And the Children Were Nestled, All Snug in Their Beds...

I can't believe Christmas is here!  I can't wait until the kids wake up tomorrow to see what's under the tree.  Until then, here are a few pictures from the past month or so...

Mia, Drake, and Cole!

 

 

They sure do love to bake...

The gingerbread house was such a hit last year, we had to do it again this year.  It was so funny - of course Mia was making a pattern, and Drake came along and obviously didn't follow it.  Normally Mia would have gotten all shook about it, but instead she said, "That's okay, buddy - you can put them wherever you want to."

She loves her new Legos from Poppy and Grandma Linda!  Talk about fancy schmancy - the garage opens and closes, and it comes with a basketball hoop, satellite dish, and lawnmower!  lol

At her school Christmas party with her bestie

My grandpa got to come to Christmas at my parents', and he was so sweet with the kids...

Uncle Tony with the boys!

Oh yes, someone got a haircut!!

Lovin' her new doll in a bridal gown

The hit of the evening, new Batman boots!

Great grandpa and the kids

 

Can't wait for tomorrow morning... Santa left a bundle!

 

 Have a wonderful Christmas!!

Mia is FIVE!

It is so hard to believe that 5 years ago today we held our little Mia in our arms for the first time. We just couldn't imagine how our lives would change when we first held that little bundle!

 

Oh, this picture could make me cry.  I remember laying in the hospital bed overwhelmed with emotion.  Watching Brock hold his baby girl... oh!  I just knew he was going to be the best dad.

For her 5th birthday, I told her we could have a playdate with a few friends.  Here is our not-so-little peapod at her little birthday get-together with her friends last week!  While we were singing Happy Birthday...

 

She was so excited for her party, and she wanted Red Velvet Cake Pops.  Say what?!?!  Thankfully I found a recipe for no-bake truffles, and I put popsicle sticks to make them cake pops. They were a hit with the kids.

  

  

It was a little bit of a disaster, but 2 batches of chocolate, 2 times around the kitchen with a vacuum because of the sprinkles, and 1 f-bomb (oops) later, we finally had (not-so-perfect) cake pops.  :)

We were going to have an all-girlfriend party, but Mia said, "Mom, I have to invite Ethan."  I was like, "I need to talk to Daddy."  She said, "No you don't, I've already decided."  Oh my.

I kept trying to ask her about it, saying we were planning a princess party and now we would have to think of activities everyone could play.  I didn't want the poor little guy to be left out in the midst of little girls!  Finally, she said, "Mom - I'm done talking about it."

Whew.  So we invited Ethan.

He had a fun time with all the girls.  Some of their brothers were there, too (like Drake), so that helped!!

 

Then we had her family party on Saturday.  It was a hit with the kids as always.

 

So expressive!

If there was one thing she wanted, it was a Snow White cake.  Oh, thank goodness for the bakery in town.  I didn't know where I was going to get something like that!  She loved it.

Sunday we went to Breakfast with Santa with my mom and dad.

Mia, Drake, and Mason!

They had lots of fun activities for the kids...

As the lady was painting, Mia was checking the sample the entire time.  She wanted to make sure the lady was getting it RIGHT!  lol

 

Oh, how time flies.

I'm hoping for a close-to-stress-free holiday season.  We did all our shopping online this year, now all I gotta do is wrap!!

Thank you for stopping by, see you soon!