This time around we didn’t get many sleepy baby pictures because Killian chose that day to be more wide awake then he has been before or since. I was mostly interested in some family pictures (which we got) and sibling pictures (which we got on a makeup day since Helen Jeanette also chose picture day to be uncharacteristically out of sorts)–I’m still waiting for those proofs. I’m happy with he family pictures we got, although none of them have big genuine Helen Jeanette smiles, I’m hoping the sibling pictures will.

At 1:21 in the morning on 1/21, 2015, Killian Alexander Covington was born. He weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz and measured 20 inches tall.

This is her new normal reaction whenever a camera comes out.

I was interested in starting a family pajama tradition where we all get matching pajamas every year on Christmas eve. It turns out that I wasn’t willing to be pay $30 a piece for them so only Helen Jeanette ended up with Christmas Eve pajamas, I think the tradition will be that the kids get matching pajamas. We also let Helen Jeanette open up a book that Mrs. Silvia had sent for that purpose.

After Helen Jeanette went to sleep we had a couple hours of assembling to do to prepare for Christmas morning. Helen Jeanette work up extra early, so the Christmas excitement must have been contagious. She was thrilled to sit in her little chair to open her stocking (once she realized what the stocking  was for) and she was very sweet and quick with a fake smile whenever the camera came out.

After her stocking she wanted to start opening presents but we made her wait until after breakfast. She had a great time with her presents and we had a great time watching her.

We’ve been working on transitioning to 1 nap a day, but that was definitely not happening today. During her morning nap the 3 adults all slept too which was marvelous. We had Christmas dinner mid-afternoon followed by a short walk and some time at the park. During her second nap the adults all watched “The Interview” which was funny but very very crass. I do feel like I did my part for freedom by paying the $6 and watching it though.

Overall it was a very nice Christmas and we had so much fun with Helen Jeanette this year. This year she only had a vague inkling of the happenings (before we did Christmas with my folks last week she wasn’t even interested in the gifts under our tree, that changed after she discovered what they were for though!) but it was still so fun to watch her get involved. We usually have to prompt her to say ‘Thank you’ in sign language, but she was pulling it out profusely and frequently with every present she opened today. I’ve heard it said that the holidays are really all about the kids and making it great for them, but I suspect the kids will give me more joy at Christmas time then I am able to give them with gifts and food and traditions.

The Covington family will be 4! We are excited to be welcoming a little boy into our lives! We are due January 29th and we are all excited, although Helen Jeanette doesn’t seem to have a clue what is going on.

My Pampa took pictures today and they’re all on facebook as well. She had a great party with lots of family and friends. It was a bit chaotic and she was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing but she took it in stride and kept smiling through the whole thing. She received a lot of presents and did not seem to understand the concept of opening them at all, but she happily went through her new toys giving each of them a shining 5 seconds of attention before turning to the next present. I decided the best route was not to linger on each present but to bulldoze through the rather large pile since everyone was gathered around standing to watch.

She also went to her first gymnastics class today and  smiled from ear to ear the entire time. This girl loves to be around little ones!

The south of the border playground looks like the set of a horror movie. We immediately decided the play gym, slide, and see saws were not safe enough. She was able to ride the lion though and had a good time.