Sunday, December 26, 2010

the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas has seemed to have come and gone much faster this year!

we had so much fun with jillian. it's been a blast to see everything through her eyes, and i can't even imagine how much more in the next few years!

jillian was so sweet all day. we were a little nervous that she might be in rare form because she was so exhausted! but she was such a trooper and just went with the flow wherever we were!

on christmas eve, jillian missed the memo that she was supposed to be asleep with sugar plums dancing in her head.

she was up allll night! finally around 3 am, she fell asleep for good in our bed.

then woke up at 7:30!


so with very little sleep Christmas morning, we had our little Christmas with just the 3 of us. it was so sweet to watch jillian love every little thing.


then we went to the nelson's for breakfast and festivities.





doc and gigi got jillian the little tykes car, and she was quite a fan! you can put a "floorboard" in it, so she won't fall out and we can just push her around in it. which makes it perfect for her right now!


mom and dad got a few fun things too!

then we went to lunch at my parents.


we had the annual "vote" by andrew to see if we take naps or open gifts after lunch, and somehow gifts won again! hmm..

we tried to get a picture of all the grandkids and that is always an adventure.


these kids love each other so much! it's so fun to watch them all together!


jillian (and izzie and haylie) got these big chairs and jillian has played in hers soo much! she'll climb in, sit for 10 seconds, then climb back out, and repeat 100 times! it's so funny to watch her. i think she feels so big to have a chair her size!


after all the craziness was over there, we went to the shaver cousin christmas (the nelson cousin christmas was the week before).

we ended the night back at my parents watching the cowboys embarrass themselves on tv!

we were so exhausted by the end of the day, but i wouldn't have changed a thing! we all came home and crashed and slept till 11!

(jillian woke up at 8, but we moved her to our bed and she slept 3 more hours, praise the Lord!)

our first Christmas with jillian was a huge success! i can't wait for the next few years when we can start traditions where she really understands the true meaning of the holidays.

i say i can't wait, but i most definitely can, i'm not wishing any time away. at all!

each day is so sweet right now.

i hope this finds each and everyone of you just as happy!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

catching up..


it is somewhat difficult to keep a blog updated when our internet does not work 75% of the time.

i'll be ready to sit down and update, and that is the time it doesn't work. but then it always magically works when i'm ready to go to bed.

i'm trying to see this inconvenience as a good thing (i'm sure kyle would disagree with this statement), because i spend waaay to much time online, reading blogs and what not. and it's not even that i'm doing/reading negative things. it's all things that are beneficial spiritually, or to raising kids, or cleaning house, crafting (that's a positive!).

i think that super large amount of time could be better spent doing some other things. like actually using the tips and getting my house clean!

but i still want to blog also.

this post is just going to be some pictures and what not of stuff we've been up to since thanksgiving! (good grief, it's been a month).

we had thanksgiving lunch with the nelsons and dinner with my family.

then kyle went hunting and i went to work, so jillian got to spend the night with ammaw and papa.

i only took a few pictures that day. (none at my parents, because i was only there for about an hour, and kyle wasn't there at all!)



jillian's bow makes her look like the chiquita banana lady.


a bunch of nelsons and shavers went to the a&m - baylor football game in waco. heated rivalry in the family!


the little nelsons (us) went all as aggies.

i pretty much love this picture!

kyle had a class for work down in austin, so we all went as a family on a mini trip. this is jillian's first time to stay in a hotel in like 5 months, and she didn't do quite as well as she has before, but we made it through.

the luggage it takes to get that girl out of the house for just a few days!!

we didn't know it, but there was a lady from kyle's class next door to us at the hotel, and one morning in class she said, "i didn't get any sleep, because there was a baby next door that kept crying!"

oops. i didn't think it was quite that bad!

we were there 3 nights, and by the third, she was doing really well!

jillian and i just hung out and played most of the day while kyle was in class. it was a nice break from home.

ashleigh and i opened up shop selling baby and toddler clothes! (more on this to come).


we're just working from home making custom stuff, and we had our first booth at a craft fair at the hospital, and did pretty well, so we were excited! that has kept us pretty darn busy!

kyle hung our christmas lights and jillian had fun watching. this endeavor included kyle falling off the ladder. no hospital trip was needed, just a couple bruises! (and jillian was not sitting there when he fell!)

now we're into all the christmas craziness and having so much fun with jillian! it's so fun to do this with kids now! (although a lot more tiring at times!)


so this has been a very "cliff's notes" version of the last month, but we're still here and trucking along!