Our Christmas Card

So Sweet..

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters

I found this on Pinterest (of course) and I think it's so sweet! B sent a copy to his phone so he can always look back at it!

Important Dates

November 10th-Ava started reaching for us. Love it!!! I also love when she won't go to anyone but me! She's a smart girl! She knows who buys her pretty dresses!!!

November 21st-Ava maybe/possibly waved bye at Hammontrees. We had never really practiced this but I was told at lunch the babies should know how to wave by their next appointment so we started working on it immediately! I think she was waving by to Caroline Gearhart if I remember correctly! She hasn't really done it since then so I think it was just a fluke! We do wave bye to Coco and Layla every morning when we let them outside to potty!

November 29th-Knox started clapping! And he hasn't quit!! He claps when he's happy and he claps when he is sad and all of the times in between! He loves for me to say "Yahh" while he's doing it! So cute!

December 4th-Ava played peek a boo with me. She covered her little eyes and would wait for me to say "Where's Ava?" and then she would uncover them. We played this for 30 minutes. She laughed so hard every time she would uncover her eyes! It was so cute! The next day we played this game and she was laughing so hard she puked! So no more peek a boo on a full stomach!

December 4th-Brooks said dada!!! I don't think he really knows who dada is but he started saying and it says it all of the time now! So cute! I guess he will be my talker!

December 6th-The babies experienced their first snow! There wasn't much on the ground and we never even walked outside that day but I still wanted to record it!

December 6th-Brooks started clapping! He also started blowing bubbles and running his finger over his mouth. I always thought he would be a musician! ha

December 7th-Ava got her first tooth! I was so ready for that thing to break through! She was a little fussy a few days before it happened! I think they are getting their teeth in according to their birth order! Or maybe girls are just always first at everything!

December 13th-Brooks got his first tooth! I wasn't home of course so Gigi found it! It's his bottom right tooth! Yahh Brooks! We are so excited for him! He hasn't acted like it bothered him at all! He also kind of started crawling. I'm not going to count this as the official start because I didn't see it and it was only two little steps!

December 17th-Ava got her second tooth! I guess I'm going to have to stick my fingers in her mouth every day to see what's going on in there! She is such a big girl now! Now we are all waiting on Knox to get a tooth!

December 19th-I'm pretty sure Ava said mama. I'm not sure if she was even talking to me but she said it and that's all that matters!

December 20th-Brooks got his second tooth! Ava and Knox both said Mama today and Knox set up by himself! It was a big day at our house! I can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow!

Christmas Bunco!

Allison and Elizabeth hosted Christmas bunco this year and it was so much fun! There was super yummy food, really good cranberry margaritas, and really good dirty Santa gifts! There is one necklace that I'm pretty sure all twenty of us will own in the next two weeks. So cute! It does come in several colors so maybe we won't all look exactly alike!

Not sure why these pictures are super tiny.....
Friends!
My Dirty Santa gift! I'm two for two this year for Dirty Santa gifts! I really love both gifts I've received! I'm a little worried about my gift giving though. No one wanted the scarf I brought! ha I thought it was really cute but I'm not sure that anyone else did! It never got stolen! I'll try harder next year!
Oh and before I left for bunco I fed all of the babies so all B would have to do was put them in bed. I was feeding Knox carrots and peas. He sneezed three times in a row. I was covered! Thanks Knox and sorry girls if I smelled funny!

I need to give a shout out to B! He kept the babies all by himself two nights in a row so I could go out! This is a big deal for him! He usually calls my mom to come over for backup but she was unavailable so he was on his own this time! Thanks B!

B holding almost sixty pounds of babies! Macho Man!

The first night be called me before I made it out of the neighborhood to ask me how to make a bottle... He muttered something about me trying to sabotage him... ha

The second night I caught him giving Brooks Tylenol before I even left the house. He claimed he had a fever and then he was like, "Oh I think his teeth are hurting him." The kid hadn't made a peep all day! Tylenol is B's secret weapon! I think he gives them all a big dose so they will go to sleep early! This of course drives me crazy because I'm not a big fan of medicine but, whatever!

Thursday I came home and noticed Ava was asleep with bare feet. B had put preemie socks on her.. The girl has huge feet like her mommy anyway so they basically covered her big toe! ha

Cookies!

Wednesday night I went to a cookie exchange at Tressa's house! There were so many cookies! They were all really delicious too! I spotted several Pinterest recipes I have wanted to try! The "Brown Sugar cookies" from Pinterest were there and they were SO good! Definitely my favorite cookie! Sarah made the "2011 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie" from Pinterest. She said they required a million ingredients and took two days to make them but I think it was completely worth it! They were really good! Very soft and chewy! They almost (three way tie) got the best cookie of the night award! My contribution was a bit of a disappointment! I thought about doing slice and bakes but at the last minute made cheesecake squares instead. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I know these aren't cookies but they were easy and really good! I had to pull the "triplet excuse" I just didn't have time to make anything else! Tressa had awards for the best tasting cookie, most unique cookie, most decorative, and maybe something else... Caroline was a winner! Her Christmas tree cookies won the award for Most Unique! They were pretty cute!

Caroline with her prize!
Caroline and Me!
Friends!
The Grand Prize Cookies! Go Carol!
We also had a gift exchange. I feel like a always get stuck with the gift no one else wanted but this year I racked up! I got a Super Cute Jonathan Adler iphone case! Thanks for everything Tressa! Your party was fun!

Here is a link to my recipe that isn't a cookie, is super unhealthy, won zero awards, but tastes good!!!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Busy!

The last two weeks have been a complete blur! We have been so busy and time has just flown by! I really can't even remember what I did last week... Never mind, I do remember! B's mom and grandma came in town to visit for a few days, I met friends for lunch on Wednesday, that night I went to ESG to pick up takeout and ended up staying for two hours and drinking with friends while wearing slippers (Ava got her first tooth while I was gone, of course!), I took Knox to LR for another helmet appointment Thursday (Great report! He only has to wear it for a few more months), had a date night with Karrie and SB at a new Italian restaurant in town Friday (Vetro, very neat atmosphere and good food!), had a little movie watching date with B, Emily and Matt on Saturday, skipped seeing Santa in our neighborhood on Sunday because I was too cold and lazy to get the kids ready and I figured they wouldn't remember if they saw him again anyway! Gigi came to visit us too!

Sweet Ava kept giving her brother kisses on his head!

Gigi and Brooks

Gigi and Ava. Knox missed out. He was asleep!

Gigi brought the babies a surprise! A new walker! They are still trying to figure it out. They can all go backwards better than they can go forwards!

Monday I had big plans to finish my Christmas shopping so Jennifer came over to watch the babies. Knox has been sooo super snugly lately! All he wants to do is put his head on my shoulder and suck his thumb until he falls asleep! I have been taking full advantage so I haven't been very productive! I held him for two hours on Monday while Jennifer was here just soaking up the snuggle time! They are all so squirmy and busy I have to take what I can get! Needless to say, I didn't get all of my Christmas shopping done but there is always next week! Every year I say I'm going to finish shopping by December first and every year I am still shopping Christmas Eve! What is my problem??? I wish I didn't take gift giving so seriously and I could just give everyone gift cards!

Tuesday morning the babies had a little play date! Several of their friends came over! I think the babies had fun and they took long afternoon naps because they were so worn out! I enjoyed talking to people that can actually talk back for a change and holding all of the little babies! I think we are going to have to have play dates more often!

My Brooksy!

These two guys were so sweet and snuggly! I could have held them all day!

Knox just swinging!

Tuesday night B and I went to the Brooks' house for dinner. We were gone for about thirty minutes and Gigi text to tell us Brooks had a tooth and kind of started crawling! I am missing everything!!! I missed Ava's first tooth and now Brooks'! I checked his mouth for teeth that day and there was nothing! I guess it broke through super fast! He took it like a champ! He never got fussy or anything!

Wednesday night B watched the babies so I could go to a cookie exchange! It was a fun night with friends!

Thursday the babies had to get shots which is always a little hectic! Gigi met us at the doctor to help me carry them in! Knox and Ava got a little upset but Brooks never even cried! Such a tough boy! Thursday night B was a single daddy again because I had bunco!

Friday B and I went to dinner with friends and met Larry Miller! He was at Bordinos having drinks after his show at the WAC! I wish we could have seen the show! I'm sure it was hilarious!

The babies woke up bright and early Saturday morning! B was leaving for a little guys weekend in Kansas City so I have a feeling he woke them up so he could get a little play time in with them before he left! The babies and I had a fun day! Ava got her second tooth and Bennett and Sarah came over to play!

Ava and her man.

Later we went to the Penixes house for dinner and to play! I think the babies had a good time! They love watching little kids play and there were a lot of them running around! Thanks for having us over Leslie and Ben!

I'm hoping Sunday I can finish my Christmas shopping and then I'm meeting friends at the WAC to see the Nutcracker!

Mouse in the House

We have a mouse in our house! This mouse plays the piano and sings Christmas carols so I think we will let it stay! My grandmother sent us this cute little mouse and piano. You can change the sheet music on the piano and it will play different songs! I love Christmas and love Christmas music so I might just keep it out all year long! ha Thanks grandma! We love our new mouse! The babies will be able to sing all of the Christmas carols in no time!

7 Months

The post and pictures are basically a month late! Ooops!

Eat-

My babies are eating machines. They love their food and will literally eat anything! I kind of fell off the baby food making train because I ran out of frozen food and my mom bought a variety pack of baby food at Sam's so I just started feeding them that. It is so much easier to just open a jar! I'm back on track though. I made a trip to Ozark Natural Foods and they have enough food to last them a few months! That place really makes you feel bad about what you eat! They are all eating four eight ounce bottles of generic Gentle Ease a day. They eat their bottles at 8, 12, 4, and 8. They eat solid foods for breakfast and dinner.. Usually at 10 and 6. Breakfast is either yogurt mixed with fruit or oatmeal mixed with a fruit. Their favorite fruits are blueberries, pears, mango, and apples. Dinner is usually a orange veggie mixed with a green veggie. They love peas, broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots. I'm going to start giving them more of a variety of foods. This week they had salmon with olive oil and dill. I'm going to start giving them lentils and different beans too! I've also started adding spices to their meals. I think instead of giving them a lot of meat I am going to try to stick to seafood beans, and veggies. They occasionally get a bite of table food. On Thanksgiving they had mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and brooks ate an avocado mixed with a little refried beans at La Hacienda the other night. They've tried organic puffs but those things don't melt in their mouths like I thought they would! Oh and Ava licked the cheese powder off of a cheeto puff! She loved it! I felt like Britney spears giving her a cheeto! haha As long as I don't put coke in her bottle I think I will be okay!

New Foods this month-Yogurt, salmon, beans, mashed potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and oats.

Sleep-

Their sleep schedule is finally clicking! They go to bed between 7:45-8pm. Although, if we are out of the house they are fine staying up until 9 or 10pm! They wake up between 8-9am, usually around 8:45am. They take an hour nap in the morning after their breakfast. Usually from 11-12. They take a two hour nap in the afternoon. Usually around 2pm. Sometimes they will take another short nap in the evening. They still nap wherever they fall. I TRY to get them in their cribs before they fall asleep but that doesn't always happen. Knox is actually sound asleep in the middle of the living room right now with the dogs barking, tv blaring, etc. Knox and Brooks still share the crib in our room and Ava stills sleeps in her bassinet basket on the floor in our bedroom. I just lay them in their beds at night and they go right to sleep! No rocking or anything! Thank goodness! They are always so happy when they wake up! They still wake up talking and laughing! I just let them play in the crib for a while before I get them out. Ava still wakes up and watches B when he is getting ready for work. So funny! B says she is nosey like her mommy!

Tricks-

I feel like they have grown up so much! I wish I could write down every little thing they do!

No one is crawling yet but Ava and Brooks really try hard. They get on all fours and rock but then they eventually lose their balance and fall over! Knox can roll fast and gets anywhere he wants to go that way! They can all sit up but they just don't stay upright for very long. Knox can probably sit up the longest and Ava the least amount of time. They all love to bounce in their exersaucer. Ava especially. She bounces so fast and pushes all of the buttons to make the music play! Knox still loves the activity mat. But instead of playing with it on his back he now wrestles it until he pulls it over. He is wild! He is literally into everything! He loves to crawl under tables and chairs and kick them with his feet. They all hold their arms up to be held. Ava is so funny. She will hold her arms up for me to hold her and if anyone else tries to grab her she will turn her head the other way. She loves her mommy and doesn't want to go to anyone else. I love this! No one is saying words yet. They babble a lot and love to blow bubbles! Knox loves to clap! He gets very excited and claps his little hands! So cute! They are more aware of what we eat now and open their mouths for bites! They are also playing with their toys more. They know what buttons to push to make music play or what buttons make noise. I'm sure there are several more things I'm forgetting!

Bath-

I'm still bathing them in the kitchen sink. They still love it! Ava thinks it is hilarious to splash us now! She also loves to try to grab the stream of water. Knox too. I can't wait until they can sit up so I can put them all in the bath tub together! I know they will love splashing and playing together!

Clothes-

They have got to quit growing! It's getting ridiculous! I am buying the boys 18 month clothes! They are still so skinny but everything is too short on them if I don't buy bigger sizes! Especially Brooks. His little ankles are showing in his jeans but the waist is baggy! I'm buying Ava 12-18 month clothes. She is growing too, just not quite as fast as the boys! They are wearing size three diapers finally! I waited way too long to switch them to size three! Their diapers haven't leaked since I switched, thank goodness! The boys wear size three shoes and Ava is probably still in a two.. I'm buying her three's just in case though.

Looks-

They just keep getting cuter and cuter! Ava still has bright blue eyes and black thick eyelashes! I'm jealous! She has light brown hair and is still the darkest complected. She is pretty skinny but does have one little crease on each thigh that is so cute! I still don't know who she looks like. She has B's eyes, my mouth and skin, and maybe my face shape! Brooks has big blue eyes and reddish hair! I wish his hair would grow in a little more so we can tell what color it is going to be! He is such a big boy! He is skinny but long and just big! He has huge hands and huge feet! Everyone says he looks like B but I think really he just has his coloring. He still has big lips that are so cute and kissable! Knox is basically my twin. My eyes, hair, skin, mouth, everything. It's pretty funny. His hair is growing in more! I love to see it when we take his little helmet off!

Teeth-

So I thought Ava had a tooth. I was wrong. It disappeared! I guess it was a tiny ulcer??? So still no teeth for any of them! Surely they will come in soon!

Ava-

Ava, you are the sweetest happiest little baby in the world. We can not get enough of you! Your little laugh is hilarious! You love love love your mommy and daddy! I love catching you looking at us in the mirror every morning. You love to be held and entertained and you let us know you aren't happy when we put you down! It's pretty funny! You don't cry but you let out a little squeal! You love to jump in your exersaucer and will play in it for hours! You also love laughing with your brothers. I will catch ya'll talking and laughing together on the floor when no one else is looking! You love your food and are a great little eater! You also love Coco and Layla. You like to pet their fur and sometimes you pull a little bit out! You think it's so funny when we whisper and you just crack up! You are a little bit of a show off! I swear you know when you are looking cute and you make sure everyone sees you and pays attention to you. We love you Ava and love watching you grow up!

Your nicknames are AJ, Ajie, JJ, and A. I like Ava!

Brooks-

Brooks, you are the sweetest cuddliest boy I know! We call you our little bear. You are such a big boy but you love to cuddle with your mommy! You sleep with your little booty in the air and it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I love to watch you sleep and you always wake up so happy! You also wake up every morning talking your little head off! It's so funny. You love your brother and love Ava. You aren't as interested in Coco and Layla but you love to play with your toys. You roll around all over the floor and you are the closest to crawling. You are constantly on all fours but you always fall over before you get going. You love for us to tickle your stomach and you have the sweetest little belly laugh. You still love watching tv and even though I have cut out Hi-5 I catch you watching tv all of the time. Everyone that see's you says, "He is so serious" and then you start smiling and flirting with them! You are our happiest smiliest baby! You just love to check everything and everyone out! We love you Brooksy Bear! Your nicknames at the moment are Bear, Chewy, and Choo Choo. I prefer Brooksy!

Knox-

Oh Knoxie, you are our little wild man! You are really out of control! You are rolling all over this house! I find you under our furniture all of the time! You love to kick things and move them with your feet. You entertain yourself so well. You just talk and scream and play all day long! You play so hard you usually just crash in the middle of the floor. You can sleep through anything and anywhere! It's pretty funny. You still love your thumb and love your mommy. Especially if you are sleepy or hungry! You love playing with your toys or anything you can get your hands on. You like to stand up and this week you have started trying to crawl too! You can probably sit up and balance the best. You eventually fall over but it's a start. You always wake up laughing. It's so sweet. You don't mind your little helmet at all and I am so glad! Your dad says you look like you are ready to get on your moped and drive away! We love you so much Knoxie!

Your nicknames are Knoxie and Poo. I prefer Knoxie although you are my little little Poo Bear!

Random pictures too cute not to post!

Our Christmas PJ's from Gigi!

Their new pj's are as snuggly as they look! Thanks Gigi! I love these little Reindeer booties!

And Reindeer toes!

Here we come Santa!

I decided Thursday would be a good day to take the babies to the mall to meet Santa. I had a Baby GAP coupon I needed to use and I figured the line for Santa would be short during the week. Gigi met us there to help with the babies!

Before we left we had a little photo shoot! Ava was ready to pose!

I think Coco had just done something funny so it distracted her a little bit! ha
Oh my boys! I love them so much!

This might be my new favorite picture of the babies! They look so big! Knox is showing off his new trick! He claps! Little Brooksy has his legs crossed like a big boy! And Ava just looks cute and sweet as usual!

Little Brooks in line to see Santa. He wasn't so sure about what was about to happen!

I of course bought the Super Santa Special package! ha Such a rip off! Although, I did get a good picture out of the deal! I was so proud of them for smiling! They weren't scared at all and acted like such big kids!
I thought this one was pretty funny! Brooks was checking Santa out (of course) and poor little Ava was sliding out of Santa's lap! I think Knox was just in shock!
Santa is going to make an appearance in her neighborhood this week so they will get to meet him again! We are excited!