Tucker & Lincoln

There's something special between these two.

 It's super sweet.

 Tucker makes Lincoln smile easy.

 Lincoln makes Tucker giggly & giddy.

 Tuck asks questions about Lincoln everyday.

"Will he be big like me one day?"

"Why does he smile so much?"

"When will he eat ice cream?"

"Why are his clothes sooooo tiny?"

"Why is baby Lincoln so funnnnyyyyy?"

 Good friends.

Just the way it should be.

Christmas tree 2014

Here's a look into our 2014 Christmas tree day.

Yes, I realize it's January 21st.

Just doing my part…spreading holiday cheer into the new year!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is cutting down our Christmas tree.

Tucker made a friend.

A donkey who loved him for feeding him.

And there it was…

kind of a Griswold family moment.

That man.

My greatest friend, my most favorite person.

He's the best, for real.

Just a couple years ago, that boy with the pom-pom on his head was running me ragged around the tree farm, trying to keep up with his crazy toddler self.

Now he excitedly watches.

In just a few more years, he could be cutting down our tree.

Time is crazy fast. A little mean. But, really exciting.

Everyone got a turn to "cut down the tree."

Except Lincoln & I.

Talk about growing up.

Sheesh.

That little guy was so giddy with excitement over our "ho-ho tree."

2 year old excitement is so fun to be a part of.

Victorious!

He tries more & more each day to be like his dad.

I love watching it.

I still look at all those faces & can't believe I get to be their mom.

And sweat a little.

Ha.

Everyone had a turn holding baby Lincoln.
We all had a really great day.
Came home with our giant tree.
And my heart was full.
I really love these guys.

Lincoln Life {2 months}

On December 24th our littlest guy turned 2 months old.

This is his mother finally recording him at 2 months.

Because in 2 weeks, he will be 3 months.

I consider that a win! Ha!

Sweet Lincoln,

 You became a 2 month old on Christmas Eve.

You had a wonderful first Christmas, full of family time, warm snuggles, crazy cousins (& siblings), lots of presents, & sweet smiles.

 At 2 months you are smiling like crazy, trying to laugh, talking a lot, starting to yell while you grin so big, still a big time cuddl

er, & getting stronger.

 You love to lay on the floor or sit in our arms & watch the fire in the fireplace, your sister & brothers doing what they do, or at your new toys.

You really just love being around.

 Did I mention that you are well loved?

The 2 year old in the above picture (who has marker, not blood, on his face…isn't that normal?) loves you very intensely. He is watched closely…

 You smile the biggest for Dad & I.

Tucker & Parker aren't far behind.

And Truett…you love him, but a little more cautiously. 

 You love to kick your legs & roll to your side to look at things.

Here lately you're getting very close to rolling yourself over.

Can I just say, please stop trying so hard to grow up?!

Sheesh.

You also have become quite good at kicking your legs & using the floor to turn yourself in circles while laying on the floor.

Maybe I should just stop putting you on the floor…

 You've gotten a lot stronger lately.

Pushing up off the floor & holding yourself up on your hands for just a few minutes at a time.

You kick your feet when you get excited.

 You love to play patty-cake, sing "if you're happy & you know it," look at books & talk to your "friends" on your playmat.

You're sleeping so well.

You still sleep in our room at night, but during the day you nap in your room, on our bed, on the couch, in your swing, & when I can make it happen, in my arms.

That's my favorite napping place.

I think it's yours too…

At 2 months you're weighing over 12 lbs.

You were

You're nursing 8- 9 times a day still, because, obviously you're a growing boy!

You're in 3-6 month clothes & size 1 diapers.

Some days you spit up all day long, other days hardly at all.

You have the best cheeks for kissing.

And the fuzziest head for stroking (Truett's fave).

You're starting to tolerate your car seat much better, not crying every time we sit still.

You're never fussy, & pretty much always a happy guy.

We call you Mr. Linc, Mr. Lincoln, baby Linc, & baby Happy.

  At this point in our little photo shoot, Truett couldn't contain himself any longer & started marching all around you.

That's his foot & leg behind you.

Also, Tucker brought in his bike. That's the orange circle behind you.

Parker was at school, or I'd imagine an impromptu performance of Annie going on in the background.

And that's our life sweet thing.

Constant noise & chaos.

And you add the perfect amount of sweetness to it all.

As a matter of fact, here lately, when things get nuts, I may be known for going over to you, making a crazy face & watching you smile, to help calm myself down.

Thanks for that. I know one day, you'll be adding to all the fun in this household, but for now, thanks for being sweet, happy, & just the cutest.

We love you tons Lincoln baby!!

Our Merry Christmas 2014

*Warning: Christmas photo overload coming your way. You have been warned. You're welcome.*

The end of 2014 came quick & brought with it some really great memories.

Having a baby near the end of a year can really make things seem a little out of the norm & feel a little rushed.

We spent the end of October, early November hibernating & just learning how to be a family of 6.

It was awesome.

Once Thanksgiving came, we hit the ground running with Christmas fun.

We love this season at our house & had lots of fun celebrating as the season went on.

Here's a look at our family Christmases…there were so many! Looking back through photos, I realized how truly blessed my little family is to be loved by so many wonderful people!

To kick things off every year, we celebrate with my Nana the Sunday before Christmas.

This is my Dad's side of the family. This is also the Nana my kids & I visit every week.

I love that my kids not only know their great-grandmother & great aunts, but they love them & get to experience the love I grew up with as well.

 Love those guys.

 We always have a Christmas lunch together.

I can remember as a kid being so excited to be there, eating that lunch as fast as I could, & then having to wait for grown ups to finish, dishes to be washed, & presents to be passed out before getting to dive into gifts.

My kids had to suffer the same, however their Grammy (my mom) & their aunts save the dishes until after presents for them.

They have no appreciation for how lucky they are for that.

 There's the whole family, minus my sister & her family.

 Lincoln got lots of love that day too.

It was a great kick off to the official week of Christmas!

We spend Christmas Eve with Mitchel's family.

This year Mimi, Mitchel's mom, insisted on a family photo.

I'm so glad she did.

It was terribly cold & windy that day, but we got a couple of great shots & headed out.

Our Christmas Eve is also spent at church.

One of my cuties waiting for the service to start...

 One of my other cuties singing in the kids' choir.

They sang "Happy Birthday Jesus."

My girl loves the stage.

 After church, we head to Mimi & Papa's for dinner, gifts, & just enjoying family, anticipating the fun the next day holds…

I caught Truett snuggled up next to his cousin, Mikey.

It's a totally blurry picture, but still way too cute not to remember!

It is somehow the only picture I took that night. Bummer.

I guess when there are 10 kids hanging around a house full of Christmas hoopla, a mama can forget to capture moments on her camera. But. We had a great night. And I had fun visiting with people I love instead of having a camera to my face. That's better anyway, right??

 Then there was this.

Cookies for Santa, carrots for reindeer. All neatly labeled by our girl. 

And a squash, that had seen better days, was left out by Truett.

For Santa? The reindeer?

No one really knows. But he also very confidently placed a spoon inside the milk cup 

& proudly walked away.

 Christmas morning brought scooters, 

 stockings filled with love (& fun things!),

 the cutest baby's first official Christmas, 

 happy kids,

 sleepy ones,

 Olaf slippers,

 & lots of sweet presents.

Then around lunchtime, we pack up & head to Grammy & Poppy's house (my parents).

 This year, they opened a couple of presents that day & saved the rest for when my sister & her family came in town.

Happy fun on both days. 

Mitchel & I & my parents opened all our presents.

Waiting is overrated.

 Christmas was a nice day, which called for lots of scooter rides!

 And even though the mom forgot to bring coats, Grammy saved the day & the scooter riding continued after nap time.

A few days later, with the rest of my family here, we all gathered together at my cousins' house.

For more celebrating.

 Everyone enjoyed little Lincoln.

 Camo & Christmas.

Also, he didn't appreciate the photo.

Whatever.

 Now I'm hungry.

 Cousins & friends.

Love those sweet girls.

They were the only little ladies in attendance that day.

Because they're the only ones we have!

 My very un-animated nephew.

Ha!

 Lincoln got diapers in that big silver package.

His mama requested them for him.

 This is my mom's family.

We haven't all been together for a while.

And we're missing my grandparents & cousin.

They celebrated Christmas in heaven.

With Jesus. It was probably better.

 My Aunt Sha (Sherrie), Uncle Barry, & my mom.

Siblings.

 There may or may not have been a quick rendition of "Sisters" from White Christmas sang after this lovely photo.

And by quick, I mean my aunt sang it while my mom just laughed, danced, & walked away.

Sisters forever.

 Brother cousins.

Happy to be together again.

 The grown up cousins.

I have lots of memories filled with these boys.

And, yes, there's more.

The next day, just us, my parents, & my sister, brother in law & nephews.

 Dads & babies.

The rest of the presents were brought out & opened & enjoyed.

And it was just nice to be together.

We were also visited by some pretty awesome super guests.

And one lovely princess.

Love that baby.

 Geez. That kid.

Just cute. And spunky. And handsome. And crazy!

Nana & my aunts came for a visit a couple days later.

So, we joined in the fun.

 My Aunt Carolyn with Lincoln man.

 Just missing my 2 littlest ones…

Sweet picture of some sweet people.

 Lots of hanging out.

Relaxing.

Playing.

 Cuddling.

 Eating.

 Being goofy.

 Cleaning.

And being together.

Our Christmas season was so busy this year.

Hectic on some days.

I love being intentional during the Christmas season, & this year was a struggle.

We celebrated Jesus amidst our busy.

And I reminded myself that some years are like that.

Once Christmas actually hit, it was so nice being with family.

And we are completely grateful for Jesus & the gift He brought us when He came as a baby.

Maybe next year will be a more intentional season.

If not, I'm still so thankful for all He did & for my family.

Merry 2014 Christmas.