Christmas Express

This kids woke up to a special surprise this morning.  Thacker (our elf on the shelf) left them all new Christmas PJs with tickets for the Christmas Express and a Christmas lights scavenger hunt to complete on our trip.  They were SOO excited!  Ryker wanted to put on his new elf pjs all day long.

Finally, it was time!  They couldn't wait to load up and go look at lights together.

They were all cozy in their robes.  We found almost everything on our list and they had a great time.

This video is just for audio.  As we drove around we saw one house that had an American flag hanging in the window all lit up.  Robert and I quickly said, "'Merica"  Ryker started saying it too and oh my goodness, did we laugh!

Gingerbread House

We decorated our gingerbread house tonight.  I just bought the kit that came with a pre-assembled house, icing, and candy for decorating.  It was nice and easy!

Daddy seemed to think his baking experience at Panera Bread made him an expert icing piper.

Little Sister was happy to be near us as we worked.

This little dude might've eaten more candy than he decorated with, but he did have fun!

Ryker wrote all the kids' initals.

Ryker~Camden~Riella

Riella Love

Riella is getting so expressive these days and just grins all the time when you talk to her.  She is just so precious and we all love her so much!  Thought I'd post a few new pictures of her sweetness for all to enjoy.  :-)

Ryker was talking to her the other day and I just barely missed her giant grin that came on the tails of him saying, "I love you, Sissy."  Melt my heart!

She especially loves the time after the boys go to bed and she has me all to herself.  She is a ham already and I love it!

I sent a picture to several of my relatives of her outfits nearly every day.  She's starting to really enjoy the photo sessions.  ;-)

Camden was holding her the other day and she was just smiling like crazy.

Then she decided she was hungry.  Cam thought he'd help her out.  LOL!

And, just one more....

Jingle John

The library put on a special event this evening called Jingle John.  Jingle John also goes by Jungle John and is  a local kid's performer.  He owns lots of different exotic and unusual animals that he brings and tells the kids all about.  Ryker and I had a special date to go see him.  We got there early to make sure we got tickets and spent the time checking out new books.

Here he is with his Boston Terrier "Olive" reading a book all about her called Olive, The Other Reindeer.  It was a very cute story.  He just paraphrased the book, but I'd love to check it out and read it to the kids sometime.

He brought a leopard gecko, a rabbit, a crab, a pigeon, and a tree frog too.  But, the highlight was the reindeer Noel.

The kids got to go up and pet the animals and take pictures at the end.  He was in heaven!

First Snow

We had our first big snowfall over the past couple of days.  Ryker was on a two hour delay Friday morning and they got to play with some snow inside.

This is the first time I've let the kids do this.  They had a great time and it really wasn't messy at all.  It's perfect for when Robert isn't around to go out with them.

Waiting for the bus in our new winter wonderland.

Cam had to get dressed and go out too.  I had a hard time getting him to come in after Ryker got on the bus.

The boys found Thacker, our elf, outside armed with snowballs this morning.  

Cam was ready for some sledding.  

This kid just loves to run around with Tucker.

Best thing about playing in the snow...it wears them out!  Yay!

One Month

I can't believe it has been an entire month since Riella joined our family!  The time has flown by.  She is such a sweet baby and is fitting into our family perfectly.  The boys are still completely crazy over her.  For an example, just watch this:

This boy sure does love his sister.

She is still napping off and on throughout the day, but is definitely staying awake for longer periods during the day and is very alert when she is.  She is super social and does a great job of making eye contact and even smiles back at you as you talk to her.  She is a bit fussier than the boys were and definitely likes to be held.  She refuses to take a pacifier so we haven't figured out a way for her to truly self-soothe at all.  For now, extra cuddles seem to do the trick for the most part. 

She is nursing 7-8 times a day an average of 3-4 hours apart.  She nurses more often in the evenings as she prepares for a longer stretch (last night was 6 hours!!!!) during the night.

 

We had her one month check up today as well.  She weighs 10 lbs. 3 oz. (74th percentile) and is 23" which is off the charts.  She is definitely trending tall and skinny. 

Dr. A said she looked great and was impressed with her sleeping habits.  Riella even showed off a bit and was smiling at Dr. Anderson like crazy while she examined her.  Dr. A said that is a skill that usually doesn't develop until 6-8 weeks.  Apparently, Riella is going to be a social butterfly. :-)

SSMT: Verse 23

“And if you search for Him with all your heart and soul, you will find Him.” – Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV