I walked in to find Kaitlyn doing a little light reading.
Kaitlyn
Trains. Trains. Trains.
This is what happens when you don’t take a nap. You fall asleep on the way to swim lessons at 4 pm.
(In her defense, she did end up taking a cat-nap in the car this morning at 10 am. Then she was in her bed for over an hour “trying” to nap.)
Yup. That’s my girl. Lapping at the pool water. I have no idea why.
(And after getting a picture told her to stop.)
The kids were out of school today (again). It had mostly stopped snowing by late morning so I loaded everyone up and drove to our closest sledding hill. I timed it so that Ben would be napping and he was content in the running car while we sledded for an hour or so. This is the first time I’ve really been out in the snow this year and I forgot how much fun I have! I’m pretty sure I would have stayed longer than the kids.
Then we had all afternoon to get ready for Wade’s birthday. I wrapped the gifts and the boys made the cookies. It was a pretty fun evening for a guy turning 39.
Snow!!
Take your best guess. Is Kaitlyn experimenting with Joker makeup or just really messy while drinking milkshakes?
Kaitlyn has been begging to get out the trains after seeing a picture of Alex and Teague playing with them years ago.
Kaitlyn has the best big brothers. She wanted to be a cowgirl and ride a horse. Teague was happy to oblige.
Kaitlyn has been asking to play soccer and I finally found a winter group. She had her first class today and seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe I’ll end up with one child that plays sports.
Daddy got donuts!
Today seemed like a good day to make cookies.
Almost every time I go to get Kaitlyn out of her bed, she has a lovey on top of her head..
The minute her swim lessons are over, she wants to get dressed and go to the lobby. That’s where the books can be found.
We always read books before nap time and lately I’ve had my lap (and hands) full.
Kaitlyn is super excited to use her new lunchbox and stay for lunch at school today.
Thanks Granny!
My little dancer.
Settling in for nap (or maybe not).
Kaitlyn found these “cow boots” in the latest batch of clothes we inherited from Mackenzie. She has worn them daily – with dresses of course.
Kaitlyn has been begging to play with this Nativity set all Christmas. I told her when I was packing up Christmas she could play. Today I packed up Christmas and she has played.
Rarely do I think it is too cold to play in the snow. Today was definitely one of those days. We have older windows in our house and often get condensation on them, but this is the first time we’ve had ice crystals. The kids really wanted to go outside to play so I got them all dressed and went outside to take a few pictures. Kaitlyn wanted to come in immediately. Alex wasn’t too far behind – check out his cheeks! I had to drag Teague in eventually, but he would sit outside and eat snow all day long. We spent the rest of the day watching movies, reading books, and doing a little baking.
The kids were out of school again today but there is no more snow expected. It is insanely cold so we basically dressed up to go outside and take a picture.
(The kids are standing in front of the fence between our driveway and our neighbor’s house. Normally they wouldn’t be able to reach anywhere near the lattice, but Wade blew most of the snow on our driveway next to the fence.)
Watching the snow fall.
The sweetest lady in Memphis makes the kids gingerbread men and they quickly get gobbled up.
We have numerous crafty people in the family and that usually means fun and interesting Christmas presents. Not only did the kids get marshmallow guns from Uncle John and Aunt Louise, but they also got cool wooden cups. We used them for snack today and the kids loved it.
Sometimes you just don’t want to take a nap.
Why not have donuts for a bedtime snack?
Teague is almost always my “yes” guy. Anything from taking Madison outside, going to get a diaper, to reading his sister a book. He almost always is happy to help out when asked. Today Kaitlyn wanted to hear the stories in the new book, but all the grownups were busy packing the car.
Cousins with the same Elsa hairstyle – thanks Aunt Lissy!
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.
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!
Wrestling with Daddy.
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.
Marshmallow shooters for the win!
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.
On the road again – 26 driving hours out of 36 hours between home and destination.
Rest stop!
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.
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.)
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.
Santa’s cookies.
Morning snuggles.
Candyland! I love that Kaitlyn is old enough to play boardgames.
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!
Side note – We are taking bets on whether Ben ends up a red-head…
Adoring big sister.
Kaitlyn got a little bored after two different schools and two different Christmas programs. Thank goodness for Daddy’s shoelaces.
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.
Waiting for Mom to get ready.
Today was a day for fancy shoes.
First day of basket presents!
We have been attending a Methodist church since moving to Grafton. There are things about a traditional church we have missed – especially the children’s activities we grew up with. Wade and I loved watching our children today in the Christmas Pageant. It was disorganized and crazy and there weren’t any costumes small enough for Kaitlyn, but it was perfect!