Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas! Every Christmas morning we torture our children by making them stand at the top of our stairs while Ryan goes down and makes sure everything is "ready". By that I mean turning on the Christmas lights, getting Christmas music going, and just double-checking things to make sure Santa was on top of everything the night before! And here is the proof of the torture being inflicted at 6:15 am! Actually, this year was a little different because Lexi decided on her own that when she woke up she was going to read her scriptures. It was her way of remembering the true meaning of Christmas. And she did. I heard the girls door slam 5 minutes before they ran into our room. During that time, Lexi gathered Kendri and Kyson into her bed and read 2 verses of scriptures to them! I thought that was a great idea!

Poor Shayli is not an early riser. She missed out on Christmas morning because I decided to let her sleep in. Fortunately, she didn't even notice!

The kids had plenty to open and I dare say were spoiled rotten! Santa brought them skiis....more on that later!

After we opened our presents, we got ready for church. Church was at the same time as always - 10:00 am. After church, we headed down to Tracy to celebrate with the rest of Ryan's family . We had an awesome day and really hate to see the holidays end! Boo!

Gingerbread Houses

Here's my tribute to gingerbread houses......I mean, I "only" made 60 of them. I suppose it deserves a tribute. Too bad I didn't get a picture of my house looking like Gingerbread Land. We had to eat at Taco Bell that night because there was no room in the inn. I spent ALL DAY constructing my mini-masterpieces. Granted, it is only graham crackers. But you would be surprised at how long it takes to make 60 of them. (Or maybe you wouldn't.) Luckily, I had help from 2 neighbors.

Here's the kids creating their houses at the school Christmas parties. I went to Kendri's kindergarten party first and Kyson made his gingerbread house. Then I zipped on over to Lexi's classroom to help there. It was very busy but it is a fun tradition for the kids!

Parcel-Post, Please

Going.......

Going..............

Gone! I decided to send a present to Grandma and Pa in Colorado this year. COD. Do you think it'll get returned???

Santa Claus and Hay Rides

We took the kids to Jackson in the beginning of December for a hayride through town to see the lights. We went with some friends and had a great time! Here we are on the hayride. It was a bit chilly, but no need to fret.....we had free hot chocolate and cookies to keep us warm!
The kids love doing this. We went last year and it's become somewhat of a tradition now!

Before the hayride, we got to visit with someone very important......

It was Shayli's first time to see Santa and I dare say she liked it! There were no tears for her!

Lexi and Kendri are old pro's at sitting on jolly old St. Nick! I think there was talk about a certain microscope Lexi is hoping to have on Christmas morning. (btw, her probing, scientific mind takes after me. Wink, wink.)

Kyson didn't ask for anything except the candy canes sitting next Santa. Shocker, right?

And I think Kendri was interested in some crafting iron beads. We'll see if Santa delivers!

Christmas Princesses

Lexi and Kendri have been stealing Shayli lately when I haven't been watching. They like to take her to their room and have her become a part of their make-believe games. Shayli usually ends up being the "baby" in their game of house, but sometimes she gets a little more dramatic role......like princess! Oh my, is Shayli in for it!

Shayli is 5 Months

It's really hard to get any pictures of Shayli smiling. Remember my beef about it when we were doing the ultra-sound? When we couldn't get any good head shots? Well, nothing has changed. Every time I get the camera out, she starts to glare at me and get fussy. This is the closest thing to smiling I've got of her. But we'll take it!

Shayli turned 5 months today.....it's hard to believe less than 6 months ago I was waddling around trying to imagine what our new little baby would bring! I feel like Shayli has been a part of our family for much longer than 5 months. In fact, I can hardly remember life without her (or maybe that's just sleep deprivation)! I must say, she is the best snuggler around. She likes to be held facing toward me which is opposite of all my other kids. She buries her little face in my neck and nuzzles me. It is her favorite way to fall asleep. I love giving her kisses on her little lips. It's so hard to resist when my nose fits perfectly above her little nose. It's obvious we were made for each other! :)

And on to some stats......She gets up 1-2 times a night. We are NOT on a good napping schedule. Every time she falls asleep it's time to load up in the car. She's rolling over like a champ and is starting to end up in different places than where I put her. She's scoots a little bit and the kids are having a good time helping her practice sitting up. Overall, she's growing and developing her own personality. She weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs 8 oz (25 percentile) at her 4 month well-child appointment. And she was 25 inches long (75th percentile). She's been such a joy to our little family!

Christmas Traditions

Every year the women in the Reese family get together after Thanksgiving and help Pam (m mother-in-law) decorate her house. We make a weekend of it and go hog-wild! We usually spend the night without any children except the babies. This year Shayli came. We decorated Friday night and through Saturday. By the time the afternoon came, we were ready for a change of scenery. We went to lunch and hit up some of our favorite shopping spots. Whooooo-hooooo!