Christmas morning

Christmas was a huge success! It was so much fun watching the girls open their gifts. Without boring you with a long narrative of the day, here are a few of my favorite Erika quotes along with the necessary picture documentation.

"Santa brought me the wrong Barbie." Oops, perhaps she should have not changed her mind after Santa purchased the "wrong" Barbie.

"I don't really like getting clothes for Christmas. I would rather have toys." Too funny! And, I agree with you, Erika!

Making cookies for Santa on Christmas eve.

Happy kids on Christmas eve.

Santa's presents to the kids. Cradles made by Daddy!

Laurel trying out her presents.

Even if it was wrong, Erika clearly loved her Barbie.

Not quite sure why Santa gave her washcloths in her stocking.

Levi's first Christmas.

Laurel liked opening Levi's presents and showing them to him.

I love that Erika and Laurel immediately put on any article of clothing they received from Christmas. By the end of the morning, Laurel was overheated in her dresses and shirts!

He's going to love this tractor....some day. Doesn't he look excited about it?

The aftermath.

Me and my baby boy!

The girls got a really cool castle from Auntie Beth and Uncle Josh. They enjoyed playing in it with their cousin, Judah.

Erika in the new castle. Complete with princess dress.

This is the best picture of the cousins. They weren't in the mood for picture taking!

Just a few recent pictures of Levi. We are totally in love with him and his sisters! But, since he's new, he is the one who gets the majority of the photos taken.

He went to church this morning in his big boy outfit. I believe all baby boys should wear sweater vests!

He is such a good baby. I would brag about how well he sleeps, but then his sleep pattern would probably change and I would have to go back on my word. Ok, I'll take the risk! He sleeps for 4 hour stretches at night, which is awesome! I am getting some much needed sleep.....and it helps to have a nap every day as well. He is not happy going to sleep and will cry once we put him down, but he only cries for a little bit and then he realizes that he is indeed tired and will go ahead and surrender to slumber.

Enjoy our handsome little boy!

Pictures of Levi

Seriously, is there anything cuter?

Wide awake and alert. Probably listening to his loud sisters playing around him.

How do you think he liked his first bath?

Yeah, he didn't like it very much.

Cute whether he's asleep or awake.

The girls are still pretty impressed with Levi!

Complete Hammar family.

Three generations of Hammar.

Grandpa and Grandma Hammar with half of their grandkids.

Levi Michael Hammar

What have we been doing the past couple of days? Having a baby! Levi Michael was born on Wednesday night, December 8, at 11:16pm. He weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. Side note: Erika also weighed 9lb., 2oz. I guess we have bookend kids with their weight! We came home from the hospital Friday morning and have been doing very well! Levi likes to eat, but sleeps pretty well due to that. His sisters adore him......Laurel is learning how to be gentle with him and both she and Erika are very good helpers. They like to watch him get his diaper changed and try to give him toys and his binkie when he gets fussy. We are having a great time at home getting used to Hammar, party of 5!

Baby's first picture!

Our big, perfect boy.

Proud Daddy with his son.

The girls love Levi. He's not quite sure about them yet. They are pretty loud.

Three little Hammars.

Surprises

I love living with little girls.....they are so much fun! I love watching Erika's and Laurel's imagination grow and develop more and more. Their favorite game is to play "mommy". They love rocking and taking care of their baby dolls and stuffed animals. Usually, the game ends with the baby being put to bed. I am constantly finding dolls in various locations around the house, usually wrapped in a blanket and "sleeping". Sometimes, it can be annoying because the couch is completely full of dolls and no room for a real person, but mostly it's a lot of fun. At night, when we go to tuck in the girls, we have to dig through their sleeping "babies" in order to make sure the girls are alright. Often, Erika will have all her dolls lined up on her pillow, sleeping, and she will be somewhere near the foot of her bed. What sacrifice! Here are some of the sleeping babies they play with.

Brownie, the dog, sleeping peacefully on Erika's pillow.

Sleeping Beauty and Bear tucked in for the night.

Another baby doll and puppy sleeping in a little toy basket that is meant for Levi's toys.

The two cute little girls who make all these pictures possible!

Ok, this was my favorite. They have this little Snow White doll who came with an extra head. The other day, I was picking up their toys and looked in the fridge of their play kitchen and saw this. Has anyone ever seen Stephen King's "It"? Totally freaked me out. Stanley boy.......

Yesterday, the girls spent most of the day playing train. They lined up their chairs and strollers and put different dolls in the seats, along with themselves. They were on their way "up north, to New York". When I asked how long it took to get there, Erika told me 20 minutes. Apparently they were on the super train! Oh, and we need to work on geography.

***Side note: These pictures were brought to you by our brand new camera! I really had a strong dislike for our old camera.....the images usually had a bluish tint to them and were blurry or dark or something annoying. So, as a Christmas present to ourselves, Matt and I bought a new camera on the Black Friday deals. I love it!