merry christmas!

merit introduces august to ho ho

We finally got the chance to take the girls to get this year's Santa pic. Merit was beside herself excited, insisting that she wanted to sit in his sleigh when we got there. She has loved that man since her very first Christmas. Her current favorite Christmas song is "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".

August was excited, too! Maybe?

We had a bit of a wait, so Merit took in the display.

When it was our turn, Merit RAN to Santa, climbed up, and gave him a big hug. She kept trying to tell him August's name, but he never understood what she was saying, so she told him again and again. He was sweetly doing a lot of smiling and nodding. It was very strange having two of my babies on Santa's lap. They snapped the pic in a hurry, so I wasn't able to really get August's attention, but it's cute! And for August, this pretty much sums her up right now. Hands in her mouth, taking in everything around her.

Merit then told Santa what she wanted: a green dinosaur. 

As we were leaving, she said, "Wait! I need my green dinosaur!" We had to explain that he'll be dropping that off at the house later. :)

Santa pic Review:

We were sad to miss having our usual Santa from the past couple of years! And this really must be Merit's smile she saves for only Santa. It's the same sweet smile every time..

2008

Merit - 9 months old

2009

Merit - 21 months old

2010

Merit - 2.5 years old, August - 4 months old

Thanks for the memories, Ho Ho!

four months!

Dear August Rose. 

This past week you turned four months old. Hard to believe that it was a year ago (also this past week) that we first found out you even existed. I am so glad to finally know the sweet little baby who was indeed a mystery to us this time last year.

You are such a sweet little gem baby.

This past month you made your second AND third trips to Texas. The first was for Thanksgiving, with an extended stay at Nina and PaPa's.

You met your great-grandmother and great-granddad in Plainview. They, of course, loved you!

You met your new cousin, Annie, and played with Macy and Zoey in Abilene.

Nina, Merit, you, and I bundled up and went to Abilene's Christmas parade. You were mesmerized by all of the lights, and I was happy to share a little bit of my hometown with my girls. The Paramount, behind us in this picture, is where your daddy and I went on our first date.

PaPa took us with him to feed his cows after church, and you were so interested from the car, that you got out with him for the first time to check them out for yourself. He loves showing you girls his cows.

About 4 days after we got home from Abilene, just you and I headed to San Antonio to celebrate my friend Kasey's upcoming wedding. You had your first plane ride, and all of my friends loved having you there with us. You did great on all of the plane rides, with maybe the exception of the last one. You were fussy for the the first half of the flight, and you had a little blowout on my arm, but other than that - great!

We had your first snow when we came back home, but I forgot to get your picture with it. But here's your back yard!

These days you are learning so much and changing so quickly. You LOVE your own voice and will lay on the floor and talk (and yell) to yourself for a long time. Usually while chewing on your toes. You always want whatever is in your hands to go directly in your mouth. I love this stage that you are in!

You have gotten a little more fussy than you were in your first few months. It is mostly when you are tired, and almost every night around 7 or 8, you just need to cry a little while. One of my favorite ways to get you to calm down is holding you close with your cheek against mine. We'll walk and sway and sing, and I think you love it just as much as I do, which warms my heart.

Once you go to sleep, I can't help but stare at you. And take lots of pictures. You are such a pretty baby.

Some of my favorite pictures of you from this past month...

 (wearing my favorite dress)

You are one loved baby, August Rose. I'll take the fussiness, 3am wake-up calls, spit-up on all my clothes, poop on my arm on a plane, laughs and smiles - all of it, if it means you are part of my days. Happy 4 months, my little Augs. So excited to share Christmas with you this week. I think you're going to like it.

much love, your mama

redbud sale!

Still haven't decided on a Christmas card? It's not too late to order a premade design from the Redbud SHOP. And they are now only $10!! I'll accept orders right up until Christmas day so even if it's too late to print and mail your design, you can still email, blog, or facebook your Christmas greetings!

fall catch-up

August was sleeping through the night pretty well until a couple of weeks ago. Since then, she has been waking up 2 or 3 times, the little stinker. Last night she only woke up once - around 1:45am. Good job, Auggie! BUT after I got her back to sleep, I couldn't sleep, so I did a little catching up on the blog. If you're interested, check out these posts from our fall and Halloween festivities!

the pumpkin farm!

PumpkinFest!

trick-or-treating!

I still have some catching up to do, but here's hoping I don't have the need or the urge to do it at 3am next time.