The first picture is of me, Gavin and Liam and the Kienbusch's for Christmas Eve. We have a fun celebration where all the kids, grandkids and even great-grandkids get together and exchange gifts and eat yummy food. Everyone brings a dish and cookies so we always leave very full. Liam was totally wacked out and overwhelmed. Gavin was too towards the end. Taylor, Austin, and Dylan all enjoyed seeing their cousins, especially the ones from Florida and a good time was had by all.

The other picture is of Gavin and Daphne, Dylan's lovey from when he was a kid. They look cute together.

The last picture is of Gavin with his hair standing on end. Austin kept rubbing his head with a balloon to make it straighten up. He looks like he likes it. There's never a dull moment here!

I'm still trying to get to know Gavin. Here's what I've discovered so far: He needs to sleep in a quiet atmosphere! Poor baby! He also is allergic to milk (he pukes until it comes out his nose!). He's very impatient...pulls on my nipple when it doesn't come out fast enough! OUch! And he's a smiley kids when he gets sleep and people are talking to him.

Gavin the great

Here is a rare scream free moment from Gavin. He's so cute in the bumbo don't you think? Last night he slept in his own crib for 3 hours! I'm praising the Lord for little baby steps. Even though he's high maintenance right now I wouldn't trade him for the world. He's our little miracle baby.

Goals

Hi all,

If you haven't heard from me I've been very busy making some changes. For one, I started a new diet from Body for Life. It's very challenging (up my alley) but simple so I decided to start now rather than wait until Christmas was over. I've been following the fitness plan for two weeks but have just started the diet portion of it. I ended up with mastitis last week so I had to take a break for 24 hours to clear that up.

I'm also following the House that Cleans Itself (also up my alley...I loathe housework). My first room is the bedroom. I want it to be a haven from the chaos. I need a changing table and am moving it into the boys room (they're thrilled!). I told them that the diaper pail can stay in our room. It's closer to the bathroom for bidet purposes! You disposable users probably have no idea what I'm talking about!

Lastly, I'm following the No Cry Sleep Solution for Gavin to sleep in his crib. Yesterday he slept there for 4.5 hours! A record. He used to scream everytime I put him in it. Unfortunately we had a bad day with him yesterday so the night was probably easier because he was exhausted. We had gone Christmas shopping at target and he ended up with a leaking diaper that had him wet (it was 10 degrees last night) and since it was a "quick errand" I didn't have a change of clothing with me. The kids didn't tell me either since Liam was also melting down and I was closing my eyes a lot and trying to practice deep breathing exercises. Poor baby! No wonder he was so fussy!

I'll post pictures of my progress. Life has been so much better since I've had quiet time every morning and have been exercising. It definitely chases the blahs away!

Please email me to let me know how you are doing. I can't call much but I can do online stuff while I'm nursing!

Boys Galore.

Well, we managed to make it two days without a concussion checklist. Oy! Life with a lot of boys is great but it's quite a rollercoaster. The first picture is one of GAvin in a rare non-screaming moment. The second is of the four boys but you'll notice that Liam's head blocks most of Gavin's. His version of loving thy brother is something akin to smothering him...literally! At least he doesn't use Gavin's head as a stepstool like Austin did to Dylan at this age. One time Austin climbed into Dylan's crib when he was 5 mos old and I heard through the baby monitor "I get horsey ride!" and then Dylan's screamed. I ran in there and sure enough Austin was straddling my little 5 mos old. We eventually moved Dylan in with Taylor for his survival.

Another pic is the boys with their matching sleepers. Mitzi's husband thinks I shouldn't be posting pics of me in my slinky purple pajamas! Lol. Enjoy!

The Christmas Spirit

I've finally gotten back in the swing of sewing again. Here's my latest creation, a matching sleeper set for Gavin and Liam. Gavin's isn't done quite yet. I'm also working on replacing the velcro on some of his diapers. I'll soon be making a dress for my niece (oh to be making little girl dresses again! I miss it!)

Next is a picture of me and Gavin in his christmas outfit that Mitzi Lowe gave me last year. I'm so glad that it fits.
I've been thinking a lot about making Christmas meaningful this year for the kids instead of focusing on what's not important. The older ones saved their money for a trampoline but donated some of it to Operation Christmas Child. It was fun to watch them get excited about giving toys to someone else. What else can we do? I always have intentions of doing an advent celebration but we just can't seem to get it together to do that. I can't find my Christmas devotional either. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if anything hits me!