LOVE

An embarrassment of riches

A friend on FB (thanks Leah) said, "My life is basically an embarrassment of riches.  Thankful doesn't quite fit when thinking about how blessed I am." I love these words because when I truly think about how incredibly blessed I am (and how blessed we are in this country), I am at a loss for words.

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Here are my little turkeys with the turkeys they made (minus the eyes because G kept picking them off):

Happy Halloween

A "Bad" Hair Month?

G is sporting some crazy hair these days.   

Near the end of September I noticed that she had all these little hairs.  At first I was terrified that her hair ties had been breaking her hair, but on closer inspection I realized that the little stinker is just getting A LOT of new hair.  Crazy!

The Greats

The girls and I were able to visit with The Greats, Grandpa-Great & Grandma-Great, last week.  I think that it had been over a year (way too long) since we had seen them last so it was a real treat.

My grandpa did a lot of this while visiting us!  

The girls kept him laughing and 

he kept the dogs from licking their faces too much!  

We attempted to get a good pic of the girls with The Greats.  

These were my favorites.  

Love this pic of my grandma and M!!

G, Our Little Tease

Thanks for the visit!  We love you both!!!!

Garden of the Gods

When you live in Colorado you tend to take the beautiful mountains, that create the back drop of each day, for granted.  Not so when you only get to visit them a few weeks out of every year.  Oh how I miss them.  I was telling my mom the other day that I'm pretty sure I haven't been up in "my" mountains, since my brother got married.  Do you know when that was?  M was only 4 months old, which means I have not visited the mountains for FOUR YEARS!!!  That is way too long for this Colorado girl SO when we had the opportunity to visit Colorado for a few weeks, I had to at least get as close to the mountains as I could.  Enter an afternoon picnic and hike at the Garden of the Gods.  Not quite the mountains, but it is the foothills and the view is not too shabby.

Taking it all in

Fearless

Cautious

Deer tracks

Exploring

Following Daddy's Footsteps

Our explorers and climbers

The family

Me and Aaron

(See!  Not too shabby of a view.)

 Rockin' their shades

After waiting for 8 1/2 months...

We were finally able to meet this little guy.

He is adorable.

I wish he lived closer.

At least we got to see him (and his mama) for a few weeks.

I can't wait to see him for his very first Christmas!

Here is a peek at our visit with cousin S:

Trying to get three children to both smile AND look at the camera 

AT THE SAME TIME

 is impossible, but we tried.

My girls LOVE their Aunt Katie

I'm not sure that she loves him much.

What do you think?!  :)

Checking each other out.

One morning at breakfast M and S started having a staring contest.  

So cute to watch them lean into each other and stare.  

S thought the whole thing was great fun and every grin he gave just encouraged 

more silliness from his big cousin M.

 We visited the zoo...it was a gorgeous day!

Attempt number 2-

not bad since none of them had taken a nap

Checking out a sleeping wallaby and trying to feed the birds who were not at all interested.

I think that the birds were just waiting for Grammy to come and visit, but she does NOT go into the bird house.  Her compromise:  she pays for the food, the mommies have to go in.  I don't blame her.  

It is a poopy disaster just waiting to happen in there.

And no trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the carousel.

As you can see two of the three enjoyed the ride.  

The other one...not so much!

In her defense, it was the fastest carousel I've ever been on.

I had a hard time getting G off the horse (w/o falling) while circling at mach-speeds.

Cousins are the best!!!

See you in 3 months, Cousin S. 

(and bring both parents...we missed your daddy)

TWO

My little G,

A month and two days ago (I'm running a bit behind this year) you turned TWO years old!  How time has flown.  If it wasn't so much fun to watch you grow & change every day, I'd be dying to slow time down, but you bring so much joy to each day so we keep right on flying!

My sweet girl, you are cautious and quiet.  When all the other kids are running around, you are content to just observe the action before jumping in.  While your sister jumps in with both feet and assesses the risks as she goes, it is so fun to watch you analyze each situation and decide the best course of action before you scale any new challenges.  We have often joked in the last year that you like to "experience" everything to the fullest.  You are not to be rushed.

But while you display such cautiousness, you are also convinced (now that you are TWO) that you can do anything that your sister can do.  Anything.  Ride a scooter.  Sure. Why not?  Jump off that giant chair.  Landing on my face isn't all that bad.  Carry a plate of food from the countertop to the table.  Mom doesn't mind cleaning up the mess.  You do not want to be left out or treated like a baby.  I am often reminded of the song, "Anything you can do, I can do better," from Annie Get Your Gun, when I'm watching your interactions with M.  In year three we are going to learn about how God has made us each different and that is good.  I'm so glad that you adore your big sister and you are learning to be great friends.  I wouldn't want it any other way!  :)

As I look back over year TWO, these are some of the things that I want to always remember and be able to tell you about when you are much older:

1)  You think that motorcycles are hilarious!!!  Every time one drives by you crack up laughing.  I think it must be the noise that they make.

2)  Spinning and dancing is great fun now.  Although (just like Mama) if someone catches you dancing, you immediately become shy and much more reserved with your moves.

3)  Any time that you see a princess or Tangled you start shouting and pointing to get my attention..."Cess!  Cess!  Cess!!"

4) Routine is a MUST in your life and it is very apparent when you are going to bed.  You have to be fully clothed.  No sleeping in a diaper no matter how hot it is and you need 3 blankets to be exact.  They need to be laid on you in the correct way and your doll needs to be in just the right spot for all to be right enough in the world to allow for restful sleep.  This one may drive your mama insane!!!

5)  While you have been a Mama's girl most of your life, you are beginning to enjoy snuggling with your daddy.  I'm pretty sure this has everything to do with the quality time you got to spend with him for a month between the end of residency and the start of his new job.  You just needed some major & constant daddy time.  You adore him!  You especially like waking him up in the morning.  You do it in such a gentle and sweet way.  Love it! (And so does Daddy)

6)  Independence has begun to rear it's ugly head so time outs have begun.  In the beginning you thought they were fun because big sister had them too, but now you are not so "into" them.

7)  Right after your bday you quit sleeping into the 8s anymore.  Now you wake in the 7s.  While Mama knows that I'm very blessed that you sleep into the 7s, I still mourned the change a little.  :)

8)  While sitting and reading with Mama or Daddy is not always your favorite activity (you will look at books on your own), you do enjoy the book Who Ate All the Cookie Dough by Karen Beaumont and the Bear books by Karma Wilson.

9)  It is all about dollies.  G, you are such a good little mommy.  You walk around with your dolls singing to them and shushing them.  It is precious to watch!

10)  We are pretty sure you could talk if you wanted to, but you have decided that talking is over rated.  Who needs to talk when they have a big sister around and when you can clearly communicate with non-sense words or a limited vocabulary and get what you want.  Stinker!!  This was the only concern that your new pediatrician had at your two year check.  While you do say quite a few words, you have not begun to string 2 words together as most toddlers are now doing.  We know you can understand us and hear us great, we just need to convince you that talking is FUN and in the next few months.  I don't really want to take you to an Ear specialist and a speech therapist.  Bring on the words, baby girl!!!

How I thank God for you each day.  Just as I mentioned when you turned one, God knew that we needed your light-hearted sense of humor, your laughter & mischievousness, your gentle touch, and caring personality.

I love you bunches and bunches and can't wait to watch you grow and change in year three,

Your Mama

To my little girls

Dear M and G,

I'm sorry that Mommy was so very cranky this afternoon.  I know that you were excited and that I shouldn't have gotten so stressed about you running around the house and screaming/singing at the top of your lungs while I was trying to get things done.  I will try very hard to be less type A tomorrow, see the world through your eyes, and not do any yelling.  I really hate it when I yell at you.  I don't like it when I'm THAT mom.

Taking a really deep breath, praying for grace, and thanking God that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it....love you both lots,

Mommy

Our July

On the same day as Aaron's last shift, we received our PODS.

Then we packed with the help of some wonderful friends who have some amazing spacial skills.

Once the PODS were packed, we spent as much time with as many of the

"reasons I will forever miss MI."  God blessed us with some amazing friends!!  

PS~Not all of my "reasons" are shown in the following pics.  :)

On the 13th we began the journey to the next chapter in our lives.  

The girls did such a great job on the trip.

We even did a little sightseeing along the way.

And then we were homeowners...

Over the next week my parents were around to help both my brother & his family AND my family unpack and settle into our new homes.  

It was a crazy week, but boy do we appreciate the help they gave us!  

Thanks Dad and Mom!!! 

The girls had fun with their cousin K and lets just say that it was HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

 We were so very excited to be able to celebrate this special little man's second birthday with him.

Yay for time with Gramma and Papa! 

The first pic shows Gramma watching Tangled with the kiddos.  She had never seen it before.  

She waited to watch it with M because, let's just face it, it is way more entertaining that way.

I just love the second pic.  It looks like G is having a very serious conversation with Papa.  I'm sure it included the word, "Arsh!" and her shaking her head like, "Don't you see, Papa!"  And what she wanted him to understand was that he really needed to share his licorice with her.  I'm sure that "arsh" meant she had been a very good girl and deserved a piece.  By the way, she got her piece.  :)

And this pic shows my dad educating his grandkids about the greatest game ever.  

Well the greatest game in his opinion...Golf.  

I think it is precious how they are all lined up against the wall with their Papa!  

July ended with a visit from one of my best friends from HS.  We had a great time, but I didn't get a ton of pics while they were here.  Her family had just moved also so the kids enjoyed having friends to play with for a few days.  We also swapped date nights, which you can't beat that!  Excited that she is finally living pretty close to us so I can see her more often.