Parr Christmas

   The day after Christmas, we went over to Susan and Rolf's (Granny and Grandpa's) and the whole family got together to open presents.  This was our family's third day of opening presents.  So all 20 of us gathered and exchanged gifts.  This is a lot better on all of us.  It makes the anticipation of opening presents come again and everyone isn't so tired.  

Jewell's first Parr Christmas

Ellie and Liz

Aunt Becca holding Jewell looking at the Christmas village.

We all crowded into the basement to open gifts.
It's hard to fit all 20 of us anywhere.

Grandpa the reindeer 

Christmas Day

    Our first Christmas with the four of us together was great!   Just like when I was a kid, I was the first one up.  I woke up and fed Jewell at about 6:30.  She went right back to sleep, as usual.  I logged onto the computer and saw Kim was on Skype at about 8:00.  Kim and I were laughing about how I was the only one up.  We chatted for a while and finally around 8:30 or 9:00, Kyle woke up, then Jewell, and shortly after Liz woke up.  

    It was so fun watch my kids open their gifts and laugh.  Having a baby with us added a new dimension to our Christmas.  She found so much joy in just opening the packages.  She didn't really care about what was inside, but ripping the paper was great fun!

Parr family Christmas Eve night before church.

Merry Christmas!  Let's open our stockings first!

 

Liz helped Jewell open her presents and
let Jewell help her open her presents.
The tearing of paper brought a lot of giggles.

The paper was just as good, if not better than any present!

Poston Christmas

This slinky is great fun for Jewell to watch.
What a great stocking stuffer.

Jewell LOVES all bouncers.  She has strong legs.
This one is so quiet compared to ours.

Kyle is helping Jewell open a present.
Plus, she is having fun playing with the paper. 

We were all gathering in the living room
to open presents.
Grandpa Bob is holding Jewell as she bounces.  

Once again, we tried to get a picture of my kids and the twins.
Hmm... I'm not sure what it will take
to get Bobby and Eva to smile while Liz and Jewell do.

Bobby and Eva open a stationary bike.
It's the unwrapping that is the great fun though.

I made Bobby & Eva chocolate  chip cookies.
The chips smeared on their faces showed
how much they loved them. :-)
What was really funny was my brother trying to
get some cookies from them.

Mom and Dad got Liz a Kindle Fire.
She has all ready been using it a lot.
She will be able to download
college text books.

Eva is trying to ride her new "bike."

Big sister

Jewell has been showing a lot of expression
and thought by moving her tongue around.
It is so funny to watch.

       It brings me such wonderful joy to see how much Liz loves Jewell and plays with her.  She is such a great big sister.  She plays with Jewell, comforts her, helps her learn, makes her laugh a lot, and does so much for Jewell.  We couldn't have a better big sister. :-)

Liz is holding the cat to try to get Jewell to crawl toward it.
Jewell loves to pet/grab the cat's fur.

Liz is great at helping Jewell stand and bounce herself.

Jewell may not be crawling yet, but she is good at
rolling from her belly to her back.

Decorating the tree

Hmm... What is mommy doing here?  

These lights are great to look at!  Wow, there's so many color!

Even Clark the deer has an ornament to add to
the Christmas decor of our house.

Tree hunting

   The Parr family Christmas tree hunt tradition was today.  Kevin & Rebecca, the Edlins, Susan & Rolf, and our family all went with our families to the Meyer Christmas Tree Farm up the road to hunt down the perfect tree.  This was the best weather in years that we have had for our Christmas tree hunt.  It was nice to only need a heavy sweatshirt to stay warm. Many years I have shivered the whole time while looking for a tree.   I think about 50 degrees is the high for the day.

Granny has Jewell as she shows Rolf
3 or 4 trees to choose from.

Kyle, Liz, Jewell, and I all wondered around looking for a spruce tree.
  There's a lot of ground to cover at the tree farm,
but Kyle had scoped it out a lot since it is his favorite place to hunt.

Big sis is trying to help Jewell see
the beauty of her first Christmas tree.

Our senior beauty

We found it!  Our spruce tree is getting cut down by Kyle
 while Liz is helping to push it down.

Avocado

Yesterday, I made some avocado baby food.  Jewell seemed to like the taste and texture of it.  She held a spoon in each hand as I fed her with a different spoon.  She kind of looked like she had bright green boogers all over her face by time she was done eating.  Today, she seemed to like the avocados even more. :-)

Thanksgiving

Liz helped finish the deviled eggs because I was sick.  

Jewell watched us cook in the kitchen.

Jewell's first Thanksgiving meal being fed to her by GiGi.

  This was Jewell's first Thanksgiving Day.  I know I am so thankful to have my husband, Liz, and my precious baby.  I consider both of my girls miracles and gifts handed to me from God.
   Liz helped finish the deviled eggs I had started the night before because I was sick.  Plus, she made homemade mashed potatoes.

 

Can you tell that Daddy
 dressed Jewell this morning?

We had lunch with the Parr family at 12PM and dinner with the Gates family at 5PM.

Jewell especially loved the Parrs singing
songs of thanks and praise together.

My beautiful happy girls at Aunt Laura's house
 for the Gate's Thanksgiving.

Here are the Poston grand kids.
We tried to get Eva in it too,
but she wouldn't join them.

 

Jump Up

Jewell played in her Jenny Jump Up today and liked it.  We have put her in it a couple of times before and she has acted like it was torture.  Since she is loving to stand and bounce while we support her right now, I thought I'd give it another try.  She loved it for about 5 minutes.  She is getting so strong.  I think she will continue to like this.  

I also took her out to the trampoline again.  I have an adventuresome child.  She loves to bounce on it.  It is really fun now that she can bounce herself a little.  The higher she goes the more she giggles.  We keep her head stable and bounce her around.

Week by week, month by month

Just born May 19, 2011, at 10:31PM
5 pounds, 15 ounces; 19.5 inches long

Wow! My first look at my little baby!

What an indescribable joy!

Proud parents of a baby girl!

Liz was so excited to hold Jewell for the first time.
It made me cry tears of joy.  She is  such a great big sister.

Jewell is holding my hand at just 2 weeks old. :-)
What a wonderful bond I feel with her!
6 pounds, 8 ounces; 20.5 inches long

4 weeks old
7 pounds, 15 ounces; 21.25 inches

4 weeks old
Daddy is having fun making Jewell giggle.

6 weeks
Isn't Jewell a beautiful model?

8 weeks:  9 pounds, 3 ounces
Jewell has been a blessing from day one.  She is a happy girl who sleeps well.

10 weeks
10 pounds, 2 ounces; 23.5 inches

3 months
I LOVE this swing!

4 months: 11.97 pounds
I like to roll and sing with mom in her bed.  We have fun singing our alphabet and counting everyday.
Plus, we sing songs about God and Bible stories.
(We've been singing these songs since I came home from the hospital.)

5 months
Eating my first solid food- bananas.  I love them! Yum, yum, yum...

5.5 months
Riding a rooster at Huber's Family Fun Farm.

6 months
Jewell is now doing great with her tummy time.
She is rolling over from her belly to her back great!
Plus, she is working on starting to crawl with a little help from me.
I got so excited when she moved forward a little bit so she could grab a toy!

6 months
She loves this bouncer and it is helping to make her so strong.
It is helping her learn to turn her body and make those legs extra strong!