Ledger: 3 Months

 Three months already?!
Time sure flies with three crazy kids that keep moving all day, everyday like a freight-train-tornado.
Little Ledgie is everyone's favorite these days. He's really come alive with cooes and giggles and smiles. He's the most easy going baby, and rarely needs to just be held. I'm so grateful for this stage, as I'm sure it won't last forever.  He takes one long nap daily, but loves to be in his swing. It's a habit I should break, but just can't bring myself to do it yet.

 He's such a chunker! His cheeks and thighs are absolutely kissable. He loves his brother and sister and watches them all day. In some ways, more kids gets easier,!

 

 L did great on his first plane rides and was such a happy traveller. As long as he was fed, he was pretty chill. He had a hard time sleeping long enough in the plane (I rarely hold him that long, so I think he just wasn't used to be held for 5 hours straight), but even with sleep deprivation he never had  an inconsolable meltdown.

 

 He'll sleep from about 9-4 most nights, and some nights he'll even sleep until 6 or 7. I'm so grateful! What a blessing! (especially with a less-than-stellar-sleeping sister!)

 He's gained so much more body control, can reach and grab for things all of the sudden, and lately seems to constantly want to be upright, rather than laying down. Thank goodness for bumbos! He's retained his dark hair and darker eyes, but time will tell if that sticks around. My fingers are crossed that he'll stay brown and get hazel eyes like his mama! I just want ONE to look like me. haha!

 What's for sure is how much he looks like Hinder! It's sort of unreal. Besides some differences in eye shape, he looks almost identical to this picture of Hinder, taken at the same age. Look at those cute boys!

 The work and exhaustion of motherhood seems to become more demanding, but easier to endure with every baby. I've never felt such gratitude for my children and for the blessing of having a sweet baby in our home. We love our Ledger Summit!

Hinder Turns Five!

  Hinder  turned five at the very end of the year. He was so spoiled with multiple parties and too many presents. Visiting both sets of grandparents will do that! We waited until we got back home to give him our gifts. He was most excited about a shark toy that came with a scuba diver and shark dive cage.

 Sometimes it feels like Hinder is 15, not five. His brain is always going 100 miles a minute, which can be hilarious at times, or challenging as his mother. He's got so many ideas and LOTS to say. He's a born leader, always taking charge of the group of friends and directing them in play. It's a challenge for him when things don't go his way, because he always feels like his idea is best. We're working on this daily. 

He loves sharks, dinosaurs, rocks, fossils, animals, or anything fierce and ferocious. Lately, he loves playing games on the kindle. He doesn't love to sit and work on reading, but he does love to do any type of science experiment or 'project'. Especially if it involves a glue gun. He remember things well and forever. He's a natural at math and understands numbers intuitively (for his age). 

He tries so hard to be a good boy and is a great brother to Vyla and an eternal help with Ledger. I'm grateful that he sleeps like a rock and can do so much for himself and others. 

Five was a hard birthday for me. We start kindergarten in the fall and say goodbye to this blissful, sheltered life forever. I know he'll be fine and love being with so many kids all day, but I'll miss having my buddy with me all day.

 We love you to bits, Hinder Kale!

New Years with the Killians

 A few days after Christmas, we rented a car in Boise and drove the few hours to spend the next two weeks of our break with the Killian's in Washington. I hadn't seen my brothers or littlest sister since we moved here 18 months ago, so I was DYING to be home. I couldn't stop looking out the windows the entire drive, because of all the wide open SPACE. it's beautiful to me and I miss it when I'm in Maine. 

We stopped first at Drew and Lara's beautiful home in Richland and spent a night there. The rest of the family met us the next day for a Tri-Cities day of Chuck E. Cheese and watching the movie Frozen in the theater. 

I was so happy to be with my sibs, parents, nieces, nephews, etc that I totally slacked on taking any pictures. I just enjoyed myself and didn't worry about lugging around a camera, so all I have to show for our time is a few terrible phone pics.

The cousins got along great and played for hours. About 5 days into our stay, I realized I hadn't even seen Hinder during the day since our arrival, he just played and played with Archer, Olivia, and Pierce. Fun times! Vyla loved being the with older girls, Olivia and Dakota.

 The first days of our stay were gloriously leisure, lots of eating, game playing, naps, and sitting around talking and laughing. We exchanged belated Christmas gifts, and this fire pit was our combine gift to my dad. We tried it out for a few nights, but it was very cold! Hopefully it will get some good use this summer.

 Natalie and I had fun making party foods for New Years and Dakota helped us out with this fruit pizza. New years eve we same and played games at the local inn and then stayed up late with many rounds of Spoono, and of course, the Times Square madness playing in the background. We all made resolutions and predictions for the new year and hid them in a Christmas decoration to find next year. At midnight, we lit sparklers and drank sparkling cider. Dakota enjoyed that most of all ;)

 We spent some good time getting to know two new babies, Grace and Axel. Both are so darling and full of personalities. I hate missing out on new babies being so far away. Since we've been away, one of my brothers started his graduate school program in Athletic Training at the University of Idaho and he showcased a couple of his skills on his massage table for us. Vyla thought that table was pretty neat and relaxed on it for a while. Maybe we should consider getting one for her to sleep on permanently?!

 Dallas, my youngest brother, got a model rocket for Christmas, and we decided to assemble it together that day. Little did I know what I was getting in to when we started, but it turned out to be a fun project. There were so many tiny, intricate pieces...it makes my eye twitch thinking about it! But seven hours later...we finished it!

 Other highlights of the trip included: going to dinner with just married kids and our parents, and then heading to the mall for my dad's surprise shopping game (he gives each person $50 and a half hour to shop for your spouse, the closest to spending exactly $50 without going over wins. Riley only had .19 left after he bought me a necklace and running shoes. so much fun!), going to lunch with my mom, watching Dalyn and Dallas play basketball, seeing both sets of my grandparents, listening to Riley speak in the Ritzville branch, and having my brothers, father, and Grandfather Killian there to bless Ledger! What a special day!

 Although we missed D'laney's family and Devon, our missionary sister serving in Houston, we thoroughly enjoyed being with everyone else. With nine brothers and sisters, being all together is a rare treasure!

A Merry Boise Christmas

 Christmas with the Hurst's is always an over-the-top, festive and funny experience. 2013 did not disappoint. All three of Riley's sisters, along with husbands and kids, were there together. As you can imagine, we were swimming in wrapping paper, gift bags, and bows on Christmas morning. So much fun!

Here's the photo dump of Christmas Eve/Christmas:

Three kiddos on Christmas morning, waiting in the bedroom to get the green light to go to the tree. They were so excited! Being a parent on Christmas is one of my favorite things ever.

 

The Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

 Look what Santa brought! Two dragons, just like he asked (and asked and asked and asked) for!

 A stuffed alligator

At one point on Christmas morning, Hinder exclaimed "Every present is exactly what I wanted!"

 Parenting payday!

 Aunt Mal and Uncle Don Christmas morning

 Grandma Lorie with Bearett

Grandma Lorie's pull-aparts. This is Christmas to my sweet husband. I think he ate one entire pan himself. 

 

Ray gifted Lorie with a professional house and carpet cleaning. After having 17 people stuffed into their house (stomach flu and all) it was a VERY thoughtful gift.

 I think Sidnee might have given Ray the idea. ;)

 Ledger got his very own minki blanket from Riley's Aunt Shellie. She's a quilting legend.

 Sidnee made Hinder a dinosaur sweatshirt. Isn't the the most creative, cute thing you've ever seen!? 

He wears it daily.

 

Thanks Mal and Don for the  submaplane!

 The twins and Ledger hanging out Christmas morning

 

Sweet V was as content as can be with every gift. Thanks Mal and Don for the dr. set. 

 

Of course, no Hurst gathering would be complete without a photoshoot of some sort. 

Here are the sibs together: Sidnee, Ainslee, Riley, and Mallory.

 The whole gang

 The 8 grandkids with Grandpa Ray and Grandma Lorie.

 And then this happened... a childhood photo remake.

 But guess what else?! 

Our dearest friends from Rexburg drove all the way to Boise to see us while we were there. It was SO SO SO good to hang with them again. Friends like them are one in a million. In the few short hours together, we picked up right where we left off and had so many laughs, with never a dull moment. 

 They brought their darling kids too.

I'm so grateful we saw our Idaho family and spent Christmas with those we love. One of my favorite things is seeing my kids play with their cousins! That was such a big part of my upbringing. I treasure it, and I want my kids to have the same relationships that I do with my cousins.

Getting Home for Christmas

 About a month before Christmas, our parents generously gifted us with tickets to Boise and back to Maine for Christmas. Riley's program gives 4 full weeks off for the holidays, so we were able to do two weeks in Idaho and two in Washington, with ample time to see our moms, dads, brothers, and sisters. We had the best time. We. Love. Family.
Before we left Portland, we had a few festive moments.  Visiting Santa at the UNE Christmas party, the elaborate toy train village at the mall, and baking and delivering mass quantities of treats to all our Mainer friends.

 

 Riley was a total Scrooge about setting up a tree or any decor if we weren't even going to be in our house for the 25th, so Hinder and I constructed this cardboard tree so there was at least a little bit of Christmas spirit in our home during the first half of December. 

 Traveling across the United States, in the middle of a storm named Electra, with three littles, is not for the weak. And we had our fair share of frustrating, but memorable set backs.
Our trip started at 4 in the morning, just 30 minutes ahead of a winter storm that would end up shutting down the Portland airport. We made it out that morning delayed, but safe! The kids even did pretty well on that flight. (except Vyla, who DID NOT understand why she had to wear a seat belt at designated times)

 Our flight arrived about 45 minutes late...which made us miss our connection to Boise. Little did we know that would be the only flight available until the next day at midnight. A 38 hour layover! Fortunately, the United Airlines customer service desk is located right next to the Brachiosaurus fossil replica at O'Hare Airport. Accident? I think not. We call that a tender mercy.

 Thank goodness for Lorie! She used her magic, switched our airline, and got us out of Chicago the next morning. We stayed an impromptu night in Chicago, enjoyed order in pizza, and the jumping on hotel beds. The Hyatt even had this gorgeous tree in the lobby, a great reminder of why we were making this trek in the first place!

 The next day, with just a few delays, and en extra stop in SLC we made it to Boise! We were so stinking excited to be there. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss things until you see them again..like mountains, large roads, open spaces, familiar faces, and...Krispy Kremes!

Out time in Boise FLEW by! We met the adorable Murray twins for the first time, saw The Nutcracker performed for the first time, ate at Kneaders and Corona Village, had massages, Sidnee pedicures (she's.the.best.for.reals), speed flying, skiing, lots and lots of yummy food, went to the temple, and saw every family member. who could ask for more?