Let it snow!

We've had 2 good snows so far this winter and have been able to enjoy them with the girls. We've made lots of snow angels, caught snow on our tounges, and even went for a tobaggon ride! (Baby and I held off on the ride :) )

Enjoy the snowy pictures!

Daddy, Norah, and Isabella on the tobbagon

Isabella treking in the snow - (we were playing hide and seek with Daddy)

Norah building a snowball with snow from the swing

Snow angel Norah

Snow angel Bella

My baby bump at 20 weeks.

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The girls were both so excited all season for Santa to come. Even more so - they were excited to put Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve!

We celebrated with my family the weekend before Christmas and had a great time - we spent Saturday evening at Maggie's house and had a brunch on Sunday morning at Haley and Larry's house. All the kids (and adults) had a great time just being together.

Family Time

Mimi and Papa

Norah cuddling a gift - new clothes!

Bella opening presents

We celebrated just the 4 of us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. We had a white Christmas this year, which was wonderful! On Christmas Eve we opened the last Advent Calendar door and it had Baby Jesus in it. Norah started jumping around extremely happy saying "Christmas is here, Christmas is here!" We were so happy to see that having Baby Jesus in the manger meant Christmas for her! This was the first year she really got caught up in the excitement of Christmas - it was so much fun!

Isabella is starting to get caught up in the excitement too - I think it helps having Norah to "follow" and feed off her excitement! All year long we are reminded how lucky we are to have both the girls, and I think at Christmas it tends to stand out even more.

We celebrated with Brian's family on the 23rd and on Christmas day. Again, it was great just to have time to spend with the family and celebrate the purpose of the season with them.

Opening presents
Daddy and Norah
Bella with a new book!

Grandma and Grandpa


We hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!

Field Trip to Purina Farms

On Thursday we went on a field trip for Norah's school. It is our first field trip and was a lot of fun! We went to Purina Farms in Gray Summit, MO and saw lots of farm animals as well as cats and dogs.

Norah's teachers were very nice and said that Isabella could come along too. She was so excited to be able to go with Norah and the big kids! When we got to the classroom, Bella sat right down with the rest of the kids on the blue line and got in line when it was time. She was a little shy about being around all the big kids, but Norah helped and held her hand. Before we left, all the kids got a button to tell us what group they were in. It was nice because there were only 4-5 kids in a group - managable for the adults!

The school had a bus take the kids, but since Brian and I are parinoid parents :) we drove our group instead. It worked out well because there were so many parents who went that we couldn't have all fit on the bus. It's a pretty short trip out there and is a really pretty area around the farm.

When we got there, we went to the cat and dog house first. The cats live in a HUGE dollhouse of sorts! It's open on most sides and at the very top is a cubby for them to sit in the sun - not too shabby! The girls loved the cats, especially a little kitten that liked to play with them.

We also got to see the dogs that came out later and put on a show for us. Included in the mix was a pig :) Norah was not impressed - but Bella was eager to talk to the pig.

Bella talking to the pig!

Then we went to the petting area and got to pet baby pigs - very cute :), a soft fluffy bunny, and a tame chicken. I didn't even know you could tame a chicken, but this one was very nice!

Norah petting and jumping away from the chicken!

There was a big play area upstairs, but it was too overwhelming for the girls, so they mostly hung out by us until it was time to go downstairs. Downstairs Norah and I went with the rest of her group to watch them milk a cow (it was BIG says Norah!) while Bella and Brian went to see the sheep (which said Baaa when Bella walked away -big hit for her!)



Then, it was time for the dog show. They had a bunch of dogs do different tricks with frisbee's and go through the obstacle course. The girls thought it was great - and the pig even came out to go through the obstacle course! It wasn't very agile, but made the last jump where it always gets a treat - smart pig! Their favorite part of the dog show was the end where 2 dogs did long jumps to catch frisbee's into the pool (heated of course). They were very impressed and one dog even showed off when it was done catching the frisbee - much to the kids delight!

We all stopped on the way home at Lone Elk Park to eat a picnic lunch. Bella climbed right up next to Norah and her friends to eat lunch. It was fun to see Norah in her school atmosphere and see how she interacts with the other kids. She has a lot of fun and the kids are so great! There's a good lesson about acceptance to learn from 3 and 4 year olds.


We had a great day and the girls are still talking about all the animals and asking when we can go back - it's a lot of fun and we suggest it for anyone looking for a fun way to spend the morning or afternoon!

Norah and Bella petting the bunny.

Bella's 2nd Birthday

Our little Bella turned 2 on Sunday - I can't believe how quickly the time is going! She's getting so big and is so smart. (I know we're biased, but it's true!) She loves to read books not only with us, but also by herself. "I do it myself" is a common phrase we hear :) She is really good at puzzels and has so much fun putting them together. She also tries very hard to catch up with Norah which I think also makes a difference in how fast she's learning things. They play really well together and Norah loves teaching Bella new things.

Bella had a great time at her party - she was surrounded by family and loved playing with her cousins. The kids got to decorate the pumpkins Norah and Bella picked out at the Pumpkin Patch. We lucked out and had great weather on Sunday so the glitter and feathers were mostly outside!

Overall Bella had a wonderful birthday and still loves to sing "Happy Birthday" and give everyone gifts.

Thank you to everyone who came - we had a great day!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch - it's not an actual "patch" but is a field with picked pumpkins at a local church. We've gone each year since Norah was born and love it! They have fun games for the kids to play and tons and tons of pumpkins.

Isabella and Norah loved climbing around all the pumpkins and choosing different ones to take home. After pumpkins were "picked", we ate at the BBQ and then bounced in the bounce house. Norah was eager to start jumping, but Bella was a bit more reserved. After a little while,

she was excited and starting jumping everywhere!

They had a lot of fun! We picked a bunch of little ones for Bella's birthday party tomorrow. The kids will all get to decorate them - that will be a fun mess I'm sure! :) Good thing it's going to be a beautiful day so we can be outside!

We'll post pictures later of our decorated and carved pumpkins! Happy Fall!

Norah's First Day of School

This post is a little late, Norah's first day of school was August 24. She was very excited and nervous, but had a great morning. We've gotten through our first couple of weeks, and last week we had our first day of no tears!! (From Norah and from Mommy!)

Norah outside her school (saying "schooool")

Norah hanging up her backpack

I just can't believe she's already in school. I know it's Montessori, but it's still school - she's growing up so fast!


Hope everyone else has a great start to the school year and enjoys the start of fall!

Love,
Emilie

40th Wedding Anniversary

On June 6, my parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary! My brothers, sisters, and I planned (thank you Haley!) a surprise party for them at Cafe Eau. Needless to say, they were extremely surprised and everyone had a fantastic evening! Our whole family was there - which was amazing and wonderful. ( A run down for those who don't know all the totals - 5 children and 9 grands (grandchildren))

Brian and I consider ourselves very lucky to have both sets of our parents still married and in love. We have great role-models!


The lovebirds - Happy 40th Anniversary!

Isabella, Ashton, and Norah

Kiley and Norah

Mommy, Norah, and Isabella - all dressed up!