Christmas festivities began as we went on Christmas Eve to a candlelight service at our church.
Claire and Harper both did very well at church and they looked so pretty in their Christmas dresses. Claire spent most of the service taking turns in Cat, Pops or Grandma's laps.
We then went to our house for a homemade Tex Mex meal. The boys and Claire had so much fun playing. Harper was fast asleep soon into the night. Cat read books to Charlie and Claire and they loved it. Chris was probably sitting on the floor right behind them playing with Camille's lamps. :-)
On Christmas Day, my little family opened our presents together and then headed to Grandma's to begin presents all over again. The boys were still in their pjs so Claire quickly decided she wanted to wear Spiderman pjs with them. We spent the day playing with the boys, Christi, Cat, Pops and Grandma. Unfortunately for Harper, we went to Urgent Care with a high fever followed by a double ear infection. After some doses of antibiotics, she was good as new. :-) She is such a tough, sweet little baby girl. She works hard to keep up with her older cousins and her older sister.
The boys loved their Batman cave and we played with it A LOT! Charlie and Chris decided too that they wanted to be Bumblebee and Ironman.
It has been really fun to watch Chris, Charlie and Claire bond even closer as they grow up. This is one of the very tender moments that Charlie and Claire shared without any coercion.
This was one of many picture attempts of my parents with their grandkids. Harper was sleeping and it isn't the best picture, but it was the best of the millions we took.
This was a great one of my girls with my parents. Overall, our Christmas was a wonderful one with my family. We are all very blessed to love and care for each other. And, we have a blast hanging out with each other.
That night, the kids begged to spend the night together so off we went to our house with all the kids and Cat to help. They were so excited!! They played and talked late in to the night. Finally at about 11, we separated them after Chris told me that "Charlie and Claire were bothering him and that he wanted to go to sleep." So, I slept in Claire's bed with Chris. Cat slept with Charlie in our guest room. Claire slept with Daddy in our bed. It was a really fun night and the kids enjoyed it very much. So did we. :-) We look forward to many more slumber parties.
One of my favorites of Harper girl...
On the 26th, we headed to "Rockin' with Mickey and Friends." Claire has a LARGE obsession with Minnie Mouse. She had so much fun at the show, and we had so much fun watching her scream "Hi Minnie" throughout the entire show. Harper did a great job and loved just looking at the lights.
On the night of the 26th, the Nixes headed in to town and stayed with us to begin our Christmas festivities with them. We had a really fun and special 2 days with them. We always enjoy each other's company and Claire always has a blast with them. It was a special time.
We had a great time and here is one of the best pictures of the entire Christmastime.
The girls love their LaLa and here is a great picture of them with her.
The Nixes gave Claire a Dora bike. She was ecstatic and couldn't wait to get out on the track down the street and ride it. Off we went...
As you can see, she loves riding it. She has not mastered it yet and is a little timid to pedal on her own, but in no time, she will be off and rolling.
Overall, it was a fun and special holiday season with both sides of the family. Daren and I continuously feel blessed to be surrounded by such good people who love and care so much for us and for our children. It was a fun week filled with lots of memories to last a lifetime.
So, Princess Claire went to the ball with Daddy. Seriously, she did. Austin had an event called the Wonders and Worries Ball for Daddies and daughters only. Daughters dress up like princesses, get magic wands, tiaras, etc... The proceeds go to the Wonders and Worries organization that raises money and provides services for kids with ill parents. So, Miss Princess Claire went off to the ball with her Daddy. Boy, was she excited!!!
Easter weekend was a whirlwind of fun!! We celebrated Grandma's birthday, Papa's birthday, Hayes's birthday, and we celebrated that Jesus has risen! We hunted for Easter eggs at our house, at church, and at Grandma's house. It was lots of fun! Harper is still too young to know what is going on but she attended all the events with a smile and lots of laughs, as always. Claire was VERY weary of the Easter bunny. She wouldn't go meet him at the church hunt on Saturday and then told us on Saturday night as we were tucking her in bed that "the Easter bunny is not coming in my house! If I get treats from him, he'll leave them outside!" So the Easter bunny obeyed the rules and left all the treats outside. 
This is at the church Easter egg hunt
This is after church on Easter Sunday at the UT Club brunch. The kids love to go there and play together.
This is at Grandma's for the 3rd egg hunt of the weekend and to celebrate Grandma's birthday
We went to see all the different animals. She liked the cows the most, especially the one that was feeding her baby. We wanted to ride some rides, but due to the wind they were all shut down. So we pretended on the tractor.
I enjoyed having the girls to myself for a few days. We had a great time. We watched The Princess and the Frog, got pedicures, ate some treats, played with the boys, dressed up as princesses, had a slumber party, went to church...We just had fun! We missed Daddy and were glad to have him home, but the three of us had some good girly time.
We had our 4 month check up with the pediatrician a few weeks ago, and Mommy is a little behind in posting Harper's stats. Our sweet girl is doing great! She hardly flinched when she got all of her shots. She is one tough cookie!
Claire and Harper both did very well at church and they looked so pretty in their Christmas dresses. Claire spent most of the service taking turns in Cat, Pops or Grandma's laps. 
We then went to our house for a homemade Tex Mex meal. The boys and Claire had so much fun playing. Harper was fast asleep soon into the night. Cat read books to Charlie and Claire and they loved it. Chris was probably sitting on the floor right behind them playing with Camille's lamps. :-) 
On Christmas Day, my little family opened our presents together and then headed to Grandma's to begin presents all over again. The boys were still in their pjs so Claire quickly decided she wanted to wear Spiderman pjs with them. We spent the day playing with the boys, Christi, Cat, Pops and Grandma. Unfortunately for Harper, we went to Urgent Care with a high fever followed by a double ear infection. After some doses of antibiotics, she was good as new. :-) She is such a tough, sweet little baby girl. She works hard to keep up with her older cousins and her older sister.
The boys loved their Batman cave and we played with it A LOT! Charlie and Chris decided too that they wanted to be Bumblebee and Ironman. 
It has been really fun to watch Chris, Charlie and Claire bond even closer as they grow up. This is one of the very tender moments that Charlie and Claire shared without any coercion. 
This was one of many picture attempts of my parents with their grandkids. Harper was sleeping and it isn't the best picture, but it was the best of the millions we took.
On the 26th, we headed to "Rockin' with Mickey and Friends." Claire has a LARGE obsession with Minnie Mouse. She had so much fun at the show, and we had so much fun watching her scream "Hi Minnie" throughout the entire show. Harper did a great job and loved just looking at the lights. 
On the night of the 26th, the Nixes headed in to town and stayed with us to begin our Christmas festivities with them. We had a really fun and special 2 days with them. We always enjoy each other's company and Claire always has a blast with them. It was a special time.
We had a great time and here is one of the best pictures of the entire Christmastime. 
The girls love their LaLa and here is a great picture of them with her.
As you can see, she loves riding it. She has not mastered it yet and is a little timid to pedal on her own, but in no time, she will be off and rolling.
Overall, it was a fun and special holiday season with both sides of the family. Daren and I continuously feel blessed to be surrounded by such good people who love and care so much for us and for our children. It was a fun week filled with lots of memories to last a lifetime.
