Tiny love and TRUCKS!

Just a few sweet shots of our tiny love! On Recycling Day, we heard the truck coming and were ready and waiting!!  This was a few weeks ago, and it may have been the highlight of our whole week! Pure Joy!  We tried knocking and waving at “the man,” but he couldn’t hear us due to the rumble of the BIG truck.  They loved watching him throw in the recycling as he moved down our block.  They had a blast from their post at the window!  It was so cute!

As her brothers oohed and aahhed, Little Miss just relaxed . . . cute as a button!

BOYS!

{So, I have yet to post Christmas pictures because my computer is somehow FULL of all of my pictures . . . and I cannot download them from my memory card. My personal tech support is working on this problem. In the meantime, we’ll all have to wait . . . and we’ve been getting over two weeks of sickness, Christmas detox, and winter weather that’s kept us inside . . . yuck.}

Having two two year old boys is quite a wild ride! It is SO much fun to watch them play and interact and pretend with each other, and it is also quite trying to tell them over and over to stop spitting their apples/carrots/milk/etc. onto me/themselves/each other/etc. We are very busy around here. Things are going well, but they are CRAZY. ALL. THE. TIME.

These are some pre Christmas pics that I just couldn’t pass by . . . I love watching the boys playing together. They really are such rascals and OH SO SWEET!

It seems that there is a small problem with my “toy” . . .

William! WOOK!

Hudson says that sticking out your tongue will help your focus!

So proud!

Our boys are just so sweet. The love to look for the moon, listen for sirens, hunt for trucks, search for Goldbug (thank you, Warrens, for bringing them such joy by introducing them to Goldbug!), RUN, DIG, “do crafts,” and help with Baby Anna. Favorite songs include Wheels on da Bus, All Creatures of our God and KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!, Twinkle, Twinkle and Away in a Manger. I love these turkeys so much!

While I’m not exactly sure what Little Miss was doing at the moment that the boys were driving trains all over Dog Dog, I imagine it was something like this: {stocking handmade by our Nana!! it’s PINK!}

Baby Anna is 2 Months Old!

Technically, little love is 2.5 months old, but because of the holidays, we got backed up on both blogging {my fault} and doctors’ visits {not my fault}, so baby girls’ post is a tad late!  But, as I say to myself about 1 million times per day:  Better late than never!

{My sweet friend, Kristen, took these first two pictures, and I know I will just cherish them forever.  I adore them!}

Anna Kathryn is such a joy to be around!  She has really started to smile a lot and “talk” to us more and more!  Mommy, Daddy, Hudson, and William are quite familiar faces to our Little Miss and she loves to give us her sweet toothless grin when we catch her eye!  Her favorite person to talk to is her Daddy, and it is precious!  She had the longest conversation of her life with him on New Year’s Day, and it was absolutely priceless . . . she loves him!  (Who wouldn’t? :)

Little Miss now weighs 12 and 3/4 pounds {still 75%}!  As our favorite pediatrician said, “she is positively CHUNKY!”  It is so fun to see her grow and to see her become increasingly aware of her surroundings!  We joke that she gets lots of exercise and stimulation from the little rascals who run circles around her!  These pictures were taken on her 2 month birthday . . . she still sleeps in her bassinette beside our bed, and I feel like we may keep her there until she is about 4 or 5 years old and begging me in complete sentences to get out!  I like being close to my lovebug!

I’m pretty sure that Anna loves being a baby, because she does a great job at it!  She is a good little sleeper for us, she eats well, and she is very easy going!  Her big awake time is when her brothers are asleep in the evening, and Daddy and I love that one-on-one time with her.  Her only complaint is that her car seat is blue . . . because of its masculine color, she has decided that she does not like it and she will squeal and scream when we put her in it . . . it seems that she prefers pink, or at the very least, to be able to ride in a seat where her sweet clothes can be seen by all instead of being bundled up to her ears in a blankie!  

The jury is still out on whether Little Miss will be strawberry like Hudsey or white-blonde like Wee-Yum . . . but, one thing is for sure:  she has William’s incredible eyelashes (and her Daddy’s, too!)  This was an attempt to get a picture of those beautiful lashes . . . and, well, I’ll try again soon . . .

Birth

One Month

Two Months

Anna’s Daddy caught her smiles in action on his phone!  I could eat her up!  Enjoy!

 

more cuteness to come . . .

{In case you were wondering, here is what her brothers looked like a 2 months!  They were born at 36 weeks instead of 39 weeks, and they look tiny to me!}

First: Sparkles and Sprinkles!

A few warnings: 

1)  This post is very long . . . I felt the need to start with Christmas Prep, because I am pretty sure that it took us 25 whole days to get ready for Christmas, and we were still up until the wee hours wrapping! 

2)  Please excuse my lack of blogging . . . I have been with my family and loving the time with my little chickens

3)  I have not even glanced at pictures from Christmas (much less downloaded them) so hold on to your hats . . .

This year, we did our decorating in stages . . . it was either that, or lose our cute little minds, so step by step is how we went!

After picking out the tree one day, we brought it inside the next day . . . I feel pretty certain that the boys thought that having a big tree full of STICKS in our house was astounding!  William kept screaming “TOWER!” . . . close enough! 

Helpin’ Daddy put the tree in the base

Please note the screw in Hudson’s hand.  Do not try to help Daddy unless you come prepared!

The next night, we did the lights . . . this is the only picture I have to show for it!  We strapped the boys in their high chairs and they watched wide-eyed as Daddy made the tree sparkle!

Then, the decorating officially began (the next night!)

Our snoozing decorator . . .

Mommy and Anna worked hard during the brothers’ naptime

We also pulled out the boys’ favorite Christmas Toy . . . Our Little People Nativity which, yes, comes complete with a cat who appears to have attended the Birth of our Lord.  We happen to be missing Mary, but no one seemed to notice . . . And, we tried to read the Christmas Story out of their Children’s Bible at night.  The boys are THRILLED to celebrate Jesus’ Birthday . . . and they are simultaneously concerned about Jesus not having a bed . . . it is so sweet to see what they learn and understand, and we are just thrilled that they are learning more and more about Jesus’ birth!

We all agree that the Shepherds keep watch of their flock from their post atop the palm tree . . .

To continue my family tradition of many, many years, we headed to the museum to see Santa and torture our small children in the name of Christmas . . . while we were there, we stumbled upon two precious snowmen . . .  

and, an adorable reindeer!

 

The tiniest loves!

Don’t our boys look alike here?  They love their Bumps!

WAAH!

Bumpa reminded Santa that we received a very special Christmas present this October!

And, with that, the baking and parties began!  We made cakes and cookies as a family for our church’s neighborhood Christmas party . . . birthday cakes to help other people celebrate Jesus’ birthday!

And, the baking continued . . . 

And continued . . . Sugar, anyone?  

double sprinkles . . .

  Why eat one cookie when you can have two? Anna got some special love from her Great Granddaddy—I love this! Anna with the Grans! And . . . MORE SUGAR! 

   

LOVING on Uncle J! our sleeping sweet one . . . 

And . . . gingerbread houses!  The perfect combination of SNACKS and CRAFTS!  

I love this picture of our little architect!

This one ate the entire bowl of pretzel sticks in lieu of using them for decorating!  I love his guilty look!

Mommy’s presents from preschool this year . . .  And, we rounded out the Christmas prep with a special visitor . . . William saw him first and we noticed him staring and staring out the window . . . then we saw him!  “Santa, AT MY WINDOW, MOMMY!  OVER DERE!”

Seeing Santa made Mommy laugh . . . it reminded her of that “goofy santa” who used to peer in her window as a little girl!  And, the boys’ simultaneous fascination and fear was hilarious!  (“Santa right dere, Mommy!  I sit Mommy’s lap!”) Oh, the wonder . . .

Lots and lots of prep and celebrating helped us get ready for a very sweet celebration of Jesus’ Birthday! 

More to come, of course . . .