Tis' the Season....for Taking Way Too Many Pictures!!!!

The month of December goes by way too fast when you have little ones. I'm sad that Christmas is almost here because I'm not ready for it to end yet.  As usual, I don't have much time for chatting. Just wanted to had some pictures and spread some Holiday cheer. xoxo

Kicking off the Holiday Season.....

...... Boland Style!!!!

Its officially my favorite time of year!!!

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house. It was great and I finally got to use the china I got when Ben and I got married.  We had about 20 people and the most delish meal I have had in months. The babies loved it because they were SPOILED ROTTEN all day long by everyone. I think it was the best Thanksgiving I can remember having. I did learn that hosting is a lot of work, especially when you have 3 little turkeys of your own.

My favorite Thanksgiving decor!

 Ben and Zach with the Turkey they fried...mmm mmm!!

Here we are with Nana, Grandpa, and Aunt Laura (who has her Reece Piece of course)

Ben's Aunt Beth has a tradition of giving all the nieces and nephews a Christmas ornament every year on Thanksgiving. The ornaments are always great but this year she really knocked it out of the park. It even made me cry.  Check it out.....a mama duck and her 3 baby ducks.......couldn't be more perfect! I LOVE IT.

We have had lots of firsts lately, including our 1st ponytail!!!!! Oh, and this could be my favorite picture I have ever taken of Louise. That closed mouth smile makes me melt...

 

I think the helmet make a perfect frame for her new ponytail!

And this is what her hair looks like when we take it out.......YIKES!!!!

 

We also now have a WALKING baby on our hands.... Its Charlie! I'll try to get up a video soon.

 As for the tooth count, Reece is creeping up on Charlie and may have more teeth than him soon!

And she's also been doing plenty of reading out loud...even if she is the only person who speaks that particular language!!!

The Holiday season also has us getting creative with baby proofing.......

No grippys on the bottom of the pjs that fit my peanuts.......but puff paint does the job

Who ever thought a yardstick would be such a life saver

And while Reece and Louise are busy looking at pictures and reading, Charlie likes to play a game called "Don't Stop Until all of the Books are Off of the Shelf"

Happy 4th

4 years ago I married a guy from Little Mountain, SC. We were young, in love and ready to face the world together. Out of all of our friends, we were the 1st to get married.  Ben was still in college, I was working as a nanny. Our biggest worry was where everyone would meet up for "Thirsty Thursday". We were always down for anything.......as long as we were together.

WELL, WHAT A DIFFERENCE 4 YEARS CAN MAKE......

So much has changed in our lives. Our responsibilities are overwhelming. Day to day life is challenging to say the least with 3 young babies. We have learned that parenting is one of the hardest parts of marriage. Even though things have changed a bit I think the same core principle holds true. We can do anything......as long as we're together.

Happy 4th Anniversary Ben!!! I love you so much!!! This year, we can say we have more years under our belt than children.  Hooray!!!

Call me crazy, but i like to celebrate my anniversary in my wedding dress (its no crazier than those "trash the dress" pictures people are doing these days).  I don't think the most expensive item of clothing I've ever owned should only be worn once. I happen to LOVE that dress so I wear it. Unfortunately, the milk factory I had going on this time last year didn't allow me to zip my dress. So needless to say, I was super pumped to wear it this year. Matter of fact, this dress is going to have quite a story one day. This year I made Tabbouleh, changed diapers, fed babies and even went to supper club in my wedding dress. Charlie even chewed on the buttons.....

Happy Halloween

Reece

Louise

Tricked out the helmet for the occassion.

Charlie

Our very own pumpkin patch.

It took 2 farmers to grow this pumkin patch!

Pumpkin Patch & a Bubble Bath!!!!

Last week was a very long week for all of us. Reece and Charlie had the croup, and to make matters even worse Charlie had an ear infection, too! All 3 noses were snotty. Louise stayed fairly well, which was good because she had a big day Thursday, with a CT scan in the morning followed by a meeting with Dr. Troup in Greenville. The CT showed that the growth plates in her skull are staying open since her surgery. This is good news on the crainosynostosis front. We were also hoping to hear that the ventricles inside her brain had shrunk in size (this is the hydrocephalus), however, we found out that they are still "huge" and the possibility of putting in a shunt to help drain the extra fluid out of those ventricles is still on the table.  If putting in a shunt happens, that could undo the work we have done to help correct her skull shape with the helmet.  So pretty much, Louise is still in need of prayers. Dr. Troup put it best: "She's not out of the woods, but she is stable for now." To me, that sounds like a good report.

Needless to say, after spending everyday in a Dr's office for a week straight with a different child, by Friday we needed a little "pick me up". We went to the pumpkin patch and had a blast. The babes loved climbing over all the pumpkins. Getting out of the house was just what we needed. We ended the day with the babe's favorite pastime.....a bubble bath.

Louise was found her pumpkin!

Reece loved them all....And Charlie wanted every pumpkin he touched.

We explained to Louise that this one was more her size!

Reece was over it!

And Charlie was hungry (what a surprise)

Bathtime for Reece (with a bubble bow!)

And Charlie

And Splashing Weesie!!!