Aparri....our little GIRL

Laura is having too much fun with her little girl!!! As you can see below...there is no lack of pink or hairbows!!! Fun times!!

Aparri Has Arrived!!!

Well, it happened! Laura started contractions at about 12:00am (Wednesday), we got to the hospital at 2:00am, at after some moments of 'discomfort', Aparri Ann Ward was born at 10:42am, boasting an impressive 8 lbs, 7 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long.

Christmas & New Years

Well, like most everybody, it's been a busy holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Here are some of the highlights:

CJ and Preston's Fort

By the time we were done it was a multi-room complex complete with bedroom and livingroom, mainly because the boys watched a movie on a portable DVD player(livingroom) and during the movie, Preston fell asleep(bedroom).







ALOHA!

Clay went on a quick overnight trip to Hawaii right before Thanksgiving, and while he was there he picked up some Hawaiian shirts with matching shorts. Once the boys saw them they became pajamas, and they were worn for at least six nights straight.(Don't worry, I'm sure they were washed somewhere in between those nights)

The Topping of the Christmas Tree

Since we take the easy way out when it comes to our Christmas Tree(real vs. unreal), the boys get to take turns every year on who gets to put the top on.

It was Preston's turn this year. Then CJ 'helped'.

Grandma and Papa come to visit

Mom and Dad Ward came to visit right around Clay's birthday. It was a lot of fun spending time together, and i'm sure that by the end CJ and Preston had thoroughly worn them out.

Since CJ and Preston have two Papas, Papa Smith(Laura's Dad) is referred to as 'Papa with the Motorcycle' and Papa Ward(Clay's Dad) is referred to as 'Papa with the Tractors on the Farm'.

We took a spin on the Carousel in River Front Park. CJ and Preston love going there, and they especially loved it when Papa took them on it.

Fun in the Snow

This has been a strange winter for us (at least so far) due to the absence of snow over the holidays. Last Christmas we had about three feet of snow, whereas this year we have nothing. We got a few inches in mid-December which promptly melted away, them a few days ago we got a couple inches again, which also melted off quickly. Laura is happy about that since she is about to 'Pop' and would rather not slide off of the road during labor. So we figure that right after this baby comes, we'll get dumped on with a few feet of snow.


The Shepherds

I wonder how Mary and Joseph would have reacted if these two characters had shown up to the manger.

Christmas PJ's

One of our Family Traditions is the giving of the Christmas Pajamas. It was Laura's turn this year to pick them out, and she tends to do a better job at it. Last year Clay picked out some good Pajamas, however, CJ's PJ's were a little too small. His pajama bottoms only reached his mid'calfs (capri style/spandex style).