Christmas TIme

Christmas has come and gone, but I figured I needed to document it (all for me, since this is the only  place I record anything...sad I know). 
On Christmas Eve we went to the annual Spongberg-Fernley party.  It was fun as always.  Everyone was there...even those from Australia, Florida & Seattle.  The first picture of all the kids in matching jammies. 
On Christmas morning we told the kids that we would not go downstairs to open presents until 7:00.  Travis and Sara were watching the clock and at 7 on the dot, we woke up Leah and went downstairs.  Isn't Christmas morning the best!!  The kids grabbed their stockings and went to town.  It really seemed like Leah knew what she was doing too.  The kids had so much fun and seemed to be happy with their presents.  Leah kept disappearing with some candy from her stocking and would go to the table to eat it (you can tell in her picture that she has a mouthful of chocolate).  After all the presents were opened we went into the kitchen to get some breakfast and Travis noticed that there was a trampoline in the back yard.  You should have heard him!  I wish that I would have recorded it.  It was wet as could be on the tramp but that did not stop them from jumping on their new trampoline.  Later, Jay's parents and brothers came over.  It was really nice.  The kids loved jumping on the tramp with their uncles!  For dinner my family came over and spent the evening (no pictures). 
Christmas time is my very favorite time of the year.  I am so sad that it comes and goes too quickly!!

It's a GIRL!

It did not even cross my mind that I could have a girl.  I think that I am still in shock!  1 boy and 3 girls...3 GIRLS....my oh my.  On the bright side, at least I don't need to paint the pink room! 

Halloween Fun

At the Pumpkin Patch

Carving Pumpkins with Dad

Travis was not very pleased with his pumpkin. He drew what he wanted Jay to carve, but Jay had to modify it a bit. Travis thought that he had a weird looking pumpkin, but we told him that it was a really scary one.

Ready to TRICK or TREAT!

The Strawberry, Sleeping Beauty & Darth Vader

We had a great Halloween. The kids had a party at their friend's house in the afternoon and then Trick or Treating and playing with lots of friends that evening.

Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

The Happiest Place on Earth

I took the kids to Disneyland on one of the hottest days during our last heat wave. We had a great time! It was not very crowded. We went to Woody's Halloween Roundup. They had things for the kids to color and a show. The kids liked it (and it was shady!).


I can not get a picture of Sara posing. She will not look at the camera.

Mean Mom

You know, I am not the nicest mom. When my kids fall and scrape their knee or bump their head, I say "you're ok". When they are scared of going on a ride at Disneyland, I make them go on it anyway (and I might hold their arms up too!). If they don't want to jump off the diving board, I will throw them in. Like I said I am not very nice.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Disneyland with Abi and her kids. It was fun because Abi watched the younger kids while I took Travis and Taylor on a couple of "real" rides. Well, I took them on Tower of Terror. Neither of them had been on it before, so they had no idea what they had gotten themselves into. While on the ride, I looked over at my son's face and just saw the most frightened look in his eyes that I could ever imagine and I actually felt bad...really bad. It really surprised me that I didn't think or say "suck it up...you're fine, you're fine".

You know, I am not quite sure why I am like that. I hope that someday my kids don't remember me as the "mean mom".

Taylor and Travis right before going on Tower of Terror

All the kids

ps...Travis and I were on an elevator the other day and I told him that we were on the Tower of Terror and the doors were going to open up and then we would drop. He said that he knew we were not, but then he grabbed onto the bar just in case. Now it is our joke every time we are on an elevator.

This past week...

Lately, I have not been very good at keeping up with new posts. I haven't been spending much time at the computer--enough to look at other people's blogs, but not enough time to do a new one. I feel like I am so "far behind". Well, I finally downloaded some pictures tonight...

I had to get a picture of the kids before church.

It is so hard getting a cute one of all of them!!
On Monday night we went up to Long Beach to Jay's parents house for dinner and some swimming. The kids had a fantastic time! They are little fish. Travis is getting really good at swimming. I hope that Sara will learn to swim this summer too.

I took these pictures of Leah while the kids were swimming. I think that they are just adorable (if I do say so myself!)
This picture is just a typical Leah face. She doesn't smile much, especially for the camera. I love this little face though. Sometimes she seems a little bit serious to me.

Lately

Last night set up Travis and Sara in the playhouse in the loft with blankets, sleeping bags and a movie. It was fun for a while. They have loved playing in there lately. I can not wait until it is finished!!
The kids after church.
Lately, Leah is always holding on to her feet. I think it is so cute. She has gotten used to the brace.
A couple days ago I set Leah on the bed and propped her up on some pillows. She would not lean on them, she kept sitting up. I don't know if this counts as sitting, but it is sure close! She is getting too big too quick!

Disneyland Day

Still embarrassed about the "Travis on top of my car" fiasco at gymnastics last week, I decided not to go today. Yesterday, I stayed at home all day so I had to get out of the house but did not want to go shopping. I took the kids to Disneyland. They were so excited! I thought we would stay for 3 hours but ended up being there for 5. As we were leaving we ran into the Eks and decided to stay with them and go on the Nemo ride. Travis and Sara really wanted to go on that one. I don't think that I will wait more than 30 minutes for that ride again (those stairs on the submarine are scary with the kids, especially with Leah in the bjorn). It was a great day for Disneyland, not too cold and not very crowded.

On the Monorail
Meeting the Princesses.

I thought we were waiting in line to go sit down for the Princess Storytime, but it was a line for meeting the princesses. I usually have a "no waiting in line to meet the characters" policy. You can't tell, but they were quite excited (they both have a hard time smiling at the camera...especially Sara!)

At the Princess dance thing-they just stood there and watched the whole time. Travis did break out a couple of moves once. Sara was just taking it all in.

Playing in the Rain

The kids have been waiting since Christmas to go out in the rain and jump in the puddles with their new rain boots that Santa brought them. This evening, their wish came true.

They decided to make a mud house for the ants.

Finally found the puddles in the gutter in the front.
Too Cute!!

Happy Halloween!

Annual Spongberg Family Halloween Party

On Monday night, we kicked off the first of 3 nights of our Halloween celebration. There was good food, great company, and lots of fun.

Preschool Party

Travis decided that he wanted to be a pirate for his preschool party instead of Tigger.

Travis and his friends Connor and Kai

Tigger & Pooh

We trick-or-treated with a bunch of friends in our ward on our street. Everyone had a lot of fun. We are so lucky to have such great friends!!

The Latest...

Travis finally got his Razor Scooter. Yesterday my dad put it together for him. He was so excited! When he saw it he said, "Now I can go play in the street like all the other kids". Most of the kids on the street play in their front yards and in the street. I am probably looked at on our street as antisocial, but I can't stand my kids playing in the front. I am afraid that now I might have a new battle on my hands.
Yesterday, I moved Sara's bed back into Travis's room. We decided to bit the bullet and just make them sharing a room work. Well IT DID last night!! I think that Jay threatened them with physical harm if they got out of bed. It also helped that Travis was very tired. He fell asleep and Sara was awake for quite a while after just playing with her dolls in the bed. Sara's room is ready for the baby...the crib ready, cleaned and raised, even the sheets are on.
This morning, Sara did the funniest thing. She came into my bathroom this morning naked and just jumped on the toilet and said she was going to go potty just like mommy, daddy and Travy. She sat there for a while, but didn't do anything (we have not really been potty training yet, diapers are just so convenient.) Then she went to her room to get dressed. I found her with Travis's underwear on and her shorts on backwards. It was so cute. Little Sara is obsessed with clothes. She changes her clothes several times a day. She also always asks to go shopping. She loves shoes and always wants to go to the store to buy her some new ones. When at Babystyle, most kids like to play with the toys, but not my Sara, she goes around and picks out clothes and brings them to me and says, "Mom, this is a cute outfit" and then finds another one. Got to love it, but at the same time, this might be trouble. Actually, I will probably be the one in trouble, or would it be Jay... 2 big shoppers.

Changes

Finally, a big bed! Travis loves having it.

Sara likes sleeping in "Travy's" bed

(we keep trying to tell her it is her bed now)

The kids are growing. The family is growing. Time for some new beds and room changes. One of the hardest decisions for me lately has been trying to figure out where to put the baby. We have a good set up right now, 4 bedrooms, 2 kids, that leaves one vacant room--A playroom. We really don't want to give the playroom up. We are planning on adding a "loft" or 2nd family room over our dining room and living room hopefully in 6 months or so which will be wonderful, but for now, what to do? Being that we have no idea what the sex of this baby is, which would make the decision a little easier, we thought that for the time being, Travis and Sara would share Travis's room and the baby would sleep in Sara's room. (I know what some of you are saying to yourselves right now, just have the baby in your room and problem solved. With Sara, Jay and I had a good thing going for the first 6 weeks...Sara and I slept in one room, so that when she woke up in the middle of the night it did not disturb anyone, and then in the morning when Travis woke up, Jay took care of him and got him ready for the day. I got to sleep in until 9 or so everyday. Wonderful I tell you!! I really like the idea of being able to sleep in a bit and having my wonderful husband take care of the other kids in the morning.)

Back to the dilemma...last week we put another bed in Travis's room and tried to have Sara sleep in there. Did not work. That first night we put them to bed and tried it out for over an hour, but they just did not settle down. Sara went back to her crib in her room. We tried it for 4 nights, but they only got 2 chances each night. Sara ended up in her crib every night. We decided to try Sara on the toddler bed in her room, and it has worked fine. My question is, how do you get kids to go to sleep in the same room? I need some advice. I am running out of time. I have heard it might work putting them to bed at different times, but Sara is starting to stay up later and Travis is getting tired earlier (no more naps). HELP!!!!

Dress-up Fun

Pooh, Chicken & Tigger

Chicken Callie
Sara trying on Mickey

Deciding what to have the kids be for Halloween has been difficult this year. Last year after Halloween, I bought the Tigger & Pooh costumes at Costco for $4. I thought they would be good for dress-up. Well, for months, Travis & Sara have been saying that they were going to be Tigger & Pooh for Halloween. I really did not want that. First of all, I thought that Travis should be something a little more "tough". Second, I really wanted Sara to be something beautiful and girly. On Friday my mom & Becky came up and we were looking through costumes for Callie (and I personally think that the chicken is the cutest...Sara wore it last year). Travis and Sara wanted to try on costumes. They are not "tough" or girly and beautiful, but really, the kids don't care. That is what they want to be, so, I guess that I have decided to let them be Tigger & Pooh. One less thing to stress out about.