Before we left town after Thanksgiving, I took Millie Janalee and Smith to visit Santa at a local boutique in town.  We stood in line over an hour I'm sure.  I was told it was the shortest the line had been all weekend.  Thankfully, there was a fun train table to occupy Millie Janalee for bits of time...between her trying to find an escape through all the breakables of the gift shop.  Most importantly, I was glad my mom was able to come for support...and manpower.  We got some super sweet pictures...mostly of Smith with Santa.  Since Millie Janalee wasn't having any of it.  I did bribe her with a candy cane to at least sit on his lap.  So in all our pictures she is pouting with a candy cane in her mouth.  Ha!

And we got some memorable ones too...

Our attempt at getting all the cousins together

I didn't even realize Smith was so upset until I looked at the pictures afterward.  Poor second child.  His cry isn't quite loud enough to overpower the screaming two year old yet.  And Hughes...well, he's like "I'm not gonna cry or pout.  Santa Claus is coming to town!"  Haha!  But weren't my babies dressed to the nines?!  They matched and everything.  In hopes of a Hallmark moment.  Nope.

After our long drive home the following day, Millie Janalee had a surprise in the mail.  An envelope addressed to her from the North Pole!  She eagerly waited for us to unload and clear out a spot for her to open her mail.

Opening her mail

What could it be?!

Inside, she found a letter from Santa addressed to her!  In the letter Santa talked about all the work he's been doing at the North Pole, how proud he was of her being such a good big sister to Smith, and he talked about his favorite part of the Christmas season - celebrating Christ's birth.  He promised to bring her something fun and to stick something in for Smith too.

Santa included a few other things too.  Millie Janalee has been such a sweet girl this year that she received her very own Nice List Certificate signed by Santa himself!  He also stuck in some autographed photos of himself and his favorite reindeer, Rudolph.

It was an exciting way to begin December in our home!  Smith was pretty elated about the whole thing...as he usually is.

This Christmas will surely be our favorite Christmas yet!  God is so good.

Thanksgiving with Russ's Side of the Family

After an enjoyable Thanksgiving Day, my mom, sister, and I enjoyed a spa day on Friday.  Instead of Black Friday shopping.  We spent four hours being pampered with facials, massages, manicures, and pedicures.  We also enjoyed a lunch between services.  If you have never done this, I promise you it will change your life.  Ha!  Or maybe it's just us.  I'm like a dog.  I'll back up to anyone who will rub. A special thanks to my dad for keeping Millie Janalee entertained with a playground, a trip to the depot, and whatever else they did.  And thanks to Elle who kept Smith at Russ's parents' house.  Divide and conquer.  That's how I handled childcare.  Ha!

Saturday, we spent the day celebrating Thanksgiving with Russ's family.  We all missed Russ, but we had a fabulous time.  Millie Janalee especially loves all the attention from her older cousins.  She went straight to her favorite spot in the house...the tea set.  Poor Sam!  Millie Janalee begged him for tea parties all afternoon, and he was so sweet to join her.  He was also glad when Leah and Grace took over tea party duty!

Pouring her tea so carefully.

Leah and Millie Janalee having tea

Roan took Olivia around to some downtown shops to Christmas shop for her friends.  They invited me to come along.  And the men of the house graciously agreed to babysit.  Millie Janalee was in good hands with all the younger kids.  The older girls went shopping with us.  Russ's dad and brother were in charge of Smith.  It still makes me giggle a bit.  Everyone was alive when we returned and the men seemed to have been okay.

Pop and Smith

Uncle Jimmy and Smith

We arrived in time for our "second lunch" (long story) and the big game.  You know the one I'm talking about.  We won't spend much time on the subject for obvious reasons.  But while I was busy watching the game, yelling at the screen, and nearly knocking the lamp over in the sunroom...the cousins were busy keeping my children.  It's so wonderful having built in babysitters who love my babies so much!

Julie feeding Smith

Olivia enjoying her coffee after some homework and a nap.

Elle and Millie Janalee

Once the game was over, all the adults began milling about.  Seth tried out his new camera while I tried to get my children to pose for an Egg Bowl picture.  Millie Janalee had NOT had a nap all day, so we took what we could get.  Clean up began, and we began to load our belongings.

Anna Kate and Seth

Roan taking care of the big bird!

Baby Bulldogs!  Win or lose.

It's always a joy spending time with my in-laws.  Of course we all like it best when Russ is there, but I guess they settled for me.  Or maybe I was just the mode of transportation for the babies.  Haha!  Either way...I'm feeling blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed!

Thanksgiving with My Side of the Family

For Thanksgiving, I drove Millie Janalee and Smith 5 1/2 hours south to my hometown.  Unfortunately Russ had to work every day of Thanksgiving and the weekend after.  I debated back and forth on whether I felt guilty leaving him for the first time on Thanksgiving...and so far away.  In the end, we decided to go.  It was a win win.  Except that we would miss each other on Thanksgiving.  He would get to actually sleep and have uninterrupted rest.  I hoped for something similar since my mom usually helps so much with the kids.  Ha!  Russ actually ended up celebrating and having two Thanksgiving meals with different groups of friends and coworkers.

Thanksgiving morning, we woke up and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as we always do.  Millie Janalee and Pawpaw sat on the floor to watch it while eating breakfast, and I sat in the recliner snuggling Smith.  After the parade was over, we all got showered and dressed for the day.  Just in time for a little casual lunch.  Millie Janalee enjoyed her Thanksgiving lunch of grilled cheese!  Surprise surprise.  Ha!

I spent the afternoon helping my mom decorate her Christmas tree while Millie Janalee and Pawpaw spent the afternoon outside playing with Brodie (my brother's chocolate lab).  It was a freezing cold day, but she didn't seem to mind.  Smith rested and did his fair share of sleeping in the swing while we decorated.  He's thoughtful like that.

Kristin offered to host Thanksgiving dinner for us at her house.  Usually our extended families join us as well.  However, this year it was just our immediate family and my grandmother.  It was a nice low-key Thanksgiving with LOTS of yummy food.  My mom did most of the cooking, and Kristin made a side or two.  Let's see...we had ham, twice baked mashed potatoes, corn, green bean bundles, dressing, rolls and the like.  So good!  Kristin had set the tables so nicely...

The adult table

The kids and their parents table.  Ha!

We arrived early to visit a bit, and we enjoyed catching up, laughing, and watching the big babies play.  Millie Janalee and Hughes are just now getting to the age where they will actually play together.  Or rather, Hughes is able to at least sit up long enough for Millie Janalee to crawl all over him. Ha!  While we sat around waiting on the food and visiting, we also had some football on in the background.  Because, what's Thanksigiving without football?!

Hughes, Maw Maw, Millie Janalee, Smith, and Sheila

She loves Hughes!

Bless his heart.  Just trying to do push ups while Millie Janalee pushes him.

A little supervision helps

Sweet cousins!

We didn't bring in all the extra tables and chairs since the extended family couldn't make it this year.  Just with our little family, we still run out of seating.  Lee used Maw Maw's wheelchair.  It's probably quite comfortable actually!

We don't see She She and Buck very often these days.  My brother just bought a house in Starkville and they have been busy getting things taken care of.  We spent a lot of time that night discussing all the Black Friday deals on refrigerators and dishwashers.  Ha!  This makes me laugh because of how "adult" it made Dustin look.  Sheila was our Black Friday shopper, and she was able to find a dishwasher and fridge for a good deal!  We spent all night on the phone with her getting the specifics and Dustin bought them over the phone.  Bless her!

She She, Smith, and Buck

After eating our delicious meal and loading up on desserts, we gathered back in the living room to "play" and enjoy our time together.  Sheila had to leave to meet her Black Friday shopping group in Tupelo, but the rest of us hung around.  I remember when we did Black Friday shopping every year when we spent Thanksgiving in Jackson.  I'm not sure I could handle it right now.  Plus, Russ and I cut way back this year in the event of surprise adoption fees...so I'm pretty much finished with my shopping anyway.  I spent my Black Friday early hours snuggling my babies!

My greatest blessings!

Buck, Smith, Susu

Kristin, Nana, and Hughes

Millie Janalee loves wearing her sock gloves!  She pretends to be Miss Patty Cake.

Cousin love

By the end of the night we were all tired and ready to climb in bed.  Some more than others...

I am more thankful this year than ever as I look down and see my lap so full!  My heart is full too.  Thanksgiving did not pass without me giving thanks for the four people who gave life to my sweet babies and loved them enough to make a sweet plan for each of them.  What a blessing!  We missed Russ terribly, but I am glad he was able to rest and celebrate with friends.

God is good.

Seven Weeks and Christmas Cheer

Lots has happened since my last post.  Like this stud muffin is completing his seven weeks of life!  I had to go back and look at my calendar to be sure this was correct.  And it is.  We are in full December mode now...breaking out the Christmas clothes and pajamas, wrapping gifts, watching Christmas movies, and talking about Christmas lights while the babies stare at the tree.  There is so much more I plan to cover with Millie Janalee about Christmas now that she is understanding so much more.

Basically we are just full of Christmas cheer!  Even Mr. Serious is cheerful about it all...

Each day, Smith smiles more and more.  I don't know if he's secretly laughing at us or just enjoying himself.  I'm gonna venture to say it's a little bit of both.  Either way, it melts my heart to see it!  The best way to get a big smile across his face is for me to lean in and talk to him in that "mama high pitched" voice.  You know the one, I'm sure.  He grins so big and opens his mouth to make a noise or two.  We solve the world's problems in our conversations.

And then sometimes - we just like to dance...

I realized that I accidentally skipped his six week update.  I vaguely remember doing this with Millie Janalee at one point.  We were just so busy.  In week 6 and 7, Smith has traveled the 5 1/2 hours to our hometown and visited with friends and lots of family.  He celebrated his first Thanksgiving and visited Santa.  Such sweetness!  He traveled back with me and Millie Janalee on the icy roads of Missouri.  Not fun...near death experiences make for a looooonnnng drive.  Especially adding crying babies in the backseat.  But it was worth the travel for sure!

While we were visiting family, Smith decided he was a growing boy and needed more food.  So he is now taking 5 ounces every four hours.  We also added an ounce of prune juice to at least one bottle a day...making that bottle 6 ounces.  You can draw your own conclusion as to why he is on a daily regimen of prune juice.  It started when we switched his formula to Enfamil Prosobee.  But it helps his tummy so much that we will just continue what we are doing!  He is such a happier baby since the switch.  Whether it be coincidence or the formula...I don't want to try and find out at the moment.  Ha!  He is in 3 month clothes completely!  I stuffed him in a newborn gown this week for Millie Janalee's doctor visit, and his little sleeves were too short.  He is certainly growing, and I'm interested to find out how much he weighs.

I can't leave the big sister out of this post, because she has been a big sister for seven weeks now!  And she is such a good one!  Each morning, I carry her downstairs and the first thing she says is "Hey Smith!" as she runs over to talk to him.  She checks on him when he's crying, and she asks to "hold it" often.  Most days this week, we have hung around our house in pajamas snuggling and doing the daily grind things.  Ummmm...except that I haven't unpacked from our trip.  I did unpack the babies...just not myself.  There are so many other more fun things to do these days than unpack.

Like watch my babies grow and change.  It happens way too fast!

Happy Seven Weeks, sweet boy!  We love you so!