Our little girl is growing up

Time for a big girl bed!  Emmy (at 2 1/2 yrs.) is probably ready for a toddler bed.  Every morning she would yell, "Mommy (Daddy) dit me up!!"  So we figured she was ready to get herself up.  Below are pictures from the crib to the toddler bed.

Emmy in her new bed with her favorite lovies: pillow, baby and blankie.

Getting her new clock (which we LOVE because it teaches kids to stay in bed until the light is green)!

 We also had a Mommy/Daughter date while the boys went out and bought a new snowblower.  Em and Landon got some fingerpaint for Christmas from Gunnar, and she has been begging to use it!  We decided to do some fingerpainting.  It started off very timid (see first pic) and then ended up pretty messy (see second pic)!  What fun!

Love the happy look on her face!

We are so blessed by our little girl...who isn't so little anymore.  "I not a baby," she keeps telling me!

New Year's Eve Fun!

The festivities started this year a day early.  Several people would be out of town or heading out of town soon on New Year's weekend, so the Frye's hosted a New Year's Eve Eve Party.  We all had a great time with a live band, Euchre and Skii Ball Tournament, and a Midnight Ball Drop!

The ball: made from rags, aluminum foil, and Christmas lights.

The countdown to....still 2011!

Then the next evening, we drove down to the Bergers, met the Fryes, and some friends of the Bergers, to have another New Year's Eve party.  Matt and Mikel had a PU basketball game to attend and the rest of us had a great time playing with the kids, playing Settlers, and the Wii.  I apparently did not get my camera out except one time, because these are all of the pictures I have!  Oops!

This is Em when Matt asked her to, "Smile pretty!" :)

Here's to a wonderful 2012! 
Any resolutions out there?  I downloaded a Declutter Calendar from Pinterest with an idea to declutter and organize the house by doing one thing each day.  I hope it's not a resolution because mine never last long! :)

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas Eve, we went to the Hahn's for brunch.  We had delicious mush,cinnamon rolls, sausage, and fruit.  We came home for naps and spent the evening at home playing with the new presents.



Em was always ready to open presents.



It was nice to have Uncle Nate home!

The kids opening their stockings.

Grandparents opening their snowmen handprints.

Putting out cookies, milk, carrots for the reindeer, and a bag of sippy cups for Santa to take to needy children! :)

Christmas Day

Christmas was a little tricky this year since it was on a Sunday. The kids were up and wanted to open their stockings right away.  Then we had church and a party at mom and dad's in the afternoon.  The kids rested at my parents and were actually pretty good, despite all of the busyness.

Every gift Landon opened came with the words: "This is just what I wanted!" 
Em started to copy him, especially when she got her very own chapstick!!

Landon likes his new remote control car.

Emmy likes singing karoke on her new Hello Kitty machine.

All dressed up for Christmas

Both kids look happy!  Hooray!!

Christmas 2 Days Later

We hosted the Bergers and Clarks at our house on the 27th.  We had lasagna, opened presents, and played Trivial Pursuit.

Dad and Mom opening the snowmen fingerprints.

The kids playing with their new kitchen from Steven and Kristina
(and it only took 40 minutes to put together! :))

We hope you enjoyed your Christmas Celebrations as well and tried to keep in mind the real reason we celebrate.  We did do a couple renditions of "Happy Birthday to Jesus" to help the kids realize why we celebrate!

Pre-Christmas Fun!

We had a blast this year with the kids at Christmas!  For the first time, they really started to understand Christmas.  Landon enjoyed counting down the days until Christmas and Emmy changed our Advent calendar each day.  We planned some fun activities for the kids before the big day.

We watched "The Grinch" and had popcorn one evening.

We went to the Davis' house for our annual Friend Christmas

Both kids enjoyed decorating cookies for Santa.

All of the kids (except Kenna :)) did a great job with the frosting and the cookies had an abundance of sprinkles!

The finished product...I'm sure Santa enjoyed the cookies!

The kids had a great time painting their fingerprint snowman. 
Gotta love pinterest! (http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2010/12/hand-print-snowman-ornaments.html)

Our Little Angels

Sunday was our children's Christmas Program at church and basically everyone was an angel. Landon and Emmy were baby angels and did an AWESOME job (especially compared to last year when Landon burst into tears and ran off the stage crying!! :)). Em was content to watch all the big kids do the motions, while Landon had a hayday with the microphone and trying to stand on the "X's" on the stage.  Tyler and Grace were also in the play.  They each had lines to memorize and did a great job, too!  Tyler can be seen in the row behind our kids, but Grace was way on the other end.

The little angels each had a number to hold up for a song.  Landon could be heard saying, "No, I don't want that one!" when handed 2.  He wanted 3 so he rearranged himself after Emmy so he could be in 3rd place.

Landon trying to stand on the X's on stage.

Papa H. was a Wise Man....in the play!

Em wanted to get closer to Baby Jesus, the real meaning of the Season!

Christmas Tree

This year the kids got really excited about the tree.  Every year we go pick out a tree at the Christmas Tree Farm (Wilfong's), but this is the first year that they were really happy about it.  The tree selection was a little sparse because they are getting ready to retire from the tree business.  I think we found a good one, though!

Just a little snow left (mostly mud!)

Yes, Em did eat some snow before we could stop her!

Tree is a little short, but white pine is the best!!

Emmy wanted to decorate as soon as we got home, and it about drove her crazy that she had to wait to "tut baws on tee," as she said.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving this year was a bittersweet time for our family.  It was so nice to be able to get together with extended family (Nate, Steven, and Kristina were all home), but we also had to say goodbye to my dad's oldest brother, Dave, who passed away right before Thanksgiving.  Throughout the whole Thanksgiving break, I was reminded about all of the wonderful blessings God has given me and my family.  Dave's passing has also helped me remember not to take my family for granted.

Before the holiday, the kids and I worked on a Thanksgiving project.  I had done these with my kids at school and I thought my kids would like them.  We made turkey hats using construction paper, cotton balls, and feathers.  Emmy discovered that she loves scissors and Landon took to the glue.  We got a little messy, but had a good time!

Emmy's first hair cut

Nov. 19, 2011

Em's hair has been slowly growing for the past year or so.  The front of her hair finally got long enough that it kept falling in her face.  So yesterday, the girls went to the hair salon and both got hair cuts.  Em's doesn't look too different (I didn't want any of the curls in the back cut), but I think it will stay out of her face a little more.  She sat so still and got a "mink" bubble gum sucker afterwards.  She refused to smile in any of the pictures, but I think she still liked it! :)

Em and I went shopping for the materials to make her bow holder and the fabric matches her room really well!

Then after hair cuts, we went to Jessica's for some girl time.  We made bow holders, while the boys took the little boys to Bass Pro Shop for shopping/crafts/ and Santa.  Thanks to the Davis family and Frye family for some fun bonding time!

First snow

The first snow of the season fell on Thursday so the kids had to go out and play.  It was beautiful!  Big, pretty flakes!  I do wish I would've gotten the video camera out quick enough to catch Emerson's reaction the first time she stepped out in it.  She was running, screaming, laughing.  I don't think she remembers snow from last year and she was completely ecstatic that she could eat it as well!  Happy winter!! :)

Library fun

Gma has been taking Landon and Emmy to library every week on Thursday.  The library in Nappanee does an excellent job!  The theme is Curious George, so every week they read a new book and do what George does in the book.  They have done so many creative things and every week the kids get to take home games, toys, and personalized things.  It is great and I know the kids (and Gma!) love it.

Landon paitently waiting for his pizza to be done.  He has to count to 20, either from 1-20 or 80-100!

Emmy cooking blueberry pancakes on her stove.

 Gotta love fun, FREE things for the kids! :)