"Minute to Win It" Christmas

Mandy found some fun "Minute to Win It" Christmas games online. She thought it would be fun to do them for our Christmas Eve. So we got the supplies, cleared out our dining room for the space and it was on. It was so fun, I haven't laughed so much in a long time. First up was the boys, they had to throw snowballs (marshmallows) in the Christmas bin. It was so hard to get a picture of them holding still.



Then the girls had to stack as many Christmas cups as they could with one hand.
This one was funny. Paola and Mandy had to hold a piece of ribbon in their mouth. At the bottom of the ribbon was a bom bom. With Vaseline on their nose they had to try to get the bom bom to stick on their nose without using their hands. So they could look like Rudolph.
Next was stacking bolts on top of each other and using only a candy cane.
Finally using a paper towel roll, a yard stick, and Christmas ornaments. See how many you can balance on the yard stick.
After the games were over. We let the kids open their presents from us.
Before we went to bed Ashley and Brooklyn opened their Christmas Eve jammies.
Christmas morning was very quiet. Ashley helped Brooklyn open her presents.
Brooklyn with her Christmas loot!

Christmas Time!

I cannot believe December is over. We had a great Christmas and had so much fun. In Early December the Emma and Lindsay performed at the Dickens Festival. While we were there we saw two of the wives from Sister Wives. The girls (and I) were star struck. They were so sweet and let the girls get a picture with them.


It was time to find our Christmas tree. It didn't take us long, but Ash and I were so excited that we got it tied to the top of the car ourselves.

Time to decorate. Brooklyn helped the best she could.We also celebrated Ashley's 20th birthday. Since her birthday fell during finals we celebrated after finals! Everyone came over and made her day better. Paola also brought a pinata. We did our best with our small back porch area.

Another December birthday is Nate's. He turned 3 years old this year. He had a fun party at Fiesta Fun.

Parker and Allie look like they are having fun. Oh Allie looks a little squished. You know what will fix that?
Add Brooklyn!
And then Penelope felt left out. How are you doing Allie?
Don't I have the most adorable nieces ever?

Brooklyn is 1 month!

Today Ms Brooklyn is one month old. I can't believe it's been a month already. She is such a good baby. She only cries when she is hungry or needs a burp. When she is awake she loves for you to talk to her or sing to her.

Her first two weeks home she had her days and nights mixed up. She would be up all night and sleep all day. She wasn't fussy or anything, she just would be awake and looking around at everything. I didn't want to lay her down when she was awake. So that was our bonding time. After her first two weeks she started sleeping better at night. She still gets up about everything three hours to eat, but it's not all night.

Right after she was born she nursed really well. Then just after Thanksgiving she started having a bad reaction every time she ate. I then moved her to regular formula. I didn't think I would be sad to not nurse anymore, and I am. She did well on the formula for a few days, and then started having the same reaction again. We now have her on soy formula and hoping she continues to do well.

She holds her head up really well. Every time I put her on my shoulder to burp her she lifts her head up for a while. It's so cute. I get excited when she smiles. I know they are gassy smiles, but I love them anyways. I still have not been able to catch one on camera.

Finally she loves bath time. She is so good and doesn't cry one bit.

Can I just say, I am so lucky to have so many people I can call if I need anything or have questions. We are truly blessed to have so many family members there for us.