Christmas!!!

The kids in their new pajamas that they got to open on Christmas Eve!!! They were all too big, but that's better than being too small!

Cooper's 1st Christmas!!! Poor guy had a major snotty nose and little cough going on.

Gracie with her Hide-and-Seek Elephant from Granny!

Lindsey making the "ooooh ooooh eeeeeh eeeeh" monkey sound with her Hide-and-Seek Monkey.

Little Miss Muffins from Heidi...

Cooper's Cop Car from Grandma and Granddad...

Disney Princess Colored Pencils from Grandma and Granddad...

Santa's footprints leading from the fireplace to the back door where the kids found a new swingset waiting!!! I copied this idea from a friend's blog (thanks Michelle)!!! Gracie went and peeked before we had any cameras rolling but she came running into our room saying, "I saw Santa's footprints! I saw Santa's footprints! Come look! Come look!!!" It was so cute!

Of course her OCD kicked in later and she said that we needed to clean them up. Haha! Poor little thing.

More shots of Cooper on his 1st Christmas! Cute little grinner!

The girls have missed being held by their Daddy (double hernia surgery) so Lindsey snuggled in beside him. I didn't realize until posting this picture that Gracie has a Little Miss Muffin on each knee. I love my cute little family!

We had a wonderful Christmas! Thank you everyone for all our fun gifts!!!

O' Christmas Tree

We heard singing and found Gracie all by herself in the living room, singing her little heart out to our Christmas tree. What a sweetie!

My Monkeys!

I had to take some pictures of Cooper with his first spaghetti! He loved it! I'm glad getting tubes in his ears and his tongue clipped hasn't affected his appetite! He's acted like nothing even happened. Thank goodness because I was worried he would be in a lot of pain and that he wouldn't be able to drink his bottle with stitches in his mouth. He's done wonderfully!

We found Lindsey in this position and had to laugh! When we took her picture Gracie wanted one too, so here are my little monkeys! Gracie stayed home from church with a snotty nose and cough so that's why Lindsey is dressed up and she isn't. Of course Lindsey has joined in the sickness since then. It never ends!

I've never seen someone get a food ring all the way around their mouth! She sure enjoyed those oreos! We had to tease her that she was trying to look like Daddy.

Local Wildlife

This post is for my dad. We've got "cows" in the field behind our house and they sometimes wade in the pond. These ones are my favorite because it cracks me up that their ears, head, and nose are red. They are so fluffy too! I wish you could tell better in the picture.
This one almost let me pet it! I got a little scared. She had kind of crazy eyes. It's weird to me that the females have the horns and the males don't. There was a black one with horns too that charged toward me. I'm glad the fence was there. Haha!

I heard some geese really close the other day and when I looked out the dining room window they swooped down and landed in the pond. I couldn't get a close picture and it was raining so most of the pictures I took were too dark. I liked the coloring in this one though.

Coop's First Haircut

Cooper's hair was long and stringy in some places and really short in other places so I decided it was time for a haircut. I wasn't sure how to go about this so Tim suggested his beard trimmer. We ended up having to do his whole head so he has a buzz.

At first I really didn't like it and Tim did. Now that I've seen these pictures I realize it does look better. At least it's all the same length anyway. My handsome baby boy!!!

He's been standing all by himself without leaning on things for support and yesterday he took about five wobbly steps! My cute little man is growing up!

BEFORE . . .

AFTER . . .

Love You Forever

I remember my Mom reading this book to us and I've always loved it! I bought it when Gracie was born so that I could read it and sing it to her and all our other kids. When she sat in the rocking chair and started singing it to her lamb I had to catch it on video because it was so precious!!!

It's called Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and it makes me cry every time!

I MISS FOOD!!!

Food is one of my most favorite things and lately I'm not satisfied (except for Thanksgiving dinner of course).

By the time I get the kids' plates ready and sit down to eat my own, someone has spilled something and I have to clean it up. Typically once that mess is cleaned up and I sit down once again to eat, another mess happens! AaaaHhhh! And since all three kids are still so young, we're guaranteed at least one spill per meal.

By then my food is usually cold and the kids are done and need washed up and want down. Repeat this process three times a day and I have had enough. Plus, I've never enjoyed cooking and I usually spend a good chunk of the day trying to think of what to make for dinner. Once I spend a good deal of time making a meal, the kids just look at it, and when we make them at least try it, they spit it out. Gracie has been eating pretty good lately, but it's not always the case.

Anyway, mealtime is one (three) of those times when I think people who say we're going to miss this stage definitely have selective memories.

Tim has been asking me what I want to eat for dinner on my birthday, and I do love my kids, but my answer is: Get a sitter and take me out!!! PLEASE! I can't remember what it's like to sit down, eat my food in peace, and not have to clean up messes!