I love decorating for Christmas and thanks to Ryan's mom, my mom, and after Christmas clearance sales, we finally have a healthy amount of holiday decorations.
The main tree...
The fancy tree...
If you're asking yourself how I have a fancy tree with so many little kids, I can assure you that it has already been knocked over twice. Thank goodness for the miracle of plastic ornaments.My new addition this year was an advent calendar I made at our girl's craft night a few weeks ago. It was super easy (thanks to my friend Mona and her vinyl hookup), it's basically just vinyl numbers on a plate charger, and the marker is a cute fuzzy ball glued onto a magnet...
I think my dear sweet husband has saved every single Christmas ornament he's ever had since birth, including the homemade variety from elementary school. (What can I say? He's a gentle giant...) He's too sentimental to throw them all out and I'm way too picky to put them all up, but I strung a select few with raffia and hung them on some of our garland. It turned out much better than expected... 
I have to give my props to Ryan for getting the lights up early this year, we usually end up with a better late than never situation, but this year he had them up Thanksgiving weekend.
Kaydree was a big help but Carver's idea of helping looked more like this... 
So with the lights up and the ornaments hung, all that's left to do is a little shopping. We're not die hard Black Friday people, but we can appreciate a good deal as much as the next guy. So yes, we had most of our holiday shopping 'in the bag' before noon on black Friday. BUT, I will say that was NO thanks to our black Friday trip to Wal-Mart (aka the corporate spawn of satan) where I have never seen so many white-trash and foul smelling people in one location in my entire life (and I live next to the Texas Motor Speedway, hot spot for nascar lovers and mullet lovers alike). We were pushed, shoved, and disrespected to the point where both Ryan and I were happy to cut our losses and get the heck out of there totally empty handed. I have 2 words for you Wal-Mart: NEVER AGAIN! (never again on black friday, that is...hey, i still need groceries). That whole experience made me happy that I spend the majority of my time at home, where we are ready for a relaxing and stress-free holiday season!
I think my dear sweet husband has saved every single Christmas ornament he's ever had since birth, including the homemade variety from elementary school. (What can I say? He's a gentle giant...) He's too sentimental to throw them all out and I'm way too picky to put them all up, but I strung a select few with raffia and hung them on some of our garland. It turned out much better than expected... I have to give my props to Ryan for getting the lights up early this year, we usually end up with a better late than never situation, but this year he had them up Thanksgiving weekend.Kaydree was a big help but Carver's idea of helping looked more like this... So with the lights up and the ornaments hung, all that's left to do is a little shopping. We're not die hard Black Friday people, but we can appreciate a good deal as much as the next guy. So yes, we had most of our holiday shopping 'in the bag' before noon on black Friday. BUT, I will say that was NO thanks to our black Friday trip to Wal-Mart (aka the corporate spawn of satan) where I have never seen so many white-trash and foul smelling people in one location in my entire life (and I live next to the Texas Motor Speedway, hot spot for nascar lovers and mullet lovers alike). We were pushed, shoved, and disrespected to the point where both Ryan and I were happy to cut our losses and get the heck out of there totally empty handed. I have 2 words for you Wal-Mart: NEVER AGAIN! (never again on black friday, that is...hey, i still need groceries). That whole experience made me happy that I spend the majority of my time at home, where we are ready for a relaxing and stress-free holiday season!
Elsie, Jackson, Ava
Jeffrey, Caitlin, Janeen, Jacks, & Brent
Mom, Dad, and Chris
Hanging out...
These two are becoming best buds more and more as they grow older. We are so blessed to have them in our family!
Anyone who says that there's not much difference between boys and girls needs to spend the day at my house. Carver has been especially wild and crazy lately. It's not uncommon to find him "monkeying around," he literally starts hopping around, climbing on things, and making monkey noises for no particular reason. We'll say, "are you a monkey Carver?" and he smiles and shakes his head yes. We all know to watch out for the words, "ready, set, GO!" as they are sure to be followed by some flying object, often Carver himself flying from couch to floor...hey, at least he gives us a warning. And then there's my personal favorite, when he hands me the tv remote and says "show peas" as in "please turn on my show now mom" - a truly male moment. Here are our 3 little mohawked babies, we call 'em our little mohicans... 
When thing's get quiet, that usually a red flag... Carver's doing something he shouldn't be. The other day I ran to get the phone and a few seconds later I noticed that it was unusually quiet. I ran to look for Carver in all the usual places but I couldn't find him anywhere. The only place left to look was the babies' room, and low and behold he had climbed into bed with Elsie (who had been napping). I found him patting her head and shoving her pacifier into her mouth saying "here sissy, here sissy."
Every once in a while the silence is a good thing, like the other day when Carver was just quietly reading Elsie a book while Ava looked on... 
Carver is normally the first one to jump out of a picture (which is why Kaydree's arms are always around him holding him still). But every once in a while I'll get a smile out of him and maybe even a pose...
When things get crazy, I'll hear Ryan telling Carver "Good thing you're cute..." But even though he's different from our girls and a little wild and crazy, I sure do love our little man!
O is for Olivia...
Luckily, there is no shortage of expectant mothers around here (the 3 girls and 1 boy club seems to be very popular lately...), so I'm sure I will get the chance to help out with another baby shower before I know it.
6-9 months is my favorite baby stage. They really start to pack on the chubs before becoming mobile and slimming down and looking like a big kid. I've always wanted a really REALLY fat baby, the kind that can hide stuff in their rolls...not a huge likelihood since Ryan and I were both pretty normal looking. I haven't been so lucky in this department thus far: Kaydree was pretty small, and it got a little better with Carver who was usually right around average. But my 2 girlies are pretty close to a wish come true. At their 6 month appointment, Elsie weighed in at 15 lbs. 14 oz. (50th percentile) and Ava weighed 16lbs. 8oz. (75th percentile). Both girls are in the 97th percentile for their height. So overall, even Elsie (the smaller of the 2) weighs more than both Kaydree and Carver did at her age, and both girls are longer as well...not bad considering their birth weights were much less than our older kids.
I have a couple of funny videos that I've been trying to upload but my computer just isn't havin' it so I'll have to try to put them on another post.
