Christmas Slide Show - Enjoy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Make sure to have your speakers on!

Note: If you have trouble viewing, click here! Enjoy the show :)

Austin's Baptism

On December 15th, Austin was Baptized! Here are a few pictures from that weekend that I wanted to share.

His little outfit for his special day! 

 Austin is Baptized! My parents are God Parents for a third time. I had to promise 4 of the 5 brothers that they could be sponsors when we get around to Confirmation. Too funny.

Father Jaya with the newest Catholic at OLS :)

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19

Here are a few other pictures from the weekend's fun:

My Dad playing trains with Andrew

4 of the 5 brothers - this cracks me up. I really wished that William (red shirt) had his leg crossed the other direction. Hilarious!

 And speaking of hilarious...this guy thinks he is just that. He is QUITE the morning person. Love that smile. 

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House Update: 3 out of the 5 of us are under the weather with some obnoxious stomach bug. Fun. Fun. So, Mama is on 24/7 medic duty (on top of the 24/7 everything else duty lol). Blog posting will be mainly pictures until the beginning of the New Year. Enjoy! And, please say an extra prayer for this nasty bug to leave our house! Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

From our home to yours,  we wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

Five on Friday

Welcome back Friday! We are ready for the weekend here...are you? My family is coming to town and Austin is getting Baptized on Sunday! Lots of good things happening here this weekend. But, first, here's five things to share from this week:

{ONE}

Alex is LOVING every minute of being a big brother! He still, of course, has the little brother moments when he does EVERY. SINGLE. THING. Andrew tells him to do. But, he is awesome at being a big brother, too. He has gotten much better at shoving gently placing Austin's binky back into his mouth at the moment he hears him fuss even just a tiny bit. He ALWAYS wants to hold him, kiss him, hug him, and squeeze him. It is just too cute. We are still working on the squeezing him part, but still...it is so sweet.

{TWO}

 Of course, Alex does have his big brother, Andrew to teach him how to take care of a baby. Andrew has been pretty awesome at helping me out, too. He has become quite the multi-tasker! He's having some cheerios, watching Polar Express (I think...at least that seems to be the ONLY thing on our TV right now), and performing binky duty. 

{THREE}

No worries, though - Austin doesn't always have a binky. He is starting to smile SO MUCH these days! It is adorable! But, of course, Mr. Man somehow knows what a camera is and it is a tad difficult to get a pic of him smiling.

But, I managed to get some great ones on Tuesday! YAY! You can't hide from my phone, sir!

{FOUR}

Austin is 5 weeks old now and starting to sleep pretty well most nights. We had four nights this week where he slept from about midnight til 5-ish. So, guess who will be moving into their room next week!? YAY! Such a big guy. Don't worry...Mr. Fox won't be staying that close to him. Don't you just love his little baby, though? Thanks, Nana! Mr. Fox is super cute!

{FIVE}

These two just ADORE each other. Austin just woke up from a nap and Alex was still resting. So, Andrew figured this would be the perfect time to teach his baby brother all about his mad math skills on the Leapster. Really. Andrew said, "Austin, do you know what plus two and what plus three and what plus one? Six! It's another way to get six." Oh, my... Cuteness.

Wordeless Wednesday

Good Reads {Link Love}

I usually share a link here and there to another blog post that I found to be really helpful in one way or another. But, with the holiday season, moms (and dads) seem to be in that rushed mode to get things done before the 25th. Luckily, there are a handful of parents out there that have posted something wonderful to read at just the right time.

Most of the days as a mama of 3 is great, but there are a few days dotted here and there where I wonder if the "ripped-all-my-hair-out" style will ever catch on and be on the cover of InStyle. That would be nice. Haha!

So, if you are a mama in need of a bit of encouragement, prayers, etc - or maybe you just want to make sure you aren't the only worn out mom, read on. There are some great posts that have really hit home with me. You might not think you're perfect, but your kids do. And, that's all that really matters.

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To the Mamas of Littles During the Holidays (Vita Familiae)

The Tired Mother's Holiday Creed (Lisa-Jo Baker)

I Linger a Little Bit Longer (The B That Keeps Us Honest)

It’s Going to be Hard – and that’s OK (The Power of Moms)

A Magnificat for Tired Moms (Catholic Mom)

I Know I Can’t Do it All, So Why do I Feel Like I’m Failing? (Joy Comes in the Morning)

18 Tips for Instant Energy (And then We Saved)

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And for your viewing pleasure, check out these YouTube videos. Remember to view these on the actual webpage or on YouTube - not through email. Enjoy!

Pentatonix: The Little Drummer Boy - AMAZING!!!

BLACKFRIAR MUSIC: "Come My Way" I am LOVING all of the Catholic stuff coming out in more and more areas of social media. This song is amazing! Enjoy!

Five on Friday

Welcome to Friday!!In an attempt to keep this blog as updated as much as possible for family and friends who wanna sneak a peek into our new lives as a family of FIVE (!!!), I thought I'd share five (ha, that's kinda coincidental...perhaps) things with you from this past week. So, let's get this thing going!

{ONE}

You know I have to start with the tiny one... And, guess what?! He is a month old today! A MONTH OLD ALREADY! What?!

Yep. He is one month old already. Crazy how time flies, right? We have an awesome routine and going strong with it. Oh, and this morning he totally woke up at 5am. That's right. Jason did his night time feeding (he always does that midnight-ish one and I do the 3-ish in the morning one) and BAM! A month old and he slept for his mama. Keeping my fingers crossed for tonight! He is quite awake during the day now, too! He love checking out the Christmas tree and he likes his brothers talking to him. He has even smiled at Andrew a few times now. So sweet.

Also, side note: Today my bestie is going to have her baby girl! Please say a prayer for a quick, easy, and safe delivery!! We can't wait to meet our new little friend!

{TWO}

This was the first week the boys got to wear their Christmas gear! So stinkin' cute! I am dying over the reindeer booty. Sorry, I just love it. So cute! 

Ok, and, just so we are clear...Andrew DOES have on a Christmas shirt, but he had to wear his class shirt. You will see why in number three. ;)

See? Cute little Christmas train! And, yes. He LOVES to feed Austin. He did this for Alex, too. Love it! He is one awesome big brother!

{THREE}

The boys wore their Christmas gear for a special presentation at school. The Singing Santa came for a very special visit. It was pretty cool. This is THE Santa, by the way. If you are local, you may have heard of his visits to the malls and such. Very cool.  

 

The boys even got a chance to talk to him to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. And, yes, the orders have already been put in - phew! That's definitely checked of the list...

{FOUR}

This is also the first week of Advent that we are celebrating. So, we have been working our way though "The ADVENTure of Christmas" this week (Thanks, Pat and Terri!). 

 This is a great book for this time of the year! SO much information!

 We learned about the Star - Read a story, put the star on our tree, and made star cookies. Yum!

 We also learned about the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree. Here are the ornaments that have been made this season (so far):

Austin's baby hat and bracelet from the hospital.

Andrew's blue guy and Alex's green guy (painted the inside and added googly eyes)

Alex's ornament from school - Mary and Baby Jesus

Andrew's Start ornament from school.

Andrew and Alex colored some gingerbread men that we will add their pictures to once I get to that.

 Last night, we read the story of St. Nicholas... 

 And, this morning we celebrated his feast day! The boys each got their "gold" coins and a Hot Wheels car. Jason got his special holiday Nerds candy :) 

{FIVE}

Ok this is more of a "What the what?!" thing...

 

I mean...really? DIET Hot Chocolate... "Sensitive Sweets" with just 25 calories... Really? It's the Holiday Season, people. Just stop it. Get your sensitive sweets on January 1st like everyone else - and then drop it by the 3rd week since resolutions never actually seem to work out. LOL Come on... Diet hot chocolate... I mean, puh-leease... 

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Well, there you have it! Updates for this week's adventures! I am hoping that we will get to go out this weekend. Maybe go see the ZooLights or Christmas Parade...? We'll see. Have a great weekend, y'all!!

 

Thanksgiving for Five

What a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving we had this year! I must say we really enjoyed our holiday just the five of us. It was perfect!

Tiny turkey's first Thanksgiving!

Our 3 turkeys!

Delicious food!

Football!

Christmas decorations!

It was so great to celebrate this holiday together. We had a few "firsts" this Thanksgiving, too!

This was my first time EVER to cook a turkey. I always talked with mom while she was preparing everything or we were playing games at Jason's family's home. Well, with her awesome turkey tips, I did it! Thanks, mom!!

Hello delicious!

But, before we get to the feasting, here's what the men took care of while I was in the kitchen and catching bits of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which was so weird, by the way...what was with the...ahem...red boots? Not exactly family friendly these days...) and snapping pics of the living room progress. 

Top half: Unpacking and setting up the tree and Christmas toys

Bottom half: The sun rising on the Holy Family - love it! Austin's first Christmas ornament!! The two in the back are Andrew and Alex's. I put their baby hats from the hospital and their bracelet in an ornament. So sweet :)

 Now, you saw earlier in this post that they were wearing their Thanksgiving shirts... Well, the Packers were getting ready to play, so they needed to be fan ready. Those are their game faces... LOL Austin was informed that he needed to be wearing his Packer gear, too. There are some funny men in my house. 

Game over and it is now time to feast!! Mmm. Mmm. Delicious!

And, yes!! I carved my first turkey for the first time! LOL AND!! I even got the wishbone out for later! 

Though...later meant the NEXT night. It wasn't ready just yet. The boys had a ton of fun with this. Mom even sent a picture of my 2 younger brothers breaking their wishbone. Andrew and Alex thought that they were cool stuff to be just like Sean and William. Oh, and Alex won! He got he bigger half. Cuties! 

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We hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, too! 

Next up: Austin will be ONE MONTH OLD this week!!! And, the boys went to a special school event that featured The Singing Santa. Very cool! More posts to come soon :)

Almost 3 Weeks Old {Happy Thanksgiving!}

Hello again! Just a quick update from the house!

We are all doing great here! Yay! Austin is sleeping pretty well during the night - getting up around anywhere between 2:30-3:30 in the morning. I know, it sounds rough... But, my amazing husband takes care of the first night-time feeding, usually between 10-11ish. I go to bed around 9 so I can actually function the next day. It is working out wonderfully!

I am back to making dinner again for our family. It has been absolutely wonderful to not have to worry about how or what Jason and I were going to make for dinner during those first 2 weeks home. The ladies at our church were FABULOUS! We had an amazing home cooked meal every night - and just finished the left overs this past Sunday night. We are so blessed to be part of such an amazing church family!

If you have been following us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have already seen these pictures. But, here is a look back at the past few weeks as a family of FIVE (!!!) for those that have not had a chance to check those out. We can't believe that he will be THREE weeks old on Thanksgiving - crazy!!

{WEEK 1}

 TOP ROW: Home Sweet Home / Reading to our new brother / Saying goodnight / Tummy time / Swirly baby hair

MIDDLE ROW: Alex loves holding his baby / Andrew is so happy to have another brother / Thinking how to keep mommy up at night / Sweet baby face / Going for a car ride

BOTTOM ROW: Alex says it's super cold weather / Playdoh fun / Train track building / Andrew keeping watch over Austin / Tiny snuggle bug

{WEEK 2}

TOP ROW: 3 kids = coffee drinker / 1st Mass / cozy / Alex talking to Austin

MIDDLE ROW: Baby voice / my 3 boys / big vs little / Moby wrap fun

BOTTOM ROW: 3 turkeys / Thanksgiving feast at school / sweet Alex / Alex loves his baby 

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My family came for a visit to meet their newest grand baby this past weekend! YAY! And, all of my brothers are now taller than me. They are younger. But, they are taller. All of them. Ugh. I knew that day was coming... We had a lot of fun talking and playing and passing Austin around. :)

 Happy Grandma! 

Somehow a bunch of men just happened to be at my house... WHAT in the world?! Where are my LITTLE brothers?! Crazy!! 

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Well, that is all for now. We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Introducing...AUSTIN!!!

Well, he is finally here!! Austin is 12 days old today and we are all doing fantastic!! Would you like to meet him?? :)

 Can you tell I'm so ready for this child to get out?! That was taken at 4 AM! We headed out shortly after since we had to be at the hospital at 5 AM. But, hey, I was first in line so fine by me!

 Me all hooked up to all kinds of things and ready to go. Jason getting his stuff on for the OR. Which, yes, by the way...is still a scary place even though I was better prepared this time.

 He's here!! 7:19 AM fresh out of Mama! Isn't he the cutest?! 

 And, the biggest baby of mine so far! I knew he would beat his brothers in birth weight!

 All cleaned up and wanting his mama :)

 Happiness!

 Love him!

 Andrew got his turn to hold Austin first later the same day. He is so happy!!

 And look at Alex's face! Thrilled to be a big brother!! 

  Austin even got to meet his new friend, Braxton - who is going to be a big brother any day now!

 My little bumblebee

 Heading home!!

I hope to get some more pictures up later this week. We are getting adjusted to a new routine around here, so the post are going to be here and there. 

Jason was home with us all last week and that was amazing!! He is such a wonderful husband and father!! We missed him bunches (and still do) when he headed back to work yesterday. We love you, honey!

Ok time to get back to nursing and a few more thing before heading out to get the boys from school. Be on the look out for more pictures and stories later this week!