Knochel Christmas at the Ranch!

We spent Christmas Eve through the day after Christmas at Pop and Moe's ranch house with the WHOLE Knochel clan. Now that I'm typing that I can't believe we didn't try and get a group family photo (at least we did manage to get one of all the grandkids). It was so fun to have everyone together, and a bit chaotic too. 8 kids ages 8 and under in one house is a bit busy and noisy!

There are so many family Christmas traditions that I love and we kept several of them this year even though we were away from home. My Dad read the story of Christs birth from the bible, we sang Christmas Hymns together and the kids set out the coordinating nativity pieces. We loaded up all the gifts and stockings and brought them to the ranch. It was an exciting and fun Christmas morning, bright and early at 6:15. Levi and Nora woke up at 2:30am wondering if it was time, but managed to fall back asleep for a few more hours. After opening all the gifts and playing with new toys we shared a traditional meal. My Mom made a delicious Christmas lunch with all the trimmings and some amazing pies. Yum!

 

 
The rest of our time was spent relaxing, chatting, playing with cousins, rocking on the porch, swinging on the swing and going on walks. A big rain storm rolled through and some of enjoyed watching it from the porch, while Philip and most of the kids had a blast getting caught out in it on a ride of the ATV. The men did a couple rounds of target practice and Nora and Levi took a riding lesson. We all enjoyed watching the babies play on the floor and just be cute. It was a wonderful time with family and a great way to celebrate the birth of our savior, the baby who makes all the beauty in this life possible!

 

 

 

 

Rachel is 5 Months Old!

Our sweet baby girl is growing up! I can hardly believe she is almost half way through her first year! Wow! She continues to be a very happy baby and is increasingly social and smiley. Rachel thrives on one of one interactions and face time, especially with her family. She just loves it when you talk to just her or sing songs. Her laughs and big grins are so sweet and adorable!

Photo by Levi

 

 
New Skills:
rolls where ever she wants to go until she gets stuck (found her almost completely under Nate's bed)
army crawls/scoots to get to her toys/brothers (she mainly uses her legs to push but is using her arms more often lately)
was sleeping from about 10pm - 5am but decided that was bad idea and has been getting up several times every night for about 2 weeks. (hoping this phase will be over soon! I'm so sleepy!)
sits up well on her own if she has something to focus on in front of her, looses balance easily if
distracted
starting to add consonants to her babbling and blow raspberries

tummy time with BFF cousin Ephraim

 

5 month photo session

 

 
Favorite Things:
playing on the activity mat/ground
playing in the exersaucer
chewing her hands and toys and feet
face to face time/being sung to
music/dancing
Momma
her thumb (especially when she's sleepy/grumpy)

Dislikes:
being alone
waiting to eat
being away from momma
being cold
riding in the car after 7pm

having fun in Bible Class

 

We are all enjoying Rachel. She is a joy to be around and watch grow and learn. All 5 of us are enamored with her and she keeps us well entertained. Thank you Lord for blessing us with this precious little girl!

Boyer Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas with Philip's side of the family a few days early at Papa and Nana D's house. Nana D planned her traditional reindeer games and the kids had a blast competing for prizes by doing a marshmallow toss, candy cane hooking game, and more. We also shared a delicious steak dinner and too many sweet treats. As always the cousins had a blast spending time together and creating chaos. Rachel received LOTS of attention and was super cute wearing her cousin Kamryn's old candy cane cutie shirt. Time with family is special, and we are blessed to have wonderful loving people on both sides of our family!