2010 Staycation

Norah peeping at the park

Bella peeping - and climbing - at the park

In February, Brian, Norah, Isabella, and I had our "staycation" since we knew we wouldn't be taking a vacation this year. We had a great weekend and went to the Des Peres Lodge to swim, went to the Butterfly House and Queeny Park, and went to the girl's favorite new restaurant - Red Robin - all because of balloons :)

The Des Peres Lodge was so much fun, they have a wave pool with inner tubes and a kiddie pool. The girls had such a great time at both! The wave pool was fun and the kiddie pool was perfect for the girls.

Bella loved the Butterfly House and tried to let a butterfly land on her as much as she possibly could. Norah didn't like them quite as much :) although one did land on her. Luckily she didn't see it and we were able to tell her about it later - without the tears!

The weather was perfect for our staycation and we wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way. We're so lucky to have such beautiful and fun girls - and we have so much fun spending time with them.

Dinosaur ride
Daddy and his girls at the Butterfly House

Norah and Bella by the Caterpillar outside the Butterfly House

Daddy Daughter Dance

On Saturday, Brian and Norah went to their first Daddy Daughter Dance at St. Margaret of Scotland. Norah, Isabella, Mimi, and I went shopping last weekend and picked out a pretty dress for both Norah and Isabella to wear to the dance and to a Mommy and Bella night.

Daddy and Norah had a lot of fun at the dance - they danced, had their picture taken, and played with balloons! Norah got to bring home a rose and brought a balloon home for herself and one for Bella! I can't believe how grown up she is getting! I know it's cliche but I still remember bringing her home - it doesn't seem possible she'll be 4 this year!

Bella and I had a Mommy-Bella night and had a special dinner and hot cocoa. We had a great time - it isn't often we get to spend time together just the two of us! I think she really liked the alone time, even though she's been sick this week and was still a little under the weather.

Daddy and Norah

Daddy and Bella

Mommy, Norah, and Bella

Dancing Bella

Mimi, Papa, Norah, and Bella

Daddy and Norah ( I teared up when they came in the room!)

Norah ready for the dance

Norah at the dance

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!