Christmas 2012

Christmas is officially going to be a blast from here on out! Although this was the girls' third Christmas, I can safely say that this was the first year they really "got" it. By Christmas day, they could tell you about baby Jesus, baby Jesus's mommy (Mary) and daddy (Joseph) and the angel. They became obsessed with the following (in this order): Christmas lights, Frosty the Snowman, Christmas trees, presents, and talking about Santa Clause (they were very unsure what to think about seeing him in the flesh, but not terrified as I had originally predicted) All in all, it was such a fun Christmas season. I can't wait for the fun things we plan on doing next year (Elf on the Shelf, really getting into the whole Jesus' Birthday, etc.). Here are a few (ok, maybe a lot) fun pics from this year:

Sophie so excited about her "iPad" from Nana and Papa

Me and Burkey. His favorite thing about Christmas this year was playing with wrapping paper.

Papa and Burkey playing with one of his gifts, a mini back hoe.

It's not a trip to Taloga unless we go see all of Papa's horses.

Christmas Eve at my parents. Love these 3 turkeys.

Burkey the Elf. Thanks Aunt Sam for his festive get-up.

My dad bought some hideous colorful yellow crocs this summer, mostly to irritate my mom. He decided to get all of his grandkids (Burke included) some matching ones for this summer. Oh joy. On a more important note, how cute do they all look in their matching jammies?

I can't stop laughing at this pic of C-dog.

Christmas joy

Putting out, er, peanut butter crackers for Santa. While I did manage to remember to get a cute plate with all of our children's names on it, I may or may not have forgotten cookies. I planned on grabbing some from my parents' house that night, but forgot. I wonder if the girls will remember this next year and tell their friends that Santa eats crackers and milk when he comes to your house?

My three little elves. :)

Sorry Santa.

A few gifts from the big man.

Yay for a Dora four wheeler!

Campbell can't contain her excitement.

Burke with one of his gifts from Santa and his stocking which was as big as he is. Makes my heart sad to think next Christmas he will be 18 months old. :(

The girls in their chairs from Nana and Papa. We for sure don't have room in our living room for these, but the girls love them!

Watching it snow on Christmas morning. I'll never forget this moment of my PJ clad little two year olds on Christmas morning. 

Sophie loves Christmas!

Campbell was less than enthusiastic about taking pictures...

We didn't make it to the mall this year to meet Santa, so it was a good thing Bubba he decided to make an appearance at my parents' house the day after Christmas! Campbell was a little unsure what to think. Sophie was unsure at first, but then wanted him to give her Minnie Mouse a kiss. Both girls hugged and kissed him afterwards. Perhaps because their was something familiar about this Santa? ;) 

Aunt Sammi and the kiddos

And a snapped a quick pic of Burkey with cousin Jill

So many fun memories from this year. I'm sure I'm not the first parent to realize how much more fun Christmas is with young children. :)

Hope you all had a great Christmas, as well! 

xoxo

Burke's Dedication

The weekend before Christmas, we had Burke dedicated at church. It was an extra meaningful day for our family, especially since our hearts were still heavy with grief from the Newtown tragedy. It's hard to believe that last December we were having the girls dedicated, and Burke was just a little bean in my belly. I was just starting to feel better from the first trimester sickness, and this year we have a beautiful baby boy. I never could have imagined how our family would look a year later! I continue to be in awe of what we did to deserve such incredible kids. 

Kyle's parents stayed with us that weekend and were able to attend the service, and my parents and sisters were also there. It meant so much to have so many loved ones there to celebrate our commitment to raise Burke to be a follower of Christ. 

Me and Burke (who couldn't resist grabbing the tree)

Daddy and Burke

Our crazy family

Nana and Papa

He loves the Christmas tree!

Kyle and I loved visiting with Pastor Sonny who prayed over us before the service. 

Big boy!

Kyle took this pic later that evening. I didn't realize how funny this was until Kyle went to get the camera. Pretty much sums up our chaotic life.  

Christmas pics to come soon!

xoxo

Burke {5} Months

Happy December! Burke thought he'd kick off his five month birthday and the month of Christmas with smiles galore today. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. This kid is the happiest, sweetest little ball of chub. He's definitely at an age where he is learning/discovering something new everyday. He's rolled from his tummy to back and back to tummy exactly one time each. It's like he had to prove to us he could do it, but now he's perfectly content just chillin' on his playmat. He adores his jumperoo and just smiles and bounces like crazy when he's in it. Although this past week he fought his first cough/cold and double ear infection :(, he was still the happiest sick kid I've ever seen. His sisters should take notes on that, drama queens. 

Here's a few things we've been up to this past month...

Could he smile any bigger? 

Looking dapper in his sweater.

I could kiss these lips all day.

Sophie teaching him about tractors.

Hi!

My little lamb after bathtime

Tummy time

The girls current favorite thing to do to Burke is rub the top of his head really fast with both hands. I think maybe they're practicing giving noogies?

Delcious hands

Our attempt at a family picture in Taloga for Thanksgiving

Riding Pookie Bob

Campbell and Daddy

Cousin Koleman thought it would be funny to put his hunting vest on Burke. 

Burke giggled for the first time when he was playing with Papa! It was hysterically cute, but of course he decided to stop once I pulled out the video. I still got a few cute pics, though. 

These girls would be naked from sunrise to sundown if I let them. 

My sweet CJ with the carpet burn on her nose that won't go away. 

She's still as cute as a button, in my opinion. 

This morning Burke found his feet for the first time while in his swing!

I have yet to fully complete his room to my liking and will be ordering some shelves and a piece of art that I finally decided on soon. I do, however, really love the little gallery wall above his crib. If you remember the girls' room, you know I love sentimental kids' rooms. I adore the faux deer head from Z Gallerie, found the Major League poster on Etsy (his dad's all-time favorite movies), the top picture is from Kyle's grandma and is a photo of downtown Taloga (Kyle's hometown) from the early 1900's. I just really liked the little fox picture from Etsy, and see below for the history of the bottom picture. 

This is a replica of my Mema's, and is a picture of my grandpa and Mickey Mantle with their highschool baseball team. He and my grandpa were really good friends for most of their lives. I'm fairly certain Kyle will let Burke know someday how cool this is. 

As a joke, they both wore their glove on the wrong hand for the picture. 

And this is a picture from my Dad's baby book. In the middle is my grandpa (so handsome!) and my dad. To the left, is Mickey's wife and their son, Mickey Jr who is a few months older than my dad. And Mickey is to the right. I had a copy made for Burke's bulletin board. 

That's a lot to cram in one post, but there you have it! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is as excited about Christmas as we are at the Nevels house! 

P.S. For a fun comparison, the girls at 5 months. ;)