Christmas Letter 2011

Christmas is here again! It is definitely our favorite holiday here at the Olsen house. With Christmas comes the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. 2011 has been a pretty busy year for us… We added baby #4 to our family. Hayley Kim arrived August 16th at a whopping 8lbs 1oz, my biggest baby. She will be 4 months soon and is adored by all of us. She is still so chubby and just so darn cute. She is making lots of fun noises and loves to laugh and watch her siblings play. She is so strong and has rolled over, and is starting to grab things and play with toys. She is sleeping through the night and is such a good baby! We all call her “Hayley bean, beanie, baby bean, or beanie baby”, pretty much anything with bean in it. We are so grateful to have her as a part of our family. McKenna will be 4 in February. She loves being a big sister and is so helpful with Hayley. She loves to play princesses and dress-up, and with all her little toys, and is very good at entertaining herself. She still has this high little voice that I thought would get easier to understand but is actually getting harder because she is starting to talk faster. She started dance class and swimming lessons this year and is enjoying both. She loves to play with all her cousins and is starting to play on the Xbox with the boys. She is so sweet and polite, but cries (which can be more like screaming) quite easily. She gives the best hugs! Ty is growing up and getting so big. He will be 5 in January. With Nate at school all day he has had to jump into the role of big brother and is doing the job quite well. He and McKenna play really well together, and he loves little Hayley and loves making her laugh. He is a bundle of personality and charm and is always making us laugh, but he loves to test us as well. Still as mischievous as ever! He loves to do things with Dad and Mom and doesn’t entertain himself as well as his siblings. He loves to be outside and has made friends with the little boy who lives next door. Nate is just sprouting up. He turns 7 in a week and started grade one this year. He is doing well and loves it. He excels in reading and is reading at a grade three level. He is doing really well in swimming lessons and even though he is a natural sinker, he works hard and is still a little fish. He loves to read, and is really into sonic and Mario right now. He loves all things electronic and would play all day if he was allowed to. He is a good big brother and is always willing to help out Mom and Dad. He also found a new love this year…Sprite and Rootbeer! I spent a good chunk of the year being pregnant. It was my hardest pregnancy and was very hard on me mentally and emotionally as well as physically. I’m so glad to have Hayley in my arms and out of my tummy. Ryan and I just celebrated our 8 year anniversary and both are vowing to get into shape this coming year. We also bought our very first house this past April. It’s a cute little two-story with an unfinished basement that we eventually plan on finishing. Ryan worked hard on finishing the backyard this summer and made a fun swing set for the kids. We love having a back yard, and we love having our family and friends over to our home. We feel so much love and support from all of you! We are extremely blessed and are looking forward to a new year with new experiences and new adventures. We hope this season finds you well and feeling blessed. We love all of you very much, The Olsen’s