Batts Christmas

Christmas Day afternoon was spent at the Batts' with all of the little ones! There are 8 grandchildren- the oldest is 9- so it can get pretty busy! It was a fun afternoon of opening gifts and a nice quiet dinner afterwards. It's always nice to see everyone!

Bridgette holding Henry. Immediately upon arriving the older girl cousins begin offering to hold the baby- it's great to have such good helpers!

Daddy and Tommy

Tommy LOVED these new lobster slippers from Grandma and Grandpa (and he also loves his Uncle Chris!)

Henry's first Christmas! Next year he'll be in on all of the action!

Christmas Morning

Tommy was SO excited to run downstairs and see if Santa had come. He had been nervous for a couple of weeks if he had been good enough for Santa to bring any presents, so I think it was a relief to see that Santa did remember him after all :) I love this picture because Tommy was so excited to see that Santa ate the cookies and drank them milk.

Henry wasn't too concerned with the presents.

Tommy picked out a book to give Henry for Christmas and insisted on reading it to him after he opened it for him. It was cute :)

The Gift

Nathan and Tommy went shopping a couple of days before Christmas. Here is the conversation Tommy and I had when they returned:

Tommy: I'm not supposed to tell you what we did.

Me: Ok

Tommy: Don't you want to know where we went?

Me: No, it's ok

Tommy: I need to wrap your present, but I'm not supposed to tell you what it is.

Me: You can get the wrapping paper, you know where it is.

Tommy: Will you help me wrap the ornaments we bought for you?

Me (laughing): No, you should probably ask daddy.

Well, daddy was busy, so 1 hour, 1 roll of paper, 2 rolls of scotch tape, 1/2 roll of masking tape, and 1 proud 3 year old later this was under the tree:

Not too bad, huh?

Plaisier Christmas

Christmas Eve we celebrate Christmas with the Plaisier side. We enjoyed a delicious meal which Tommy couldn't stand to sit through and then went to the candlelight service at church where Tommy's excitement reached an all time high, and then FINALLY went back to my parents' to open presents. We had a wonderful evening and enjoyed spending time with everyone and watching Tommy's reactions to everything!

Checking out his new game.

Another game!

These are for me!?!

Hugs from mommy!

Downtown Lights

The Wednesday night before Christmas we headed out for dinner and then downtown to look at the lights. Tommy loved seeing the nativity scene and "Candy Cane Lane." Nathan and I had some pictures taken in this same spot on our wedding night so it was fun to take some snapshots of Tommy here.

Tommy and Mommy

Looking at Baby Jesus

Milkshakes

Trisha received a milkshake maker as one of her Christmas gifts. We've had so much fun making chocolate shakes after dinner each night! Tommy loves this gift!

Getting ready

Helping to pour in the chocolate

It's ready!

Yum!

Christmas with Grams and Gramps

The Monday night before Christmas we celebrated Christmas with Great Grandma and Grandpa DeVries at their house. Tommy could hardly wait for the big night and enjoyed every moment of being the center of attention. Henry slept through most of the party.

Passing out gifts with Aunt Kristina. Can you tell he was a little wound up?

Showing off his new book.

Sitting with Daddy

Sledding

Tommy was so excited on Sunday afternoon when Uncle Chris and Aunt Rachael called to see if he was interested in sledding at Woods Lake! He suffered a couple of major crashes, but doesn't seem too much worse for the wear and he had a great time. He is anxious to go back and is excited that Nathan waxed his sleds this week so they'll be even faster next time.

Preschool Christmas Program

Tommy had his preschool program on the Thursday morning before Christmas break. I wasn't sure how he would do or if he would sing, but he knew all of the words and motions. It was fun to watch him and he is so proud of himself! We've watched the video several times and he keeps talking about what a good job he did. Apparently three year olds aren't too modest as he told me on the way home, "My friends were pretty good, but I was the bestest." :)

Cookie Decorating

Tommy is very helpful in the kitchen and usually wants to be doing whatever we are doing. Lately, I've been doing alot of baking and cookie decorating and my helper has too!

First Bath in the Big Tub

Henry was getting too big for the little tub so he has started bathing in the big tub! I don't quite dare put him in with Tommy yet, so things are still pretty calm. Here is his first bath in the big boy tub!

How Quickly Time Flies...

Three Months Old

Henry Christopher- Three Months Old

We are so in love with this little boy! It's fun to watch his personality develop. He is laughing more and 'coo'ing lots- we may have another talker on our hands! He is turning into quite the mama's boy and whimpers when other people hold him. He was grabbing a ring on his bouncy chair the other day and making the music play- Tommy was so excited to see that this little baby could finally do something besides cry and sleep!

His unofficial weight at 3 months is 14 1/2 pounds.

What's Henry up to at three months?

• He has been sleeping 12-13 straight hours at night for a couple of weeks now. He eats every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day.
• He falls asleep at 8pm on the dot- the only part of his day that is truly predictable!
• He is getting good at sucking his thumb and uses it to soothe himself back to sleep. He always sucks the left one.
• He is still in size 2 diapers.
• He is mostly in 3-6 months clothes and a few 6 month outfits.
• He seems to be more aware of his surroundings and enjoys batting at toys or watching flashing lights on the activity center.
• He coos loudly and often!
• He laughs a little easier and more frequently!
• Bath time is still one of the best parts of his day- he loves the one on one attention and splashing in the water.

Snow Days!

The recent snowy weather has provided some long afternoons spent inside :) Here are some pictures from the past couple of days!

Henry is sucking his thumb more and more often- he only sucks his left thumb which is funny since Tommy has only ever sucked his right thumb.

At least he's learning to spell his name- right? Good thing for magic erasers...

Merry Christmas!

Smiles from our Henry

Tummy time- almost rolling!

Trying out the Bumbo seat- he wasn't a big fan of it, but Tommy thought it was hilarious!

Cutie

The best part about a snow day? Playing in the snow, of course!

Rosy cheeks

Nothing better than the first big snow storm

Afternoons were also spent pouring over the Thomas the Tank Engine book dreaming of what Santa might bring :)

Life in December

Tommy "holding" his brother

Henry- 11 weeks old

Sitting with Daddy on the couch

Hello!

Tommy thinking about things with Papa and Grandma Debbie