Welcome to our family blog! The hard work of others has finally paid off, and we now have a blog, largely to share the pictures of our littlest one, Avalon! She was born March 10th at 10:58 PM in Grandpa and Grandma Pratt's home (where Lisa and John are staying now). Thanks for visiting!
Well, tonight during FHE I did a gum check and SURE ENOUGH! There was a tooth! The bottom right fronth tooth has broken through. So cute! No fever, no drool, no excessive crying. She has a cold, but that has been going on for a week now. Pretty painless, if you ask me! I hope they all come in so effortlessly. Here is a pic to commemorate this special day. (9 months old!)
I need to take photography lessons! And, my children need to learn how to smile. We just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas! These photos were taken on Sunday before church. Don’t I have some handsome young men? Avalon is not in the photo because she was (and still is) a little sick. Pajamas just don’t photograph well next to nice Christmassy sweaters! But, here is a cute pic of her snotty nose that Ivan took. Thanks, Ivan!
Ivan’s primary teacher gave him this adorable nativity set. Ivan took some pictures of it. He wanted me to post them.
And, here is the reason for the season, as they say. The Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His birth and the sacrifice of His life is the best gift of all.
We love you all! Merry Christmas!
The bishop in our last ward, Bishop Bangerter, challenged us to read the Book of Mormon as a family during this year. He also challenged us to memorize Mosiah 5:15:
“Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.”
We accomplished our goal by reading 2 pages every day. Now, we are reading it again! While most of our reading sessions were a challenge with young children, our lives are blessed and we have th spirit of Christ more present in our home. I am learning to love this book more and more every day.
We had our ward Christmas breakfast and there was a special visitor. And, she didn’t cry! She just kept staring and staring. Too cute!
Calvin asked for an Electric Train. Where did that come from???
Ivan asked for TWO remote control trucks.
Reed refused to even go in the same room with Santa. He is normally not that shy, but he declined the opportunity to ask Santa for his wildest dreams. He has since told me that he DOES like Santa.
Just a cute picture one of the boys took of our sweet angel.
Cutie Pie taking a ride on Mama’s shoulders. She LOVES going for a ride up high. She also loves being upside down and being tossed in the air. This girl is way more adventurous than our boys at this age!
We’ve had a bit of snow here lately. We thought we’d get a picture of the train waiting on the “waiting tracks” by our house. But, by the time we got the camera, it started to move. Yes, this is a picture taken from our carport. We are soooooo close to that train!
Today was Ivan’s birthday. He turned 7 years old! I asked Ivan what he wanted for a cake and he described this elaborate design with a man falling down and who knows what else. He drew a picture for me and I still didn’t get what he wanted. So, I asked him if HE wanted to decorate his own cake and he jumped at the chance! It ended up being entirely different from the picture, but he had fun using as much frosting as he could manage.
Can you see his name at the bottom?
Ivan’s friends came over and we started with a paper airplane contest. Here is John teaching one of the boys how to make a paper airplane. Some of the kids decorated theirs and they had a blast throwing them outside and trying to get theirs to do tricks or go the farthest.
Then, we brought the kids inside and John helped them load the soft pellet bb gun for a target contest. They were shooting a Halloween bat that was suspended from the ceiling with fishing line. The two boys you see shooting, Joseph and Tegan, tied for first place. They were amazingly accurate!
Then, the boys put down an amazing amount of pizza. John reminds me that they are only growing bigger and in the future, we might want to think twice about hosting a pizza party. 
Smile for the camera, Ivan! (Don’t you love this age where any pose becomes a nasty face contest? I have about ten of these shots.)
Avalon is sure to join the gang soon as she couldn’t take her mind off the pizza John was eating. She kept reaching and reaching until he shared a little with her. She loved it!
Here are the boys getting a kick out of Avalon wanting the pizza.
Seven magic re-lighting candles for the birthday boy! Jacob is one of Ivan’s best friends.
Ivan requested an “Ice cream cake”. So, we went to the store and he chose rainbow sherbet for the ice cream and rainbow chip cake. I made it myself and it wasn’t that hard! Let’s just say that this wouldn’t be the flavors I would choose. Soooooo sweet. Yuck!
After the friends left, we had a family party. Joe, Liz, and Brayden stopped by for some birthday fun.
And, Grandma and Grandpa.
Grandma Allen sent a card for Ivan with some punching balloons in it for the boys. They had a blast punching and making tons of noise.
Avalon got twisted up in some string while I did some knitting. She is just like a little kitten. So cute!
We are so glad Ivan is in our family. He is a sweet boy with a lot of imagination and creativity. He loves to learn and try new things. He adores his little sister and is a big helper around the house. Ivan Kenneth Pratt, we love you!
