The Mickelson Clan

Here is my humongous family. From left to right: Deanna, 14; Alexis, 27; Christopher, 29; Max, 9; Me, 24; Mandie, 21; and Ariel, 17.
This was taken after Ivy's blessing. We all hate this group shot tradition because there is inevitably going to be a melt-down. It used to be Mandie who wore the "I-don't-want-to-be-here" face, but the past few years that face has belonged to Max. (Doesn't every family photo have one of those?)
Deanna, Christopher, Mandie and Ariel are all used to Max's tantrums and so it doesn't even phase them (hence the perfect smiles) but Alexis and I see him on a limited basis, and as you can tell our smiles are forced. Now if Max could just get used to himself maybe he could look normal in a family picture. He is going to kick himself when he looks back at these in his later years.

Ivy Girl

We blessed Ivy on Sunday, Jan. 6. It was so nice to have all my family here to celebrate Ivy with us. She is such a blessing and such an angel!

I loved Ivy's dress. It was a heavy knit, appropriate for the winter weather.

I just had to share this picture of Millie and Ivy. They are so cute together. Millie has been a bit jealous of her little sister, but she has her moments of sweetness when she wants to help and love her little friend. Lately she calls her "Ivy girl." I love it. All-in-all, I'd say she is adjusting very well. And I love my girls!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Last year, Millie was terrified to sit on Santa's lap!

But this year she did so much better! She was happy to tell him that she would like a pair of slippers for Christmas (which she got!)

Here she is trying to show Santa that she is two years old. She loved that candy cane from Santa and blew him kisses as he left. What a reversal from last year. After experiencing Christmas this year, I think she is going to be even more excited for Santa next year! Now that Christmas is over she has finally learned the words to several Christmas songs (mostly about Santa) and insists that we sing them every day.

My Big Fat Pregnant Birthday

I wish I had Christmas photos to post, but they're still undeveloped in my camera. So here are some older pictures from my birthday. In this one, Mark and I are getting ready to go to dinner. I wanted to go to Iron Gate Grill (I was craving their sweet potato fries) but it is closed on Mondays! So we had to change our plans and we headed to Fire House. Then we hurried back for a little cake and ice cream with Mark's family. Oh, and as a side note: Mark hates that sweater, he only wore it because he knows I like it.

Here we are posing with the beautiful birthday cake Mark made for me. You can't really see it in the picture, but it's covered with huge coconut flakes. It was delicious to boot! I was 37-weeks pregnant in the picture. Ivy was born 8 days later.