Snow Days

This little girl, in the 80s throwback sweatsuit, loves looking at our Christmas cards from friends and family.  Everyday, on multiple occasions, little Miss goes down the line and picks out all her little friends and family members.  It is precious!  Evy, A Teety (Aunt Whitney), Wyan (Uncle Ryan), Anzey (she's on my family's card), Yansen (Jansen), Mawree (Marlee), and Awex (Alex).  The list goes on, but those are the most frequent names listed!  I love to listen to her as she goes down the line, so I just might keep our cards up all year!        

It was a beautiful, snowy day and we kept going to the window to see the white flakes fall, so after this sweet face gave me this look....I thought she definitely deserved to go outside. 

The snow turned out to be quite a bit of fun for our little family! It was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed it until the very last snowflake melted away! Here are a few pictures of of fabulous, fun-filled day in the snow....

Ansley looking especially cute in her snowsuit.

Wondering what all the white stuff was... 

She was not too shy about getting out in it.  I basically had to keep her from eating it all! 

She loved eating it!  I actually had to put a stop to it.  I wasn't sure how much grass she was intaking. 

Mimi was soaping up the tobaggan for us 

The start of an exciting day in the snow!

This look tells it all....

Can you tell she loved it?!

You can't tell from the picture, but we are freezing!  Her little fingers were turning into icicles and her little cheeks were as red as they could be.  It was time to get warm!!!

I didn't get a picture of the official meltdown when we had to come in.  Let me just say...she was not happy!  The only way I could get her calmed down was bribing her with blueberries....works everytime!

Later that day, Ansley decided this was her favorite place to sit...the mantel.  I just had to get one more picture of the sweet girl after our afternoon in the snow!  I guess she was trying to warm those icicle fingers up!

Daddy, Ansley and Alleigh went out later in the evening for some more romping around in the snow.  

I didn't realize how reflective Jason's snowsuit was until taking this picture!   

BB was playing in the snow with them too, but I missed getting a picture...shucks! 

Snow days are always fun!!

Some Good Ole' Quality Time with Pamaw and Pappaw

Over Christmas break Ansley got to spend some extra time with Pamaw and Pappaw, which of course, she loved!  Pamaw had a cookie baking day with Ansley and she found out first hand what an excellent little helper Ansley is!  She loved cutting the cookies out, making a mess with the sprinkles, and licking the spoon (she's just like her mom and dad...loves the dough).  These pictures are a treasure...she is just way too cute for words!

I love this one.

So serious.

Time to eat a bite, Pamaw!

We now have a girl who loves cookie dough....yikes! 

Uncle Kyle joined in, but couldn't get a bite. 

I love this little face! 

And this apron was specially made for Ansley from GG. So sweet!

Pappaw joined in later for the sprinkles.

She is not spoiled at all! 

Some more quality time with Pamaw.  She's surprisingly still during storytime! 

Whitney's Bird and Owl Baby Shower!!!

Whitney and Ryan are expecting baby Brynn at the end of March, so me and a few of Mrs. Rene's friends hosted a baby shower for her!  It turned out to be such a wonderful shower...so many family and church friends joined us for all the festivities.  Let me just say, they are set!  They received so many gifts, it took a whole army of us to haul it all out!  Yay!

Here's Whitney with her little bump. 

The hostesses and Whitney

How cute is this cake?!  This cake came from Custom Cakes (Jen's friend)  

The girls that helped with the large mound of presents

Me, Lindsay, and Whit 

The Hawn girls minus Aunt Soni

What a wonderful day!!  Pictures of the adorable room coming soon!

Ansley Harper 18 Months!

This picture cracks me up...first of all, she looks like a little jailbird and secondly, her face all crunched up is a scream!

Wow!  We have a big girl on our hands now!  Ansley is eighteen months and trucking too fast!  Here's the lastest tricks we are amazed by...

*You LOVE to say MUM....for mom.  Not mom or mommy....mum.  No longer do you say, uh uh uh, when you need something.  You immediately point and say...mum.  I love it!

*You are starting to become quite the little dancer!  You love to twirl and turn (ballarina style) and you do a really cute knee bend move (usually to music) that we love to see.  It's pretty adorable!

*It's not unusual for you to break out in song-twinkle, twinkle little star, ABCs, Jesus loves me, or E I E I Oooooo......are some of your favorites.  The funniest part about it all is when you close your eyes and start moving your head...Stevie Wonder style!

*I Wuv Youuuuu has to be one of the most adorable things you say right now.  You pucker your lips and extend out the you...it's hilarious and so precious!

*Your babies are still your prized possessions.  They even get fussy!  Sometimes I'll hear a distant cry and run in to see what the problem is, only to find that the baby is fussy.  You then will rock them, pat them, and make sure their happy again.  Wow.  You have quite an imagination already!

*You are such a great little helper!  You like to help me do laundry, throw items in the trashcan, vaccuum (with your toy), and sometimes I find you dusting stuff with a paper towel.  Last week at My Daddy's Cheesecake, I let you get down from the table and you started cleaning the glass cases.  So funny!  I hope this phase continues...Lord knows, I hate to clean!!

*You started saying your name about a month ago...Ansy, is usually what is sounds like.  So precious.

*There's been several occasions where you start tickling yourself to be funny.  You say...tickle, tickle, tickle and then you shake and roll on the floor!  Everytime your little friend, Kate Crisman sees you she asks if you want to tickle yourself...she thinks it's hilarious. 

*You have such a sweet personality.  You are so loving, but have a little fiestiness to you as well.  You have recently learned the word "Nooo  w", so we are trying to keep that in check (that is, if we can stop from laughing when you say it). 

*Bathtime is so fun for you.  You love to play with all your water toys and your dad has taught you how to dip your face under the water.  We also have sponge letters that we build words with..."It's time to build a word, let's build it, let's build it now!"  Thank you WordWorld...learning made fun!

*You went above and beyond the requirements of an 18 month old when we visited with Amanda, our parents as teachers friend.  She was impressed with your skills!  It was a proud moment for mom and dad!

*You weigh 27 lbs, 75% in height and weight, wear size 4 diapers, 12-18 month clothes and size 5 shoes.

*Before mealtime and bedtime, we say our prayers with you.  The best part is, when you clasp your little hands together to pray.  You will usually bow your head, sometimes close your eyes, and at the end you say Amen (your version of amen).  Those are the moments that my heart bursts!

Ansley, you are adorable!  Bottom line...we are honored to care for such a precious little girl and we daily thank God for you!  The past year and a half has been incredible because of you!   

Skater girls...

My group of skating friends like to get together as often as possible.  It's so hard because we're all spread out, but at the very least, once a year we get together.  It's usually around Christmas time when we can all gather and this year was no different.  However, one thing has changed...we have two girls pregnant!  Woo hoo!  Ashley and Gwen are both due around the same time in March/April and Gwen is having a girl!  Ashley finds out tomorrow!  Yay!  Our little skating family is growing!  Here are a few pictures from our evening here at the house.

Our annual pic minus Lindsay!

Ashley and Gwen feeling up their bellies! 

Can't wait to cuddle with these babies!

Happy New Year!!!

We had an awesome New Year's Eve!  We spent it with family and friends here at our house and enjoyed ourselves until the wee hours of the morn!  We were rockin' out to Rock Band, karaoke tunes, and board games!  "Don't make me SING!" (This is from an SNL skit, we have fallen in love with!) We had a blast...can't wait to see what the new year brings!  God's blessings have been abundant this past year and we praise Him for all things!  May God bless your family in 2011!

This is Ansley bringing in the New Year in STYLE....

Christmas this year with our little family of three was a dream, well almost.  We started by putting out cookies and milk for Santa by the fireplace and tucking Ansley in with her Christmas tree all a glow.  Of course she didn't want to leave any cookies for Santa...she wanted to eat them all.  I'm not quite sure what we were thinking...what 18 month old is going to happily walk away from a plate full of cookies?!

Not this one.  She did get a nibble. 

  Her expression the next morning when the cookies were gone was priceless (I can still see those little hands cupped and that sweet, perplexed look on her face).   We read the note Santa had left her and started in on our Christmas morning traditions.  Jason insisted that Ansley and I open one particular present before we did anything else.  We usually start with the Christmas story, so I opened it with a little bit of confusion.  But was happily surprised...I got the Word of Promise audio bible!  Woo hoo!  Instead of reading about Jesus' birth, we listened to it.  It really makes you feel like you're right there in the manger!  

Meanwhile, I started to smell something burning.  That's NEVER good.  I mentioned it to Jason, but he brushed it off...saying that he had JUST put in the pluckit cake and there was no way that it could be burning.  As soon as he finished his sentence, he had decided to check the situation out (running I might add)...I guess he started to smell it himself!  So there we were again with a fire in our oven and smoke consuming the house for the 2nd year in a row!  Really?!  The drizzled sugar had dribbled right out into the bottom of the oven.  Like I told Jason, I'm pretty sure I'm in charge of the pluckit cake next year!             

Christmas at Pamaw and Pappaw's house was a hit!  Ansley was fired up as usual, running from room to room looking for dee dee (baby).  However, she had NO idea what was in store for her when the presents came out!  She was about to get her hands on her first American Girl doll!  Whoa.  She was in absolute bliss, to say the least!  Can you tell from these pictures?     

Kyle and Ryan entertaining Ansley before our meal. 

Kyle is also an extraordinary cook and made us one scrumptious Christmas spreadl! We ate like kings!   

We always get together with our friends, the Shoaf's over Christmas too.  This year was no different.  Aaron and Marissa live in New Jersey with their two sweet kiddos and we were happy to get to spend some time with them.  Marissa is an avid scrapbooker/crafter, so we had lots to talk about and Aaron and Jason never run out of things to say!  We ended up talking and watching the Mizzou game until about 12:30...good times (we are so old)!  Next year we'll have baby Brynn to join us in the Christmas fun!