Ashley will be Ashley

I just love this little girl!!

Brooke's Christmas Concert

Brooke had a blast doing this performance.  The school does a great job at adding music and dance to there program. 

Some fun pictures to enjoy!!!

Here are some fun pictures to enjoy!!!

Merry Christmas

I love Christmas time.  It is a wonderful time of year.  A time to enjoy family and reflecting on all that has happened during the year.  Since we are a dysfunctional family Christmas cards were never sent and so I thought that this would be a good opportunity to update everyone on the happenings in the Giles Family.  

Mike has been busy this year!!!  He quit his job and decided to go back to school to learn more about the LAW of all things.  He is earning his LLM in taxation at BU School of Law.  Basically he is specializing in tax law.  That is the best I can explain it.  He is really enjoying being back in school and he is doing a great job.  He does his best to juggle family and school.   

Carol has been teaching a lot this year.  She has taken the kids many miles to do so.  At times she wonders if it is worth it.  She would like to take lessons again and after Mike is done with school she will find a teacher so she can take lessons again.  She convinced Mike to run a half marathon with her in May so they are both training for it.  She is very excited about this because for the last 9 1/2 years of marriage she has been trying to convince him that running is fun.  Maybe this race will help him to realize how much fun it can be.

Brooke loves school.  She has an awesome teacher I have so much respect and admiration for. Brooke still loves singing and dancing.  She is a good example to those around her and she tries so hard to be good.  Her favorite food is Pasta.  She loves her siblings and is often found entertaining them.  Brooke loves church and often asks questions on how she can strengthen her testimony.  She is such a good example to me.  

Ashley has been doing Joy School and loves it.  She is a busy body and the only time you'll see her sitting still is when she is asleep.  She is learning that having a younger sibling can be fun. She is my big helper during the day.  She'll often grab the phone for me during the day when I'm busy with Max.  She really keeps us on our toes.  Ashley is my chocaholic and often asks to have chocolate chips for breakfast!!  When did I let this happen?  

Max has been so much fun.  We have had a blast getting to know this little person.  He is such and affectionate little boy.  Every morning when I get him out of bed he gives me a hug.  He is always so happy and laughs when his sisters play with him.  He loves to play the piano and I often put him in his seat next to it and let him play it while I try to get things accomplished around the house.  

As a family we are constantly trying to help each other be happy and successful.  We love spending time together and playing games.  We are all a little house hungry, but we are happy that we have a big apartment and understanding neighbors.   

We love you all and wish you the happiest New Year.

Love,

The Giles

Tonight for family home evening we had a funny face contest.  These are the winners.

Sleep at last!!!

So after 6 years I finally got more than 4 hours of sleep.  All 3 kids slept through the night.  Max has learned to sleep through the night and the girls well lets just say I have been bribing them with quarters to sleep through the night and it works!!!!!  I may not get a full nights sleep every night, but at least I now know that it is possible.  

Playing in the rain

Something that we really enjoy is taking our shoes off and playing in the puddles after a good rain storm.  How unfortunate that is coming to an end since it is getting cold.  We look for the biggest puddle and then we start jumping and running through it.  Sometimes Ashley likes to try to swim in it and lays down and gets all wet.  Brooke on the other hand likes to stay clean and opts just to get her feet wet and then she comes inside and cleans them.

Counting

Ashley has a new hobby counting spoons.  She takes every spoon out of the drawer and lines them up on the counter and then she counts them.  She sure has a good time doing this!!!  The only tough part is the cleaning up.  I usually end up washing all of them.

One Sunday of kids staying clean and cute!!

I took this picture of the kids on Sunday afternoon.  This is one of those time when being a mother brings me so much joy and happiness.  My kids are so great and I often find them teaching me things.  They so easily forgive when I do stupid things and they are so willing to love me when I am grumpy and tired.  They love being together and playing together.  We do have so much fun as a family.  

Just for fun

I decided that since Max is in bed (has been for and hour and it is only 7:25) and Mike took the girls trick or treating I would post some more.  I hope that everyone is having a great Halloween!!!  So a few weeks ago Ashley had her cute footy pj's on and Mike decided to stuff it with pillows.  This is what she looked like.

Apple Picking

The first Saturday in October we took the kids Apple Picking.  We went to Parlee Farm and we had a hay ride and enjoyed eating yummy apples.  

Someday we'll get this down

Hello family and friends,

We have been so very busy!!!  Life is so exciting, but I feel that all we do is go, go, go!!!  I get excited when we have some down time and can just chill out and watch a movie!!!  Anyhow we do enjoy life and our kids.  We love them so much and learn from them each day.  Brooke did a great job in the primary program today.  She read her part perfectly.  She knew most of the words in the songs.  Brooke loves helping out with Max.  She asks me each day if she can sit and hold him.  Max is getting stronger each day.  He can sit up by himself without help and he has also been going to sleep on his own at bedtime.  He has a love for water and enjoys his bath.  Ashley these days is still drumming to her own drum and I love that!!  Last week she was teaching the nursery the march song from Star Wars.  I do sing her primary songs, but she does not want to teach them those songs.  Sorry this is so long winded.  I'll put some pictures on since that is what you want to see anyhow!!!

"Queen" of the Nursery

Ashley, the sweet girl that she is, created a big following in nursery this week. I went to pick her up after Priesthood meeting and the nursery leaders were all laughing. They said, "Do you know what song Ashley taught everybody today?" My mind immediately reviewed all of the songs that we were listening to in the car this week and I could picture in my mind the kids all singing some U2. A bit nervous about what song my sweet little girl was singing I asked them to tell me.
"We will Rock You" was the answer. I could picture all the kids standing in a line, stamping their feet and clapping as they sang the chorus to the song. The nursery leaders said that after a while they decided to change the lyrics and encouraged the kids to sing "We will help you." Somehow I got the feeling that they were less than successful.

Our New Neighbors

We recently moved into a new apartment. Durng the move in I noticed a bird's nest on the deck light fixture. I lifted Brooke up to look inside of it and she saw baby birds. She said, "They are bald. . . That's weird." I reached up and took this picture.


Unfortunately, the mother bird did not like us looking at her babies so every time we tried to go out on the deck we would get attacked. We were kept from enjoying our deck for a good part of the summer. FInally the babies grew up and flew away and we were able to remove the nest.



I was amazed to see how clean the inside of the nest was. THe birds were not so kind to our deck ( I wil spare you the photos of that mess).

. . . and starring Max as Buster Bunny

Max is getting so big. At his Dr's appointment last week he weighed 17 pounds and is wearing his 6-9 months clothes. It is hard to keep up with is constant need for bigger clothes. Thankfully we have very generous friends. (Thanks ladies!)

Back to School

Brooke and Mike returned to school last week. When Brooke got home she was greeted with a huge hug from her sister.


When I got home I got . . . Well, see for yourself.


Just Kidding, I received a great big hug from my sweet wife, but she was the only one that was awake. I usually get back from school at 9:00 p.m. and it takes me about two hours to unwind.

Going back to the law tower was very strange because I am sitting back in the same exact seat in the lecture hall where I spent my first year of law school. In some ways it is like returning to the first year of law school. I have six classes that require 3-5 hours of reading per week in addition to the two hour classroom lecture. It seems a bit overwhelming but I am sure it will be worth it.

Hello, Hello!!!

Hopefully we will have some pictures up soon. It has been a very busy summer!!!! We've had two computer that took a turn for the worst and completely died. The kids are growing like crazy!!! They sure keep me on my toes with a bunch of questions that I do not always want to answer. Tonight we were having family night and we were discussing faith. Brooke said, "I have this much faith!" (She held out her arms to show us. Then she said, "I have so much faith I can walk on water!!!" Mike and I could not help laughing. She was truly serious and I admire the amount of faith my 6 year old has. She told us that she says prayers at school and on the bus to help her to not feel scared. She is such a great example to me and I adore her.

Ashley is a handful these days. She is always seeing how far she can push Brooke and then she starts to laugh. It is quite funny and I often have to leave the room and laugh and then I go back in and let Ashley know that her behavior is not okay!! She will start joy school in the next couple of weeks which she is so excited about!!! She wants to climb on to the bus with Brooke everyday. She is always asking me how long it is before Brooke comes home from school.

Mike has started school again and loves it!!! He is going to BU to get and LLM in tax. If you want to know what exactly that involves you'll have to ask him because what he is learning goes right over my head. I'm so greatful for the great husband that he is. He works so hard to support our family and he tries so hard to make sure that I am happy which is a full time job in itself. I don't know how he does it!!!

Max is getting so big and he enjoys eating!!! At his 4 month check up this past week he was 27 inches tall and weighed 17 pounds. He brings so much joy into our home as well as many sleepless nights!! Not sure what to do with the sleep thing. I do enjoy holding him and feeling the spirit which he has. It is so great to hold a newborn and realize that they were with Heavenly Father not too long ago.

I am a busy mom trying to make sure that my family is happy. I don't feel like I always succeed, but I learn new things each day and am greatful for the opportunity I have to be a stay at home mom!!!

As soon as I figure out how to use this new computer I will post some new pictures.

We love you all...

Sorry for the lack of posting!!

We have had a few crazy weeks!! Our main computer crashed last week and so we have lost alot of pictures and Mike has the camera at work. We'll try to get some things posted soon, but it may take us a month since we'll be moving and then out of town. Hope all is well.

Oh the things kids say!!

Last night as the kids were brushing there teeth in there bathroom Mike smelled an interesting smell. He looked in the little potty that we used for Ashley that we still have not put away and he found pee that had not been cleaned out. Ashley every once and a while still uses it only she does not clean it out. Mike said who did this? Brooke said "not me." And immediately after Brooke said that Ashley said "me either" Mike looked at Ashley and said, "You didn't?" And her reply was "Max must have done it!!" WE all laughed so hard. Hope you are all doing well.

Carol

Brooke has pizazz!!

Brooke has been wanting to wear this outfit all the time!! This picture is for Angi!

Grandpa and Max taking a nap!!

This was a rare moment when Grandpa Wood came. Normally Max would cry when Grandpa would hold him, but in this picture I caught both of them sleeping.

Max update

Hello all!! Max had his 2 month check up today. I found out why my back hurts all the time and it is because he weighs 13 pounds 4 ounces!! He is also 24 inches long. He is doing really well. I half jokingly asked the doctor if I could start feeding him steak, but he told me no!! Anyhow here are a few pictures of our little line backer.

Other fun pictures

Brooke and Ashley with there new swimsuits

Grandma Wood sent these with Grandpa for the girls.

Grandpa and Max

Grandpa Wood came to help out with the kids. The only time Max will let him hold him is when Grandpa has a bottle to feed him.

Update on the Giles Family

Hello friends and family. It has been a while since we have had an opportunity to update. Going from 2 kids to 3 kids has been quite an adjustment. On top of that we are trying to get ready to move to a bigger apartment in 4 weeks. It will be nice to have the extra space, but it will be interesting trying to get things packed!!!

The kids are growing by leaps and bounds each day. Max is up to 13 pounds now and he still thinks he needs to eat every 3 hours at night. The girls are for the most part settled and they have been doing much better.

Here are some fun pictures. We hope you enjoy them.