Thursday, December 30, 2010

random pandemonium

Oh really?  I should be posting about Christmas, and all of the fun things we've done in the last three weeks since I've posted a real post?  Hmph.  I missed the memo.  Instead, you get what is going through my head at this exact moment.

First and foremost, I'm annoyed.  Not at anything in particular, but because I simply cannot get the song "Whip my Hair" by Willow Smith out of my head.  Yeah, you read that right.  And I'm hating myself as much as you're disliking me right now....believe me!

Why are there always so many apple Jolly Ranchers in a pack?  I'm not sure I will ever understand, but if you like them, stop by my office...I'll give you a grip of them.  The only thing worse than a green JR is Apple Pucker :)

Wow, I'm sounding like a negative nelly, and I'm actually having a fantastic morning thus far!  Change of thought...

I'm not sure which was funnier.  The fact that I thought something was wrong with my car this morning, the moment I realized the belt of my jacket was flapping in the rain and wind, or the car next to me that I could actually see laughing when I slowly pulled it back into my car.  She then gave me a good thumbs up.  When was the last time you got a legit thumbs up??  It was a hilarious moment in my life.  Loved it, and made me giggle the whole way to work.

I think my last post like this I expressed something I'd like to add to my life.  Well, I am going to learn to sew in 2011.  I will, people.  Oh yes, I will.  Look out for more hand-made items than you ever care to see.  First up on my list, hem my own pants.  Second, learn to perfect the ruffle.  Yes, yes I will.  And I'm excited about it.  Maybe I can join Darcy on her quilt-sewing, no-sleeping, wine-drinking weekends.  Yippee!

I enjoyed so much about our Christmas this year.  I am so blessed with great family, fun kiddos, lots of snow, and a car for Brad that he isn't worried about driving in all of the snow :)  It was So.Much.Fun. as always.  I promise a good post soon to prove it.

Loves, Rach

Friday, December 17, 2010

our little family {photos}

I'm fairly certain I can't put into writing how much I simply adore these photos.
It could be the fact that I adore our photog, and that she has the ability to capture our family unlike any other....

I wanted to get these pictures taken early enough to still be outside, but as close as possible to Finley's birthday, so we picked a random November weekend a few months ago. It was the last nice weekend of the fall. I think within four days of these pictures, there was over a foot of snow on the ground.
{WHEW}


I mean, really....just LOOK at these pics.






As a Mom, I especially {heart} this picture.
I mean, who steps out from behind the camera to get a picture with their kids, and to get BOTH of them smiling!?
HELLO, amazing!



And if you come to our house and look through these pictures, Jack will without a doubt tell you this is his Mom's favorite picture. Seriously, can you wrap Jack up in a package and put everything he is into a picture?
She did.

And then there's this little lady...I'm not sure who makes who giggle more, her or her Daddy.


How about that little random tooth hanging out over his lip? Some day he'll have a pair back, but it's going to be a while.
I can just hear {All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth}

I could truly eat her cute little goodness up.


When Jacks found suckers, it was pretty much over.
I love these two sucking away.


Apparently Finster is too little to bribe, she just couldn't part with the pop.


And really - I may give him the most grief in the world, but I'm lucky to have such a great man.
It helps that he's the best Dad I know...

I love you, my adorable little fam.

Love, Mommy

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

baby baby

Oh, the weekend.  What an exciting weekend we had planned.  Along with the rest of the Midwest, they were changed dramatically due to the huge snowstorm.  It was still exciting and we tried to make the best of it!

It started out Friday night by seeing this little man.....oh, how sweet he is.
It's also sweet that his Mom is back into her pre-baby jeans a mere three weeks later {BARF}.

So after a quick dinner, and with the snow already starting to fall, the girls and I decided we had to decide where we were going to be snowed in for the weekend.  We all packed up and went to Darcy's house.

Saturday morning we woke up and it was time for Amanda's baby shower!  We're fairly certain she's going to have that baby during a snow storm since both of her showers were during huge storms!  It was a few gals short, but all in all was SO MUCH FUN.
I'm pretty sure everyone's stomachs hurt after laughing so hard.  And it's confirmed, I'm the worst artist on the planet.  Just ask the girls - they'll tell you.
How adorable is this little Mama!?
Here are all of the girls that were able to make it.
And of course, the belly pic!
This was so funny.  Brad packed up the kiddos in the nasty weather and brought them over to see the girls.  Parker and Finster are only 8 weeks apart, and it has been so funny to watch them interact with each other as they get older.  After they were both in their jammies with Nuks in mouth, they just looked at each other thinking the other Nuk looked better than the other.  I think they're a bit too young to be swapping spit, but it was hilarious.  One would take a Nuk, the other would follow...back and forth.

Pete was pretty pleased with being able to hang out too...Alyssa even convinced him to sing a little Justin Bieber.  Too funny.
Alyssa made it back to Chicago about 8 hours after she was supposed to, but we're all back and settled into a normal week again.

Now we just need that tiny babe to come!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

the naked chef

I promise if you come for dinner, she won't be the one doing the cooking.

Monday, December 13, 2010

goodbye, old friend

Friday, we donated the dino....

...and said goodbye to an old friend. A welcomed goodbye, I may add. 
 She will be great for her next family, I just know it :)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

what a whirlwind

This weekend was truly a whirlwind...

And while I edit those photos, here's what we're up to this Sunday morning.

The kids and I are letting Brad deal with this....

That's the 21.5" of snow we got this weekend. Yish.

We're just enjoying our Christmas tree...
Lighting our favorite candles....
And keeping a cup of coffee warm {not HOT!} for Daddy when he gets in the door.
Oh yeah, and playing lots of Play Dough, but Jacks refuses to have his picture taken this morning, so no fun shot there :)

The Christmas program at church was postponed until next weekend, so we're crossing our fingers that my parents can still make the drive in for my Dad's birthday brunch.

Stay warm today, and if you're in our neighborhood....drive safe!

Friday, December 10, 2010

success

This, people, is what I call sweet success after a long day.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

santa

Jack was really excited to see Santa this year. He really gets the whole {ask and you MAY receive} thing.
The problem is, I was worried he was going to ask for the four baby brothers and two baby sisters he's been dreaming for.
{GULP}

Here he is, telling him what he wants:
Hot Wheel track, Iron Man books, and lots of puzzles. Now THAT I can handle, buddy :)

Doesn't this baby gal look SO excited for her turn!?
Yeah, that didn't last long!
I like Jack's face, you can almost hear his eyes rolling.
Wow how things change in one year, huh?? I think it might be a couple of years before we get both of the kids as content as this photo....

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

{heart}

I know I've said it before, but do you know how lucky I am to have such
beautiful, talented, smart, creative

women to call my sisters??

'Cause I am.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

tubes

First, a quick update on the Finster.
Yes, she is a year old, although you would never know, she is such a peanut.
She's grown to a whopping 18 pounds, and is now in the 13th percentile. Her pediatrician said since she has been walking for so long to turn her around in her car seat, so Sunday was the first day we did. I love the look on babies' faces when they are finally facing the world in the car. It's like the world changed right before her eyes.
She says a few words, which has made life easier! Obviously Mama, Dada, Jack {Dack}, Up, More, Gone, Pup, Buh Bye {Buhhhhh buh}, and Milk {Muck}.
Mom says Hallelujah. Doesn't it make life so much easier when they can tell you what they want!?
Last week, she had tubes put in her ears. She had only had four ear infections, but it was in all reality one infection that would just never go away. Since Jacks had so many issues, and had tubes at 7 months, I knew it was going to be so much better after and we decided to just go for it.
She was a trooper. Yes, I'm that Mom that brought my camera to the hospital. After Jack had his, I said I wished I had taken a picture of him in his cute little gown, and I really wanted to remember even these days of when they're little.
Here's the peanut right before they took her away
{side note - another thing I learned after the first time, do NOT go back to the room when they put the baby under}
I mean, come on...the gown is killer cute.


And here she is when she woke up...the poor thing was hysterical from the anesthesia.

Look at that red face! She looks like her Mama does after a few glasses of wine :(

And about 5 minutes later, a glass of juice and a couple of crackers, she was back to her funny little self.

Again, I know...mean Mom with the camera, but I promise she'll want to see these some day.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

for grandma deb...

We were finally able to pay back Grandma Deb and Grandpa Scott for all of their babysitting they've done for us the last four years. They took a {well-deserved} vacation to Vegas for a week, and we got to watch the pups!

Here is Bogie...

...and little Abby. This poor girl was nervous the whole week. If we even looked at her wrong, she would pee.
Poor thing missed her Mommy!!

This is where we found them most nights...trying to get as much cuddle time as possible! Jack and Abby would fight every night about who got to sit in my lap, it was a pretty hilarious sight!

I think Fin was the most in love with the pups. She learned to say "PUP" and shake her head for No, Pup...and Abby was just big enough to knock Finley down if she wasn't paying attention. There were lots of chases and licking of fingers that made Fin giggle for hours.

Beckett came to visit and asked to take Abby home...they were very much in love.

I'm pretty sure they're glad to be home, and I think they got a work out around our circus house!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

finley's flower party

Well, she did it....Finley turned a year old even though I asked her VERY politely not to :)

Thanks to Jess, of course, and her decor, it was an incredibly cute party, I may add! I liked the theme of Avery's birthday last year so much, I asked Jess if she could just re-do her stuff for Fin, so I've had all of her decorations for almost a year. Now THAT is what I call planning ahead!

We were so lucky to have so much of our family at the party! Some friends couldn't come since it was Thanksgiving weekend, but it was still a good turnout.

And here's the party gal...I adore her outfit so much. I think I'll have her wear it every day.

I think everyone got the memo that the girl is baby obsessed. She got a few dolls and tons of accessories, including two strollers that she can NOT stop pushing all around our house. It's totally adorable how much she loves them!
AND...the CAKE!
{Jess, I wasn't planning to have you so large in the collage, but I like the way it turned out} :)

She did pretty well at destroying her cute little smash cake. She MAY have had some practice before the big day.
Clearly it wouldn't be a party without a picture like this :)
Although, this time we spiced it up a bit...I know, we're hot, aren't we??
It was a great party.
Happy Birthday, My Finster. Your Mommy and Daddy love you.

 
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