Christmas Festivities Begin

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! I love seeing Brielle experience it all for the first time!

At the end of November, the girls stayed up to watch Santa feed the reindeer via a videostream on the computer.  Braylee pointed out that it sure didn't look very cold at the North Pole and why wasn't there any snow? :)

On December 2nd, Braylee rode in the Christmas parade as Little Miss Daviess County.

Brielle and Brynna sitting with Lilllie, Karson and Pierce

The weather was so mild- almost didn't seem right for a Christmas parade!

Braylee spotted her sisters and Lillie right away. 

Waving to Mommy
 (Daddy was home sick. We all ended up with fevers and sore throats before it was over!)

Laughing at Brielle who wanted to chase after Braylee! :)

On Dec. 5th, Brielle and I went Christmas shopping with my mom and Grammy.

We had a wonderful day! I do not take it for granted that I get to spend time with them!

Brielle's 1st trip to Toys R Us.

We had lunch at a Chinese place. This spicy girl likes her food spicy too!

Her nai nai would be so proud of the slurping she was doing. 😊

When we arrived at the mall, Mamaw decided it was time for Brielle to make her 1st Build-A-Bear.

Making a wish on the heart before putting it in her bear.

Rocking her new bear to sleep.

On Dec. 7th, Brielle was finally able to cheer for the Vikings since she wasn't sick anymore. She looked so cute in her Barr-Reeve gear!

Sitting with Pappy at the ballgame.

On December 8th, we surprised the girls with a trip to Derby Dinner Playhouse in Louisville. We went to see A Fairytale Christmas with Tim, Krista, and their girls.  It was a really cute show and the girls loved it.  They also got to visit with Santa.  Brielle acted excited to see Santa Claus until he actually came close, then she wasn't so sure.

Everyone sits around the stage and the food is served buffet style.

When Brielle saw this picture, she said, "San-na Claus. I was 'cared. Bye-bye San-na Claus." 😊

After the show, we went to Bass Pro Shop.
Alex and I had plans to go to his company Christmas party while Tim & Krista
took our girls with them to see Rudolph and Land of Lights that evening.
Krista told me the next morning she realized how big of a deal it was for me because
she knows I'm paranoid about my girls riding with other people and about leaving Brielle.
I knew they were in good hands though. 💕

The girls did a craft at Bass Pro too.

Brynna helped Brielle mail her first letter to Santa.

The next night was the Children's Program at church.

Brielle with one of my best friends.
Mandy has been praying for this little girl long before we ever saw her face.

After church, we finished off the evening with some ice cream.

On Monday, Brielle went to the pediatric dentist office to have her teeth cleaned and to assess her front teeth since her fall. Her teeth have gone almost completely back to where they were! The dentist was amazed- said he wouldn't have even been able to tell she had damaged them if I hadn't told him. He says there is still a possibility they could turn brown but so far so good!

She was awesome with the hygienist. She warned me when we went back that it was ok if she screamed or cried and that I could hold her in my lap. Well, Brielle surprised us all. She climbed right in the big chair and listened to every thing the hygienist said. Half way through, the hygienist looked up at me and said, "This is NOT normal! I can't believe how well she is doing!" I'm so thankful she wasn't scared!

Tomorrow, we officially start our family Christmas celebrations! Exciting!!!

Thanksgiving {Sick babies}

In the normal it's-the-holidays-so-one-of-the-kids-has-to-get-sick fashion, we've been battling the sickies around here.  Two weeks ago, Brynna missed 2 days of school with fever and headache. Then last week, Brielle started running a fever and feeling crabby. Yesterday, it hit Braylee. All 3 of my girls run high temps when they are sick.  Thankfully, they tolerate them fairly well and are good about taking medicine, but we've seen a lot of 103.5 - 104.5 temps the last couple of weeks.

When the meds are working though, we see glimpses of our cheerful girls and try to take advantage of the times when they are feeling better.

Brielle's first experience with the Christmas tree
We put the decorations up the weekend before Thanksgiving this year.
With Brielle being sick over the holiday, I'm glad we did.

1st attempt at putting on ornaments

Brynna had a step so Brielle decided she needed a step too. :)
We have a 12 ft tree and Brielle did not seem intimidated by its size at all.

Brielle's handy work.

Oh this girl! She asked for the mirror so she
could see the back of her hair before church.

Poor girl. This is how Brielle was feeling on Thanksgiving morning. :(

The medicine kicked in and I did get some smiles on her 1st Thanksgiving.

Brielle and Alex went to his parents' house for lunch (No other kids there to get sick.) while the big girls and I made our way to my brother's house for Thanksgiving. His wife always fixes up quite the spread!

Thankful for this special blessing in our lives!

My Granny and my girls

With my Pa

The day after Thanksgiving marked Brielle's 7th month in our family.
This picture was taken with my new camera. I'm loving it!

She dressed herself in Brynna's shirt and hat.

We were hoping this was the end of her sickness because we had plans for the circus the next day!

Before the circus though, we helped Addie celebrate her 5th birthday!

First time at the circus. The big girls loved it, but it was too long for Brielle.

By the time we returned home, Brielle had a low grade fever again and was up half the night,
which meant she and mommy stayed home from church the next morning.

Even when she is sick, she is super adorable.