Christmas 2009

This last Christmas season was a lot of fun. We spent 5 days at my parent's house in Fruiltand, Idaho. This is most likely the last time we will be altogether with my family on Christmas day. With 2 parents, 11 kids, 7 inlaws, soon to be 13 grandkids, and a house smaller than the hotel needed to house everyone, things get a bit crazy. We were missing several family members this year, but our numbers still exceeded the twenty mark. But we still had a great time, and Christmas was wonderful.

Santa brought Connor a Rocky The Robot Truck. He was so excited. This was our first Chritsmas with Connor really into it, and there is nothing better than an excited little kid at Christmas time.

Unless you have a very suprised husband who probably got the best gift Santa could ever bring. He had been shopping for one of these for quite a while. But Santa already had it covered. I'm not sure which one of my "boys" was more excited on Christmas morning.

My Dad made these spring horses for each family with Grandkids. The kids just couldn't get enough of them. We are trying to talk him into makeing them and selling them online. They are so much fun, and can actually handle quite a bit of weight and action.

This is part of the crew. Our Christams mornings take quite a bit of time, and with this many people, a number of garbage bags.

Andrew and Sammy were so good. They snuggled great with all of their Aunts and Uncles, unless of course they were hungry or tired. Andrew has become our little thumb sucker, but really only when he is tired. And it is so cute!

The last night before most everyone head back to their homes we had a family game night and during the festivities, Autn Debbie though Andrew needed a baby hair peice. And No, he wasn't very happy about it.

We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you the best for this new year. All of our Love,

The Goodwins

Our last Month or so...in pictures

My younger brother Robert was married on November 6th to sweetheart Whitney. The wedding was great, and the majority of the family was able to come celebrate with us. Out of the 11 siblings, 6 spouses, and 12 grandkids, Elder Paul and Debbie's husband Jesse were the only ones not in attendance.

The day after the wedding we all got together at my brother Anthony's house for a pre-Thankgiving dinner. None of us were going to be home for Thanksgiving this year, so we had it early. It is crazy how much an early Thanksgiving can throw off your month. This is part of the crew. Rob and Whit were boviously unavaliable, and we took this picture in the evening after my older sister Marie and her family had left for Utah.

That following week, all of my sisters, and my new sister in law Lerin, spent 3 to 5 extra days at my parents' house without our husbands. It was great to have the extra time to visit, shop, make crafts, and let the kids play. Connor had such a blast with his cousins. After trips like this he gets really bored at our house.

I don't think it is possible to look at these pictures and not laugh. Connor is doing great at potty training and has pretty much gotten to the point of not needing my help at all. However, we are still working on getting the underwear back on the right way. OOO- LA- LA!

Andrew and Samantha are growing so well. There is still a two pound difference between them, but as they get older Andrew doesn't dwarf his sister quite as bad. They are smiling so much and Andrew laughs quite often. Sammy isn't quite to that point yet, (she is usually about a month behind her brother, smiling, laughing, rolling over, etc.) but there is nothing in the world better than their smiles. We are coming up on 4 months and I can hardly believe that it has been that long. They are wonderful babies, and great sleepers. Which I think is the only reason I'm able to make it through most of my days.

Trav's sister Shannon and her husband Jared and little boy Henry came to Blackfoot for Thanksgiving. It was great to see them, and because we now live so close we got to spend much more time with them this trip. Connor and Henry played like crazy; taking baths, playing soccer, hide-and-seek, and of course trucks. Although Henry didn't really like the wagon ride obviously.

This was at our Ward Christmas Party. We had dinner, Connor threw up, there was a program, and then he was the last kid in line to see Santa. So, all in all, a normal party. I was in line with him a while before the end, but then he decided that he needed his dad, so we got out of line, until Connor felt better about talking to Santa, with his Dad in tow. Now we are using the "Santa only gives Rocky the Robot Trucks to good little boys," line more than we should, but whatever works right?

Brian and Lerin came by a few Saturdays after Thanksgiving and helped us put up the tree. Connor had so much fun putting on the ornaments. But there were only a few branches he wanted to decorate. In the end, the three bottom front branches held more than 13 ornaments between them.

My friend Cassie came over this past week to visit and make some treats. Jackson and Connor had so much fun with the sprinkles. Oh, and the cookies were good too. There is nothing quite like decorating cookies with two three year olds.

Awesome Music...Lindsay Mac

Trav heard this girl on the Bob and Tom Show this morning, and she is great. She plays the Cello like a guitar, and has an amazing voice. Here is the link to her My Space page...check her out. Definitely worth listening to!
http://www.myspace.com/lindsaymacmusic

Blessing Day

We blessed Samantha and Andrew on the 11th of October. It was WONDERFUL! Many of our family members and friends were able to join us for this very special day. Thank you to everyone who was there to support us, and everyone who couldn't come as well. The babies of course looked adorable. But the most important part was the actual blessing. It is difficult at times to remember that that is what it is all about when there is so much else going on.

Trav blessed Sammy first, and then Andrew. The spirit in the meeting was so strong. I'm so very grateful for the blessing of the Priesthood in my life and home. And to see the blessings given to my babies through its power is amazing. Words just can't describe what it is like for a Mom to experience. I just love it so much!

These are pretty much the only pictures I took. I wanted to get so many more, but things just get crazy with more than 50 people at your house. But I love all that I was able to capture.

My Dad, brothers, Trav, and bro-in-law Tyler.

More family: Dad, Brothers, Uncles and Doug, Trav's best friend.

In both of these pictures I dragged these men away from the party to get a few shots before everyone started to leave.

Snap shots of family at the BBQ.

Connor didn't sleep much on Saturday night, so he made up for it during the BBQ. By the time he woke up, most everyone was gone.

The twins in their blessing outfits. Grandma Verna made Sammy's dress, and Andrew wore the outfit my sister Char and I made when Connor was blessed. They each had a pair of booties from their Great Aunt Julie, and adorable afghans from Great Aunt Lucy. Sammy got a pretty bracelet from her Aunt Nancy. Thank you all.
What a stud!

Sammy was so good when we were taking pictures. And so pretty.

It was quite a dress!

Newborn and Kido Pictures!

So a few weeks ago the kids and I spent some time with my friend Rachel, who offered to take their newborn pictures. I'm grateful that she was patient with us. Crazy enough it is harder to keep two infants happy and fed than it is just one. But, the pictures turned out so adorable. We even got a few good shots of Connor.

This picture really shows how much bigger Andrew is than Sammy.

I didn't think kids started doing this kinda smile thing until they were a bit older. Oh well, it is still cute!

The hat is just too adorable!

Weight Update

Trav weighed the babies last night for the first time at home. And I'm very glad to report that Andrew weights about 9 lbs., and our little Sammy weights just over 7 lbs. I figured they were each much smaller because of the rate they were growing at before. But apparently they are now making leaps and bounds. Andrew is trying to be like his big brother Connor by putting on the weight quickly. But I don't care what the scale says, they are still just tiny!

The 5 of us!

The other day we were visiting Trav's grandma and I said "The 5 of us went to church for the first time the other day." That just seems crazy to me! We went from 3 to 5 in just a few minutes and I'm still recovering from the shock. But we are all doing great and just trying to get into the flow of things. Connor has been so great with Andrew and Sammy. He is such a great big brother, and he loves "his babies" so much that when they start to cry, so does he. At first it was really cute, and now I just tell him to go see Daddy.

Andrew and Sammy are a month old today. And just like every Mom, I feel like time has just flown, while at the same time it feels like they have been with us for much longer. I tell people all of the time that they are just growing like crazy, which actually isn't the case. Sammy is ALMOST 6 lbs. and just the tiniest, most petite little doll ever. She has these large eyes that just take everything in. And, unlike her brother, she is just content most of the time to sit quietly and look adorable. Andrew is the larger, noisier, and more needy big brother. He is a great baby, but Sammy is so quiet, that it makes Andrew seem fussy. And it is amazing the difference a pound and a half makes when they are this little. Andrew's legs are twice the size of Sammy's, even though he is only 7 1/2 lbs. He always has his tongue between his lips which makes them look huge, and he is such a snuggler. He always wants to be held, and is not one to hide when he isn't content. They both have such different personalities already it is crazy. They are both great eaters, and (knock on wood) only get up once or twice a night.

I'll try to be better about getting pictures up. But for now, these are a bunch of my favs, so please excuse the large number.


These are pictures of their first real baths in the tub. What scrawny little ones.


Debbie was here for about two weeks with me and Robert and my Mom came for a few days to help. They were a total blessing!

I just love this one. When they are so little they really fit just about anywhere.

Apparently I no longer care about how I look in pictures. Oh well!