Christmas at the Howes

This weekend was a busy one at our house.  We had our annual Christmas party!  Ryan and I cooked and cleaned for two days to prepare.  We ended up with way too much food, but it was fantastic!  We had a gift exchange, a white elephant exchange, decorated sugar cookies, and played a game.  The kids ran/crawled around like animals all night!  This weekend really got us in the Christmas Spirit; we are so excited to go home and celebrate with our families!  We leave in just 3 days!

Also below are some new photos of Clay because he is just too cute not to post any!

He is such a little man.

We like to call this pose "Spider Baby".

Poor Milo.

Waiting in line to see Santa! 

I think he had more fun waiting in line...

Merry Christmas!  Love, Clay

9 Months Old

Tomorrow Clayton will be 9 months old.  My, how time has flown!  In the past couple weeks he has really grown up.  He eats many different foods and feeds himself snacks.  He started pulling himself up and crawling with his belly off the floor.  It is amazing that just 9 months ago he couldn't even hold his head up.  Ryan and I are having a hard time remembering his that tiny.  (Samantha make as many memories as you can because it all changes so quickly and it's hard to remember).

Here are a couple videos of our little man.  Enjoy! 

The First Thanksgiving

Clayton made it through his first Thanksgiving!  We went to a friend's house for dinner.  He ate a couple rolls, asparagus, and a puree of turkey, mashed potato, and yam.  He enjoyed trying all the new flavors and being part of the dinner conversation. 

He really just pulled the rolls apart, slobbered on them, and threw them in his seat!

But look at how cute he was while doing it!

 

Then he played in the living room with the girls and the overwhelming amount of Delilah's toys! 

 

Overall, a good Thanksgiving was had by all! 

The next day, Edna and I took the kids for some island style Black Friday shopping.  We scored some great Christmas decorations at the hardware store!  It is so different than what I grew up doing, but we sure had a blast! 

We then met up with the rest of the girls and kids for coffee!  Clay and Grif are starting to play with each other.  It's very neat to watch!

That evening our family went over to Edna's for dinner.  While we all ate her delicious creations, Clay tore apart the kitchen!  By the time we were finished eating he had things scattered all over!  Are you all still ready for us to come home for the holidays!  ;)

 

Last night while I was making dinner, Clayton crawled around the floor and whined at me to pick him up.  The solution we came up with was to stick him in the Moby wrap.  You may notice I tucked his hands in because he kept trying to "help" me cook and do dishes. 

Over long weekend I did three different photoshoots!  Photos for Edna's husband, a few senior pictures, and a family Christmas session.  It was a blast! 

I also got my first Christmas present from Ryan...yes, I know it's early.... but he got me a really nice external flash!  It made a huge difference and I am so excited to take more photos!