The reason I gave up on professional family photos....

I was determined to get a photo of our entire family over the holidays.  Full family photos are a rarity for us for a number of reasons.  Mainly because we rarely have anyone to take a photo of us, as well as the fact that let's face it, I'm a stay-at-home mom.  Putting on nice clothes during the day, only to have them stained with any sort of gunk you can imagine, as well as putting on make-up that no one will see...we'll let's just say it seems like a big fat waste of time to me.  I'm sure Oprah would disagree with me, but when Oprah has two kids running around screaming, mounds of laundry to do, and dishes piling up, then she can tell me if the first thing she wants to do is put on a little make-up "just so she can feel good about herself."  I love Oprah but that woman does not live in the real world.  But I digress...

So I knew that Christmas day would be my best bet.  Everyone would be dressed nicely (and yes, a nice new Bears t-shirt un-faded and free of stains is considered "dressed nicely" around here) and we'd have someone to make the kids do their thing as well as someone to capture this wonderful moment on camera.  And wonderful it would be!  I would frame the photo and comment to everyone who walked in my door, "Look!  Look how wonderful my family looks in this photo!  We are dressed!  We're smiling!"  Ok, maybe I wouldn't do that.  But I'd have something that proves that yes, we are a family of four and we are actually in the same place at the same time a lot of the time.

Oh, but wait.  The kids would both have to smile...

Well, that one won't work.  Let's try it again.

Ok, well we got one smiling.  But they're supposed to smile and look at the camera.  Take three...

Apparently there is some law that prevents two children from smiling at the same time for a photo.  I wish I had known about said law before I attempted this.  I am also fairly certain that they think a laser beam might burn their retinas if they look at the camera.  Oh well, let's give it another shot anyway...

Well, one is smiling and looking at the camera and one isn't crying so this will have to do.  Although, I'm fairly certain that for at least the next year, Cameron's stomach is going to show in nearly every photo we attempt with him due to the fact that you have to hang on to him for dear life lest he dart away.   At least we now have proof that we are, indeed, a family of four who spends major holidays together, even if it did take 15 painstaking minutes of my life.  See you on the next major holiday!

All Aboard the Youngman Express!

Uncle Jay is well aware of the many train enthusiasts in our family.  So, not only did he make sure he had a train looping their Christmas tree, he also took some time to set up their old train set in their basement.  Cade and Owen were in heaven!  We didn't bother taking the little boys down there, as we thought it might be a little too much for them at their age.  Here's a peek at our big boys enjoying the action.

I just love the look on their faces in the photos as they watched the train race by them.  Cade would say, "All aboard!!!"

One of our bigger boys thought he might get in on the conducting action in an effort to impress his wife.  I'm pretty sure all it did was confirm to her what a big dork he is.  That's what it did for me, anyway. ;)

A big thank you to Uncle jay for taking the time to create something so special for the boys!  I know my boy certainly loved it and can't wait to come back and play some more!

Christmas at the Youngman Home

After opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we made our way over to Auntie Gaye and Uncle Jay's house for lunch, which has been our tradition for as long as I can remember.  The house was full of boys, until Miss Maddy came and sprinkled the room with a little feminine charm.  She and Josh came later in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, Angie was sick and Danielle couldn't make it.  We missed them!

Since I took so many photos and had a rough time narrowing them down, I'll just get right to it...

Auntie Beth and Logan, who is the spitting image of his daddy!

Our little giggle man

Me with my adorable Godson, Cash

Aunt Debbie and Logan

Beth and Aunt Debbie

Uncle Ry and Logan

Can you tell we're related? ;)

Matt, Jess, and Logan

Auntie Beth and Owen

All the ladies (minus the aforementioned Glodo ladies who couldn't make it)

Beth and Sarah

Grandma and Grandpa posing with their gift from all their kids.  Yes, my parents have a Wii.  Rumor has it that Grandpa can make you laugh til you nearly wet your pants while you watch him hula hoop on the Fit.

Owen and Cade got matching race car helmets and had a ball with them.

It's fun for all ages! ;)  This is Uncle Jay's dad, who is in his 90s.  I caught him playing with Logan's toy and thought it was so cute!

Uncle Josh and Logan

The Three Stooges

Maddy and Josh

A big thank you to Auntie Gaye for being such a wonderful hostess and making an awesome dinner.  We had such a wonderful time and, as always, were sad when the day came to a close.  Already looking forward to next Christmas!  Until then, I still have a few more cute photos from this Christmas (I bet you didn't think that was possible!) so stay tuned!

Christmas Morning

Oh my goodness!  Where does the time go?  I've been meaning to get back to this blog for days and finish up with photos of our time in the 'boro over the holidays.  We all got bad colds, we had lots of bad weather, and Cody went to Ohio for business for a few days.  Thus, I just didn't feel much up to blogging!  Anyway, back to the matter at hand...

We had, dare I say it, a perfect Christmas.  I really don't think there could have been much to make it better.  Cameron adjusted SO well to the travelling.  Much better than I ever thought he would, which was a huge relief to all of us, especially me.  (Not sure if you know this, but I tend to worry about nearly everything in my life. ;) )  We spent Christmas morning opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Here are a few of the highlights...

Owen with his Collapsing Sodor Suspension Bridge from Santa.  Nearly everything this child got had something to do with Thomas.  At least he is consistent. ;)

It's a bird, it's a plane....No, it's Super Owen!  Santa brought him just what he asked for--a super hero cape complete with power cuffs and  mask.

Super Owen checking to see if Santa filled his stocking.

A Muhs Christmas is never complete without Bears gear.  Grandma & Grandpa got Owen an Urlacher jersey just like Daddy's.  I'm not sure who was more excited about that one, Owen or Daddy.

Seeing this face makes all the shopping and late nights spent wrapping worth it.

We can't forget our Cammer Jams!  He didn't want to have much to do with opening the gifts, but he fell in love with this tractor when Owen opened it for him.  All the animals make sounds when you put them in the wagon, it moves by itself, the Farmer sings "Old McDonald", and the horn honks.  What more could an animal-loving 2-year-old ask for?

This boy makes me melt when he smiles like that.  The car he's holding in his right hand is one of those you shake up and it goes by itself.  We got him an elephant and a gorilla and he LOVES them.  For awhile, he would just bring them to us to do it because he couldn't figure it out himself.  We kept trying to get him to do it himself but he wouldn't.  (Which is very typical for Cam.)  Last week he figured it out and we were so excited for him!  He shakes it up saying, "Shay (shake), shay, shay," sets it down and says, "Reh-y (ready), seh (set), yoooooo (go)!!!!"  Such a big step for our little guy.

I guess that wraps up Christmas morning.  Stay tuned for more of our Christmas celebration!  Maybe I'll get them in before February gets here!

Owen and Santa

Owen enjoyed playing with our "Polar Express" plush Santa this year.  One morning after breakfast he was sitting with Santa and asked me to take his picture with him.

Upon inspection of the photo, he said, "Oh wait!  You can't see Santa's eyes!  Let me move him so you can see them better.  There. Can you see them now, Mommy?  Ok!  Take another picture, please!"

Ah, my Perfectionist-in-Training.

Under My Tree

Owen told me one night that he wanted to be a Christmas gift under the tree...

If a cuter gift exists, I sure don't know what it is!

After that he said he wanted to play Santa so he started gathering a bunch of his toys and leaving them under the tree.  He came to me and said, "Look at all the presents Santa left under the tree, Mommy!"

It is always so much fun experiencing Christmas through your child's eyes!

Trimming the Tree

What better way to celebrate New Year's Day than with photos of trimming your tree?  I really can't think of any, so without further ado!

We tried to get Cameron to nap while we were decorating the tree (thus, the pajama pants), but he had other ideas.

Not too shabby for a 4-year-old, don't you think?

"Here, little brother, let me share the Christmas Spirit with you by yanking your neck!"

Christmas kisses from my baby boy!

Stay tuned for more Christmas photos in January!  You know how I love to drag out the holidays!  And who knows?  Maybe you'll even get to see Cameron's birthday photos before Owen's birthday in March!

And now, back to our show....

The ride to Chicago last weekend actually went surprisingly well with 2 kids and a dog that hates to travel. There were actually moments where we forgot Murphy was even in the car! All that worrying for nothing. ;) We had a good weekend and I'll be sure to post some pictures soon. But first, the long-overdue Christmas pics.

We had a very eventful Christmas in Murphysboro this year. Cash Eli (cousin Beth's baby) was born on December 20, Uncle Jay decided he wanted to take a little ride in a ambulance on Christmas Eve (he is completely fine now), Cameron got sick with a high fever on Christmas Day, and my cousin Matt and his wife Jess announced that they are expecting their first child! All that and presents too!

We went to Beth and Ryan's house for dinner a couple of nights while we were there. Yes, my dear cousin is the only woman I know who can give birth to a 10 pound baby and have her entire family over for dinner a few days later! We loved visiting with everyone and getting to see their beautiful new house. Owen especially loves the new house as it has a "loop" to run for hours on end.

Cade and Owen snuggling while watching a video in Cade's new big boy room.

Aunt Jess and her new nephew, Cash. I was so busy keeping track of my own kiddos that I hardly got to hold this little guy. You can be sure when I get there next week I will grab him and camp out on the couch with him. I hear he likes to be held while he sleeps and I am happy to oblige. ;)

Owen being Owen at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He piled a bunch of stuff on top of himself and sat there watching a movie.

He then asked Grandma to bring his lunch to him and sat there and ate it like this.

The long-awaited gift. I can't even remember what it's really called, but he calls it Thomas and the Waterfall and he loves it. It was one of the 4 things he asked Santa for.

The Stanley train and the Troublesome Trucks to go along with Thomas and the Waterfall.

Patiently waiting on Dad and Grandpa to put it all together. It was bigger than the coffee table! Thankfully we have room for it in our new basement. He loves it!

Mr. Cam is all smiles opening his first gift.

Owen and Cade on Christmas day in their matching "Polar Express" shirts.

Alas, I didn't get any pictures of our Glodo Christmas on Christmas Eve because I was just too busy visiting with everyone! There just never seems to be enough time to do it all! We enjoyed seeing everyone so much and have gone into 2009 feeling more blessed than ever!