One Month Old

Today Mckinley is one month old. I can't believe it is already here and it is so true that it goes by faster with each kid. I wish I could push a button and have it all go in slow motion. Here are a few highlights from her first month here with us on earth...

We realized Mckinley looks a lot like Katelynn did as a baby. Here is a picture of them in the same outfit. So fun!

Katelynn Mckinley

About a week after we returned home, our house flooded from our washing machine. It was definitely a day to remember. Luckily with our leaf blower and lots of brooms, we were able to empty the house, clean it up, and buy a new washer.

Mckinley has been sleeping a lot and we can't help but think she is adorable in all her little sleep poses...

Along with sleeping on her own, Matt has hardly put her down for more than a few minutes any time he is home. This is his favorite spot to cuddle and where you can find him most every night. I keep telling him he is spoiling her, but deep down, I think it is precious!

Mckinley has also had a great time getting to know her big sister and brother. They adore her and hold her or feed her any chance they can get.

She also wore her first dress and enjoyed her first experiences attending church.

Being the yougest, she will have to learn to put up with a lot. We are grateful she is so resilient, because big brother has been mauling her since she got home. We are grateful he is so in love with her, but really, why do boys have to be so rough??

Mckinley also met Grandma Whittier and loved spending time with her. We were so grateful for Grandma to come and spend a week and cook, clean, and help with the kids. Thank goodness for Grandma's. Now we can't wait to meet Grandma Hamilton!

Now that she is a month, she is starting to have her awake times during the day and we love it! It is the best to hear her coo and watch her bright eyes looking up at you!

The whole family is in love with this sweet little thing and we have loved enjoying lots of cuddle time...

Mckinley has also enjoyed her swing. It has put her to sleep many days and kept her happy while Mom was doing hair. Thank goodness for modern baby items!

Dressing a girl has been so fun again and we love to put on the bows. Matt thinks she is always looking all decked out, but what fun is it to have a baby and not go to town. She even wears a bracelet most days.

She also is adjusting to being in her first car seat. So far she enjoys riding in the car, thank heavens since she will have to go when and where the rest of us need to.

She also enjoyed her first bath at home. We had to show off all that hair and that cute bum!

We are so blessed to have another sweet girl in our home. It has been a crazy month and I am still adjusting to no sleep and the crazyness of 3 kids, but we are loving it and will enjoy the next month that we get to spend with her.

7 years and 3 kids later....

So today Matt and I celebrate our 7 year anniversary. We have come to realize what 7 years and 3 kids does to your romance. Lets just say today was a day in the life of the Alva's. We woke up at 5:00am to the baby screaming and finally Matt took her out so Mom could get some much needed rest. Then on to a gourmet breakfast of cereal. After which mom fed the baby with two other kids climbing on her and chaos ensued for the rest of the morning. It now takes us 1 1/2 hours to get ready for church and we are all still pushing each other out the door. Church kept us busy with me teaching 13 11 year old girls and matt playing piano in primary, then we rushed home to feed baby and get our sunday dinner which consisted of leftovers. After keeping the kids from mauling baby and fighting with each other for a couple hours, they were rushed to bed and now I am keeping baby happy and multitasking while matt is on the phone and playing a game.

So although there is not much celebrating going on here, I feel so blessed to realize that it is all worth it because I have 3 beautiful, healthy kids and a husband that I know would do absolutely anything for me and loves me and his kids more than anything else in the world. And forget the 7 year itch because our marriage is stronger than ever before. Thanks for an amazing ride! Love you honey!

meeting big brother and sis

Our new family. So crazy to think I have 3 kids now! Am I ready for this?

It was so fun to have the kids come meet Mckinley. They immediately fell in love and have been fighting over holding her ever since. Brennon will sit and hold her for 20 minutes and I was sure he would get sick of it after 1 or 2 minutes. It makes them look so big and I can't believe how fast it goes. I just feel blessed to have another little one to cuddle again.

Our ray of sunshine on a snowy day in Texas

We are so excited that Mckinley Grace Alva is finally here. We came to the hospital to be induced at 5am this morning and started the pitocin at 6am. After about 6 1/2 hours of labor, she almost came shooting out and I didn't even really have to push. She was born at 12:45pm and She weighed in at 7 lbs exactly and is 19 1/2 inches long (Matt guessed 19 and I guessed 20 inches). Mom and baby are feeling fabulous and we are so excited for her to meet her siblings. Right now it is snowing like crazy and it is fun that she was born in a snowstorm in Texas. We will keep you all updated and are happy to add a beautiful girl to our family!

My celebrity meeting

Ok, so I'm not really one to be star struck, but I think it is too funny that the Bachelor lives in our neighborhood. I've been watching the show for a few years now because I like to laugh at how crazy everyone is when they are infatuated with someone. I've known where his house is, but never seen him until the other day. I was on my way to my weekly doctor's appointment and saw him out talking to the neighbors. I had to do a double take. Then later, I was doing my friends hair and telling her about it and we decided to take a walk so she could see where he lived. As we were passing by, he drove up and was emptying his car. She has no fear and said "Hi Jake! We love your show" and proceeded to ask him if he would take a picture with us. He was really nice about it and we had Katelynn take the pic with her phone, I'm surprised it even turned out. He said he really likes it here and plans on staying, so I will be looking for his new fiancee soon! Anyway, I like to tease Matt about it and think it is too funny, so I thought I would post the pic. Even better that I am 8 months pregnant!

Christmas Slideshow - Finally!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Family Picture

All the Grandkids. A month and a half later and McKinley could have joined us.

Over Christmas my entire family(all 10 of us) were together for the first time in like 6 years. We had all our families with us and it was so much fun. I'm so glad we got pictures to remember this event. I will post the picture of everyone when I get a copy from the photographer. These were taken with my sister's camera. I wish I wasn't almost 8 months pregnant, but what can you do! I had such a great time and feel so blessed to have such an amazing family! Love you guys!

Holiday Traditions

This year we have already had a blast beginning to celebrate christmas. It gets better every year that the kids get a little older and enjoy more. We are so excited to see what the rest of December has in store for us...

December 2nd we woke up to a winter wonderland. We were shocked as this is rare for Texas. Although Katelynn still had school, we had to make it fun for Brennon as this may be the only chance he gets to play in it this year.
We also decorated our tree. The kids both helped and we played our first Christmas music. It was exciting to get to put it out in the open this year as we don't have a toddler to pull it down. Next year it will all change....

Katelynn had a cookie decorating party with her friends. Then they watched Polar Express.

More tree decorating pictures...

We also are making it a tradition to go on a carriage ride at Christmas. The kids of course loved it and it was the perfect weather this year.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. The day before we met Matt at the Fort Worth zoo and spent the 70 degree day seeing all the animals. A favorite family activity. For Thanksgiving we had a progressive dinner with friends and ate way too much and had so much fun we may do it every year!

My little guy turns 3!

Brennon is such a joy in our home. We can't believe he is now 3 years old. He is so fun and always has a smile on his face. He makes me smile every day and there is no greater gift! Love ya bud!

Brennon as a baby just 3 short years ago....

Birthday pictures:

We celebrated by going to Chuck E Cheese, the kids favorite.

As you can tell, he could hardly wait to open gifts...

The kids helping make the cake: I love that they enjoy cooking with me...

Halloween 09

Katelyn was a ladybug and Brennon was a skunk. He had a little heart on the bum that said "Lil' Stinker" . So fitting! They had so much fun this year and got way too much candy!