Christmas 2009

What a fun Christmas we had this year!! We have always spent the holiday with other family either here at home, or away at my Mom and Dad's house, but this year we were at home with just ourselves. It was a different experience for me as we have always shared this holiday with others, but it was a blast enjoying our kids and having fun together! We had Matt's brothers and mother over for dinner in the afternoon and spent the evening playing the new Wii, watching movies, playing board games and just having fun. Here are a few pictures of our Christmas!


Building our gingerbread house on Christmas Eve


The final product! (Half of it is eaten already!)

Santa just arrived!

The stockings are stuffed!

Worn out already!

Brendan's Christmas loot!

Grace loved her Hannah Montana doll and poster!

Anna's favorite was her Care Bear.

Becky loved her new sparkly shoes!

Sarah just wanted to go and play! Going.....

Going.......

Gone!!

Gideon was awake for most of the gift opening but fell asleep as we were finishing. He seemed to enjoy all the noise and smiled at everybody all morning!

It was a great first Christmas for Gideon!

I was there - just spent a bit of time in the kitchen. It was a fun day though!

I am looking forward to going down to visit my family this week. Matt has to work and will be home alone, but I think his new Wii will keep him company for the most part. I am so excited to meet my new little niece - what an amazing Christmas miracle! It should be a fun trip with all the kids - they are excited to play with their cousins. Family is awesome!!!

Pictures

Gideon will be three months old this week! I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown by. Here are a few pictures of our little guy......

Snuggles with Anna


Happy boy!



Sarah's reading a story to Gideon


Sarah and Gideon having a nap together.

Catching some zzzzz's.....

We sure love this little guy. He is such a good little baby. Gideon enjoys sitting and watching all the action of our busy house. He loves his soother and falls asleep all on his own. He is sleeping longer at night and staying awake more during the day. Gideon is starting to find his voice and loves to coo and gurgle and tell us lots of fun "stories". He is usually happy unless he is hungry or needs a change. We love his smiles and happy disposition.

Rebecca

Today is Rebecca's 4th birthday. I have some very clear memories of 4 years ago right at this very moment! Mary Lou came up and stayed with our other kids and then stayed for a week to help out. Rebecca was a sweet little baby and a joy to add to our family.

She has grown up into a smart little girl and we still really enjoy having her around!! Becky had a little party with her best friend Ashlyn yesterday and then took some cupcakes to share with all her friends at school today.

She loved the new blanket I made for her. Her previous blanket had been loved to shreds and so I made her one just like the previous one, just bigger.

Just to add to the fun, Becky had a bit of an accident this afternoon and ended up with three stitches in her chin. She was not happy to go to the doctor and even less happy about having him put the stitches in, but she actually did really well and even calmed down a little bit when I quit squeezing her hands so tight. I forgot that she was supposed to be squeezing my hands - I guess I was a little nervous too. Rebecca is the first of our kids that have needed stitches and I have never been that close watching stitches being put in before. We stopped by the grocery store afterward and she picked out a treat - Oreo's - and was happy as a clam after that. Another day to remember that is for sure!!