The one with the squash

I can't believe it. 6 months have flown by already! It seems like only yesterday I was going into labor, walking through the hospital lobby having to stop mid-stride for contractions to pass, then being wheeled through the hall after the emergency c-section and wondering when I would be able to see my beautiful baby girl in NICU. I am happy to report that she is still a happy, healthy baby!!!
She is still such a happy, easy-going baby. At 6 months she can sit up (for about 30 seconds, and actually just started this a couple days ago, about 1 week after her official 6-month bday), eats baby food (and even likes green beans!), loves to be rocked to sleep, still loves to sleep with mommy and daddy (when we let her. Usually when I'm too lazy and tired to rock her back to sleep in the morning), ADORES her big brother and sister, squeals and shakes whenever Daddy comes near, still hasn't rolled from her back to tummy but I'm pretty sure she could, she just prefers her back, still has big bright blue eyes, and she loves to grab everything and anything she can  (including orange slices, forks, hair OUCH!!) then shove it into her mouth as quickly as possible, just to get a taste. We couldn't be more in love with our sweet Savannah!!

Oh, what a love!! I can't resist those chubby cheeks.

"Ohm num num"

Her stats: 15 lbs 3.3 oz (25%)
                 26.5 in long (75%)
                 42 cm head circ. (25%)  Shocking, I know! She looks like she has a huge noggin',but it's pretty proportionate I guess!

The one on Christmas Eve

"The stockings were hung on the chimney with care, in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there."

I can't even begin to describe the excitement the kids (and adults!) had on Christmas Eve. I know all of you can understand what I mean. Our good friends the Bakers had us over with a few other families to celebrate Christmas Eve. Good food, GREAT friends, fun times. We ate dinner, frosted some cookies, ATE some cookies, made cute little crafty ornaments, read and acted out the Nativity, and shook our booties to a little Dance, dance revolution. Fun times were had for sure!

Savannah even got in on the action, half-clothed mind you. She's missing a skirt! lol

Brooklyn and Troy opened their pajamas from Santa before the party and insisted on putting them on after we ate.

All the kids (minus Nyah, Simon and Savannah) getting their craft on.

Sweet Nyah.

The beginning of the Nativity.

Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus

Hark the Herald Angels!!

Even our little "sheep" got in on the action and brought baby Jesus a balloon as his gift.

Savannah playing a little b-ball.

Me, Toni and Brittany.Toni is moving to Indiana in a couple weeks!! Oh man, I am going to miss her soooo much!! She is such an amazing person and friend. We have become very close over these past 5 years and she has taught me so much. I've cried a lot about her leaving, but I am so excited for them to start a new phase in their lives! She will be greatly missed!!

The one with the work party

The kids got their time to party, now it's the adults turn! We had a blast this year dressing up and doing a little "gambling" at the annual NAES Christmas party (they have an entertainment comp come in and set up gambling tables with all sorts of games. You play with fake money, so it's kinda fun since we don't gamble in real life!). A fun date night out is always a hot commodity around here.

I didn't realize I looked this lumpy in this dress. Oh well. Still had fun!

Apparently, after we left, the party started. lol Thanks again Lori and Sam for watching the kids!

The one with Santa Clause

Here is the proverbial post about the kids meeting Santa Clause. Erik works at the best company...for many reasons, but one big reason that is high on my priority list is they have a kids Christmas party every year!! They feed us pizza and goodies, then bring in Santa for the kids to sit on his lap, and the best part, GET PRESENTS! They are seriously soooo generous and never disappoint! We look forward to this party every year, and so do the kids! Plus, I love that I don't have to pay $25 for my kids to sit on some fake bearded Santa at some over-crowded mall. The Santa who comes to this party is awesome. Seriously. His suit alone is probably worth more than my car. And he is so sweet to all the kids and genuinely talks to them, plus he poses great for picture, after picture, after picture. See for yourself! :)

With their friend Ruby. Something must have been really funny!! lol

My pretty girl. She is growing up way too fast!

Brooklyn and Savannah were still going strong, but Troy was t-i-r-e-d!

Love, love, love this!! She was so fascinated!

Brooklyn with her new Rapunzel princess doll. When she opened it she said, "This is exactly what I wanted for Christmas!!" Whew, good thing Santa knows all!!

The one at Snowflake Lane

Aww, 'tis the season for all things Christmasy. We love Christmas in the Northwest, and one of our favorite things to do is to head over to the mall for what they call Snowflake Lane. And since we have been having amazing cold, dry weather (Hallelujah!!), we decided to venture out last week. All sorts of "characters" come out to bang drums, dance, and hand out suckers. And there is even snow!! Well, not real snow, it's actually bubbles, but it looks like snow! The kids, and adults, love it!

Love Troy's face. Pure joy!

Poor Savannah threw up all over on the car-ride over. She had her first taste of sweet potatoes, and apparently they didn't sit well once she got in the car.

The one with the pink Christmas tree

We found a pink Christmas tree last year for Brooklyn to have in her room. Well, now that Brooklyn and Troy share a room, it's both of theirs...and they L-O-V-E it!! They had a great time decorating it and now re-decorating it. Every day. Seriously. Every.Day.

Troy seems to be saying, "Ugh-oh, I'm gonna be on the naughty list!"

The one where Savannah eats rice cereal!

Savannah got her first bite of rice cereal a couple weeks ago (yes, I am a couple weeks behind on blogging).Anyway...she absolutely, positively LOVED it! Wanna know how we could tell? When Savannah gets excited, she stiffens up her arms and legs and starts to shake. Troy used to do the same thing, along with twirling his hands and feet. So far she just does the stiff legs and arms, but it is still so funny! She had her second take on rice cereal tonight, and once again, LOVED the stuff. Brooklyn really likes to help out and feed her too. It's still a novelty in this house.

Biggest.grin.ever. And hello double chin and huge cheeks!!! So kissable.

"Am I gonna get some more?!"

Erik found the hula outfit we had for Brooklyn when we went to Hawaii a few years ago, and he did a little impromptu photo shoot.

Aloha!!

Had to add this picture to demonstrate the stiff legs. :)