Christmas Scenes!

Alternate Title: 

A Million Pictures of What We've Been Up To

Gingerbread Village making...

Snuggly clothes sleeping...

Ice watching...

More snuggly clothes sleeping...

Parade of Lights attending...

(...and going NUTS over Santa when we run into him unexpectedly. Like run up to him for a hug and nearly tackle him to the ground! Good thing Santa was a good sport and hopped Liam right up on his knee!)

Visiting Santa Land in our pj's...

Receiving the world's most adorable handmade gift Liam made at school...

(Can you frame oven mitts? Because I'm pretty sure I'm never going to actually use it for fear of messing it up.) 

And yet more snuggly clothes sleeping, under the tree this time...

And Will and I are off to the Nutcracker Ballet tonight - I'm so excited!

Liam Says...

I keep a page of notes in my phone where I write down the funny things Liam says and does. Here's a compilation over the last couple of months since I first did this HERE...

Talking about Halloween:

My Mom: "Liam, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

Liam: "A fireman! What baby Liesl be?"

My Mom: "A Dalmatian."

Liam: "A Dalmatian doggie! I want to pet baby Liesl doggy!"

Liam's adjective of choice when describing something is "really super!" Whether something is "really super big!" he's running "really super fast!" or that plane is "really super high!" in the sky.

After we finished reading a book:

"I'm getting another book. The end!"

Liam loves to run up to you and grab your legs and yell, "Save me! Save me!" from various animals. Usually alligators. I love his imagination! 

I was trying to get Liam to come over to me one day. His response was, "Mom, I'm busy (biddy) right now. I have to talk on the phone." Then he walks away with his toy phone saying "hi"...

If you ask Liam if he wants something (food, milk, etc.) and he doesn't he says, "No, I'm good." 

"I'm not sleepy! My legs are awake!"

Will was showing Liam the full moon outside one night:

"The moon! It looks like a soccer ball!"

His elf on the shelf, Burrito, is pronounced "Brrrr-Rico!" 

When I ask him where something is and he doesn't know:

"I just don't know!"

If he messes up something:

"Awww maaaan!" He also has the funniest arm gesture that goes with it!

I've mentioned before that Liam is a major backseat driver. His recent request:

"Mama, turn. Turn! The sun is in my eyes!"

When I asked him what he and his friend Layla and Mallory did during Sunday School:

"We were rawring!"

When Will asked him what he did with his friend Katie at church one night:

"I trapped Katie Ryan!" - He's still REALLY into trapping everyone and everything. It's usually the poor dogs. He will built the most elaborate traps with anything and everything he can get his hands on (toys, pillows, furniture).

During our ice storm the other week:

Liam: "I want to go skating on the ice!"

So Will held on to him and let him walk/skate a few feet on the ice.

Liam: "That made me dizzy!"

The other day when Liam was supposed to be helping Will wrap my Christmas presents:

Me: "Where's Daddy?"

Liam: "Daddy wrapping your Christmas present."

Me: "Why don't you help him?"

Liam: "I can't. I'm busy (biddy) with my toy."

And my current favorite....

"I'm choking! I need a cookie!"

THREE Months!

Liesl Penelope, you are THREE months old!

You have changed so much this month. Mostly through your personality which is shining through more and more everyday! You love to smile and laugh, although I'm still waiting for those full on baby belly laughs to arrive! 

You are my big (to us) baby! We won't have real stats until your 4 month appointment, but our scale at home has you at 12.2 lbs. 

I LOVE your thighs! 

You are wearing 0-3 month clothing, size newborn shoe (but mostly socks), and size 1 diapers. 

I still don't have you on a set schedule, but you are such an easy on-the-go baby that it just works for us. You are starting to spread your feedings out to about every 4 hours and are a very efficient nurser. I'm a lot more laid back about nursing this time around and don't feel the need to pump a bottle every time we have plans to go somewhere. It makes life so much easier not having to plan all that out, just as long as I have my nursing scarf! 

Sleep overall has been great! You usually go to bed between 10-11pm and sleeping until 6-7am. Last week was rough because you and I were both battling some congestion and you woke up a lot to nurse. I think your throat was just dry from breathing through your mouth all night because whenever I woke up to nurse you I was chugging water as well for the same reason. Luckily it has passed and the past few nights have been back to normal! 

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving this past month, and we are in full-on holiday mode over here with numerous outfits and accessories! 

 Your head control is ridiculous and you are SO close to rolling from your back to your belly. I will put you on your back and within seconds you are on your side wiggling around. I watch you try to launch yourself over, but you can't seem to get over your chunky little arm :) 

You are a chatter box! (Just like your brother was and still is.) We talk back and forth all the time, you mostly say "aaahhhh" sounds and some gurgling sounds. You also talk to yourself when you're tired like you're singing yourself to sleep JUST like Liam did! 

You also love tummy time which I've mentioned before is SO different from your brother. You will lie there and lift up and look around or look at yourself in the mirror forever. Or sometimes you just fall asleep! 

Your biggest change this month has been discovering your hands and your tongue! You are constantly examining your hands with such intensity. You also love to stick your tongue out and make lots of little spit bubbles! You are also batting at toys on your playmate and grabbing onto them. I will lay toys around you while you are on the floor and you will wiggle around and grab them. Sometimes you just touch them but sometimes you shake or even throw them! Your favorite toy is your Cozy Cutie Baby Doll. 

Things You Love:

Playing with your hands and taggy toys. I have a feeling Santa will be bringing you more of those!

Smiling! So far making kissy noisy is what makes you smile the most. 

You seem to enjoy bath time and getting a lotion massage after.

Your k'tan carrier. You sleep SO well in it and I can get so many errands run. Plus everyone thinks it's adorable to see your little head and bow peeking through! 

Being held! You are not a high maintenance baby at all in my opinion, but you do get demanding about being held sometimes. You are just curious and like to be able to look around! 

Things You Don't Love:

We are still in a battle with the bottle. It doesn't help that you've only had a bottle maybe 10 times or so. I have learned this month that you will take it much easier if the milk is super, super warm. Like if you don't down it within the first 10 or 15 minutes, it has to be reheated. You are such a little diva about it and will spit and chew on it until it's right. :) 

Liesl, we love you so so much! You are such a JOY and make us smile every single day! 

Meeting Santa!

Yesterday we went to see the jolly big man! 

I snapped some quick phone pics of the kids before we left. I'm glad I did because you can't see Liam's bow-tie in the official Santa pic, and I'm just dying over it! Excuse his poor cheek, he fell at MOPS and hit his face on the edge of a table. But he's a trooper and still looks pretty handsome in my opinion! 

Liesl looked beyond adorable in her Christmas dress and huge bow! It's kind of hard to tell, but her dress is really ruffly up top and has layers of tulle underneath. The fluffier the better, I think! 

We went back to the same Santa we've seen the past three years and there's a reason! 

First Liam went up and they chatted about what he wanted (a truck!), and what he was going to leave for Santa on Christmas night (a truck!). I think we'll leave some cookies instead :)

Then Liesl joined the party! 

 I also got a picture of just Liesl and Santa. I wanted a separate one this year since it's her first Christmas, but from now on I'll probably just do sibling shots. If not, that's a lot of pictures to display every year! After Liesl's picture, Santa had Liam come back over to him and he gave him a book! Liam was THRILLED to say the least, and I had to tell him to say bye and that it was time to go or I bet he would have stayed all day! 

You can take as many pictures as you want with your own camera (all of the above), but I always buy the official pictures as well. 

Here are this year's winners! 

The Weekend That Wasn't.

This weekend was supposed to be our busiest weekend of the month. We had the Parade of Lights to go to with my parents, our church's annual women's event and lunch, a Baylor football game to watch/attend, Liam was going with my parents on a Polar Express train ride, and Will's parents were going to keep Liesl so we could sneak away for our annual Nutcracker Ballet date. Then Icemaggedon reared it's ugly head and kept us indoors almost all weekend. We missed the light show, the Nutcracker, my church event, and Liam's train ride. Boo.

The weekend definitely wasn't a total loss however. Most of our activities have since been rescheduled and are conveniently spread farther apart. Will's office was closed Friday so he was forced to stay home (woohoo!), and the roads were clear enough for Will and Liam to trek to Waco for the Baylor game. Liesl and I had a girls day and watched the game from the comfort (and warmth!) of our home. And we WON!

The weekend was also spent eating warm food, playing, snuggling by the fire, watching White Christmas for the first time, and enjoying the stillness of being home together with nothing to do. With two weeks until Christmas, I think it was just the weekend we needed!

Liam dressing himself for the ice storm.

Burrito set up Liam's felt tree to help combat the cabin fever. Such a sweet elf! :)

Someone discovered her hands recently! 

Our Elf on the Shelf, Burrito!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a special visitor come stay with us, and we celebrated his arrival with a delicious North Pole Breakfast! 

Our new friend, Burrito (his name miiiiight get changed next year), came to live with us for the Christmas season, and so far Liam is loving his new pal! 

He is quite the chef and had a feast prepared for us that morning!  

On the menu were North Pole Donuts, Fruit Candy Canes, a Rudolph Pancake for Liam and Christmas Tree Pancakes for us. We all ended up eating the Christmas Tree pancakes though because Liam would NOT eat his beloved Rudolph's face - just the antlers. Kid can't say no to bacon :)

We Burrito cooked everything the night before (HIGHLY recommended, especially if you have an early riser!) so I snuck into the kitchen and set everything up while Will, Liam, and Liesl watched cartoons in our bedroom. Then I told Liam there was a surprise waiting for him, and he came running in! 

B brought Liam a note from Santa explaining who he is and kind of what this whole thing is about. He also brought Liam the book to read and some special gifts from the North Pole! (aka Target Dollar Spot). Truthfully we didn't even read Liam the book until the next day and just kind of skimmed it. We plan to do it a little differently anyways so we didn't play up that aspect. We are three days in and so far Liam just thinks of B as a silly friend we search for in the mornings and then he goes home to the North Pole at night. We did tell him Burrito tells Santa about what a sweet boy he is, but we did not emphasize that he tells Santa when Liam is being naughty or that it has any relationship to how many gifts he will get. 

Little lady got some reindeer antlers too! 

The way we are doing Elf on the Shelf: This is our first year and it may change over the years, but right now we decided we want Burrito to just be more of a friendly face who does silly things/plans Christmas activities/brings special little gifts and reminds Liam that Christmas is about love and being kind. We do not tell Liam that Burrito is watching him and going to tell Santa not to bring him any presents if he's "naughty." 

Our real message to Liam (and eventually Liesl) is that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth and an extra special time to show your friends and family how much you love them. The wise men brought baby Jesus gifts when he was born because they love him, and Mommy and Daddy and Santa bring Liam gifts because we love him. So being naughty or nice will not get your more or less presents. Liam knows if he does something wrong that there are consequences, but we don't associate that with his Christmas gifts. He gets his consequence, apologizes, is forgiven, and we move on. And Santa forgives too. Just like God forgives us when we sin. It's actually a pretty easy message for a child to understand! 

via

This book is great at explaining and combining the Santa part of Christmas with the real Christmas Story! 

So far Burrito has made us breakfast, wrapped and set out Liam's advent books by the tree, brought Liam a candy cane (which he conveniently had just asked for at bedtime the night before and been told no - smart elf!), and is now snoozing in our tissue box! 

I love the look on Liam's face when he discovers B each morning! It's so true - the magic of Christmas is TEN times better when you're an adult! 

A Time for Thanks!

Our Thanksgiving was great but busy! We got to celebrate with both our families like we usually do, but they both happened to be celebrating at the same time this year so we were hustling! 

I'd love the say they were intently watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but Toy Story was on. And Toy Story always wins.

My littlest turkey's first Thanksgiving!

Liam and Liesl's first Thanksgiving in similar pjs!

And all dressed up!

Some quick pics I managed to get of Liesl with her Yaya and Liam with his Mom-Mom! 

We went to my aunt's house first and stayed for a couple of hours visiting and eating lunch #1. Then we drove to Will's cousin's house for lunch #2 and visiting afterwards. I couldn't handle two lunches, but I managed to have two set of desserts. I mean I didn't want to be rude and not have anything :) 

We were so rushed we never remembered to take a family picture, and by the time we got home Liam was passed out cold and went straight down for a nap. I was able to get a quick picture with my little lady though, so I'll take it! 

I'm thankful now and everyday for my faith, family, and friends!