T'was the Night Before...

Christmas!!

We started the day by making yummy goodies and delivering them to several neighbors and friends. I had this grand idea that we would spend all this time baking together as a family but it didn't really pan out that way. Abby and Landon seemed to be more interested in watching where Santa was on NORAD instead. I at least had fun in the kitchen!!

That evening we had our traditional pizza for dinner and then headed down to Williamsport to see their holiday light display. We came back home and after reading and watching Luke 2, we reenacted our own version of that first Christmas complete with Nolan as Baby Jesus, Abby as Mary and Landon playing duel roles as Joseph and a Wise Man (per his request!)

Then it was time for the first gifts of Christmas...

Nolan seemed to be quite enthralled with his gift (or at least the wrapping paper part!)...

While Landon and Abby tore open their matching pajamas...

And new family game!!

They loved their new pajamas and especially liked how they all matched!! (It isn't easy finding the same pajama set for 6 months-5T but thanks to Amazon, I was able to make it happen. Actually Amazon is where most of our Christmas came from this year!!)

After sending the kidlets off to bed, it was time for Santa and Mrs. Claus to get to work for the next morning's festivities. For the first time ever, none of the gifts required any assembly which means that we merely had to set them out and then got to enjoy the rest of our evening!!

Landon and his requested "Superhero" costumes...

Nolan and his new tool set (not really requested but enjoyed nonetheless!)...

And Abby's much requested art kit...

Next up...Christmas Morning!!!

Gingerbread in the House!

We spent Nolan's nap time on Christmas Eve building our gingerbread house. I actually found a "pre-built" house on clearance at the grocery store that day so all we had to do was add the candy. SWEEEEEET!!!

Landon tried the "lying on the table" vantage point to add his candy onto the house!

And Abby was very careful about which candies would go where!

The finished product...

It only lasted about two days before it was so picked over that I finally chucked it in the trash. It sure was fun while it lasted though!!

Temple Lights

On Friday, December 23 we visited the Washington DC Visitor's Center to see all the Christmas lights. I think everyone else had the same idea because it was PACKED, but we still had a great time...

Nolan was utterly amazed by the beauty of all the lights...

Landon didn't love waiting in line in order to see the nativities from around the world...

But finally decided that is was well worth the wait!

Abby loved this purple-lighted tree because it matched her coat!

It was like walking through a winter wonderland for the kids!

I still wish they did the live nativity (the mannequin dolls always creep me out just a little) but I probably wouldn't ever volunteer to sit out there night after night so I guess I can't complain!

The lights on the hundreds of trees still can't compare to the beauty of the temple though!!

It was a fun way to spend "the Eve of Christmas Eve!"

Growing Up

You don't always notice the day-to-day changes in your baby...but then you see some pictures from a few months before and you realize how much they have grown!

Here is Nolan in the newborn outfit at 1 month...


And here he is in the same outfit at 6 months...

Here is Nolan in the 12 month outfit at 1 month...

And again at 6 months...

My how this boy has grown!!

Half Birthday!

I'll be posting some Christmas pictures soon, but before we get to that, there's a certain special little man who is celebrating his half birthday today...

I cannot believe Nolan is 6 months old already. I wish there was a "pause" or at the very least a "slow down" button to push because he is growing up way too fast!

Nolan continues to be a pure joy in our lives. We get comments all the time about what a happy little baby he is and they are right. As long as he's fed and not too sleepy, he's as happy as can be!

He is now rolling all over the place (no more leaving him on beds or couches while I do something else!) and has recently starting putting EVERYTHING in his little mouth (including his toes...I think he just likes to show off his flexibility for us all!

We have tried a few solid foods so far, but he only seems to really like one food...mommy's milk! He is actually enjoying bananas somewhat too but everything else gets blown right out when he prefers to blow "blueberries" with it.

For a few months now he has been sleeping from 8 p.m. to about 4 a.m. at night, eating and then going back to bed until about 8 a.m. I was pretty happy with this schedule, but now he seems to be extending his night until about 6:30-7:00 a.m. which really makes me happy!!

He's definitely our smallest baby, but is super tall and still growing like a champ. He can sit by himself for a bit and I know it won't be too long until he can do it for longer periods of time.

He loves bouncing up and down in his exercauser or lying on the floor with all of his many toys. Of course between the four of us who want to be squeezing him, he ends up in somebody's arms for most of the day. I think between us all he also ends up with about a thousand kisses on those little cheeks everyday!

We just love this little man so much...I mean look at him!! How could you not fall instantly in love with this sweet boy?!?!

Christmas Outtakes

I was amazed that I was able to get such good Christmas pictures of all three kids on the last post. Trying to get three young children to all look at the camera at the same time(and not look too weird) is always a challenge.

These two pictures didn't quite make the cut though...

(Nolan and Abby aren't too bad, although Nolan looks a bit squished. Landon on the other hand....)

This pictures just cracks me up...

Abby looks drunk and apparently Nolan just punched Landon in the face (and I think Landon liked it!)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!!

(We had grand plans of lining all of our gables with lights this year, but after lining just the garage, we decided that was enough and concentrated on areas a bit lower to the ground!.)

We hope you all have a very happy, fun and peaceful Christmas day!!

Old St. Nick

We were able to get in a visit with Santa himself just before Christmas this year. Landon wasn't about to sit on his lap, but at least he was okay with standing nearby. He also told Santa what he wanted for Christmas this year...a transformer (just like his cousin Tyler got at Thanksgiving), a camera and a remote control car. We'll soon see if Santa was able to fulfill his requests...

Nolan was pretty fascinated with Santa, especially his beard. He kept pulling on it, probably trying to determine if this guy was the real deal or not. The white hair and beard were all real on this Santa Nolan!

Abby loves Santa and wasn't at all shy to tell him what was on her Christmas wish list...

A camera, a craft jewelry box (like her cousin Paige got at Thanksgiving), and an art kit!

For some odd reason, Landon was more wary about posing with the real Santa than this fake one (I thought the fake one was a bit creepy myself!)

Merry Christmas Eve...
the most magical night of year!!