What Will 2011 Bring?

It's always fun at the beginning of a new year to think what is going to happen throughout the year.  Here are a few things I can think of right off the top of my head...

• Jaxon will start Kindergarten this year...technically, he could have started last year, but I held him back since his birthday is in July, so he would be the oldest and not the youngest in his grade...hopefully it was the right decision :)  I think he will LOVE Kindergarten and he will do great!
• Jordan will be (or better) be potty trained this year!  I hate potty training...HATE it...but I am so excited for him to be potty trained...I am shooting for starting around May, if he's ready...cross you fingers!
• Brynn will start her second year of preschool and she can't wait!  She loves school and asks everyday if it's a school day.  She's a quick learner...knows all of her alphabet and letter sounds and can count to 20 and recognize numbers up to 10...she's cute!
• Jason and I are going on a Disney Cruise (yes that's right, we are leaving the kids home to go on a Disney Cruise...nice parents, right?) in October.  Our first trip sans kids since we went on our last cruise in January 2007...needless to say we are super excited!
• Jaxon will turn 6 in July, Brynn will turn 4 in April and Jordan will turn 3 in November...how did my kids get so old?!
• Jason and I will celebrate our 9th anniversary in March...seriously, we've been married 9 years...it seems like just yesterday...really it does!
• We will become a family of 6 in July...that's right...the newest member of the Greensides family is coming in July and we couldn't be happier!  It will make July a crazy busy month with three birthdays, but it will be great!  We find out the gender in two weeks and  I will be happy with either!  

I'm sure I left out many fun things that are going to happen this year,l but it sounds like a fun, exciting, and busy year doesn't it?  Hopefully we can make it! Bring on 2011!

Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was super fun...my kids were really into it and that made it really fun!  It was a little bit different this year though...my parents usually come up and we do a big Christmas Eve dinner at our house then they are there in the morning to watch the kids open presents.  Well, because of the time my dad took off to go to Disneyland, he wasn't able to get enough time off to come up for Christmas :(  We were bummed, but understood, so we were going to do something with my sister and her family, but they were all sick...and we didn't want to get sick...not my idea of fun!  So, we spent Christmas Eve with Jason's family...which was fun too.  We went and saw Tangled (super cute!) then went to Jason's parents house and ate dinner, played games, the kids opened one gift each, then headed home and waited for Santa!

Christmas morning was fun and exciting...Jason and I were both very tired because we had wrapped the night before, then Jordan was up until 2 because he wasn't feeling well...but at least the kids slept in until around 7:30...that was nice.  The kids had a great time opening their presents and discovering they must have been on the nice list!

We spent all morning breaking toys out of the impossible to open boxes and putting the toys together.  Then at around 1, we headed over to Jason's parents house to continue our Christmas celebration with dinner, presents and visiting.  It was super fun!

We missed having my parents over for Christmas, but still had a great Christmas overall...enjoy the pictures!

Decorating cookies for Santa

Opening one present on Christmas Eve...the cousins got pajamas, but my kids have SO many pajamas, I decided to get them a little toy instead...they were a hit!

Breaking into the stockings...this year we put the tree downstairs, but the stockings were still upstairs...it was actually kind of fun that way!

This year we had the kids take turn opening presents...it actually worked quite well, they were all very patient, much to my surprise!

Brynn loves her My Little Pony house!

I am not sure how Santa knew Jaxon wanted Wheezy that he saw at Disneyland...he must be one smart man!

Waiting to open their presents from Grandma & Grandpa...Jordan was taking a nap...he wasn't feeling very well :(

All the grand kids got Pillow Pets...they were so excited!  Brynn got a ladybug, Jaxon got a lion and Jordan got a penguin. 

They look pretty happy with their new presents huh?

Disneyland...again!

Warning...lots of rambling and lots of pictures...I warned you!

We went to Disneyland for the second time this year...we had gone in late January/early February and had a great time.  My parents decided for Christmas they would take us and my sister and her family to Disneyland...we thought it was a fantastic idea!  We decided to make it a little longer trip and go three days earlier and we're really glad we did! 

We got there on December 15th and had a great time...the weather was decent...a little chilly, but nice.  The kids were so excited to finally be at Disneyland after talking about it for weeks!  We took it easy and just went on whatever rides the kids wanted to go on.  We stayed until about 9 that evening and the kids were exhausted (and so were we!).  As we were walking back to our car it started to rain...a sign of what awaited us for the rest of the trip!

The next day we headed back and had a great day doing pretty much whatever we want...I think we are a lot different than most people that go to Disneyland...we usually go for 4-6 days...it's nice because we don't feel like we have to rush to make sure we get on all the rides we want to...we just take it easy and enjoy instead of rushing all the time...I wouldn't do it any other way :)  Anyway...again we had good weather and a ton of fun and stayed until around 9 again.

The next day when we left for Disneyland it was raining...and it didn't stop for the next four days...seriously...ok it stopped for like 2 hours the last day we were there, but that was it!  We went on a few rides then spent a good amount of time inside Innoventions in Tomorrowland.  It was nice because it was inside and Jason and Jaxon really liked it because they had xbox's to play!  We seriously spent three hours there hoping for the rain to let up...well it didn't.  We went on a few more rides then called it a day at around 4...so not like us!

The 18th was the day everyone else was going to arrive at Disneyland...so we headed to Disneyland...in the rain again.  This time we were smart enough to get some of those lovely ponchos...best investment of the trip!  The kids looked so cute...Jordan looked like ET when we walked in his poncho...so cute!  We spent of lot of time inside the Animation Studios in California Adventure...which actually turned out perfectly because that's where the characters are when it's raining outside!  We were excited to when my parents and my sister and her family arrived and we braved to rain to go on whatever rides we could.

The next two days were fun, but at the same time kind of miserable...we were sick of the rain and it just got worse and more windy which made the rain almost unbearable.  But we braved it and had fun anyway!  Jaxon's favorite rides were Big Thunder Mountain, Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain.  Brynn HATED Pirates and loved Small World and meeting the princesses.  Jordan liked pretty much everything...he's easy to please...sometimes!

Thanks mom and dad for such a great trip...even if it was very soggy...it was lots of fun being with my family...all of them!  For the record...California hadn't seen that much rain in 10 years...just our luck!  On the drive home, it rained the ENTIRE time...there was about 15 miles in Cedar City where it wasn't raining, but that was it...crazy! 

We saw the Weinermobile in the parking lot of our hotel and had to get a picture!

Neither Jordan nor Brynn were too sure about standing next to Goofy.

I'm pretty sure Brynn is trying to run away in this picture because she didn't want to be by Mickey...which is odd because she loved Minnie!

Jaxon was none too please that he had to take a picture with Minnie...she is a girl after all!  When did this start?

He's super excited to go on Big Thunder Mountain!

Cotton candy...I hate the stuff, but the kids love it!

Maps...my kids were crazy about the maps for Disneyland and California Adventure...seriously, I was hoping we could get away with getting those as souvenirs instead of the ridiculously priced toys in Disneyland, but no such luck!

Brynn driving in Autopia..doesn't she look cute in her hat? Thanks mom for the hat and gloves.

Look how happy everyone is...this is before the rain started.

Then the rain came...

I don't know why this picture turned out so bad...oh well!  Jaxon again, was not happy to have to take a picture with a girl.  Jordan was taking a nap in the stroller at this point...this is while we were seeking refuge in the Animation Studio.

Jaxon had no problem posing with Woody though...Brynn on the other hand wanted nothing to do with him!

She did however, love Minnie!

She wasn't so sure about Pluto though...hence the reason I am in the picture!

This is what Jordan did while Jaxon and Brynn met the characters.

Goofy..again, Brynn didn't want anything to do with him, but Jaxon did!

Brynn's no so sure of Donald either...I guess she really only likes Minnie and Jesse.

What we wore basically nonstop for three days while at Disneyland.  If you ever go to Disneyland and buy ponchos...just a little tip...if they get ripped or damaged at all...they will replace them for free.  I think we went through two per kid...Disney is great about that kind of stuff.

The stroller even had it's own poncho too!

Jordan and Grandpa...on the second day, we finally convinced the rest of the group to give in and buy ponchos and quit carrying around the umbrellas...I think they were very glad they listened to us!

All I have to say is thank goodness for hats...otherwise there's no telling what my hair would've looked like!

Handsome boys!

All tuckered out!  Yes, this is a double stroller, but we can turn it into a triple one pretty easily :)

Jaxon in his daddy's hat...very handsome!

Brynn loved seeing the princesses...she was in heaven talking to them!

Jordan turns 2!

 Jordan turned 2 on November 20th...we had a lot of fun for his birthday! We had a birthday party with some of his cousins a few days before his birthday.  He had fun playing with his cousins and decorating cookies and eating cake...I think that was his favorite part! 

On his actual birthday, we just celebrated as a family.  He opened presents first thing in the morning (yes I wrapped his presents in Christmas wrapping paper because I planned very poorly and didn't have any other wrapping paper in the house...bad mom, I know, but at least I made it so the white side was facing out!) He got a few cool toys...more stuff to clutter our house...story of my life!

Then we headed to Jungle Jim's to celebrate even more!  The kids thought it was pretty cool...well everyone but Brynn...she hated the rides...it could have something to do with the fact that we put her on the fastest one first and she hated it, so she didn't want to go on any other rides.  After a while we convinced her it wasn't so bad and she liked the swings and the merry-go-round.  Jaxon and Jordan liked all the rides and they liked riding them together...very cute! I think he had a pretty good birthday!

Jordan is for sure all boy!  It's funny...I always heard of the terrible two's and never understood what people were talking about because with Jaxon & Brynn, three was much worse than three.  However, now I know what everyone was talking about!  Up until a few weeks before his birthday...Jordan was the most mellow, easy going kid I knew.  He didn't let much bother him and he was just all around sweet...then he turned two...seriously, it's like someone flipped a switched and I got a different kid!  Don't get me wrong...he's still really cute and I love him to death, but he's the most stubborn, strong-willed child I know!  Seriously...he would rather throw a fit, cry, and scream for an hour than do something he doesn't want to do...it's really frustrating...here's to hoping three is better than two :)  He is very cute and adorable and can be the cutest kid you've ever seen...and he tends to trick people into thinking he's super sweet, but if you're around him enough...his real personality will shine through!

Jordan and Jaxon riding the Merry-go-round...we didn't get any pictures of Brynn because she wouldn't get on any of the rides until about 1/2 hour before we left!

This could be the lamest ride at Jungle Jim's, but the kids liked it :)

Present time!  Sorry the pictures are so crappy...our camera broke and all we have is our phones...Jason's works great, mine not so good...oh well!

That cake was huge!  Jason insisted on getting one from Costco because he had had one before and thought it was amazing...he was very disappointed that this one was not nearly as good.

We have a tradition in our family where we decorate the bedroom door of the birthday boy/girl...they always like it and think it is super fun!

We love you Jordan and are so glad you are part of our family!