Christmas 2013

Better late than never, right?

I love looking back on all of my posts but the Christmas ones are always my favorite.  I promised myself that I wasn't going to stress or get overwhelmed too much this year, and now ooking back almost a month later, I think I managed to do pretty well!

We had a wonderful Christmas as a family of four!  I loved dressing up my babies, spending time with family, taking lots of pictures with my REAL camera and making lots of fun memories!

Our first celebration was before Christmas with BB and Eric.  The kiddos were spoiled with so many fun things!  It was a great day kicking off all of the many celebrations.

Sunday was the kids baptism and Christmas play at church.  That will all be a separate post!

Monday we headed to Bartlett for Christmas with my family.
Anytime you have two 7 month olds and a 3 year old under one roof, it is bound to be a little wild:)

We had a yummy steak dinner with my parents and then exchanged gifts with them!  Don was so relieved Miller started receiving his own toys.  He was tired of seeing him play with all of Ellie's old PINK ones.  Ha!

This sassy mermaid still loves to dress up.  This costume was a hit!

Peeps and DeDe got all the babies new Pottery Barn chairs!  This made for a fun photo op!

Christmas Eve day we took Ellie to see "Frozen" (so cute!) and then came home, got dressed up, and headed to the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at church.

 After church was Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle's house.  It was a ZOO!  But a very fun zoo.  I love that we have so many kids so close in age.  We need to rent out a party room next year to accommodate us all!

We always bring our Christmas jammies and change into them.  It's a fun little tradition:)  I thought they looked so sweet!

 

 More gifts!!

After a fun 2 days in Memphis, we headed home that night to get ready for SANTA!  He didn't go too crazy on Miller this year since he is still so little.  He figured he'd understand.

Ellie's stash was full of American Girl and princess goodies.  Every little girl's dream!  I think she was pretty happy.

Miller was pretty pumped about new pacifiers that came in his stocking!!  So glad he is easy to please!

  Kit!!

And the gymnastics set she had asked for!

Christmas day Don's side of the family came to our house for lunch and Dirty Santa.  I was pretty busy and only managed to get a few pictures at the end of the day.

Saturday after Christmas we headed back to Bartlett for Christmas at Granny and Grandonna's!

DeDe was determined to get a picture of the whole family.  I think we got a lot of really good ones!

So proud of DeDe!  Seven months after a horrible back injury she's playing Twister.  Pretty impressive!!

Coach Pitt was the Twister champion.  So funny to watch these two play!

Princess bowling,  princess scooter, princess helmet, and princess gloves and knee/elbow pads.  We are covered in the princess department for sure!

As usual, Christmas flies by way too fast.  It always reminds me how blessed we are as a family.  I am so thankful for everyone we get to spend time with over the holidays!

Thanksgiving and such

We had a very nice Thanksgiving in Greenfield this year!  It is always fun to celebrate the "firsts" and I think Miller enjoyed his first Thanksgiving as much as a 6 month old could!  He did get a few bites of dressing, mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole so I am sure that made it even better.

We were able to see BB and Eric the weekend before and enjoyed Cracker Barrel with them and Mammie.  Ellie is always the center of attention when they are around.  She eats it up!  I sadly didn't get many pictures of either event!

Since we didn't see my side of the family, we decided to head their way on Saturday.  We went the non traditional route and headed downtown to eat at the Rendezvous.  After lunch, we visited the Peabody where we saw the Grinch Candy village, the ducks and their beautiful Christmas decorations!

Ellie LOVED the ducks!

After the Peabody, we changed their clothes and headed over the Pink Palace for the Enchanted Forest and SANTA!

Uncle Matt, Aunt Rachel, and Evie met us and we had the best time making memories with them!!!

 Our last stop was at Granny and Grandonna's where we visited and Ellie helped Grandonna decorate their tree.  It was a jam packed, fun family day!!

Little Spirits

Much to Don's dismay, Ellie's goals in life are to become a "baton girl, pageant girl, and a cheerleader".  How funny is that!

When the chance came for her to sign up for the "little spirits" cheerleaders this fall, we of course had to do it!

Last night was their first performance.  We are so proud of our little cheerleader!  I am pretty sure she is the youngest in the group but she never missed a beat.  She has practiced non-stop and was so excited to go out there and strut her stuff.

BB and Eric drove all the way from Selmer to watch.  It really was so sweet of them and we appreciate them making the long drive!!

Ginger is back!

We have loosely participated in our "Elf on the Shelf" Ginger for the past 2 years.  She would move every few days and do a few funny things here and there but never anything too serious.

This year...we are having to make sure Ginger moves EVERY NIGHT or somebody (ahem, Ellie) will notice and have a stroke!  I am not big on going over the top every single day for our Elf.  I have neither the time or energy.  But I do think that a little Christmas magic and a slightly creepy Elf to watch over our kids during December is a fun thing to do.

On December 1 while E was at Awana Ginger flew in from the North Pole and left Ellie "pancakes and pj's!"

 Ellie was AMAZED!  She kept asking how Ginger knew she liked pancakes and how she LOVES them with sprinkles.  That Ginger is one smart little elf!

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

I cannot believe it is December!  As with everything else in my life, I am feeling so behind.  I read an article the other day about having young kids and the holidays and it really put a lot of things into perspective for me.
I am going to really try to relax, destress and ENJOY this next month.  If that means that my house is a wreck, the laundry is everywhere and my big tree stays undecorated...then so be it!  I don't want these years to pass me by and then to look back and regret not spending good quality time with my kids.

We are still going to try to make memories and do some fun things, but on a much smaller scale.  We have started wearing our Christmas jammies and our Elf "Ginger" is back this year.  Ellie is so smart that her questions and curiousity are seriously starting to worry me.  You can't get much past this girl so we are really going to have to up our game this year!  She's at such a fun age and the excitement on her face is just priceless.  When we put up her white tree in her room she said "Mommy, this is the miracle of my life!"

Doesn't get much sweeter than that :)

Little brother of course got his own tree this year too!  It is not quite finished but he just loved sitting in his crib and staring at the pretty lights.

SIX MONTHS!

I have so much to catch up on but I have got to get Miller's six month post up before I forget anything!!

Miller...you are SIX MONTHS OLD!

So, I am going to be honest again...it was another hard month.

But I have good news!  I finally feel like we are over the "hump" with you!  You make me look like a story teller.  No one believes me when I tell them you are up all night fussing, or that you may go a day or two refusing a bottle, or that you never nap...EVER.  Because the majority of the time you are around others you are happy!  And smiley! And SO SO SO cute I can hardly stand it!

You really are the sweetest baby ever.  I truly mean that.  You just aren't a great sleeper and I am (slowly) coming to terms with that.  You have made major progress though and I am singing your praises instead of complaining about being exhausted.  We tried 3 different formulas on you this month and put you on Zantac for reflux.  Your RSV made a little unwelcomed comeback but I am very happy to say that I think your chest and lungs are finally clear for the first time in 2 months!  We even had an appointment at Vanderbilt to see a pulmonologist but I cancelled because you seem to be so much better.  You talk and coo and babble so much and just smile and laugh.  You love your sister...and she loves you SO MUCH.  She is a huge help.  She loves to hold you, and feed you, and play with you, and hug and squeeze you constantly.

You started sitting up very well this month.  You are also a big time roller!  You will roll all over the floor, your crib, everywhere!  You started eating baby food and we are trying to get you on a good, consistent feeding schedule.  You play well with your soft blocks, ball, keys, and you LOVE your Sophie.  You have really become so big this month!  We also have a doorway jumper that you love to play in.

Official Stats:
18.8 pounds 50th percentile
27 in 50th percentile
Head: 43 3/4 95th percentile

You are the perfect size!  Right at average for height and weight and way above on your head, although it doesn't seem that huge to me.

We love you with all our hearts sweet boy!  You are the perfect addition to our family!