no girls were harmed in the making of this picture

Maria wasn't really biting her...I was opening my mouth and I think Anna was copying!

gingerbread cottage

Well, it's not exactly the size of a house, so we call ours a cottage!  Maria had fun helping, Anna just wanted to eat everything...she kept saying AHHHH, and opening her mouth like a little bird.  During the video you can hear her saying AHHH, and then she does in fact eat one piece, but who can blame her!

 anticipation...

 the goods...

 starting...

the result
We have plenty to praise God for; the generous church family who gave us this fun kit to do as a family.

drawings

Maria's apple/orange tree, uh, not sure that is even possible and a banana or moon on the right side, she told me it was two different things.

snow

This pictures was from the first major snow we had a week or so ago.

These are pictures of Larry and the girls enjoying the snow at the lake house.  They even built a snowman snowkid.  Mommy opted to stay inside where it was nice and warm and read her book.(and take pictures out the window)

 grrr...the flash just had to go off on this picture!

We have plenty to praise God for; “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;  Isaiah 1:18

Merry Christmas to Me

Last month I found out that I won a set of these pots and pans from MomAdvice, a blog I regularly follow.  I was so excited and when they arrived today it was like an early Christmas present to myself.  When Larry and I married, he already had some pots and pans so we didn't get anything new, so, it's nice to be able to have a new set 5 years into marriage.

We have plenty to praise God for; unexpected gifts.

everyday...

 another request that I "take our picture mommy!"...so I obliged her.

Anna scooped up the laundry bag and decided it would make a nice hat, looks like she is a beekeeper.

We have plenty to praise God for; fun everyday moments.

feasting

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving holiday with family, as always.  Hope you did too.  Here are some pictures of the kiddos having a blast with their cousins.

 Larry reading with the kids.

Uh, any guesses what we should get the kids for Christmas that they would actually play with. :)

 my attempt to capture the girls in their matching skirts that I made.

 nice, Anna!

 She is obsessed with his paci.

 playing with grandma's ancient cash register.

We have plenty to praise God for; fun with family.

QRS's

Anna is quite the musical girl lately.  She can sing several songs most of the way through.  She really loves the ABC's or maybe after this clip we should call it the QRS's...she seems especially smitten with that part of the song.  We are pretty consistent about singing it when we brush teeth each day, and the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics toy she is playing helps too!

We have plenty to praise God for; kids who love music and singing.

serendipity

I have found several outfits for the girls that have been seemingly matching, although they were different brands, and bought at two separate locations. They both have little Scottish Terriers on them.  The one Maria has on was bought at the thrift store that our church operates.  The one Anna is wearing was something grandma got from a garage sale.  It's fun to dress them alike now, while they still let me.  I even wore red so I was matchy too...okay, maybe that's a bit too much, but it makes me happy, who cares what anyone thinks!

We have plenty to praise God for; fun matching outfits at thrift store pricing!

Future Olympic Skaters?

They were really into the skating, Anna was especially excited about spinning.  And yes, she is a bit creeped out by ladybugs, especially real ones, but evidently pictures of ones too.

She requested that I take her picture, which doesn't happen very often, so I obliged her.  She loves her stroller and packing things into one of her bags and hauling it around.

the cutest preschooler ever...a totally unbiased opinion

We had Maria's preschool conference, oh, yes, conferences for preschool...when did they start doing those?  Anyway, if they had a preschool honor roll she would probably be on it! ;)  She had a checkmark in every area and knew her colors and shapes.  We are so happy that she LOVES going to preschool!  We also are pretty convinced she is the cutest preschooler ever!  Just look at that smile.

friends

Larry was heading to Marion on Monday to hear a speaker at IWU.  I realized that I had a good friend that I wanted to visit there, so I called last minute and PTL she was free.  So the girls and I headed with Daddy, and spent the morning visiting with Jackie, Grace, and Liam.  The girls had fun playing together and the moms enjoyed chatting and catching up on life over the past year since we have seen each other, and she served a yummy lunch.  And a lovely day was had by all.

 Not sure what we were both reacting to, but I love this.

 hmmm...can you tell kids were playing here lately...look familiar anyone?

 awww, Liam and Anna are holding hands.

We have plenty to praise God for; amazing friends that open their homes for fun visits.

indecisive...you could say that.

Anna can't wait for one song to be finished before she requests another song.  She basically askes for "little star=twinkle, twinkle", "baker's man =pat-a-cake" or "EIEIO=Old MacDonald", just lately she has been asking for Baa Baa, Black Sheep.

rainbow

cousin time

Last week we spent the evening with my sister and her family.  The girls just adore their cousin Trey, especially Maria when he reads to her.

words, words, and more words!

Anna is talking so much these days, just out of curiosity I started a list, and this is by no means a complete list, as she will repeat just about anything she hears, with at least some recognizability.

baby blankie shirt shoe sock mommy mama daddy dada sissy Maria Anna waffle pancake napkin washcloth whistle jacket walk outside inside up down Barbie night-night bye-bye kitty cat dog duck bird potty boom book share more please sorry no yes milk water music tickle pickle necklace bracelet pencil paper diaper velcro breakfast eat bus truck bike motorcycle banana apple cracker swing slide tree stick leaf phone hi hello sticker grandma grandpa Zach Joshua Trey arm hand eye foot stroller wagon tractor lap sit hat basement cold-brrr hot dance sing smile cheese pretty door drink strawberry hot 

some phrases she says: all done, all gone, thank you, more ____, love you, sit down, peek-a-boo, beside you

little star, baker's man, EIEIO(to request her favorite songs)
She can also sign the words, more, please, eat, milk, all done