Christmas Part II

The festivities rolled on!

In between our family celebration and Christmas Eve, which was spent with Bryan's family, we got in lots of fun times, enjoying having Bryan's brothers and my sister home for Christmas. 

On Christmas Eve, we opened presents and had a wonderful meal with Bryan's parents, brothers, and grandparents. 

Puzzles before dinner

 Mimi getting lots of laughs

 Lots of big boxes this year.

I got this one of Blake right before he left to play drums in the Christmas Eve service at church. 

 Its easy to get a smile from this guy. 

 Playing blocks with Uncle Brandon and Uncle Brad

 Granna and Grandad

 My handsome boys

 Makenah and Logan with their great grandparents.

 We started unwrapping. Makenah was helping Logan open his gift.

Makenah got the 2012 American girl doll from Mimi and Papa. The doll for the year was named McKenna

 Showing Logan how to use his new drum. And, lucky for us, the drum is full of other great noise making instruments!

 Helping Daddy.

 New dirt bike helmet for Brad!

 Logan got a Carhart jacket from Uncle Blake, and it is about the cutest thing. Now he fits right in with all the guys. 

 This large box was intriguing to all of us. It was to Makenah from her 3 uncles. We had no clue what it could be, but everyone was really excited to see! They did a good job taking it slow with her and opening it gingerly, knowing she can be a little timid at times. 

The label had us guessing: Do not open if you are allergic to any of the following: Hugs, kisses, laughing til you cry, cuddling, showing your teeth, oohs and ahhs, warm fuzzy feelings, pure awesomeness, belly laughs, and cheek cramps.

 It was the biggest teddy bear EVER!!!

The bear is like 6 ft tall and weighed almost 30 pounds!

It was such a cool present and so neat of them to get! All three of the guys are so sweet with the kids and gave such thoughtful presents. I think its awesome they went on the hunt for such a great present for her. Makenah definitely approved. Teddy Graham, as he has been named, is still spending the night at Mimi and Papa's until he can find a fitting home with us. We're going to need to search for the right space. Ha!

 Bringing in the Santa sack. We just missed Santa, but he left this bag with some gifts on the porch!

 Makenah posing with the sack. This santa sack dates back to Christmas 30 years ago when they brought Bryan home from the hospital on Christmas. 

Makenah and Mimi

 Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. 

 Another awesome day as a family!

We are so thankful for family and blessed by each one of them. 

Christmas Part I

On the evening of Friday, December 21st we decided to have our family Christmas time with the kids here at our house, before we ventured to grandparents houses in the coming days to celebrate. Bryan was on call for his group from the 22nd-26th, so we wanted to make sure and choose a time when we knew he wouldn't get called away. And, the bonus of being in Garden City with both of our families now is that both sets of grandparents and even uncles and an aunt got to come watch the kids open presents. 

We had a snacky/appetizer type supper and then sat around and enjoyed the special time as a whole group.

First, just a few pretty shots of Christmas decor. 

 Our family ornament for this year

 My favorite decoration. I would love to add more pieces to this Nativity scene. 

 Our stockings. Without a mantle in our home right now, we found a nice place beneath a big window.

 The tree. 

 On my kitchen counter.

 Makenah's ornament for this year. 

 Logan's ornament. 

In the living room.

Giving Grandpa and Grandma a workout!

 Makenah showing off her ornaments.

 Opening stockings.

Makenah's little tool set for her to take to the shop when she goes out to work there with Daddy. He does woodwork and dirt bike work there, and she likes to be out there with him. Now, she has her own little set to take along. 

 Cuteness. 

 Exploring his new tent.

Makenah and Logan got a basketball goal...we've been enjoying shooting hoops. 

 Mimi and Papa.

 Aunt Jenna helping Logan slam it. 

 With uncle Blake.

 Opening her new dollhouse.

 Setting up the rooms. 

We had an awesome night as a big family. The kids really enjoyed all the gifts we had picked out for them, and it was extra special being together to watch their joy.

Our family Christmas pictures

We were lucky to have a family team, taking our Christmas picture this year. We had Bryan's dad behind the camera and his mom and grandparents assisting and acting silly. You never know how its going to go when you throw a camera in front of the kids. Makenah was in a bit of a daze for awhile, but I really liked how our card turned out. 

Here are some of my favorites.

It's been 7 years

On December 30, while we were trekking through airports in DC and Denver with the kids, Bryan and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. While we balanced kids, luggage, and tickets, made it through security, and tried to figure out which train to take to which concourse, we shouted "Happy Anniversary," at each other, smiled and laughed together, and off we went. I wouldn't have had it any other way! 

I love this man SO much. 

(Dancing at our wedding)

Happy Anniversary to my guy.

Logan (8 months)

Well, here's our smily boy. Happy as can be, 8 months old (and now even older...). 

These weeks for Logan were a time of lots of growth and fun. He is always on the move, and is a super fast crawler. It makes us laugh to see how quick he can get from one place the another. He is usually on a mission. 

He is holding steady on his sleeping patterns at night and during the day. He takes a good morning and afternoon nap. 

Look at those lashes. Feel free to give that picture a click if you want to oggle them closer. He definitely has Bryan's long long lashes, and his big blues melt my heart. 

Lots of drool coming out of his mouth lately, but no teeth to be seen. That is not an issue for him though, as this month he completely gave up baby food and switched to all table and finger foods. He loves to feed himself, and does a great job. He'll let me feed him occasionally with a spoon if its something good/sweet/"real" food, but don't try to sneak anything pureed in there. 

I mentioned it in his 7 month post, but he pulled to standing just before he turned 8 months old, and thinks he is big stuff now. He's steady and quite strong, and likes to stand beside the coffee table, his bouncer, the cupboards, chairs, etc. 

Lots of sweet babbles and noises coming for this boy. Babababa is his sound of choice. 

Bath time is still a favorite for Logan, and he loves to splash big time. I usually end up pretty wet by the time we are done. Makenah is a good sport, because he's usually trying to crawl and splash all over the bathtub.
And, during this month, Logan got to enjoy his first Thanksgiving. You can bet he sampled some of the fixins'!

We sure LOVE our Logan.
Stay tuned for more on this sweetheart.

So much

It's just about driving me crazy that I haven't been able to sit down and document our happenings on the blog lately. I am trying to make myself feel better by at least mentioning the fact that there should be lots of good pictures and sharing to come. And, if I write them down, maybe I will shock myself into getting some of them done. 

So, here's a list of some stuff you can expect to see. 

~Logan's 8 and 9 month update. (He will be 10 months in less than 2 weeks.) Yikes.

~iPhone happenings, including Bryan's birthday.

~Our family Christmas

~Christmas with the Billings Family

~Christmas with the Stucky Family

~My brother's wedding in Virginia

~Our 7th wedding anniversary

Big events. Celebrations. Travel. Sickness. Family. Love.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior! 

Love and blessings from our family.

Happy Birthday Bryan!

Today is Bryan's 30th birthday and I couldn't be more thankful for him! I could write blog post after blog post about how wonderful he is! He's my perfect match, best friend, parenting partner, confidant, and the love of my life. 

A few things...

~Bryan makes me laugh big time, every single day. We have so much fun together and we get each others jokes. 

~He's such a hard worker. I am so thankful for all he does to provide for our family. 

~Bryan is a great Daddy! He teaches the kids new things, makes them laugh, snuggles them tight and protects them.

~Bryan is so easy going, calm, and happy. I am thankful to have a husband with such a positive outlook on things. 

~He's exciting! Even though you won't often find me tagging along on all his outdoor adventures, I think the things he does are SO COOL. 

~Bryan is a stand up guy--respectful, kind, thoughtful and generous. 

I am so thankful for Bryan, and I am so proud of the man he is. 

Happy Birthday!!