Christmas...The Day After

No rest for the weary...at least not when it comes to Christmas celebrations. The morning after Christmas we were up early and readying our house for our third Christmas party. Mom-Mom and Pappy, Nicole and Jon, Julie, Brandon and Hayden were on their way. Add in my mom, dad, Kyle, Cady, Shane and Tighe and the whole gang was accounted for. Unfortunately, you can't tell from my pictures...or lack there of. But suffice to say we had a great time sharing a delicious meal, exchanging presents and eating desserts until we thought we would burst.

My gram loves, loves, loves Christmas. She has always done it up for us since we were little. She loves to shop and definitely spoils all of us.

We were so blessed to spend time with family again on this day. We especially loved spending time with Julie and Hayden. We hadn't seen them since the beach this summer and this was their first time meeting Kinley. The day flew by but we made plenty of fun memories.

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas morning 2011 started at 6:45 in the Mowry house. These three little cuties were up and bright eyed and down the stairs faster than Santa gets down the chimney.

Kinley was all smiles sitting in front of her pile of gifts. She actually looks like she understands what is going on.

Kinley might not have fully appreciated Santa's gifts but this little guy sure did! He was so excited to open that Bat Cave.

And he was even willing to pose for a picture with his very own Nintendo DS.

All the while, Kinley sat quietly and watched! I think she's taking lessons for next year.

McKenna received a sketch book so that she can design her own fashions.

And a new Haiwain American Girl Doll and all of the necessary beach gear to go with her.

But no one had a better reaction to a gift than Daddy. Mommy was able to really surprise him with a pin seeker for golfing.

He thought he was getting speakers for his iphone. Good thing he wasn't disappointed.

Mommy got new gear for running! My new sweatshirt even matches my sneakers!

Kinley trying out one of her new toys. Good call Santa, she loves it!

After we finished opening all of Santa's presents we enjoyed breakfast with Mimi, Pappy, Uncle Kyle and Cady. Soon everyone headed home for a nap before it was time to meet at Mimi and Pappy's for dinner and more presents.

We enjoyed some family time together while Pappy worked on the lobster tail and prime rib dinner. It was as delicious as it sounds!

Kinley and her 1st Christmas outfit!

I couldn't resist including this picture of the kids and the coal they found in their stockings at Mimi and Pappy's. I might add that they came close to getting the real deal from Santa. Luckily they redeemed themselves in time or we might have had an actual picture that looked like this.

There are so many more pictures from our Christmas day that I wanted to include. However, since we don't want to be here until next Christmas reading this post I left a bunch out. We had such a fun day and felt so blessed to spend the day together as a family. There was literally not a single thing that could have made this Christmas better for me. I can safely say that the three little ones who call me mom are the greatest gift I could ever receive.

Merry Christmas!

Kinley You're 4 Months Old

When I was pregnant with you I remember trying to imagine what you would be like at Christmas time. You would be four months old and at the time that seemed like so, so far away. And perhaps all the preparations for Christmas kept me occupied so much that all of the sudden here we are - December 23rd. You're four months old and it's only two days until your first Christmas.

At last check you were just over 14 pounds. You have outgrown your size 1 diapers and I don't see you staying in size 2's very long. We can still squeeze you into a few of your 0-3 months clothes but you are mainly wearing your 3-6 month stuff. It's mommy who can't yet stand to put the 0-3 month stuff away. You continue to be a wonderful eater and a fairly decent sleeper. You are still going to be around 8 or 8:30 and sleeping until about 2:30am. You have been known to sleep all night but never in a predictable way. This past week you were waking often during the night to eat so I decided that it was time to try some cereal. It was pretty much a disaster.

You weren't sure really what to do with it once I actually got it into your mouth. You then proceeded to gag on it before finally, finally swallowing 1 mouthful.

The second bite went a little better but as you can see most of the cereal ended up outside your mouth and not in your belly. We will try again soon.

We are looking forward to your first Christmas and experiencing the joy of celebrating with family and friends this weekend. You won't understand what's going on or why all the fuss but we sure will. We are so blessed to have you here with us this year. We love you.

Let's Get This Partying Started

***Sorry about the spacing...I'm blogging through Picasa because it's easier to publish so many pictures but it messes with the spacing. Okay, I feel better now.***

We started celebrating Christmas 2011 yesterday in Lewistown with my dad's side of the family. Deana and Loren were kind enough (and brave enough, I might add) to welcome us into their new home. We had such a wonderful time. There was food, family, presents, more food, and even a little xbox dance contest at the end.

I cannot believed how blessed I am to have these three this Christmas.

Kinley enjoyed her very first Christmas party with a nap and some great smiles for everyone!

McKenna, Tighe, Cooper and Kinley

The whole clan...10 to be exact. Mimi and Pappy would be so proud to see all these great grand kids. We sure miss them, especially this time of year.

The kids waited patiently to open their presents. Oldest gets to go first!

It was fun to see that they were just as anxious to give as to receive.

Me, Cady and Kinley.

Mom and Dad and all their grandkids. I think this is the first picture with all of them together.

Carol and Frank

Luckily we remembered at the last minute to get a family picture! Notice Cooper had already had enough.

Shane and Tighe

Our hosts, Loren, Deana, Morgan and Aunt Mary

I am missing pictures of Amy and Mike and Steve and Krysta and their kids. I'm also lacking pictures of the dance contest that ensued when nearly everyone had headed for home. Let's just say the videos are priceless and we might have laughed off half of the calories we consumed at dinner. Cooper and McKenna sure had a great time though. In fact, at breakfast this morning Cooper said, "I had such a fun time last night. Can we go again?" And to that I say...Loren and Deana, I'll send them your way!

Now we rest and prepare for the big guy to come next Sunday when the partying will continue and carry into the day after Christmas get together with my mom's side of the family.

This is truly a magical time of year!

To McKenna

Dear McKenna,
Today you turn 8 years old! 8! That is incredible for me to think about. I think this year is even different having your sister here. So many times I look at her and I instantly think back to you when you were a baby. It literally seems like just yesterday.

But you're 8 years old and such a lovely little girl. You have such a big heart and you make me so proud to be your mom. You are the biggest helper I could ever ask for. You make things so much easier for me and your brother and sister absolutely adore you. Its so sweet to hear Cooper ask you for help and to see the way Kinley already looks at you like you hung the moon.

You're still our little peanut, weighing in at just over 40 pounds. You better watch or your brother is going to catch up to you! You've recently given up gymnastics and moved on to trying indoor field hockey. So far, you love it and we love watching you explore new things. You do well in school and you are so, so creative. Your first love definitely seems to be reading and writing. We can't seem to keep enough books in the house and you are forever writing stories for us to read. And that excites me because I love to read and write, too!

McKenna, we all love you so, so much. You mean the world to us and can't wait to see what your 8th year has in store.

Love, Mom

You Rock!

This past Saturday we spent the morning, are you ready for this...roller skating and rocking it out for McKenna's 8th birthday! Who knew that roller skating was a fun today as it was 20 some years ago!

McKenna and 11 of her friends put on their skates, ate some pizza, enjoyed some cake and a few Justin Beiber tunes and otherwise had a blast.

Even Cooper enjoyed the morning. We literally strapped a pair of skates on him and sent him on his way. We were thrilled to see him take off skating. He loved it too.

Happy 8th Birthday McKenna! You really do rock!! And we love you!

Kinley You're 3 Months Old

One year ago, Thanksgiving looked a little different to me. Don't get me wrong, I was beyond thankful for my family and friends; a good job and so many other blessings. But, something seemed to be missing - something that we know now to be a certain little girl. This time last year we had just finished another round of fertility treatments and were faced with the decision to continue with further treatments or stop all together. It's hard to know how to even approach a decision like that. We decided to pursue one more round of medications, one more procedure and then be done. It was a wing and a prayer kind of thing. More prayer though!

We all know how it worked out. All those prayers worked and this Thanksgiving we will be celebrating with our new little turkey. Our three month old little turkey.

This little girl continues to grow by leaps and bounds. She has recently started eating between 4 and 6 ounces at a feeding. That sometimes makes us question whether or not she is really ours because I have NEVER had a baby who finished a 6 ounce bottle. She's continued to sleep well also. One short nap in the morning, one long nap in the afternoon, another little cat nap in the evening and then down for the night around 8:30. We are blessed by the fact that she falls asleep quickly and easily whether she's being held or if we simply lay her down in her pack n' play. She has taken to the bumbo seat and loves to sit on the counter and watch me cook or the kids color and do homework. She's still not so fond of lying on the floor but it's slowly, very slowly growing on her. And tummy time, well forget it. Kinley hates it.

This past month Kinley has really started to coo and smile at us. She is the happiest baby. She cries when she is hungry or when she is tired and very rarely in between. Her smiles and little giggles bring all of us so, so much joy. I like to tell her that she's my little miracle and that always makes her smile.

Kinley, we are thankful for you, your brother and your sister every single day. But Thanksgiving give us one more reason to give thanks for having each of you in our lives. We are truly blessed.

I Can See It Coming

I know I should be happy...and I am. Really. I am. I think. Life continues to move along at an astonishing pace as we enter into the holiday season. I don't think that it will slow down any time soon. I don't really like it.

It's hard to believe that this week Kinley will be turning 3 months old. When I was pregnant I remember wondering what the holidays would look like with a new baby. Some days she doesn't seem so "new" anymore. Frankly, I can hardly remember what it was like without her.

Last night she hit her first big milestone...

That's right...Miss Kinley slept all night long. For the past four days she's been going to sleep around 8:30pm and sleeping consistently until about 3am. I thought for sure that I was in for a sleepless night on the fourth night. However, just to prove me wrong, this little cutie slept until 5 AM!!! I was actually happy to get up and feed her, see her smiling face and celebrate a full night sleep. Kinley on the other hand downed 5 ounces of formula, rewarded me with a couple killer grins and promptly snuggled back in for another 2 hour nap on the couch with her mama. And so, I see it coming...the end of our late nights together, huddled up under the glow of the TV or the iphone, Kinley sipping a bottle, the two of us snuggling. I'm beyond happy to have a good night sleep myself, but I can't help being a bit sad that our alone time is drawing to an end. I used to remind myself during the sleepless nights that it was just a season of life and someday it would be over. I never anticipated that it might be over so soon.

Kinley also continues to camp out in our room, secure in the pack n' play at the end of our bed. I've kept her there this long at the urging of all those SIDS experts that encourage babies to sleep in their parents rooms for the first two months. I've also kept her there longer out of convenience for me. I only need to walk a few steps to get to her, as opposed to all the way across the hall. I love her nursery but hate that it's all the way across the house from our room. I can see it coming though...the day that I finally have to move her to her crib. You know, the one I begged my husband to put up way back in July. The one that has been used a few times for a quick 45 minute nap or to hold clean baby clothes that need folding. Yes, soon I will need to move Kinley in there for good. And I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it. I'm not good at endings, especially when they involve my very.last.baby.

But, I do know that there are still sweet times to come. Last night McKenna and Kinley "hung out" and watched a movie together. It was cute to look at them all snuggled up together on the couch clearly enjoying one another and the TV too.

I pray that they will always love each other this much. I can see it coming...and that, I like.

National Education Week

This week was filled with lots of fun activities for the kids. But I had to share this picture of Kinley.

McKenna recently wrote a story about her sister. One part read, "My sister has big blue eyes, blackish hair and you just can't ignore her smile." That is certainly the truth, at least in this momma's eyes. I just love that toothless grin. My smile was almost as big this morning because a certain little girl slept for 5 straight hours last night. That's a record in this house in recent months.

In celebration of education, both McKenna and Cooper's school's hosted special events this week. Earl joined Cooper on Wednesday for a fall festival. They played games, made a special turkey together and had a dress up parade.

McKenna's school had a dress up theme for each day this week. Wednesday was history day and McKenna dressed as a Native American. Thursday was science day and my big girl was eager to sport her scrubs and follow in mom and dad's footsteps.

We have to say we were pretty proud!

We are eagerly anticipating a busy weekend filled with Christmas pictures, a Penn State party, church and whatever else might come our way. What we really are excited about is Thanksgiving break and the big Turkey Day that will soon be upon us. The thought of sleeping in, spending time with family, eating turkey and continuing Christmas preparations has put a twinkle in everyone's eye.