A Look Back on 2017

2017 was a special year for our family. It was the year we became a family of 6 and are finally complete. Nathan learned to read. Samuel started Pre-K. It was a year of activities- gymnastics, ballet, soccer, and church activities. We traveled and made memories.We started new school routines and adapted them as we added a newborn. It was such a good year.

January
- We found out we were expecting our fourth baby!
- Samuel started gymnastics
- We took the kids to Stillwater to watch an OSU basketball game. They were most excited about the popcorn and Pistol Pete

February
- We had a fun night celebrating Valentine's Day with fondue and a scavenger hunt
- Angela turned 32
- After 11 years, I finally convinced Matt to let us get new living room furniture

March
- Samuel turned FOUR! We had a fun Mickey Mouse party complete with a Pinata
- The kids traveled to Iowa with my parents over Spring Break while Matt and I enjoyed a kid free weekend
- My mom and I drove to OKC for a fun shopping weekend
- I coordinated a church wide dinner for our church's mission conference

April
- We had a great weekend celebrating Easter
- Samuel and Nathan started soccer. It was so fun that they got to play on the same team
- Elisabeth started Gymnastics

May
- Nathan turned SIX and we had a fun Lego birthday party.
- We found out we were adding a sweet baby GIRL to our family
- Nathan had his first school bus ride to the zoo for a field trip
- Matt and I spent a week in Washington D.C. for vacation
- Matt and I celebrated 11 years of marriage

June
- The kids and I spent a week in Weatherford for Vacation Bible School
- Nathan participated in a week long theater arts camp
- Elisabeth started ballet
- We had a fun family vacation in Kansas City. We went to Lego Land, the children's museum, the Sea Life aquarium and a fun water park at our hotel
- We played at the pool a lot!

July
- The Shondelmyers lived with us for a week. It was such a fun week catching up with dear friends and watching the kids bond and become good friends
- We hosted a fun Fourth of July party with our favorite friends. We're hoping it's a new tradition because it was the best night
- Angela went on a girls' weekend with Erica and Mindy to the Pioneer Woman Mercantile.So much fun!
- The kids visited cousin Amelia and while they were gone, Matt painted Katherine's room PINK!
- We spent more time at the pool and lots of play dates.

August
- Elisabeth turned THREE and we had a Trolls birthday party
- We had lots of end of summer play dates with our best friends.
- Nathan participated in KJAM at our church
- Nathan started first grade
- Samuel and Elisabeth started their Fall gymnastics class

September
- Samuel started Pre-K- he's thrived at school and loves it so much
- Elisabeth started pre school, one day a week
- Our precious Katherine Grace was born and we adjusted to a family of six

October
- We spent a fun morning at Pumpkin Town
- We visited the state fair (with a newborn)
- Samuel had his first Pre-K field trip to the pumpkin patch

November
- Matt traveled to Miami for a week
- The kids went to Branson to ride the Polar Express with my parents
- We had fun Thanksgiving activities at the boys' schools- A Thanksgiving feast and a Thanksgiving play
- We celebrated Thanksgiving with our families

December
- We had lots of fun Christmas activities- Nathan sang in church, Samuel and Elisabeth had a gymnastics parent observation, and Elisabeth had a winter ballet program
- Samuel was a wise man in the preschool Christmas program
- We visited Weatherford for a few days before Christmas
- We had a special first Christmas as a family of six
 - Nathan started basketball

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was pretty fun around our house! When I put Nathan to bed on Christmas Eve he told me he wouldn't come downstairs until 7:00. By the time I checked on him, he'd changed his mind to 6:30, ha! And then on Christmas morning, he and Samuel were downstairs at 6:15. He told me he changed his mind and wanted to come down earlier, ha!

The looked under the tree and didn't see any new presents, and Samuel started saying that Santa didn't come. But then they saw their stockings and decided that he did come. They were excited about their stockings.

Samuel was most excited about a new wallet and new underwear.

Nathan got a brickheadz he'd been asking for and some other fun things.

Elisabeth got new dolls for her dollhouse and some peppa pig perfume

Katherine thought everyone was crazy for being up so early.

After stockings we headed to open gifts under the tree. Nathan's big gift was the Millenium Falcon Lego set. His reaction was priceless. He was so very excited and grateful. His reaction was my favorite Christmas memory.

Elisabeth got a computer so she could play "work".

Katherine got some nesting blocks that we had with the other kids. They were so worn out from our other kids playing with them all the time that we had to trash them. I thought we needed a replacement set for our newest little girl.

Elisabeth also got a vanity play set and hair stylist costume and she got a school play set. She plays school all the time,  and always wants to be the teacher, ha!

Samuel's big gift was a Hot Wheels garage that he asked for. He also got a Lego airplane/dump truck set and an art kit.

I think he was most excited about the art kit. He's played with it a lot. He's my little artist for sure.

After we opened presents it was time to play!! Nathan couldn't wait to start on his Millenium Falcon.

And Samuel got busy drawing.

While they played, I made waffles and bacon for breakfast. It's our Christmas morning tradition.

We ate breakfast and then got back to playing for the rest of the morning.

Around noon, we headed to my parents' house to celebrate with them. The kids were ready to open more presents.

 They got some fun new things.

We spent the rest of the day eating lunch and playing with all their new toys. The kids were worn out by the end of the day. It was full of sweet memories.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a special day for our family. We went to church Sunday morning for our church's candlelight service.

The kids did well during the service. I sure am grateful for our church's preschool and children's ministry though, ha!

Sunday afternoon we took the kids bowling for a fun Christmas Eve activity. We all had fun!

Samuel's favorite part was the ball return

These kiddos were WOUND UP on Christmas Eve, so much excitement!

When we got home, Matt read the Christmas story to the kids.

Then we let them open one present (a joint present for all of the kids)

Then we had to play their new game!

Grammy and Papa Joe came over for dinner and let the kids open new jammies.

Before they went to bed, the kids asked to leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  We don't make a big deal of Santa in our house, but it was fun to go along with it and let them enjoy some of the magic. 

They had a hard time going to sleep on Christmas Eve. They were all so excited about Christmas morning!

Three Months Old

Katherine Grace,

You are three months old! You've been in our family for a quarter of a year, and it's been a great quarter. Everyone in our family loves you so much! You have a big fan club!

You are starting to talk and babble some. They are sweet, sweet sounds. Your brothers and sister get so excited to hear you talk. You're usually always grinning when you talk and staring right at us. You're a social little bug. You light up when someone looks at you and talks to you.

You're a smiley girl and we've even heard some giggles. I catch you smiling for no reason sometimes. And your smile can melt away any stress or bad mood. It's magic. It melts me every time.  You're a happy, content baby too. If you're tummy is full and you're not sleepy and it's not in the evening, you're usually content to be by yourself in your swing or on your play mat.

You get fussy when you're hungry and tired. You usually have a pretty rough cry right when you're ready for a nap. When you're screaming really loud, that's when we know it's time to put you to sleep. You just get a little fussy when you're hungry but lose your mind when you're tired.

You still eat eight times a day- about every 3 hours during the day and you'll have a 6-7 hour stretch at night. You're getting a 1-2 oz bottle after your feedings.

You usually nap after every feeding, but your naps vary a lot in length. It's hard to get you on a consistent napping schedule with all your siblings' activities. A lot of your naps are in the car or I have to wake you up to go somewhere. I swaddle you at night and for naps that we're at home. You sleep so much better swaddled. I can't get you to sleep more than 15-20 minutes for naps if you're not swaddled, but if I take the time to swaddle you, you'll usually take a really good nap.

You hate your baths. You scream the entire time you're in the tub and settle right down as soon as I pick you up.

You don't really like tummy time either, but you'll tolerate it. You're getting so much stronger and are able to hold your head and neck up well, and you're SUPER close to rolling over. 

You love your paci and it will almost always soothe you, unless you're hungry. Then it makes you mad. I've caught you sucking on your hands some too.

You weigh about 10lbs and are still our tiny peanut. You're wearing 3 months clothes and a size one diaper.

You prefer to be in your swing or rock and play than on the floor. I think you want to be a part of the action and still be able to see everything better. You don't want to miss out on anything!

You are our joy! We love you so much!!