Happy New Years!!

Happy New Year everyone! 2012 WHAT!! How did that happen? For the last month I was continuously shocked when news shows would do a year wrap up or when Barbara Walters did her top 10, I kept thinking why are you doing this so early!?
2011 was an interesting year, I learned a lot about a lot of different things. I had ups and downs with friends and family, we moved and for some reason my kids kept growing. If fact Kaden is now taller than me.. not just a hair but by a few inches, Im not excited about that and I did have a good cry!
Kaden had a great year, he is really coming into his own and turning into a very nice young man. He does really well in school, and if he would just ALWAYS turn in his homework he would be a straight A student. He has a good group of friends that are always at our home or he is always with them, that has been an adjustment for sure! He is quite a handsome fella and he is trying to keep out of the girl drama that comes with being a good looking fella lol! He played basketball, baseball and football, he also tried track for the first time and he did really well in every sport. Baseball is his favorite sport, its not mine but I guess I better learn to love it for him! Im dreading this new year, it means I will have a highschooler.. a freaking highschooler people! We are very proud of him, he has been in quite a few situations that have tested his strength in his religion and his character and he has done us proud. Even though Im dreading him growing, I am excited to see him grow! He is getting to the age where he will probably want to be with his friends instead of us, last night in fact he was with friends to celebrate the New Year instead of us.. I am trying to let go, but be sure I wont let go to much!
Maddie paddie has also had a great year! She is still super sweet and easy going. She is for sure my easiest child and when we have to reprimand her for something it is always hard because it hardly ever happens! She finished her dance season in the Spring by trying out and becoming part of Dance Dimensions Company. She has been practicing a lot because next month is the start of the competitions, which she is very excited for! She is doing great in school, she normally has a tutor to help keep her on track but so far this year shes done so well that that hasnt been necessary. Her teacher adores her and has told me numerous times that she wishes she had a class for of Maddies, it would make her life easier! Maddie is also growing fast... to us, shes still a teeny tiny next to everyone else her age, but she has decided that she likes being small.. its fun she says!! The biggest part of her year was her decision to become a member of the Church, we were very proud of her and seeing her get baptized was incredible! We sure love our Maddie paddie, and cant wait to see her continue to grow!
Malia Malia Malia lol. She continues to prove that the last child is the most difficult, but in saying that she compared to other 4 year olds, she is a piece of cake! She always amazes us with how fast she can pick up new things and she always craves knowledge and new things. She is my little smarty pants! We recently had a scare thinking she had some hearing loss.. turns out it was just a whole lot of wax stuck in her ear, what a relief! Her pre-k teachers have already talked to me about having her tested in the Spring so that she would skip her next year of pre-k and go right to Kindergarten, I dont think we want to do that but I agreed to look further into it as the year passes. She is very excited to start playing the violin she got for Christmas and Im hoping that she ends up loving it as much as I think she will. We also have realized she really does have a knack for the water so we are looking into getting her into some lessons soon! I really cant wait to watch her grow, she is super sensitive, outgoing, loving and pretty darn cute!
Rich had another successful year at work, he beat some work records and some of his own, it might not be what he thought he would do when he grew up but he is successful at it. He is a great dad and a great husband and I appreciate all that he does for us!
I had an up and down year. I have had to come to terms that as long as Im healthy and on the medication that I am on that I wont ever get back to the size I want to be, my body isnt going to look like I want it to so no matter how hard I work out I just need to exercise because I have learned to love it, not because of the hope of having my old body back. I have really learned to love to work out, I love feeling strong and being able to keep up with the kids. I love to challenge my body to do harder things and when I walk away feeling great, it really makes me feel strong, mentally and physically! After having to cut some friendships off this year and having a lot of negative things said and done to me I really had to ponder and pray and search for the problem within myself. I allowed negativity to bring me down. And just when I thought I escaped it something new would pop up. After a long year of these ups and downs I finally realized that I cant change what people think, do, or say. And I think the biggest problem I was having was hearing a title put on me and I was taking it in a negative way, when in fact most of the things I was called were empowering and positive, even if they didnt say it that way they are all things I am proud to be. I am not an eye for an eye person, I have been walked on by friendships my whole life because I allow people to walk all over me... until I finally cant handle it, and I dont want to put myself in that position anymore, where there are unhealthy friendships, I will immediately pull back, rather than letting it drag on and on. I dont make New Years Resolutions but for this year I want to better accept myself and let go of other peoples titles and embrace who I am. Most of all I want to continue to be the best mom I can be, be a good wife to my husband and a great friend to those around me that I have learned deserve my friendship.
I have great hopes for this New Year, even though Ive been dreading it and the changes that come with it. I hope you all have a great prosperous New Year!
We had friends over last night to celebrate the New Year! It was a super fun night! We played minute to win it games for most of the night, and it was pretty hilarious! I didnt take a ton of photos but here are a few.

Malia is just over a year older than Avery but boy did they play cute.

And both of the girls stayed up to watch the ball drop.. Malia is now napping today because of that!