Choo Choo...All Aboard!

One tradition that we started last Christmas was that we put together a gingerbread something...last year we made a house and this year we made a train. It is really a lot of fun if you haven't tried it. I have not gotten brave enough to make my own gingerbread yet - we stick with the premade kits...but it is fun all the same. Cole has been waiting to do this project for days....asking, begging and pleading...and finally we had time to sit down together and do it. Last year, when we were new at this, our house looked awful but this year we did rather well if I do say so myself. And we all did it together which was the main thing...and we all had a lot of fun. At one point we did catch Cole placing a candy on the train while also placing a candy in his mouth (well, a couple of times actually). We had to explain that if he ate all of the candy we wouldn't have any decorations. He gladly got back to decorating but kept asking when we could eat the whole train! Gotta love his persistance!

Woo Pig Sooie! Razorbacks!

I know one Little Hog Fan that is ready for the Sugar Bowl!!!

Cookie Decorating 101

Eden

Jacob and Katie (Cole is madly in love with Katie by the way-he says that one day, when they are big, they will get married and she will give him 2 babies. A brother and a sister.)


Cole, Lily Kate and Mommy

Jackson

Ben and Jacob

Audrie

Traditions...I love them! Cole and I have enjoyed decorating Christmas cookies together the past 2 Christmases. Each time we have made them he has been more fun and more involved. This year I thought it would be fun to include some friends in on the decorating and Cole loved the idea. One afternoon a couple of weeks ago we invited 7 of Cole's buddies over (and 2 of them had younger siblings...Lily Kate entertained her guests in the living room) to decorate cookies. We had sugar, frosting, sprinkles, m & m's, candy canes and juice boxes everywhere!!! The kids had an absolute blast, and so did the parents! We were very brave and let the kiddos do all of the decorating (except the frosting) on their own and then, of course, they all got to eat their cookies! After decorating they all ran in circles (literally) around the main level of our house - running off their sugar highs no doubt. When it was time to head home Cole passed out a bag of Reindeer food to everyone (another tradition we have grown to love) and said good bye. The party was so much fun and I am so excited to continue the tradition but the best part of the day was right before bedtime when Cole gave me a huge hug and said, "Thank you for the party mommy! You are the best!" Um...for that we can have a million cookie parties!!!

A SonShine School Christmas

Cole is officially on Christmas break and I must admit, as much as I love having a little time with just Lily Kate, I am super glad he is home everyday now. They ended the semester with a fun Christmas party and a visit from Santa. These were the only pictures I was able to get. This is Cole's class - not easy to get a picture of. I LOVE the picture of one of Cole's teachers in the top picture...I am sure both Miss Lindsay and Miss Merrily are ready for a couple of weeks of R and R. At the party the kids had pizza, fruit and then got to decorate cookies. Cole frosted his cookie and then decorated it with grapes and oranges...yum?! He also made me a Christmas gift...an ornament with his picture on it and a sweet pot holder where he used his hand print to make a Santa. I will post a picture of it soon...so precious! Santa sang carols with the kids and boy was that a big hit. Cole kept asking Rhonald and I where Rudolph was. He is so into Christmas this year! We love his school and his teachers but like I said, I am excited to have him all to myself for a few weeks.

All Smiles

Little Sis (or baby Jesus as Cole is now calling her) had her two month check up yesterday. She was awesome - never cried, smiled the whole time and won over the hearts of everyone she met! Dr. T said she was very healthy and right on track for her age. Lily Kate weighs 11 lbs 2 oz and is 22.5 inches long. Perfect!!! She did have to have 3 shots and an oral vaccine but as you can see from these pictures, they did not slow her down very much!

L-O-V-E

"Every good and perfect gift comes from above."

James 1:17

Oh, Lily Kate, you are so good and so perfect. You melt our hearts each and every day. We are honored and completely blessed to have been chosen to be your parents. We cannot imagine this life without you! We are excited to watch you grow into the woman that God has created you to be. May you always know you are loved and cherished. May you always know that we simply adore you!

2 Months Old

Can it be true that our sweet Lily Kate is 2 months old? Part of me, the tired part, says yes, it is but the other part cannot believe it! It has been a busy 2 months for her! We take her to the doctor next week so I will have to update her "stats" then. Since she was about 4 weeks old Lily has been having major tummy issues. I will spare you the details but some of the milder ones include major gas, bloody stools and a very unhappy baby (and parents). After a few calls to a good friend who happens to be a pediatric nurse practitioner, online research and a trip to see her own doctor, we have discovered that Lily has a milk allergy. Yuck! What this means for me is that I cannot eat any dairy ... any. Did you know there is dairy in basically everything? A few days after I went "dairy free" Lily Kate became a completely different child. She is happy and healthy and sleeping well...finally. I miss eating some things but Rhonald and I are big believers in breastfeeding and well, after I saw how much better she became, it was all worth it! Since Lily is feeling better we are finally able to lay her down (it was a rough few weeks for all of us) and she has started to "play" with her toys. This girl loves her play gym...LOVES IT! And she is a pretty big fan of her baby swing as well. She has really started cooing and smiling a ton which completely melts our hearts. She will have a full conversation with you and tries to mimick the sounds that she hears. She loves to watch faces and movement (aka Cole). Lily Kate would be happy to be talked to 24/7 and still loves to be held. Lily takes about 4 naps a day and is eating every 3 hours. She still wakes up one time a night to nurse and then goes right back to sleep. In the morning, if I lay her down for a nap while she is awake she will fall fast asleep on her own but by night time she is ready to be rocked to sleep. Her normal bedtime is around 8 and then I wake her up for the day around 7. She is such a joy and we love and adore her so much! Cole still loves to show her off and introduce her to people. He is a great big brother to her and I know they will grow up to be great friends (and I am sure they will get in their share of trouble as well).