Christmas break fun

I know I already posted about Christmas...but I didn't post all the pictures I wanted to yet. So here's for the best part! ALL the pictures :). We had  so much fun with the cousins and it was so fun seeing Aben get excited for the first time to actually open presents. I LOVE having kids!!!! It makes everything so much more fun!

 Opening their Christmas Eve presents from Grammy and Papa Taylor. Missing Jerry and Ashley, and Justin and Nicole's kiddos! :(

 Playing hide-and-seek with Lexie....his new favorite game!

Christmas fun!

Christmas was a blast! This break was so needed and I got completely spoiled. I had 3 weeks with my husband and I didn't have to share him with medical school at all! It made going back to school so hard, but I guess real life had to continue eventually. We had to drive 20 hours to get to Rupert and that was not a fun drive. Noah cried the entire time...until he finally fell asleep two plus hours after his bedtime and after we had been in the car for at least 8 hours. But the way back was better...Noah finally figured out that we couldn't save him and he would only cry for an hour or so...instead of 8 before calming himself down. But Aben was awesome! And what 2 year old is ever good in the car, so it was such a blessing!

We got to spend the week and a half before Christmas with the Rutschkes and the kids as well as the adults had a blast. Sean and I were even able to sneak away on a real date without the kiddos thanks to our awesome brother and sister-in-law, Layne and Sarah. Aben absolutely loves playing with his Rutschke cousins. He really enjoys playing with older kids and they all play so good with him. We would find him trying to act like the big boys and it was the cutest thing ever!

 It was hard to leave the Rutschkes, but I was excited to see my family in Utah. We all met up in Mapleton at Zach's house and it was a blast. I was so sad that we didn't get to play with Jerry and Ashley and their cute kids since they were so sick the whole time we were there, but I'm glad we got to see them at least. We even got to spend some time with the great grandparents; Grammy and Grandpa Taylor spent Christmas with us and we then drove up to Holden to see Grandma Tuttle.

 It's Christmas...we're allowed to stay in our PJ's all day...right?

It was a miracle that we were able to fit everything in the car on the way back. It definitely made for a tight car ride home! Even though it was hard...home is always a good place to be! 

 Packed to the max!

How we fit all of this in our car is a mystery!

Christmas was awesome and I am already looking forward to next year so we can see all our family again! We are so blessed to have such wonderful families!

 Enjoying the Christmas tree lights 

 Christmas sweaters!

 Santa's presents for our family!

Noah: 5 and 6 months old update!

So I slacked off a little bit these last few months so I'm going to combine a couple posts together...woops!
Noah has been such a joy and is getting so big! It has been a rough month of us all being sick. Having sick kiddos is no fun, especially when they are both sick, as well as yourself all at the same time. But, Noah is still the cutest and sweetest little boy ever!

He now:

• Can pretty much sit up by himself....he tends to tip to the side very frequently but he doesn't really fall backwards or get stuck bent in half anymore. :)
• Is wanting to move around so badly. Whenever he is on his tummy he will just kick and kick and kick and try to move forward. He hasn't really figured out the whole getting on your hands and knees bit yet. I'm excited for him to start moving though. I think he will be a lot more content.
• He is sleeping so much better now. He will go down on his own around 7:30 and sleep until 5:30, wake up and eat and then goes back to sleep until about 8! His naps are getting so much better too. They use to only last about 30-45 minutes. Now he will sleep 1 1/2 and sometimes even longer. I love it!
• He is still the happiest, most smiley and giggly boy. And he is a dare-devil. He absolutely loves it when I throw him in the air, hold him upside down and pretend to drop him (this is really is favorite...he doesn't stop laughing), and loves being spun around.
• He loves playing with toys. Of course, the toys he always loves best are the ones Aben happens to be playing with at the time :)
• He is a very talkative boy! If he isn't cooing, he is blowing raspberries.
• Is a definite momma's boy! And I love it! He knows my voice and face and always gives the biggest smiles when he sees me. He loves his daddy too- but he is a momma's boy for sure :). 
• Still no teeth...which I am grateful for. He is working on getting his bottom two teeth, which may have played a roll in why he keeps getting sick. 
• He is only 16 pounds but is 27 inches long. He lost some weight when he got the stomach flu, but his appetite is back with a vengeance!
• He is really loving solids. So far he has loved everything I have given him and I'm so glad he isn't a picky eater.