Christmas: Part Two

Christmas morning started around 6:30 in our house due to a very hardly-can-contain-myself Carter!

Olivia and Isaiah weren't so eager to wake up but fortunately, Santa left Carter a McDonald's drive-thru and that kept him occupied for a while. Okay, more like ten minutes and then he was asking (about 2,534 times) to wake up Olivia and open the presents :)

Santa brough Isaiah a wooden toy train.

And when Princess Olivia finally woke up, she got a Melissa and Doug pizza set (and of course, half of the ownership rights of the McDonalds!)

We let the kids open one present and then we sat down to have breakfast. I made a coffee cake (which I cooked way to long and was rather crunchy!)

and a hasbrown casserole. The casserole was great.....coffee cake, not so much but it was edible at least :)

Then the present opening commenced. It was nothing but pure chaos afterwards.

Isaiah was happy to just chew on the wrapping paper.

 The funniest thing...Theo's parents got the kids some things but also sent them a card with some money in it. When Olivia opened it, she was so excited. She said "Oooooo, MONEY!" And what better to go with a McDonald's drive-thru then real money!

The aftermath:

And I used the cloth bags mom and Aunt Laney made a couple of years ago to wrap several presents! We probably would have had 2 big bags of trash if I hadn't. Those bags were a life saver with several funny shaped things I had to wrap!

Our families were so generous as always. Grandmother made us all crocheted blankets that I cherish so much. Omaw and Papaw sent the kids all of their favorite things and Isaiah got a really cute airplane rocker toy (haven't gotten a picture of it yet though). Grandpa sent us all money which will be added to the kids savings account. Grandma and Pop pops sent the kids some clothes and toys and of course, the money :) Nana got the kids a few things off of their walmart wish list. Our other family members sent wonderful things as well. Thank you all so much for your kindness!

And just so I can remember this in a few years....while we did have a great Christmas, the spirit of ungratefulness and whininess appeared in our oldest child. I spent much of the day feeling quite disappointed that although he got almost everything he asked for, he still had an ungrateful attitude. Is it ever enough? So since then, I've begun taking his favorite presents away if he is disobedient or disrespectul. That seems to be working and I think it's making him appreciate all of the things he got more. Hopefully....

Overall, we did have a wonderful Christmas. We loved having Isaiah with us this year and Olivia was such a delight too!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas: Part One

I am so glad Theo has been off the past few days. I really miss him when he's not here. Christmas Eve was spent shopping (if you know my husband, you are not at all surprised by this!) and then we went to mass. The kids did pretty well during mass. It's been forever since we've all been together. But at one point towards the end, Carter said rather loudly, "Is Santa coming yet?" :) See where his priorities were! Olivia wore her made-by-mommy Christmas dress and wore the reversible side for the first time. I thought it was too cute!

After mass, we drove around our neighborhood and looked at Christmas lights. Isaiah was passed out in the carseat but Olivia and Carter enjoyed it. Isaiah woke up when we got home, which was almost 9:00 by that point. I put them in their new Christmas pajamas and tried to get a good photo...when really everyone was thinking how Carter looks here:

We read the Christmas story from Luke (okay, more like I read while Olivia and Isaiah did their own thing. At least Carter was semi-listening). We always did this when I was a kid and I want to carry on that tradition. How could we celebrate Christmas without actually talking about Jesus' birthday?

Then off to bed the kids went. They were so sleepy by that point that no one really put up a fight! We were so excited that it was going to be little man's first Christmas too!

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!

"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. "

Meet Frosty's little brother

With all the snow this week, I couldn't help but take Carter out to the park to play in it. The idea was first sparked when Theo, after having been in and out of the cold all day, came home from work early and immediately took Carter sledding. In the dark. He gets daddy of the year award as far as I'm concerned. There is a huge hill behind our neighbor's across the street house.

Carter had a blast with his daddy while I stayed inside and played with Baby I and Livie. I wish I had taken pictures of him sledding.

So Friday, after we went out, he wanted to go back and play. I figured it was my turn so I put on my snow boots and we headed to the park. I had the best time! Carter of course did too.

And because I love showing off my mad camera skills....isn't this a cool picture?

I was informed this is called a "front" snow angel! I think it looks like an almost face plant if you ask me :)

Carter heading off to work in the snow

 He's been asking me for weeks to help him build a snowman. Can you believe I don't think I've ever made one before? I helped some neighbors of mine while I was in college make one on one New Year's Eve but other than that, I have never done one solo. I felt a lot of pressure from my five year old onlooker!

Carter wanted to make one "as big as Frosty" but since this was my first attempt, I said we could make frosty's little brother. He was cool with that.

So without further adieu....meet Frosty's little brother, *aka* Snow Saiah (Isaiah without the I prononced!)

From all of us in Frosty Land, we wish you the merriest of Christmases!

Ready. Set. SNOW!

We've gotten a LOT of snow this week! I'm pretty sure we've already gotten more this year in the past 2.5 months than we did all of last winter. What is this warm-blooded girl to do? Make the best of it I suppose!  Carter absolutely loves the snow. He would stay out in it all day if I let him.

He informed me that these were not footprints, these were "snow paths". I love footprints (or snow paths!) in the snow. I think it's a beautiful sight.

My little snow angels.

It was almost knee deep on Olivia. She surprisingly liked the snow too. She kept trying to eat it and it made her little face all red!

We didn't leave this house this week until today. We basically stayed in our PJs (I finally got dressed on Thursday!) and played all day. Isaiah was just hanging out with us.

 All the while, Olivia and Carter had a jingle bell contest. They were trying to see who could ring the bells the loudest.

Carter got really into it!!

Then they went for a "boat" ride. The things these kids can do with cardboard boxes are amazing! Olivia was "riding" in a wooden crate I painted for Carter for Christmas. There was no good place to hide it, so I didn't. I'm going to fill it up with new craft supplies and give it to him.

I love these two pictures because in the first one, I told Carter to stop picking his nose and smile. Olivia looked over at him cheesing it up and decided she'd cheese it up too!

I just thought this picture was funny. I think if she had known she was riding in something that had Carter's name on it, she probably would have wanted to sit in the cardboard box instead!

Hope you all are having a great week!

Ten months old!

At the beginning of the month, Isaiah turned ten months old! He is growing and changing so much. He is the best and most easy baby in the whole world, you know, mostly!

Isaiah, at ten months old you:

-weigh about 18 or 19 pounds and are so long!

-just got over your first little stomach virus and since then, you've had a ravenous appetite. It was struggle to get you to take more than 5 ounces at a time, but now you can easily drink 6-8 ounces at a time. This past weekend, daddy kept you and fed you. A. LOT! You got 4-5 jars of baby food and about 32 ounces of formula. And guess what! You started sleeping through the night!!! Tuesday night I was worried it might be a fluke. I followed daddy's "advice" and fed you as much as you wanted and you slept over ten hours straight! (Cue the "Hallelujiah" chorus!) So proud of you little man.

-still take two naps a day but I bet by your first birthday, you'll be down to one. You usually have to take a catnap in the car after we get Carter from school and then you take a long afternoon nap. It actually works out pretty well. I have to wake you up at 7:15 almost every morning to take Carter to school. If I didn't have to do that, I know you'd sleep all morning.

-finally have two front teeth. They are about halfway down and I think two more top side teeth will be popping through any day now.

-have hair that is finally long enough to get curly when it's wet. Daddy loves seeing your "black side" as he calls it :) I'm so glad you'll have curls like Carter and Olivia. I don't know what I'd do with a straight haired kid!

-are starting to get some table food but you really prefer baby food. Your big brother was the same way and would have taken baby food forever if we'd have let him. You love the little "baby" snacks they make, i'e. yogurt metls, puffs and your favorite, these sweet potato rice cakes. But as far as chunky fruits and veggies, you'd prefer liquid bananas :) You do like bread though and pasta.

-are also trying to get used to a cup but all you really do is bite on the top instead of actually drinking from it. You get an ounce of apple juice a day to help with your little tummy but you still would rather drink it out of a bottle.

-are moving around everywhere! You are so fast in just a few short weeks that if I turn my back for too long, I have to go search the house for you. You've been trying to pull yourself up for as long as you've been crawling but so far, you can only get onto your knees. Won't be long though. You are an active little guy. You won't hardly let me hold you anymore because you push off of me trying to get down. It makes me a little sad not to able to hold and cuddle you but I know it's because you're a growing boy and want to explore the world around you.

-are in a size 12 month clothes and a size 4 diaper. It's really funny that you and Olivia wear the same size diaper now but you're only about 6 pounds different in weight! I don't know what size shoe you wear because I haven't put any on you in months.

-are a magnet for any small particle on the floor. The things I dig out of your mouth never cease to amaze me. And the stuff that gets stuck on your clothes from crawling around is horrible! I sweep daily (and sometimes several times in a day) but it's not enough. Daddy and I decided we're just going to attach a swiffer pad to your pants and let you clean the floor for us! Ha!!!

-are fascinated with the Christmas tree. Fortuanately, it's in the front living room where we spend very little time or you'd constantly chew on all the light bulbs. You are especially fond of the red glittery ball ornaments. I can't wait for you first Christmas!

-are talking all the time. You always say dadda and sometimes say momma and I promise it sounds like you've been saying "yeah" when I ask you questions :)

-love just about all of your toys. You love things that spin, light up, or make noise. You love chewing on Carter's blocks. You love books too but mostly just pick them up and chew on them. You are quickly outgrowing the exersaucer because you'd rather be crawling around. But you still love the jumper and bounce like crazy when your brother isn't making you swing around in it like George of the Jungle!

-are the most laid back (I know, I say this every single time) baby ever. And now that you are finally sleeping through the night, I love you that much more! :) You have brought us so much life, happiness, joy. We would be incomplete without you. I can't believe in less than two months, you'll be a year old! We are so thankful God brought you to us, healthy and perfect. We love you so much Baby I!!!