Snuggly Sunday and Sleeping Bags

Sunday was bitter cold and we were all tired. We stayed "in" for the afternoon to hibernate. I think we spent the entire afternoon in the bedroom.

[caption id="attachment_388" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Friendly kicking back and reading a favorite to Roo"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_387" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Roo asking Friendly a question."][/caption]

Don't let the pictures fool you, there was MUCH jumping and shenanigans. Roo's favorite new game is to jump from our bed and onto the (mini indoor) trampoline...Or a pile of pillows and blankets. The trampoline is intended to "save" the beds abuse, its partially working I suppose!

[caption id="attachment_386" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Our sweet Roo GirlShe's sitting so innocently, but we have videos of her leaping and launching herself around. Friendly really wanted to try the jumping thing too, but we wouldn't let her."][/caption]

We love going to Target. The toy section is pretty much endless entertainment, and (generally) free! The girls are very good sports about not getting to buy any thing, and they sure have a lot of fun trying all the toys out! Yesterdays trip wasn't free, I couldn't resist. I found these adorable sleeping bags (with matching back packs and flash lights!) for $8 each! We've been talking about "investing" in some sleeping bags for the girls, and these are perfect. The girls LOVE them.

[caption id="attachment_394" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="They were stuffing those back packs full of lots of fun stuff, soccer balls, baby dolls, puppies... You name! ;)Trying out their new sleeping bags this morning"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_390" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Roo told me, "this is my favorite toy, EVER Mama!" Trying out their new sleeping bags this morning"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_391" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Friendly copying her sister."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_393" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Such a goober doo!"][/caption]

We've been enjoying a snuggly sleepy Tuesday that's for sure! More to come soon!

Snow Days

I still want to catch up from the Holidays... I have so many pictures I want to get up here, to share.

But so little time...

A snowy day project: sock puppets! Friendly likes to put them on her hands and make them growl...butterflys growl, who knew?

The girls have been doing well! So thankful for the last few HEALTHY weeks we've been enjoying, praying it lasts for a good long time!

Playing "dress up" a favorite past time.

Friendly, apart from teething ferociously, is changing so fast it hurts to watch! She is a bundle of giggles and goofs. She now has 8 teeth and 2 molars, and working on more! She is picking up more and more words every day. Favorites are "I wan ma Mommie!" ,"I wan ma Nana" (she has a pretty extreme Nana obsession! :0), "I want a Nackie nack" (snackie snack?), "I wub ma Mommie", "I wan Melk" (I want milk), "poo poooooor baaaby." (in a high very dramatic voice while rocking her baby...Translation: "poor poor baby"), "melmo" is another fave, though she's not so much into Sesame Street- she'll ocassionally watch it with us but has yet to get into it the way Roo did (which is fine by me!). Friendly will try almost any word now- and it is shocking at how successful she often is with her attempts. She loves to say Roo's name with a cute little "w" sound instead of the "r".

[caption id="attachment_346" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The "big gift" from us this year: a dress up trunk. tutus, pirate [foam"]swords, super hero capes, and lots of dresses and scarves- anyone have some old high heels? Or floppy hats? The girls would love them!"][/caption]

She's a very busy person and often up to some sort of mischief! True to being one she is all about discovering...EVERY THING. She copies Roo in almost every thing, even repeats sentences with the same inflection after her. She looks up to her big sister so much and wants to do every thing with her.

A gift from Grammie W (THANK YOU, R LOOVES this! And Friendly too!) Coloring is a definite favorite activity!

Roo running around on our "snowy day" in.

"The box" was a hit! Gingerbread house, santas sleigh, a boat and also a new surface to draw artwork on- boxes rock!

And Roo! Our sweet Roo is just growing up so much. We've gotten a lot of snow the past few weeks (not like 3 feet or any thing, but enough to have some fun!) and thanks to my sister (who got them snow suits and boots for Christmas!!) Roo has discovered the wonders of that cold white stuff, snow. She would seriously live outside if we let her. We've been taking lots of walks in the snow and pretty much every inch of snow in our yard and out is trampled.

a few snapshots from the past few days...

THis was after the first (measly) snow storm...Roo making a "snow bunny" aka snow angel.

Our trip today to our favorite park: the girls taking in the FROZEN pond... Roo kept asking when the "skating party" was going to begin (?)

Roo, as usual, ignoring the camera...Friendly hamming it up.

The Mallard braved the ice to come say hello to us. Friendly kept calling "Hi duck! Hi! Hey, Hi duck!" he wouldn't respond, much to her disappointment.

Roo finally facing the camera!!

Little Miss Independance tries really hard in the snow, but she just can't keep up...She prefers to hold hands!

And here, is how our fun time ended. Roo collapsed in the snow and declared she was too tired and was getting cold. Unfortunately she decided this a full foot ball fields length (also a hill!) from the parking lot. I had to drag both kids alllll the way back. And as bundled as they were this was no small task!

I don't remember every enjoying a January so much! It's been so lovely for the kids to be big enough to handle the cold temps for a while. To get some (cold) sunshine and fresh air. I realize some thing the other day while Roo was trying to make a snow camel (don't ask me where she got that! She decided she wanted a snow camel and I have a feeling by winters end, we'll have built one, this past storm the snow was too powdery!)...Anyway I was pondering on the cold powdery smell and sound of it. And I realized, I haven't had much to do with snow the past ten maybe even fifteen years! My only interaction with it has been the frustration of trying to dig out my car, of coming out to finding that I have to clear it away before I can go somewhere.. The occasional (pre-children) late night snowy walks with Ryan. Spending so much time out in the snow with the girls has brought back so many memories. We LIVED outside this time of year...And it has also made me realize I need to get some snow gear, brrr still thawing from our trip to the park today!

It's been a beautiful winter so far!

Embracing the snow this year.

New Years...Look Back

It's been an amazing year...These are some of our favorite pictures from 2010


Roo's first snow- ever! Well...First snow to play in!

>********

Friendly's 6month Birthday...I was laughing because they were both freaking out, and all I wanted was a picture!

Last winter, such a LONG winter!

Easter...

April trips to the Fish Hatchery- a favorite!

Mornings at T park, we love that place!

Roo's first tree...SHe wanted to climb it so bad. (at the rose garden)

Visiting my best friend in VA

Florida Trip! The Beach!

Florida Trip the relaxation??

The Fort we built on the front porch in June

My first 5k race in July (pictured with my Mom)

Friendly's Birthday August 2010... Coloring together

The sprinkler August 2010

Trip to Valley Forge, September 2010

New friends this year... What a blessing!

A date out...Good friends wedding October 16, 2010

Saturday (or in this case Sunday) family dates to Wegman's for "donut breakfasts"

Decorating their pumpkins

December 2010

Our Christmas Tree Hung....On the Tractor ridetogether...Walks in the freezing cold...



Christmas Eve Morning...

[caption id="attachment_311" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="sitting on the "green box" outside the house I grew up in. It was "base" for all the games we played growing up!"][/caption]

Our 5th Anniversary....To another year of wonderful Memories!!

So Much To Celebrate!

As you all know, December is a busy month for us! Between Ryan's Birthday, my Birthday, Christmas, our Wedding Anniversary, and Roo's Birthday... It's a bit overwhelming! We were talking the other week about Hanukkah and how that is some thing we've both always wanted to celebrate. I have some Jewish roots in my family and I just...I don't know, think it would be cool to celebrate such a neat family centered tradition.

As we discussed "next year" we had to laugh, do we REALLY need another excuse to celebrate, really?

No.

Maybe one year we'll have so much need to celebrate we'll get a Menorah and some candles and go for it...Maybe.

Between all the normal Holidays, and all the extras in our family... Well it's 8:30pm on the 31st, the kids are asleep. We made it through the craziest month of the year! Boy, are we wiped out.

But I have to sneak on here and write. I am so not going to make it to midnight, not even close. I'll ring in the new year in my subconscious, hopefully. But I have to share how thankful I am. Thankful for the zany, sweet, amazing little soul God blessed us with 3 years ago today. Roo. I can't thank God enough for the honor of getting to raise this amazing little person. The sensitivity, empathy, grace, love ,and joy she is and has brought into our home is more than we deserve. She is a gift.

[caption id="attachment_301" align="aligncenter" width="538" caption="Priceless! She was grinning SO big right before I went to take a picture. I said "Smiiile!" and she made this face."][/caption]

I can't believe 3 short years ago this was who she was: newborn wonderfulness (video)

Ryan got me a new camera for all of that (Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary) and so I've been taking pictures up a storm. So amazing to have a nice new digital camera what a blessing!

That said, there will be LOTS Of pictures coming soon!

It has been a wonderful few weeks. We don't usually celebrate our Birthdays separate from our anniversary. It saves time, energy, and money to do it all together. But this year...Well this has been a special year and we felt it was important to celebrate the goodness out of it all! Yesterday we celebrated 5 years of marriage. My Mom kept the girls for us and we went out for the whole day. Wad a wonderful breakfast, took a long walk through our "old stomping grounds", took in a great movie... Just had lots of wonderful time to talk and be. It's been a very BIG few years, we really would have loved to take a few days off and just go on a "get away". But our littles are still very little, and we just didn't feel a peace about leaving them yet. So we decided to take them with us! We got a room at nice local hotel, during our day away we spent a few hours there on our own, got to feel like we were really getting away for a few hours. Swimming without being life guard, eating chinese food without having to share, it was such a treat! And then we went and picked the kids up for a wonderful slumber party. It was THE best most fun thing we've done...ever. The girls were so excited, we watched the new Disney movie, Tangled (which Roo loved!) and ate popcorn and let the girls stay up way past their bedtime. In the morning we took them for a swim, let them splash in the jacuzzi in our room and snuggled in the big bed watching TV together. I think it might be a new tradition for our family...To just get a room for us all once or twice a year, mini "staycation" for a night. No one got nearly enough sleep, and we wore the girls out with all the swimming and water time: but it was worth it. I'll post pictures later, seriously we didn't get enough sleep last night (Roo was still partying hard at 11pm and Friendly was up and at em before 6...And that wasn't including the 3 other nights we had like that this week, thanks to Friendly cutting molars).

But I'll leave with you with 2 other pictures from today...

[caption id="attachment_303" align="aligncenter" width="717" caption="We took her to Friendly's for a Birthday lunch: they sang to her when they brought her sundae. She was impressed."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_304" align="aligncenter" width="717" caption="A few months ago she said she wanted a "teddy bear and balloons" birthday cake. I was a little apprehensive about tackling that one. More recently she declared she'd like a "puppy dog" cake. This was my attempt! Thank you Mom for the wonderful giant cup cake pan! Really going to come in handy for animal cakes. ;0)"][/caption]

Happy New Year!!!!