9 months in, 9 months out!

In his 9th month, Drew celebrated his first new year: 2019! 

He is now in the 50th percentile for both height (28.25 inches) and weight (20 lbs, 3 oz). He's the perfect size to me! 

The girls wanted to be in the picture with him. He loves the attention!

All 3 of them in the same onesie in 2014, 2016, and 2019, respectively.

Drew experienced playing in the snow for the first time! He just kind of sat around and took it all in.

His sisters enjoyed eating snow as they made a snowman!

It was definitely one of those snow days that will remain in my memory for a while. It was a lot of fun! We even did some sledding (not pictured).

Drew began scooting and crawling during this month!

On a side note: this US map was a Christmas family gift to show our kids where RUF Purdue alumni are after they graduate. We have a star with initials of our "big friends" so we can point them out to our kids and pray for them. (We have a few stars in the ocean to signify students that are currently living internationally!)

The kids got more matching shirts from Papa! It's so fun that all 3 can match!

I went to New Orleans for RUF wives weekend and spent my first days away from Drew. Here's a screen shot when I was FaceTiming with them. Curtis did an amazing job while I was gone!

I had a refreshing time with other lovely RUF wives and came back encouraged and ready to care for my precious little ones. :)

I love this pictures because all 3 of them have used this same crib.

Here's a few pictures from his 9 month birthday:

I love that Kate decided to photobomb these!

I sure love these babes! Here's the comparison shot of all 3 at 9 months:

God has truly blessed us!

Christmastime at our house

I wish I could say that the Christmas season was filled with snow, but it really wasn't! It snowed once in December (that I can remember) and I'm glad I got this picture because that was it! No white Christmas in Indiana!

Kate made sure to stay warm though. She's all about the accessories!

I had a RUF baking event while Curtis was at RUF training. A fun group of students came over and made all sorts of goodies as we prepared for the annual RUF Christmas party. We played games after our baking was done. I'm so thankful that I get to be a part of this ministry!

You can see most of our baking work below. We made chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter blossoms and my favorite - dark chocolate candy cane cookies! We also made Reese's bars, but those aren't pictured.

It's been really sweet not only to see how the students have welcomed new students, but also how they have included our children. Our kids sure love their "big friends!"

Even our introvert, Kate, loves spending time with them!

There was a white elephant gift exchange. Anna got an avocado! Haha!

Kate got some cough drops!

Anna took good care of Drew while the activity continued.

We sang Christmas carols about our Savior's birth.

This is a group shot of everyone from the Christmas party. It was such a joyous occasion!

We also had a nice RUF staff Christmas party a couple days later. We're so glad to have interns helping us, especially since RUF has been growing so much!

From left to right: myself, Carrie (intern), Iris (married to Ryan), Ryan (intern), and Curtis

Anna also had a winter party at school! Curtis helped her make a gingerbread house. 

Kate and Drew loved getting to sit with her class and hear the principal read The Polar Express. It was really precious!

Drew turned 8 months old right before Christmas. When he gets really happy, he flaps his hands and feet so we now call him "flappy happy."

He also turns his head to the side when he makes eye contact with us sometimes (similar to below). It's really cute!

Here's the comparison shot at all 3 at 8 months:

Papa got these adorable matching outfits for all of our kids! They turned out really good so I'm going to post a few below.

And then it was Christmas Eve! We worshipped at a church near our house since our church didn't have a service. It was fun! I can't believe the kids all looked at the camera at the same time!

This guy fell asleep in his new pajamas as he prepared to have his first Christmas.

And here's several pictures of opening gifts on Christmas Day! The kids were very excited about their new acquisitions. Kate would even say "I always wanted this!" to everything she would open! They had a ball!

Of course, we had to put Drew in the same onesie that his sisters had for their first Christmas. :)

Drew had additional Christmas outfits that he wore leading up to Christmas also! 

The one with the toy soldiers below was handmade over 30 years ago by Curtis's mom for Curtis. It makes it even more special that Drew could wear it since she isn't able to make Drew clothing like she did for Anna and Kate now that she has passed.

One of our Christmas traditions is to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus in honor of his birth. 

The whole crew loved it! It was eaten within 3 days! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season too!