Saturday, March 19, 2016

More Pre-Christmas Fun

Here are some fun experiences we all had in the days leading up to Christmas:


After 3 Christmases here in TX, we finally got a glimpse of the Santa that rides around the neighborhood in a fire engine.  Erik was watching Ian and Gabe refused to come with, so it was just me and Elisa who saw him.


Gabe posing in his new train pajamas in front of our sad little Christmas tree. I hemmed the pants and now they fit just perfectly!

Christmas toenails!


Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Makayla came to stay with us for Christmas.  The kids were so excited the night they came, they were practically hyperventilating! Silly kids! They absolutely loved having their grandparents and Makayla over.  Grandparents came in the night before Christmas Eve, and then daddy came home too!  What's not to love about family, treats, and presents!  Sometimes I think the anticipation of Christmas morning is more fun than Christmas morning itself.
Gabe, opening his Christmas Eve presents.  He got Mario jammies and a Christmas train book. Elisa got some jammies and something else that I can't remember.

Erik reading Gabe his train book

We went with Grandpa around the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights

Stocking stuffers.  They were fun and easy to make!

Santa came! Gabe's Perplexus, Ian's train, and Elisa's Puppy Surprise.

The stockings, stuffed so full that they were too large to hang!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Pre-Christmas Cuteness (School Christmas Party)

 Like last year, Gabe's school hosted a Christmas party.  Unlike last year, we had to pay in advance.  But it wasn't too expensive and the kids had a lot of fun.  And aren't they just the cutest??

 
And now, the cutest video in the world! So cute!!

December Randomness

I discovered that both Ian and Elisa have an attached upper frenum. I can't believe its taken 4 1/2 years for me to finally figure out why Elisa doesn't smile with her teeth showing very often. It's not a big deal, but someday I'd like to have at least Elisa's clipped so she can have an even more beautiful smile.  It is a simple procedure, but I have no idea the cost since its cosmetic-insurance doesn't cover any of it. We shall see about Ian.  Till then, I won't worry about it, but it does make sense why Ian always made clicking sounds while nursing and why it hurt to nurse Ian:


My beautiful kids!  I love them!!

We had lots of birthday parties this month.  Her is Elisa at a Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party.  The silly photos that she prints out of the machines don't last long (the ink rubs off), so I just took a picture and threw them away :
   
 Another birthday party, her friend Mia's.

At yet another party, Gabe's friend Darrin:


This winter was super mild.  In fact, one could argue that we didn't even have a winter this year!  It was nice cool/warm weather.  The kids enjoyed playing outside and riding bikes, too.

 Coloring is a good way for the kids to wind-down before bed.

 Ian always finds something small-ish on the floor and immediately puts it in his mouth.  It makes me very nervous:

Elisa's new jammies!  I make some every year around Christmas time.  She came with me to Joann's pre-Black Friday sale and picked out some pink pony fabric.  I made them a size or two too big, not on purpose.  At least she can wear them next year too!

My sweet happy Ian.  I love this kid!

I made some homemade stove potpourri.  It smelled sooo good!  

My present from Gabe's class.  A little frowny, but still so cute!

My sweet awesome friend Teresa dropped off some gifts for the kids:

My boo-boo bean.  So cute.

Ian, the diaper-change escapee.  He is the WORST for diaper changes. Wiggly, whiny, and can't seem to leave himself alone down there.

Ian and I snuggling on the couch.  He had some bug and didn't feel good.  Erik said it was just the Roseola virus, but I'm not so sure.  His rash was different than the other two kids.  Ian's rash cracked and blistered, whereas the other two's just looked like a bunch of pinpricks.
   Ian's rash:
 
I love this little guy!! He is my favorite little person!

 A gift from my next-door neighbor.  Erik was gone, and the kids weren't interested, so I ate it alllll by myself!

This is true.  So so true for me: