december already...

and I'm still writing October on my the three checks I write per month! I'm taking a quick break from decking the halls around the Lyons' Den to knock the cobwebs off this blog. I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was wonderful. All things considered, ours was good. We have a new little niece {Charlotte Grace} who decided November 24th was a far better birth date than her originally planned due date of February 22nd. She is doing remarkably well, breathing on her own, steadily increasing her breast milk consumption while decreasing her IV nutrition at the same time and gaining weight like a champ.

So, with Miss Charlotte's unexpected arrival, I headed down to Houston Tuesday morning to help Katie and Aaron with whatever I could while they were wrapping their heads around what is to come over the next few months.


Baby's first ornament! He rode down with me.

Lynn and the kids went on with our original plans for the holiday. He took them to Great Wolf Lodge on Tuesday night and then headed on to San Angelo Wednesday for a weekend with all the grandparents and Aunt Beth, Uncle Cody and Uncle Patrick too. That weekend marked the first time I have ever been away from my boys for more than two nights and I'd never been away from Molly over night ever. It's been a really long time since I've been away from Lynn for more than two or three nights for that matter. When I finally caught back up with my little family late Saturday evening, the kids were all about two inches taller, everyone was counting in spanish, Molly was singing the alphabet song without omitting J or making up the LMNOP part with silly noises. Thankfully (for my momma ego) everyone was super happy to see me and a little bit clingy too (that did my momma heart good).

Now we're on the Christmas fasttrack making stuff, shopping for gifts, making more stuff, plus it snowed today! It was a nice surprise for the boys and is a perfect excuse for hot chocolate after school today.