It's beginning to look...

... a lot like Christmas!


We actually got our Christmas decorations up a week before Thanksgiving! I was too excited to wait any longer!


The girls weren't too impressed with the Christmas tree... although now that Avery is crawling, I'm sure she will find it pretty entertaining any minute now! (Our stockings are on backorder. Hopefully they will be here by Christmas! I got an extra stocking when I bought Brad and I new stockings two years ago, but never thought I'd need 2 extra, so now we have to start over!)



It's nice to see the house decorated for Christmas again! Last year we were too lazy (not to mention that I was 27 weeks pregnant!) Thanks, Daddy, for getting into the Christmas spirit a little early this year! You did a great job on the lights! I won't mention that you'll have to take them down in a few weeks...

Get out of the way!

Avery is finally CRAWLING! She has been on all 4's for awhile now. I guess she just got bored. I bet Alex figures it out soon... after she is left alone in the nursery a few times!

Do you remember these tiny babies enjoying their Musical Fairyland Gym for the first time?


Well here's Avery enjoying the Musical Fairyland Gym today...

I guess it's time to pack it up and send it to Little Miss Maddie to enjoy for a few months! Where have my babies gone?

NOTE: The girls and I have been sick, so we haven't had much to blog about since Thanksgiving. I had a sinus infection and the girls are still struggling with snotty noses. And in addition to their snotty noses, they are both teething. Alex now has 4 top teeth and two bottom teeth and Avery has her two bottom teeth and is cutting two top teeth. Hopefully they will be back at 100% soon! Poor Daddy. He worked overtime trying to keep all three of us smiling... and did a great job of it! He's the BEST!

Our First Thanksgiving

On Tuesday, we finally got to meet our friends John and Mary's baby girl, Miss Maddie! She is 3 months old now and is the cutest little angel! She is just PERFECT!


Mary and I traded babies for a few minutes!


On Thursday, we celebrated the Hutton Thanksgiving at Bart and Tana's house! We had a great time, as well as a great feast!! I realized after we got home that I only took a few pictures, all which seemed to be of the girls. I guess they kept me busy!


Hayes entertaining the girls:



The next day, we headed out to the ranch to celebrate with the Weaklys! We never pass up an invitation to hang out with them... they are such a big, fun family!

Brad with Avery and Kelli with Alex:


Avery just loved Maddie!


Alex and Hudson enjoying some cupcakes, thanks to Elizabeth and Momo!


I guess Hudson thought that Alex looked a little lonely in the wagon...


So he climbed on in!


And what a little sweetheart he is... he later pushed her in the walker!


Kenedy, the little hunter!


The guys couldn't resist a game of football!


We celebrated the Waites Family Thanksgiving on Saturday at John and Kelli's house! (Artwork by Hadyn!)


Setting the table...


The girls had already eaten lunch so they had some snacks while we ate.


Yum!



Blaire and I getting the desserts ready!


Aunt Ginger and Mema shared some leftovers with the girls:


Cousin Jamie playing with Alex:


Cousin Lindsey with Aunt Ginger and Avery:


Uncle Kenny and Alex:


Alex playing by herself in Kelli and John's bedroom:


The guys couldn't get enough of the hunting game on the Wii!


The girls were more into the board games...


PawPaw and Alex:


Thankfully, we only live minutes from our families, so we didn't have to do much traveling to have a great Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year and couldn't have asked for a better FIRST Thanksgiving for our little turkeys!

I was 18...

I was 18 the first time I got online, but my girls... 9 months old! The girls' good friend, Makenna, came over to visit a few weeks ago and shared her favorite website with us: www.kneebouncers.com!


My girls have always been interested in my laptop, so I finally handed it over and they just love interacting with the games... educational of course!

It's never too early, right?!?

Giving Thanks... 2 days early!

Avery developed a hemangioma on her lower back a few days after birth. Her pediatrician wasn't too concerned about it, but told us that because of it's location, she would like to have an MRI done to make sure that it isn't connected to her spinal cord. The MRI was yesterday.

We had to be at the hospital at 7:30am, meaning that we had to leave the house at 6am. And poor Avery wasn't allowed to eat or drink past midnight. So yesterday morning, we woke her up two hours earlier than normal and headed for the hospital. Nee came over so that Alex didn't have to get up early and sit at the hospital all morning.

She didn't get those 6am smiles from her Mommy! (Excuse the poor photo quality of my camera phone.)


We finally headed back for the MRI at 9:15am. Avery was a happy little camper, surprisingly on an empty stomach!


Because the MRI would take 2 hours, they had to sedate her. They laid her down on the bed and I held her hands as they put the mask on her face. She reached for me for 10 seconds or so and then her little hands fell to her side. It was so hard on Mommy and Daddy, but she handled it really well.

So for the next two hours, we waited... and waited. We hope that we're never sitting in a Pediatric Surgery Waiting Room staring at an empty stroller again.


Finally, the nurse showed up with the news that everything went well and she was in recovery. We met up with Avery sound asleep on the hospital bed.


They told us that she would likely wake up in 10-15 minutes, but due to the fact that the MRI was during her usual nap time, it took 45 minutes. She woke up in a great mood! She had no idea what had happened. She was quickly scooped up by Mommy and enjoyed some pedialyte. We had to wait a bit longer so she lounged in Daddy's lap and played with her new toy!


Finally, at noon, we headed for the door! Avery was glad to be back in her car seat to reunite with her sister at home. This was the first time they have been separated. She finished off her Pedialyte on the way home. They haven't been spoiled with juice yet, so the Pedialyte was a real treat!


Alex and Nee had a great morning! We were a little concerned about Alex waking up alone in the nursery, but she woke up giggling like always. And today, we got the great news that the MRI proved that the hemangioma is only topical and that there are no reasons to be concerned. It will likely go away over the next few years, but if not, when she is old enough, she can decide whether she wants it removed or not. We are glad this experience is behind us and relieved that our baby girls are HEALTHY! We are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for this year!