OOooh.

I asked Taylor to fill a page writing O's. She took it seriously, and this is what I heard (in whispers to herself), in tones bouncing between frustration to pleased:

"Oh, man!... that's a D.... That's a good one... Uuuuuhh. Another D.... D... That's a good one... Hmmm, I don't know what that is... Uuuugh... Haha! An L?!...Uh, D... Oh. That's a good one..."

I could not stop chuckling to myself every time another exclamation burst from her mouth. This was her paper... 

I enjoyed trying to guess which ones were the, "good ones" and which ones were "D's." There were a few that fell into the category of, "I don't know what that is," but she only said it once. I wonder when :)

Russ Is Happy.

Of course I am too. But, for the few of you who haven't heard Russ shout it from the house top...

It's a BOY!!

The Harringtons finally did it. And Russ hasn't stopped grinning since he found out :)

(I think the twenty girly emotional meltdowns we witnessed today only fed the flame of his excitement--no more of that--riiiiiiiggght ;])

Brecken's Birthday and... Ok, Disneyland Again

It all started like this:

A cute little six-year-old was on the verge of a seventh birthday. Mom and Dad really wanted to go to wanted to do something extra special for sweet, little almost-seven-year-old . The idea was good, the plans were made, and then (drum roll, please) the Birthday...

Still unsuspecting, and yet in bliss...

Cupcakes were shared...

And all was good. Then the secret was out. The beans were spilled. The surprise unveiled Disneyland here we come...

What??!! No pictures or videos??!! Well, she was happy ;) 

This time we did it family style. Or, rather, bigger family style (this was a fun group)...

It was pretty awesome. In Disneyland, a must see with a family of girls are the princesses. Last year the favorite was Rapunzel. This year? Cinderella. Here are pictures of both :) (do you see it?)...

Brecken commented, "Wow, Cinderella is even prettier this year!"   ;)

One difference between trips is that the amount of pictures was cut by 90%. Really. But we got a few, here are each of our girls:

Brecken (complete with birthday pin you'll note)...

Taylor (no, I did not ask her to pose, this is how she was... the whole time... just crazy. and cute. heavy on the crazy)...

And Hallie [the vacant expression on her face is what she wore all of Disneyland--except when the bar was coming down across her lap--then she cried--a lot (tips and tricks: don't ride Haunted Mansion first with small children) she was still so fun!)...

And the iconic Teacup Ride...

Oh, Disneyland. 

Before I end, I have to add one more picture (I know, I should end with that, shouldn't I?). I have to say that--although unspoken--Russ has determined we will not vacation anywhere we can't see a major league baseball game (don't try to deny it, Russ--I know it's true ;])...

And wouldn't you know? We got to see the Angels pitch a no-hitter. For all you baseball know-not-much's: That's amazing. In fact, the whole trip was just that: AMAZING.

Happy Easter

It really was a nice day for us. Actually I was a little under the weather, so I didn't get to go to the park for the family Easter Egg Hunt. But my kids did, and here are some of my favorite pics (Thanks Vanessa!)

Brecken and her new favorite thing in the world kite...

Remember I was under the weather? Don't mind the scraggly hair (still pretty adorable)...

Awe...

With all the cousins...

This was on Saturday. On Sunday I didn't get any pictures. No video. But it was amazing. The Easter Bunny hid things all over the house, and not only were their squeals and screams upon finding things, but when there was an idea where to look as well.

After that we had a very peaceful Sunday. It was really neat to watch the videos from lds.org about Christ's atonement, death, and resurrection. Probably the highlight of my day was when the house was quiet, Hallie was asleep in her crib, I was laying in bed, and the girls had snuck their Easter Baskets; then Taylor broke the silence with, "I love Jesus. Do you?" and Brecken replied, "Mmmhmm. Me too."

It was a good Easter

Easy.

Since my Christmas post I am sure you are all wondering, "How goes Brecken's Easy-Bake Oven?!" Or perhaps I was just trying to come up with something to blog, realized I had taken shamefully few pictures, and this is what I came up with...

Yes, we have had fun with little Easy-Bake. I've somewhat given up on the over-priced, under-delicous Easy-Bake products, and have decided: If I bake, she bakes. I can give up a ball of dough and twenty minutes. Easy.

**POST EDIT**

Apparently Brecken did not like the picture I used. In her words, "Hahaha, I look weird. Can you put a different picture on there?" So to appease her vanity...

Tomayto, Tomahto. :)

Christmas Time

You know the Michael McClean song I Cry the Day That I Take the Tree Down? I don't really share that sentiment. For some reason it feels like a good and happy thing to take the tree down. I often wonder why I feel this way, because I love Christmas. I haven't come up with an answer. I just thought I'd let everyone know what was on my mind. Anyway.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Something about a six-year-old brimming with excitement, explaining to the three-year-old all the wonders that await her on Christmas Morning give the season an almost magical touch.

Here was our Christmas morning:

Little Hallie was adorable, ripping paper was fun to her. And she enjoyed her gifts...

But every parent knows that the real wonder begins at the magical age of 3. Since this little girl asked for, "thingonail poliss," it was easy to go above and beyond her wildest dreams (so fun to watch)...

And what did Brecken get (I love taking pictures of genuine smiles)?...

An Easy-Bake Oven?! Uh!!! No way!!!! Ok. She had been telling everyone since December 25, 2010 that this would be her request to Santa, so the surprise element wasn't totally there, but the thrill factor definitely was.

Merry Christmas!...

I know, you probably thought this was over. But I thought I would be a little wordy, and let everyone not in the mood for wordy end satisfied. So those not in the mood for wordy: Happy New Year!

This Christmas Season was really wonderful for me. I really felt the spirit of the season, and had so many opportunities to think about Christ, His birth and His life. When I truly pondered, it was little wonder to me that though His birth was centuries ago, the world still celebrates the amazing miracle of Jesus Christ each Christmas. His birth marked the beginning of His life. And His life's purpose was to show us the way, atone for us, die for us, and prepare a way for us to live with Him again.

It was interesting to watch Christmas movies this year. A theme that struck me was the "Believe" theme. Don't get me wrong, I love Santa Clause. I love movies about Santa Clause. We even watch Polar Express every Christmas Eve (well for a couple years anyway :]). But I find it very interesting that in a lot of the movies they equate the magic of the season to believing in Santa Clause. And of course, if you don't believe in Santa, then the magic of Christmas is gone. When you've given up "believing" you enter the realm of "Grumpy old Christmas Hater"(maybe the themes weren't that harsh).

It made me grateful to realize that the true wonder of the season isn't believing in Santa Clause, it's believing in Christ. The spirit of the season is the spirit of Christ. The wonderful feelings at Christmas time aren't something to be given up as a grown up, because Christ is real. The feelings of love and kindness don't stem from magic, or reindeer, or presents; they stem from Christ, and I truly feel like He blesses the world with an abundance of His spirit at Christmas time. Anyway, belated Merry Christmas, everyone! And because I really feel it right now: I love you all! ;)

Remembering Disneyland

We recently had friends swing by and stay with us. Their daughter, Emma, is a little older than Brecken but it had been a year since they had seen each other. On the day of their coming Russ said "Brecken, do you remember Emma?"

Taylor interjected, "I do! I know Emma! I remember Emma!" We couldn't figure her enthusiasm knowing she probably did not really remember Emma. But she continued, "Emma C, see ya real soon. K-E-Y..."

Yes. Somehow everything gets back to Disneyland.

Perhaps this post is better suited for our Cute Things blog, but since I'm adding pictures it'll go here.

Our Disneyland spoils...