2012 Misc and Wrap Up

I found some random pictures on our iphones that didn't get proper documentation through the year.  So, here we go:

Our Ammy on his actual birthday, November 7th, 2012.  I started a new tradition this year where, because I endured 9 months of pregnancy and labor, I don't have to cook on my babys' birthdays.  We ate at Hometown Buffet this night and Ammon was ecstatic and so content to feed himself mac and cheese and chocolate milk.

He was over the moon when we let him go at it with a stick of cotton candy!  His first year of life has really flown by.  He is adorable and so much fun for our family.  He is opinionated and strong willed and cuter than cute with those huge brown eyes and long lashes.  I love to snuggle with him. He's been sick on and off through the winter with croup a couple times and an endless runny nose, so we had lots of snuggle-on-the-couch time.  He loves music and has the most hysterical dance moves.  I feel a little guilty that I haven't perfectly documented his first year, but I have loved and squeezed and kissed and tickled him bunches, so hopefully that makes up for it in the long run!

Ah, that tongue is a fascinating thing!

Seth had his first real dentist appointment.  He freaked out a little, but was brave in the end.  He was cute and funny to watch.  Maybe I find some of those uncomfortable mommy moments too comical.

Eli vs the red cups one Sunday night.

After making oodles of caramel apples for my friends around Halloween, Ben convinced me to make 300 or so more to sell at his school's holiday boutique.  It was supposedly a huge event that was advertised on the radio etc.  Well, sadly, I think I made about 250 too many apples.  Luckily my Mountain House friends helped me out of the red as I hawked caramel apples for a few days in town.  In the end I did make a little Christmas cash, but I don't think I'll do that again.

At the end of last summer we got season passes to a water park.  Here's the S buddies eating some left over mac and cheese with their hands after a wet day in Sacramento.

Sariah sporting her bangs back when they were new.

Little boys loving...

little chairs.

Don't know when this was, or why this was, but Dad and the kids were having mannequin fun!

It's been a whirlwind of a year.  We've grown and stretched and worked and loved.  I think the most valuable lesson has been that time together is precious.  Even Ben commented recently that as time goes on and our lives get filled more and more with the necessities of our schedules, we relish in the small and simple moments.  The tickles, the laughs, the prayers, the life lessons.  We sure love each other, and are thankful for the great blessings and opportunities for growth that the Lord continues to hand us.