Four Christmases

No, not the new Reece Witherspoon movie....we actually had 4 Christmases! It all began a week ago in Lubbock when we drove to visit my family to do Christmas with them and watch a Tech b-ball game. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pics from Christmas #1. Christmas #2 was on Christmas Eve with all the Dunn/Posey/Spannaus cousins...which was so fun! Then Christmas morning, Lee and the kids and I had our own Christmas, then we packed up all the remaining presents and headed to Tim & Terri's for Christmas #4. Wow! It was all so great! One side-effect of having so much Christmas is that our girls have been basically ignoring Lee & me for all the new toys! They love everything they got! Here are some (okay, a lot) of pictures from our 4 Christmases.

Annalee snuggling Brady while I did some last-minute present wrapping
the cousins at Christmas #2
Annalee & Aunt Lindsy
Hilary, Heath, & Brady
Gee, thanks Dave...always wanted to see Brokeback Mountain
silly Addie
Addie is obsessed with Beauty and the Beast, so we got her a set of little dolls; it even came with several different dress options for Belle
Annalee had asked for "a ballerina who wears a red dress". After searching everywhere online and in stores and having no luck, it came to me: EBAY!! You really can find anything on Ebay!! Please ignore the bed head.
Wally got more than he asked for when he tried to make Brady smile
these guys love making babies smile!!

long time no post!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in nearly a month! Not that there hasn't been anything going on. We've been busy decorating for Christmas, working on Annalee's AWANA verses, teaching Addie how to count (she can consistently count to 4!), going to Christmas parties, and watching Brady grow into a small moose (he's in the 90th percentile across the board). I also had a stomach bug last week, and miracle of all miracles, I'm the only one in our family who got it. Thank you Jesus!!
We've also been exposing Annalee to the arts: I took her to see The Nutcracker, which she absolutely LOVED, and Lee and I took her to see the local theater's production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She liked that too, but when I asked her which was her favorite, she immediately said The Nutcracker.

Our church had its annual children's Christmas program which actually just consisted of all the 2-yr-old through 6th-graders singing along to a CD of some Christmas songs and reading the Christmas story. But it was super cute to see the little ones dressed up in their costumes!

Annalee the sheep (far right)

Brady's adorable smileBrady's latest sounds

the sweetest sound

In my opinion there is nothing much sweeter than a baby cooing. Brady has started doing it in the last week or so, and I finally figured out a way to prompt him to do it: sing! He does it a few times in this video...just try to ignore my singing.

the past week in pictures

Here are a few pictures from our past week that are representative of some of the things that happen a lot around here.

Annalee loves on Brady every chance she gets.
Brady smiles and coos all the time now!
Lee & Brady enjoyed some male bonding while watching football over the weekend.

the big day

My sis-in-law Mary Kathryn got married last weekend...boy was it a big event! There were nearly 400 people who came to celebrate as she finally got to marry Tim. I think one of my favorite parts was the rehearsal dinner. I loved hearing all the stories that were told and advice that people gave to Mary Kathryn and Tim. They sure have a LOT of people who love them!!!! I've managed to weed through all my pictures and found a few good ones for you to get a glimpse of her big day. And for those of you who weren't there, Annalee was the flower girl....although instead of walking down the aisle with flower petals, she carried a ribbon. There were about 25 of us "honorary attendants" who walked down the aisle prior to Becky (maid of honor) who were family, childhood friends, college friends, etc. We were in boy-girl pairs, and each girl carried a flower down the aisle and handed it to Terri or Connie (Tim's mom). Annalee was last to walk down, and handed them a ribbon for Terri and Connie to use to form MK's bouquet with the flowers we had brought them. (How creative and clever is she?!?) Then MK's dad took it to her where she was waiting and walked her down the aisle as her brothers David & Wally played the guitar and sang. It was beautiful! Congratulations, Mary Kathryn and Tim!!!!!!!!

As a side note, I can just imagine that right now MK & Tim are strolling along the beach in Mexico, or maybe getting ready for a romantic dinner together....and I must say I'm a bit envious. Okay a lot envious. Ho hum.

the family shot

Addie just wanted to play
Annalee couldn't keep her eyes off MK...it was so precious.

costumes and fun with friends

Here are some pictures from Halloween and the MCA fall festival. This was the 4th year we've gone to the festival and taken a group picture with the Voskamps and Smiths. It is so fun to watch our families grow and to laugh at how it gets more difficult each year to get a good picture. Getting that many kids to sit still and look at the camera is like hearding cats.

recent pictures of Brady

He loves his swing!
He's such a good sleeper.

Go Raiders!!!!!

Annalee loves holding him.

Both girls love hanging out with Brady and entertaining him.

Happy Birthday, Addie!

We celebrated Addie's 2nd birthday on Friday...as you can see from the pictures, it was so fun!

deep thoughts....by Annalee

It was sprinkling on the way to church this morning (yes, we made our first family outing today!), and by the time church was over the rain had stopped. As we were leaving, Annalee asked, "Did it stop raining?" Lee said, "Yes." Annalee replied, "The clouds had to go tee tee, huh?"

magnetic diapers

Here's how the conversation went last night:

ASHLEE: Lee, will you change Addie's diaper?
LEE: (Leaves with Addie & comes back a moment later) Ashlee, where are her diapers?
ASHLEE: (a little irritated that he doesn't see them) In the drawer. I just restocked yesterday.
LEE: No, it's empty.
ANNALEE: I put my magnets in them! (Referring to the little magnetic pieces that go with one of her toys)

At this point I've already begun walking to the girls' room, but as Lee & I walk in, we look at Annalee's bed and this is what we saw:Annalee was so proud of herself and opened up each diaper to show us how busy she'd been during her quiet time that afternoon!

Let's play name that newborn!

Are these kids related or what?!? Scroll down to reveal answers...
no peeking!

A

B

C

A = Addie
B = Brady
C = Annalee

more pics of Brady

me, Brady, & my Dad

Rachel and Cooper stopped by on Brady's birthday, the same day they were discharged

Mimi and Brady
Annalee and Brady
Mommy, Addie, & Brady
Cousin Joe and Brady
"Wake up, Dad!"
Becky and Brady
"No cameras, please!"
Brady's first nap in his own crib

Brady Elijah is Here!!!

Baby Brady has entered the building! He showed up at 8:13 AM Monday morning. He was 8 pounds 13 1/2 ounces and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. Ashlee was measuring 37 weeks when she delivered so apparently the kid was living in her lungs. Baby and Mommy are doing good, Dad is still as good looking as ever but he didn't really have to do anything. Following are some pictures from that fateful day. Annalee and Addie are both really excited Brady is here, if not a little confused. Everyone is doing wells. Thanks for prayers, if you would keep praying for Ashlee to heal quickly and for Brady to eat well and remain healthy. If you would like to come see us we will be in the hospital room 211, we will be there until Thursday some come on up. The real blogger will be back soon.
Thanks,
Lee