December with the Brothers.

Obviously I'm pretty good at this blog thing, right? Update it only once a month. I'll try to get better at this, at least an update every two weeks. But for now, I'll fill this post with photos from the past month. If you're my facebook friend, you've probably already seen a lot of them, but they are some great pictures. The babies are 8 months now and have been so busy. Max has two teeth, Ben still has none. Both the boys are crawling everywhere, Ben has mastered the stairs. Both the babies pull themselves up on just about everything and even walk along things. They definitely keep me on my toes! Hendrix is still the proudest big brother in the world. 

My beautiful blonde boy.

Max has such a feisty personality. He is the smallest, but the loudest. He's the one we always find with something in his mouth, I mean he puts everything in his mouth. He loves to be tossed around and talked to. Basically, he loves to play.

Bennett's sweet baby face. 

Just decorating the Christmas tree, do it all the time.

Hendrix playing in his toy box.

Maxton bundled up ready for the cold weather. My Max is such a fair skinned boy, his cheeks get chapped so easily.

Brothers playing together

Bennett eating sweet potatoes.

Nom noms

Typical.

Oh you're just so funny!

Maxton always gives me this sweet big grin when I catch his attention.

Stinky feet I suppose ;)

The boys are always pulling themselves up on me when I try to sit down to relax. Now there is no escaping them :)

Bennett being naughty

                                                 

Caught the boys laughing at each other through the sunroom door

Snuggling with big brother

Henri and his monster boots. They were suppose to be a Christmas present, but he found the Fed-Ex box they came in and open it when I wasn't paying attention. So he got them a few weeks before Christmas. Needless to say, he absolutely loves them and has to wear them everywhere.

Hendrix ready for his Christmas program

Hendrix at his program. It was hard to get a good picture, they all turned out so dark. You can tell in this picture how tired Hendrix looks, and he really was. A couple songs in they pulled the preschoolers off to the side of the stage and dimmed the lights for one of the songs. The audience all had lit candles. I guess this put the perfect scenario for a nap. Henri was out in seconds, his teacher had to carry him to me in the audience where he slept the rest of the performance.

Hendrix and Sharkie. Aaron and I and another couple spent a night in Kansas City the weekend before Christmas to visit an old friend and go to the Chiefs vs. Packers game, so we brought Hendrix home a present. He's been kinda into sharks lately so we found this cute little guy at Pier1. By kinda into sharks I mean giving us little pinches (aka shark bites), giggling, and running away. 

He looks so big lately. I find myself asking him if I can hold, even just for a second, but he's often too busy to slow down even for a kiss. He always says 'Ugh! but I already did!'

Bennett is such a curious little boy. He is so proud of himself and thought his brother was so funny playing in the bath.

A couple pictures from the Chiefs game. (Hope you don't mind being in my blog Casey :) It was SUCH a fun game. We seriously didn't expect the Chiefs to win as the Packers had been undefeated until then. 

We had some great seats, too.

Playing Santa Claus

We had lots of Christmas traditions as a child. My favorite tradition was every Christmas eve, all us Krier children would pile into one of the bedrooms and camp out, all of us. The older kids got the beds, while the younger ones would snuggle on the floor in a huge pile of blankets and pillows. Christmas eve my brother and I (being the youngest two) always had the hardest time falling asleep from the excitement knowing that in just a few short hours we would be sliding down the stairs to find all the treasures that 'Santa Claus' left us to find. We'd wake up at 6 and attempt to wake our parents and always get the same response. Go back to sleep, for just a few more hours. When we did finally manage to persuade all the older siblings and our parents to get out of bed, we'd line up on the stairs, still snuggled in blankets then scoot down to discover all the presents.
 I still have the fondest memories of Christmas at my mom's house. I can remember Aaron and I's first Christmas as a married couple there was a small part of me that was so sad I wouldn't be waking up at my parents house Christmas morning for the first time.
What I failed to understand in my youth however, was that as fun as Christmas is as a child, it becomes so much more fun and meaningful as a parent. I know now that playing Santa is much more fun than waiting for him. As tired as I was, waking up in the middle of the night to stuff the boy's stockings and line up their presents to see the look on their faces the next day was so rewarding, even if Santa Claus was the one that got all the credit.
 The babies are too young to really care, but they did love to play with the wrapping. Hendrix, although was overjoyed. We woke the boys up around 8:30am to open presents. Hendrix did most of the opening while the babies just played in the mess of tissue and bows. We played with all the new toys from Santa for a few hours before bundling up and heading out into the cold to visit our families. Christmas eve we went to Aaron's dad's for Christmas, so Christmas day we first ventured off to Aaron's Grandparents on his mom's side for lunch, and stopped by my sisters on the way home for supper. The boys were so spoiled, they are so loved.

Baby Max cuddled with dad waiting to go down stairs for presents Christmas morning!

Hendrix is still so sleepy.

Henri's favorite gift from us.

Maxton was most interested in the cereal snacks he got in his stocking.

NOM NOM NOM!!

The boys are ready for camping this summer!

This wheely bug we got for all the boys, thinking that Hendrix would play with it now and the babies would eventually grown into it. But Bennett really took to it right away. He absolutely loves it, it is hilarious! He loves pushing it around the house, likes to play with the antenna, and is so pleased if we set him on it and give him a ride. I'm glad one of the boys took to it so well.

WEEEE!!

Aw, he loves his little bug.

Bennett giving his grandma some lovings.

Hendrix and mom

My little guys! 

Nelson family photo, Christmas 2011

After such a long day I figured all our boys would go straight to bed when we got home, but they were ready to play with their new toys! 

Maxton looks so sleepy. If you look closely, you can see his two teeth!

Is it Christmas Yet?!

Jeez, November is over already? Are my babies really 7 months old? I haven't blogged in a month. I have a really hard time keeping up with it. Can you blame me chasing three boys around? Really though, most of my 'free' time is spent catching up on house work or working on projects. I currently have 1272 pictures on my camera. That's how far behind I am. Ok, maybe I take too many pictures. I also haven't deleted any in a loooong time.
What have the boys been up to since the last time I've blogged? Well, Hendrix is doing great in school. He is growing up so fast. I mean they all are. Hendrix caught me off guard the other day when he asked me about death. First of all....where did that come from?! And secondly, I never excepted to have this discussion with him as a THREE YEAR OLD! I mean really, I thought all the questions of life would happen when he was a bit older. He asked me if I was going to get old and die. I told him yes, but not for a very very long time. He got upset, which made me upset. I mean the concept of life and death is really scary, especially for a child. I did my best to comfort him and explain the best way I knew how. Then my clever guy told me to look in the mirror, because I don't look old, and then explained to me that I just needed to take medicine, and then I wouldn't get old and die :) This happened a few days ago, and he hasn't brought it up since, so I hope I eased his mind.
Back to a happy topic. Since school started, Hendrix has been starting to write his name. Well, he's very good at writing 'H', and has trouble with the rest of it, but I am impressed with just an 'H' nonetheless. He also caught me off guard the other day, when he brought me a picture he drew. It was the first recognizable thing he had drawn. I am used to just scribbles. Well, I say scribbles, but if you were to ask Hendrix, it was a tornado, or slide, or swimming pool. But this was a PERSON! I was so proud, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Aaron thinks I'm a bit ridiculous (but loves it about me :), of how emotional I can get (ok it is a bit ridiculous), but that's my baby. One day you're changing their diapers, then they're asking you about death and drawing family portraits.

Our family portrait by Hendrix Nelson. He asked for a little help to draw smaller circles for the babies, but other than that this is all him. I will cherish this forever.

My sweet blonde boy. Playing in the water.

The infamous purple butt. If he wasn't so cute, he'd be in trouble.

Yes, he is very proud of himself. I can understand why he painted himself. What I don't understand is why he was naked in the first place? I guess this is what you get when you leave a 3 year old in the other room to paint while you're trying to get dishes done.

So a funny fact about Hendrix. Whenever I feed the babies baby food, I have to make enough for Hendrix, too. I mean he loves the stuff. Even green beans and the sort.

Playing with his favorite brothers. 

Maxton has a tooth! He's had it for, jeez, I guess almost a month. The bottom front right tooth. The one right next to it is very swollen at the gums and acts like it will poke out any day, but hasn't yet. He is also crawling! Yes, now I have two crawlers. Max isn't as fast as Bennett, but Ben has been mobile for quite a while now. They are both army crawlers, but are on the hands and knees as well. Ben is getting really good at sitting. I mean really good. He crawls around and pushes himself to the sitting position. He'll sit there for awhile and play with a toy, decide to head off somewhere else, or topple over. Since the boys have become so mobile, there tends to be more fighting over toys. Bennett will want to see what Max has or vis-versa. Sometimes I can't tell if they will be best friends or worst enemies :) Baby gates have gone up, I can't keep Bennett out of the kitchen, and he also has been very interested in heading up the stairs. Luckily, he hasn't figured them out yet, but I am always watching because I know that's on his mind. I say they fight all the time, but they also play very well together. Bennett will crawl on top of Maxton, and it usually makes Maxton giggle. It is so sweet, I will get a video I promise. Sometimes when Max is in the jumper, Bennett will crawl over and play with his feet, that also makes him laugh :) Aaron and I swear they comfort each other when they cry. Several times now we've seen Bennett crawl to Max when he was crying him and kind of pat him and lay his head on his chest. I promise to get a video of this as well. Hendrix is still the best big brother in the world. He is crazy about his babies, and tells me he misses them if we ever go anywhere just him and I. He always wants to entertain them and give them kisses. Seriously, these three boys are the best thing that has ever happened to Aaron and I.

Bennett coming to find mommy and Hendrix in his tent.

He is a very happy baby.

Maxton giving me silly smiles!

This picture reminds me of Hendrix as a baby

Bald and beautiful :)

My view from the couch. 

They were both crawled over to the couch so I would pick them up.

After Bennett grabbed his face. He was fine a second later, and trust me, he gets Bennett, too. See the scratch on Ben's face? That's from our cat who he refuses to leave alone.

Bennett crawling on his brother again. He does it to just about anyone laying on the floor. He'll crawl on top of me and Hendrix all the time, but usually, it's Max. 

As hard as twins are sometimes, I wouldn't miss this for the world. 

Ben showing off his new skill. He crawled over to the dirt pile I had just swept and took a seat. And the good mother that I am instead of picking him up, I took a picture.

The sweetest thing I'll ever know.

When did these guys get so big? Don't let this picture fool you, Max is not a chubby baby.

We had a very good Thanksgiving. Wednesday night we had some great friends over for a non-traditional Thanksgiving feast that consisted of pumpkin pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs, and some other yummy things. We definitely need to do it again, because my friends are awesome. Hendrix loves when we have people over. He loves to show off all his things. The other day everyone had to see his Christmas tree and stockings, and his bedroom. He thinks his 'dudes' (our guys friends) are the coolest people ever. Later that night, Aaron stayed home with the sleeping babies while I went out with some friends. He is such an awesome dad and an amazing husband. I know I say that all the time, but he really is. We went to Effingham, Ks (yes, there really is a town called Effingham) to visit family on my dad's side on Thanksgiving. We hadn't see them in probably at least a year, so they finally got to meet our babies. It was nice to see everyone, the family is growing so fast! There was at least 5 children there under 1 year. So many sweet beautiful babies.
We put our tree up a few days before Thanksgiving and are now patiently waiting one of my favorite holidays. Seriously can't wait, we have most of Hendrix's presents and I can't WAIT for him to open them!

Someone remind me not to wait so long between blogs. It took me forever to sort through photos and decide what to blog about and what not to....