmas season by going downtown to Macy's and writing letters to drop in the Santa Mailbox.

We also kept the sugar cookie tradition alive.  Aubrie, the finger licker, was caught in the act.

The other holiday tradition that we love is spending Chrismas eve morning with our church "family".  Many of these kids have known each other since birth.

Kyler and his best buddy, Lauren.

It was fun seeing Ellie put her piano skills to work as we all gathered around for Christmas carols.

Christmas present opening has these kids all abuzz.

Off to bed with dreams of sugar plums dancing in their heads.

Christmas morning presents!  I think Teyah was pleased with what she got from Santa.

Santa also seems to have got Kyler the perfect spy-boy presents.

Sawyer LOVES Christmas too!

Nutcracker 2015

Nutcracker 2015 brought many new and exciting roles for Aubrie and included a repeat of the dreaded "Friend" hair. This year she was a "lead friend" which was pretty exciting.

So fun to dance as a friend with your friends. Karissa, Enya and Hermione are some of Aubrie's besties.

Sawyer is great fun to have backstage. He definitely helps calm the dancers nerves with his cuteness and smiles. He is the mascot for sure. Aubrie danced as "lead Reed Flute" and as an Elf in the second Act. Reed Flutes wasn't her favorite role, but she handled herself well and got to do some small partnering for the first time. We love having Grandma around to help with Nutcracker and enjoy the magic with us.

"Porcelain Doll" is a role Aubrie has been wanting to perform for years. Wearing the cute tutus is just part of the excitement.

Teyah was definitely the cutest rat ever! We are so proud of her! She loves being in the Nutcracker with her big sis.

The trio of Porcelain dolls is probably Aubrie's favorite part yet.

This beautiful dancer is getting so good! We are so proud of her. Look at those fake elf ears! Ha!

Sawyer 4-5 months Pics

We've been savoring the first 6 months of having Sawyer in our family by taking a few minutes out of our crazy life to do a monthly photo shoot.

We caught Sawyer doing one of his favorite things during his four-month shoot: sucking on his baby toes.

Here's a pic of Sawyer doing what he does best; cheering someone up.  This is shortly after Teyah got her ear drums repaired (from leftover holes from ear tubes).

We love this pic of Sawyer with a lady friend.

And some more bitty baby friends at the American Girl doll store.

Last pic of our little man at his five-month photo shoot.

Kyler's 6th Birthday

Kyler got to have his family and his friends over for his favorite birthday party yet!

Little boy birthday parties are wildly fun!

We had a few special visitors!

They are so cute!

Kyler definitely loves all things Star Wars!

Thanksgiving 2015

We were so blessed to have Thanksgiving a our house with some of our family. What a treat to have these cousins together again!

We loved having Grandma and Lauren and Spencer's family here with us.

The cousins had a blast together!

We think Sawyer approved too! This big mouth smile is just how Aubrie smiled at this age!

Sawyer's turn for the hospital

Sawyer gave us a few scares that required him a few nights in the Children's Hospital. He stopped breathing a few times, so they diagnosed him with Sleep Apnea, and he then needed to sleep with a monitor for several months.

They also did a handful of tests that he had to be given anesthesia. They were concerned about some brain abnormalities, but in the end, the brain looked perfect! But we are still a bit concerned about his breathing, reflux and mild laryngomalacia.

State Honor Choir

Aubrie auditioned for the Minnesota State Honor Choir and was accepted! This was a blind audition process, and she had to learn some really hard songs. She was only one of a couple girls who were picked from her school.

She spent the day working with some well-known directors and performed in the evening. We were blown away at this talented group of singers! The concert was amazing, and Aubrie had a wonderful experience!

Kyler and crutches

Kyler got a horrible cut in his knee while waiting for the bus. He ran into a street sign that had a big screw poking out of it. He went the whole day at school and nobody called me. He got home and I knew immediately that he needed stitches. So, we went to the urgent care clinic, and they numbed him up, stitched him up, made a brace and put him on crutches for 9 days. 

This was our first experience with crutches, and let's just say a Kindergartner boy on crutches is not easy! He was always so positive though and such a trooper as he always is!

Halloween 2015

We couldn't resist this Pinterest-inspired picture of our lil' pumpkin!

These kids are the cutest ever! And look at Sawyer's eyes! Kyler was a Sheriff.

We loved our Minnie and Mickey! Mom made the Minnie skirt, gloves, and ears!

 Ellie as Cleopatra with her buddy Brooklin.

We also had a blast at out Church Halloween Party with friends.

Halloween in our neighborhood is always a success!!

Last Bike ride before winter

We sure love our trails and our bike rides! 

Kyler loves his new bike attachment that we found at a garage sale! This is a definite upgrade from the trailer.



Brooklin decided to be brave and come on the 12 mile ride to and from the cupcake shop.



Nothing better than a sweet reward!