Happy New Year

Our friends, the Kerns, invited us for their annual kid-friendly New Year's Party again.  We had a blast and so did the kids!  She prepared 3 crafts (hats, snowmen candle holder, and noise makers) so Hannah was in heaven!  At 8pm the kids scrambled out to the deck to pop bubble wrap and scream at the top of their lungs.  An extra little touch this year was the balloon drop (rigged in the trees by Justin and Melissa).  Thanks guys!  It was wonderful as always!

Uncle Aaron's Doppelganger

 Hannah just loved Uncle Aaron.  She had really warmed up to him by the last day!  She thought he looked just like Flynn Rider from the Disney movie Tangled.  They do have a striking resemblance!

December in New York

What a wonderful time we had in New York for Christmas!

 Hannah loved helping in the kitchen.  Here she is helping PaPa make pizza dough for the Coddington Christmas Eve dinner tradition. 

 Hannah was so happy to get a Rapunzel castle from Santa on Christmas morning!

 Hannah and Timmy had fun getting to know Great Uncle George (AKA "the nice man who sends me Target Gift Cards for my birthday" according to Hannah).

Timmy wasn't feeling so hot on Christmas Day.  He came down with a high fever (spiked at 103.5 in the evenings) and was so mellow.  His fever lasted about 4-5 days and the poor guy was just feeling crummy.  I kept waiting and waiting for a rash to appear because we suspected  Roseola.  Finally, on the day we were leaving, Timmy was covered in a lacy web of a rash all over her body, which confirmed what we thought.

Aunt Lisa knit this adorable sock monkey for Timmy.  It is soooo cute!  We will treasure it for years!!

 

 JuJu and PaPa took Hannah to the Strong Museum of Play with Krista and her grandparents, who attend the same church.  It sounds like the girls hit it off and had a blast playing together. 

Hannah always loves the pretend grocery store at the museum.  I noticed right away when I saw the pictures that Hannah's cart is filled with baby foods!  What a sweet big sister!

 We visited Mrs. Olsen, a long time family friend, to say "Merry Christmas."  Hannah painted a suncatcher for her and was so proud to give it away.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa enjoyed getting to know the kids better, too. 

We had such a relaxing and fun time with our family.  We are so blessed!

Santa With Friends

Our 4th Annual visit to Santa with our church friends.  My how the group has grown!!!

Preschool Christmas Play

 Hannah was happy to participate in her Preschool's Christmas Play as a shepherd this year.  She held her staff proudly and it was darling to see the little ones acting out the Nativity.

Her class had a Christmas Celebration together.  We have been blessed to get to know many families through this preschool experience.  We have made some wonderful friends...hopefully lifelong!

Timmy's 11 Months

 Timmy is such a fun little addition to our family!  He keeps us moving and is almost always smiling. He loves to do whatever big sister, Hannah, is doing, especially if it gets a rise out of her.  I love hearing the two of them giggle together. I found this great idea for a ball pit on Pinterest.  Hannah wanted in on the action so I moved the balls to the pack 'n' play and they love to wrestle in there together.  Timmy holds his own against her brutality (I mean, pestering) and I think he's just about as strong as Hannah :)

Below we are at Castaway Cafe.  They added a little inflatable area for the little ones and Timmy had fun chilling and bouncing.  He's still cruising around, but hasn't taken any independent steps yet.  That's just fine by me!  I'm sure he'll walk when he's ready.

Timmy has a bunch of teeth now--SEVEN!  He has tell-tale signs when he is teething--drooling and a hard time sleeping at night.  A little Tylenol seems to help him a lot and he's enjoying his additional chomping abilities.  I got a nice bit on my finger this month when he was practicing using his new tools.

During mealtime Timmy loves to drop his food or cuppy on the floor and say "uh-oh!"  I've been trying to get it on video but he doesn't do things on command.

I also gave Timmy a bang trim this month.  I was getting so tired of strangers calling him a girl.  His locks are beautiful and I hated to cut them, but I think he looks a little more boyish with his hair out of his eyes.

Dancing Queen

 Hannah is still enjoying her dance classes.  She has a little friend named Olivia in her class.  I met her sweet mommy when I worked for the Hartland School District.  The girls love getting all dressed up in their leotards and have learned a lot about balance, hopping, skipping, and other gross motor skills.

On this particular evening, the teacher brought the girls to the stage for the first time.  They were amazed at the largeness of the room, but warmed up to the area quickly.  I am very pleased with this Dance Company!  We had a not-so-good experience with another place a few years ago, but this place has made up for it.  The instructor actually reminds me a lot of one of my best friends from high school, Brandi!