Baby's first Christmas

Hard to believe he was only 9 weeks old! He acts like such a big boy...
Sleeping with Grandpa
Standing with Aunt Brittany
On the way to Cracker Barrel
With his big sisters and Grammy
Smiling at Kourtney
Trying to crawl???
Flirting with mommy
Making eyes at Grammy
Crying with mommy... he was ready for bed!

The gingerbread house

This year we actually constructed the house. Very cool. The girls decoraed the whole thing by themselves (with me putting on the icing). They could not wait to eat it! Kourtney gnawing at the house! LOL!

The forgotten suitcase

Once in Louisiana we realized that we had left the girls' suitcase with ALL of their clothes! All they had was one pair of pj's, the outfits they came in, their church dresses, and socks and underwear. So if it seems their clothes don't really fit the season, or you see them in the same thing over and over, that is why!!! I was glad that it was their suitcase and not mine and that we had their church dresses separately!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to go to church and come home and pig out on wings, wienie wraps, taquitos, cookies... you get the idea.Our little Christmas present
Uncle Kevin holding the girls during the service
Uncle Kevin and the reindeer (aka: Blake)
The 3 amigos
Kourtney holding Blake "for my very first time"
For some reason, McKenna got to be a stinker with the camera this Christmas
Running on stage... tisk, tisk

Christmas

My family at my grandpa's funeral
(L-R) Brittany, Kevin, Susan, Kourtney, Carl, Blake, Kelly, Travis, McKenna, Shirley, and Mitch

This Christmas was very different than other Christmases. My Grandpa Hall passed away on December 19th. It was my Mother's father. So we left Miami early to get out there for the funeral. I want to say thank you to the Nelsons and Erin for helping with the kids while I did all my last minute packing. Thank you also to every who have sent condolences to me. I really have felt loved.

It was nice to see my Uncle Mitch and Aunt Shirley whom I haven't seen in many years. The funeral ceremony was very nice. My parents have a wonderful church family.

On top of that I have just been overwhelmed and tired with the kids and I feel just thankful to have even gotten my decorations up this year! I did not get my Christmas cards out. I am only sending them to my family and a few close friends, but I still even have those on my kitchen counter and they lack stamps. I feel like I was run over by Christmas.

We did, however, have a wonderful time at my parent's house in Louisiana. My brother and his wife were there (Kevin and Brittany) and I love hanging out with them. More pictures and posts to come from our great week there.

The mall

We went to Southland Mall (btw, that website has the most staged pictures I've ever seen) on Friday to see Santa and ride the new carousel. Well the carousel is STILL not operational. We got all excited the weekend before Thanksgiving when we saw it being built. Every time we have gone since then we think it will be done. We thought for sure it would be working the week before Christmas but sit is till not - wonder what it going on with that! Poor McKenna keeps saying that someone needs to fix the merry go round!
Then we headed over to see Santa. McKenna screamed to the top of her lungs and Kourtney hid behind me. I guess the hispanic Santa with a thick accent didn't seem jolly enough for them. Oh well. McKenna did like this polar bear and even tried to share her bear with him.No, Blake's hands are not cold... he likes to grab hand fulls of his face and make himself bleed! I keep trying to take the gloves off and he keeps doing it!

Sitting by the Christmas tree in tank tops

Yeah, here is a December photo shoot. If you are up north and digging yourself out of snow every day... eat your heart out!
Kourtney is squinting with the hot Florida sun in her eyes.
Best Friends
Crazy girls

My hott hubby

We had a Christmas dinner last night. It was great getting all dressed up with Travis... we never see him in a tie anymore! We left all 3 kids and had a great night being alone together. I forgot what it was like! We laughed and flirted a lot. Thanks Anne, JT, and Tammy for watching the kids!

PS
Yes, this is my hair. It is much much shorter in the back than the front. When I tuck it behind my ears it looks like I have no hair at all!

Randomness

Scrub a dub dub!
What is this look? The days of the fingers are so long gone! This is an older picture.
All three kids playing
Just wait until I can talk!!!

My hair cut

Trying to be thankful...

... that at least I still have SOME hair left (barely)
... that my husband always tells me how pretty I am (even when I have bad hair cuts)
... that at least my hair place only costs $15
... that I won't have to spend $15 on a hair cut for a LONG time (like maybe a year)
... that my babysitter was still available when I went back a SECOND time to have her fix it (thanks Emily)
... that hair grows
... that when she got the razor to shave my neck I didn't start blubbering right then and there.
... that my feelings weren't too hurt when Kourtney saw me and started crying saying I don't like your hair!!!
... that I have a blog to vent on
... that I am joking about this right now instead of crying like I have been doing all morning

What's important

Are my files organized the way I like them... no. Are the coffee tables always dust free... no. Is the laundry always put away where it belongs... it is a daily struggle. Is dinner always a meat, veggie, and salad... hardly. Did I mop all my floors this week... don't check. Is my closet clean... no. Is my pantry organized... no. Is my refrigerator sparkling inside... no.

But... did I color this week with my girls... yes. Did stories get read... every day. Does everyone have clean underwear... you bet! Did we make it to a park... yes. Did everyone get a bath... yes, yes, and yes! Did I answer a million very important 4 year old questions... yes, plus one. Did I kiss my babies and tell them I loved them... all the time. Did we cuddle up on the couch together...

For the love of fruit

It's great that my girls love fruit. It is one of their favorite things to snack on. I usually keep bananas and apples in a fruit bowl on the middle of the island - the girls can reach them all by themselves. Travis prefers nectarines and plums, but they aren't always the best at the store.

Sometimes McKenna struggles with thinking that half of the apple is a handle, and the other half is to eat. She thinks that when you get done with the side you eat, the rest is no good. So this is what happened in just a matter of a couple hours this morning (Kourtney helped out too). I was distracted with Blake and getting dressed, but I think I may need to move the fruit bowl.

Hoodies

It was a bone chilling 53 degrees when I woke up this morning! I wanted to run through the streets shouting... except that I am a responsible mother of three. But I had to pull out the hoodies for the fun of it... and not because we really need them!

Smiles