Christmas morning and travels!

Note from Santa on Christmas morning

The kids went easy on us and slept in...Jameston was afraid to get up for fear Santa hadn't visited yet :-) 

I've got more pictures that I plan to add, but these were their favorite presents: Ninja costume and Mike the Knight gear

E's new wooden puzzle

The boys loved seeing Sissy in her princess tiara

One of the best gifts ever right now!

We treated the boys and let them rest while watching a movie that day. Stop the front door! No naps that day, which was a-ok with us (once a year :-) 

We headed to Wichita to see Mimi and cousins. E helping her open her gifts

One of my favorite displays at one of my fondest childhood memories: The Fantasy of Lights!

All FOUR boys! Hobo even tagged along 

He looks so big here :-(

That night I got to see several friends from high school who were also in town visiting their family. Same crew, fifteen years (!) apart. Yikes!

The next morning we braved the roads (and winter's first snow) and headed to the panhandle

We reunited with Brett's dad's family...Simon Says fun with the cousins!

And Memaw!

Teething much, Elise?

All about that paper!

This boy and his drawing/writing/coloring! Cousin Ruby helped

These two, Blake and Wyatt, and their antics

All six "big cousins" eating lunch

Everyone except Wyatt, who was having a hard day (his 3rd birthday)

Sweet pic of the oldest ones performing their "talent show"

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Thanksgiving 2014

Better late than never, right? That's my motto and I'm sticking to it! 

Our three greatest little (big) blessings, right here:

This girl is loved!

We headed to Balmorrhea on Wednesday morning for a "fun" almost-10-hour-drive. But we made a pit stop in Vincent to check out some property...this gal loves her daddy!

And I think she kinda likes me too :-) Our lil pumpkin

One of my fave pictures

Once we got the the land, Daddy even let Jameston think he was driving :-) 

Ah, Fort Davis Mountains! Love this place!

21 of the 31 great grandchildren! 

Boys and their dogs...

This year was the first annual Turnbough Turkey Trot/5K. Thtat's alotta family right there...

These little guys were tuckered out from all of the excitement and seeing their cousins and extended family!

And this cute little turkey traveled great! And almost learned to crawl, we though, while we were there!

When we got back, we hit up downtown the next day for "Small business Saturday" since we missed the madness of Black Friday. My boys, love!

Blake is 2 and a HALF!

Our Blake Everett turned 2& 1/2 at the end of October. Cannot believe it for one second. Seems like it was just yesterday he was our baby, and now he is our sweet middle child. Yet, on the other hand, he seems so big to me because he has had a little sister since he was 22 months old. When people ask me to describe Blake, I can't really sum up how much of a joy he is! He is a fun-loving, sweet, and hilarious ball of energy!! And such a ham! 

He is still a big boy, weighing in the mid 30's and measuring a little over 38 inches tall. He wants to be sure he is a scrappy little brother who ain't so little :-) He wears size 9 1/2-10 shoe and size 2-3T clothes (tall like big bro)! He wears size 6 diaper, with no signs of being potty-trained. We've tried unsuccessfully three or four times; may give it another swing after the holidays...he is just too busy playing (i.e., distracted), even with me asking every 5-10. He's a boy and to play!

Out of our three kids, Blake is our pickiest eater right now (I know, hard to believe by his size :-) His fave foods are yogurt raisins, berries, carrots, any kind of bread (tortilla, chip, bagel), cottage cheese, and cheese. He does not like grapes, still! And he likes to drink water like it's going out of style. He may be a vegetarian one day, because one of the only ways to get him to eat meat is if it is covered in cheese or sauce or if he can "dip" it. That boy. But he does finish his meal without much groaning, so I'll take it!

Apple smile :-) 

The Blakester loves his sleep! He sleeps around 10-11 hours at night and naps 2-3 hours during the day, usually around 1 or so. He has skipped his nap a handful of times, and it was rough...

He is a morning person (unlike big bro) and wakes up in the most chipper mood. However, he is a bit crabby after his afternoon nap, ha. It takes him a good 30 minutes to snap out of it! He has been waking up before Jameston, getting out of bed and coming downstairs to find us in the mornings (something that would've stressed me out a year ago, but I've learned to "let it go.") He tried\s to be covert and not make a peep to wake up his siblings. He is so quiet that he doesn't even talk, even if I ask him questions. It is quite funny!  

Blake has been the best side-stare! And he puts his cheek to his shoulder when he is either pouting or being bashful. Love it!










Things I want to remember about our Blake-a-roo at this age are:

• He is Brett's little bud. He wants to do EVERYTHING Brett is doing and be everywhere he is. It is really precious, and Brett is so great to usually oblige (even though it probably slows him down).

• He rocks two pretty serious cowlicks with his new haircut (see above pics)
• His smile and laugh are infectious! He can cheese it up for sure.
• Blake can give you the poutiest voice and can pretend play with the best of them! (his dead-pose is pretty dramatic and his pretend-snoring is spot on, ha!)
• He has a dimple on his right cheek that is partly there due to a scar. I hope it stays!

• At this age, Blake knows his abc's and can count to 10 (but transverses 3/4 and 6/7 sometimes). He can count to 20 with some prodding.
• He often, like all the time, says, "I do it my own self." So this has come in handy with teeth-brushing (which used to be a battle), getting dressed, etc. But, he sometimes uses a delay tactic and asks us to help feed him. Like I said, picky eater. But with all other things, he is very independent.

• Our sweet second born displays the speech process of fronting, so "keep" is "teep" and "toe" for "go" etc. It is something he should grow out of and is very common at 2. And it is pretty cute to listen to :-)
• Blake also says sweet and funny things like calling Elise, "My own baby," or "My Lisey," "just one more," (for time, food, activity, book, etc.). His latest fave is "No," typical I guess at this age. But lately he has started saying, "No, but yes." Ha! One sleep-deprived, tough-on-my mommy spirit day he told me, "Mommy, you my best girl." Love my sweet Blake-a-roo!
• His faves: color is orange, show is Daniel Tiger, movie is Lion King (same as JW at this age), book is Marvel Superhero book and his little bible, and anything with Kung Fu panda...

Blakester's current interests are:

• All things superheroes

 

(and weapons)

• Balls! Soccer and football seem to be his current favorite. He seems to be very coordinated and tough. He will play and run and get right back up if he falls down. He does complain about his knees hurting sometimes, but the doctor thinks it is just his muscles getting used to his size :-)
• Being outside, day or night, hot or cold

(his running and jumping are still very "little boy" in form, although he tries his best to keep up with big bro!)

• Anything artsy (following in JW's footsteps on this as well)

• Singing and dancing with Mommy (I've loved our Wednesdays together while big bro is in Spanish school. He is my little cuddler, wants to sit on my lap whenever possible, and wants to give me kisses).

• Blocks, legos, stuffed animals, blankets, and those wooden brain buster puzzles at the doctor's office
• Swimming (he did great this summer in lesson) and all water activities (baths included)!

and his tools! He loves to "fix" stuff...

He has been in a twin/bottom bunk bed since early March, right before we welcomed Elise. He has done GREAT (it was me that was a wreck and worried about nap times :-) and has had no hiccups in the shared room with Jameston. He and big brother talk back in forth some nights and rest time, but they usually fall asleep shortly.

God blessed us with Blake as our middle child, for sure! He is such a great listener and follower of Jameston, and he is so interactive with and protective of Elise already. These are the sweetest relationships to watch, although he and J test each other and boundaries some.

Blake has THE best smile, in my opinion...I know I'm biased as his mommy :-) Even his squinty and  tongue out smiles are cute! Just wanna pinch those cheeks!

Blake Everett,

You, with your siblings, are the lights of our lives!! You can make us laugh and smile even on the toughest of days. We love watching you grow and learn and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you in the years ahead. We thank God for making us your Mommy and Daddy and for Him blessing us with you. We love you, our Blake-a-roo!

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