SNOW!

Last weekend, it snowed & snowed...it was beautiful & Abby was so excited. She had been asking when we were going to get more snow, so you can imagine how happy she was Saturday morning to wake and see the ground covered. This is the first year she has enjoyed the snow, so Daddy took full advantage of it! They went out both days & Abby came running into the house each time for hot (lukewarm) chocolate with EXTRA marshmallows. No pictures Saturday, but thankfully, she cooperated for a few on Sunday. Too cute!

Before she headed outside...Go Bears!

See the rosy cheeks...not the rosy disposition! :)

Sisterly love

Bekah's first snow angel...yes, she is screaming!

I have no idea...

This is what they did for hours each day

See the fancy sled we have? Actually, it cracked, so Daddy will have to come up with something new!

Bloggy love,

Life as We Knew It...

Is now over...

Here she is with Bunny-bunny...look how sweet she is just sitting there!

Jamming on the piano...so cute!

Then, this happened...

Wait a second...you're kidding me, right? What happened to the baby lump that didn't move?? She is now STANDING!!


Getting into Mommy's craft supplies


I'm not sure this is the kind of organizing I had in mind! :)

Our baby is such a blessing to us. We are so thankful for her, and have tried to enjoy every bit of 'baby-ness' this time. It's such a fast season, and with Abby, we had rules and things had to be done just so. The poor firstborn. The practice child. I was one, so hey, it obviously doesn't kill you; and so far, Abby seems to be doing just fine. With Beks, we have tried to relax a little. Well, everyone except Abby. She has now had her world rocked. The baby just laid there before...maybe she could do a couple of log rolls, but this? THIS is stressful. This baby sister is not cute. Not fun. Not her friend. Wow. I hope this part gets better. Sometimes, she's absolutely helpful with Beks and adorable, but the other times, whew. She LOVES everyone elses little sisters and brothers, but her's is not the same. Abby informed me a few days ago that she does not like to share me when Grandma Lene is not here. Hmmmm...Grandma Lene isn't here very often, so you can imagine the trauma she is experiencing.

We are having lots of fun though. Watching the girls grow and seeing their personalities emerge. We're in for it...

Bloggy love,

You Just Never Know...

Brad had a day off, so guess where Abby wanted to go? Everland, baby. Her favorite destination for fun in Korea! She really thought she wanted to go ice skating, but changed her mind (which is good because she isn't tall enough!). She wanted Mommy to go with her on the sled, but I told her that Daddy was from Colorado and he had the snow experience. The last thing I wanted to have happen was a Mommy/Abby wreck and be the one blamed if she never wanted to get on a sled again. Nope. Not me.

You never know what Abby will love. Well, she LOVES to sled. She wouldn't stop. It was so cute, she had the biggest smiles. Daddy did too! :) Finally, Beks was a frozen little babysicle & I went to thaw her out in the baby service area...that place, is Mommy's favorite thing about Everland!

Here she is on her own sled...it's the little kids' side. No fear!

Check this out, Grandma Lene...

Bloggy love,

Caught Up!

Well, Beks has not been feeling so hot the past week. She has been even more of a momma's girl than usual...incredible, I know. So, it's a good thing she likes the baby carrier. It's cute too, so that's a bonus. Bekah is still adorable, even being extra needy! Look at those blue eyes...

See, she's just SO BIG...she can also, high five & clap. She's not a trained monkey people; not much of a performer when the video camera is turned on!

Photography by Abby

A lunchtime read...she's been more interested in reading than eating since her tummy has been bothering her. Poor baby.
Beks is an expert at sitting herself up

That's all for now. I'm tired & headed to bed.

Bloggy love,

Abby's 1st Movie Theater Experience

During the holiday season here, while the kids were out of school, our movie theater had a special matinee movie for them each day. They didn't charge for the kiddos & there was a free popcorn involved...BONUS. I mean, why else would we enjoy the movies, if we didn't have snacks? HA. Anyhow, the movie playing was Madagascar 2. You may think it's weird that our almost 4 year old has never been to the movies. Well, she doesn't like loud things. Thunder. Fireworks. Loud movies at home. It boils down to the fact that I really didn't want to pay money, just to leave the movie theater -- sitting in a really dark room with a really loud movie, didn't seem like her kind of thing. The movie started out okay, and she liked standing up & putting her hand on her heart to do the National Anthem (that's something they do before every movie on military bases). When the plane started to crash at the beginning of the movie, Abby was ready to go. 5 minutes in. Well, I put her on my lap & tried to explain that it was okay, but she didn't seem convinced. We did stay though...and the interesting thing is that I don't think the noise was the biggest problem. It was the plane crashing. We have had many discussions about it, so hope this doesn't present a problem on our next airplane ride. Fun to think about! She wants to see Madagascar now, because I told her there was no plane crash. That's true, right? I really don't remember.

You can just see the excitement...

Kristie & Anastassia told Abby NOT to smile...Hmmm, it worked

I'll let Daddy take her next time...it's a good Daddy-Daughter Date for them. :)

Bloggy love,

The Baby

These two get the least amount of blog time, so here is a post all their own. Beks decided she wanted Indy dog's bone & he didn't quite know what to think. He is a really sweet boy with kids...with us, he's a tad neurotic, but he is handsome. He's got that. Anyhow, here are some sweet shots of them.

(Try to ignore the disarray when I pan over to the couch!)

Bloggy love,

Christmas Morning & Night

What a wonderful morning! It was very low key & we enjoyed the simpleness of it. Abby was so excited! It's crazy though...she was so into it all, but about halfway in, she decided to be done and wanted to play. The funniest part is that she didn't go back the rest of the gifts until the next day! We were happy she was so good about it and enjoyed her gifts so much.

Daddy's special Christmas t-shirt...it somehow shows up every year!

This, to me, was one of the sweetest parts of Christmas. The girls just sat and played by each other for a very long time. It's just crazy that my baby is big enough to sit by herself and play by her big sister!

Christmas night, we had some of the folks that work for Brad over to eat chili. Um, I was a little taken back by Brad's request for chili, but I embraced the whole "simplify" and focus on what's important. It wasn't just any old chili, it was his favorite Skyline/Cincinnati Chili, 5-way, of course! :) We had a good group & I was so happy to have been able to make the chili the day before! Everyone played Wii games and the kids had a fun time staying up late.

I should be caught up soon!

Bloggy love,

The Remainder

Well, I think we've reached the end of most of the pictures celebrating the PGUB visit. I must say, it was a wonderful 18 days. It really didn't seem like that long (maybe my family feels differently!), but we truly feel blessed that they were able to come see us. Not everyone has that happen during their time here, and we really appreciate it. We aren't sure when we will be able to head back to the states for a visit or when they will return, so we'll enjoy these memories for the time being.

Here are a few more fun shots & a video to wrap up their trip!

This video totally cracks me up...I obviously filmed it, but I sure don't remember it! It's from Todd's visit and Abby is showing off. Oh my, not sure where she comes up with these dance moves!

Bloggy love,