cHrisTmAs DaY

Ever since I got married my very favorite part of all of Christmas is when we do our own on Christmas morning. And this year was no different. I love, love, love it. Being with my own little family, drinking egg nog for breakfast, sitting by the fire and being amazed at how Tom gets all the perfect gifts every single year. And this year was even better because we weren't rushing around to different houses so we got to sleep in, take our time and really enjoy being together. And Hazel was old enough to really be a part of it all. We surprised her with her very first doll house. Tom spent a couple hours putting it together and when Hazel walked out and saw it, she said, "oooohhhh, house!", and has been playing with it ever since. Drew successfully slept through the whole thing but has no regrets.
It was a great way to start our Christmas day...

My little babes just hanging out together after presents

Around 1-ish we headed off to Grandma & Grandpa Romney's house for a yummy lunch and fun gift exchange. We didn't know that we would be lucky enough to see Joe in a onesie. Now that's a treat.

Hazel begging me for her 7th fruit roll up [this is all she ever does at the Romney's]. I finally had to hide them in the basement.

My very own Dorothy...on grandma's (wisely) plastic covered carpet

Next we were off to the Koplin's to stay for the rest of the night. We had some more yummy food [those potatoes were heaven Char!], opened presents, played rock band, hazel had to have her char-bath, and we just hung out until around midnight. The snow was coming down hard- which I LOVE on Christmas- so we almost had to stay overnight, but we trekked our way home in hopes of a good nights sleep instead [as if!].

Hazel indulging in the magic of my dad's Christmas village

Darin gave Tom ice cream for part 1 of his present...

...and he had to eat out the 2nd part [a gift card]. Serves him right for never telling anyone what he wants for Christmas. We love you Darin!

Holy cow!! I got a robot!!

Hazel got a baby with a carrier and diaper bag complete with diapers, wipes, a changing pad and bottle. She loves it!
She was so into mommy-mode in fact, that she even tried to nurse her baby...

'Mom' & baby watching the master rock-band-ers

it got really intense

so intense, it wore her right out and she needed to end the night snuggling with Kiplin in grandma and grandpa's bed. aahh, such a perfect day...
Thanks to all our family for being understanding and supportive of our changes this year and for making Christmas so absolutely wonderful. We love you!

ChRiStMaS eVe...

[this is part 1 of my oh so long christmas post]

Christmas was my favorite this year of any so far. We cut back on the number of houses to visit and instead bulked up on the time we spent with each family. It was a relaxed, thoughtful and simplified Christmas and I can honestly say I loved every moment.

[the above picture is what happens every time we try and take a family picture. hazel cries unless bribed with food (thats ice cream in her mouth), drew starts crying, tom won't look at the camera, and I'm just smiling away. so much for a good family photo.]

Christmas Eve began at the Dodds' where we enjoyed a feast of prime rib and later my mom, who is known for making everything more fun, made flaming coconut ice cream for dessert. Yes, ice cream on fire. Who knew?? A treat indeed. I think Hazel had about 4 bowls worth. She loved it.
We opened a few gifts and focused mostly on the kids who were loving their new toys. Here are some of the highlights...

trying to get h & m to civilly hug and smile for a picture. yeah right. (;

what's even harder? trying to get them to do it while holding a newborn.

opening presents...

hazel really wanted to show my grandpa her new hello kitty accessories
and she had to try on her new high heels of course
the first time tom has ever voluntarily smiled for a picture
my sweet kids.
until hazel said "all done" and rolled drew off her lap
...which led to one sad little baby the next time we put her near him

Then we headed to the Henderson's where we had an equally delicious feast of steak & salmon. With 9 kids under the age of 8, all bursting with Christmas excitement, it inevitably got a little rowdy at dinner and Santa had to call and remind them to be good. Total silence during that phone call. It was hilarious.
We all got some awesome gifts and the kids got matching pj's. Scott read the Christmas story from the Bible and I was amazed at how much the kids already knew. We hung out until late and it was heaven being able to just be with the family all night and not have to rush off to the next place. Plus there's nothing Hazel loves more than playing with her cousins for hours on end.

Scott & Vicki are going to need a new house soon to accomodate the whole family

Lucy & Beth loved their new babies.

all the grandkids in their new jammies. and yes will has different ones on purpose. that kid is on a galaxy quest of his own. (:
[stella is a little hidden behind lucy but she's there is hannah's arms.]

He's growing up!

Drew at 2 months

He wanted to prove he's growing up by sleeping 5 hours STRAIGHT for the first time last night! Up until now it's been every 2-3 hours. It was heaven!

We went to his check up today and it reminded me how much I hate watching my kids get shots. Just when you think they can't cry any harder, they get the next shot and cry even worse. Breaks my heart... ): But he's healthy and on track with everything, so we have nothing to complain about!

Anyway, here are the stats of our growing baby boy...

Weight: 10 lbs. 10 oz. 25%
Length: 22.5 inches 40%
I don't remember the head size, but it's 40%

my very own evil genius

So my hopes of having at least some sanity in my house were shattered when Hazel climbed out of her crib a couple weeks ago. She came around the corner and said, "hi!". I nearly peed my pants it scared me so bad. It was like I saw a ghost. The next morning she came around the corner to Tom and said, "boo!!". She loves the idea that she can rattle us. After choking back a little laughter, and putting her back in each time she got out, she only did it a couple times more and then finally got sick of it and didn't do it at all last week. I thought this meant we had avoided the storm. Phew. That could've been bad.
Little did I know she was just taking that time to plan a more efficient way to escape. See, before when she would get out, it took a bit of time and a lot of effort and it would scrape her cheek, this being why I think she realized it wasn't worth it anymore, because I'd just put her right back in and she'd have to do it all over again. Well she improved her tactics. Yesterday she got out. So I put her back in. And as I turned to leave, before I had even shut the door, she was right behind me. Again, my bladder was shaken. So I put her in again, and this time cracked the door and watched her. She had indeed improved. It took very little effort, no scraping of any part of her face, and she did it in about 1.4 seconds. The little rascal thought she could outsmart me. No way. I was going to take everyone's advice and do what I did before and just keep putting her back in each time she got out, with no interaction or attention. Surely she would give up at some point. They all do, said my advisors. Well, clearly we had underestimated our opponent. 2 1/2 HOURS later, at least 60 times in and out of the crib and a very sore back [I had to hoist her in one-handed several times while nursing Drew], I was ready to scream. Once again, I was reminded I do not have an ordinary child.
I think it's time for a toddler bed.

Loving this

The other day I took my kids over to my friend Chelsea's house to hang out. Both our kids are just weeks apart from each other which makes it SO fun. Tate and Hazel are into the same things, mostly fruit snacks, and Elle and Drew loved hanging together in the swing and were so in sync they even wanted to eat at the same time. Thanks Chels! Let's do it again soon!

Look how cute they are...

This is as close as we could get to having all 4 kids in a picture...

Pre-Christmas Fun

It's the getting ready, building up to, and excitement of Christmas that makes it so magical, I think. And it's doing it with Hazel for the first time [she was too little last year to really appreciate it] that makes it even better. Here is our sampling of what's made our Christmas magical so far this year...

First we found the perfect TREE [I'm loving how tall it is]
Then we decorated it while trying to explain to Hazel that we put the ornaments on the tree, not take them off. She needed a little help from dad, but finally got the hang of it- sort of...

Drew's participation was minimal...
Now we get to sit on our couch each night in the warmth of sparkling LIGHTS, the smell of PINE, and a crackling FIRE...
Next, there's the freshly fallen SNOW that Hazel wasn't terribly amused by; but looking like a cute chubby marshmallow certainly amused her mom...
And you can't fully get into the Christmas spirit without making sugar COOKIES at least once... [thanks Ame!]
Finally, there's watching Christmas MOVIES to top it all off. My personal favorite from my childhood is Frosty the Snowman, which Hazel now loves too [Frossy! Frossy! Where'd Frossy go??]. Her other favorite? Elf. Especially when the 'wacoon' attacks Will Ferrell. She is one funny little chicky...
There's just nothing in the world like Christmas. Our next adventure? Meeting SANTA...
[we'll let you know how it goes]

My new favorite time of day

All 4 of us crowd in our tiny bathroom and have a little party...

I love washing Drew's tiny hands and feet and I love listening to Hazel talk to her bath toys

I love that they're both having so much fun at the same time

I love wrapping them up in their warm towels like little bean burritos

And I especially love having two clean, fluffy-haired kids who smell like babies and are ripe for a snuggle