My big boy! (and a few more pics)

He lost his first tooth!

I am a little sad about my first born growing up, but if you could see my sweet boy's excitement over his first lost tooth then you'd understand how I'm smiling, too!

I love this little boy so much!

He first realized it was loose about 2 weeks ago at Wednesday night church. Over the past few days it has been getting "looser and looser". He has been moving it around with his tongue and wiggling it, and this morning it was barely hanging in there. Wilson mentioned that he just give it a little tug. He did and out it came! He was so proud!

I took this picture of Andrew Monday morning before school, because I knew it wasn't going to be long 'til that tooth had come out.

And here's one of all 3 kiddos that same day - Andrew ready for school and Ann Evelyn & Forrest still in pjs.

This sweetie is growing up, too. It might not be completely official quite yet, but we are almost potty-trained! She has been doing really well this week with just a couple of accidents. We are so proud! She requested "two ponytails" for church Sunday, and I thought it was so cute. :)

And very long overdue...

our first picture on the blog of sweet baby #4. We had a sonogram today, and of course, we loved getting a glimpse of this little one. I just love this precious profile picture! We are getting very excited about meeting this new member of our family in just a couple of months.

Happy New Year!

Wilson and I opted for a family New Year celebration this year - and we all had a blast!  We ate homemade pizza for dinner then headed outside for some fun!

Poppers!

Glow sticks!

And sparklers!

Then, it was time for s'mores!

Those big smiles say it all...

Yum!!  Yum!!

Christmas Day!

After church, we headed over to May May and Bubby's to celebrate.  May May had some delicious pick-up foods for us to enjoy.  Of course, not much was eaten by 3 little ones because of all of the excitement over more gifts to open!

As I mentioned in the previous post, the boys have been introduced to Transformers...  Andrew got Optimus Prime and Forrest got Bumblebee.  They were excited - as was Daddy! :)

And this cutie pie loves her new baby.  She has named her "Kate", and I thought that was a precious name for the cute little doll.

Daddy and Forrest hard at work!

Glow bracelets!

The kiddos were anxious to go outside to blow bubbles and pop their "pop-its"!

A smile from Andrew!

And Forrest!

Then, we headed to Meridian to celebrate with the Shirleys!

Here are our 3 after dinner and waiting to open gifts.

And then we managed to get one of all 10 of the grandkids!  Next Christmas, there will be two more in the picture... our newest and Lily Grace, who was born in January!

All the kiddos had a fun noisemaker in their stocking.  Needless to say it was a little loud in the house!  Ann Evelyn certainly enjoyed hers.

Love this one of the boys just hanging out together... such good buddies.

Andrew and Daddy opening a gift.

We love being with our families! Christmas is always a special time of seeing everyone... a wonderful way to spend the day!

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Christmas Morning

Well, it was no surprise that Andrew was the early riser! :)  As you can see from the picture, it took a little longer for Forrest to get going.  And sweet Ann Evelyn was the last to be roused.  She even resisted a bit.  But once we got going, everyone was sooo excited! 

Transformers and super heroes have invaded our home. :)  A little different from past Christmases with Thomas the train and die cast cars!

Our music lover got an "electric guitar."  It has been a big favorite in the house!

And here is what he asked Santa for... a Batcave!

And this was one of Forrest's request from Santa... a wind-up Robot... Andrew wanted a wind-up toy soldier.  Santa had a hard time with these requests, but it ended up working out pretty well!

Forrest with his bow and arrow... Andrew, Forrest and Daddy have all had a blast with these!

Looking thru stockings is one of their favorite things!

I love my girly girl!  She opened this pink nightgown that I picked out for her and immediately had to change into it!  It was made for her!

I think this is the only picture I have of her face. :)  She was way too busy opening gifts and enjoying the morning to pose for any pictures for me!

Sweet brothers - and best friends, as they say!

We had a fun morning. Following gifts I cooked the boys' pick of beignets - yum!  Then, we dressed and headed to celebrate Jesus' birth at church.  I loved being in church on Christmas morning!  It's the best place to celebrate the day!

Christmas Eve Night

Everyone was full of excitement on Christmas Eve night...  it is written all over the faces of these little boys!  We began our night at church with a candlelight service.  All of the kiddos sat with us this year and it was a sweet time reflecting upon the birth of our Savior.  I remember how Ann Evelyn was listening to Pastor Wheat... she repeated several times that "the angel was loud".  Joseph had mentioned in his sermon how the angel that proclaimed the good news to the shepherds and those that sang praises in the heavens were probably very loud.  That stood out to Ann Evelyn!   I love how we sing "Silent Night" by candlelight at the close of our Christmas Eve service.  The children loved it, too.

When we came home, Wilson took the children to the backyard to leave the reindeer food while I warmed up our spaghetti dinner.  Thanks Izzy for bringing us the reindeer food!

 

After dinner, it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus!

Then, time for pjs and one last picture by the tree with all the presents.

And we finished our night with a family devotion... the birth of Jesus and Christmas hymns.  Wilson and I pray daily for the salvation of our children.  As we celebrate Christmas, it is so fun and exciting to think of exchanging gifts, decorating, etc., but it is our true desire that our children know WHY we celebrate... the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We try to bring it back to this as we celebrate the Christmas season.

"And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11-12

Christmas Eve Morning

We began our Christmas Eve with brunch at our house with my family. We have enjoyed this the past several years, especially now that we only spend a few hours on Christmas Day at May-May and Bubby's house.

Sweet Sisters

The kiddos enjoying brunch

We have begun playing a game after our brunch on Christmas Eve... this year it was a Christmas carol trivia. Mom and Liz tied so the tie-breaker was a little Christmas karaoke! It was so fun - you can see from the picture that everyone joined in the singing!

I believe Ann Evelyn is belting out "Frosty the Snowman" in this picture!

Christmas in Canton

We are big fans of Christmas lights... who isn't?! This year we drove around several nights to look at the same lights - because they were so fun to see! It's a tradition for us to make it to Canton at some point over the holidays. This year we went at night and really enjoyed the beautiful lights!

Me and my little man :)

Me and my big man! :)

The boys have begun to want to take pictures with the camera... which is kind of nice so that Wilson and I can actually have a picture together every once in a while!

The kids ran from one light to the next so quickly... they were so excited! I finally was able to get them all together for a picture in front of this firefighter.

I liked this one.... Mrs. Claus' Kitchen. Can you see how she has cookies for the elf? Really cute, I thought, especially since I love to bake!

My boys riding the carousel

Ann Evelyn smiled and yelled "Wahoo!" the entire ride.

We also rode the little train around the town square which was a great way to really see all of the lights and decorations. Then, we ended the night with a ride on the car... So hard to believe these 3 are old enough to ride all by themselves! Where has the time gone?!

Such a fun night!