Have Yourself a Merry, Little Christmas

This Christmas was especially special. This was Little Dude's 1st Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to mass, and then went out to Christmas Eve dinner. When we got home the kid's opened their yearly ornament gifts, and they got to choose 1 gift to open. Pillow Pets from Aunty. They had been wanting them FOREVER! Christmas morning was exciting. Little Dude was up by 4:30 so him and I went out in the livingroom, turned the tree lights on, and just sat rocking and nursing till around 5 when Sissy came out. It was such a wonderful time. Quiet, and special. I made Girly wait till 6 to wake up the boys. Then of course all hell broke loose! lol Stockings first, then gifts. We started a new tradition this year. The Christmas Pickle. We hid a pickle ornament in the tree, and on Christmas morning, whoever finds the hidden pickle, gets to open the first gift. It was fun, and it actually made us take a little more time opening and admiring each other's gifts instead of doing a mad dash towards their own name and thrashing everything.

Little Dude's 1st Christmas Eve. He received his first ornament to hang on the tree.
All 4 kiddos on Eve.

Christmas Morning!!
Little Dude opening his first ever Christmas present!

All of Little Dudes new toys!

Baby Boy and his gifts!
Crazy and his gifts!
Girly and her gifts!

It's The Little Saint Nick

12-11-10 The kids got to see Santa at the Harvey House. There were crafts, and booths of Christmas decor and goodies for sale. This was Little Dude's 1st time meeting the jolly guy, and he did wonderful. No crying or anything. He looked at him, smiled and bounced around. The kid's, especially the boys, were especially excited to see Santa. Baby Boy had plenty he wanted to ask for and he wanted to make sure Santa knew he had been a good boy.

Hello Mr. Turkey..Meet Mr. Clause..

Gobble Gobble. Turkey Day (November 25th, 2010) was a very relaxing, delicious day. It was also Little Dude's first Thanksgiving. He was so tired he didn't even make it to the sweet potatoes before he passed out at the table. We had turkey,cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, Girly's green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, and homemade cheesecake. We decided to put up our Christmas decorations throughout the day, instead of the day after. It was a pretty exhausting, yet wonderfully relaxing day! Per Girly's request, we continued with our annual "I am Thankful for.." tradition. We each write down what we are thankful for and she reads them at the table while we all dig in.



My 4 beautiful babies in front of the tree for our yearly Christmas picture.


This is Little Dude's 1st Christmas. Here he is, sitting on his own now, in front of his first Christmas tree.

He got sick of it really quick! lol


Little Dude turned 8 months old yesterday 12-2-10. He has been sitting unsupported for about 2 weeks now. He is still rolling everywhere, but now he knows how to turn himself so he can get around things. He is getting up on his knees and attempts to scoot around. He mostly pushes himself backwards though. He is still nursing full time, and most of the time refuses to eat solids. He uses a sippy cup, but mostly chews it. He is being a terd when it comes to bedtime too. Refuses to sleep in his crib without screaming his brains out. He is such a ham. Everyone, everywhere seem to flock to him and pinch his cheeks and squeal at him.

His 2 bottom teeth are very clear in this picture..

Sea of Teeth

Little Dude got his first 2 teeth last week..his first 2 bottom, center teeth popped through at the same time. No wonder the poor guy was/has been a crab.

Across the sky and down from Heaven,that's the way to make a 7!

7 months old. Little Dude is a rolling fool. He is rolling all over the house. He has yet to master how to turn himself, so he gets stuck when he hits the wall or a piece of furniture. He is sitting up supported and will sit for a few seconds unsupported. He is saying "Dada" all the time and loves to screech it to get our attention. He is eating more fruits and veggies now and is drinking juice from a sippy cup. He has 2 bottom teeth coming which we discovered last week. The 2 bottom, center teeth.

Wading in the Water

The 31st of October was not only Halloween at our house this year, but it was also the day Little Dude was baptized. Halloween was the day last year, that Hub's Dad Jack passed away. Instead of celebrating it as a day of the dead, we decided to make it a day of new life. It was a beautiful ceremony that took place at 9:00 a.m. at the Shepherd of the Desert Church. Little Dude was so well behaved, didn't cry at all (even during the water pouring) and was the hit of the show. We went the unconventional route with Godparents with Little Dude. Instead of a Godmother and Godfather, we have chosen two Godmothers. Aunt Debi and Aunt Kelly. I am a firm believer that sex, or religious affiliation have nothing to do with how someone can be a good Christian role model for my children. I believe these woman will be great role models not only for Little Dude, but for the rest of the kids as well. It was a wonderful day. Aunt Debi and Uncle Craig were able to fly out to be with us and celebrate this wonderful day!

It Feels Like I'm Falling for Fall

Carving pumpkins on Halloween Eve 10-30-10...Aunt Debi and Uncle Craig were here to help out with the gutting of the pumpkins!





10-31-10..Little Dude's 1st Halloween..

It's a Great Pumpkin

Yesterday was our annual pumpkin patch day. It was Little Dude's first time at the patch. The weather was fantastic and the kids had allot of fun picking out their pumpkins. Girly's is the largest round one, Crazy's is the smaller round one, Baby Boy's is the green one, and Little Dude's is the tall one. I love this time of year and always look forward to this outing. Halloween is fast approaching, then that means my favoritest time of year......CHRISTMAS! :)

Big Numbers

10-2-10
6 months old...1/2 a year...growing much to fast and becoming a little man. Little Dude loves to sit in his exersaucer, and squeal at everyone. He is trying so hard to sit on his own and does not like to lay down anymore. If you are holding him, he wants to be sitting up and seeing all the action. He is still exclusively nursing, but is eating allot more bananas, apples, and sweet potatoes. He loves to play when he is suppose to be eating and spit his food out when he does raspberries with his tongue. His newest discovery..lol He still is growling at everyone and still does his infamous scowl. He is such a little ham. He loves to suck on my face when I pick him up, which I am assuming is his version of a kiss. He loves his Sissy so much too..he loves to play with her hair and sit and watch her play on the computer. He squeals and laughs at the boys each time they are up to their antics. Him and Daddy love to sit and play the Wii and walk around in their snuggly.

Teenage Riot

9-23-2010
My Girly Girl is 13. Officially a teenager. I swear each year I say the same thing, but it seems the time is going by faster and faster. She is getting more and more beautiful with each year and she is becoming the young lady I always knew she would be. I am so grateful that each day she hugs and kisses me and says I love you still. I am not looking forward to the day she will not want to do this for fear of embarrassment, but am keeping my fingers crossed that the day will never come. She will always be my sweet little girl.