Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I was nervous about Christmas this year because I knew we would have a new baby and I had a high possibility of being crazy. So I took every one's advice and with a ton of help from Ted we had Christmas done and ready to go before December 1. It was fabulous!!! We had the tree up a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving!! When Amy decided to come we were able to enjoy her and not feel like we were in a mad Christmas rush. I loved Christmas and relaxing and enjoying. And, the best part was, I wasn't crazy!! I felt good. In fact, I can't believe that I love babies. I love Amy and all her tiny newness. Now, I am just going to pretend this is how I felt with all of them and repent of thinking I am not a "baby mom." We all love and adore her as you can see. Bonnie helped the kids make the welcome home sign. She thoroughly spoiled us while she was here. The kids looked forward to coming home from school to see her. Forget me and the baby- "Mom, where's Aunt Bonnie?"

Another Daddy's girl! Or maybe I should say, Another finger Ted will be wrapped around:)

Back to Christmas, it was such a fun day. The night before we had Fred and Dorothy over for Christmas Eve. Ted and Ti went goose hunting in the morning while Tate, Joe and Emma & I played games. We had a yummy dinner and treats, FHE with stories and the Christmas story. We watched Elf before going to bed. The kids love to sleep in our room that night. They get all excited. It makes me remember the total excitement I felt as a kid. But I have to admit I love playing Santa just as much:) The kids got up and watched Elf again because Ted knew I had only had 3 hours of sleep. I slept another hour or so and then we let them go see the tree. I loved that morning because we spread it out over 4+ hours, let them play awhile with gifts and opened things one at a time. It was one of our smallest Christmases but it was the best in my opinion. We felt very grateful for what we had and the kids were very loving and kind to each other.

Below are pictures of Christmas Eve with Mr. Fred and Mr. Dorothy. (And, yes, I will miss it when they stop saying Mr. Dorothy:))

Mr. Fred
Mr. Dorothy

These pictures are of Christmas morning.

Our favorite Christmas present!

I love Ti's expression.

Santa!!

Santa came a Sunday before Christmas. I tried to keep it a secret but the kids found out before he came over. When the boys told Emma, she ran around the house exclaiming, "Yea! My boyfriend is coming!!" Sure enough, Santa (a.k.a. Reed Buhler) came over and I know he enjoys it more than the kids. He's awesome!!!

Amy on Santa's lap for the first time!

Emma and her boyfriend.

This is a conversation I had with Emma a couple of weeks after Christmas.

"Mom, do you know why I can't marry Dad?"

"Why not?"

"Because Dad's already married!!"

"Oh."

"And, I can't marry Reed because he's already married!!"

"Uh oh!"
"So, I'm just going to marry Tate."

Happy New Year!!!

The whole season was quiet and calm for us. It is so fun to see and visit family and it is also nice to stay home and totally relax. We played games, put together puzzles (I put together puzzles.) We watched movies all night on New Years and toasted ourselves. We had a good time. I loved it because I had company in the hours when everyone else is usually in bed!!

Our New Years Card Photo

I had to show this picture because it shows Amy flaring her nostrils. She did this a lot during the first 4-5 weeks. We thought it made her akin to Joe. He flares his all the time on purpose- almost every picture he's taken. Dingus.