Christmas Stress?!

Every year I start off the Christmas season with a promise that this year is going to be different! This year I am going to get my shopping done early so I don't have to feel rushed. This year I am going to focus more on Christ and the "true meaning of Christmas" - and make sure my kids do too. This year I am going to be more giving - not of gifts, but of service and time spent with friends and family enjoying the holiday season. YEAH, RIGHT! Like that EVER happens! So here we are once again just a little more than a week away and here comes the stress!!! To be honest I do have most all my shopping done which is good! But still for some reason the stress is still there! I know it is so stupid and silly to worry about gifts since obviously they are not what Christmas is about, but it is so hard not to worry about that! Especially when you have kids who are old enough to care now - and a husband that likes to spoil you! (What if he gives you something way cooler than what you give him?!) And I do talk to my kids about Christ and the nativity and all that at Christmastime, but it never seems to be the major focus like it should be! So now that I have vented my stess and frustrations, maybe I can just chill out and spend the next week relaxing and enjoying this season that I love. And hopefully focusing on the reasons why we should love it! Hopefully you all are better than me and you don't let the stress get to you! Maybe next year.......

Brady's 4th Birthday!

Friday, December 12th was Brady's 4th birthday! I just wanted to write a small note about my sweet Brady! He is mommy's buddy! He is so much fun to have home with me all day! Since he misses the deadline he has this school year plus the next before Kindergarten and I am so glad! He is a fun one to have at home. He is always trying to make everyone laugh! He loves to tell jokes and to do silly things - he has a very fun personality! He especially loves to make his baby brother laugh! He is a good helper with Connor. Also he completely adores his older brother and is always trying to be just like him. (I always remind Shawn of that and tell him he better watch what he does, because his brother is always watching and following!) Here is a picture of my precious 4-year old Brady:



For his birthday we asked him what he wanted to do and the only thing he wanted was to go to Chuck E Cheese's! So we did! This is Brady and mom at Chuck E Cheese:



This is Brady playing video games with dad there:



This is all three boys riding the giant rocking horse that they have:



And last but not least, the birthday cake! What birthday is there without cake and ice cream?! So this is him with his cake that mom made (I am no professional cake decorator, but I get the job done pretty good I think!) :)



Happy Birthday Brady! Thanks for being such a wonderful son and brother! We love you!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot!

So when I went to make our Christmas cards for this year, I realized that I did not have any photos that were of the three boys together. I have tons of pictures of any given two of them, but not all three! So I decided to whip my camera out and take a few of the three of them just at home. Now, I am no photographer by any means, but I thought they were pretty cute so I had to share! (Especially with my family that hasn't seen them in a while!) Here is one of them together on the couch:



This one Shawn had begged and begged to hold Connor in a picture, but he just kept wiggling to get away!:



This one they all layed next to each other on the floor. I wish I had stepped back a bit to get them from head to toe because it was so cute! But I just love the look on Connor's face in this one! He thought it was so fun doing this with his brothers!



My three cute boys!



And, of course, the priceless picture of the baby smiling!

So Big!

Connor is now 5 months old (as of the 4th of December)! Wow! Where does the time go? The big accomplishments of this last month are that he now really, truly rolls over. He kind-of did it before, but now he does it all the time! Also, now he can hold his own bottle! He is so cute doing it that I had to post a couple of pictures! (What kind of mother would I be if I didn't have pictures of this stuff?!) So here is one of him holding his bottle:



Then here he is again. He noticed me taking pictures and is tryng not to smile at me so he can still eat!



Then he gave up, dropped the bottle and gave me a full out smile! So cute! I hardly ever can get a good picture of him smiling so big!



That has been our big month. We are still working on the cereal thing. He will eat it, but doesn't like it at all! He will put up with it for a minute then usually just cries until I give in and give him a bottle. Anyone know any tricks that make them eat it/like it better? With my other kids it never was a problem - (they'd empty a bowl and want more!), so I am at a loss! Helpful hints would be appreciated!

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!!!

The day after Thanksgiving we flew to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a vacation with Mike's family for his dad's 60th birthday. We stayed at a time share they own at The Grand Mayan (Mayan Palace) in Nuevo Vallarta. It was so much fun!!! The hotel was so nice including the pool areas, the beach, and everything. We had a great time! Here are a few pics to show what we did.

We often would eat lunch at the pool bar - very good food! Chips and Salsa, yum! This is a picture of Shawn and Mike eating.



Here is Brady eating.



And here is Connor just haning out in his stroller while we eat! What a cutie!



The hotel had a waterslide that was a lot of fun. Here is a pic of the slide.



Here is Shawn going down the slide (BJ is at the bottom to catch him - you go pretty fast!).



Here is Mike's brother Jared coming off the slide. Look at that face!!!



Mike and Brady rode down together (too fast for Brady by himself).



Mike and Brady and BJ at the bottom.



The hotel also had 2 wave pools. One was pretty calm for the kids and the other was pretty wild! Here is everyone playing at the clam one. First is Shawn and Brady.



Jaricka in her tube at the wave pool.



Shawn in a tube riding the waves!



This is Brady playing in the kiddie pool.



Shawn and Cade playing on the tubes in the kiddie pool.



All the kids pulling Michelle around on the tube in the kiddie pool!



One afternoon we had races with the kids in the water. Mike and Kristina put the kids on their backs and raced through the water. The first one to slap Grandma McDougal's hand was the winner!



Looks like Shawn is the winner with Brady a close second!



One night we all hung out at mom and dad McDougal's room and did some activities for Vaughn's birthday (the big 60!) Here is a pic of the boys hanging out - Mike, Scotty, BJ, and Jared.



Shawn, Cade, Jaricka and Ariel playing out on Grandma and Grandpa's balcony.



Mike and our nephew Tallin (BJ and Leslie's boy) - he had his 1st birthday while we were there as well.



Emily and Connor. Brady was begging me to take a picture with my camera and this is the picture that he took.



This is the beautiful sunset that we could watch every night off our paren't balcony. Right into the ocean - beautiful!



Here are a few pics of our hotel room. The first is the view we had off our balcony - the beautiful golf course! One morning the boys all woke up early and went golfing. After they got back all the girls went to the spa and got massages! Fun day!



This is the kids playing in the pool on the balcony. You would think it would be a hot tub, but it was a cold swimming pool. Funny, huh? The kids liked it though!



Our balcony.



The master bedroom with sitting area.



The living room.



The kitchen.



The first night we were all there we went to a resataurant in downtown Puerto Vallarta called PiPi's. It was very good mexican food. Here is Shawn and Cade enjoying the leftover strawberry margaritas! (virgin, of course!)



That same night was Tallin's 1st birthday and so the mariachi band came over and sang Happy Birthday to him. So cute!



We loved to walk along the beachwalk and market plce downtown - especially at night. Here is Connor hanging out in the stroller while we were doing just that.



At the marketplace there was a shop that sold all of this NFL football stuff. This is Scotty and Mike with a bunch of the stuff on!



Also along the beachwalk there are a bunch of really wierd statues. Cool for taking pictures anyway! Here is Shawn and Kristina.



And Shawn standing up on a tall one.



And Shawn with Ariel, JaeLynn and Scotty.



Of course one of the main fun things to do is play at the beach! Here are some pics of the kids playing together. Cade, Shawn and Jaricka.



Ariel and Connor.



Brady - what a goofball!



Shawn and Cade. Best buds!



Brady, Ariel, Connor, and Shawn.



This is Shawn with one of the "street performers" one night downtown.



The hotel has a train that you can ride that takes you all around the hotel. It's pretty cool. Here we are going for a ride! This is Connor waiting for the train.



Here are Brady and Shawn waiting to get on.



The train from the front. If you look hard you can see us on the front row!



Shawn and me on the train.



Brady and me on the train.



One day a few of us went to a small town (I can't remember the name right now) and went to the beach, walked around, ate, etc. It was a lot of fun and a beautiful view of the ocean! There was a fun place with a bunch of rocks that we played at for a while.



Everyone on the rocks.



Brady playing on the rocks. The waves would come crashing through the rocks and he would try so hard to run away as fast as he could! Needless to say by the end of the time there he was sopping wet!



Our family - thumbs up everyone!



Our family with silly faces. :)



That night we went downtown to Senior Frog's for dinner. We had a great time! Here is Connor and me outside sitting on the tall chair.



Here is Shawn with the frog (so cute trying to pose just like the frog - drink and everything!)



Brady trying to pose like the other frog!



Grandpa holding Connor - he just snuggled right up and went to sleep!



There was also a lazy river at the hotel. (Quite the hotel, right?) All this cool stuff!) Anyway! Here is Grandma McDougal and Brady floating down the river.



Here is a pic of everyone in a row floating down the river.



Here is a view of the hotel from the pool area.



One afternoon we bought the boys this Ninja Turtle hooked to a parachute that you can fly like a kite. Mike took the boys down to the beach and flew it.





The last night we were there we went to a Mexican Fiesta they had on the beach. It was a lot of fun! The boys got to help break a pinata. Here is Shawn taking a swing at it.



And Brady taking a swing at it!



Here is Grandpa and Grandma with Connor and Kristina at the fiesta.



Shawn enjoying his sucker from the pinata.



Brady enjoying his Candy Apple.



And here is Connor enjoying his hand!! (Much better than the binky, right?)



Krisina, Shawn and Brady with their candy apples.



The last morning we were there we enjoyed a few more hours of pool time before getting on the airplane to fly home. Here are the boys playing in the awesome kiddie pool!



Shawn and Brady swimming.



Mike took Shawn and Brady to the "crazy" wave pool! Fun!



Well, that is it! Can you believe I have even more pictures of which I didn't show you! We had a great time and had so much fun being with Mike's family! Thanks Mom and Dad McDougal!