Holly Jolly Christmas

Christmas for us this year was as relaxing as they come. We had a fabulous Christmas with Shane's parents & Justin. We went to an early Christmas Eve service which was awesome, opened presents for three days (that's right folks the Craven's don't do Christmas half-ass), lazed around the house, played with B's new toys, loved on Ty, watched movies, & got our grub on. Each Christmas gets to be more fun with Braxton. This year was the first for him to lay out cookies for Santa & even made Santa some chocolate milk. The best part was when he woke up Christmas morning he found a note and a little gift from Santa himself! Also, this Christmas Braxton seemed to really understand that at Christmas time our family celebrates the birth of Jesus. Being a new big brother he was able to understand celebrating a baby being born & celebrating birthdays.  Our Christmas was merry & now I hope for a very happy New Year!

Christmas party @ the Lemperes' house.

(Left to Right: Addy, Levi, Braxton kissing Ty (love), Sophia, & Lukas)

B getting ready to open gifts on Christmas Eve

Ryker getting into the Christmas Spirit

B playing with his Cars 2 race track Christmas morning

Ty & Grampa sneaking in a little R&R

Thanks Grama & Grampa for a fabulous Christmas!
Sorry Uncle J we didn't get any pictures of you, but thank you for coming. 

We love you!!!

One month old!

Seriously, I had to pinch myself yesterday when I looked at the calendar & saw that it was the 15th! Can't believe that our sweet Ty is already a month old!! Ty is such a good baby like his big brother was. He is already on his own schedule eating every three hours, awake for only a little bit at a time before wanting to be swaddled & go back to sleep.  Ty can hold his head up pretty well by himself, tracks sounds, voices, & even Ryker barks, is really alert after feedings, started to smile, loves being swaddled before going to sleep, & every time Braxton comes into the room Ty's eye's light up! We are all so in love with him & enjoy watching him grow. Here are some pictures of Ty's first's:

 All bundled up for our first outing 

 Watching Braxton play with a sweet digger @ Time in Play

 Relaxing in the living room by the Christmas tree

 Putting up with me while I pretend to be a 

professional photographer :D

 Getting love from Braxton

 Hurray I'm a month old today!

Being Thankful

This post is a tad bit belated seeing that Christmas is only 9 days away! This Thanksgiving we had so much to be thankful for. A healthy baby boy, Braxton adjusting well to being a big brother, family in town, Shane being able to have time off of work to stay home & enjoy his new family, & my brother visiting from Alaska. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving!

While the turkey was cooking, Braxton, made Poppi an "herbal" cake :D

Proud Big Brother

Uncle Loren looking pretty comfortable with the boys

Ty meeting Uncle J for the first time

Ty Owen Craven

We are happy to announce that our sweet Ty was born on Nov. 15th, 2011 @ 11:50pm. He weighed 6 lbs. 7oz, & 20 inches long.  Just like his older brother he decided to come into this world early & we are so happy he did! We are so thankful for all of our family & friends support as we transition from a family of three to a family of four. We are so in love with life right now that I'm not sure what could top it? Braxton is really enjoying being a big brother. He is such a little helper with making sure I know when Ty needs to be fed or changed. He really enjoys holding Ty and giving him kisses. Even Ryker is loving having a little baby around. He has reverted back to his old ways of being the "hall monitor" which is pretty cute. It melts our hearts to see Braxton so loving & willing to share his parents with his little bro.

 Our newest addition, sweet Ty

Braxton meeting Ty for the first time with Grama & Grampa 

(not sure what to think)

 Daddy Love

 Proud Nanna & Poppi

 After first bath @ home

 Braxton's first time holding Ty. 

I think he's warming up to the idea of being a big bro.

Mr. Man himself

B's Big Boy Bed & Ty's Nursery

The time finally came to say goodbye to the crib/toddler bed and say hello to a true big boy bed. Braxton LOVES his new bed & of course we had to buy Car sheets! I wish I could say that with all of this excitement it would make him actually stay in bed all night long, but alas my dreams of sleeping in will have to wait. Now with the new bed Ryker has been a part of the bedtime routine. Braxton has to have Ryker lay on the end of the bed in order to fall asleep (it's way too cute).

The nursery came together better than we had planned. Since we had to make room in our den/guest room we were worried that not everything would fit. However, after putting everything together it fits perfectly! I really enjoyed making a few things to decorate the room (canvas w/trees and mobile). Now the only thing to complete the room is Ty who is due Nov. 25th (crossing my fingers that he stays put until then).

Had to add a picture of me & mom before heading to the baby shower. Can't believe I'm 9 months!

Love this shelf full of Owl decor. Owl garlands made by sweet friends from the shower, small owl from my friend Theresa, and large owl on the right made by Greta!

Love how it all came together!

Birds nest mobile & very cute owl made by my friend Debbie

The bedding

B's "big boy" bed!

Cluck, Cluck, Happy Halloween!

Braxton really got into the Halloween spirit this year. We carved pumpkins with our neighbors, Liz & Mckenzie and even made one that looked like B. On Monday he couldn't wait to go trick or treating in Fairhaven and strut his stuff in his chicken costume. We had a wonderful time despite the fact that Shane had to work.

All set for Trick or Treating!

Taking a small break before getting more candy

B's favorite part of his costume is the chicken's "Mohawk" even though Grama calls it a "comb" :D

Carving Pumpkins with McKenzie & Daddy

B's pretty proud of his pumpkin & keeps saying it looks like him because we added the ears

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

This weekend we went to Boxx Berry Farms with the Visser family in hopes to find some wonderful pumpkins. It was so much fun watching the kids get so excited about being in the pumpkin patch and trying to decide which pumpkin they'd like to take home. This is a great family tradition & we can't wait to bring Ty along next year!!

Abbey, Ella, & Braxton excited about picking out pumpkins

Duane & Shane were thrilled to find a "butt" pumpkin

Love the mix of white & orange pumpkins

What a cutie!

Great view of Mt. Baker

Love these kids!

Trying to get a nice family photo...
I will take what I can get from B!

The Craven & Visser pumpkin treasure

Didn't want to take a tractor ride, but enjoyed pretending to drive it

Preschool

Shane and I can't believe we are parents of a preschooler, but it's true. We finished our first week of preschool today!! I was proud of myself because I only teared up a bit and was fearful that I'd have waterworks after dropping him off yesterday & today. Today we were given a newsletter outlining the themes for the next three months. This month he will be learning about the color red, reading Clifford the Big Red Dog books, & one of the pastors from our church will be giving a blessing on the 21st to all the kids & families. We are excited for all that he will learn this year, the friends that he will make, and building a connection with his sweet teachers. On a side note one of my favorite music artists, Jack Johnson, sings a perfect song for kids starting school. To view video copy & paste link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqfCfUQxM4I

Getting ready to head out the door
for his first day of preschool

Waiting for the doors to open

So proud of his fox backpack

Playing with his new friends to be during "free play"

Grama & Grampa

Last weekend was our last time to enjoy the beach in Sudden Valley. We took full advantage of the heat & brought Braxton's Grama & Grampa down to enjoy the final days of summer.

Being silly on top of his sand mountain

Giving Grampa a workout

A "heads together" photo is a must (well @ least for me)

Building a sand castle with Grama