Nathan's Party

Nathan had his nose buttered this morning...it's a family tradition! :)

His party was at my parents' house because my house couldn't get clean in time. We are still sorting through Christmas stuff. So, here Nathan is at the party with a plate of pizza and clementimes. He's making a funny gesture, I know...he's probably wondering where the cake is?!

After delicately trying the frosting, he picked up that whole piece of cake and shoved it in!

Yep, he's a fan!

Trying out the rocking plane we got him. I love this gift--it was a good deal and it's so cute!

He looks so sweet looking at his new book from the Henleys!

Posing with Dad. This is 18 month clothes, by the way. He fits into them nicely!

The only picture of Samuel we were able to get. He was feeling camera shy.

Hunter and Lily showing off their new Christmas clothes. The gray/black theme was not intentional but it is cute!

The 4 siblings on my side: Andrea, Derek, Me, Steve

I think Nathan had a good time. He really seemed to enjoy all his gifts! This year absolutely flew by and I am always bittersweet about the kids' birthdays. But I know that he's at such a precious age and will be sweeter and funnier as time goes on. Bye-bye baby days!

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Nathan is 1 year old today!! I can't believe it. Or maybe it seems like it's been longer?! I don't know. A quick rundown of what he's up to:
sleeps through the night (he's not been a consistent sleeper but he does better now),
naps pretty well but mainly at home,
loves people,
loves to hit people in the head with his head (he's a boy!),
loves to eat,
getting used to milk and a sippy cup,
says "Mama, Dada, go, nigh-nigh" and we think we heard him say "cracker" in his own way but we'll see if he does it again! :)
And, Nathan is starting to get mad when he doesn't get what he wants!!

Last Christmas Celebration

The day after Christmas is when my side of the family has started celebrating Christmas. I like it because it's something fun after the big day and we aren't trying to cram everything in before the 25th!! We had a lot of fun opening gifts, eating (we graze on appetizer-type foods all day!!) and playing games. The guys were almost all crying from laughing so I think that's a good sign of fun!

Similar pose as Christmas Eve but with different clothes! Gray theme this year. :)

Mr. and Mrs. Claus. (My parents)

Kathryn was really into presents...how cute is this picture??

Where was Nathan during present opening? Bed again. Poor thing missed his 1st Christmases at the families due to naps.

Trying out Pictionary Man...guys v. girls. Girls won (again)!! That's Brian, Derek, Jamie and Steve.

Nathan and Kathryn eating together.

Andrea looking innocent but she had been texting--at Christmas!! Boo!

My wonderful family!

Brian helping Hunter learn to play his Nintendo DSi.

Lily figuring hers out.

Nathan got this wagon and is so funny with it. He pushes it forward on his knees and then stands up and walks backwards to reverse it. Cutie!!

Samuel loves his iXL (is that what it's called?) and is really into playing the music...he loves to sing and dance!

Merry Christmas!

Yet again this year, I was practically the 1st one up. My kids have not gotten into getting up at the crack of dawn. Everyone was up in good time and we were able to open presents at 7am. It was a lot of fun! We spent the whole day in and just relaxed and spent time together. I love Christmas!

Seriously, Nathan's toys were the hit for all the kids. Samuel barely lets him play with anything.

I like this picture because, yes, Samuel fell asleep but he still has Hunter's "night vision binoculars" in his hands and that's what counts. Sharing issues!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated Christmas with Brian's side of the family. It was a beautiful snowy day--I think we ended up with 8 inches!! :) That took Brian some time to clear--Santa didn't bring a snowblower this year, either, so it's a time consuming, exhausting thing to clear all that. Later that day, we had some time of presents and family time. Growing up, my family always opened presents from each other on Christmas Eve and saved the bulk of presents (from Santa, of course) for Christmas Day so I kind of copy that. :)

All the kids, ready to go!!

My 1st Christmas!

Trying to wait patiently...

Lee and BJ

Jeff, Lisa and Barb

Samuel bonding with Macy.

This is what Nathan was doing most the day...he had been sick with a cold and just passed out after lunch. He slept about 3 hours, I think.

Getting into present opening with Carley and Brian.

These are the pajamas Nathan received at our house on Christmas Eve. How cute is he??

The other 3 kids got robes and slippers and they were so excited. Hunter had been asking for a robe like Anden (his cousin) and some new slippers since his others had gotten too small.

We also opened a couple Wii games so we had fun playing those before bedtime!

Christmas Break

We have been on Christmas break from school and Brian's Bible study so we are home together all the time and it's a nice break from the regular pace. We have had some days of sleeping in and some pajama days. One day before Christmas, I had the kids help me with a couple projects. One was making homemade play dough. We scented it with peppermint extract and added some red glitter. They were very proud and played with it forever!

Christmas Program

Tonight was the twins' Christmas program for school. It was a play about Operation Christmas Child and the kids all sang throughout the play. Hunter and Lily BOTH did a fantastic job. Lily's got some flair going on in her performing skills. Hunter participated--and did it well--through the whole thing. It was amazing--I can't even tell you!!

Hunter and Lily in their special outfits. Samuel jumped in for a picture, which is fine because he's hard to get in a photo these days. I love, love, love Lily's dress. Her shoes are the best but they are shown in a photo that isn't as good of all the kids...

Nathan just automatically does this face when he sees a camera light. And he's the 4th child so I feel pretty good about that! He was so good during the program--I was amazed since it was his bedtime.

Lily, ready to sing. You can see her 2 BFFs--Alexis and Laura--in this picture so that's fun.

Hunter--next to his friend, Ty.

Aunt Nikki

My good friend, Nichole, is "Aunt Nikki" to the kids. It was that time of year again so she came over to give them a Christmas present and then take off with me to go out and have fun away from the kids. The kids keep begging for her to baby-sit so I guess we better arrange that so they can spend more time with her. :)

Here's the kids enjoying their Christmas presents:

Stockings!

After Samuel was born, I bought the cutest stockings for the 3 kids. I loved them! After Nathan was born, I looked at adding the same stocking for him but they were discontinued. I was so disappointed but then I saw these in Pottery Barn. I loved the variety and the size and everything!! So, here are our new stockings--for life!