Rael is 6 Months

Our Rael Gracelynn is 6 months. Where has the time gone? I can’t believe she is already half a year old and growing up so fast. I remember when Laylie was 6 months I started this blog, and I could not wrap my mind around how big she was getting. Once again, here I am!

Rael is a ball of fun. She is a huge smiler - even at strangers that talk to her at the grocery store. She really makes any bad day go away and lights up the room. The last few days, Laylie has had a horrible earache with so much pain and the only thing that would help her stop crying is holding Rael on her lap. Our sweet Tadee Le, who is battling with Lyme, I am sure can say the same thing: Rael is a true healer.
She is eating baby food like a champ and enjoys sitting in her high chair while we eat dinner together as a family. She enjoys rolling all over the place and is perfectly content to not see the world from any other view - like sitting. She would rather be having tummy time or just relaxing on her back. She is now doing “planks” with her body and getting into the crawling position, but not yet moving. She is just the easiest and most jolly little baby and always goes with the flow. She really loves playing with her toys, being held in anyone’s arms, going on adventures, and sitting in the shopping cart propped up with blankets. She smiles from ear to ear when you get her from her crib and loves to snuggle when she is tired. Wow, where did this angel come from. Thank you, Lord, for trusting us with our little Rael, and may we continue to relish in the beautiful girl she is becoming.

And...Our little Rael adores our Goddaughter Tadee

 



Christmas 2012

We had the most wonderful Christmas this year. We spent it with our girls, lots of family, and most importantly reflecting on the sweet birth of our Savior.


This year was a little different with Laylie being another year older. Every morning, she would wake up and could not wait to add another day onto the advent calendar. She would count each space until Christmas Day. She could not wait!! The morning of Christmas Eve she put on day 24 and screamed with excitement knowing that tomorrow was Christmas Day. We love watching how Christmas brings so much joy into our little one’s heart.

Christmas Eve we met the whole Troncone family at North Coast Calvary Chapel for their amazing Christmas Eve service. We loved sitting together and taking up two rows, singing worship songs and listening about God delivering His Son to us. After church, we went to my parents’ house where the festivities began. When your parents have 6 children and they all start getting married and having children of their own it really starts to get extra fun with tons of craziness. The kids ran around playing together and the adults sat around giggling, talking and enjoying each other's company. We had a delicious lasagna dinner and then had our annual Christmas traditions – my mom read two tear-jerking Christmas stories, we all held hands in a big circle and sang Christmas carols, and we lit candles for each other and gave each other a wish for the New Year. We ended the evening sipping hot coco, eating dessert, and opening up gifts. We were overjoyed to have such an awesome Christmas Eve with our family and two girls. We could not wait to get home and have Christmas morning too.

Christmas Day Laylie and Rael woke up at the same time and we all jumped up and down together yelling, “It’s Christmas time!!” We took pictures of our girls on the stairs, just like we do every year, and we walked downstairs to see the Christmas tree all lit up with presents underneath. We opened up gifts while we listened to Christmas music and loved on each other. We then had a moment of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, which Laylie especially enjoyed. For breakfast we ate some Monkey Bread, then we got ready for the day and headed over to Jason’s parents house where more fun began.

We spent the rest of the day at the White’s house continuing the celebrations we started just a few days earlier - the day before Christmas Eve, the whole White family gathered together for our annual gift exchange and exciting "Punchbox" presents from Jason's mom. The cousins had so much fun running around together and sharing their new presents with each other, and we all enjoyed a delicious Prime Rib for dinner.

We had one of the greatest Christmas Days ever and we are so looking forward to many more with our girls. We end this year being so thankful for everything God has given us. May this New Year bring many exciting new blessings to you!

Laylie's 1st Christmas Program

Laylie had her very first important Christmas program at her preschool this week. She was the "star" of the show and was so proud to wear a white outfit, sparkly yellow halo, and a big yellow star necklace. She did such a great job singing her two songs - "I’m a special star on Christmas night" and "Look in the sky the wise men say" - and she even remembered all of the hand motions. It was so fun to see that she isn't shy on stage and that she enjoys performing in front of an audience. When she saw the church pew filled with her family, she was beaming and was so thrilled. We all loved watching her and we were all so proud of our little Laylie. After the program we had a wonderful lunch to celebrate at Rubio's. Great job Laylie!! You are our shining star and we are so glad that you, too, can lead the way to Jesus' birth!

Can you see Rael's 2 teeth?

Merry Christmas in 2 days!!! 

Sending our greetings to you

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

We love you all and hope this year brings many wonderful blessings!

And..Thanks to my amazing sister Lisa for always taking our photos. You are so gifted & talented!

www.lisalain.com