{ Sisters }

From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was positive that it was a boy. I just saw myself with another son. I even bought baby boy stuff up at Swiss Days because I was so positive. At my 15 week ultra sound Dr. Hall said he wasn't positive, but it looked like a girl. I gave him such a hard time, making him check over and over again. I was sure the the little bugger was just hiding the goods. Either that or he was cold and maybe he'd warm up before the next ultra sound and show us his little pee pee. Well, 2 weeks later I went in again and he said once again that it was a girl. I was in a little bit of shock because I was really sure that it was a boy.

(not because I necessarily wanted a boy, but that was just my first impression)

I talked to both my sisters that day, telling them the news. Once I got off the phone with them I realized something . . . having a girl meant that Sophie would have a sister. I was overcome with excitement for her. My sisters are my 2 best friends. Along with my incredible Mom, they are the most influential women in my life. I look up to them so much. I think they are so incredible.

Laura is honestly the best mother I've ever seen. Not only is she incredibly patient, she is so fun. She spends so much time making crafts and doing fun things with her kids. When I grow up I want to be like her.

Jenny is one of the happiest, most thoughtful, and spiritual people I know. She is always calling and texting, just wondering how I'm doing. She is a wonderful aunt to my kids and they absolutely adore her. I know she too will be an amazing mother.

I am so blessed to have these wonderful women in my life and it warms my heart to know that Sophie will have the same opportunity for friendship and love with a sister of her own.

{Christmas Day}

I'm ready to be done posting backwards and start moving forward, so I've got to finish Christmas!

Our Christmas day is much more relaxing than our Christmas Eve, which is good because we need a rest after such a jam packed day of fun!

Christmas morning with the kids is always a blast. It's so fun to see their faces light up over every present they open. Ayden won the best face award this year . . .

It appears as though he didn't really believe he would get the things he asked Santa for . . .

But that doesn't mean Sophie was any less thrilled with her new toys!

And the Sibling love they showed was priceless. It makes it all worth it.

The new puppy was definitely the biggest surprise and the most exciting gift of the day.

Santa's helpers were up almost the whole night taking care of the little fella so we were a little pooped by the time the festivities were over.

{ Watching the puppy go out to the bathroom. How exciting! }

After we were done with our own Christmas morning the presents were hardly over. We headed back to Salt Lake for some more fun with the Hammer family.

{Logan, Whitney, and Colter}

{Codye and Matt, loving the new addition}

{Chris and Chelle}

{Abi}

Then we headed down to Orem to once again open presents! The only picture I have from Orem is one of Sophie that makes it look like maybe we've had a little too much fun for a 3 year old.

{Logan playing with his new phone}

It was another successful Christmas. We are so lucky to have our family so close by and get to spend the holidays with them. What a blessing.

{more holiday fun . . .}

Continuing on with the Holidays . . . I think the most eventful day we have is Christmas Eve. The fun starts at 9 am with the Hammer family and the pinatas! I'm not exactly sure where this tradition began, but I'm sure you can imagine how much the kids just love it! Because there are 19 grandchildren, we have one for the boys and one for the girls.

Ladies first . . .

Ayden and Brandt waited patiently for their turn.

And then it was Ayden's turn to hit . . .

And heres just a little glimps into the botherly love that exists amongst the Hammer clan.

After the pinata fun is over we clean up and head back to Brammy and Bapa's house for the Nativity. Brammy has the best costumes and the kids have a blast getting all dressed up!

{Sophie makes a beautiful angel}

{Ayden and Brandt were sheep}

And of course, Logan had to take the opportunity to mock his Mother's earring.

(After this many years, the holes he pierced in high school are still open.)

The kids get really excited after the Nativity because they know it's time for Santa to come! We sit around singing Christmas Carols and await his arrival.

I'm pretty sure most of the kids know that Santa is Bapa, but it is still magical.

Once the Hammer fun comes to an end, we load up and head down to Orem where the fun is just beginning! When we got there, Laura had an activity all ready for the kids!

Here they are making gingerbread houses.

Here's a picture of the girls, minus Jenny. She and Trevor were with his family this year and we missed them.

After a delicious dinner, we have a Christmas program where everyone is given the opportunity to perform. The kids did a great job singing jingle bells together.

We also showed the video of our kid's dance concert. It was fun for them to get to show off the dances they've been working on since everyone wasn't able to attend the concert. Then the kids have another opportunity to act out the Nativity, this time in a smaller group. My awesome sister Laura sewed me costumes as part of my Christmas present this year.

Both Ayden and Connor wanted to be wise guys, and Andrew had his heart set on being a shepherd, so Abby volunteered to be Joseph. Sophie was Mary and McKinley was the angel.

Once the program was over, Gramps and Gram gave us all our traditional box of cereal. Then, after a long and very eventful day, we headed back up to Layton. Last year was the first year that we did Christmas morning at our own house. We usually stay in Orem. But we had an idea of what Santa may be bringing the next morning and as his helpers we needed to be there to deliver the gift.

It was another successful Christmas eve, and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful family to spend it with.

Poor baby....

Our poor little Sophie Lynn had a rather tough night. While at home playing with Daddy and Ayden, she was running through the kitchen and tripped. Logan picked her up to console her and saw the blood dripping from her head. She had cut her head open on a kitchen chair! Poor thing.

He rushed her to the insta-care and after waiting far longer than they should've had to...she walked out of there with 3 stitches. She was so brave, and Ayden was a good helper too.


Not a happy camper...waiting for the numbing medication to kick in.


Her blood stained hair.



The wound...what a tough baby girl.



Resting peacfully at the end of a long hard day. Man I love this little girl.

{Holiday recap . . .}

It's taken me a while to get around to this . . . but I want to post (mostly pictures) about the wonderful holidays the Hammer family just experienced. I tried to appreciate and enjoy all this thing that made this Christmas much more simple and easy going then our next one will be. (baby on board)

We had a lot of wonderful things planned with our family this year. It started with my sister Laura's family making the trek out to celebrate with us! Our children are so close to the same age, they just get along so well and have a great time together.

They got here on the 16th and it just so happened that Sophie and Ayden's dance concert was on the 17th! Once I figure out how, I'll pull the videos off my camcorder and post them but for now, I only ended up with 1 picture of Sophie and Abby. That was the night I sat on my digital camera and broke it! (not a very good self esteem booster for a 7 month pregnant woman)

This is my kid's preschool teacher. Her name is Mrs. Marsha. They both absolutely adore her. She does an incredible job with those kids. Ayden has had her for 3 years now and he is always learning and growing in her class. We love you Mrs. Marsha!

Next up on the party til you drop December was the Kurt Bestor concert. No pics unfortunately but it was a very memorable night. We had all of our immediate family members (including Gramps and Gram) up to our house for dinner and then went to the concert up in Ogden. We don't usually get the opportunity to have our whole family in our own home, and it was such a great experience. The concert was great, as usual, although I was a little tired from spending the day getting the house ready for our guests.

Next was A Christmas Carol at Hale Center Theatre. . . an awesome family tradition. Ayden went for his first time last year and loved it so this year he knew exactly what to expect! He was thrilled to have his cousins there with him!

The play was wonderful as usual, this is a family tradition I hope we continue to share with all of our children.

The next night was our trip on the Polar Express! We've never done this before and it was such an incredible adventure. The kids got to wear their pj's that Nana and Papa gave them. (and they nicknamed themselves "The Zip-up Team")

Of course Papa got us nothing but the best so we were lucky to be on the first class train!

We had Rudy (not Rudolph . . . but a reindeer in training) leading our tour. She sang songs with the kids and went around asking them what they want for Christmas. We had hot chocolate along the way and once we arrived at the North Pole we saw Santa waving to us! And as we headed back to the station Santa came through our train and gave us all a bell. It was a magical experience, one I'm sure the kids will never forget! Thanks Nana and Papa!