Living A Child's Christmas Dream

There was a time in my life that having a 12’ blow-up of Santa and Frosty in our front yard would have seemed unimaginable. But with four children in the household, we’re quickly learning that bringing a smile to one of our kiddos faces is more important than being embarrassed by a decoration in our yard. As Christmas approaches, the boys continue to get a little more wound up each day. We continue to talk about how the day is more about celebrating the birth of Jesus than what Santa is bringing. Sometimes I feel like we’re getting through (when Ben randomly sings Happy Birthday to Jesus or Sam sets up the nativity scene) and sometimes I know I’m not (when both children are talking to our Elf on Shelf requesting gift after gift).

Tonight the boys were especially wild in their room. Each and every time that I went in there, they were peering out the window at the blow-up of Santa and Frosty. It wasn’t until I unplugged them (and they dropped sadly to the ground) did the boys decide to go to bed themselves.

But regardless of all this exhausting insanity, this is a wonderful and exciting time of year. 



Pajama Day

Today is pajama day at St. Luke’s Day School.  Sam decided he wanted to wear his new Christmas pjs, and Ben followed suit.  What a festive way to start the day!

Winter Hats

Kyra Bowman’s (a wonderful woman at SLDS) mom made these fabulous hats for the twins.  I’ve loved them from the moment I pulled them out of the gift bag.  But in true Texas form, it’s been too hot to wear them.  Fortunately, we’ve been able to put them to good use over the past few days.  Adorable! 

Thanksgiving Day in Houston

We have so much to be thankful for this year: four healthy children, amazing family and wonderful friends.  Because of the twins, we opted to purchase our dinner this year and I think it might be a new tradition.  Instead of slaving away in the kitchen, we spent our time enjoying each other.  Special thanks to my mom, dad and Aunt D for all your help with the kiddos and for making this a wonderful (and relaxed) 1^st Thanksgiving for the twins.  

Pre-K Thanksgiving Day Feast

On Tuesday, Scott and I were lucky enough to have lunch with Sam and the rest of the Pre-K students at St. Luke’s Day School.  We dined on delicious, homemade turkey day dishes while laughing at hilarious conversations with Sam and his classmates.  It was a wonderful time.

The G Babies

Our sweet friend Allison (who also has a G Baby…Garrett) gave the twins these adorable his and her "G" shirts.  We love them!

VIDEO: Grace and Graham Have Serious Head Control!

We're having a blast with Grace and Graham.  Each day we work on head control.  They can only last a few minutes in the Bumbo seat but it's a good break from hour on hours of tummy time. It's amazing how far they've come in 3 short months!

All in the Family

We love it when family comes to visit!  Last night Lou came to meet the babies.  She was in Houston the weekend before they were born but they were stubborn and refused to come out and meet her.  After hanging out with the kiddos for a bit, Lou, Deta & Mike treated me (minus the kiddos…a rare and quiet experience) to a Mexican dinner.  It was a wonderful night with family!

Constant Entertainment

The twins are so fun to be around right now.  They are laughing, smiling and trying their best to talk.  Sam & Ben love this and hop around singing and dancing in hopes of getting as many smiles as possible out of each one.  As expected, Grace & Graham don’t miss a single beat as their eyes follow every move.  It’s wonderful to watch this interaction as a mother.   

Sleepy Times

When you are one of four children, you learn quickly how to sleep whenever and wherever you can.  It’s amazing what these two sweet babies can sleep through!

Sam's Drawings

As I mentioned in a previous post, the boys are very interested in art right now. Here are two pictures that Sam created yesterday. The first is one he made for Ben’s teacher, Ms. Faruolo. Ben and Sam see each other on the playground everyday. According to Sam, this is Ben’s favorite thing to play with/on. The second is my self portrait. I love that he still sees me with two babies in my belly. But the best part is that he made sure to point out to me that the baby with the larger head is Grace. Sorry Grace but sometimes the truth hurts!

Ben on firetruck at St. Luke's Day School

Mom with the twins in her tummy

Go Horned Frogs!

We absolutely love watching our Horned Frogs play football this year.  And now that the boys have Andy Dalton jerseys (thanks Mimi & Pop), Sam & Ben can cheer them on in style.  Now the only problem that we have is trying to keep the jerseys clean so they can be worn multiple times throughout the week.  Ra Ra TCU! 

Art Time

Sometime over the past month, Ben became obsessed with coloring and drawing.  It is fun to see what he creates (Sam too) and I never grow tired of hearing the boys’ descriptions of their drawings.      

Tummy Time

While Scott was putting Ben to bed after baths, Sam helped me entertain the twins.  The babies did tummy time in their cribs while Sam sang songs and made funny faces.  As you can see, they thoroughly enjoyed the show.  What a great big brother.

Happy Halloween

The Sheehan Family had a wonderful Halloween!

We had dinner and trick or treated with the Anthony and Faulk Family. It was A LOT of kids to keep track of but even the little ones enjoyed going door to door for candy.

Scott will receive his Father of the Year award later today for dressing as Buzz Lightyear. He decided to not wear it for the trip around the neighborhood but the excitement on two little boys faces when he put it on earlier in the day made a little personal embarrassment all worth it.

Grace & Graham hung out in the Baby Bjorns most of the night and were SO exhausted from the night’s festivities that they slept 11 ½ and 10 hours, respectively.

What a great way to kick of the year’s festivities!