Looking back at 2011

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone and we are looking at a new year. Looking back it has been a full year.

Bella accomplished two seasons of soccer and is gearing up for her third in February. She really has enjoyed it and is always hustling. She finished up gymnastics in the fall and in the spring had a gymnastics competition...where she lost her first tooth on the way home. She lost a total of two teeth this year, but has another loose one so I'm sure 2012 will bring the tooth fairy back to our house a few times. Bella started swimming on her own this summer too. In the fall she started a semi-kindergarten program and I can't believe she'll be in big school come August. She loves to write things and asks how to spell everything. She is doing a great job reading us the books she brings home from school. Art is something she practices all the time and she loves her art set from Nana and Papa. She also had her first dance recital and was amazing. The biggest gift this year was her accepting Christ a few weeks ago.

Gabby has just grown into a spitfire. She has a rationale and answer for everything. She is still our comedian. She is getting better at her letters. Tracing dots help and she can almost do a G on her own. She also started gymnastic in the spring and soccer in the fall and loves scoring goals and she might start gymnastics again in the spring, but we'll have to see. She loves being a big sister. In the spring she was in ICU and we hope that she will stay healthy in the upcoming months. So far she has done great with keeping her asthma under control.

Jeremiah will be six months this week. How the time has flown by. He is starting to sit a long time by himself and has discovered how great food is this week. He is an eating machine and still our smiley guy. He has started to giggle at funny noises we make, but right now seems to want to make his own noises.

As work has had a lot of ups and downs this past year I am excited that things seems to be evening out and we have a great staff right now. I am happy that Joel is enjoying his job. He works really hard to provide for our family and I'm glad he has found his niche.

Looking ahead this up coming year Joel is hoping to run the half marathon in January and a full in San Diego the beginning of June. We are hoping to make it a small 9th anniversary weekend. In May we are planning on heading to Disneyland for Gabby's 4th birthday. Jeremiah will turn 1 in July and Bella will start big school the beginning of August and will turn 6 in October. Our big hope for the year is that we will be in our own house. We will see what God has planned. Happy New Year.

Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone...almost as hard to believe that Jeremiah is almost 6 months. We had a fun and relaxing Christmas. I didn't get out of my pjs until it was time to go to the Zoo Lights.We went to Christmas Eve Service at 1 and then came home with an attempt to have the girls sleep; however, naps never happened. We headed over to my parents and had enchiladas and buckeyes. Joel and Jeremiah were so handsome in their matching hats.Let's just say that Jeremiah was more into the noise the paper made than the presents. We got home around 8 and put out cookies for Santa, apples for the reindeer and the girls letters to Santa.In the morning they were excited to see that Santa brought bikes for both of them and a bouncy for Jeremiah.At the end of opening presents our family room was a mess of boxes and toys.The girls went outside with Joel to ride their new bikesGabby put "Baby Jesse" (or baby Aurora) in her basket and rode around.That night we went to zoo lights. In the past going Christmas night was the perfect time because it was empty. Apparently the word has spread and it was pretty packed. We still had a great time looking at all the lights.

Christmas Cookie Tradition

Making Christmas cookies is always a favorite...although messy. The girls had a blast decorating, but I did have to put a limit on how many different kinds of sprinkles were allowed on each cookie.Gabby made a marshmallow snowman at schoolI also attempted cake pops for the first time. We gave them to the kids' teachers. I think they turned out pretty cute.The girls also got to decorate a tree for their room. They had fun picking out the animal ornaments at their favorite store (mine too)...Target.

First Dance Recital

The girls had their first dance recital a few weeks ago. They were so freaking adorable. I couldn't believe how well they did never practicing on stage and they danced two songs, plus did a beginning and finale. Both girls knew every move and we were so proud of them. Halfway through both songs the girls danced together. On the second song Bella got to going too fast and swung Gabby around. At the end of the song I think they were supposed to put their feet on their partners back, but Bella missed the cue and tried a second time and ended up kicking Gabby in the head. The whole thing was two hours. Some of their teachers from school came to entertain the kids between songs. I don't know how they kept that many preschoolers entertained for that long. Jeremiah slept through most of it...but I'm sure there will be more for him to enjoy.Papa, Nana, Gloria and us got the girls flowers.

I want Jesus in my heart

So I have to write this down before I forget.

Tonight when putting the girls to bed, Bella kept saying how she was so happy that Jesus died on the cross and that at Easter she was going to have happy tears. I asked her if she knew why Jesus died. She said she didn't really know. I went on to explain that God sent his only son, Jesus as a baby, and Bella said Christmas is Jesus' birthday. I said that was right, but when Jesus grew up there was a lot of sin in the world so Jesus died on the cross for all our sins. I asked her if she knew what sin was, and she said no. I explained that when we disobey God and do things he doesn't like it was sin. He wants us to be kind to everyone and help those in need. She said like the quarters to buy kids food (the girls filled m&m tubes for Feed My Starving Children the other night). I said that was right, and that God wants us to be an example for people that don't know him and that when Jesus is in our heart he can shine through us and other people can learn about Jesus. She asked if Jesus could live in her heart, and I said it was really easy to do all you had to do was pray for God to forgive your sins and to let Jesus live in your heart. So she prayed "God please take my sins away and Jesus please live in my heart forever."

Bella has always been very sensitive to others needs and always talks about God. She tells Jeremiah bible stories and this morning said she was writing a book about Jesus. She spelled Jesus as "GZZ".

Ear Infections

So it finally feels like winter and with that comes sick season. UGH! It started with Jeremiah getting an ear infection 2 weeks ago, then Bella got sick, then Gabby had a double ear infection, and now Jeremiah is on round two of antibiotics since his left ear is still infected. Luckily he didn't really get a fever or as sick as the girls, but both Bella and Gabby had a low fever that wouldn't go away for three days. The girls seem to be great...fingers crossed they will stay that way since they have their first dance recital tonight.

Gabby loves to snuggle with Jeremiah and doesn't really mind that he pulls her hair.Jeremiah partaking in a tea party with BellaThe big man has started solids. So far so good. He doesn't eat a lot but really likes peas, squash and green beans. Cereal and Oatmeal are okay and carrot are really the only thing he didn't like, but you have to time it just right. He's working on some teeth on top of being sick. He is such a good baby. We had a few nights where he woke up a few times, but all in all we are lucky and he's so happy. When we went into the peds office today to have his wheezing looked at, he weighed in at 18 pounds and 12 ounces. He is so big...his nickname at school is BEAR which seems appropriate on many levels. He is almost to sit by himself. He'll last a few seconds on his own, but then gets excited and flys back. He loves to roll from his back to his tummy, but still can't get back over. He does lift his stomach off the ground and can turn himself around. He always ends up in a different place on the floor. He can scoot himself backwards and once he figures out how to crawl there will be no stopping him. He loves his dragonfly toy, but his hands and feet seem to be the most fascinating. He'll just stare at them or anyone elses. He still squeals more than giggles. My most favorite part of the day is when he snuggles in while I'm rocking him. I know he'll be too big soon, but for now I'm loving it.
We are having a lot of fun doing holiday crafts and baking. It's a full month, but it was nice to have this week off to spend time with the girls. I know next year when Bella is in school we won't be able to do this. More to come...hopefully more timely :)

Christmas Tree

When we got home from Pinetop we put the tree up. The girls had fun looking at all the ornaments. They are always so cute when we put up Zona and Cosmo's ornaments. They say we miss them, even though they call them by the wrong names. Joel took the kids to get their 2011 ornaments--Bella got an angel, Gabby a soccer player and Jeremiah got a little blue baby's 1st Christmas. The girls went and saw Santa that day too. Santa told them to be nice to each other...so we'll see. Bella was excited to show off the tree to Jeremiah

Soccer is over for the season

We couldn't be more proud of both girls this season. The season was supposed to end before Thanksgiving, but the first game got moved to the beginning of December after the mosquitoes were so bad in September. Anyway, Bella just runs and runs and is always ready to go in. She gets so focused and got really aggressive in the last game. Although she didn't score in the last game she had a lot of attempts. Bella's team was the Blue Horses! We hope to be with the same coach in the spring.

Gabby is our little scoring machine. Her team name was the Hulks. She is so cute running around the field even if she's playing with her hair half the time. Honestly most of the kids are looking at the sky or the grass, so it's not hard to take the ball away and score with little opposition. The last game she scored 8 goals. She would score then run over to Joel and give him a big hug. It was so cute.

Thanksgiving

So I'm playing catch up. We went up to Pinetop for Thanksgiving again this year. The cabin dad rented was on the 18th hole, so we had a great view and went on a ton of walks.Thursday morning the girls helped make mini-pies with Nana and Uncle Ryree. Then they helped set the table.After dinner Papa and Jeremiah took a nap while we went on a walk.There was a great swing in front that everyone had fun on.Our matching monkey pjs that Joel got us girls.Saturday we of course watched the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. It was a great game even though they lost.
It was a great trip and nice to relax and be outside.