Happy Birthday Bella, huh???

So everytime we have cake or cupcakes at our house, Bella INSISTS that we put candles in the cake/cupcakes and sing happy birthday to her.



She even makes us turn the lights off. She is really going to be a pro at this birthday thing by the time her real birthday rolls around in November. I didn't think it was fair to exclude Liv, so she tried cupcake (or rather icing) for the first time and LOVED it.



I am pretty sure she will dig into her first birthday cake...only 3 more months and we will see! This is just a random picture of the girls. We have been spending some time outside finally since the weather has been so nice. Come on spring!

Happy early 30th Adam!!!

In celebration of Adam's 30th birthday (man it's hard to believe we are that old!) the whole fam headed to the Ozarks. I don't think the Durango could have hauled one more thing...we were MAXED out and everyone was very thankful by the time we got there! I sat in the back with the girls most of the way with Olivia crying the majority of the time and Bella asking more questions than one can imagine! When we were there though we took advantage of Tan Tara's indoor water park. Bella was a tad apprehensive at first, but really did enjoy it and so did we.



This was really Olivia's first time in the pool, so initially she had a death grip on me, but after some time loosened up.



Besides that we just enjoyed each others company



and enjoyed not being bogged down with all the daily tasks one tends to get sidetracked with while at home. So in short...Happy early 30th Adam...your girls hope you had as much fun as we did!!!

Finally Crawling

YEAH!!! It finally happened. Olivia began crawling. We first became aware that she could crawl yesterday as we were bathing the girls. Usually when she gets on all fours she stays up on her knees for only seconds and then falls flat to her belly with her face burried in the carpet. Well yesterday, she saw a toy that she wanted while in the bath tub and she actually crawled for it!! I guess she knew the alternative was that her face would be under water:) Well today, the crawling has gotten to be more and more. I must say that she certainly does NOT love crawling and it is typically associated with crying, but she can do it!

The Dino Center

Today we went with the Mense's to the Science Center. If Bella asked, "Where are we going?" once, she asked it one hundred times!! We kept saying we are going to see the Dinosaurs at the Science Center. Well, by the time we FINALLY got there, she renamed it the Dino-Center...pretty fitting!



The kids had fun together and Grady and Olivia really "bonded" for the first time. Olivia had a lot to tell Grady (typical of a girl!) and he just listened intently.



Since I had already seen the dinosaur exhibit a couple of times, Olivia and I stayed back with the strollers while everyone else checked out the beasts. My girlie was ALL smiles as usual!



Finally tonight as I was showering, Bella told me her hands were chapped and she needed some lotion, I told her that she could do it by herself since mommy was in the shower...boy did she do it!!!

My gosh, where does the time go, I can't believe it has been so long since I blogged. Our days seem to fill up so quickly and usually by the time I think about it, sheer exhaustion has set in. Here is a brief update.

Christmas (yeah it's been that long since I wrote) was wonderful. The girls had a great time and we truly enjoyed spending time with family and friends. The girls cousin, Ben, was in town - it was so fun to see all three of them together!



The girls were really good this year, so St. Nick made a specail trip to our house. St. Nicked stuffed the stockings full, Bella thought it was pretty great to get lots of treasures...Liv could have cared less!



The weekend we wanted to get the tree this year was cold, windy and of course muddy (I guess pretty typical of the midwest in December) so Adam and I headed to Eckert's and found the perfect tree.



And it's not Christmas without telling Santa exactly what you want. Bella was not so sure of the jolly old guy, but Liv LOVED pulling his long white beard.



New Years just isn't quite the same now as it was pre-kids. We rang in the new year (a tiny exaggeration - we did our toast I think at 9 pm) at our friend's Kim & Casey's house. They have a little guy named Brennan that Bella loves!! They toasted each other with sparkling grape juice and had good times running around playing!

Soon after the new year, Adam headed to Australia for TWO weeks...it about killed me having him gone that long. My mom truly is my savior, I am pretty sure I would have not made it without her:) Thanks Mom!!!

Valentine's Day was celebrated at our friend's Kate and Chris, who have two little guys. Bella loves her boy friends!! It is so funny to see how different boys and girls are even at such a young age!! It was a LOVE filled night. Kate made them chicken in the shape of a heart, mac n cheese out of a hear dish, they iced heart cookies and ate heart shaped jello. They all play so good together, it is wonderful to watch them grow up and learn new things together. Olivia too has a friend, his name is Grady, he is about 4 months younger than her and A-dorable!



Olivia is turning NINE months old in just a few days. My little baby is getting to be so BIG!! She doesn't crawl yet, just rocks on all fours, but she does walk around everything. Toys, furniture, you name it...as long as she can hold onto it, she can walk around it! Yesterday we got her pictures taken. If you need a photographer, Five Petals Photography is AWESOME!! Click on the link below for a sneak peak at my chubba baby:)

http://five-petals.com/

Santa visits Bella via the Web

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/b77242fca72bf343f0b0bf7da4266935
Copy and paste the above link into your browser!

Sick - Sick - Sick

All the girls in our house are sick! YUCK!! I took Bella and Olivia to see Dr. Mel today. Bella has a sinus infection and an ear infection and Olivia has a sinus infection. All of this equals a crabby house of girls! To top it all off, Adam is traveling this week! This time of year is no fun for anyone! We did all get antibiotics and I am praying we are on the road to a speedy recovery!!

On a lighter note, we had a terrific weekend together as a family and I consider the first Thanksgiving at our house a success. Lots of food and great company! We truly have oh so very much to be thankful for. I really think every day how lucky we are to have a beautiful and usually healthy family, wonderful friends and all the other countless blessings in our life...so Happy (late) Thanksgiving to everyone! We love you all!