It's a Jeep thing!

Santa brought Noah a Jeep for Christmas. It's a Rubicon just like his Daddy's (too bad Santa couldn't find a red one like Jason's). Noah smiled the whole time he was driving that thing. He loves Daddy's Jeep so much, and now he has his own!

Christmas

Here are a few pictures from Christmas. Hope yours was as good as ours!

Lilah with her first Barbie doll. I understand it's a bit premature, but I wanted to make sure her first one came from me (something that was randomly important to me).

Too much TV???

Last night Landon came up to me and said "You know Mom, Christmas costs less at Walmart". Then this morning he yelled from his room "Mom, Christmas really does cost less at Walmart. It really does".

Listen to the next Walmart commercial. Their advertising is obviously working on one little boy. Maybe it's time I find some activities for the boys to do instead of watching the tube...

Noah's Christmas Performance

Noah claims he was dancing, so we'll go with that. That's really all we can hope for...





Note: I'm so disappointed because the other video is better (and funnier) because he still had on his wings. The file was too big. When Jason and I saw that the kids had on angel wings, we panicked a little. We were worried Noah's would burn once they touched him or he would be the only one that came out in a devil's costume. Don't worry--those wings stayed in tack while he "danced" away.

Desitin--YIKES!

Last week my friend Heather and her sweet daughter Avery came over to visit and bring us a fabulous meal (seriously, Heather, it was beyond yummy!). Heather and I were enjoying a nice visit when I noticed it had gotten way too quiet in the other room. We ran in to find this...

The only good thing about them having Desitin all over their bodies is that their skin was quite soft. :) I tried really hard not to laugh when I went in there as we were supposed to be mothers and correct them for this behavior. I didn't succeed. For some reason, I thought it was so funny. I missed my parenting opportunity, I know, but at least I left the room when I laughed. If you don't laugh once in a while, life just isn't so fun.

Making cookies

On Saturday, Landon and I made our Christmas sugar cookies while Daddy and Noah went shopping. This is something I can remember doing with my mom as a kid, so I make it a point to bake these cookies each year. Nevermind the fact that I eat most of them myself. Noah and Jason got home in time to help do some decorating. Noah was more interested in eating the frosting. We just kept adding frosting to the one cookie he had, and he would lick it off. We did that a few times until we realized the kid was going to be on a major sugar rush (and that boy doesn't need any help in the energy department). I enjoyed my time with Landon. Maybe when he's 34, he'll remember our cookie making at Christmas time. I hope so.

Lilah was there, too, but she didn't help out too much. Next year...

Rudy the elf

While I'm catching up on the blogs, I thought I would share with you our visitor for the Christmas season. This year, Santa sent us one of his elves to care for. His name is Rudy, and he is a toymaker elf. Rudy got here last week and has been a much welcomed guest. The thing is, though, that Rudy sometimes gets into stuff while we're sleeping. Most of the time, he just ends up in a different place in the house. One morning we found him in the Christmas tree, and another morning he was sitting on Noah's potty (needed some private time, I suppose). He has ended up in a stocking, and he's gotten up to read books about Santa. On Sunday morning, we found him in the kitchen. Our little elf knew that I needed to make muffins for my brunch, and I guess he decided to help out. He did a good job of baking, but unfortunately, he hasn't mastered clean up yet (see picture below). I appreciated his help, though, and cleaned up myself. Rudy will stay with us until Christmas Eve when Santa will pick him up and take him back to the North Pole.

Here's Rudy helping himself to one of the muffins he made.

Angel

Why do I waste my time???

I'm trying to figure out why I waste my time making my bed in the winter. Each day I make the bed, and a few hours later, I find this...

I guess she gets cold, but seriously, Kasey, do you have to mess up my bed??? The silly thing is, I will remake it only to find her back under the covers again. I think I may be the dumb one here...

Tatas Christmas Brunch

On Sunday, Lilah and I joined my "tatas" ladies for a fun Christmas brunch. It was so great to get together with everyone, and luckily, Lilah was very well behaved. She wasn't too interested in taking a bottle, but she didn't fuss about it--she just didn't drink as much. It was only the second bottle she's ever had, so I can't complain. She just seemed to enjoy having an afternoon of girl time versus listening to the boys wrestle. I have such a good time with all of these ladies, and they mean a lot to me. Especially during this holiday season, I realize how blessed I am to know and love my girlfriends!

Lilah with Leslie

Lilah hanging with Caroline. Caroline has agreed to be Lilah's godmother which means the world to me!

Kerri (aka Martha Stewart) holding our sweet girl.

Happy tears

Today I was holding my crying Lilah trying to console my sweet girl, and all of the sudden, I started crying with her. However, my tears were happy ones. No crying has sounded more beautiful to me as the sounds I heard today. They were coming from a healthy baby--a baby without trisomy 18. A big, healthy baby girl who is mine. I took the time to stop what I was doing and just thank God. I am truly smitten with this little one. In fact, I'm just a little head over heals with my whole family right now. Merry Christmas to me!

Good place to sleep

First Bath

Uh--Lilah wasn't too excited for her first bath. I have to admit that we weren't the smartest in our approach because she was really fussy before we even started. Being the determined girl that I am, I was giving her a bath because it was bath night. The good news is her second bath went much better, and she actually really liked it. Check out the video to see her not-so-happy first bath.

Time to decorate the tree

Landon by the downstairs tree

Decorating the upstairs tree...

All dressed up with no where to go.

Nine Days...

What I've learned, discovered, and observed in the past nine days...

• Lilah is a good baby. She lets you know when she's not happy, but overall, she's content.
  
• So far, she only makes me get up once in the night.
• Landon tells his little sister that she is beautiful every day (if not several times a day). It melts my heart every time he says it. I'm only a little jealous that he thinks she's prettier than Mommy.
• Lilah's hair isn't getting any darker. I'm not sure she's mine--her eyebrows are blond and that hair is much, much lighter than the boys.
  
• Landon sings "Big Girls Don't Cry" when Lilah is crying.
• Noah sings "You are my Sunshine" to his little sister.
• The arrival of Lilah hasn't slowed the boys down one bit. They still run around like wild animals every afternoon.
• I love my alone times with Lilah--even if it's at 4am.
  
• Breastfeeding in the Kohl's dressing room isn't so bad.
• After three kids, you would think I could remember the diaper bag. Nope, I forgot it. It's now sitting in the car to avoid that little issue again.
  
• I can take all three kids somewhere by myself. It was only to the boys' haircut place, but still, I did it!
• I only get about 50-75% of the stuff done that I had planned for the day.
  
• Little kids think a baby needs the pacifier all of the time.
  
• The boys cannot leave the bouncy seat alone no matter how many times we tell them to get away from it.
  
• I think Noah was more proud of his "I'm a big brother" t-shirt than he was of his little sister when he went back to school.
• At age 5, Landon has already mastered the typical male response to a baby's crying--"I think she's hungry". Of course, this statement is only good for the men whose wives breastfeed or who never do the feedings.
  
• Kasey got knocked down the chain a little more, and I think she's feeling it. The poor dog is dying for some attention. Maybe I can sneak out for a walk with just her and me this weekend.
• We're actually taking care of three kids and not drowning. It may not be pretty, but we're doing it!
• Jason and I have become closer knowing that we alone created this madhouse we live in.
  
• I never thought having three kids would make me feel so complete, but it does.

Lilah in her "Mom and Dad's Best Present Ever" onsie.

My sweet girl

Love the wink, LCS.

Crazy Noah & his little sis