Bree is 6 months old!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY BREE!!!


At her 6 month check-up she got a good report. She weighs 15lb 15oz (25th %) and is 26 inches long (50-75%). So if she's tall and skinny, could you imagine what short and fat looks like??? I'm sorry, but there's nothing tall and skinny about this chunky money. She has rolls on top of her rolls and they're the cutest rolls I've ever seen.
This month has been full of changes! Christmas has kept us busy and on the go and Bree continues to be such an easy going girl. On the days that I drag her all around town with us, I realize how flexible she is. We are so lucky. She will still take short snoozes in her wrap that I wear, but I'm sure those days are numbered. Bree is more and more aware of her surroundings, flashes big gummy grins, and even lets you know if she doesn't like someone. This awareness has made nursing a little more difficult because she'll much prefer looking around at everyone and everything than eat. Wade and the dogs keep her entertained all day long at the house.

She has finally started rolling over!!! I found her on her tummy one morning she's been sleeping on her stomach ever since. It's led to much longer naps and as late as 10am wake-up! She does still wake-up once to eat, but goes down so quickly I can't bare to ignore her cries. And I'll gladly sacrifice 10 minutes at 5am for 2-3 extra hours in the morning!

She has found her voice and loves to squeal with delight. It's usually directed at something or someone, but not always. Her toys and pint size baby dolls can really entertain her....especially if there's something to chew on.

Those cheeks are still enormous, but oh-so-lovable. I probably kiss on them an average of 3 hours per day.

Bree's been enjoying all that the Christmas holiday brings including late nights, twinkling lights inside and out, ornaments that are baby friendly, and many adorable Christmas outfits We've been trying to get Wade to bed earlier in the evenings, and one way is to let him take a bath with Bree. If he's resisting going upstairs, all I have to do is ask if he wants to take a bath with her and UP HE GOES!

Bree is really enjoying her feedings of baby food. I think she'd eat as much as I will give her, even if I nurse her first. We've tried oatmeal, prunes, pear, sweet potatoes, and green peas. She likes them all! We're getting into a better routine and will keep trying new things every few days. She even nibbled on her first Baby Mum Mum (cracker below). Next up....avocado!

Wade's nativity set from Millie Kate Gray is a big hit. Bree will sit up (more like "slouch over") and help him rearrange the figurines. They're actually playing together!

Bree experienced her first swing at the park on one mild day. She kept all of her weight forward and sat peacefully for a very long time. I think she would've stayed for hours if I hadn't made her leave. We will be headed back to the swings soon!

Our baby is already 6 months and growing so fast. Of course, she's still a baby but I can see her smiles and smirks becoming a true personality. I love the see her laugh and experience every new treat in this world! Love you baby Bree!!

Santa Sighting #3

Beau parent's friends invite us to their Christmas party with a very special guest....Santa! Now we're 3 for 3 on Santa sighting and I can say with confidence, Wade really likes Santa. As soon as the big man arrived, Wade was the first one on his lap. He rushed right up there and then just gets shy and stares at him. He doesn't tell him that he really wants trains for Christmas, he just smiles! Luckily we plopped Bree down fast enough...

Then I made him step aside so the other kids could have a turn. He just stood and stared in amazement...until the lap was open so he could jump back up

Poppa and Dede joined in too

Our little Christmas angel was adorable. This dress was twice the size of her, but just looked too cute. The poofy skirt did make her butt look big, but I couldn't bare to tell her...

Happy Birthday Jesus Party

Our church and Wade's preschool hosts a birthday party for Jesus. I love that they do this because kids understand birthday parties, so why shouldn't we celebrate the best birth of all with fun, food and cake!

Now that Wade's understanding so much more this Christmas, we've tried to partake in more of the Advent festivities at church. We went to the Live Nativity show and Wade really enjoyed it. After playing with his nativity set at home, he knew where the angel was going, asked why they didn't have a sheep like his, and was very concerned about the perfect placement of baby Jesus. With all the holiday "Santa" stuff we do, I'm happy he's learning more about the real reason for the holidays....the birth of Jesus!

Santa is a SUCCESS!

It's a good thing Wade thinks Santa is super cool, because we've already seen a lot of him this season. Our coveted Santa at Phipps appointment was a great success!! It takes a lot of planning and website stalking to get the appointment, so it helps if your kids actually seem to enjoy the experience. And if not, it makes for funny pictures. See Santa Archives HERE

After first seeing Santa on the train, Wade was a little confused why this was different. I had to explain that this Santa was in the mall...a building with shops...and there won't be a train. He was cool with it all until he saw Santa and said "where's his hat?"

Wade listened so carefully to what Santa was saying, while Bree was working on a smelly present of her own...
Wyatt and Lauren had already had their visit with Santa that day, but we're able to meet us and jump in for a pictureBecause we went in the evening this year, we had lots of help. Dede, Poppa, Nonna, and Beau were all on hand to help wrangling the kids.


How pretty are these girls???

Who needs Disney World?...

When Chattanooga is right around the corner!!!

Our train obsessed son needs nothing more than a 24 hour jaunt in Chattanooga to go into a pure adrenaline rush. This was our second excursion to the City of Trains (I just named it that) and I can only imagine how many more weekends we will spend there before Wade grows out of his love of trains. Or maybe he'll be an engineer and never grow out of it???

We started the day at the Tennessee Aquarium. It was a cold and rainy day, so it was the perfect cozy excursion.

I think Bree liked looking/listening/learning along the way

I hope this is the ONLY time a shark is inches away from my precious boy's head

Wade was excited to have a Sprite just like daddy. "THEY MATCH!!!", "CHEERS"

The main event of the trip was a train ride to the North Pole. The experience follows the story in The Polar Express book and movie, which happens to be one of Wade's favorites. We've been watching the movie non-stop since October. The Crawford and Marshall boys came for the fun too!....All decked out in their PJs

(Buie, Mason, Wade, Drew, Davis)

Wade was SO EXCITED to take a picture with a REAL conductor. He was in hog heaven, just marching around pointing at everything, walking along the train tracks, and making train sounds.

Once on the train, we travel through a "magic tunnel" towards the North Pole. They serve milk and cookies, sing Christmas Carols, wait for reindeer to get off the track, and finally arrive at the "North Pole" (a few buildings with decorations and Christmas lights).The special treat was that we picked up Santa for the ride back. The big guy made his way through each train car and visited with the kids. This was Wade's first Santa sighting of the season, so we weren't sure how it was going to go. But he actually LIKES Santa this year and gave him a high 5! GO WADE!

Each kid got a bell from Santa (another part of the movie) and Wade rang it the whole ride back.

After the trek to the North Pole, we had to eat! Beau wanted to try a burger challenge at a local place, so we all went along to witness the gluttony.

I must clarifiy that only the guys participated in the challenge (sorry you're in the shot Kelly!)

I had no doubt Beau would be successful. He may not be a "big" guy, but he can eat.

Little did I know he'd break a record and finish in 8 minutes. This guy watches too much "Man vs. Food". Chris and Tigger finished too...eventually :) You win a picture of yourself in this burger hat!

Bree's spot on the breakfast table (Chattanooga Choo Choo behind her). No she's not in jail...

The boys chowin' down after staying up until almost 12:00am the night before...

The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel also has a huge model train museum...

Climbing on the train...

It was an awesome weekend that really got us all in the Christmas spirit. Maybe we can make it an annual tradition!

Pickin Out a Tree

That's right ladies and gentlemen, we finally got a real tree!

Neither Beau or I are very picky about real vs. fake Christmas trees, so we've always used the {very nice} hand-me-down artificial tree Aunt Karen gave us. It fits perfectly in our living room, is always readily available in our basement, and it's free EVERY YEAR!

But Wade is so excited about everything Christmas that we had to give him the full experience and pick out a real tree.

So off we went to Home Depot (and yes, that's as far as we're going to find our perfect tree). Wade was very concerned that each tree we looked at had a stand. Picking out the stand was much more important I guess?

We found a beautiful tree!It's now all decorated and sparkling in our living room. Wade was very helpful in putting up ornaments on "his" tree. He's even made a few at school to contribute to the stash!

Let the Christmas season BEGIN!!!