Happy 7th Birthday, Ryan!!

Ryan wanted to have his birthday party this year at ChuckeCheese Pizza.

This face was sorta how I initially felt about that.
Thankfully, I was wrong, and it was a GREAT night!

Aunt Stacy and Emerson

Aunt Krista and Tyler, who now says he will be having his next birthday here!

Ryan's friend Ali from school and his mom.

Apparently Ry saw a commercial for this place on TV, and this machine they let you go in and grab tickets is the primary reason he wanted his party here. I don't think he was disappointed!!

My sweet munchkins!

Em really wants some pizza, but it's milk for now! =)

Ryan in all his glory!

Happy Birthday, brother!  From your look-alike 3 month old sister!

Let It Snow!

We were excited to wake up this morning and see snow on the ground!  The kids immediately threw on some warm gear and headed outside.  In the name of a photo, I allowed Emerson's life to be risked, and Ryan was allowed to hold her for a bit.

Just enough snow for a snowman!

Our neighbor friends, Nicolas and Lexi walked down to get in on the action!  Because of the mild temps (YEA!!) the snow was melting fast, but the kiddos were still able to get some snowmencreatures built.

Christmas Day 2011

The whole gang!!

In full disclosure, the kiddos were NOT happy about having to stop playing to take these pics!..and Aunt Amy was a champ and got an unusually large amount of spit-up all over her.

And after all the photo effort, many of them turned out like this..a few heads cut off, and some crazy eyes/smiles...but it is what it is, right?! Real life!!!

Em takes her first pony ride amidst all the chaos!

And as soon as I find out who gave Julia the glitter powder, we're gonna have a talk!!  Geesch, this stuff is everywhere..I have a feeling Glammie is the culprit!..she and Juls have a thing for all things that sparkle!

Jesus Was Born On Christmas Morn!

I am sooo excited to report that this pic wasn't taken until the 10 o'clock hour!  When I sat on Santa's lap earlier this year, I told him all I wanted for Christmas was a good night sleep.  Jeff had to go in and check to make sure Juls was still breathing because I was getting nervous when the late hour rolled around and the princess was still asleep!!  The rest of us woke about 9am (and Em's up and down all night!), and I realized I'd forgotten to put the Christmas roast in...oops! Thank goodness I was able to improvise and speed up the cooking time by putting the meat in the oven! I'm totally blaming Krista for this because about a week ago she asked what would be on fire in the kitchen when she arrived this year..seems like every year it's something.  Makes for some fun memories. So, this year I told her I decided to serve the food up raw so we wouldn't have any chance of fire alarms and opening the windows/turning fans on. =)

Ry-guy literally dancing up and down when he sees his new Lego train.

Don't you just want to kiss those sweet cheeks?!!!

Merry Christmas 2011!

Julia proudly tells Daddy about each of the artwork pages she has made as part of our Christmas gift.

Merry Christmas 2011!

Christmas Eve 2011

On Christmas Eve we went to church, and then came back to our house for some yummy food + drink + presents + minute to win it games!  Sadly, Aunt Crystal was not feeling well and had to miss the fun...but it was otherwise a fantastic night!

Julia has been asking for  "big girl bike" ever since she went on a camping trip with Gram and Papa in September.  So guess what rolled in for her that night? =)

Gram and Papa checking out the fun personalized calendar made for them by Aunt Stacy.

Spoiled Emerson gets two people to change her diaper and put on her jammies tonight!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Emerson relaxes in Uncle Patrick's lap with her new bear!

Race Day!

A few weeks ago, 1st graders at Ry's school were given the task of creating a car out of household items.  Ry (and daddy!) made his out of an old instant coffee can (mine..my coffee-snob husband wouldn't drink that ick!), nuts, bolts and screws.  Today the entire 1st grade raced vehicles against one another.  After this, they raced by classes, and our guy WON!!!  It was so awesome to see Ry all excited and getting high-fives and hugs from the kids in his class, and he was so proud as the girls gushed over his baby sister. =)

Breakfast With Santa

We were excited to be invited to a breakfast with Santa at my friend Holly Winston's house this year.  She apparently has some connections, and was lucky enough to get Santa to fly into Lambert, leave his sleigh at the airport and drive a rental car to her house to meet with our kiddos!

Although the event was for kids + moms, Jeff came over for a bit to snap some photos of everyone, so I was excited at the opportunity to get a family pic of the festivities. And WOW, one that is NOT the typical mall + kids screaming photo. Yea!!  I have a feeling that next year will be different when Emerson is a little more aware of strangers!

Emerson's 1st Christmas

Santa had time to chat with each of the kids individually, and gave each one a special gift. (Thanks, Holly!)

And he read a story to the entire group.

I had to post a pic of my cutie nephews and record Colin's 1st Christmas also!

Fusion Christmas Party

Tonight at Fusion we celebrated Christmas--not really in traditional style. I went upstairs at church and found Ryan and Jeff in a battle.  Ry says, "Greatest time ever!"

Preschool Christmas Program

As usual, the kids had LOTS of family fans come out to watch the annual Kid's First Preschool Christmas Program.  Here we are waiting for the action to begin...and Ryan has already managed to get a chocolate sucker all over his face. (Thanks, Gram! Hehe. She keeps him stocked up!)

Jul, Ty and Ry

We manage to bribe Ryan into standing still for a bit longer for a photo with Gram and Papa.

And yet again for a pic with mommy! (Can you tell he's really not down with this. Can you say fake smile?!)

And a big thanks to Glammie for arriving every year over an hour early and beating the other spectators in the race for the front row! =)