It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Hi Everyone ~ We hope that you are all doing well and enjoying this wonderful holiday season. We have been super busy, but we sure have had lots of fun. We are a little behind on some "blogging" since Mommy slipped on our stairs a few weeks ago and had a L2 Transverse Fracture (basically, I (Averie) have been telling people that Mommy broke her back...but, she keeps telling me that she broke a piece off the end of her vertebrae and not her whole back, but it was still painful). But, thankfully, Mommy is up and around for the most part (thanks to lots of pain meds and the many prayers of others!!) And, now we can share some pictures of our last few weeks. We will post some pictures of our actual Christmas Day celebration in a few more days...Mommy took a LOT of pictures, but we sure LOVED celebrating the birth of our wonderful Savior as a family. Enjoy the pictures...

Here is Brady...5 months old!

Here I am at my preschool Christmas party. Mommy got to come (thanks to Aunt Helen helping her), so I was excited about that. We ate yummy lunch, played some games, sang some songs, and then made a reindeer craft. It was a fun party!

Mommy & Me...
My cousin, Stephanie, and her Mommy, Aunt Helen. Stephanie & I are only 8 months apart, so we get to be in the same class...how fun!

Showing Mommy some of the fun things we do in class...here we are singing a fun song...

...and then the fun dancing part! I sure love preschool, and it sure was a great party!

Then, a few days later, my cousin, McKinly, came over, to play with me and Brady while Mommy rested. We also were trying to take a Karaffa grandchildren picture for the calendar we were giving to my Poppy & Nana. Here are a few of the pictures we took...

This is McKinly....he loved the ornaments!

McKinly again...

Then, it was Brady's turn for a few pictures!Brady Boy!

Once he sat up, he wasn't sure what to do with that candy cane. So, Mommy let him "explore."

I don't think he liked it...of course, the wrapper is still on...and he basically gagged himself, so that explains the face :) :)

Cute little brother of mine...

Then, he got to hold a present...he didn't tear into it like I would have, but he just looked at it...and tried to eat it, of course.
Then, it was my turn for a few pictures...
Aren't I too cute? :)

Such a big 3 year old am I!

And, here was our best attempt at a group picture...the Karaffa grandchildren: Brady, Averie, & McKinly!
Mommy also took some pictures on a different day in front of the poinsettias! Here is Brady...
...here am I...
...and, here we both are...wishing you a very Merry Christmas...
Merry Christmas, Everyone! We love you!

We are so thankful...

We sure had a fun Thanksgiving. It was my first one, and I had a great time. We went to my Uncle Art & Aunt Kelly's house for lunch...there was so much yummy food. I can't wait until I can start eating it...And, there were so many people there...my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and some friends. We had a wonderful time.

Here I am...ready for Thanksgiving!

My 1st Thanksgiving...

Our Family...Daddy, Mommy, Averie, & Me

Poppy & Nana (Karaffa) with their 3 grandchildren...McKinly, Averie, & Me

The Karaffa Family (left to right) ~ Uncle Blair, McKinly, Aunt Brittany, Poppy, Averie, Nana, Mommy, Daddy, and Me

The Van Wingerden Family (back row to front row...left to right...sort of) ~

Uncle Thomas, Uncle Michael, Daddy, Eric, Uncle Art, Uncle Todd, Uncle Abe

Miss Lindsey, Aunt Courtney, Me, Mommy, Grant, Aunt Kelly, Aunt Helen, Aunt Cindi,

Brayden, Sam, Stephanie, Opa, Averie, Oma, Jackson, Carter, Kaitlyn

Paul, Zach, Andrew, & Noah

When we got home, Averie was SO tired from playing with her cousins...and missing her afternoon nap. She fell asleep on Daddy's lap within the first minute of sitting there. 5 minutes later, she was snoring...it was so funny! :)
Then, about 30 minutes later, Daddy fell asleep too. All the food and fun knocked them both out!
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone. We have so much to be thankful for. God is so good!

O' Christmas Tree

Hi Everyone ~ Can you believe we are less than 23 days from Christmas? We are so excited about all this Christmas fun...the decorations, the lights, the gifts...and most importantly, celebrating the birth of Jesus. We have been busy here, but we had a great Thanksgiving (we have SO much to be thankful for)...and we are so excited about Christmas. Enjoy the pictures...and Merry Christmas to you!

After a yummy Thanksgiving lunch with Daddy, Mommy, Averie, Poppy, Nana, Uncle Blair, Aunt Brittany, McKinly, and me, we went to go Christmas tree shopping. Daddy & Mommy told me that this has been a tradition for years, and we were all ready to go. There were lots of great trees, and surprisingly, we all found a tree really quickly. (Daddy & Mommy told me that in years passed, it has been known for them to go to several different lots to find that perfect tree!) So, here we are with the Christmas trees!

My first time at the Christmas tree lot! It was fun...and it sure smelled great!

A quick family picture!! Averie LOVED it...can't you tell?

Now, our house is all ready for Christmas...Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Brady

Here I am...a happy 4 1/2 month old. I am doing great and having fun. Just wanted to share some pictures of just me. Enjoy!

Have a very happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

First Jar Food

Well, I got to try out my first jar food...sweet potatoes. Mommy & Daddy were ready for this over dramatic, but absolutely adorable facial expression with the tongue all out and such...just like Averie did when she was my age. Boy, were they surprised. Mommy put the spoon filled with sweet potatoes right in my mouth, and I just looked right at her and smiled...no crazy tongue, no funny face...just ate it. Some came right back out of my mouth, but no expression followed. So, Mommy tried again...and same thing. I don't love the sweet potatoes, but I didn't mind them either. Maybe with the fruit I'll be more expressive...Enjoy the pictures! :)

All smiles!!
Averie really wanted to try to feed me, so Mommy let her. She did a great job, but she only got to do one spoonful.

Me at my happiest...with a full belly, dry diaper, and someone talking to me.

Thanksgiving Feast

Hi Everyone & a very Happy Thanksgiving to you. We hope you are all doing well. Enjoy the latest pictures!

Daddy, Mommy, & I went to Averie's preschool on Tuesday for her Thanskgiving feast. Her 2 year old class got to sing 2 short songs for us...and then we had a lunch with her. It was so fun. Obviously, Averie is the tallest kid in her class. But, I think the best part was when Averie looked out in the crowd, saw Daddy, starting waving frantically, and said (right before singing) very loudly, "Look, there is my Daddy." Daddy was beaming with pride. It was so cute! And, Averie did a great job...she had fun singing about the turkey!

Daddy & Averie (with her turkey hat she made!)

Mommy & Averie

Family Fun

Here is Daddy with me...I love to play with my Daddy. He makes me smile so big!

Then, this past Sunday after church, Mommy, Averie, & me thought it would be fun to take some pictures...a couple self-portraits and a couple that Averie took with Mommy's camera...what a big girl! Here is Mommy & me! Averie took this picture...that is why part of our heads are cut off :)

Mommy & Averie (& yes, that is Averie holding Mommy's chin and telling her to look at the camera and smile...isn't that hilarious?)

Averie thought it would be funny to wear Mommy's glasses. She said, "Hey, look at me...I look just like Opa." (Opa is her grandfather!)

And, one more fun one of Averie & Mommy. It was fun being silly!