Visit with Santa

Or should I say visits??

Last night we headed to Utica Square to visit with Santa. Not only is he the best lookin' Santa around, he is in a little bitty house that I think mesmerizes the little ones.

So Evan popped in first. This year, he climbed right up into Santa's lap. He also proceeded to tell Santa all he wanted for Christmas was a Buzz Lightyear costume. What???? He had mentioned it once or twice before, but I really thought it was because his friend Andrew had one. And that was not one of the items I had purchased for the little rascal.



As I am reeling from this revelation, it is now Libby's turn. I think this picture is worth a thousand words.



In an attempt to calm her down, we took a stroll looking at all the lights and ended up eating dinner at Olive Garden (which, by the way, is what I miss the most about Tulsa...not necessarily Olive Garden, but just all the great places in general). As we are heading back, Evan decides to go for round #2 with St. Nick. He plops right down and proceeds to announce he would also like a Woody costume. At this point, I feel like I don't know my son at all.



After our second visit with Santa, in which Libby passed, we walked through Utica Square to look at all of their lights and displays. Evan is really into nutcrackers so we had to study each one up close.




Libby started to get antsy and cold so Matt stopped in Pottery Barn Kids to browse and let her play for a few minutes while Evan and I finished walking around. Matt snapped a few pictures of the little diva playing around...






For some reason, I never pictured my daughter as a domestic fashionista.

Christmas Cookies

I have so many traditions I am wanting to introduce to the kids and I had a lot of them ready to do this year. Things like doing a ton of baking, making ornaments, one Christmas story a night, the Advent calendar and so many more. This year we really only did the Elf on the Shelf and our elf, Charlie, was a huge hit!!

But this year was a little hard for me. I have started prophylactic treatment for my migraines and right around Thanksgiving, I had a toxic reaction. It was really a tough few weeks with many trips to various physicians, a mri, a ct scan, and many, many medications. Honestly, it was a lot worse than it sounds. And it was so much harder because I wasn't able to do all the things I wanted to do with Evan and Libby.

However, I have had a few really great friends that helped me out during this time with play dates and car rides and errand help. While I am giving thanks... I wouldn't ever want to forget Matt, who not only had to take off work some but he really worked hard to make this a great Christmas for our little ones! And, the actual point of this post, my mom, grandma and Aunt Granny really helped with providing my kids with some of the Christmas tradition.

One entire afternoon was devoted to cookie making and decorating...I wish I would have been there to see the chaos ensue!!!



















And the final result...

Stop!!!

Mom, no more dress up photos!!




Everyone is sick of them by now!

A Little Reunion

This morning, we headed to Sapulpa for a little reunion with some of my longtime friends. Annalisa organized a little get together for us girls with crafts and snacks for the little ones. I had such a great time catching up with these girls. And it was so great to see all of our kids hang out and get along (well, except for the major fit Evan just had to throw. Why is it always my kid??).

Anyway, here is a picture of all the babies: Libby, Laila, Crew and Bryn.



Libby and Crew are either four or five days apart. It is funny because when I was 32 weeks pregnant and they were wheeling me out of the doctor's office, I saw Amy, Crew's mom, on the way. I asked the nurse to stop but that lady wasn't stopping until we were at labor and delivery. And it ended up that even though Crew and Libby were due four weeks apart, they were born four days apart. And Amy checked out of the hospital on Sunday and I checked in on Monday.

And here is a picture of all of the kiddos: Libby, Evan, Pepper, Crew, Landon, Will, Ava and little Laila.


Evan crafting it up...


And Libby and Laila playing together. It is so exciting when you catch the babies starting to really interact and play with one another.



And I am so glad Laila seems to like Libby because she certainly doesn't care for me!

A Few Things About Libby

This is the smile I get to see every. single. time. this girl wakes up!


And this is Libby's new favorite hobby. Ever since she realize she can climb into her rocker, she is just relaxing and gliding away. I was actually getting ready to take it out of her room to free up some space but I guess I will hold off since it is now her new favorite "toy"!


And this is where she spends most of her time every Thursday while Evan is at school. In his room. Playing with his toys. He would probably be a preschool dropout if he had any clue.

A Boy's Best Friend

Ever since we lost Max, Evan has really talked about Max non-stop. There is not a single day that goes by that he does not mention something about that dog. Sometimes it is his sickness or where he lives now but sometimes it is just a memory he has of Max.

And since Max died, he has truly been giving Dexter LOTS of special attention. It is now his chore to feed him every evening and you will often find Evan loving on the little guy. It is so sweet and I think it says more about his spirit than a thousand words.

Yikes!!!

Although my daughter was performing a very dangerous, potentially life-threatening maneuver, you do what you have to do to get it on film. But I was close to save her if she wavered. I think.

No Reason At All

for this post except I think this girl is such a cutie!!!



And it proves that my children are always running around in some state of undress! And they always have a dirty face no matter how many times I chase them down with a washcloth!

Long Time No See

We have been on a bit of a hiatus here on the blog...but a ton has been going on. Evan has had a very busy social schedule. Way busier than mine actually! Tons of playdates and birthday parties. But I have made a lot of great mom friends in the process so it is a win-win situation. And Libby, scrappy as can be, just jumps in with the boys and has a great time also.

And when we are home, it is still dress up mania. Here are a few pictures of the kiddos in their many different characters...

Libby got a new costume and Evan insisted on wearing it,


even though it is WAY too small. I sure hope this doesn't ruin his chances of fathering children (when he is at least 30!!


And he was so determined to wear it he even napped in it!


Libby now brings me costumes to put on her and she is up to Evan's tricks...she likes to wear his costumes


and mask!!


And an early Christmas present from Uncle Kent and Aunt Emily!!! They have started a new obsession!!