Happy New Year!

We wish all of our friends and family a Happy and Prosperous 2009!! We hope your new year is filled with fresh starts, bright dreams and new aspirations. We wish to have happiness and serenity touch every single soul as we start this wonderful new year together!

Many blessings to you and your families!

A 5 year old on Christmas

Jenna "Mommy, Christmas is my favorite time of year!"

Me: "Mine too, why is it your favorite?"

Jenna: "Because I get presents!!!"

Me: "Well presents are fun but that isn't the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus' Birthday."

A few seconds pass...

Jenna: "Mommy, do you happen to have Jesus' phone number?" "I should call him for his Birthday tomorrow!"

We went on to discuss how she could use prayer to reach Jesus for his birthday message. She really does lighten my days, after our challenging day yesterday with accidents and much needed errands postponed my kids can sure put a smile on my face.

Christmas Fun Begins!

The girls got a package delivered full of Christmas presents. Before I could even get out the sentence "Are you sure you don't want to wait until Daddy gets home" the first present was ripped open and the fun began! Ava got a barrel of monkeys, which is perfect because she is our little monkey! Jenna got her beloved princess sheets which were promptly removed from the package, washed and put on her bed. Since she has been sick and I was working some really late nights she was sleeping in my bed but last night she couldn't go to bed fast enough. Daddy was not allowed near them when he got home from work because she said he was dirty and stinky:) This is the first night in a very long time she stayed in her bed all night and didn't wander into my room late wanting to snuggle with me. She is absolutely in love! She made her bed first thing this morning with her comforter pulled back so you can see the pretty sheets. Jenna also got a jewelry kit and made a necklace immediately. She picked out the pattern and was very focused until it was completed. Ava got a beautiful Ariel blanket that is amazingly soft, of course both girls are sharing that one. Both got some fun books and we have been reading since. Last year and Ava was just over 5 months and slept through most Christmas present exchanging it was fun to see her excited about opening gifts. She was more interested in what her sister was doing but I am sure after watching her she will now be in prime shape for Nana's on Christmas Eve.

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe it is almost Christmas. I am, like always, not ready but with two kids I have so much more to do. I really must make myself get going earlier. Thankfully I do have some done and most of the rest of the ideas are on paper so I am staying positive that I can get things done easily, says the girl who has avoided the stores for over a week:) Eric has been great and makes a special point to leave work if he can to pick up things for me or run errands to help eliminate some tasks on my plate. The girls are getting excited for Santa's visit! If Jenna gets in the slightest bit of trouble or is headed in that direction you just need to break out in song or hum "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and she says "oops" and immediately stops and changes her behavior and apologizes. I will be sad when Christmas is over! I love this time of year and enjoy it even more now that I have kids. It was easy for me to get overwhelmed and stressed before but now I can push that all aside and look at what really matters and should matter not only this time of year but everyday of the year. Happy Holidays to all!

Stay tuned for more pictures of our Christmas...

Thankful!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We were counting our many blessings...except for our neighbor plowing through our mailbox never even stopping. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends and it would only have been better if we were able to see more. For those of you we didn't get to see, we missed you! My favorite part of the Holidays now is to watch the kids play. My cousin's twins are quickly coming up on 1 year old and all of our nieces and nephews on Eric's side are a blast. Now on to Christmas planning, it comes way to fast for a procrastinator like me:)

Birthday Parties

Jenna's party was full of squirrelly, excited, screeching little girls and family and friends. They all had a blast and it was so good to see the girls together from preschool last year. Jenna hadn't seen Maddie since July and they picked up right where they left of jumping up and down at just the sight of each other. Jenna got so many wonderful gifts so we are sorting out some of her older toys to make room because moving to a bigger house just isn't in the cards right now. The party was a hit and Jenna had so much fun. She loves to tell everyone that she is 5 years old now! The girls had fun all crowded around opening presents together and it was fun to watch all of their excitement. Jenna asked before opening presents if her friends could help her and after her present opening fiasco at Maddie's party:)

5 years

It's funny sometimes 5 years feels so long ago or so far away, and then there is my little girl who turned 5 today and I think how fast that time flew by. She is getting so grown up and I often think she went from baby to 5 in just a blink. We are preparing for her Birthday party this weekend with friends and family at Riverbend Bounce. We have attended many parties there, it's always a blast! She is so excited she can hardly stand it. She is excited to play with her friends and stretch out her birthday through the week. She woke up bright and early today and opened some presents before Daddy left and when he got home she had another gift to open. We also have indulged in extra treats today too and baked a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting complete with candles! It is a joy to be Jenna's parents and we look forward to the next 5 birthdays and many more we get to celebrate with her! Happy Birthday, Jenna!

They finally posted the video of my little TV star!

A Day at the Zoo

Even though a typical day at home feels like the zoo we actually visited the St. Louis Zoo on Monday. It was a gorgeous day so the girls and I met Christina and baby boy for a fun day out. Worried that after we spent an hour or so there they may want to keep Ava I belted her in the stroller tight, so no worries she did come home with me! It was a perfect day to walk and enjoy the day outdoors. All of the kids were amazingly good and behaved so well. We got to see most of the animals, Ava's favorite were the Sea Lions. They were getting fed whem we were there so they were barking loudly and frequently. Ava had to chime in as she was bobbing her head up and down barking along with them. Jenna loved the Penguins. I actually had to restrain her from trying to jump in the water. The new area is really neat, they are literally right there swimming next to you that as they come to the surface you get splashed with water. Jenna is already planning our next trip for the Spring!

My Weather Reporter

Saturday after Halloween Eric was too sick for our travel plans so I took the girls to St. Louis Galleria (one of my favorite malls) for a day of Sprouts. Sprouts, for those of you that don't know, is a wonderful preschool channel. It has a lot of great learning shows and great activities to do at home. I received an email that Sprouts was Live at the Galleria so as a surprise I took the girls and let Daddy rest. Barney was there and taking pictures, Kelly and Chica were there allowing kids to get a video of them doing the weather report. By doing the weather report this is also an audition to win a trip to the Sprout Studio in Philadelphia, PA. We stood in line for 1 hour and 40 mins for Barney alone! We made lots of friends in line and actually my girls were very well behaved...yes, even Ava! Once we got close enough to see Ava just stared and waved at Barney non-stop. So we got our picture taken, and the best part the entire even picture, video and all was FREE! So after Barney we were off to the other side to stand another hour in line for Kelly and Chica (part of the Sunny Side up Show) for Jenna to do the weather report. Girls are still behaving fairly well. Jenna is asking every 5 mins. if it is our turn next and Ava bit me so hard and for so long on the shoulder I thought I was going to fall over. Nonetheless, we finally made it to our turn. Jenna ran up to Kelly and said "Look Kelly, I have pigtails just like you!" Kelly then asked if she could do Jenna's audition with just her because she was fantastic and wanted to give her a shot. She was ready to stand in line to do it again when it was over. The long lines were well worth the wait! I headed to Starbucks quickly after for a re-boost!
Still waiting for access to the video they took of Jenna but here are some still shots.

Trick-or-Treat brings us to Halloween Phase 4

It was a gorgeous day and perfect trick-or-treating weather! Ava was confused at first but quickly caught on after seeing the first couple houses deposit chocolate in her bag. Her favorite word is "more", well it sounds more like "Maaaa" or we say she is speaking Spanish and saying "Mas". So as we were headed out the door and I handed her the bag and said do you want "maaaa" she was ready to go! The first few houses she just stood and stared at them while clutching the bag and grinning at them. I think she thought we were supposed to go in and visit. After the first hour went by she started flirting and giggling as they would answer the door. We met up with our neighbors and continued our trick-or-treating with them. The two little ones together in the wagon and the older girls running from house to house.
Ava and Jenna are both sick but still had a blast. So Friday we made it to the rounds with family and went to the Edwardsville Parade. So much fun and the kids had a blast!

Halloween Phase 3

Pumpkin Patch and carving of the pumpkins!
We went to the patch on Sunday, kind of windy but sunny and beautiful. Of course the ponies were there, the play area with small petting zoo too and equipement for play. Both girls had fun, although Jenna was really in her element with all the animals. We picked out two big pumpkins and two small and headed home. Monday we did the carving and toasting of the seeds!

And now for picture overload...I am trying to get better pumpkin pictures, my camera is not behaving. The one alone is the one Jenna drew and we cut it out exactly. It has hearts on the cheeks because she loves her family...I just want to squeeze her sometimes!!

Halloween Phase 2

Holiday Shores Neighborhood Halloween party!
We met friends and family at the Clubhouse in our neighborhood for the Annual Halloween party. Complete with games, entertainment, haunted house and more candy. Last year was our first living here and our neighbor took Jenna and her daughter through the haunted house. Both girls were terrified after and Jenna talked for an hour straight and days later about how she would NEVER do that again...until this year. The first thing she said on the way to the Clubhouse was..."Can I do the haunted house? I'm not scared, do you see these muscles?" I tried to deter that thought but at the end of the night as they are closing down she says with tears in her eyes "I didn't get to do the haunted house!" So off we go as my step-sister takes Ava, I take my older niece and Jenna to the haunted house along with our neighbors. Jenna emerged from the house again vowing to NEVER do that again. I lost Ava's ladybug hat in the midst of picking her up while still holding Kiley's hand (who did great) and listening to our neighbor scream while her mom held her. Definitely an eventful end to the night. Haley stood with us for a few minutes until they turned on the lights and got the hat for us the entire time Jenna was giving us an earful. She told us how she froze and forgot to show those people her muscles and she did not like those people with masks! One even came out mask in tow and we pointed out how he was just a Daddy like hers and it was just a costume. He held it up to show her it wasn't real and she abruptly told him she did NOT like it! Haley carried Jenna to the car with me where Jenna went on to tell us how next year she will tell her Daddy not go to work and he will show his muscles and freak everyone out in that haunted house!
Now on to Phase 3 today of pumpkin patch, pony rides and pumpkin carving. Stay tuned!

Pictures Pre-Haunted House...