Christmas celebrations

Christmas is in two weeks! I think our kids are the perfect ages for Christmas this year--Rhett is so into it and gets excited about everything, and there's just something magical about a baby's first Christmas. I sat down in November to schedule the month so we don't miss any festive fun, and we've been doing lots of fun things lately!

 Building gingerbread houses at Home Depot. Rhett was very proud of his handiwork.

 Meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus at the library. A fantastic event with no lines, crafts, and fun treats for the kids.

 Rhett found us the perfect Christmas tree. In the King Soopers parking lot because we're classy like that.

 This is our first year getting a real tree, and we love the smell and ambiance, but getting it to stand straight was a nightmare. And then the tree fell over after we decorated it and some of my favorite childhood ornaments broke. I'm still mourning. So now it's propped up with cardboard under the tree skirt and no one is allowed to touch it, but darn it, we have a real tree!

 We've been getting more into #LighttheWorld this year, and Rhett has been awesome about it. Here he is dropping off a toy he picked out for the toy drive.

Preschool Christmas concert. Highly entertaining. 

Santa's Village at Winterfest where it was 65 degrees and we were sweating. I watched so many kids try to climb into the little house. 

 Our Relief Society Christmas party with so much soup and bread and so many songs I had to play on the piano at the last minute. But it was good and the spirit was there.

 Cufflinks craft shows! Rhett is learning the family business young.

 Putting Christmas lights up on our house! This was a moment of pure adulthood/manhood for Andre. (And I'm glad my dad was there to logistical support--ladder on the sloped driveway made me nervous!)

Rhett, the cheesy helper. 

Not Christmas related, but Nana and Poppy finished their mission! They stopped for the weekend on their trek west, and the kids were in heaven. 

thanksgiving 2017

The kids and I trekked across the country for Thanksgiving this year, and it was totally worth the hour Tessa spent screaming on the flight out. We had every member of the Treasure clan except Andre and my parents. Craziness, but so fun. Rhett was in heaven with all the cousins to play with, Tessa loved seeing so many new faces, and I just loved the family time. I only wish Andre could have come with us (darn work) and we could have stayed longer!

My phone died the night before we came back (which made for a stressful morning at 4am with a dead phone and a cranky baby), so I lost most of my pictures and was only able to salvage a few. So here are the limited highlights:

 Chess club! Rhett loved visiting his cousins at the elementary school and was amazed that their school has a library inside of it. Chess club was a hoot, especially watching Rachel "teach" it to Rhett--apparently they tied.

 Capitol cousins! We trekked downtown and braved parallel parking to visit the Air and Space Museum. Rhett was scared of the big planes, but then he held hands and loved it. His favorite thing was the "Death Star"--that's what you get when you hang out with older, Star Wars-loving cousins.

 A trip to Good Stuff for a toasted marshmallow shake, obviously. Still the best after all these years.

Tessa's first Turkey Trot! Rhett and I ended up taking a leisurely walk for the kids' fun run, but he was the fastest four year old, so it was still a hit.

Thanksgiving kids table. So much fun to have all the cousins together!

We have so much to be thankful for this year, and this trip was just the icing on the cake!

missouri road trip

Finally getting around to blogging about our trip to Missouri a few weeks ago.

We had been planning this trip for a year, ever since Rhett and I got to visit my parents on their mission last Thanksgiving and Andre didn't get to come. We were a little nervous about the 9-hour drive, but the kids did awesome and it really wasn't bad. (Now we're brainstorming all the other road trips we can take).

We had the best time visiting missionary Nana and Poppy. We weren't even 30 minutes down the road on our way back when Rhett said "I miss Nana and Poppy when I'm not at their house", and he's talked about this trip about every day since we've been home. Definitely a win!

 Union Station! Rhett still talks about this place from the last time we went. The Halloween trains were extra fun and festive. 

 Fritz's, of course. Nothing like juicy hamburgers delivered by train!

 We visited the College Basketball Experience, which is one of the few things in town my parents hadn't done. Definitely recommend! We were basically the only people there and had free reign of the place--Rhett loved the giant basketball in the kids area. 

 Poppy and Rhett as ESPN announcers

 Our favorite game--hit the targets as the light up and the clock counts down. The best was when Rhett, Andre, and I teamed up and did it together. 

 Tessa Kaiser, card shark (note the Uno cards in the bumbo)

 A very windy visit to Adam-ondi-Ahman. Beautiful and so peaceful.

 The country store in Far West with Brother Joseph

 Far West Temple site

 We had to pick up a few groceries and Rhett insisted on helping, so here he is, lugging the basket all by himself. 

 A few visits to the Independence visitors center, of course. Sharon and Toby are the VIPs of that place.

 Just the cutest senior missionaries at Liberty Jail.

A park with giant animals to play on and cute kids? Great day!

And somehow I didn't get any pictures of the amazing BBQ we ate, but trust us that it was a highlight. Thanks for a great trip, Missionary Mom and Dad! 

tessa's blessing weekend

We had a special weekend last weekend to bless our special Tessa Larae. We were so lucky to have so much family come to town to celebrate! What a special day for a special girl who is so loved.

We were so happy Nana and Poppy could come out from their mission for a quick weekend trip. I love this picture of Tessa meeting her Treasure grandparents for the first time. 

 A trip to White Fence Farms, of course!

 Nana made Tessa's blessing dress and it was perfect--she looked like our sweet little angel!

 Sometimes I still can't get over the fact that we're a family of four! Took these pictures as our neighborhood block party was happening across the street.

This is the good stuff. A backyard full of family, games, and food. 

cousin fun!

We had so much fun with the Richardsons in town this week! I think they've seen more of Colorado in their two weeks here than I have in four years of living here. We met up around town for some adventures, and then they stayed with us for the weekend. Rhett was in heaven with so many cousins to play with! I just wish we lived closer so this was a more frequent occurrence.

 Amy loved Tessa and picked out her clothes and held her everyday. The feeling was mutual. 

 Watching the action at the candy factory--Hammond's is always a crowd-pleaser.

 Playing in the corn "maze" at the farm. Janice found free things to do we'd never done before. 

 Riding the Belleview Park train. Rhett's second time riding it in a week!

 Cousin bath time! These two are five months apart and went from being best buddies to worst enemies in a matter of seconds. But mostly they loved playing together. Now we're saving this picture until Rhett's wedding.

 Scott was obsessed with baby Tessa!

 Casa Bonita! It can't be described, it has to be experienced. It was a little crazy, but the kids (and adults) loved it!

 Park time! 

Isaac was initiating the kids into the "Awesome Club". Clearly it was serious business.

transitioning to two

The most common question I'm asked these days hands down is "How's it going with two kids?"  And the short answer I give is "Pretty good. We're surviving." But the longer answer is this: it has its ups and downs for sure and I feel like I've leveled up as a mom, but most nights I crawl into bed exhausted and give myself and Heavenly Father a mental fist bump that we made it through the day.

The good: Tessa is the sweetest, so that's awesome. She's put herself on a three hour schedule and is super chill and sleepy when we go out, so Rhett hasn't missed a lot of his outings. I think this is my babies come in the summer so I can get out with them because my being forced to stay inside forever would be good for no one. Rhett loves his sister and gives her hugs and kisses all the time and always wants to read her books. My favorite part of the day is when Tessa wakes up in the morning and we snuggle and play with her on my bed. It's precious to see Rhett in big brother mode.

The bad: big brothers can flip a switch instantly. It doesn't happen much, but Rhett can go from loving on his sister to trying to kick her within 30 seconds. He's getting better around Tessa, but he's still acting out for André and I. But we just started a new discipline/reward plan that will hopefully work (fingers crossed). And when do I get my work done? I forgot how much newborns like to be held, and coordinating naps  with quiet time so I can get some work done is a challenge. It will get better, I know, but for now it means sacrificing some precious sleep to meet those deadlines.

So life as a family of four is mostly great, exhausting, exactly what we needed right now. My heart bursts when I see André and Tessa together or when Rhett gives me a big hug or when we all see a Tessa smile. It's worth the tantrums and late night wakings for sure.

 Tessa's first full day at home--she's already changed so much! We're constantly reminding Rhett to be gentle with her, but he's got a lot of love to give!

 A common sight--Tessa's got the men in her life wrapped around her finger already.

 Rhett insisted we all get on the bed with his stuffed animals to protect Tessa from the crocodiles on the floor. 

 Posted this on Facebook, but it's too cute to not share here. According to Rhett Tessa is "too cute to be honest." Her little legs in her church dress!

 ...and the craziness of having two kids. Trying to rock one and getting jumped on by the other. 

 Serranading sister at bed time--my heart melted

"Mom, I just really want to snuggle Tessa." How can you say no to that?