Daddy Looked A Lot Like Santa...

Or, Santa looked a lot like him.

You'd think that if Santa made a personal visit to your home you'd get a decent picture of the kids in his lap.

Think again!

And it just went downhill from there.

Even Santa doesn't look so jolly.

That's because he was a little stressed out.  He was kindly volunteered for this job by his wife, just a few short days prior to the church Christmas party.  I knew he'd do great.  But, I failed to consider how much he likes to take something like this and be awesome at it.  That's because I know he'll be awesome at it without trying.  But, he puts a ton of effort into it anyway.

Thankfully, we did have a brief happy and cute moment.

Ah hah, this photo makes me laugh!

And to be honest, I was a little stressed out too.  I had a few things I needed to get ready for the party--and a super grumpy toddler.  Not to mention, Santa's personal assistant.  Just not a good night for photos.

Dinner was an event.  Trey was in rare form.  He and I wound up eating on the floor, pretending like the rest of the world didn't exist.  It sounds worse than it was.  In fact, I think the quiet was good for both of us.

Next up was the Nativity, put on by the children.  Unfortunately, after snapping a couple quick photos, I had to hurry off to help Santa with his complicated wardrobe.  And I missed the Nativity.  But, I heard great things about it.

Can you see my sweet little angel?  I just love her.

And my pensive shepherd.

Love his sweet face.

We got Santa ready to go with not a moment to spare--the kids were singing for him as he hurried to the stage.

Tallest Santa ever?

And then my fabulous husband sat in that chair for, I think, about an hour and a half as kid after kid came and sat in his lap.

Now, let me tell you something--I stood on the stage for a little while and I was hot from all the stage lights.  In short sleeve shirt and just pants.

Santa had that toasty suit, plus all kinds of padding underneath (because he was so concerned about looking the part!).  He was roasting!  He had a couple "assistants" taking turns fanning him, but he was literally soaking by the end of the night!

A sacrifice I don't think I could have made.  But, he did it and he did it cheerfully.  A few kids even walked away saying, "That was the real Santa!"  Including one friend's son who had actually been informed before hand that it would be Blake in the Santa suit.  But, after sitting in his lap, he decided that no, it was actually Santa and not Blake.

Blake must have some serious Santa Skills.

One final picture with a girl who had been a little shy, but really wanted a picture with Santa.

Thanks for being the kind of guy that I could volunteer with perfect assurance, Blake!

Feed Me, Seymour!

Am I comparing my darling baby girl to an over-sized, human-eating plant?

Well, a little bit.  Yes.

We had one day a few weeks ago where Lanaya was just a little grumpy and out of sorts all day.  For her, at least.  Which is still pretty dang happy and content compared to my other babies.

Finally, at dinnertime, I took a minute to really clue in and try to assess the situation.  Which is when I noticed that she was eying my food as I ate it bite by bite with some intense interest and jealousy.  So, I went to the pantry and whipped up some baby oatmeal and we broke out the cameras and had a very impromptu "first meal".

I've never had a baby so ready.

And so "old hat" about it.

Normally, we get the best funny faces after that first bite.  This was hers.

Sort of anti-climatic.  And then, she just leaned in to devour the next bite.  In fact, that was the funniest part about her first feeding--how crazy enthusiastic she was about it.  It still took about 20 "spoon wipes" of the face to get a single bit all the way swallowed, but if I was too slow in getting the next bite there, she completely freaked out!  I've never seen her that anxious about anything!

Kayli was our videographer.  While Bryce just kept enjoying his own dinner.

And the food issue seems to have been what was wrong with her all day.

Once she'd finished two servings of cereal, my uber happy baby was back in full form!

As You Can See, I Have Confidence In Me!

That truly is a great song.

And we're building confidence here like there is no tomorrow.

This is Lanaya's Awesomeness.  Daddy thinks we should cut it off.  Fortunately, Lanaya and I have the confidence that she is so adorable, she can totally pull the "wild, uneven hair" look off.

Lanaya is also building confidence in her upper body strength skills.  She is no longer afraid of Tummy Time.  At least, not the first 3 minutes of Tummy Time.

Zima is trying to be confident that we did not bring yet another small person to grow up and pull her tail and her whiskers.  Keep hoping, Zima...

And there is nothing like finding a kindred spirit to boost your confidence in how awesome you look when you suck your thumb while snuggling your blanket/sheet up to your nose.

She happens to be one of our fabulous neighbors.  They actually took the time out of their Saturday to come support the kids at their most recent violin recital.  Family is a big deal out here, so anytime the kids participate in anything, they get to see that everyone else and grandparents and aunts and uncles along to support and cheer them on.  While my kids have their parents.  And some less-than-interested younger siblings.

Yay us!

So, having someone there just to clap for them was hugely special and wonderful.  Thank you, Neighbors!

Have I mentioned how much I love my pretty princess?

I love her instructor, too.  Even if she only just made it into this photo.  She accompanied Kayli on the violin.  It was beautiful.  And she kept her eyes focused on her violin the whole time.  This is something she struggles with in practice, so I was super proud of her.

And here's my little Stud Muffin.

He might have messed up a bit in the middle.  But, he rocked his bow circles.  I couldn't be more proud.

And in our final display of confidence, Blake and I found this in Kayli's notebook one night while we were cleaning the kitchen:

Note to Self:  My family is awesome!

Tree Time

This was the first year that decorating the tree wasn't stressful and somewhat disastrous.  It's so fun having my kids grow and become more capable!

So, what is my excuse for so few pictures?  I think I was having too much fun participating.

They had a lot of fun determining which ornaments belong to each of us and reminiscing about all the ornaments they received in years past.

And the decorations weren't quite as concentrated this year.  I only had to fix two overly-loaded branches when it was all done.

Isn't it pretty?  This sight just makes me feel all happy and Christmas-y.

And I had to share this amazing photo.  All four children looking at the camera AND smiling!  The secret?  I said, "I'm only going to take two pictures, so cooperate."

I slipped and took three.  Photos #2 and #3 turned out terrible.  So, there's a lesson to be learned here.  Or maybe, just a small Sunday miracle.

Happenings From High And Low

There have been some big firsts around here lately.

Thanks to Blake, we now have Christmas lights hung on the exterior of our house for the first time ever.

This photo highlights one of the key differences between myself and Blake.  I would never ever ever ever let the kids on the roof.  Like, ever.

Scroll down through the next set of photos rapidly to see Lanaya's latest achievement:

I love her face!

That's right, she finally managed to roll over a couple of weeks ago.  We are so proud.

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving was monumental.

Our first year on our own.

My first turkey.

We were sad to not be with our family (especially, two brand new babies--one born to my sister and one to Blake's sister), but I decided to focus on making the meal epic as consolation.

And because an epic meal just sounds fun, doesn't it?

I knew this day would one day come, so I've been looking up on turkey recipes for years.  I decided that brining was the way to go.

So, I made this brine morning before.

While I was at it, I baked up my first pecan pie, as well.  Yum!

And this was the very technical and professional style with which we brined that turkey.

I was a little nervous the bag would pop in the night and leave my fridge in disastrous condition, but it looked just like this the next morning.

But, before I could tend to it, we headed off for the turkey trot!

I forgot to edit these photos before uploading them and I've yet to be able to get blogger to upload edited photos once it has uploaded the originals--anyone else know how?

So, if you look closely, you'll see Bryce in a grey t-shirt running next to his friend in an orange t-shirt near the back of the pack here in the 1-miler.  Yes, they are in t-shirts.  We had perfect running weather on Thanksgiving morning.

A couple years ago, they had subzero temps and snow causing several people to back out.  So grateful for this year's weather!

Blake and I, pre-race.  Game on.

Kayli just before the finish line for the mile run.

Bryce and his buddy just before the finish line.

Amazing how proud/excited/happy these ribbons made them.

And then it was time for the 5K.  A huge thanks to our friend Jon for keeping an eye on Kayli and Bryce while we ran.

Blake made this mistake of boxing me in right at the starting line.  He claims this was an accident.  He found out what happens when you box me in.

I took this picture of Blake coming up on the finish line.

Yeah, you do the math.

The Ropers who Ran.  Blake is smiling through the shame of being "wifed".

Back to the food!

We went home and the oven and I got busy.

I made this.  It's a banana cream pie.  I piped on that whipped cream.  I know it's a tad crazy looking.  It's like little Kremlins all over.  I need a wider piping tip.

Next year....

No alterations needed for the turkey next year though:

Isn't she purty?!

The kids folded the napkins, with only a small amount of help from me.

We only invited one friend over (so I wouldn't get too stressed out) and we really simplified.  I made the turkey, the green beans (w/butter, garlic, and almonds because I think green bean casserole sort of ruins the beans), the cranberry sauce, and the strawberry jam.  My good buddy Joe helped me with just about everything else.

And I almost forgot the jell-o.  It didn't make it into the picture.  But, it did make it to the table.  And was devoured for the culinary masterpiece it wasn't.

Make sense of that one.

Our small gathering.  Trey was napping and we thought it best to leave him be.

Lanaya was super excited until she found out she didn't get to eat any of it.

And then it was time for Blake to redeem his pride.  Bowling Time!

Some good friends joined us to make it extra fun.

This little guy might be Lanaya's boyfriend some day.

We were trying to determine who had the chubbier cheeks.  I think they're pretty close, don't you?

Love Blake's skills.

This photo just makes me laugh.  What are they doing?

Blake totally redeemed himself, by the way.  He scored 171 (I think!).  By far the high of everyone there.  I have to share that I got my highest score for the past 10 years or so--101!

So, it was a good night for everyone.

And Lanaya showed off her own skills that night by sitting up.

For a couple minutes before slowly tipping forward.  Ummm...Mom?  Is this supposed to happen?