Alex has an insane amount of energy that is tiring to watch. Then he will suddenly disappear for the longest time to read.
Impromptu dance party.
Cousins with the same Elsa hairstyle – thanks Aunt Lissy!
Because we aren’t always in Paducah for Christmas morning, Mom’s stockings don’t always get used. She has an awesome friend that makes them for her when a new grandchild is born. I wanted a picture of all the kids with their stockings. My kids were a little unhappy they were given a stocking to hold with nothing fun inside them.
We almost always have at least one cousin “sleepover” if not multiple when we are in town. This trip we were only there two days and with the craziness of Christmas we (meaning Melissa and I) didn’t think it was the best idea. I was hoping to get a new cousin picture now that the cousins number six and decided to use my dad’s house for the pictures. Once I realized we were going to be at his house anyway, I had Melissa bring her kids in their pajamas and we staged a sleepover picture. I just love seeming them all together in their pajamas.
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Then we got everyone coordinated and attempted a big group picture. By far my favorite was the picture of everyone laughing. I had been asking them to do all kinds of faces – surprised, sad, mad, etc. Then Aunt Lissy got their attention and licked my cheek – whatever it takes for a good picture!
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Wade has created a game for all the cousins. He gets a child in a hold and calls it a “Burch Lock.” They are theoretically supposed to start with a level 1 and progress upwards. Now they randomly pick a number and he randomly creates a hold. It’s pretty hilarious to watch.
Wrestling with Daddy.
Mackenzie was fascinated with Baby Ben.
Cousins snuggles are the best. Mackenzie loves dolls and was so excited to hold baby Ben. (He seemed to enjoy the attention.)
People always ask who Ben looks like and I never have a good answer. I rarely see adults in babies and it has to be a really strong resemblance for me to see it in kids and their parents. Judy got out Wade’s baby pictures and it was amazing how much Ben looked like Wade.
Checkers with Pop.
Books with Granny.
Kaitlyn has been fascinated with Granny’s kitchen gloves since we arrived. Today I overheard her singing “Let it go” and realized she thinks they are Elsa gloves.
Early morning Granny snuggles.
Marshmallow shooters for the win!
Pop is always happy to walk a fussy baby.
Today was a little bit of a whirlwind. Emily had to leave town right after lunch so we had a yummy breakfast and then got down to the present opening. The kids had a blast and it was great to spend the time with family.
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On the road again – 26 driving hours out of 36 hours between home and destination.
Waffle house – the perfect road trip dinner stop.
(Although our family has now reached a size that we no longer can all sit together at one table.)
Waffle house – the perfect road trip dinner stop.
(Although our family has now reached a size that we no longer can all sit together at one table.)
Rest stop!
Finally out of the carseat for a little while!
Hotels have been a challenge for us since Alex was born. My kids go to bed really early and it makes sharing a room not so fun. Plenty of hotels have adjoining rooms, but most will not guarantee adjoining rooms – which makes them worthless. We have stayed in hotels that offer suites but those are a little trickier to find – especially if you truly want separate rooms with doors and not just a “living room area.” We are on our way to Tennessee – a two day drive. This is the first trip we have taken with four kids. Wade had the brilliant idea of looking for a house to rent on airbnb. It was perfect. We stayed at this little farmhouse on a farm and didn’t have to worry about the kids playing loudly or a crying baby at 2 am. We had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen with a dishwasher to wash bottles – perfect! The best part was it was just as cheap as booking two hotel rooms.
We all woke up to a white Christmas. It snowed all night and we probably got 4 inches or so. Our kids were excellent about waiting for us to come get them from their rooms. I have no idea how early they woke up, but definitely before Wade and me! They rushed downstairs and loved seeing the gifts Santa left – a dollhouse, Legos, light sabers, the promise of a puppy, etc. We spent quite a bit of time in our pajamas playing with toys and having a big breakfast.
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We finally convinced the kids to get showered and dress before opening our family gifts. Most everyone took a nap (or played in their new iPads) while Gram and I did a little cooking for dinner. Then we got outside and played for a few minutes in the snow! It was a perfect holiday. (And now I have to get to packing for our trip to Tennessee.)
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Merry Christmas from our crazy family to yours.
My Mom is spending Christmas with us and today we started the fun stuff! We cooked. We played. We let each child open one gift. We made cookies for Santa. We went to an evening service where Wade, Ben, and I were Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. (Thankfully Ben fell asleep as we were in standing in the hallway waiting to make our entrance and slept through his entire performance in front of the church.) Then the children each picked out their favorite cookie and left a plate for Santa.
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Santa’s cookies.
Time out from Christmas things for a bottle.
Wrapping a few last minute gifts.
Tonight we introduced the kids to Elf.
(It was actually the first time I’ve seen it too.)
Morning snuggles.
Another class party is in the books. I am the only official room mom for Teague’s class (but I do have a mother who comes to help the day of the parties). I planned the activities/games/crafts and everything went smoothly – thank goodness! We made snowflake ornaments, had a snowball race, and decorated each other as snowmen.
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This is 8.
After dinner brotherly bonding.
Candyland! I love that Kaitlyn is old enough to play boardgames.
Grandmothers are the best.
One of my biggest regrets with Alex is that newborn pictures weren’t quite a thing yet. I have loved the pictures we have taken when we met Teague (pseudo-newborn) and had Kaitlyn. Today I got the pictures from Ben’s newborn photo shoot. We had a great time and I love the pictures Lynn Quinlivan took for us!
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Side note – We are taking bets on whether Ben ends up a red-head…
Everybody wants to see what everyone else got.
Adoring big sister.
One Month. (Monthly picture a few days early since Christmas is coming!)
Christmas program number 2 for the day.
Christmas program number 1 for the day.
Kaitlyn got a little bored after two different schools and two different Christmas programs. Thank goodness for Daddy’s shoelaces.
Ben got a new hat in the mail today!
Kaitlyn loves to help with Ben – especially getting needed items. She heard him cry and was so excited to get the pacifier. She wanted to be in charge of giving it to him. She ran over to his chair only to find he had cried out in his sleep and didn’t need the pacifier after all.
Basket presents.
These two are so cute walking to the bus stop. Kaitlyn wasn’t dressed yet but really wanted to go with Teague so it was a pajama walk.
Waiting for Mom to get ready.
I bundle up Ben to walk the kids to the bus stop. Most of the time he falls dead asleep and I don’t want to take him out of his suit for fear of waking.
Today was a day for fancy shoes.
