Christmas 2012

 Merry Christmas!

What a blessed season it has been! The girls are at such fun ages and watching them experience Christmas time is such a blessing!

This time last year, I never dreamed I would be spending this Christmas in a rental! ha! God certainly had some surprises in store for us this year!

So here is our run-down of how we spent our Christmas:

Shane came down with the stomach flu the week before and missed work a few days, thankfully, he was the only one in our family that had it! The Saturday before Christmas he was feeling better so we headed west to Brule to spend time with Shane's family. All of his siblings and their families were home, so the cousins had lots of fun playing! Christmas Eve morning we headed back to Lincoln in time to get the chili going in the crock pot and get ready for Christmas Eve Service at our new church.

Making our first ginger bread house the first week of December

And yes, most of the house was consumed in the days/weeks after

Girls opening Christmas outfits to wear to church

Dressed and ready for church!

LOVE these girls! Such joy they bring to us!

Love these next pics of Emma in the background!

Dad and his girls!

Mommy and her girls!

Girls opened their new pjs to wear to bed Christmas Eve night...matching Rapunzel nightgowns with princess slippers (all was a HUGE hit!)

Emma woke up first and found a 'princess dress up closet' left by Santa. Shane spent a few late nights making the closet, then got sick, and I took over painting it after the girls went to bed. It was kinda a last minute decision to make one, it was what Emma had been asking for for months, but obviously not the easiest thing to make living in a rental, with Shane's tools still mostly packed, etc. We are really happy tho we made it happen, the girls have LOVED it! It has served for several other purposes other than a place to hang their dress-up costumes, such as, bath tub, boat, doctor's bed and more!

Bree got Ariel underwear!

The Barbie Princess & the Popstar was certainly the theme this year with the girls' gifts!

Baby stroller for Bree

Emma giving Dad his gift...huge bag of skittles!

We also enjoyed some hot chocolate after we all went sledding...what a blast!

We had an incredibly blessed Christmas!

Bree turns 2!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday
Bree Scarlet!

Oh honey, how we love you! You are growing up so much, but at the same time you are still my sweet, little peanut! We celebrated with a family birthday party yesterday, December 1st. Your cousins, Mady, Parker, Londyn and Ryler came to play with you, and Grandma Sharon, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Jared, Aunt Krista and Uncle Tanner came to celebrate with us too! You had a 'Cinderella' theme party that you picked out! Here are some things about you:

-You sing the sweetest 'happy birthday'

-Your smile lights up the room!

-You are the most appreciative little girl I have ever met, always saying 'Thank you' for everything...handing you a drink, making your supper, washing your clothes, etc!

-You love cuddles...and I love that!

-You love to play with babies, barbies and playing dress up!

-There are so many things that you do and say that are exactly like your big sister, Emma!

-You love tutus and and princess!

-When someone asks what your name is, you tell them 'Ariel'

-You are still a tiny little thing, wearing 18 months clothes mostly and finally a size 4 shoe, and size 4 diaper.

-You have gone poop in the potty consistently since August, with less than 5 accidents! So proud of you! You will occasionally potty on the toilet too, but aren't quite ready for that.

-You love playing in the bath.

-You love to sit in my lap and read books. And you love picking out books at the library. 

-You are not a big eater, but enjoy waffles, granola bars, chicken fries, hot dogs, pork loin, lots of fruit, especially apples!

-We have your 2 year check-up on Friday, Dec. 7th, so we will know how much you weigh and how tall you are then!

-You LOVE your nana, and when she is around, you want no one else but her!

-You are into Barbie's Princess & the Popstar right now, and love to dance and sing!

 

Baby Bree

2 weeks old!

2 weeks old!

1st Birthday!

1st Birthday!

Being silly eating her peas like a piggy!

Always wanting to wear sunglasses

LOVE her!

Emma 4, and Bree 22 months

Happy Birthday Bree, we LOVE you!!! And praise God for the gift of your life and getting to watch you grow!

Trying to catch up...

I have slowly been trying to catch up...I have posted several posts and pictures but post dated back to when they occurred, so be sure to go back and check them out...I think as clear back as April!

Happy 4th Birthday EMMA!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Emma Eloise!

Oh how I remember the day you were born and how beautiful you were when I first laid eyes on you! And the hair, oh how I loved your crazy hair! You have brought me so much joy to my life, there isn't a day that passes that you don't make us smile! And what a loving and beautiful smile you have!

You have changed so much in this past year. You can spell your name and other words, you can get yourself dressed in the morning and get yourself ready for bed.

You talk non-stop! You love to dance and sing. If you are not talking, then you are singing! You just make up songs and I love listening to your sweet voice! You always make us laugh and we love your goofiness! You are such a good big sister, you love on Bree and help her when she needs it. You two enjoy playing with each other (most of the time). You love to play princesses, color, draw and you always want me to join in. You enjoy watching movies and having a snack...which is usually your downtime during the day since you no longer nap. You love all things girly...painting your nails, dressing up, and playing with your hair. You have incredible long, beautiful brown hair

Favorite color: yellow and pink

What you want to be when you grow up: teacher (young kids)

Favorite candy: Reeses Pieces

Favorite Books: Pinkilicious, Fancy Nancy

Favorite Stuffed Animal: Flounder from The Little Mermaid (he was mine when I was a kid, you sleep with it every night. You also sleep with the minky blanket and pillow I made you too!)

Favorite Thing to do with Mom: Tea Parties! And boy have we had a lot of them this summer! Its been our special time while sister naps. We usually do lemonade or peach tea, with roasted peanuts or pretzels for snack.

Favorite Thing to do with Dad: Be Tickled and Swung up in the air. You love to be tickled, and we have to be sure you meet your quota everyday!

Best Friends: Alaina and Emmy Grimm, and Lily Travis (from Muscatine, IA)
It is so hard to believe you are already 4! Happy birthday our sweet daughter, we love you and thank God for you!

Newborn Emma

1 year old Emma

2 year old Emma

3 year old Emma

4 year old Emma

Family Pictures Summer 2012

We had our family pictures taken in June at a park in Iowa City!