Year end for the Butlers

Hannah has had a year of many first. She stared Kinder, is learning to read and becoming more independent by the minute. She has made so many new friends in the neighborhood. She always loves to be out and about and try new things. She has kissed a boy and broken up with him a week later. I think that they have mended fences as friends but promises that she will not kiss somebody again until she is old enough. Which I tell her is not until she is 25 but I am sure that in her mind it is probably like 7. Today her uncle called her a little girl, which deeply offended her. She is a BIG girl now. He tried to strike a deal by offering to call her a medium sized girl but she told him "medium sized girls are like 4 year olds" She just can't wait to grow up and when she does, I am sure that she will conquer the world. She is a giggler, a storyteller and a snuggle bug. She is extremely smart, she is at the top of her class and has inherited her father's creative streak, I am so excited to see what the combination of those two will bring. I love my little girl (But don't tell her that I called her little...how insulting.)

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Braxton is my little man through and through. He loves to cut up paper and make a mess. I recently found out that he was spending a lot of time at my moms house just sharpening pencils and I thought it would be a great idea if we borrowed her electric sharpener and brought it over to our house. It was a win-win keep him occupied and get the pencils all sharpened at the same time......or so I thought, as soon as he started up he yelled at me "Hey mom this is really loud and annoying, I bet it hurts your ears right." I told him no my ears were fine and that he could do it as long as he wanted. Well that finished it, as long as it wasn't annoying me...he was done. He has a sweet heart as well, and a good memory. He is always helping me find things and eager to help when needed. He is learning so much everyday and says the cutest prayers at night. He keeps me laughing and greatful for the opportunity that I have to raise a boy.

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Grayson is the HAPPIEST baby in the world. Seriously people...it is ridiculous. For the past two weeks we have had to take him out of sacrament meeting for laughing too much and too loudly. He laughs all of the time. The cute baby screaming

squeal laugh that I wish that I could capture and remember forever. My brother noted that even when he is crying it is almost like he is faking it because he takes a break to smilr. Whenver he sees somebody that he loves his face just lights up and he reaches right out to them with a big smile. I feel so blessed to have him in our family. In fact I think that I am going to go and squeeze him right now.

Christmas Nativity

My favorite part of decorating for Christmas is setting out the nativity. I collect a new one every year and have several that the kids are allowed to play with (thank you little people) and some that are "hands off" We stayed home on Sunday and the kids wanted to play with this one, which is a "hands off" nativity and I said I would let them if they let me take pictures of them while they were doing it. I think that it is so sweet that they are learning the Christmas story through their play. I did however have to put an end to it when Brax made the shepherd kiss Joseph. In his defense... "I thought him was a girl because his hat looked like hair and his wife just had a baby." Oh Brax I love you ya goof.

Santa's Elves

So this is a picture that Travs took of Santa's elves hiding candy in the kids advent calendar. He spent hours on this. Notice the Hershey Kisses, that is what the kids got the next morning. I love my husband. He loves to keep the magic of childhood alive in our children. Hopefully they won't grow up too fast!

Fun in the Santa Fe

What could be more fun on a Black Friday than hangin' with some of our favorite Santa Fe peeps? I was shooting Val's family for her Christmas card photos and we snuck in a few pics of ourselves, got to hang out, eat some Il Vicino and the kids left us alone to gossip... Now I call that a successful day.

I promise this is a roly-poly....not something much worse

Count Your Blessings

This Thanksgiving there are many things that I am thankful for but here are my top 5.

1. My husband- I don't think that anybody could put up with me as well as he does. He is "the cheese to my macaroni" I am organized and cranky. He is free spirited and jovial. He works so hard for his family and then comes home and plays with the kids, reads to them before bed and makes us all laugh.

2. My children- I love them and their little personalities. I love the way that they make me laugh, cry, pee my pants, squirt milk out of my nose, and teach me something new every day.

3. My Family- My mom is my best friend and I am so lucky that she lives so close. She is the best shopping buddy and helps me way more than I deserve. My dad tells the kids imaginative stories that holds their attention way longer than I ever can and I am so glad that I am getting to know my brothers as almost adults.

4. My girlfriends- You guys make me laugh! I couldn't breathe without you.

5. My home- what a blessing to have a haven from the world where I can walk around in my underwear. Teach my children the gospel and have complete control of the remote.





4.

Heart Nipples

Travs and I have been sick all day, so Braxton spent the day with Grandma (thanks mom you are the best!) When he came home and it was time to put him to bed I started to put his jammies on and this is what I found underneath his shirt. This is how the conversation went

"Braxton what is that?"

"Them are hearts on my nipples"

"How did they get there?"

"Grandma painted them there"

"Why"

"Because her thought it would be funny...... and it IS"

Well Brax I'll have to agree with you there it is funny. Thanks again mom. You are the best grandma ever!

I Love Fall

When the trees are dressed in their golden garb in preperation for the fall of the leaves and the weather is beginning to get crisp and cold it makes me happy. Fall is my favorite season and so on Sunday when we were all ready for church early (miracle) and the kids looked so cute I grabbed the camera and headed out to find some yellow trees to take some pictures with. Here are the results

Chaps

I love this pair! My mom get them in Utah

This is what Travs has started calling my latest fashion obsession for Gray. I love leg warmers and I am so addicted to them. Travs just rolls his eyes. He thinks that they are "girly". So when we were at a halloween party and somebody said

"Hey I like your baby's chaps"

Travs said

"Hey I like that, it sounds much manlier than 'I like your son's leg warmers'"

And ever since then, he has called them chaps.

But I think that they are the best. When his polka dot ones went missing for a week I was almost in tears and blamed Travs for confiscating them but I found them in the bottom of the laundry. Grayson's fat legs and his polka dot leg warmers were reunited and all was right in the world.

Halloween 2008

"Why is my Dad so gross?"

My beautiful Princess

Spooky

Braxton does not want to get his picture taken. He wants to go trick-or-treating RIGHT NOW and get some candy.

"Hey, why are all these dead guys in our yard?"

I love him

ewwww a rat

Gray and I awaiting the trick-or-treaters

Lovely aren't they?

Little Gray owl

Carvin' Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins the night before Halloween this year. It is so cute to see how the kids want to design theit jack-o-lanterns. Hannah wanted the biggest pumpkin. She drew her face on and very carefully supervised the Travs cutting it out. Brax told me "Two circle eyes, a triangle nose and a big mouth". I wanted my pumpkin to look like Frankenstein but my kids deemed it a robt. Travs of course had the best jack-o-lantern. It always taked him much longer than the rest of us but the end result is spooktacular

Why I love the Ballon Fiesta

I love the first two weeks of October. Every morning when the kids wake up, they rush out into the backyard to count how many balloons they can see in the sky. Since we moved into our new house, the balloons have been more up front and personal. Balloons have soared over the backyard while searching for a place to land. So close that we can wave at them and have conversations with the pilots. This balloon landed right on the other side of our backyard. All of the kids from the bus stop scurried over and watched it deflate. I guess that October just brings out the kid in me.

World's Best Baby

That is what I think of my little Grayson. He is the best baby that I ever had. He is a sleeping expert. pooping genius, and has a smile that could light up any room. I had no idea that number three could be so amazing, "Been there done that" But World, I am in L-O-V-E love and his name is Grayson. He prefers me to Travs...which is a first and I could snuggle him for hours. Hours that would be full of smiles, giggles, coos and yes he even sings to me. I would kiss his fat drool covered cheeks and nuzzle his tiny button nose for eternity. I would have a hundred more if they could all be angels like Gray.

Just so ya know...nothing cuter than an almost nude baby boy, wearin' nothin' but leg warmers.

Hannah B.

This is what she prefers to be called at school even though she is the only Hannah in her class.

My beautiful girl. My beautiful girl who is as independent as they come. She is growing up so fast, both metephorically and literally. I have had to buy her all new pants and dresses that she wore to church a week ago now look like mini-skirts. She is going to be taller than me before she is 10!

Signs that your daughter is just like you and not like you at all.

1. She wants to walk herself to the bus-stop...all on her own but loves it when you meet her there after school.

2. She loves everything pink, sparkly and tacky. and anything that has to do with horses or kittens.

3. Has learned to read and loves being read to, our latest classic of choice "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Next we are moving on to the American Girl series

4. All ready has a boyfriend that she has kissed...on the mouth...in his closet. Yikes!

5.Has a laugh that is deep and unfiltered. When she is laughing, we are all laughing.

6. Draws the cutest pictures. Rainbows and princesses, unicorns and castles. She deffinatley has Travs' creative gene

7. I love this little woman with all my heart and although it is painful sometimes. I love watching her grow-up.

Braxton

My little man. He is the child that tests my patience the most, but thankfully, keeps me laughing.

A typical day with Braxton usually includes

1. Something being thrown at your face, probably while you are driving. He always does this on the sly and even though it has happened to me almost every day, it is always a suprise, a suprise that he thinks is hilarious. His most recent ammunition of choice...a burning hot chicken nugget.

2. Puzzles...Braxton loves to do puzzles, from the moment he wakes up it is "pretty please beautiful -mommy- with- a- cherry- on -top can we please do a puzzle" His favorites include; a number matching puzzle, The Backyardigans, and Trucks. He likes to do them on the tile floor and finishes it off with a good stomp of his feet all over the puzzle, just to make sure all of the pieces are in right.

3. Some sort of catch-phrase. This kid picks them up like nobody's business. and if you haven't heard his deep man voice then you don't know how funny he sounds when he says "It's business time".

4. My little helper. He loves to help clean around the house, especially spraying windex and starting the dishwasher or washing machine. I could probably get it done in half the time...but...it wouldn't be as fun or nearly as entertaining.