Christmas Cookies and Santa's Visit

A few weeks ago, Caleb and I made Christmas cookies together. His favorite part was pressing the cookie cutters into the dough and eating the icing. He wasn't wild about spreading the icing on the cookies, but we had a great time none-the-less. :) I really enjoyed this time to spend one-on-one with my big boy while Kevin got to cuddle with Noah.

We also took the boys to see Santa a couple weeks ago. I wanted a picture of just them with Santa, but as you can see it didn't work out that way. Despite all of our efforts at talking Santa up and reading lots of Santa stories, Caleb was still frightened by the jolly old elf. By the time we took this picture, he had stopped crying...he just has a blank stare for a face. He still loves to talk about Santa, though. Oh well...maybe next year we will capture the joy and love that Santa brings, but by then Noah will probably be terrified.

**Okay, well my scanner isn't working so just picture our family with Santa in your head... :)

This Christmas has already been so much fun it makes us so excited for the rest of this year's festivities. More Christmas pictures to come...

Perspective

It's amazing how perspective can change how you see things. Prior to Noah's birth, Caleb seemed to me to be on the small side of average (he has always been just under 50th percentile in height and weight). Now in comparison to Noah, he seems like a giant. It's the same with his maturity and abilities as well. Before Noah, he still seemed pretty "babyish" even though he had started talking in sentences, can run, etc. Now, he seems so mature! Activities, such as making Christmas cookies and doing crafts, that I never would have even tried doing with him prior to Noah's birth we are now enjoying together. And he is such a big helper! He has adjusted so well to his new role of "big brother" and is so sweet to Noah. He loves to kiss his head and promptly informs me whenever he is crying (as if we wouldn't know anyway). :) He often comes over and pats Noah, saying "Sweet Noah." We couldn't have imagined our transition to being a family of four going any smoother.

It's hard for me to believe that Noah will be a month old on Saturday! On one hand, it seems like he was just born yesterday while on the other hand it also seems like he has been part of our family forever. He is such a sweet baby and is a great sleeper! He has "woken up" this week and doesn't sleep quite as well at night as he has the past few weeks (partly due to his gassy tummy), but we are still very fortunate to get a relatively decent amount of nighttime sleep. ;) I will be excited to see how much he weighs when I take him in for his 1-month checkup on Friday!

Asking for prayers for a friend...

My sweet friend from college, Julie, is expecting her second child in March. She is only 26 weeks along and went into the hospital on Saturday night with strong contractions. They were able to hold off labor, but she will have to remain in the hospital for the duration of her pregnancy. Please pray that God keeps their precious little girl inside her for as long as possible. Also, pray for her husband Ian and their sweet little boy Ori as they are adjusting to not having Mommy at home.

Go here to read her blog. She is an amazing person and her faith is such an encouragement to me!

So much to be thankful for!

Caleb wanting to share his toys from his nativity with Noah...

..."my cup overflows." -Psalms 23:5

Our second little miracle...

Noah surprised us and came 10 days early! He was born Thursday, November 19 at 11:55pm...he just barely missed having a birthday on the 20th. He weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz. and is 19 inches long. He has DARK brown hair (the opposite of Caleb) and dark blue eyes. He is so beautiful! Caleb loves him already and has been so gentle and sweet! We are so thankful to God for entrusting us with another little miracle!

Our bags are packed...

We're ready to go! Well, almost...we still have a few things we need to do.

Only 2 weeks to go...but I'm hoping he'll decide to come sooner! Here is a picture of the three of us at the triplet's 2nd birthday party at My Gym last weekend. It could very well be the last picture of us as a family of 3!

And here is one that my Crystal, my sister-in-law, took of Caleb having a BLAST in the balls!!!

How much is that doggy in the window???

Here is a picture of Caleb on Halloween. We had a great time going to our church's "Trunk or Treat" and over to Caleb's Bumba and Pee-pa's House (aka Grandma and Grandpa) to see all of his cousins!