New Camera Lens

watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and eating a waffle

sick little boy (still feeling yucky when I took this picture)

trying to catch the water

cutie

bath time

(Walker is in the coveted spot - the one next to the faucet - and he so loves it.)

Lainey put all of her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters down for a nap in her dollhouse. They are in the funniest places; she was having a hard time finding beds and blankets for all of them. Daffy Duck is napping in the bathtub. Donald is in the baby's crib.

But my favorite is Goofy. Goofy is in the toddler bed using a bag of oats for a blanket. Lainey was apparently out of blankets at this point. Poor Goof.

loving her new dress-up shoes

dancing while her dad plays the (toy) accordion

Lainey's Picture

This morning, Lainey drew a picture of Uniqua. I couldn't help but take a picture with my camera. She loves her new easel that Emmy and Tuck gave her for Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve at Emmy and Tuck's house...

I love Walker's expression in this picture as he watches Lainey open one of his gifts.

Lainey thought that Grandfather was just the right person to play the maracas in her band.

"I sing ABCD song for you."

(Lainey treated us to a private concert featuring her number one hit, "The Alphabet Song.")

****

Christmas morning at our house...

Lainey was so excited that Santa brought her "pwincess dowwies" (princess dollies).

Lainey kept saying that Santa brought Walker "boy stuff."

Lainey wrapped this present for me. She did it almost all by herself. Sweet baby girl.

(She really liked the gift tags.)

Walker is checking out his sister's new ballet book. And Ben is playing with Walker's new toy. :)

Lainey's new bike!

****

And later on Christmas morning at Yiyia and Bud's house...

Walker has been under the weather for the past week or so. Poor kiddo. He has had a sinus infection and just has not been sleeping well since we came home from the hospital. As I've said before, he is a sensitive little one. He really doesn't sleep or eat when he's sick, and you can just tell that he's miserable. We've now (as of today) been on antibiotics for 48 hours so I hope that we start to see Walker's mood and health improve soon!

****

Merry Christmas! We had such a fun Christmas season celebrating for the first time as a family of four. Lainey seemed to "get it" this year (for the most part...she still seems a little concerned that she hasn't seen Santa Claus yet) and loved the Christmas lights, the Christmas trees, the Christmas books...all of it. It was neat seeing Walker take part in all of the excitement. I think that he enjoyed his first Christmas - especially the gift bags and the gift tags and the wrapping paper. Ben and I had fun decorating and putting together toys and sharing our favorite things about Christmas with our children. I, myself, am just so thankful for all that God has given to us and provided for us. Wow. We are so blessed, so fortunate, so loved. Thanks to everyone for making this Christmas so special for our family.

Christmas Pictures

Christmas photos...courtesy of my sweet and talented sister-in-law, Allyson. You will see that we had one cooperative friend and one not-so-cooperative friend. Oh well. That is life with kids! I think the pictures are beautiful and sweet, and they truly capture both kids' personalities at this point in time. Thanks again for your time, Aunt Allyson! :)

(Lainey is trying to make Walker laugh - from his expression, you would think she was yelling at him.)

This dress is the same one that I wore for Christmas one year (I may have been 3-1/2...not 2-1/2).

And here's the picture of Bud and Yiyia with all of their "grands."

Carriage Ride

Every Christmas, a neighborhood near ours puts on a spectacular display of Christmas lights and decorations. We typically drive through the neighborhood to look at the lights, but this year, we joined our friends on a carriage ride through the neighborhood. The weather was great (cool but not cold), the lights were beautiful, and the overall mood was cheerful (pretty good when you have seven kids on board).

Don't they look like hunting buddies? Walker looks bored to tears. He was content, though, I promise.

ringing around the rosey

still ringing around the rosey :)

Meeting Baby Asher

Finally!

I finally got to meet sweet Asher this evening. He is almost 2 weeks old (he was born on Ben's birthday) and a total cutie pie. He's so sweet; I love how he has his little arm curled up next to his head in this picture. And, I think he looks like his big sister did when she was a newborn. There's definitely a family resemblance! :) I'm so excited for Walker and Asher to meet. We'll have to wait until Asher gets a little meat on his bones, though. Walker is sure to run him over if given the chance!