Pics of the Holidays

Our holidays are busy, but so fun. We gather at Grammy and Grampy's whenever all of the Labontes can be there - it is always so fun to see the 6 grandkids together. We wish we all lived closer so they could play more often.

Christmas Eve is at Nana, Papa Jim's and Papa Winnie's. The whole Coombs crew gathers for kiddo gift exchange and a fun Yankee swap for the adults. Again, the best part is all of the kids running around. I think there were 14 under the age of 18 this year.

Christmas morning is at our house (Nana, Papa Jim, Uncle Tom and Mimi joined us as well). Madeline was up at 4am! She was so excited this year about Santa. She informed us that there were 28 presents under the tree, but by the time Nana got there she had decided that there were "like over a hundred" under there. She was thrilled that Santa had eaten her cookies. From 4-6 she played with her fabulous Island Princess Vanity. She crashed for a bit at 6 (thank goodness).

In the afternoon we gather with the Finley side for another wild swap. This year we did recycled gifts which was quite entertaining. I forgot the camera for this gathering (Shocking, I know). The problem with this gathering is that it is at Aunt Darcy's house, which means we come home with lots of hand-me-down toys - thanks a lot Aunt Darcy ;o)

I am so very grateful that Max was home for Christmas. I know a lot of Moms were waiting for legals last year, and I cannot imagine how hard that must have been. When we got home, I just kept on saying that I didn't realize how stressed out I was until I wasn't anymore. This holiday was so very wonderful with our whole family together. Amen.

Barbie Island Princess was a big hit!

Myles is all outfitted with his new Helmet

I can't believe they held still long enough for this!

Some of the Coombs crew

Max and Bryell

Myles and Auriana

Grammie and Grampy

We tried to get all 6 of them. I'm hoping Missy's are better.

My boys - Being boys

Nana and her babies

They were playing "bedtime" and reading to each other :)

My Husband, poop, and vomit

Last week he drove me nuts . . . because of bad timing. He had a show the week we got back from India and wasn't able to be home in the evenings.

This week he more than made up for that. We had a nasty stomach bug - me, Maddie, and Myles. Dan has his school concert on the 19th, already missed a week of prep being in India, and then had to stay home not one, but two days to take care of the kids, because I just couldn't. I couldn't even get out of bed.

Dan dealt with vomit, poop, all of the diapers (we've got two kiddos in 'em), and our new guy who is usually attached to me like velcro. He did it without complaint, and with much more patience than I have. (Oh, he also had to deal with my whining).

Last night all five of us were in our nice new king sized bed asleep. We were all on the mend. Then poor little Madeline vomitted EVERYWHERE. She managed to hit every piece of bedding, every pillow case, and Max! We managed to get Myles into his bed without waking up. We got Maddie all bathed (btw, she happily told a Madeline story the whole time, unphased by the projectile vomit episode). I went to get Max into new jammies. His diaper was quite wet, so I decided to change that while I was at it. Well, as soon as I took that diaper off he peed all over the our side of the bed.

Dan and I just broke into near maniacal fits of laughter. Ah, the joys of parenting.

Getting back to Normal

We're getting there. Max is doing better being out of my arms. As long as he can see me now he's fine; unless he's tired or hungry. We're able to get out of the house a little bit. I can't believe how well he fits into our family. I can't imagine our family without him now. It feels so very natural that of course he's here, he belongs to us, he's our son.

The kid eats like nothing I've ever seen. In the mornings I can't get a new bite on the spoon fast enough for him. He gets so angry when I can't keep up, and will throw his head back, often hitting it on the floor. Matri Sneha warned us about this thank goodness, because when he does it, he could easily throw himself out of someone's arms.

I love watching him play with Myles and Maddie. The more kids the better for him. He still finds anything Myles is playing with more interesting than whatever he is playing with. Myles is getting better. We've been making extra efforts to do things just with Myles whenever we can. Madeline is happy to be his little mother hen. It's so funny to listen to her lecture him on safety rules - the same ones she often "forgets" to follow :)

We cut his curls the other day. I was nervous about it, but it came out SO cute. He still has lots of curls up top. I think the clippers tickled him. He giggled about it, and wanted to see what Aunt Moo Moo was doing back there. After Meagan was done there were little tiny black circles of hair all over my floor.

So now the focus is on trying to get Christmas stuff done. We've got our tree up, but haven't even started shopping. It's concert / show season for Dan, so it's hard to find a time to go. I can't take all three kids since I have to shop for them, and because I hate shopping anyway and with three kids I may be pushed over the edge of sanity. I'm going to try to leave the two oldest with Dan this morning and get their shopping done quickly. Madeline is easy (all Island Princess Barbie products), and Myles we're just playing by ear. He's so easy going he'll be happy with whatever. Diego and rescuing animals seems like his main interest (other than guns which stressed me out until he told me that Pocohontas has guns in it - I was stressed about where he was gettnig all the gun stuff). He will not be getting guns, and Aunt Dawn - Madeline told me you were going to buy her Bratz stuff - it will be thrown away if you do :)

OK, enough rambling - bath time for Max. His first two were quite traumatic, but he has now discovered the fun of splashing!

Birthdays and adjusting

Winston Gerald Coombs meets Max Gerald Rup Labonte

Anyone who has been around me at all through this adoption is sick of hearing me say, "I just want him home for his birthday." Well, we did it. We got home the day before his birthday! So, as jet-lagged as we were, we felt obligated to recognize it in some way. Mom went out and bought a little cake just for him, which he was completely uninterested in, and my parents and sisters came over. It was nice to have him here, and worth all of the rushed planning we did.

I love my big sister!

As for rushed planning, I can't thank Adrienne enough (Celebrations Travel). Her amazing memory and description of each step we'd encounter made everything very predictable and nearly worry-free.

Yeah, she's gonna kill me in a few years, but how funny is this?

My stomach has finally recovered from the trip, and we're catching up on sleep. Max loves playing with his older siblings, and is already a big fan of stealing toys from Myles. Madeline loves being the mother hen, and is at an age where she actually is very helpful most of the time. Poor Myles is feeling pretty neglected. Max is jealous when I even touch the other two and insists on being held by me the VAST majority of the time. Whenever I'm more than a step or two away he cries out like he's in a panic until I pick him up to cuddle. I think I'm going to bring him over to Holly's once this week to get some play time with Emy and the others. I just feel really bad that he's losing out. He still wants to be cuddled and I haven't been able to like I would like.

Mimi and the kids snuggling down

We had Max's first Doctor's appointment. He just barely made the U.S. growth charts, but the Doctor found him to be very healthy and happy. At the end of the appointment he stated, "My professional medical opinion is that this is a gorgeous baby." That's why I love our Doc :)

Today was the first day I had all three of them alone and had to get Maddie off to school. It was very frustrating. We almost missed the bus, and Mommy had to yell a couple of times (Maddie doesn't listen well in the morning. NOT a morning person) but we made it.

Maddox and Max. My best friend's little guy. He's a week and a half younger than Max.

So, we're just plodding along, meeting new family members daily, and enjoying home.