baby jacob...6 1/2 weeks...12.15

deck the halls...holiday open house...a little late!!!

sarah as an angel...12.13 and 12.14

ever since sarah was a little bitty baby, i've been looking forward to the day when she would be old enough to be an angel in the living nativity at our church during the mce. this year was finally the year! the "multitude of angels" run out and skip around in circles and totally steal the show every year!!! sarah had a great time performing...she was totally in her element! and all the snacks in the "cast tent" were a great little bonus as well :)

of course, it made for quite the hectic little schedule having an angel performing outside in the tent and baby Jesus performing inside the sanctuary! with a little help from the grandparents (poor middle child drew had no place to perform...so he got spoiled by grandparents!), tim and i were able to juggle sarah and jacob's schedules and both get to see both kids perform! it was so much fun! tim and i haven't participated in mce since we were in high school, so it was great to be a part of it again!

baby jacob as baby jesus...12.13 and 12.14

our sweet baby jacob played baby Jesus in the mce choir performance this year! it was too precious. our friend katie was mary and did a great job keeping jacob happy during his acting debut. they made quite the beautiful little family :) jacob was 6 weeks old. he was baby Jesus on saturday and sunday nights...on saturday he was awake but quiet and on sunday he slept through the whole thing! with a full orchestra and 100+ choir right behind him! i was a nervous nilly while he was on stage...i didn't want katie to have to comfort a screaming newborn in front of an audience!

aniston's 5th birthday party...12.13

on saturday, december 13th, sarah went to aniston's birthday party at wish memories on the square in collierville. it was a cute little party...the girls decorated crowns, got dressed up like princesses, had their hair and makeup done, played several princess themed games, and of course had cake and ice cream!!! the little girls were in heaven! it was also a special time for sarah and mommy...it was the first time sarah and i have done something just the two of us since jacob was born! she LOVED the undivided attention...and i enjoyed it too!!!

mce...12.12

we spent A LOT of time at gbc over the december 12-14 weekend...we went friday night to mce (memphis christmas experience) as a family to enjoy all the festivities as spectators. we had our picture made in the parlor as we have every year since sarah was born, had cookies and lemonade in the faith building, and watched the living nativity. we also posed for a few pics in front of the poinsettia tree! we had lots of fun with sarah and drew and little baby jacob slept through the whole thing! he's such a good little baby!!!

see how much the kids have changed since last year's mce...

and the year before...

jacob's first smile...12.9

although mimi SWEARS that baby jacob smiled at her when he was just 4 weeks old, mommy and daddy witnessed his smiling for the first time at 5.5 weeks!!! after his super long nap at storytime with santa and filling his tummy, jacob was in a great mood! of course, we had the camera handy to capture the moment!!!

storytime with santa...12.9

(picture of the picture we bought of the big kids sitting with santa...jacob slept THE ENTIRE 4 hours we were gone from the house!)

we braved the wind and rain on a tuesday night with 2 tired out toddlers (preschool day=no naps) and a newborn to join the yorks and jenkins at the pink palace for storytime with santa. we have been for several years in a row...the kids always have so much fun!!! we had a great time despite the yucky weather outside! we started out listening to santa read "the night before christmas", then headed downstairs for cookies, milk, and doughnuts (so healthy!), then walked through the festival of trees and the enchanted forest, and finally ended up in santa's house for pictures. lots of activities and lots of smiles! what a great night!!!

christmas card outtakes...12.5