Christmastitis

We've been going up to my parent's house and celebrating Christmas on the 23rd and 24th. It was nice this year since we all made it, except for Justin (he's on his mission).
My parents love being grandparents. I love to see them enjoy my kids.
My sister (Lauren) got Hannah the coolest present. She Looooved it.
Christmas Eve morning I woke up to open presents and had a clogged milk duct. By the time we were done opening the presents I had full blown mastitis. Misery and flu like symptoms set in. I tried to sleep it off, but nothing helped.
I had to drive from Bakersfield to Glendale, it was the worst drive. I was miserable at Kevin's family's (his Dad's side) party. Some kid kept playing a drum and I thought my head was going to explode.
I finally got my antibiotics that night, I was still miserable Christmas morning and missed my kids open their presents.
We went to Burbank to spend the day with Kevin's Grandparents (his Mom's side). I didn't start feeling better until Christmas night.
Every year I am amazed at the mess all the Christmas loot makes. We spent all day putting it away, along with the Christmas decorations. We are ready for the New Year and our fresh start. It's time to start thinking about our New Year's Resolutions now.

Christmas Fun

Not much has been going on at the Jones house except trying to adjust. Kevin went back to work last Thursday, it was something that needed to happen to get our life back to normal. On Friday I decided to go to the mall, yes I went all by myself. I talked to Hannah and Gavin Thursday night and told them the plans for Friday. On the way to the mall I told them exactly what we were doing and there were a lot of bribes (or incentives) for them. I had Hannah and Gavin in my jogger and Luke in the sling. It was a success. I ran in and out of three stores looking for an outfit for Luke since I was taking him to Kevin's work Christmas party. Luke slept the whole time and Hannah and Gavin were so good. They played at the play place and we got Hot Dog on a Stick... yummy!
Saturday night we went to Kevin's party. It was a lot of fun!
One of my favorite memories of a little kid is getting cards from my Granny Fitz (my dad's mom). She would send cards for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, just about every holiday you got a card with $1! At Christmas you got $5! Now that I have my own kids I don't get cards anymore, but my kids do! They were so excited to get mail with "dollars" in it.
We have been singing a lot of Christmas songs around here. I love Christmas songs. I even try to get to church on time just so I can sing them!

Cousins

Hannah and Gavin have two cousins, Sam and Elise (Kevin's sister's kids). We don't get to see them too often, but when we do, it's as if they were never gone.
Between the four kids, every toy we own was pulled out, even the ones shoved deep under the beds and in the back of the closets.
The kids had so much fun playing in the leaves. They were all giggling, it was priceless.
Poor Allison got her own personal leaf shower from the kids!
Then the four helped put all the leaves in the trash can.
We were sad to see Sam and Elise leave. They have grown up so much since we saw them in the Outer Banks. Thanks for visiting guys! AND thanks for cleaning up all the toys too! Hopefully, we'll see you in the spring!

2 Weeks

Luke is 2 weeks old. His umbilical cord fell off yesterday, he's already growing up so fast! He's a pretty good little baby. He sleeps with me and for the most part I get decent sleep. He wakes up to eat and the next time I wake up it’s time to eat again.

It’s hard to get him down for a nap sometimes, but when he does finally fall asleep and stay asleep, he’s a good sleeper.

Hannah and Gavin are big helpers, especially Hannah. Gavin does a little baby talk and has thrown some tantrums that are out of character for him, but other than that there hasn't been much regression from the two of them. I'm looking forward to getting Luke on a schedule.

Hannah is 5!

I can't believe Hannah is 5. It seems like the time has flown by, but then so much has happened.

Birth: Hannah was 9 lbs. 13 oz and was my hardest labor and delivery, 28 HOURS! I remember feeling very overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of a life. The third baby is so much easier! Hannah was a sweet little baby, but a bad sleeper. I enjoyed her very much. I was so eager for her to be able to play. I talked to her all the time.

1 Year Old: Hannah likes to share that she turned 1 in Hawaii. She is dying to go back to Hawaii because as she says, "Hawaii is the beautifulest place on Earth!" Hannah took her first step in Hawaii too! Hannah was my little buddy, we did everything together.

2 Years Old: Hannah became a big sister. She was so good with her little baby brother. When Gavin would cry I would ask Hannah what he needed. She would always reply, "He needs Mommy."

3 Years Old: The beginning of the Princess phase. Hannah LOVED Cinderella. She started pre-school too. She continued to be my little helper. She really grew up and was so independent.

4 Years Old: Hannah became such a big girl. She became totally self-sufficient. She likes to pick out her clothes and dress herself. She is more interested in make-up and asked me for a cell phone. I asked her why she wanted a cell phone, she replied, "So I can call Mamo J whenever I want!" (Kevin's mom). She is such a creative little girl. She is excellent using scissors. I can't believe how well she can cut out shapes.

5 Years Old: This is Hannah building a rock fence along the side of our driveway. She moved about 30 rocks all by herself and put them in a perfect straight row. She got creative half way through her project and tied a rope to a storage container lid. She would put 3 or 4 rocks on the lid and pull them over to her project from the garage. Such a smart little worker. Hannah is able to do things so well that I feel less and less like I need to "fix" it because it's not done well enough. I'm starting to see her controlling personality (wonder where that comes from?) come out. She is particular with how she likes things done, for example... when she brushes her teeth she wants her toothbrush wet, then toothpaste applied, and then wet again (wonder where she gets that too?) My brother, Michael, calls her the mini Courtney. It's wonderful to see your good qualities and scary to see your bad qualities come out in your child.
Happy Birthday Hannah! My sweet little baby girl! You keep our house full of life and energy.