Remaining pictures from 2015

Since I'm incredibly behind updating this blog, I thought I'd just post all the pics from the remainder of 2015 in one post, then the pics from 2016 up until Naamen's birth in another post.  So here goes nothing --

On Thanksgiving eve, we had the Smith family members come to our home for a taco dinner.  This was the first time many of them came into our home since we'd moved in and was no longer "Grandmother's home."

We converted what used to be an indoor greenhouse into a play area.  The kids had a great time.

Then Christmas decoration took place right after Thanksgiving season was over.  Proud elfs.

Byron and his growing collection of nutcrackers.  

Over the Advent season, the kids and I did some crafts/devotionals using the Truth in the Tinsel curriculum.  We all so very much enjoyed it.

And then I braved doing cutouts one afternoon with the kiddos.  It was fun and messy.

Mid- December we traveled to Birmingham to see our cousins.  We had a great time!  

Byron is the big cousin.

We had some great library time, with some singing and dancing involved.

 

And a trip to the zoo.  Perfect weather for it all.

Then one day we got together with some friends and made some Christmas cookies.  Fun and crazy!

Christmas eve and our Christmas jammies. 

Christmas morning.  Opening stockings.

Ames and Ezra's Christmas gift was a hit with the kiddos.  Thankfully neither Emma nor Byron were very interested in driving it, which made it a pretty painless event for us all.  No tears. 

In the kitchen with my favorites!

My handsomes.

On New Year's Eve, after a breakfast for dinner meal, the kids and daddy "camped" out in our back porch.  The kids loved it!  (And daddy too).

Naamen is here!

We welcomed our newest addition into our family on Sunday, March 6th, 2016.  We fell in love with him almost immediately.  Naamen is as handsome as they come, with more hair than any newborn should ever have.  Even his shoulders and back are full of his dark, beautiful hair!

A few pics that share his first hours/days of his life -- 

I don't know if it's because he's my third, but unlike my first- and second-born, I looooove my newborn snuggles.

Daddy is also beside himself with this stud of a boy.

Unfortunately, Little Byron had a bad cough and fever right around the time Naamen was born (that later evolved into a double ear infection, and that in itself is a nightmare of a story, but we'll plan on forgetting all about that).  All that to say, only Emma was able to go to the hospital and meet her new little brother.  She was so proud.  She was shy around him.  Careful with him.  When we asked her what she wanted to tell her new little brother, without hesitation she said:  "I love you, Naamen."

Byron still had to work while I was at the hospital recovering, so I requested to have Emma come over and keep us company.  She was a fun little companion to me.  We ate snacks, visited, and watched some toons together.

Both Oma and Memma were able to come see us right after Naamen was born (need to find these pictures somewhere), but here is Oma and Naamen on his second day of life when she came to visit us at the hospital.

Emma was in the car on our way back home.  She could not take her eyes off her little brother.

From a bit of a distance (remember Byron's cold and fever?), Byron was able to meet his little brother.  His first words to him:  "tis mine?"

Our family.

Big brother and big sister absolutely love him.

Unfortunately, a bird decided to make a nest in our diaper wreath as soon as it went up.  This meant we could not keep it up too long.  But it was beautiful, wasn't it?  Courtesy of Memma and Poppa.