Christmas

Here is a little recap of our Christmas weekend

Christmas Eve:
After making one last stop at the mall for a gift, Nick and I spent most of the day getting our house ready for company on Christmas Eve. After the kiddos had their naps, we got them dressed up and we headed to Christmas Eve service at church.
Cole was not awake yet at this point so I had to get some pictures of this cute girl. I don't typically put her in dresses yet because personally I think they are annoying when they don't know how to walk yet...but anyways...I think she looks super cute all dolled up!!!

AND, she was so curious with the shoes that were on her feet. Again, one of those things I think are super annoying until they start to walk. :) But with it being Christmas and all, we had to go all out.

Me and my kiddos before church, and yes, the only way we could get Cole to get into the picture was to bribe him with a sucker. :)

After a great Christmas Eve service at church and seeing some great friends we all headed back to our house for the night. Blake and Emily and Nick and I were in charge of this meal and Blake and Em brought some yummy food!! Nick made his ribs and I....well, I didn't do much, ha!
After we ate we took pictures.....

And after pictures we opened LOTS of presents. Literally, I took about 250 pictures that night so I was a little overwhelmed on which ones to put on the blog so I'm just keeping it simple with the family pictures :) The kids got great toys and the adults got some fun stuff too! Emily got Just Dance 3 so after the kids went to bed, we sure had fun doing some dancing!!! I'm not going to post an incriminating pictures of myself, but I will post these pictures...hehe
Christmas Day:
After everyone woke up we opened up Santa presents and had a leisure morning around our house. After Finley's first nap we headed into Granddad and Gigi's house for the day. They were cooking everyone surf and turf and we also had some other relatives from Austin come into town.
When we go to their house Granddad and Gigi got these fun rocking "polar bear" and "lambs" but they will stay at their house and the kids can play with them when they visit.

Everyone else opened up Santa presents and here are just a couple super cute things the kids got.

Blake looks thrilled to be wearing Finley's apron!

Finley loves her little dolly :)

I did enjoy a few glasses of yummy champagne during the day so Finley had a couple bottles during and Granddad really enjoyed feeding her one of them. He especially loved her little fingers up his nose!

A little tradition that Nick's mom makes us do is we all have to sing the "12 Day of Christmas" song before we eat. Her place-settings at the table are the 12 Days of Christmas theme so whatever day we sit on we have to sing that part of the song. Nick always gets stuck with "Fiiiiiiive Golden Rings".

And whenever Dad would sing his part (yes, he got a little out of control a few times), Cole would bust up laughing. Silly dad!!!

Blake also brought his Clark Griswald mugs and they enjoyed some homemade egg nog that he made.

After several late nights and not getting much sleep, both us and the kids....we are exhausted!!! :) BUT, it was such a fun weekend and we realized how truly blessed we are to have such wonderful family!
Today, I was running on fumes and Nick told me to go lay down so after I knew Finley was fed and didn't need anytime soon, I laid down and 2.5 hours later I woke up and felt AMAZING!!!! Y'all, I have not taken a nap like that since before Cole was born!

We are super excited to have my parents come tomorrow and spend some time with us and help us ring in the new year. Cole will be so happy to have Papa and Mimi here and I'm sure we'll do lots of fun things.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

A few happenings

We have had some fun things go on this past week. It sure is a busy time of year! Gigi got back into town last week and we have definitely been taking advantage of her time :)
Nick went to Top Golf last Tuesday while Cole, Finley and I had a birthday party to go to. It was at a restaurant and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle both kids by myself so I recruited Tracy to come along. Thank goodness she was there because not 10 minutes into getting there, Finley pulled a HUGE glass of water onto me and her, and of course I was wearing jeans, ugh. There also was a huge slide at the restaurant that Cole went on about a bazillion times and half of those I had to go with him because he was too scared so I definitely needed a another set of hands.
When we got back from the party, Santa was making his way through our neighborhood. It's so cool because they get the ambulance and fire trucks out and put their lights on and have Christmas music playing while Santa waves to all the kids, it's so great!

Cole and Gigi waiting for Santa to make his way to our house

This past weekend we had our Life Group Christmas party. Pete and Katie definitely know how to host! We all had a great time with great food. It was also nice to just be around the adults and have conversations that didn't involve a toddler asking me "what I'm doing" every 2 seconds. Nick's parents babysat for us and before we left Finley put on a little show for us. She's been getting in the push-up position for a long time but she actually got up on her knees. It's kind of hard to tell in this picture but she's up on her knees...so exciting!

Here is a picture of our Life Group

Sunday afternoon Cole had a birthday party for his friend Liam. Cole loves seeing all his friends and everyone had a great time.
Cole's friends Emerson and Zinnedean

Nick and Finley were supposed to come with us, but I'm having a hard time trying to figure out their nap schedules and she was sleeping when we had to leave. Finley has now transferred to 2 naps a day which makes it hard because now her naps overlap with Cole's. She naps around 10am and 2:30pm and Cole has always napped at noon....so you can see that one of them is sleeping at all times. However, this makes it hard to actually get out of the house so I have tried to push Cole's nap back to 1:00pm so that I at least get one hour to myself but it's really hard for Cole to make it to 1:00, he's usually falling asleep before then. I'm sure he will get used to it soon but I'm really looking forward to them both being on the same schedule!!! :)

I'm so excited because Nick has the next 2 weeks off so we get to do a lot of playing this week! The 4 of us finished our Christmas shopping this morning and we have a bunch of other fun things planned so it will be so fun to have dad home!!

2 toddlers+2 babies= hysterical disaster!

I mentioned that while we were in Colorado for Thanksgiving, we got all four Volk grandchildren together for some picture-taking. Our good friend Corrie took the pictures and we LOVE her! It was a gift for my mom's birthday and back when we booked the session we thought it would be a GREAT idea....ha!! Nobody really thought much about getting 4 kids under the age of 3 to take pictures, 2 of which can't even sit up yet. Well, here is a little bit how the session went......

I mean, how cute are these two?? We couldn't have asked for better smiles and participation from them. They were amazing!!

Besides acting like typical toddlers, they pretty much smiled and looked exactly where we asked them to.

I think they had just as much fun as the parents were having watching them. They were totally hamming it up!

Our handsome guy

Doesn't she look like Cindy Lou-Who?? Love this girl!

Ok, so after the big kids did their thing and did an amazing job, we thought we'd add the 2 babies in. I mean, besides the fact that Finley is pretty much laying down and Cole looks like he's in charge of both babies at the same time, I think this looks great....right!?!

Here we go.....Meltdown city!!! Again, rockstar Cole did great!

Ha!!!

If you can imagine, the parents are all dying laughing!!!! Well, that and also making sure none of the babies get flung off the bench.

And literally...those were the best ones!!! Ha! So there ya go mom....Happy Birthday!!! I promise someday we will attempt this again. Till then, all we can do is laugh!

Visit with Santa

Yesterday we met up with some friends to go visit Santa. I was so excited to take Cole this year because he's really starting to understand all this Christmas stuff. Even though he is a very quiet (for the most part), reserved kid, he definitely is not shy with things like this. Last year he could hardly handle his excitement to sit on the Easter bunny's lap. He was about to bounce off the walls when we got to the mall.
Here's Cole and Finley while waiting in line...it's so hard to get a picture with both of them looking at the camera because she is constantly staring at her brother :)

Emma and Cole waiting patiently

My friend Ann makes the most adorable clothes for little kids. She does such cute embroidery and comes up with the cutest ideas. This isn't the greatest picture but she made Emma's outfit. Her pants were so fun!! She has an Etsy site called Babyegg Boutique if you want to check out any of her stuff.

Finley looks thrilled doesn't she??

And here is how the Santa picture turned out....

For as excited as Cole was to sit on Santa's lap, he acted pretty stoic once he actually got up there. Again, it was SO hard to get Finley to actually look at the camera because she is very fascinated with men, and his beard was VERY fascinating!!! :) But, at least neither of them are crying, woohoo! :)

Of course, as much fun as all the Christmas traditions are and everything that goes into the holidays, we feel it's extremely important for Cole to understand the meaning behind Christmas and the reason we celebrate this holiday. I'm so thankful that he goes to a Christian preschool because they really talk a lot about Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. I absolutely love that he comes home from school so excited to show me his "baby Jesus".....or the other day he came up to me and said, "Mama, wook....it's baby James". Ha!!! I have to laugh!!

We have a very fun week coming up. We have a birthday party tonight, park playdate, baby Jesus birthday parties at school, mom's night out with some fun girls, Christmas pj's party, and Life group party....whew, I love this time of year!!!
We are also so excited because after Friday, Nick has 2 weeks off!! He so needs a break because he's been working 10-11 hour days, then coming home and working several hours after we all go to bed. Ugh...poor guy, didn't come to bed till 2am last night and got up at 6:00am. Not sure how he does it, but I can't do anything but admire him for all his hard work!!
Hope everyone has a great week!!!

7 Months

Finley Marie is 7 Months!!

You are turning into such a big girl! Where have these 7 months gone?!?
What is new with you this month??

I have no clue what your weight is, I'm guessing around 18lbs
Still very tall with loooong legs
Still wearing size 3 diaper and medium cloth diaper (again, only when we are home)
Wearing 9-12 month clothes
You are sleeping about the same as you have for the last few months. Consistently you wake up once during the night, usually around 4am. Every once in awhile you will wake up one time around midnight, but that is rare.
You are an awesome napper! You still take 3 naps....9am for about an hour, 12:00 for almost 2 hours and then 4:30-ish for an hour. You are so easy because when you start to whine I will just go lay you down in your bed with your paci and you fall asleep on your own, so easy!
You eat every 3-ish hours, sometimes more frequently

In honor of Robert Griffin III, we thought we'd put you in some Baylor attire today. Go Baylor!!
Cole also wanted to take a picture with you, and you couldn't have been more thrilled.

Same as last month, still hate baby food.....sigh
You love anything that you can feed yourself, I'm not sure if it's a texture thing or what but you are pretty insistent on not eating baby food.
You are starting to sit up much better by yourself. I still put the boppy pillow behind you because you will fall backwards.
I don't know if I'd call you a lazy baby, but you really don't do much rolling around. I thought you would be doing more of that but when I put you down on the floor, you are just so content watching your brother and playing on your tummy that you will usually stay put. Even during the night in your crib, you pretty much stay in one spot all night long.
You just got over having another little cold. We were pretty much over your first one but with traveling and super dry air in Colorado, we came home with another one. Because you have not been 100% we still haven't been able to get you your first shot. I'm thinking we will be able to this week because you seem great now.

For fun, here is Cole and you at 7 months. He sure was a chunk! He had almost 7-8lbs on you at this point, plus, his head was gigantic!! It's so fun to see the differences but also similarities.

We are so looking forward to spending the fun Christmas holiday with you and watch you celebrate your first Christmas. We love you very much little girl!

Proof that Finley WILL NOT eat

Here is to show everyone what I'm talking about when I say that Finley will not eat her baby food. She does this every stinkin time. She has come to love puffs or anything she can put in her mouth by herself, but anytime I put the spoon up to her mouth, she purses those little lips so tight and won't eat. I remember with Cole, feeding him was such a fun thing to do because I couldn't get the food in fast enough and he LOVED anything I'd give him. I have come to dread breakfast and dinner time because it is a beating trying to feed her!

I'm wondering if I just need to start steaming/baking fruits and veggies and give it to her as chunks so she can feed herself but I still think she is a little young. Everyone says, "she'll catch on" but good Lord, we've been doing this for almost 2 months now and it hasn't gotten any better. I hope this isn't a glimpse of a stubborn teenage girl we might have on our hands :)

Cole comes home from school singing a new song almost every day. I love it! Sometimes I reeeeaally have to listen hard to figure out what he's singing but usually I can figure it out. Last night we caught Cole singing this song in bed. It's a little fuzzy because it's from the monitor but there are a few clear parts.

"I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Won't my mommy be so proud of me
I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee
Ouch, he stung me"

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and for it being on a Tuesday, it was pretty fantastic!! Nothing wild and crazy went on, but it was just perfect!! First, Nick surprised me with staying home from work (I was most excited about this!!). He had one call he had to be on at 9:00am but then he was free the rest of the day.
My morning started out with these two cuties. I love the mornings when Cole climbs into our bed and drinks some milk and Finley likes to hang out with her brother.

I was also very excited because I had to make a grocery store run and anyone that has children knows it's kind of stressful going with them, so Nick stayed home with them and I got to go BY MYSELF to the store. It was amazing!! I didn't have a toddler saying every 2 seconds, "Mama, wook....cookies" or "Mama, I want some". It was delightful!! Oh, and Nick told me that as soon as you turn 30, you no longer will be carded. Well, first time ever, when I went to the grocery store, they did not card me for the wine I bought!!! I laughed because, literally, I get carded every stinkin time!! I guess I finally look my age now, eh??
After they both took naps we packed up and headed to the mall. Nick's birthday present to me was this watch and I needed a few links taken out. We had a couple other things we needed to do at the mall so while Nick took Cole to the play area, Finley and I did our shopping. At one point we got into the elevator and you know you are in an elevator with a bunch of moms and cute babies because after sitting in the elevator for several minutes chatting it up about our babies, we noticed nobody hit the floor button. Yep, we were sitting in one spot....going nowhere. Awesome! :)
On our way home from the mall, we decided to go look at a few houses that are for sale. Finley was sleeping so we thought we'd just drive around a bit and let her sleep. Plus, Nick and I LOVE looking at houses. We definitely will be looking for new houses in a year, or two or three so we are keeping our eyes peeled.

Nick and Cole were in charge of getting dinner started. They made Taco Soup and with the chilly weather, it was amazing! Even though it takes a little longer having Cole "help" in the kitchen, he absolutely loves it!

After we got the kids to bed, Nick and I sat down and watched Crazy, Stupid Love. It was such a cute movie and we loved it! I can't remember the last movie we watched so to actually sit down and watch an entire movie was fun!
I LOVE days like that and we had so much fun with dad being home with us. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.
However, I am a bit tired and zombie-like today because Finley decided to wake up at 11:15 last night. Nick tried to get her back to sleep but as soon as he'd lay her back down, she'd start crying. It wasn't the "hurt cry" so I knew nothing was really wrong. So, the stubborn streak in me decided to just let her cry it out. That went on for an hour so I went in and fed her, because usually that will for sure do the trick. Nope, cried for another hour. Well, not really crying the whole time, just talking and off and on crying. I went in and patted her back for awhile and then let her cry some more. FINALLY at 2:15 (yes 3 hours of this) so fell asleep. Me, who usually goes to bed at 9:30 didn't get to bed till 2:30am and of course was up at 7:00am. Good thing Cole had school today because I wouldn't have had the energy to entertain him today.
Good thing my little girl is cute and gives me BIG smiles in the morning because that makes the sleepy days well worth it!

Go Baylor!!

What an exciting game this weekend against Texas! I just wish that when we were in college, the football team would have been this fun and exciting to watch! Either way, we are so proud of Baylor and can't wait for tonight to find out which Bowl game they will be in. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will be in the Cotton Bowl at the Cowboys stadium because we would for sure go!!

Besides watching Baylor stomp all over UT, we had some other fun things to do this weekend. After running errands yesterday morning we attended Josiah's adoption finalization party!!! We are so excited for the Cone's that they are welcoming such a fun little boy into their family! I know our kids will be great friends and can't wait to see them grow up together.
Here is a picture of me and Josiah...what a little tank he is!!! He and Finley are about 3 weeks apart so having our kids so close in age is great!
Congrats Dave and Steph!

Last night we had some friends over for some ribs. Nick was really excited about making ribs and I think they turned out pretty good.
Here is Nick with Finley...had to show off one of her Christmas outfits.

My children are getting so good at taking pictures. Cole is so sweet with Finley and is so cooperative, I love it!!

"Muah"

Here's "The Godfather" (Nick), Grayson, and Cole....those are 3 cute guys!!

Cole, Finley and James...one day James will like being on his tummy :)

Nick was so excited to put the kids in their Vikings gear today, but unfortunately (fortunately for me), the Broncos beat the Vikings. Nick is pretty bummed out with his Vikings this year....but like he said, "At least Baylor won!!"

We are sad that this weekend is coming to a close, even though this weekend has been very rainy and dreary, it's been very relaxing and fun....definitely got us in the Christmas spirit! Can't wait for the next couple weekends filled with Christmas parties, date nights and family time!