I took the kids sledding the other day after school (I was thrilled to get the LAST sled at Costco). They had so much fun getting half way down the hill then falling off. The one time they made it all the way down the almost went under the van...they were careful to fall off before hitting the bottom after that.
Today we woke up to this...
So Anne and Andrew did this.
While Jackson did this...
I made this for breakfast....it was a good day.
Sunday we blessed Jackson. It was a crazy day. I awoke early to get ready for 9am church. Zac left at 6:30 for meetings. Everyone else got ready with little or no fuss at all...even Jackson woke up and ate at the perfect time. According to the schedule he should have slept right through his blessing. I say should because even the best laid plans can go wrong. About 8:20 I got a call from Zac at the church saying that because of icy roads they might be canceling church. WHAT!!! I told me no way they could cancel on us. Everything was going right on schedule. We had people in town for this. Anne was going to sing a duet and Andrew with the primary. I was so excited that Grandma and Grandpa were here to hear them sing. He said he would let me know the final decision. About 8:30 he called back and said that church was still on but to drive VERY carefully. 
Look he smiled!
This one if for you Dan. All my kids wore this onesie under their blessing outfit. Gotta love it!
Saturday we went downtown to see the holiday sites. It was soooo cold! We tried to catch the Trolley but missed it so we walked. We tried to take the horse drawn carriage but found that we had to sign-up ahead of time. Bummer. But we did see Santa - Anne rolled her eyes and said, "Remember Mom...I don't believe in Santa any more." Andrew said, "Mom, he is NOT the real Santa...but I will sit on his lap anyway." The Santa was great. He told them they shouldn't jump on the furniture (thanks Andrew needed to hear that) and he told them to obey their mom. It was funny-anytime he jumped on the furniture or disobeyed, he quickly stopped and said "Ooh-Santa told me not to do that."
We next moved on to the 500+ ginger bread houses displayed down the street. They were amazing. The kids loved looking at all the creative houses made by local schools and organizations.
When Andrew saw this one he said, "LOOK, O-Rock Obama!"
When I left they were playing. I went to take a shower. When I came back this is what I found. The good news is that Jackson hasn't learned how to crawl yet. The bad news...I need to find a new babysitter. 
I love this picture. Zac and I were just hanging out with Jackson on the couch talking when Jackson started talking back...well sort of. He was just cooing and smiling at us. I have yet to catch one of his smiles on camera but hopefully soon. It's just that whenever he smiles we are too busy smiling back. Who would want to run and grab the camera and miss that?
I set out to make cookies last week before the kids got home from school. Well with Jackson around the entire process didn't get finished. I was so glad it didn't though. Both kids came home and were happy to help. They peeled off all the wrappers off the Kisses for me - although I am sure a few chocolates did find their way into Anne's and Andrew's mouth - then Anne helped me roll all the balled cookies in sugar and then place the chocolates on top. I don't know if it's the little man in our house but both my big kids are so good at helping lately. Anne not only helped me with the cookies last week but with the yummy FHE desert this week. I am enjoying having a little helper in the kitchen.
Can you see Andrew's tired eyes? Right after he was done with the chocolates he just drooped in his seat. I suggested he go lay down. He then asked for a story. With my hands in the cookie dough I said "In just a minute." My little helper Anne was so sweet to then take her brother upstairs to his bed and read to him until he fell asleep. What a sweet girl I have.
The weather last Friday was beautiful. As Zac and I had been driving around that day I noticed that most of the big piles of leaves at the park had been cleaned up. I was sad that we had missed out on the fun of jumping into them. After the kids got out of school we decided to visit one of our favorite parks near our house. We were lucky to have Sierra, Hava and Brigg with us again. As we pulled up to the park we noticed a HUGE pile of leaves. When I say HUGE, I mean HUGE! So we went to play at the park and ended up in the leaves. We all had a blast in the leaves. Even me...
As you can see, this year we went with a Harry Potter theme around the Turner house. We were so lucky to have both Grandmas help out with their costumes. Grandma Sweetheart made the amazing robes and Grandma Darlin the super cool wands. I was lucky enough to find the scarves in the dollar section at Target. The kids had so much fun being Harry and Hermione and we were happy to have Hava, Brigg and Sierra join us in the fun.
Is it just me or is Andrew really flying?
The whole gang...Zac what Harry Potter character are you?
Brigg was Victor Krum...I think Andrew had stolen his stick at this point. Doesn't he look great though? He grew a goatee just for the day.
Sierra was Luna Lovegood...need I say more?
Most days after school you can find these two sitting on the couch together. Andrew loves his brother like crazy. I used to be the object of Andrew's kisses but ever since Jackson joined our family, he has been the lucky one to get all of Andrew's loves and kisses. He just can't give him enough love. The first thing in the morning he wants to hold Jackson and the first thing he wants to do after school is hold Jackson. I can see these two being great friends some day...this kid loves his little brother. 
Anne loves her brother. She has been the most amazing helper. She sings to him, talks to him, runs and gets me anything I need for him and the other day I found her reading to him. It was the cutest thing to see her reading and the look on his face as he listened. I am so grateful for Anne every day. She has made the first few weeks of Jackson's life so much sweeter. 
Strangely enough it hasn't really hit me until now. Maybe it was the fact that my mom was here and helping out...but on the way home from the airport yesterday it hit me. I turned to Zac and said, "We have three kids." Weird. Jackson has been wonderful so far. He sleeps, eats and then sleeps some more. 
