Miss C gets her ears pierced

A year ago Miss C asked us to take her to get her ears pierced.  For weeks she asked.  I pinched her ears to help her know what it would feel like.  Did she still want to do it?  Yes!  Finally, we took her.  She was set, she was going to get this done!  Then she found out that she had to sit in the chair and let these ladies touch her.  NO WAY!!!!  Our shy little girl was not ready for that.  No big deal, we headed home.

A couple of weeks ago we started hearing her ask about getting her ears done again.  I reminded her that she would have to sit in the chair and let the ladies touch her.  She thought about it.  On the 30th she came to me and told me she was ready.  I told her to tell her daddy.  She forgot.  On New Years Eve she remembered to ask daddy.  That afternoon we all went to the mall.  She was so excited!

Her big brothers were watching out for her while her big sisters shopped for earrings (for her).

 

She got a bit nervous and was happy to hold on to the bear.  We ended up getting her a bear like this to take home.

She did such a great job!  She hardly flinched!  We were so proud (and a bit stunned)!  Good job Miss C!

Miss C picked out a pair of earrings and is now on the look out for a very small pair of Hello Kitty earrings (the ones at Claire's were too big).

Thanks Great Gram!

The kids got Starbucks cards from my Grandma, their Great Gram, for Christmas.  Everyone was excited to go use them.  We caused quite the back up in the store while ordering, but the kids had so much fun getting to pick and order their own drinks/foods.

Wow, thats alota kids!

Miss A even cooperated by falling asleep soon after I got my peppermint mocha.

Thank you Great Gram for the fun treat!  We love you!

Christmas camping

We went camping for Christmas this year!  Even though it was a bit of work to put it together I think it reduced the general stress and expectations for the season/day.

Almost as soon as we arrived a tent was built using fabric and rope the kids had brought for just such an activity.

 

Miss A learned about the joy of pacifiers.  We had tried them earlier and she had rejected them.  We decided to try a different type since she does have her moments and has so far been generally unsuccessful with her thumb. *Note to babysitter J....The suspected stinkerness is starting to show itself.

 

Miss J had requested hot dogs for our Christmas Eve meal.  At first I turned my nose up at that idea. Then I remembered that simple and easy was the point of this trip.  What could be easier than daddy cooking hot dogs and baked beans outside?  Every one was happy and I didn't have to cook!

We spent Christmas Eve playing games with the kids.

 

Then we put them to bed.

Yea, we're really roughing it.  Everyone got to put in their requests for treats, mine was peppermint mochas/hot chocolate.

 

On Christmas Day the big kids went on a hike with Daddy while I stayed behind and napped with the little kids.

*Mr. R lost a tooth.  That's what you get when snacking on an MRE.

 

*When little ones got up they climbed into bed with me for a nice snuggle.  Then we had snacks.  Then they requested a movie.

Miss C enjoyed many mini-hikes with Daddy.  She also had an MRE set aside to share with Daddy.

The big kids enjoyed bike riding, reading and some short hikes.  We had fun playing with the little kids at the camp site.

 

Dessert after our Christmas dinner was s'mores!

The tent got a wall on one end and kids made use of the structure the entire time we were there.

 

We all took a walk down to the Discovery Center.

Lots of snacking and playing of games.

Cuddle bugs in the morning.  I love this kind of camping; a heater and a bed!  I was still happy to get home though.  Miss A didn't seem too thrilled about being away from home (translation- I spent most of the trip holding her).

We had a great, mellow Christmas enjoying the great outdoors and some quiet family time.

Merry Christmas!

We hope your day is filled with love and cheer as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

We are having a different Christmas this year.  I'll post on that later.

2 months

Miss A is 2 months!  It has been a fun 2 months with her, we are all enjoying getting to know her.  Some things the Grandmas (and others) may like to know....

-She is getting to be a great sleeper.  She still has her nights that she only goes 5 hours, but she has gone up to 9 hours as well!

-When she wakes in the morning she is so happy and excited to see everyone that she can hardly eat!  She takes just enough to hold her over and then enjoys some social time.  About an hour later when she is getting tired again she agrees to eat.

-We are well aware that she has a healthy set of lungs, but she seems to be settling into life enough that the nick name "screaming ball of pink" is used less frequently.  During the day she is generally happy, most of the crying happens after 4 in the afternoon until she is ready to go to sleep.

-Like big sister, Miss J, she seems to have an egg intolerance.  We're getting that worked out (poor mommy, I have to change the way I'm eating) and her little face is clearing up.  Hopefully her body will be able to recover from this (like Miss J did) and we can be through this quickly.

 

-She is starting to show some interest in toys, though not much yet.  She likes looking at her mobil and loves it when her sisters sit with her and show her things.  She is not grabbing yet, but her little arms and hands are reaching out more and more.

-Miss A is trying very hard to find her voice.  She just loves to be talked to and does her best to respond.  Her coos and squeaks are becoming more intentional and frequent.

-New stats on her....she weighs 11 pounds 14 ounces.  She has slowed a bit, but is still growing very well.  She is well out of the 0-3 month clothes and I'm even finding some of the 3-6 month clothes to be getting a bit small.  Thank goodness for hand-me-downs!

Christmas fun...

Since we have alternative plans this year for Christmas we opened gifts and did stockings early.  The kids had a slumber party under the tree on "Christmas Eve" and we had to tip toe around them to fill the stockings.

The kids had a great time opening gifts.  They had all put quite a bit of thought into the gifts they bought for each other (they draw names) and it was fun to see them taking pleasure in seeing the gifts enjoyed by the recipient.  We have some very thoughtful kids.

 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying a quiet day together and playing with some of their new toys.

Mr. R got a robotic arm which was cool, but he had to put it all together.  That took him most of the day.  It was just the sort of project he likes, and we were happy to see that it did provide just enough of a challenge for him.  

Uncle D and Aunt M!

Uncle D and Aunt M came through for a quick Christmas visit.  We loved the chance to hang out with them and just enjoy the time together.  The kids got to show them around the house/yard and do go-carts with them.

We also did early Christmas presents with them.  They did a great group gift for the kids of a movie night.  They brought gifts of movies, candy and popcorn.  The kids thought these were GREAT gifts!

We watched the old Disney Robin Hood and the kids had a free-for-all with the candy.  I was happy to see that there were left overs that have been bagged up for later.

 

 A few games of Carcassonne were also enjoyed.  The kids first played it on a visit to D&M's house and it was quickly requested as a birthday gift. 

Piano recital

The oldest five kids have been taking piano lessons.  This past week-end they had their recital.  Our piano teacher is a dear friend, and the recital was held at her house. Her other students are friends of ours as well.  We had a good time.

 

 

See that cute little boy turned the wrong way?  The shot I missed was him aiming the rubber band in his hand at big sister (out of sight in the picture) with a HUGE grin on his face.  Stinker boy!

 

Mr. M surprised us by playing one of his songs like this.  I loved hearing the soft giggles from all of the other kids the whole time he was playing.  

Thanks for visiting "F" family!

We were thrilled to find out that some friends of ours would be passing through here on their way home from a trip.  We were even more excited to find out that they would be able to stay for two nights!  What a gift from God to enjoy some sweet fellowship with this dear family this Christmas season!

We enjoyed some fun meals together.

We were blessed to enjoy family worship together both evenings.  I love to see the kids from both families cuddling and caring for one another as we sing and pray together.

 

On Friday evening the kids all got to watch a movie on our big screen (and have some candy).

The dash to pick out candy

The adults had a "date" at the table playing a game and chatting.