Sledding

We had our second snow day (1/26/13) and luckily it was a Saturday so B was home with us to play.  He and the kids were outside for a while sledding in the street and in the front yard.  I didn't take too many pictures but I did get videos of all the fun!

Siblings

I've been really bad about posting during the week (or really this month).  It's hard for me to get motivated after putting the kids to bed at 8pm.  I've posted like 5 or 6 today during their nap time, while I'm home from school because of a 4 hour early dismissal.  I had to hook up my camera and B's phone just to get all the pictures.  It's worth it though to document the things we do and our pictures.

I picked Siblings as this title because I just wanted to express how I love love love that my kids love each other.  They are each unique and special, but enjoy one other and know that family comes first!  Here's an update of each child:

Rin (4) loves learning.  She's super excited about starting Kindergarten next school year.  She is starting to read and can carry on a great phone conversation.  She's also turning into a little polite lady and crosses her legs when sitting in her car seat.  She's very kind and loving and I already see a sweet innocent pure heart in her.

Abe (3) is energetic and fun.  He's all boy and rambunctious.  He started gymnastics and really excels physically and athletically.  He's definitely fearless and will jump off anything at any height.  Mom gets nervous at playgrounds!  His best-friend is Grayson and says he wants to marry mommy.  One of my favorite things is when we watch Spider-man, he wants to sit next to me.  He's not big on holding my head, but wants to be near me and that's enough for me right now! 


Wes (20 months) is talking up a storm.  His favorite word is 'no' but he's very funny when he says 'yeah'.  Wes loves to wrestle with Abe and roll around on the floor with Cooper.  His favorite characters are Diego and Mickey Mouse.  He wants very badly to keep up with big kids, but sometimes he's just too small.  When we go to the playground, he loves to swing.  Wes loves babies and I'm very happy about that fact!


Here are some pictures from our first month of 2013.  A lot of changes will be happening in the next several months and we are looking forward to what God has planned for the Hantla Clan!

R holding Anna Kate

R holding W

Rin is getting prepared to be a big sister again!  

Quick date for mommy and daddy

Daddy playing horsey

walking into church

A little taste of home

Every Easter Grandmalupe makes us beignets.  They are small bite-size ones covered in powder sugar and yummy!  We decided we wanted to make some for dinner one night so we borrowed Jen's fryer and got ready to get messy.

Jen and the girls came over for breakfast for dinner that night and after the kids ate all the sugar, we had to dance some to release some of their energy.  B made some great beignets, but not as good as Grandmalupe!

January Date Night

Landon, Logan, Lincoln, Cooper, Rin, Wes, Bella, Julia, Wesley, Abe

January was our month to host small group date night.  Since December, we've had another couple join with 3 boys.  We were expecting 13 kids, but the Caldwell boys got sick:(  We only had 10!

Kids started arriving a little after 5 and we had everyone by 6.  We played for a little while, colored, and took a group picture before dinner.  For dinner we served mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, and trail-mix for dessert.  During dinner B got all the kids to play the quiet game.  It was so quiet and hilarious all at the same time.

After dinner the kids danced before watching a movie, The Incredibles.  Parents started to pick their kids up a bit after 8pm and all were gone by 8:30.  It was a fun evening and really not a big deal.  We look forward to 3/4 months of dates when other couples get to watch our bundles of joy:)

Abe Lincoln

movie time

Puzzles

Jan 17, 2013

One thing I love doing with the kids is puzzle time.  All 3 of my kids enjoy taking the time to put togethera puzzle.  One evening while B was in class, we decided to have some puzzle time at the kitchen table.  R is at the 100 piece level, A is at the 48 piece, and W does the wooden ones still.  Here's a few pictures and short video of puzzle time in the Hantla house.

48 piece spiderman puzzle

100 piece princess puzzle

wooden puzzle with sounds

Snow Day 2013

For the past 2 Fridays, we've had some snow.  It's not been a lot, but enough to start school 2 hours late on the 18th and get out 4 hours early on the 25th.  The kids were really excited about playing even though it was mostly ice.  It's super cold, so I'm fine if this is all the snow we get for the rest of the winter!

W-20 months, R-4 years 4 months, A-3 years 2 months

This boy loves the bath-tub

Anytime we start the water for bath time, W comes running.  We barely have enough time to take his clothes off before he climbs in.  Well last night, B started the water and I had R & A with me.  I asked him if he had W and he did not.  This is where we found him....

Boomer Sooner

The Hantla's are huge OU fans.  I know Christopher went there for maybe a semester, but then transferred.  Norman is about an hour away from Edmond and they've all been to OU home games.  Of course, I love football, so we watch OU and LSU as much as we can.

For Christmas, Gran and Papaw got all the kids some OU gear.  W & A both got jersey's and R got a cute little cheerleader outfit complete with bloomers!  Friday, Jan. 4 was OU's bowl game (the cotton bowl) so our kids dressed for the occasion.  The game started at 8, so we let R stay up a little bit later to watch with her daddy.  I fixed crack dip and soda all ready for the game!

ready for the game

snuggling with her daddy under the OU blanket

7 years

7 years ago I married my bestfriend.  2 degrees, 3.5 kids, a dog and a mini-van later, we're still happy and crazy about each other. 

Santa Visit

We visited Santa again in Rolesville one evening in December.  I can't remember the date, but I remember W being very weary and not at all liking the idea of sitting with Santa alone.  I had to hold him and then B was able to get a good shot.

Christmas 2012

 I'll attempt to recap our Christmas vacation and the travels.

We started our holiday with a Christmas exchanged with the Gillams on December 21st.  Keith, Jenni, and the girls came over for dinner and presents.  They gave R the Brave Movie so we watched a bit of that before bedtime.  Chris and Heather were also in town to visit his family so they spent some of the afternoon/evening with us as well.  After getting kids down, B & I spent the rest of the evening packing and getting ready for our 2 day trip to Katy, TX. 

We left at 3:30 am Saturday morning and drove all day.  We arrived in Hattiesburg Saturday afternoon around 4:00 and then went to visit Granddad in the hospital.  He had a knee replacement earlier that week and was still recovering.

Granddad had picked up a gift for each of the kids and they opened them while in the hospital.  We had dinner at home with AC, Uncle B, Aunt A, and Olivia.  Gram was able to join us for a short while before heading back to the hospital.  Our travels started the following day when we left at 5:30am with our destination for Texas.

It seems like forever but we finally got to Paul & Anna's house around 3pm Sunday afternoon.  Everyone was excited to see each other and the kids were very happy to see their cousins.  The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing and talking with the family which included a walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.

before church 12/24/12

Grandkids after church 12/24/12

To take each day of the week would take forever but I'll hit the highlights.  Christmas Eve we went to a 3:30 pm service at P/A's church, Kingland Baptist.  The service was very nice and I was happy with out well the kids behaved.  We had Vicki's mac/cheese for dinner and then finished with a story.Christmas morning was exciting and a bit hectic.  We started with stockings, then breakfast, then presents.  Here are some pictures courtesy of Aunt Mo :)

After opening everything, the cousins spent a little time outside playing.  Again, thanks to Aunt Mo for taking pictures of these precious moments!

Marcus and Mandy had to leave Christmas evening (sad) but were getting ready for their ski trip to Colorado (fun).  Wednesday our group headed to IKEA for lunch and a bit of shopping. Wednesday night we dined at a local Mexican restaurant.  Thursday we went to the Katy Mills Mall so the kids could play.  Ginger bread houses and trains were assembled Thursday evening.

IKEA lunch

Snack at Katy Mills Mall

Houses and Trains

We had to leave Friday around lunch-time to head back to Mississippi before the long haul to NC.  After getting stuck in some traffic near Baton Rouge, we made it to Pass Christian around 8pm.  We tried to eat some and then the kids opened a few gifts from Nana & Tata. 

Saturday morning we met Grandmalupe at IHOP for breakfast before getting back on the road for North Carolina.  It was a long long day, but B is such a trooper.  He drove the entire time and finally pulled into our driveway at 11pm.


Our great friends brought us breakfast from McDonald's before church Sunday.  We had no groceries and I wasn't going at midnight either!  The Gillams are awesome and best friends.