Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas !

Just sharing some pics from our exhaustive (exhausting?) Christmas card photo shoot.....


We went from crying......

....to hysterics....

....to hats falling down and tongues sticking out.

We've said it before, but those girls at Olan Mills don't get paid enough ;>) Despite snapping a huge number of pics, we never could get them both smiling at the same time. Here are the ones that did make the cut:

We've posted more of our Christmas activities below. From our house to yours, Merry Christmas !

Our Christmas Parade.....so far

Just some pics of our holiday activities so far.....


We plan to start some solids now that Ben's six months, but have been so busy with holiday activities we've not done it yet. He decided to take matters into his own hands by putting his face down in Mark's pistachio salad. You think that's a pediatrician-approved first food ;>) ?

Claire & Samuel take turns pushing each other around in the stroller.

Rosie was very sweet to make some Christmas cookies for the kids to decorate. Can you tell what was their favorite part ?

Yes, the S-P-R-I-N-K-L-E-S !! Poor Rosie had quite the mess to clean up !

Mark's brother, Michael, has endeared himself to Samuel by playing cars with him. Michael and Linda came up for a visit recently from Florida. It's the first time they've seen Samuel since he was about 15 months old. Samuel's changed a lot since then !

And, of course, they got to meet Ben for the first time; with Aunt Linda

And Uncle Michael

Samuel went to his first Christmas parade this year. This was the first time we'd ever seen a herd of sheep going down Main Street ! Samuel loved the fire trucks especially.....there were plenty to love too.......there were so many that Mark said he hoped nobody's house caught on fire during the parade ;>)

What's a parade without a flag to wave ? Most nights Samuel takes that flag to bed with him !

The birthday boys, Mark & Norm. Once again, Samuel's not getting too close to those candles ! I don't think we have to worry about him actually becoming a fireman !

Playing with Brian; Samuel just loved the Christmas village.

Ben with Lauren & Brian

This was at a Christmas party Samuel went to with his friend, Will. See what too much sugar does to them ;>)

First Snow, First Dates, & Disappearing Acts

Our sweet little Ben was 6 months old this week and went to the doctor today for his checkup and shots. Samuel has been skittish when Ben goes in for shots, but we read "Corduroy Goes to the Doctor" this morning and he seemed okay about it. When they took us back, we could hear a kid across from us crying and screaming his head off. He sounded older, I figured at least 6 or 7, and he was screaming things like "You hate me" and "Yes, I'm going to die" !! So much for my calm kids ;>)----they both looked very scared but at least didn't cry. When the nurse came into our room she apologized about it. She said the boy was 12 !!! (I think he needed something besides a shot ;>)

Anyway, our sweet "little" Ben weighs 3 ounces shy of a whopping 18 lbs ! (Samuel was about 19 lbs on his first birthday !) I can't believe how fast these 6 months have flown by (I probably wouldn't think that in the middle of one of our long, sleepless nights but those are becoming much rarer). Mark's mother was saying recently that Ben is acting like he will be crawling soon and she thinks he'll soon have a tooth. I told her I'm in no hurry for either of those things to happen! What's funny is that with Samuel it was all about "when" will he be doing x, y, or z. Maybe that's natural with the first. Now, with Ben, it feels like water slipping through your fingers----it's just going too fast and you can't hold onto it. Here are some pics of our much beloved "disappearing act" ;>) at 6 months of age:

"Whose bassinet is this; mine or Sophie's ?" (Sophie would say hers !)

This is Melanie & Daniel's newborn, Cole, not even 24 hours old. We're very happy for them. He was so close to Ben's size at birth and he was born on the day Ben was exactly 6 months old, so it just reinforced how quickly these 6 months have flown by !

Mark and I went out last night to a concert. The Canadian Brass quintet was playing with the Symphony. They were our "first date" back in the spring of 1998 when they played the Ryman, so we thought it would be fun to "recreate" that evening. We had a great time (if you ever get the chance to hear them, they are wonderful!) but the "re-creation" was somewhat modified with the passing of time. That first time, we had a leisurely dinner at Demo's before going to the concert. This time, in a concession to nursing schedules, naptimes, & bedtimes, we quickly grabbed something from Wendy's and ate it in the car. That first time, Mark picked me up at my office in his new 2-door sports car; this time, we arrived at the concert in our 5-door minivan ! The jazz in the car's CD player from back then is usually replaced with "The Wheels On The Bus and Other Toddler Favorites". And all romantic thoughts driving home from that first date were replaced this time with 2 kids screaming in the backseat almost all the way home. I don't think either of us would change a thing though !

Grandpa with his boys; he and Grandma were on babysitting detail last night.


We left home around 5 pm yesterday, so imagine our surprise driving back from a snow-free area around 11 pm and encountering all this snow the further south we went. There was a big moon and it was a beautiful drive home (more or less, with 2 screaming kids in the backseat ;>). I got the kids out in it for a short while this morning, so Ben could see his first snow:

I think he looks like a seal in his snowsuit !

Ben was rather "underwhelmed" by it all ;>) He looks like he's thinking "Don't you know what the temperature is...?"

I took Samuel & Ben on a wagon ride through the backyard. No time for snowman building though since we had to go to the doctor's.

This is a pic from earlier in the week. Samuel & Will often love to "lead singing" when they get together !

Thanksgiving

We had a busy but wonderful Thanksgiving week. We have so much to be grateful for, but certainly the arrival of our sweet little Ben would top the list this year. We're also thankful for the friends in our lives; we got to have a playdate with a few of them just before Thanksgiving:


Who has the curliest hair, Claire or Samuel ??

It's hard for me to believe that Michael got over here on his own; I guess Ben will be there in a few months !

Will and Samuel goofing off.

Quite a few years ago, we began having some of our Thanksgiving celebrations with the Duggins, when we weren't able to go away for the holiday. It's come to have a special place in our lives and we were so glad to be there this year. Our longtime friends, the Boyds, were there and it was extra special because of the two new babies, Benjamin and Nicolai:

Yes, it was SPECIAL ;>) Actually, posting this first is misleading......this was toward the end of the evening when "tired and cranky" replaced "sweet and cuddly" !

We actually got some good pics of them together (and see who else squirmed into the corner ?) There's about a month difference in their ages, but Nic seems to be as healthy an eater as Ben !

We're SO thankful we do NOT have a piano at our house ;>)

Samuel found a playmate in Tracy.

Anybody who plays cars with Samuel is an instant soulmate ;>)

Not sure if Gary expects Ben to chew it or write with it ;>)

I think this is such a sweet pic of Tracy & Ben.

Dan & Nic.

Amanda & Ben.

Samuel with his buddy, Matt.

Ben knows a "Grandma" when he finds one ;>)

We headed out Friday morning early for Alabama and met family at one of the malls around 11am to snag some deals (supposedly). There were only a few things we were looking for and several of those were long gone to those willing to get out at 4 or 5 in the morning (definitely not us !). We still found a few bargains, but we mostly just enjoyed the time out and about with family. Around mid-afternoon we headed back to my Mother's for some turkey and the trimmings. Here are some pics from our visit there:

Ben with Grandma. In recent weeks, Ben has discovered his feet/toes. He thinks they're absolutely fascinating.....I should wrap them up for his Christmas !

With Aunt Stacy.

With cousin Brooke.

His cousin Trennis tried all kinds of things to capture Ben's attention.......

.....unfortunately what worked was offering his hair to Ben, who's recently discovered pulling hair and was happy to give Trennis more attention than he wanted !

Something sure is funny !

Ben with cousins Peyton and Trennis.

With Uncle Wayne before he and Stacy head to the Alabama-Auburn game.

You'd probably have to be from Alabama (or maybe be Daryl W ;>) to understand that the Alabama-Auburn game is a MAJOR BIG DEAL. And it was so nice to actually be in the state of Alabama on the day they won it big (after many years of losing to Auburn) and be surrounded by all that CRIMSON (versus normally being surrounded by all that "Big Orange"). It only made the wonderful Thanksgiving weekend that much better ;>)

The only unfortunate part of our Thanksgiving was that Mark developed a really severe toothache before we left Alabama, so we had to postpone Part 3 of our Thanksgiving, which was with his parents. We hated that, but Mark was really in a lot of pain. However, we got some clove oil from Janet and since using that yesterday afternoon, he has gotten much better. If that's what cured him, a big "Thank You" to Dr. Janet !! Here's hoping it doesn't recur !