Growing

Nikolas is finally starting to wake up and be a person, instead of a big ball of baby goo as Jeremy (aka that big fire man guy) called him.  He is just starting to smile a little, but only very quickly, maybe half a second for a smile.  This one I caught purely by chance.  didn't even know he was smiling when I started taking the picture, so then I took 3 in a row trying to get it, and this is the best I got.
Here are a few pictures of us settling into being a family of 7.

I came home from the store Sunday and found them all watching a movie like this.

Reading the new zoobook magazine from Auntie Anna.

Christmas Morning

ahh Christmas, there's nothing like it.  Especially when it's Christmas morning and there are 8 kids it's loud  and crazy, but lots of fun.

Grammy and Pop very wisely got all the boys identical presents, so here they are with all their new space blaster guns.  It is Alexander's first gun and he's very very pleased with it.  I'm happy that his first gun is at least not realistic, laser blasting doesn't bother me quite so much as old west bullet shooting.  Isaiah is sporting Ari's new fuzzy orange hat.  

Alexander got lots of new costumes, and Isabella was trying out his pirate get-up.

Arianna loves a good purse.  But it has to have something in it.  She won't carry around an empty purse.  As soon as she opened it she started asking me for my phone and keys.  Eventually we put her M&M candy cane in there and that held her for a while.

When you are a pirate, you must attack.  and if you are Pop, you should know better than to leave your back open :)
Grammy, helping Nikolas open his present.  He got a glow worm style sea horse that plays classical music.  He seems to enjoy it too.
Pajama-ed Buckner boys opening some presents.
Isabella, now wearing Ari's hat and scarf, fixing Pop's make up (with a felt "Mary" ornament off the tree)
Baby's first Christmas boys.  Kaleb will be one in March and Nikolas is 1 month old.
Alexander's favorite gift, a knight's costume.  He is, however, King Peter from Narnia.
He also got a spider man costume, he couldn't make himself take off his king outfit though, so after some deliberation he decided to try on the spidey mask with the king stuff too.  
Arianna was having a great day!  When the kids first got up they opened their stockings.  Ari was upstairs asleep for a little longer than everybody else, so when she came down the other kids had finished opening their stockings and were eating their candy.  We tried to get Ari to open her presents in her stocking, but when I asked her if she wanted to open her presents she said, "No... Chocolate."  So all she wanted was the candy out of her stocking for about 15 minutes.  Eventually Sophia talked her into opening the presents too.
and more and more and more to open.
After many hours of being King Peter, Spider man finally won out.  Spider man also has a laser gun, as you can see.
Faron (and Alexander) have been building the girls a new doll house.  This is only half of it, but it is now wide enough that they can all play at the same time, and all their different people (barbies, little people and everything in between) can play in the same house.  At one point Alexander, aka Spider Man, went to observe there game and when they paid him no notice he said, "and then, Spider Man stopped by!" but they still didn't turn away from their game of dolls to play with Spider Man, so he had to go save lives somewhere else.
Nikolas actually did have a very nice Christmas, there were people around, so he got held all day, and that is really his greatest wish.  I took this picture the next morning, I just wanted a picture of him in that shirt, but I put him down to take it, so he had to scream.  Now I just think this is a funny picture.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night :)

One of our Christmases

This weekend kicked off our Christmases, we had pretend Christmas at Grammy's (pictures still to come) and then we had Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa, which you are about to experience.

First there was lots of eating and playing, then we got down to the business of present opening.

Checking out the scene.

passing out the presents. Everyone had to hold onto their presents until all the kids had one, then they all opened at once. They were very patient waiting until they were given the go ahead to rip in.
Alexander enjoyed opening his presents with Lane's sword, which didn't leave his hand the whole time we were there, luckily Lane had 3.

Ari decided to try the sword method too.

Lucas didn't get into the present opening much, but he enjoyed watching the kids play when it was all over.

The boys playing with a knight castle.
The girls playing with a fairy castle.
Once we got home the presents all came into the living room and we sorted through them all again, which lead to a fasion show.


This was the aftermath of the present sorting and fasion show. Everything you see here was a present!


After the fasion show Papa hooked up the new gaming system that Grandma and Grandpa got the kids. A Vtech Vsmile, and the art shop game. Here Isabella's playing the art game. See the picture she drew (on the TV). They've had tons of fun drawing, coloring, making toys, making cartoons, playing games...



Kole didn't care about the game, but here he is all snuggled down in one of his new outfits.

I've got about a million other pictures, but I think that pretty much sums it up. Playing with cousins, eating good food, opening TONS of presents and then playing with it all!