Awards...

And the "Mother of the Year" Award goes to....

MACKENZIE ANN!! She bathed Addelyn all on her own. I supervised, but she really did it all.




I let M hold Addelyn standing up for the first time. This was a big deal...she's been begging to do this. Of course, I didn't leave her side for a second!

And, finally, here's one of the cutie in the house. All warm and snug after her bath! She's 4 weeks old now!!

Dangerous Nate

Nathan has been amazing since the new baby arrived. He's still a little guy himself. (as long as they are in diapers - they are babies in my eyes!) He will be two on Jan. 9th! I simply can't believe that. He lights up our days and fills them with excitement. I love watching his "boy mind" work. He loves to stand on wobbly things and say, "WOOOOHHH!!" until he tips off of it. So fun.
Well, since his baby sister came Nate has been an even bigger stinker than normal. :) He swollowed a penny one day. We called poison control and they said it would pass on it's own. I had visions of an ER run in my head. Thank goodness it wasn't a quarter.
The day my Mom left to return home to GA I was nursing Addelyn when Nate decided to turn on the coffee pot and burn the tip of his finger on the burner. Poor boy!! SO SAD!! Although, he hasn't been climbing the counters recently!!
I'm sure this is just the beginning of his adventures!!

p.s. We now unplug the coffee maker when not in use AND the toaster...for good measure.

Mackenzie Days

Mackenzie to Mom: "Do you think God's house is colorful?"
Mom: "Oh, definetly yes. I absolutely think his house is colorful."
Mackenzie: "Good. Because I don't think I'd really like it if it were black and white."

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Mackenzie to Mom: "Today at school an elf read the morning message."
Mom: "Oh wow! That's fun!"
Mackenzie: "Well, do you know why I was pretty much scared all day at school today?"
Mom: "No, why Mackenzie?"
Mackenzie: "Because I'm really scared of elves."
Mom: "Well, you should know then that elves are not real, they are just pretend."
Mackenzie: "No, Mom. Fiction is not real. And Non-Fiction is real. I saw a story about an elf one time and it was NON-FICTION. So, Mom, elves are real."

Merry Christmas!

Addelyn Marie

Addelyn is here and is already one week old! She was born Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. 12:33pm. Weighing 8 lbs. 12 oz and 21 in long! Addelyn is an adorable baby. She has blonde/brown hair - quite the change in this family! She is quiet and content so far. I love snuggling with her and smelling that baby smell. Even in just one week she has already changed. She stays awake for a little bit longer these days before drifting back to sleep. Last night she slept in her bassinet for 4 hours on her own! I was proud and rewarded her by snuggling with her for the next hour. I am cherishing these days with her so tiny and don't want her to change too quickly!

Mackenzie is an awesome sister. She is so in love with Addelyn. She came running in from school this week yelling, "Addelyn...I'm home!!" She will teach Addelyn everything she knows and love her in the process.

Nate is a great brother too! He is sooo gentle with her. I'm proud of my not even two year old boy! He pats her head, kisses her, and wants to be near her. He loves to hold her - runs to the couch and gets into position!

Ryan is the best Dad I've ever seen. He oohed over a milk bubble in Addelyn's mouth the other day and that made me laugh! It was cute to see him so in love with our third...as if he hasn't seen all this before! He is patient and always willing to get up in the middle of the night just to hold her.

We are blessed. God is good. All the time.

A funny

Nate was cracking himself up today as he chased Lilly around the house. He would yell her name, "Yiyyy!!!" He was trying to catch her so he could wrestle one of his diapers on her. And that was just so funny to the little guy as he ran after her with a diaper in his hand!

Lilly is too fast for him...at least for now.

Double Digit Days!!!

WOOHOO!!! Yesterday I awoke with a spring in my step! My excitement is still brimming. Can you see my huge smiling face through this post?

I'm smiling because it is (what I call in my head) DOUBLE DIGIT DAYS!! Yesterday was the 10th of Nov....so much closer to the 28th than the 9th is! We are 17 days from due date, my friends.

The jury is still out on baby girl's name. I'm starting to get panicked. The hubs doesn't seem too stressed about it.

Girl clothes are washed and they are adorably small.

Nate has a new big boy dresser so baby can have his baby dresser. I still can't make myself switch his clothes over though - maybe tonight. There's so much finality to his baby days in that act for me. :)

This morning my sweet oldest daughter came around the corner to ask me if I would be her mother forever. It melted my heart as I kissed her sweet face. Of course I will my sweet Mackenzie! I'll be your mommy forever.

Now, everyone celebrate the DOUBLE DIGIT DAYS with me!

I voted! Did you??

Voting can become a tricky thing when you have kids. Do you bring the kids with you and torture yourself, your children, and all people around you? Ryan had a few hours off this morning so that he could vote. (YEA!) Our polls here in Wilmore opened at 6am, so Ryan set his alarm and left the house at 6:15am! My cell phone rang at 6:45am and when I answered Ryan said, (a bit too cheery for 6:45, I might add) "Time to fulfill your civic duty!" I dressed and walked out the front door in time to grab the keys and a kiss from Ryan as he came home. I voted and was home by 7:15am! ***This is one reason why we love Wilmore!*** It's a historic day today - we're looking forward to an evening of watching for the results!!

Mackenzie learned all about the election at school yesterday. She came home asking me who I was going to vote for. Her teacher showed them pictures of the candidates and let them mock vote behind a curtain and all! So, Mackenzie understood what we were doing and was excited to hear about it. In fact, in the bath last night I asked her who she voted for: "McCain, but I think Oklahoma will win." (She also told me that it was a secret and not to tell anyone...so...shhhhh!!)TOO CUTE! I don't know where she heard this - but it made me laugh! Apparently, Obama is a bit hard for a 5-yr old to remember! Maybe she's been soaking in something from all the political ads that have filtered into our home over the past several months.

We went into Lex this morning for bfast at "The Arches". (Code word for McDonald's in our house) The kids played and had a blast. Kenz dragged Nate all through the climbing things at the top - much laughter was made.

I finished my morning by going through the drive through at Starbucks and picking up my free cup of coffee for voting today! Yum! See??? It pays to vote!