The end to a great year

We are officially "old" and were in bed before midnight! So although we didn't technically see the year's end, we still had a great year to reflect on. We definitely didn't have any big changes like last year (a new baby and a new house) but we cherished the special moments we had as our family has grown together and we have settled into a routine. We had two siblings get married, one have their third baby, and one announce they are expecting a baby so still an exciting year. Matt had another wonderful year with his practice and I am loving working three days a week. Hadley finished 3 year old preschool, started 4 year old preschool, played soccer, and continued taking dance. She got her ears pierced (and didn't even flinch) and wants to grow her hair like Rapunzels. She talks ALL the time and has the best (and loudest) laugh I have ever heard. We finished reading through her entire childrens bible and she is maturing into such a sweet, sensitive little girl. Hudson learned to walk, celebrated his first birthday, and is quickly showing us he may be the class clown. He loves to cuddle but only for a moment because there is usually something he wants to demolish or climb. He is our wonderful sleeper, sleeping until 7 in the morning and a 3 hour nap almost every day. He started mother's day out for the first time in September and after a rough couple months he finally loves going and playing with all the other kids. We could not have asked for a better year and thank God that he has blessed us so incredibly! We cannot wait to see what 2012 holds for our family and friends...

Another Holloman get-together!

Erin and Tim had the Bohannon, Holloman, McCullough clan over to their house on the 26th for one last Christmas celebration. We had sandwiches, snacks, and a whole lot of desserts. With a house full of kids it was loud and so much fun! Here are some pictures from the afternoon.

The whole group:

Hudson's buddy, Mallory:
Trey and Jennifers baby girl, Avery:

Hudson was happy to have stripped his pants off and loved being the center of attention:

Sweet Kase is 6 weeks older than Hudson and I am expecting lots of trouble out of these two!

Snow Tubing

Ryan and Matt took Peyton and Hadley to the Bricktown Ballpark to take the girls snow-tubing. Each winter they set up a couple slopes for the kids and you pay for two hours of tubing and you get to go down as many times as you can. The girls had a blast and I know next year Hudson will be tagging right along.

Ryan and the girls

Daddy and his girl
Peyton getting on the tube

Hadley's turn

Daddy followed right behind Hadley and took a video of her

Hadley with Aunt Lisa
Peyton and her daddy
A little worn out!
She didn't even wake up from the car to the couch...

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

One last picture of the Christmas tree and presents before Santa's arrival:

Santa made his arrival and the kids were THRILLED! So when it came down to pictures or video we opted to video tape the morning so that we could capture the kids (especially Hadley's this year) reactions and screams. Therefore, I hardly have any pictures from the morning but here are just a few:

Hadley is our practical child and always wants the easiest gifts. Last year the ONLY thing she wanted was a booster car seat. Easy enough! This year...a tinkerbell sweatshirt and a barbie suitcase. She found both of these early in the fall and it never changed all the way until Christmas. Needless to say, she got way more than she needed or even asked for but it was so wonderful to see her excitement and even appreciation for all her new toys and clothes! Hudson was a little overwhelmed with his new toys in the beginning but has since started playing with all of them. Because of his love of destruction we got him lots of toys with hammers, balls, bats, etc...

After we opened all of our gifts we made our way to Lolly and Pop's house for Christmas lunch. It was much more quiet this year since it was not the year for Amy and her family and Drew and his family to come to Oklahoma. We missed them so much but still had a wonderful time celebrating Christ's birth with Lolly, Pops, Erin, Tim, and Nana! We had a fabulous lunch prepared by Lynn and enjoyed the afternoon together unwrapping gifts (spoiled once again), eating, and playing with the kids. Lolly and Pops then watched the kids for us so that Tim, Erin, Matt, and I could go to the movie together. After the movie we picked up the kids and only 2 minutes into the drive we saw this:
I am so sad that Christmas is over. Despite all the chaos, I love all the family time it brings and kids have made the holiday even more exciting. I, for one, am dreading taking the Christmas down and may be leaving it up a couple more weeks!

Santa's Key

Hadley was a little concerned about how Santa would make it down our fireplace. And because we don't ever want to lose sight of the fact that Jesus is why we get to celebrate this wonderful holiday I decided to make this sign to put on our door for Santa Christmas Eve:

Here are some pictures of Hadley and Daddy making cupcakes for Santa. Hadley thought it would be more fun to make him cupcakes because she thought he would get pretty tired of cookies!

Hudson decided to join in on the fun.

Hadley may not be thrilled someday that I posted this picture but I thought it was so cute.

It became a mess VERY quickly!

Hudson went to bed a little to early so Hadley took some pictures with the cupcakes and milk that she set out for Santa. She was so proud!

And finally, the reindeer HAD to have a snack also so they could find their way to our house. Hadley really thought she saw them flying our way after she put the food out and she was quick to go to bed.

I got to sleep with Hadley to make sure she didn't catch Santa in the night and it was so fun to cuddle with her all night. I love all the Christmas traditions with our children and we cherish every moment!

Christmas Eve

My mom hosted a fabulous Christmas celebration once again. Each year gets a little more hectic with another child added to the mix but only makes it more fun. Unfortunately, Hudson was just a little overwhelmed with all the presents, commotion, and constant attention from his cousins that he had a few (and by a few I mean a lot) of meltdowns. But we made it through and still had quite a successful night. The kids (and Matt and I) walked away with WAY more presents than they needed as well as overstuffed bellies. I wish I had taken a picture of all the food but I at least managed to get a few pictures from the night.

Hadley and Hudson both trying their first pistachio. Hudson was a big fan and pretty much finished off the bowl.

Hudson loves anything that sings and dances and has a few dance moves to add to the mix. We listened to Frosty the Snowman several times!

Hadley and Hudson greeting everyone at the door:

Showing us his teeth!
Here are the girls doing their own present exchange.


Hudson loved tearing into the wrapping paper!

Pretty excited about his new firehouse.
And Hadley was excited to show off her new art set

Time for presents from Mama and Papa
Love their faces here. The way to Hadley's heart is make-up, shoes, and clothes!

We had a great night. We played LRC (left-right-center) which I would highly recommend at a family function. No pictures but so much fun!!!