A real Gem

"What can you do about not having an itchy bum?" [pause] "Because I already have one."

Priceless:

A picture of the grandparents with 5 of their 6 grandkids.

Getting Noah in the picture???

I don't get paid enough.

Here we go.

He's in the picture frame...

Getting closer...

Closer...

And closer...

Made it.

Now if we could get him to look...

Or smile...

And we have a winner!!!

(or as close as we're going to get)

Uh-oh...

We're losing him...

Things are rapidly deteriorating...

And he's done.

SMILE!!!

only those present at the time will understand the significance of the above.

But while we're on the subject...

Quotes of the week:

"Grandpa, you are just so obsessed with loving me."

"I just googled great wall of china."

"I just want to sit here and keep pretending that fire hydrant is Grandma's house."

"The Circle of Death."

"You wouldn't eat hot tamales in Hawaii."

"Would you rather..." [there are just too many ways I could finish that sentence]

"Fork!"

"I've never seen such a dolly as this!"

"I'm not an American anymore."

"A year is a long time."

"Bosty and Meomee."

"That's Alex's favorite game."

"80."

"what the what!"

[That wasn't nearly as fun for you as it was for me]

But...

Hope your Christmas was Merry.

Ours was.

and maybe you'll hear about it next month

C.R.A.Z.Y. FUN

I could give you all kinds of details and tell many a funny story about last week - but for some reason (i.e. three kids) my "free" time is extremely scarce at the moment.

So I'll keep it short and get right to the point.

But...it was awesome.

First, my sister Tiff, with her husband Randy and baby Madden, came from Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with us.

It was their first trip to Rochester, I hadn't seen this guy since he was a newborn, and I can't tell you how much I loved having my sister here.

The day after their arrival, and the day before Thanksgiving, we had Noah's 6th Birthday Party at Soccer World.

Best. Thing. Ever.

Here's a few action shots...

I'm a great photographer, no?

But you get the idea. He had the time of his life.

These are the only photos I have of Thanksgiving day...

the babies lying in their boppys like perfect angels while we feasted.

But I can tell you it was enjoyed by all.

The highlight just might have been drinking straight from the Martinelli's bottles, which is becoming something of a Thanksgiving tradition for us.

On Friday evening my parents arrived.

And on Saturday morning Paul's parents arrived.

All just in time to celebrate Noah's ACTUAL 6th birthday.

Think balloons, more presents

and an ice cream cake from Cold Stone, per Noah's request.

Then the gifts were enjoyed

and games were played.

Including, but not limited to, the Limbo.

Which Alex is the star of - or at least she had us laughing while trying.

Noah was not the only one who got a gift that day.

My mother-in-law brought me (and Avery) this baby sling designed for the "overwhelmed caregiver" (seriously, it's in the manual - and I definitely qualify).

It is now where she spends the majority of her time. We both love it.

Thanks Grandma Gunn!

And speaking of Avery, she is much more alert and so fun.

She's full of smiles (although none caught on camera yet) which means Paul is going to have to give up this lovely imitation of Avery's facial expressions.

(pretty good, no?)

And speaking of faces, here's Alex's face after eating donuts (the top only) for breakfast (and possibly lunch and dinner too).

Sunday was the day Avery Jane was blessed by her father.

It was a wonderful blessing and we are so grateful to all of the family members who were able to be there to participate.

As for this family photo...well, what can I say? We'll just add it to our collection of ridiculous family photos - we're really good at those.

(although it is getting semi - embarrassing.)

Avery was a sweetheart during her blessing, but less than happy to take pictures afterwards.

(yep, definitely one of ours)

Paul's parents

My parents and youngest brother

And my sister Tiff - who had to leave immediately afterwards.

Yeah, I cried. And I want her to come back. And I've been missing her everyday since.

And I'm not the only one. Alex was so sad to see them go.

Here we are with our beautiful (screaming) baby girl.

(and someone please tell me that's not what I really look like!!!)

My parents took off the next day but we spent a couple more days with Paul's parents - this was their first visit to Rochester as well.

We were able to sneak in some Christmas shopping AND a date for me and Paul.

In summary:

8 days

13 people

2 birthday parties

1 Thanksgiving

and 1 baby blessing

Like I said...

C.R.A.Z.Y.

FUN

One Month Old

(Told ya she was fatter)

Love you Avery - even if you do cry a lot

I can totally do 3 kids (!?!?!)

I just can't do anything else.

Like...

clean my house

run errands

go to the grocery store

cook dinner

fold laundry

my church calling.

The list goes on and on.

So, on second thought...maybe I'm not really doing 3 kids

: )

But, we're alive and well.

Here's the pics to prove it.

Getting Noah to pose for a picture always takes some negotiating.

i.e. he would only take this pic if he could hold his library book.

weird, yes

And he insisted this picture go on the blog, so he could show his Grandmas how strong he is

Avery in "school"

She sits in her bouncer and stares at Noah while he teaches her about life.

Hilarious.

Oh, Alex and her faces

Little Miss Sunshine...last scene. That's all I'm gonna say.

(Pink hair and glitter courtesy of Little Dudes and Divas, where she got a much needed haircut)

Yes, Avery's hair does have a reddish tint to it

One last (or first) picture with Grandma and all three kids

So, yes, things are crazy.

Noah and Alex are crazy.

But that's just business as usual around here - I actually think they're adjusting really well.

The kids seem to be thriving.

It's me that's surviving.

p.s. all these pics of Avery are at least 3 weeks old, taken by my mom when she was still here. Guess that's another one of those things I'm not doing yet - taking pictures of my baby.

She's much fatter now.

(And thankfully, I'm not as fat as I was 3 weeks ago)