Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  It was a great Christmas in Waco, even though Max fully expected it to snow.  He has it in his head that snow=Christmas.  Well that may be true in some parts of the world, but generally not in Texas.  We have not had any snow at all this year, even with all of the crazy winter storms we have had this year.  

We have had a lot of family here since the arrival of Mr. Asher, and Max was thrilled to have Bo and Sadie here to spend Christmas with him.  It has been so great having visitors, but alas everyone has gone home and left the four of us here alone.  It had to happen eventually, but I feel wholly unprepared to take care of both boys by myself.  Prayers are appreciated!

We had so many wonderful gifts this year, but I am the most thankful for Asher.  He is sweet and mild (knock on wood) and we all love him so much.  Max often refers to "our" baby and will "pertect" him if I need to leave him in his swing or bassinet for a few minutes, and we are working hard on learning how to touch him gently.  Max is excited to play with Asher and is learning a big lesson in patience.  In fact on the second or third day we had Asher home Max asked when they could play together.  I told him that Asher grows every day and soon enough he would be big enough to play.  Max said that it wasn't fast enough.  Sigh!  I don't want either of them to grow so quickly!!!

  

 Christmas Eve and everyone is in their pjs!

 Max is checking out his stocking.

 Santa brought plenty of Minecraft fun to Bo.

 Santa brought Max a new bicycle and Sadie has a new camera.

 Love this kid.  He has probably played with these blocks more than any other gift.

 Papa came through with a robot puppy, just what Max had wanted.  Zoomer is very cute, but doesn't follow any commands, just like a real puppy.

 Asher woke up for a few minutes. Santa was good to him as well.

 His awake period did not last too long. He is easy to snuggle!

 Trying out the new bike.  He is not too sure about it yet, we need some practice.

 My boys!

Happy 4th Birthday Maxwell!

Ugh!  I cannot believe he is four years old.  It is so amazing to look at Asher now and remember when Max was that small, and realize how quickly time passes, TOO QUICKLY for my taste!  We had two fun filled days of birthday shenanigans and I'm sure Max could have gone for even more.  We worked hard to make this birthday extra special since Max is feeling a little displaced these days.  Thanks to all the family and friends who were here with us to help celebrate our big dudes big day.

Brooke had an idea to let our boys decorate "gingerbread" houses, which were actually graham crackers.  They all had a really good time.  Max wouldn't wear his yellow apron so we put an old t-shirt over his clothes.  He is concentrating hard!

 Cousin Cash, along with Jason and Natalie, came down from Dallas to help us celebrate.

 The fabulous Baker boy!

 Looking delicious, and let me tell you most of the decorations ended up in the mouth.

 Carson worked hard on his house as well.

 Eli taste testing the frosting.

 Four candles for a big boy!

 Kristen and Baker brought Max a stomp rocket.  The boys went outside and played with it for a long time.  Thanks for the awesome gift!

 Getting a running start and a big jump to launch the rocket.

 Does he look like he had a good time???

 We opened family gifts after the party wrapped up.

 Oh, these two goofy boys.  

 Thanks for the tent!!!

 Max saw this keyboard/DJ set at Kohl's.  We doubled back and bought it for him later.  He opened the bad and started screaming about how it was just what he had always wanted!!!

 Celebration of life at Montessori school.  He and Ms. Marie are singing the song about the months of the year.  This took place on his actual birthday.

 Then Max put all of the months down in order.  He walked around the "calendar" four times as I showed pictures from each year and talked about all the adventures Max has had each year of his life.

Singing the "Celebration of Life" song, followed by "Happy Birthday".

We finished his birthday fun by taking him to his favorite restaurant in Waco "Feddwreckers".  He loves it for the games.

New and Impoved

Welcome to the "new" old blog.  About the only thing that is new is the title and the number of handsome boys you will get to see.  As most of you know, Asher Neal joined our family on December 8 at 11:39 am.  I was scheduled to be induced the following morning, but Mr. Asher had other plans.  I was only in labor for about four hours from beginning to end and I had the perfect delivery I had wanted with Max but did not get for various reasons.  We were released the next day as soon as Asher's PKU test was conducted and we are now focusing on finding balance and sleep in our new situation.  Max seems to be adjusting well, but I am afraid that will change after all of our family leaves after the holidays and it is just us again.  However, I know we will eventually hit our stride and things will begin to feel normal.

 Our first family photo!

Already has daddy wrapped around his finger.

 Max meeting his baby brother for the first time.  Asher was still in the warmer so Max could't hold him just yet.

 "Mama he's so little and cute!"

 Getting ready to go home.  This was the same outfit in which we brought Maxwell home from the hospital.

 Max rocked Asher as soon as we put him in the seat.  He is a good helper.

 Ready to go!

 Our first night home.  This is how Max slept, in a short sleeved onesie and his swaddling blanket.  Anything past that and he would wake up sweating!  Asher is the opposite.  He needs at least 4 layers at night to sleep well.  They are already acting opposite of one another!

 We are so fortunate that Grandma and Grandpa are here.  They not only entertain Max and ride him around town, but they have taken care of me and let me get much needed rest.  Can't thank them enough!

Videos from the pumpkin patch

Here is everyone struggling to walk in the angled house.  The kids seemed to adjust much easier than the rest of us.

Another bumpy ride Jelly and I avoided.  The kids loved it!

Back Home in Omaha Part 2

For those of you waiting on pins and needles... I bring you part 2 of our trip home to Omaha.  It was another busy and fun filled day with our friends, this time at a pumpkin patch.  A real one, not like the ones here in Waco where they buy pumpkins at the store and then set them around on a few bales of hay.  The kids had so much fun playing and the place was virtually empty so we had it all to ourselves.  

Max, Adi and Evie are petting the miniature donkey and her foal.

Oh my!  They had one of those houses built at an angle that messes with your equilibrium.  I stepped inside, started downhill, and gained enough momentum that Curtis had to catch me.  After that I just peeked in from the doorway. 

Weird!!!!

Corn pool!  The kids played in here most of the day.  Who knew dried corm was so much fun?

Tiffani and Embry

Time for a hayride.  I decided the bumps may be a little too much for me and Jelly.

Beautiful Nebraska!

My belly is getting out there.  I would probably reach the one foot mark right now though.

Mini train pulled by a small tractor.

Evie, Adi, Max and Nola posing for pictures.  Wish we could go back every fall and retake this picture.

Such a fun day with great friends!