Blake lost his first tooth!!

A very happy (and "rich") Blake smiles after I just pulled his first tooth from his bottom row. Here's me holding Blake's lip down to view the new hole.

This is the famous tooth below. It's pretty amazing how long a tooth really is. Blake said, "Wow, the tooth fairy must have lots of teeth at her place." He was really brave as I pulled it out, and even more excited to know that the first tooth means the most money!!

Almost Record-breaking Snow in Jan

Hayden had some "I don't like snow" moments today. Here's one below. Poor guy! Too cute though to pass up this opportunity to capture his distress.:) Yes, that's me. I think I should invest in some snow pants now. Brrrrr! Alabama was definitely a nice break for 4 years!!!

Snow up to the mailbox made for a great pic. Hunter is at top, and Blake is just in front of the mailbox. Luke is to the left and Hayden is in red (the little guy!!). We still can't make a snowman because the snow won't pack. Sorry guys!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Nani!!

January 20 was Jeff's mom's birthday!! We celebrated it a few days later at our house. The boys and I surprised her with a cake, decorated table, and a basket full of goodies. This was such a great photo of all of them together it was perfect for the blog land!!:) We are appreciating and enjoying moments like these that we missed for 4 years. I guess I'll put up with being buried in the snow (my next post!!).:)

Pete and Connie weather the storm!!

This past weekend, January 10, we had snow and snow and more snow, but this didn't stop Jeff's Aunt Connie and Uncle Pete from making it to visit. They live in MO so they do know snow. It was a really nice time to just hang out and laugh. Hayden, above, had too much fun and gave up with a snooze snuggled up to Uncle Pete. Sooooo sweet!! Thanks for coming!!

Sweet Tracy!!

Right after New Year's Jeff and I were able to squeeze in a visit with Tracy and Bill (now living in CA). It was a sweet reunion of our souls!! Thank you for making the time to see us! We love you very much!

Kayla comes to visit!!

Sweet Kayla came to visit Dec. 26-Dec. 30. It was such a fun time of reuniting with our babysitter from Alabama. She became like family to all of us, so it was special to just hang out again. We love you, Kayla!!!

Christmas Eve was a fun time, with lots of noise, food, and fun!! We decided to get a family pic of our family with my mom and brother, his wife and kids, too. To the right, Jeff's parents jumped in for a quick pic. Even Cole and Eddie had to jump in since they are a part of the family!!

Hayden Baking 101

Hayden was my only taker this year in helping with cookies. It's been a few years since we've found the time to bake, but this year we had a big Christmas Eve party with my family and Jeff's extended family. So, we did a lot of baking this year: fudge, buckeyes (they were awesome!!), and sugar cookie cut-outs.
Hayden was a real pro at rolling the dough and using the cookie cutters. We had so much fun just the two of us. Luke is in the background...he just wanted to eat the dough. :)
Everything turned out great. Hunter, Luke, and Blake did help dip the buckeyes, and Hunter helped stir the fudge. It was a lot of fun all cooking together this year in our new home. The simple things...