We survived the craziness!

One of our many trips to see Santa...

Santa again and celebrating Nana's birthday!

Kate and Haley celebrating Christmas together!

The Christmas Play at Meme and Papa's - love!

Our attempt at a family photo, the boys weren't feeling good!

Our house Christmas morning, before the kiddos saw what Santa brought, loved being home this year!

Waiting patiently!

So excited about his roller coaster

Love

Wow the past several weeks have been tons of fun but I am one exhausted mama! We had an amazing Christmas with so many family festivities and the kids had a blast. Our week leading up to Christmas was rough, somehow I came down with strep throat, two days later Kate ended up with it, then Blake and daddy was hit the day before Christmas eve...luckily we all got on meds as fast as possible and it didn't put much of a damper on our holidays! We kicked off Christmas with the Gordon's at our house, we spent the day eating, doing presents together and then heading to church for their Christmas service, we all had a great time. Christmas Eve is with my family, kicked off with a pajama brunch at my sisters and then arriving at moms house around 3pm. At my moms house all 13 grandkids (soon to be 14) perform a Christmas play that they put on with much of Meme and Papa's help - it is always so fun to see their personalities come out when they perform for all of us. Soon after the play, Santa always stops by on his way to deliver toys for the night, the kids love this and wait anxiously to hear him coming down the stairs! Christmas morning is at home with just our family and it was the most fun I have had on Christmas yet - the magic for the kids was amazing and so exciting! I wish I could bottle up these years so they would last forever! Kate and Blake had a sleep over and we heard them about 6:15 whispering to each other wondering if Santa came - precious! Christmas night was at my sisters with my dad and by the time we got in bed, I could hardly see straight! Everything was so much fun, so magical and so perfect! We are truly blessed to have so much wonderful family close by that we can spend these holidays with and while it is always so busy, it is so worth the traditions and the memories we all share! I have loved having Jeff home so much too, we were both nesting so our house is in complete organization and cleaned out to the max...I think we are officially ready for sweet Emily to make her appearance!

For New Years, we made a last minute decision after our good doctors appointment on Friday to meet our friends at the lake house to celebrate New Years Eve. The kids had a ball and here they all are ready for a movie and bed...they didn't make it till midnight but this preggo made it till 12:15 - yes I paid for it the next day but we had a lot of fun!

Enjoying the beautiful weather with our friends and excited about 2012!!

Baby Emily Update...

Update on me and baby Emily - first of all, how awesome it is January and here I am good and pregnant! Tomorrow I am 36 weeks and doing just great. I have had several good appointments over the past week. Dr. Korotkin has decided he is going to try and take my cerclage out in the office as opposed to in the hospital under an epidural, I may totally regret this but it will allow me to come home and try and labor on my own whereas with Blake I had an epidural for 24 hours from the removal and induction. I am getting the cerclage out a week from Friday so on Friday the 13th. There is no way of knowing if I will go into labor right away or if she will take her time making her appearance. I am excited and anxious for how everything will go but most of all, I just want this cerclage out as it hurts like nothing I can explain! I am trying to soak up these last few weeks of being pregnant and enjoy feeling Emily moving, kicking, growing, etc. but there is a part of me that just wants her to be here already! I am so excited to see her sweet face, to introduce the kids to her and just start our life with our family complete...I don't think it is going to hit me that we are going to have another baby here until she gets here - it truly seems amazing and unreal after our journey to get here! I am going to update more as we go in the next few weeks, I see a doctor on Thursday that could potentially deliver me if we choose to do an induction down the road so I am anxious to see/meet him as well as survive the next week and a half till this lock down comes out!!

So excited!

Katie