Bummed....Back to Work

Well, today is my last day off from my maternity leave. Tomorrow morning we will all be getting up early to try to get out the door and off to the various places we will be going. I have been off work for 13 weeks now and I have enjoyed it immensely. It hasn't been easy (in fact, with 2 kids, it has been downright hard at times), but I have enjoyed this special time with my guy and gal.

The Lord blesses us with a beautiful day today and I took Ava and Harrison out to savor a little of that sunshine before the cold hits again. This was Harrison's first time outdoors (except for in transit), and I do have to say that he wasn't a huge fan. True, he was fussy since Ava took so long deciding what to wear to go out, and he was getting hungry, so hopefully next time will be better.

I took a few pictures and I have to say that it is REALLY awkward trying to use my big camera to take a picture of a baby that you are holding while holding the camera. I did the best I could and I LOVE these pictures of Harrison. They really highlight his baby chubs. The scratch on his eyebrow is courtesy of big sis who tried to read him a book really close up and the ones on his cheeks are from his little fingernails.

My two precious babies who I am now entrusting to Nana and hoping she survives.... ;)

Last of Christmas

Since we didn't make it up to KY on Christmas Day, my parents were able to come down on New Year's for a visit and to exchange gifts. These pictures bring an end to my Christmas posting.

Christmas Explosion

As I traditionally do, before putting the kids' Christmas things away, I had to get all their stuff together for a picture. I will say that there are things that didn't make it into the picture. For example, after taking this picture I realized that we had not included things that they got in KY. Also, we still had 2 Christmases to go after these were taken. Having said that, I couldn't wait any longer to get their things put away, so I went ahead and did their pictures.

Thanks to all for making our holiday season merry and bright!

Here they are with Christmas 2009 - Ava's 4th Christmas and Harrison's 1st Christmas:

Christmas Morning

Trying to get all 4 of us in a photo without using a tripod proved to be a fun adventure. I couldn't decide which one I liked best because I like something about each one.
I like how Ava is looking at us to make sure we are being silly or to copy whatever we are doing. That is so Ava right now... the copying that is...

I love Ava's little tutu and the fact that she loves books so much that on Christmas morning it was what she was carrying at that moment.

I love how Ava is kicking up her heel in this one.

I love how even though Harrison has his eyes closed, he has a little grin on his face.

Just a silly one for Ava.

Some more Christmas Shots

Just trying to finish up posting pics from Christmas. These were all taken by Bethany.

This is the crazed look Ava gets on her face when she is around Harrison...

Harrison at 6 weeks old

Harrison-

At 6 weeks old:

• You leave a trail of baby hair everywhere that you lay your head. Your Daddy says we should just shave your head because it looks so bad.



• Everyone who is around you for an extended period of time comments on how much you poop. It seems like it is ALL the time!



• You love the mobile above your crib.



• You are learning to love your baby swing.



• Your toothless grin fills me with joy.



• You love to be held while you sleep.



• One of your favorite places to lay is in Ava's bed with her in it.



• You love to be sang to and smiled at.



• You love baths, but don't care for your hair being washed.



• You sleep between 4-6 hours a night.



• You smell like a boy to me.



• You mess up more clothes then should be humanly possible.



• You cheeks are so chubby and you have more than 1 chin.



• Your big sister makes you smile.



• You love being carried by Daddy.



• You seem to eat all the time!



• You have started to drool quite a bit.



• You are so loved!

"This is News 6!"

This post is for my family that remembers how annoying I used to be when my grandfather had the video camera out. On lots of our family movies at around age 6-7 you could see me constantly running up to the camera and in the most annoying voice saying, "This is News 6!" Sometimes all you saw was the top of my forehead and heard my annoying voice. I was a terribly obnoxious child, and hey, I guess some things never change! ;)


So, here is my little mini-me who apparently has genetically inherited the "News 6 gene." I couldn't get a picture of Bradley without this annoying child in it and all I could see were those embarrassing movies from my childhood!

Here's her lovely hand...

Here eyes are scary in this one. Maybe she is one of the visitors from "V."

And you can see just the tip of her forehead...