Christmas 2012 AKA the Christmas of little sleep

We celebrated Christmas this year with Shane's family in KS. It is always a long car ride there but worth once we at Gigi and Pappy's house.

 

Lincoln got a "jumpoline" from his grandparents. To say he loved it would be an understatement. He jumped probably 90% of the time we were there. 

 This little girlie was a mess there. She apparently thinks traveling in the car is the worst thing on Earth and cries the entire time in the car. It was terrible for those 8 hours. Then once we were there she decided to abandon all sleeping patterns and slept very little. She would wake up numerous times and cry then two nights she was awake from 2am til almost 5am. It was I.N.S.A.N.E! But from these pictures you would never guess. She is definitely her daddy's girl and they enjoy their home and their bed.

 But even with little sleep she still looked pretty cute.

 For Christmas, the kids and I bought Shane a ticket to the Chiefs vs Colts game in KC. We had planned on Lincoln going with Shane and Pappy so we bought him a hat, jersey and football. But the morning of the game he said he didn't want to go and no bribes would work so he stayed home. Shane said it was probably for the best because of the cold but Lincoln was dressed up to watch the game on tv.

 

 

Christmas outfit #2 for Lola. This was a "hand me down" from Phoebe and it was one of my favorites. 

 It snowed the day before we left for KS so Lincoln had some to play in all week. It didn't snow any while we were there but the temps were almost too cold to be outside anyways.

 We got to meet the new cousin, Reece. Lola LOVED her and wanted to pat on her. It was so sweet. She is just starting to hold and kiss on baby dolls so I am sure she figured it was just another doll.

 Christmas Eve church picture.

 Santa made a visit to the house before we left for church. He brought a toy for each child so that Lincoln warm up to him. Lola was not easily bribed and cried.

Later, Lincoln told Grandma Nimz that he did not like that Santa because he was too loud when he said "Ho Ho Ho."

 

The cousins with Santa. Much better picture with Santa BEHIND the couch,

 Our sweet family before church. I am blessed.

 After church we came home and got our cookies ready for Santa.

 Christmas morning was bright and early with 3 little ones.

 

Lincoln got a pop gun which he loves. I guess Santa thought he needed a gun too since we usually sword fights when playing cowboys with his daddy. 

 My sweet ones on Christmas day

 Pappy and Gigi with their 3 grandkids~ Lincoln (3 yrs), Lola (9 months) and Reece (5 weeks)

 We had a great Christmas and I am blessed to have this crazy crew. Family means the world to me. I am blessed to be born into a great family and I married into one.

 

We still have one more Christmas celebration with my family. I can't wait. It has been a great holiday season so far. 

Merry Christmas

We wish your Christmas is filled with love and laughter from those you love!
Love, The Nimz

Lola~ 9 months

9 MONTHS?!! WHAT?!! What happened to my sweet little baby?!! She has been replaced by a busy, crazy little girl!

 

Personality:

• Lola is B.U.S.Y!!!! She is always on the move and wants to be in the middle of everything. She loves getting in the middle of things that Lincoln is doing. We have to watch her extra carefully or she gets into trouble.
• She is crawling so fast. She has started pulling up to the standing position. Lola has climbed the first 4 stairs once so we are looking into a gate at the bottom of the stairs. I am curious to see when she starts walking.
• Lola started talking this month. She babbles a lot. She says mamamama and babababa. Lincoln loves to hear her bababababa which she says a lot.

 



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 Eating:

• Lola likes to eat but is not set on a strict schedule. She eats about 22-24 oz a day with 3 meals. She is too busy to take her bottle so I am ready to wean her off bottles.
• She loves most table foods. We are giving her most of what we eat and she enjoys most foods. We still give a jar of food or two to make sure she is getting enough food. I love when babies can start eating table food. It makes a mess but so much easier.

 Sleeping:

• This girl is too busy to sleep. She is definitely not like her brother in the sleep department. She sleeps ok because I know it can be worse but she is up at least once a night. I think she is mostly awake because she is too nosy to eat at school and needs to eat more at night. I am hoping once we start weaning off the bottle she will sleep more.

 

Lola is a sweet, cheerful, funny, and crazy girl. We love her! I can't wait to see what this next month holds! 

It looks like a lot like Christmas

Hope your days are cheery and bright!

Happy 30+1 Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Shane! You made it past 30 and you are onto 30+1! We hope you enjoy your birthday!
We love you!
Carrie, Lincoln, Lola

(Clearly Shane does not take many pictures with our kids or that my kids won't take pictures together now.)

Magic the Elf is here!

Magic, our Elf on the Shelf, made his first ever appearance to our house last Saturday. He brought us breakfast of donuts, cinnamon rolls, sausages, fruit and marshmallows. He left Lincoln and Lola a note each, some pjs and a Xmas sippy cup. 

Lincoln loved the North Pole Breakfast but is not sold on the idea of the elf. When we read the book and explained the "rules", he would say "Nooooo" in his silly voice or "Okay" in his undecided voice. Both of which are hilarious but not when you are trying to pitch a new idea to him.

Magic had a few other names thrown around first. Nutcracker and Dark were tossed out but Magic stayed.

I am anxious to see what kind of silly things Magic does in our house. I am thankful Lincoln is not creeped out by him but he is definitely not sold on the idea yet!

4 years

Today Shane and I celebrate 4 years of marriage. 4 years is not a long time in the grand scheme of life but we have packed a lot into those 4 years. In those years, we have lived in two houses (1 of those was a "fixer upper"), 1 move, 2 job changes, 2 children, 1 NICU stay, and 6 surgeries in our family. I am pretty sure the NICU stay and move were the most stressful.

Our wedding was amzing and I loved every part about it. I would gladly go back and do it all over again the exact same way.

Shane,

There is no one else I would want to tackle this life with. You put our family above everything else and you provide for us. You make me laugh even when I don't want to and you love me every day. Thanks for chosing me to be your wife. Here's to many more years.

Love you, Carrie

Lola~ 8 months

Wow, this monthly update post is only 12  days late! Yikes! I didn't want a month to slip by undocumented so it's better late than never! Just pretend your Christmas tree is not up and it is still before Thanksgiving.

 

Lola at 8 months:

 

Sleeping:

This girl needs some lessons from her brother in this department. It is a rare night that she sleeps all the way through. Usually she is up only once to eat and occasionally she is up 2 times. I know this is normal (or a vacation) to some but for it is not. I am hoping this stops soon! 

Eating:
Lola can definitely put away the food. She takes about 24 oz a day and is taking oatmeal once a day and veggie or fruit later in the day. Some days she eats 2 V or F. She also started eating more table food of whatever we are eating. Mostly just the veggie or noodles from our plates but she tries to eat anything I put in front of her. I enjoy meal times more when all of my family can eat together so I am thrilled that she is eating with us.

Social:
This girl has the attitude of "Life is a party" and everyone is her friend. She is so smiley and chatty. She talks a lot and her teachers at school comment on how chatty she was when she came back from Thanksgiving break. She has the sweetest smile and her two bottom teeth poke up. She prefers Momma most of the time but will go to most people if she is not too overwhelmed.

Stats:
I have no idea of her measurements but we have another dr appt at 9 months. She has the chunkiest legs but seems pretty average when I compare her at school. She still has crystal blue eyes that she got from her daddy. People comment on her eyes all the time.

Loves:
Lola LOVES crawling after Lincoln and his toys. She is so fast and Lincoln is still learning that he needs to pick up his toys quickly.
She loves to chew on EVERYTHING! Shane calls her the puppy since she chews on shoes, the end of the coffee table, magazines and anything she can get her hands on. I am sure she is working on her top two teeth but I don't feel anything yet. She is not too drooly so I am happy with that.
Lola loves to be in the action all the time. She wants to be wherever Lincoln is and doesn't want to miss a thing. She is definitely not my laid back baby.

I can't believe we are almost to a year! YIKES!

Random Thursday

My posts are mostly about holidays lately so I thought I would throw in a random thoughts post.

• Lola has decided to go back to her infant sleeping schedule, waking up multiple times a night. I know this normal for babies but not normal for my babies. I know some parents will read this and think I am being whiny and I probably am. Lincoln was (and is) a fabulous sleeper. That was our perk with him and he certainly has his downfalls, like being sick ALL.THE.TIME but sleep was something we never had to deal with. Lola on the other hand is not a great sleeper. She wakes up 2- 3 times a night. I would be ok if I didn't have to wake up at 5:15 and function all day. I am thinking the kids need a night at Nena and Grandaddy's soon. :)
• I started running this past June to lose my baby weight. I have not only succeeded at that goal but I know enjoy running. It is my "me time" where I am not changing diapers, getting snacks, or keeping a certain someone from pulling the tree over. I have to make myself go some days but once I am running I love it. I am not the fastest but I am doing it and it's not torture anymore.
• December is so busy! We have Shane's bday, our anniversary and Christmas with 2 families all in one month. Even with the craziness, I still love it!
• I turn 29 in February and I am making my 30 before 30 list. It should be interesting to see what all I can actually accomplish in a year!

A post is not complete without a cute picture of one of my kids.



Thanksgiving 2012

It seems as though I am only going to post for holidays. I am behind on Lola's 8 moth post but that will come this weekend.

 

We stayed in RO this Thanksgiving and spent the holiday with my family. Lincoln loves his cousins and had a blast with them for 4 days straight. I am sure he was a little bored with us when they left.

 

We have so much to be thankful for and family is one of the most important.

 

 

Matching holiday outfits is a must, at least while I can get away with it! 

 Can you tell Lincoln was not thrilled to be taking a picture away from his cousins?!

 The 3 girl cousins all matching. Phoebe has been waiting for this day so she would have someone to match.

 Nena and Grandaddy and their rowdy crew.

The 6 cousins, ranging from 9 years to 5 months. I am shocked the picture turned out this decent. 

 Lola and Abby

My grandparents in Abilene came to visit over the holiday as well. I am thankful we had this holiday with them since we don't get the change much any more. Lincoln was loving his attention from Mimi or he was loving that she was doing whatever he asked. 

 

 LOTS of wrestling, sword fighting, running, yelling and laughing happened this week. Lincoln is head over heels for his cousin, Eli.

Thanksgiving would not be complete if it didn't end in Christmas clothes on Black Friday.

 Christmas cousin picture

 All the cousins with Santa. Not a great Santa or a fabulous picture but they were together.

The week went by too fast. We had 24 people, including 4 generations, at my parents and only ended up with one sick kid and one injury. I love my family and thankful for each one!