New Year's Eve Dinner

We had a really fun time at dinner tonight with our friends Brad & Leslie.  We went to one of my favorite restaurants--the one where Lane and I went on our very first date in 2000.  We did not bring these hats and headbands--they were on all the tables as decoration.  :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

Alexee's new bed

Again, Blogger is making me mad!  It keeps deleting pictures and I can't get the text to align, etc.  I apologize for the weird formatting of this post.

First night in new bed--snuggled in:

She was so excited when Lane was putting her bed together on Tuesday evening.  She kept saying that she wanted pink and purple covers.  I could only find pink sheets at Target, but I hope to find another set with some purple in them.  She is currently using one of the quilts I've had since I was a little girl  until we can decide on something to match her pink and green walls.  I really really like this bedding below from The Land of Nod.  I like the white sheets, but I think a lilac polka-dot or something could be cute too.  She has a border in her room that has several pastel colors in it, so it could all tie together.  I'd also like to do some new paintings for her, but I haven't decided on specifics.  This will be a good January project--I hope to have her "big girl room" ready by her birthday in February and will share pictures then.

I guess the bed is comfortable! This morning she kept sleeping even after I went into her room and turned the light on dim.  Doesn't she look sweet surrounded by all her pink blankies!

A little more Christmas, etc.

***Blogger is not working right for me...pictures and text will not go where I want them to go.  Is anyone else experiencing technical difficulties?

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Two more Christmas Day pictures:

We had a super busy but productive day on Tuesday.  Bogart had to be at the vet early because he had to have surgery to remove a bladder stone.  He is sore, but home and doing fine.  He'll have to have stitches removed in two weeks, and he has to be on a special diet now (translation:  expensive diet) to try to prevent future stones.  I'm thankful he is okay--I was worried about him.  So Lane took him to the vet and came back home, then a friend of Lane's stopped by to pick up some baby gear that we are passing along to him and his wife.  They are expecting their first child in April.  I tried to focus on the fact that this meant less stuff for me to cram in the closet so that I didn't get sad and cry in front of Lane's friend.  Here's the gear and two of the sweet kids that used most of it!

 

Then Lane & Rhett rented a truck, picked up Alexee's "big girl bed"/mattress, brought that home, then took stuff from our garage to a small storage unit--lawn mower, leaf blower, spare mattress (wrong size for A's bed, unfortunately), etc. etc.  Lane can now park in the garage for the first time since we moved to this house--hooray!  Just in time for the January cold blasts that are sure to come our way.  Meanwhile I stayed at home to keep A & C and take down all the Christmas decorations--it was a MESS around here!  We then returned the rental truck and went to Target to buy sheets for A's new bed. We rushed home to wash those and take down C's old crib (loaned to us from L's parents), take down/move A's crib to C's room and then put up A's new bed (more on that in a later post).  We wanted to get all this done in time to return the loaner crib to L's parents the following day when we went to visit them.  Whew.  We were thrilled when all kids were asleep and we were finally able to sit down on the couch with a Sonic drink and a bowl of popcorn!  It feels good to mark things off the to-do list though!

So that brings us to Wednesday.  We left early and stopped at the donut shop, then went to Hot Springs for a post-Christmas visit with L's parents and brother's family.  Rose Mary cooked a delicious lunch--ham, potato casserole, green beans, salad and bread.  She made brownies for dessert and I took a buttermilk pie.

Bobba reading to Alexee:

Grammy feeding Crosby a bottle:

Group Photo

Christmas Morning

We had a wonderful Christmas day!
Here is our Christmas Eve/Christmas Day album.

And here is another album of holiday events leading up to Christmas.

We hope you had a very blessed time with your loved ones, too!

Crosby at 9 months

                                       

Our HAPPY baby boy celebrated his first Christmas yesterday.  It was so much fun.  In typical Crosby style, he sat quietly and watched all the chaos around him.  Rhett and Alexee were sweet to help him open things and show him the gifts. Santa brought him a red wagon, and he looked so cute sitting in it--all smiles.

Today he is 9 wonderful months old, and today is the day he figured out how to crawl!  He's been so close for weeks, but this morning he realized how to make his knees go.  He'll have all sorts of things to explore now.  He also said his first word the weekend before Christmas...he said, "Ma Ma"!  Oh how I love this boy!  :)  I thought that's what he said, but I wasn't sure so I didn't say anything.  Mom and Micaela were sitting there in the living room at my parents' house and they both said, "Did you hear him?  He said Ma Ma!"  Then when Lane's parents came to visit he said it again and they heard him, so I have several witnesses and it's officially going in the baby book as his first word.  :)  He is trying to pull up on the ottoman and the side of the bath tub and anything else he can get close to.  Both R and A both walked right at their first birthdays.  I wonder if C will follow that pattern or walk a little earlier.

He is sleeping through the night consistently now--yippee!--I usually wake him up to give him a bottle around 11:30 p.m. and he sleeps from then until about 6:15 a.m.  He has three teeth (all on the bottom) and has just started feeding himself little Gerber snacks like puffs and yogurt melts.  A lot of them get stuck to his clothes and cheeks, but he has fun trying.

I just started giving him baths in the real tub three nights ago.  He sits upright in a little convertible seat so that he doesn't slip.  He was instantly fascinated with the water coming from the faucet and liked to put his hands under it.  It brought back sweet memories of Rhett at that size because he loved doing that same thing.

It's been an amazing 9 months with this little guy!  What a blessing he is!

Update:

At 9 month check-up on 12/31 Crosby weighed 22 lb. 7 oz.

and measured 28 1/2" in length.

Thankful for a healthy boy!

Christmas Eve night at our house

Cookies for Santa.  And a few for R & A.

 

Lane reading the kids Christmas books in the playroom before bed.

 

Rhett looking out his window to see if he could spot Santa in the night sky.

Christmas Eve church service

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Christmas celebration with Grammy & Bobba

On Tuesday Lane's parents came to visit for the day, and they arrived with all sorts of great gifts that the kids loved!  Rhett got a file box & hanging folders (yes, one of his Christmas wishes), an awesome art set that I hope to get to borrow, binoculars and a very nice 50 states quarter set that Bobba has been collecting for a long time--it's so neat and such a special keepsake.  Alexee got a very cute sleeping doggie with sleeping bag and sleep mask and a Little People Carnival set--she really likes Little People.  She already had the school bus and she received a house from my parents, so she has a fun LP town to play with!  Crosby got fun baby toys and a very cute "1st Christmas" bib which he's worn several times this week, and it's washed and ready for tomorrow.  Lane's parents took us to lunch at Mimi's Cafe and then came back to play with the kids for the afternoon.  I didn't get a group picture, but we hope to get to visit them next week and see Lane's brother and his family, so more pictures then!  Again, we are so blessed by our family!

Gingerbread houses

One of the fun things we did at my parents' house last weekend was put together gingerbread houses. Thanks, Aunt Kala, for bringing these! We had icing on everything within 10 feet of the breakfast table, but it was good entertainment.

Jaiden opening her gingerbread house kit.

Helping the kids construct the walls.

Mic & Jaiden

Jeryn decorating.

Rhett adding a gingerbread tree with great precision.

Mic & kids...just before the roof collapsed (notice Jaiden's expression)

Ooops. Oh well, they really just wanted to eat them anyway.

Yum!

Rhett & Alexee before they started eating the roof of their house.

I don't know which one of them thought of this first, but they all thought it was a great idea!

Fun times!