LouLou and Bean are Four Months Old!

I can't believe it has been four months already! At their four month check-up, Lourdes is up to 11 pounds and is 22.5 inches long. Sabine is 9 pounds 12 ounces and 21.75 inches. Keep up the good work, cuties! Oh, and Sabine can hold herself up just fine, but for these pictures we had to prop her against Lourdes because the second we put her on her tummy she immediately rolls herself over to her back.

How cute are these kids!

Christmas Gifts from the Aunts and Uncles

Every year, the Manning Aunts and Uncles pool together money to give each of the nieces and nephews some Christmas gifts. Then the parents of each child purchase the gifts and bring them to Christmas Eve for the kids to open. That way the Aunts and Uncles are able to see each of the gifts and the kids can thank them in person. Well this year due to space constraints in the Odyssey, we had to leave the gifts in Chicago for the kids to open when we returned. Finn received an awesome kitchen and the girls got a whole new 0-3 month wardrobe. Here are a few shots of the kids modeling their presents. Big thanks to all who contributed!

Finn is quite the chef!

Mom wishes she could rock jeggings like Sabine can!

Lourdes' chubby wubby thighs look better in cords, not that there is anything wrong with that.

Love these warm pjs!

Play Date With Jillian

Before we headed back to Chicago, we spent the afternoon of the 30th with the Mudra's so that Finn and Jillian could hang out and exchange presents while the adults caught up. Even though poor Jillian was a bit under the weather, they still had a great time running around together. Hopefully Joe, Kris and Jillian can make the trip out to Chicago very soon!

Christmas Day!

Christmas Day we woke up at Monna's house, dressed the kids in their Christmas duds, and headed to Mansfield to spend the day with the Kline side of the family.

Before we left Gigi and Papa's house on the 23rd, Finny made Papa promise to leave out milk and some of the cut-out cookies he made by the fireplace for Santa. The first thing Finn did when we arrived on Christmas morning was to run to the fireplace only to discover that Santa had eaten all his cookies, save a few crumbs, drank his milk and in their place left a BOAT for Finnegan, some stacking rings for Lourdes, and a car for Sabine. The boat was exactly what Finny had asked for and the tweenies were pretty fascinated by the car that makes popping noises as it rolls.

We took a break from present opening to visit with Grandpa Ray. Lourdes and Sabine got lots of cuddles and Grandpa brought Chip and Dale stuffed animals for Finn.

Finnegan had a hand in unwrapping almost every present that was given that day.

Over Thanksgiving when the Kline's visited, Joe wore his holiest pair of socks. Consequently, EVERYONE got him socks for Christmas this year.

Because Finn likes to bird watch with Papa and Gigi, they got him a sweet pair of binoculars.

Gigi must have been good this year.

Jen modeling the gloves Gigi knitted for her.

Towards the end of gift opening, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Ray, Katelyn and Nate stopped by to see the kids. Lourdes made it worth their while by showing them how she had learned to roll over from tummy to back only the night before. Then Sabine, not to be outdone, rolled over during Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, we didn't capture that on camera. I can't believe how big these girls are getting!

Lou is determined.

Mid-roll

And over she goes...

After all the excitement, the girls needed to catch some zzzz's.

Gigi and Finny modeling the matching aprons they received from Aunt Jen. Needless to say, everyone had a WONDERFUL Christmas.

Christmas Eve!

The Manning Christmas Eve was once again graciously hosted by Monna and Jim. It was such a great time. It was the first Christmas that Finn really understood that he would be receiving presents and got excited about it. It was so much fun to watch! After the presents were unwrapped, Finn had a blast playing with all of his cousins and testing out their new toys. I barely saw the child the rest of the night. Lourdes absolutely LOVED the noise and attention. She can get rather fussy at home, but on Christmas Eve she just wanted to hang out in her papasan chair and take in the scene. Sabine was happier being held, but that was fine as there was an endless line of people wanting to hold her. I can hardly wait until next year when Finn is even more excited about the holiday and the girls are toddling around opening up presents too!

Grandma and Finn getting excited for the big day!

I think we managed to capture all of the cousins present under the age of 10 in this picture. This was right before we let them unwrap gifts, so they were giddy with excitement.

Zoe and Zane both scored Kindles from their aunts and uncles, which came in really handy on their trip to Costa Rica!

Grandma got Finn an Elmo guitar, which he was psyched about. He even let Evan have a turn jamming out.

Xavier scored a sweet train set.

While Zia got some reading material for her trip.

Zella and Zander both scored some sweet helicopters. Zella is SUCH a tomboy, I love it!

While Izzy went the more girly route and got some pretty jewelry for her jewelry box.

Finn LOVED his bulldozer from his mom and dad and immediately had to take it for a spin!

The Frost girls both snagged American Girl dolls from their aunt and uncles.

Evan donning his new, official Crew jersey.

Even Beanie and LouLou got in on the gift opening.

The Thomas kids getting ready for skiing at Snow Trails.

Once the gift giving was over, Monna broke out a "make your own snowflake" craft project. It was a big hit with the Z's.

While others crafted, Beanie got some major cuddles.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is that Grandma always gives warm pjs to as many grandkids as need them. This is a group shot of the pj crew.

Lourdes and Sabine's first set of Christmas pjs!