Gingerbread House

 One of our kids' favorite Christmas traditions is decorating our gingerbread house.

This year I never did buy any candy, so we got creative and used things in our pantry... marshmallows, cheerios, Trix, Apple Jacks, M&Ms, small vanilla wafers, pretzels, & goldfish.

It worked and turned out quite cute :)

Pumpkin Patch

I wanted to go to the Pumpkin Patch when we could wear jeans and take a hayride all bundled up.  Then I remembered where we live and decided we better just go or we would have no pumpkins.

Haddie walks and believes she is as big as her brothers & sister.  Getting her to sit still for a picture is a joke.  This is as good as it gets.  Christmas pictures should be fun! :)

 Here are the older three that are now trained.  They know to smile sweetly for me the first time.  They have learned the quicker you do it right the less time it takes.  One day Haddie! One day, sweet girl!

Caleb & Gavin wanted the biggest pumpkin possible while Lyla wanted the smallest one she could find.

 Yes, Lyla thinks she is all that.  She chose her outfit.  It was only the 53rd one that day.  Seriously!  GIRLS!!!!

 We did have a good time finding the perfect pumpkins and playing at the farm.  Maybe next year we can wear long sleeves and jeans.

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Happy 1st Birthday Haddie Jane!

I can't believe this sweet girl is ONE year old!
She turned one on Thursday and we celebrated yesterday with a very COLORFUL birthday party.

She is doing so many fun things right now and just last night after her party she started WALKING!  We knew she was close, but last night she finally just did it.  My sister, Amanda and her two kids were here too.  We all had so much fun having her walk to each one of us and all of us cheering for her every single time.  So cute!

I had fun decorating with rainbow colors.  I wish I would have taken some better pictures.  I actually made her cake and a lot of the decorations.

She WAS NOT into getting dirty with the cake.  I just knew she was going to dig in, but no.  She got a little on her hand and wanted us to get it off.  she just took a couple of bites like this.  The cake was at the perfect level to just bite :-)

Some of Haddie's cousins got to party with us.  

AT AGE ONE HADDIE IS:

* walking

* signing "all done"

* drinking whole milk

* still taking 2 naps a day

* loves to play with balls

* says "da da," "bubba," "ball," "night night," "thank you," "lyla," "bye-bye," "mmm"

* she loves to dance and then clap for herself

* she likes to eat fruit and beans best

* she wears 12-18 month clothes, size 4 diapers & size 4 shoes

* she has to have her little blanket to go to sleep with

* weighs 22 pounds, 4 ounces and is 30 inches tall

Haddie, we all love you so much and are so thankful to have been chosen to be your parents.  What an amazing year this has been with you in it!

Our Beach Trip

We just returned from a fabulous trip to Gulf Shores, AL. It was so nice to be lazy with the family! We pretty much just played on the beach, swam in the pools, and watched movies. We did get out occasionally to do a little shopping and eating.

Lyla LOVED the sand and water! She enjoyed building sandcastles and jumping over the waves. Towards the end of the trip she was ready to go back to our house so that she could put on a princess dress. We have now been home 3 days and she has worn nothing but princess dresses.

Caleb enjoyed swimming in the ocean, but anytime he had the opportunity to go to the pool he would. He probably enjoyed lying around the beach house watching movies and eating popcorn just as much as he liked being at the beach.

Gavin could have stayed on the beach all day. He loved getting out as far as we would let him go in the ocean. He scared me several times. He also loved building sandcastles and digging holes.

Haddie did really well for her first trip to the beach. She did not enjoy her sunglasses or sunhat so being outside was a challenge with her. Scott & I took turns taking her in for naps. Boy, did she sleep well there! We usually had to wake her up. She started standing on her own this week. She will be walking soon!

We made some wonderful memories and had a great time just being together!

Easter 2012

Easter Sunday. Church. Lunch at our house. Hunting Easter Eggs. Fun Day!




So thankful we serve a risen Saviour!

Haddie - 6 months

Half of our baby's first year is already over! Wow! I cannot believe she is growing so fast. She is still very laid back. She goes to Mother's Day Out twice a week now. She is still sleeping in our room and has not started any food yet. Haddie loves her brothers and sister, her exersaucer, swing, being held and ANYONE who will talk to her. She is our little sweetie. She likes to say "Lylylyly" & "dada." Of course she has no clue what she is saying, but Lyla & Scott will disagree. Lyla calls her "little Bella." We have no idea where this comes from, but no one else is her "bella." Only Haddie!

Christmas Day!

Santa came!

Lyla's face when she first saw what Santa left. I love how she had Dora with her. This is how she holds her baby. Just like the way her momma holds Haddie :)
Gavin opening presents

& Caleb

& Haddie surrounded by her gifts!

Caleb & Gavin were so excited to watch Lyla open her Dora Fairy that they gave her.
I have been working on these t-shirt quilts for months. I'll have to take a bigger, better picture. They are made from shirts of the boys that have become too small. The quilts are twin size and so soft!

Our family went to my dad's house Christmas night.

Ashlee with her kids

Skylar & Haddie

My Daddy with his three girls
Belle & Tristyn

Noah, Blaine, Skylar & Caleb

Lyla & Grandaddy playing with Tristyn's babies. So sweet! I love this picture!

Scott & Amanda

I love my family!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Candle Light Service (no pics)

Poor Baby wakes up like this a lot.

New pajamas & slippers
Cookies & milk for Santa

Santa Visit

Our visit with Santa Clause went great! No tears. Everyone was excited. Well, maybe not Caleb & Gavin, but they faked it well. Santa loved Lyla's outfit and wanted my Matilda Jane business card. So funny! Lyla was super excited to tell Santa what she wanted.

Her wishlist:

a Dora kitchen,

Strawberry Shortcake movies,

a Dora Fairy

Christmas Photo Shoot

4 kids to get to look at camera AND have a pleasant face.

3 decent photos.

2 attempts for Christmas card photos. on our own.

1 mom who can't seem to get it together.

too many days late to get some cute cards made.

maybe next year will be better!

the photo we used
lyla, our little stinker

i loved this one, but Haddie was spitting up :)

Little Miss Hollywood

It's hard work being this cute.

Looking at yourself in

your pink mirror

while wearing your pink shades

can be so draining!

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