Christmas Eve

We had our first Christmas Eve as a family in Paso Robles. It was a great night full of fun memories and juggling kid schedules...how did my mom do this with 5 kids?! All of us got dressed in our Christmas outfits to head to church for the Christmas Eve service. I have to say that it was a great time! Not only did we sing a ton of Christmas carols but the kids put on a Christmas pageant that truly touched my heart...there's something so sweet about hearing a child talk about Jesus. I hope one year Addie can be in it...I am smiling already at the thought.









After church, we headed home for dinner. I wanted to start a tradition of opening one gift that night so all the girls got PJs. After the babies went down, we had a huge dinner then decoraged cookies for "Santa"...needless to say, Chris and I enjoyed the treats. :)

Our little bug

I found myself a little teary yesterday that life is so busy that I am missing just "being" with Addie. She is flexible, lovable and great to be around, but I really want to pause life and just play. I feel that I have missed out on her lately and know Chris feels the same. The change in the family size has been a blessing and yes there definitely comes sacrafices too. Thankfully weddings have slowed down and I have family sessions but I honestly could not image being in the wedding season while juggling life with 3 girls.

Addie is 10 months old now and full of life. Her one tooth smile is a constant and she makes us laugh every time...she's even starting to crinkle her little nose when she gets really excited/happy. Mornings are spent cuddling dad in bed and snoozing a little more while I get the girls off to school. I love seeing her snuggled into Chris as I leave...he is amazing with her. Food is her favorite (just like mom) and I think at times she could eat all day. Annibell is so picky and hard to get to eat while Addie will open her mouth to anything except green veggies. Her favorite game is chase and now peek-a-boo. We'll chase her up the stairs, around the house and she literally screams for joy. Waving at everyone and everything (the sky is a favorite) is a constant as well. We'll be at the high school for lunch and she's just waving at high school kids right and left...great for contact work! Baths are another joy with our little girl. She is definitely a water baby. She'll sit there happy as can be for 30 minutes or longer if we let her. Oh, books too...hopefully she'll enjoy those more than I did as a kid. She loves reading, turning pages and talking to the animals and things she sees on each page.

Can I freeze time? I remember being pregnant and thinking about her first Christmas season and thinking it was so far off...it's here. Chris and I could not have asked for a better, sweeter, more beauitful baby girl. She is truly precious and she's our gift. Thank you, Lord. Maybe we be faithful parents and love her as she deserves to be loved. We love you Little Bug....

First Christmas Tree

We got Addie's first Christmas tree as a family about a week ago...keeping the blog updated has proven to be challenging at this point in time. I wish I could say we chopped it down ourselves, but truthfully it was from Wal-Mart. I have to admit too that decorating with two babies is not the easiest thing ever. We had to make two nights out of it but it turned out not too bad considering the circumstances. Surprisingly the girls are not too interested in removing the decorations so it's still up and sweet to watch them stare in awe. Addie's first Christmas....where has the last 10 months gone??

More Thanksgiving Pictures

So we went to a place like Boomers for mini-golf and go carts. We put Addie on some toy cars and and she wasn't a fan of this one.

Thanksgiving in Modesto

We had an amazing time in Modesto for Addie's first holiday celebration. It took us 5.5 hours to get there due to traffice (normally it's only 3 hours) but with some dancing in the car and a McDonald's stop for sweet tea, we all made it. Addie also got her picture taken with Santa...I will post that later...she cried so hard the first time we had to retake them and be in the picture with her ~priceless.