Merry Christmas

It was a wonderful Christmas. Santa was good to everyone. We spent Christmas morning at home with Aubela Nuri, Grandaddy Wayne, Aunt Roxie and Uncle Jim. After a late breakfast and a refreshing nap, we headed to Grandma Marilyn and Grampa Tom's house for gifts and dinner. We opened presents with Uncle Ben, Uncle Jared, Aunt Christina, and Ms. Debby. There were more than 20 people there and everyone had loads of fun. As with Christmas Eve, there were too many great photos, so I created another montage. Enjoy!

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Christmas Eve 2007

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We hosted a Christmas dinner for everyone and opened presents with Marma and P'bo before they headed north to SC to visit with Nana for the holiday. In the evening hours, just before the boy's bedtime, upon suggestion from Aunt Roxie we all opened one present each. There were so many good photos, that I decided to create a video montage. Enjoy!

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Santa, this Christmas I want...

We took the boys to see Santa at the Forum one last time...to see if Hatcher would sit in his lap. There were no lines and everyone was in a great mood...so he did! Hatcher told Santa that he wanted a tricycle. Both Aidan and Hatcher did so good that we were able to get this fabulous photo.

Abuela Nuri, Grandaddy Wayne, Aunt Roxie and Uncle Jim arrive

What a special holiday treat! Family from North Carolina hopped a plane to come and spend the holidays with us. Here are some pictures of the first days after arriving. Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa Tom came by to say hello.

That's how we roll...

Just a simple night at home and we finally caught on camera Hatcher being sweet with Aidan. Just wanted to share. They are already becoming great playmates. Hatcher loves to lie next to Aidan and pretend to sleep next to him.

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Christmas Dinner at the Estes New Home

I wish I had taken more pictures of their beautiful new home...but we were distracted with enjoying it ourselves. Neil and Ramona hosted a impromptu holiday dinner for us and the Bayers so we could exchange Christmas gifts. It was a great time for the three boys to bond. It will be crazy next year when both Maddox and Aidan are 18 months old. Hatcher wanted to play with baby Maddox and baby Aidan. Everyone enjoyed Neil's roasted chicken...and now Derek wants to buy a roaster. Thanks again Neil and Ramona...dinner was great and you have a beautiful home.

Kemmerlin's kid-friendly drop-in party

What a difference a couple of years makes! Who would have thought Derek and I would have had a party that entertained 7 kids under the age of 4 AND almost 20 adults? Surely not me. But...we had LOADS of fun! We felt like we hadn't seen some of our dearest friends since Aidan was born and so we invited a handful of folks over for dinner and drinks…kids and all. It was a good time for the both the kids and adults. The older kids loved the 4 babies…all born in July or August…just as much as they loved riding Hatcher’s 4-wheeler around the house. The boy’s new fisher-price nativity scene was also big fun for everyone (thanks Lisa!).

With the season upon us, we were glad we could spend some time together. It was great to see you all and catch up. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Also, a big thank you to everyone who braved the not very Christmas-like pouring rain, lightening and thunderstorms to come and hang out.


Hatcher and Aidan getting ready for the Kemmerlin party.


Hatcher, Aidan and the Riley family.


Madison on the 4-wheeler.


Mandy practicing for baby #2 and Madison learning to share Mommy.


Karen catching up with the Layman family. Kip holds baby Brooke while Landon eats some pasta.


Kip, Landon, Hatcher, Ramona and Aidan watch Bob the Builder. Hey...lets get that party started!


Todd and Amy catch up with Michelle and Ryan.


The Jacobs family enjoying some pasta. Caroline was fascinated with Dakota wanting her pasta.


Caroline and Ella getting ready to leave the party.


Trying to get sugared-up Hatcher ready for bed as he put on the Santa hat.

Growing up so fast

It is hard to believe that Aidan is now 19 weeks old. He absolutely loves his exersaucer and can entertain himself for a while. Hatcher has been a wonderful big brother. He plays with Aidan as much as we will let him. He tries to pick him up, feed him and even carry his car seat. His new favorite thing is to chew gum. We use it as our navigating tool (read as "bribe") for getting into the car seat and other items that we now face with our nearly two-year old.

My three boys...

These days I am feeling somewhat outnumbered. Boys and their toys! Hatcher is really anxious to actually play with Aidan. Hatcher loves it when Aidan is in his exersaucer and he can show Aidan all the neat toys and how they work. He also loves to lay with him on the activity mat and show him all the hanging toys. As of late, after much whining and begging on Hatcher's part, we have started giving the boys a bath at the same time. So far so good. They both seem to love it. Aidan loves to splash and kick the water and Hatcher loves to help wash Aidan. They are definitely building a bond much faster than I expected. Whenever I pick Hatcher up from school, he asks for Aidan if I don't bring him in the room with me. And then on the way home it's, "is Daddy home, is Daddy home?" What am I, chopped liver? All about the boys!

Sleepover at G'Ma and Tom's

We hosted a holiday party for some of Derek's co-workers this past weekend and took the opportunity to have Hatcher stay at Grandma Marilyn and Tom's house. He had a blast helping them decorate the house for Santa. His favorite was their new lighted reindeer. I wish we had a picture of that! He had a good time and they wore him out. Thanks guys. PS - The party was fun and Derek and I were reminded how much we love to host parties.

Aidan is 4 months old

It is hard to believe our little monkey is already 4 months old. He is coo'ing and laughing out loud. He loves his big brother Hatcher so much. They are already entertaining one another. These were some cute photos that we just had to share.

Santa and the Christmas Tree

Ho, ho, ho…time for Christmas. We took Hatcher and Aidan to see Santa and the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Forum this past weekend. They had a pretty good live band that played holiday music to gear us up for the partying season. Hatcher was so excited to see Santa…that is until he actually was up close and personal with him. It was a no-go so far, but we hope to warm him up to the idea before the season passes. At least for one nice photo op! After visiting with Santa and enjoying dinner, we all loaded up with hot chocolate and headed for the lighting of the giant Christmas tree. Hatcher enjoyed dancing to the music the most; but, when he saw Santa onstage, he yelled out “there’s Santa!” The event was fun for everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving...Gobble, gobble, gobble

We enjoyed a nice holiday with family as we hosted this Thanksgiving at our house for 12 people plus the boys. Marma, P’Bo, Aunt Christina, Uncle Jared, Ms. Debbie and the Texas Groffs drove up from Dallas to take part in the feast. For the first time ever, Derek cooked the turkey which turned out awesome! Derek got lots of compliments and Jared even said it was the best turkey he had ever had! Christina, Marma and I all prepared portions of the meal…which was delicious. It took longer than we planned for everything to cook...as it does every year. But it was worth the wait. There was turkey, ham, football, xBox, backgammon and more. Although no games for Chenin. By the time I had some free hands…folks were stuffed and ready to roll right on home. ☺ Hope you all had a relaxing holiday with family and friends.

Hatcher feeds Baby Aidan

Hatcher has been wanting to help with Aidan more and more. Yesterday evening when we came home from school, Aidan was crying and hungry. After placing his infant car seat on the floor in the kitchen so I could get settled, I noticed Hatcher trying to comfort Aidan. Hatcher asked Aidan, "Are you okay?" Hatcher saw me watching him and said, "bottle Mommy...Aidan's bottle." HA! They sure do learn fast...unless toddlers still speak "baby." So I made a bottle for Aidan and let Hatcher feed him in the car seat while I got Hatcher's dinner going. It was too cute. I had to capture it on video since Derek had still not seen this. It is amazing how much they have bonded in such a short time. (Side note: When watching the video you will notice that Hatcher has had another laser treatment on his port wine stain. He did really well and the bruising (red dots) are healing fast.)

Thanksgiving with the Bayer Family

We had our first opportunity to get dressed in our holiday best this weekend; well at least I dressed up the boys :). Fast becoming an annual tradition, Derek and Cynthia Bayer whipped up a feast for our small extended family. Before we headed that way, we took the boys outside to play in the leaves and enjoy the nice weather. Hatcher had the most fun chasing and playing with the dogs. We spent Sunday evening with everyone and had a wonderful time catching up. Baby Maddox Bayer is 5 weeks older than Aidan and he is sitting up on his own and laughs out loud. Ironically, newlyweds Neil and Ramona were on baby duty (ok...mostly Ramona) while the parents kicked back. All the kids behaved and we were able to have a nice family get-together. Thanks Derek and Cynthia for a wonderful meal and good time.