Smile!

Hodge Podge

This week so far has been fun. Except for the fact Chloe is still coughing and now Hutch is benefiting from the sisterly love. Yep, he has his first cold thanks to Chloe. I love how they share. It won't be his last but thankfully I have extra hands around to help me. Jeremy has taken this week off and is doing a few things around the house. It is very very cold here and we have been stuck inside playing board games and drawing pictures. Finn did these today and I just had to share.


The "wettin'" (wedding) of me and my prince: We are standing in front of our castle and I have the purple 'do. The red dots on the left are confetti and the ones on the right are roses. Next to Jeremy, whose hair is wild and quite red, is a pogo stick. I really can't make these things up, that is how she described it.


This one is me and April. April is on the left and smiling although it's hard to see since her mouth is yellow. I am on the right and crying because April wouldn't allow me to go down the water slide. Probably because it would ruin my pretty polky-dottie skirt.



Funny Hutch Faces!


Chloe loves her up and down shoes so much that she wears them all the time. She loves to pretend to be a grown-up and take care of her babies. Jeremy caught her sitting like this yesterday and snapped a few pictures. Side note: We did not leave the house at all so her hair is not styled and yes she dressed herself.

Goodbye 2009! Hello 2010!

Hutch is 1 Month Old!

At one month old, he is growing and changing ever so fast. He should be well over 9lbs now but we don't have an official weight. I am beginning to notice rolls on his thighs and it is so exciting. I love me some chubby baby thighs. He is still eating well and sleeping some. His favorite place to sleep is in my arms or on my chest. Really any human will suffice. We (read I because I am the only one here most of the time) have been having a hard time the last two weeks with getting him to nap in his bed during the day. I lay him down, he screams, I pick him up, he burps, he goes back to sleep, I lay him down, repeat repeat repeat. It's a vicious cycle and I think it is beginning to wear on Finn and Chloe's nerves. They are tired of hearing me say "just let me get him to sleep and I will..." because even if I do get him to sleep, I may not have time enough to do what they want before he is screaming again. We have had a few smiles but he is definitely taking after his sisters and not showing those off too frequently. Soon I hope. He has started clutching my shirt when I pick him up and tracking some with his eyes. The next month is going to bring lots more changes and I can't wait to see how much he has grown when we head back to the doctor February 1st.

Herding Cats Would Be Easier

So we all know I like difficult things. Ok not really but I love the idea of this tradition we started a few years ago. It's called the cousin couch shot. The more kids that get added the worse it becomes but some day these pictures will be laughed over and maybe shared at a reunion or two. Some factors that determine success, because we have had success, is time of day, amount of food consumed just prior to the shot, and quickness of the grown-ups whose job it is to toss kids on couch and get out of the way. Things did not go well at the most recent attempt: Marbut Family Christmas 2009. (ages of children involved range from 4 weeks to almost 10)

picture #1- not bad but not everyone is there and Finn and William have fingers in inappropriate places


I changed positions in the room and in my haste to snap quickly I did not realize I was getting great Allie shots and not great group shots, oh well.


My best picture since every kid's head is visible but now three of the kids have finger to nose connections ( I don't believe all three were actually digging, just looks that way)


Not all of the kids but William really digs this couch shot anyway


Rubbing a baby's head is supposed to bring good luck right?


Wynn was completely enamored with "baby" and kept finding him the whole night


These last two are just for Brittany who complained she has never made my blog!

Christmas Day

This will be a pic heavy post, way pic heavy. Then I will have one more Christmas related one and the big birthday post, and then I will be finishing off that darn photo challenge at simply snapped. Gosh I will be happy to be done with that terrible idea. Kudos to Erica for finishing up today. I plan to have everything posted by midnight tomorrow but Chloe is under the weather so I am running in circles trying to keep her away from Hutch.

On Christmas morning they hit the ground running at around 6 am. Or was it 6:30? I must have been tired because I don't remember exactly. What I do remember is how excited they were when they were coming out of their room. I hope they never ever lose the Christmas spirit or the wonder of the magic that surrounds the holidays.

trying hard not to peek as they come in to see what Santa brought



posing with the bags Santa left--he sure is a crafty fellow using those big bags to "wrap" things that are difficult to conceal


stockings first


Finn helping Chloe see what is in her bag (When she finally saw what was inside, she kept saying "It's just what I wanted". Made my day a million times over.


a big wooden stable? cool!


silly hat obsession rears its ugly head


Hutch slept through the morning's festivities but when he did wake up he was overjoyed that Santa had remembered him too even though he forgot to mail his letter.


Sleeping Beauty takes a ride on Clippy the pony


Christmas really wears a girl out

After lunch and lots of playing we headed over to the house of the Granddaddy who lives in Andalusia for another round of fun.


Opening up a new baby to love


Hey! Who put my tights on backwards?


I see you Mommy, now get that camera outta my face!


Finn opening presents and loving it!

Christmas Eve

After the Santa cookie decorating, we got cleaned up and dressed up for church. We have a come and go communion service that we go to before we head to eat dinner at the gray house. This year we changed things up just a bit by allowing the girls to open some presents after dinner. They were really thankful we did.


gotta take the group shots (although we did not get one with the older family members that were present--ooops!)


is there anything cuter?


I don't think I want to see what is inside.....


cozy pj's, yippeee!


play money for her pay machine (cash register)



Farkalee faces thanks to TeeTee's gift of makeup

Traditions on Christmas Eve

matching pj's


hot chocolate and candy canes while listening to Jeremy read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the birth of Jesus in Luke Chapter 2



*****Christmas Day and a very special birthday coming in the next post**********