Eve's 3rd Birthday!

We didn't let a little ice keep us from celebrating Eve's 3rd birthday!  We just had to bundle up a little warmer...

 

 

We first ventured out to McDonalds for some lunch and play time!  (Don't judge us on the quantity of food - it's one of their super value bundles and was cheaper and gave us leftovers.)

 

Happy girls playing!

 

When our tummies were full, we continued the excitement at Build a Bear!

 

It took Eve a bit to grasp the concept of the store - she kept wanting to choose the already made stuffed animals and was not interested in starting her own with just a flat skin!  But we finally convinced her it would be fun and she selected a pink Disney princess bear. 

 

She had fun pushing the pedal to insert the fluff...

 

Then choosing and adding the heart....

 

Halle watched somewhat impatiently :)

 

Next was time for a back and brushing.

 

Admiring her work!

 

A very successful outing, in all.  And an exhausting one!  Eve kept a firm grasp on her new bear even while nodding off on the way home.

 

All of that fun was on Saturday.  Eve's actual birthday was on a Sunday this year and due to the ice storm, our church meetings were only 1 hour long.  Which gave us extra time to party! 

 

Eve enjoyed opening her cards and presents and was very thankful to all her remembered her birthday!

 

Trying out her new soccer ball from mom and dad.

 

She's gonna be a pro!

 

The aftermath...

 

We were able to Skype with Eve's grandparents (she really wanted them all there for her birthday, but this was the next best thing).  And then it was time for cake! 

 

Eve wanted a Minnie Mouse birthday so we did our best.  She helped me decorate the cake.  I asked her what she wanted it to say - "Happy birthday, Eve"?  No, she wanted it to say, "Happy birthday, Halle."  Haha, I told her it wasn't Halle's birthday and to come up with another idea.  Her second choice?  "Hey, Daddy!"  I vetoed that one too.  I know, I'm no fun.  We finally settled on "Eve's Cake".

 

What a happy birthday girl!

 

Eve did great blowing out her candles!  What a big girl she is now!

 

Here are some facts about Eve:

 

-37 inches tall (48th percentile)

- 31 lbs 6 oz (58th percentile)

-Loves princesses, stuffed animals, Minnie mouse, books, and singing

-Her favorite scripture story at the moment is when Mary and Joseph couldn't find Jesus and then finally found him in the temple, teaching

-Obsessed with hide and go seek (see the previous bullet)

-Loves being chased and tickled

-Can count to 100

-Writes her name

-Starting to write other letters and sound out words

-Loves to play with Halle

-Is such a good helper with laundry, dishes, chores, and cleaning her room

 

Eve is such a joy to have in our family and we can't wait to enjoy the next year with her!

Ice Storm!

Eve's birthday weekend arrived and so did the ice!  The storm came in Thursday night/Friday morning and hit with a vengeance.  Ok, really it didn't seem that bad to me because I measure the intensity of storms by the inches of snow they drop.  Not the case here.  Freezing rain doesn't really accumulate much depth, but the ice can cause major damage!

 

I worked from home on Friday (our downtown office was without power, the trains were shutdown, and the roads were ice) and we all got to witness (with our ears) the sound of our backyard tree/bush cracking and falling. 

 

 

It was bitter cold, but I couldn't resist going out to take a few pictures of the ice.

 

Andrew untangling the fallen braches from cords that run along the back of the house.  Not sure what they're for, but they didn't come down with the tree, so that's good!

 

You can see how every branch, twig, and leaf is perfectly coated in ice.

 

We lost I think only one branch out of this tree in the front yard (the branch hadn't fallen yet when I took this picture).

 

These are our blades of grass - each blade coated in ice!

 

Another view of our downed tree.  We were so fortunate compared to many others.  No limbs fell on our house, cars (thank goodness for garages!), or fence and we didn't lose power at all.

 

Church was reduced to just one hour on Sunday and anyone who felt uncomfortable driving in the ice was told not to come at all.  We live right across the street, so figured that didn't apply to us ;).  But the shortened meetings did buy us some extra time to celebrate Eve's birthday!  That's up next!

Deck the Halls

With Thanksgiving's passing, we were ready to set up our Christmas decorations, meager as they are this year...so we made a night of it on Tuesday for family night!

 

 

Halle didn't seem very interested, but Eve sure enjoyed herself and was a big help in setting up our little tree!

 

We cleared a place on the mantel for the nativity, which Eve also helped with - very carefully unwrapping each figure as we talked about their part in the story. 

 

Now we're ready for Christmas! 

So Much to be Thankful For!

We had another wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  It was so nice to have some time off of work and school :)

 

We spent Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house in Anna, TX.  The girls were extra spoiled as both also received their birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa in addition to the Thanksgiving festivities.

 

That was fine with them!

 

 

We had a delicious dinner and just enjoyed the time visiting together.  Perfect way to spend a holiday!

 

Eve loved their big Christmas tree!

 

On Friday, we of course avoided the stores :), and it was warm enough that the girls got to play outside a bit with Dad!

 

We did our own little Thanksgiving dinner at our house on Friday (to keep ourselves in the practice and for the sake of leftovers!), which was yummy. 

 

And on Saturday, I finally ventured out for some shopping!  I didn't really have a choice since Eve's birthday and Christmas were approaching rapidly and I was woefully unprepared.  Eve got a new car seat from my shopping, which was much needed as Halle was laying claim to her current one.  Here are the girls in their new seats!  Growing up so fast!

 

Now to think of how to squeeze a third car seat in here come May....

A very quick visit....

We had the pleasure this past weekend of a very quick, fun visit from Candace, Jeremy, and gang! 

 

Halle was so excited to have them come, she had to cool her jets in the book corner....this is her favorite spot to sit by herself and "read".

 

 

They got in very late on Friday night, so the games began on Saturday.  Eve was thrilled to meet and even get a chance to hold their new baby, Levi!  He is such a cutie and so tiny!

 

She also enjoyed playing with the big kids (Nathan and Hannah)!  They spent a great deal of time up in her room playing and throwing balloons over the railing. 

 

We got dressed up (kind of) that evening and went out to eat! 

 

And of course, I didn't take a single picture of dinner....we went to a restaurant called Magic Time Machine that we'd heard was a fun kids place.  All the waiters/waitresses dress up as different characters and the whole place is decorated quite....crazily.  Anyway, when we showed up, they said it would be an hour and a half wait.  What?!?  We debated staying or going for a bit, kept hassling the workers, and finally got seated about 45 mins after arriving.  The food was good but the kids (really just ours) were AWFUL!  Halle grabbed and threw on the floor everything within her reach until we ended up all crammed together on the other parts of the table with a 2 foot "safe zone" around Halle of bare table.  Sigh.  Eve was whiny and fussy.  We were totally pooped by the end!  It was still fun, but made me wish that sometimes we could have grown up dinners and actual conversation with our friends.  Maybe some day...

 

We came back, put the kids in bed, and watched a movie, which was nice.  The Baldwins left early the next morning (they needed to be home in time for their church meetings), so it really was a super short stay, but it was SO good to see them and wonderful to meet Levi!  Can't wait until we see them again!

S-P-O-R-T-S!

The other week I was getting Eve ready for church when she looked at a tub in our closet and asked, "Mom, what does s-p-o-r-t-s spell?"  I told her to sound it out, so she did. 

 

"Sssss, p, ooooo, r, t, sssss....SPORTS!"

 

I was so proud!  What a big girl!  She's known all the sounds the letters make for a while and we've been trying to encourage her to sound out words, but she hasn't shown much interest.  Since this day, she's been making more and more progress towards reading!

 

 

Andrew will never let me forget that her first, documented, read word was 'sports'.  :)

Halle's First Birthday!

And just like that, Halle is 1!

 

 

Eve helped her decide that she wanted a princess party, so we decorated her cake with princess candles!

 

We had a family favorite (partly due to its simplicity and our shortage of time) of tomato soup and French bread for dinner.  Then it was time for cake and Skype with grandparents!

 

We thought Halle would dig right in to her cake, but she held back initially.  She dabbled her fingers a bit, thought about it, then just went in with her face!

 

Here's her preferred method of cake eating - she would open her mouth, bend over slightly, and wait for us to lift the plate up so she could just gnaw at it.  Very effective!

 

But don't worry, she still managed to get it everywhere!  I had to stick her in the sink for a quick rinse after cake and before presents!

 

But she got to see both sets of grandparents, which was the highlight of her birthday.  She loves skyping!

 

Then it was time for princess birthday hats and presents!

 

A new hat!

 

So many presents, where to start?!

 

 

Eve helped her to open the present she got her.  Eve signed her own name on the package!

 

It was a new dolly just for Halle!

 

Halle's birthday was on a Tuesday and the following Friday she had her 1 year checkup.  Here are her stats and some other notables:

 

-22 lbs 3 oz - 81st percentile

-32 inches tall - 100th percentile

-18.5 inches head size - 90th percentile

-Had a double ear infection :(

-Got 4 shots and a finger prick (We think as a reaction to the MMR, she's had a high fever the past two days)

-Halle walks everywhere now and is getting really fast!

-She babbles constantly and is getting really close to talking

-Loves to eat and has never turned anything down we've given her

-Enjoys playing with books and follow Eve around

-Drinks real milk now (it took several days to adjust to the cold) and uses a sippy cup for juice and water

-Wanders the house in the same circle that Eve runs

 

We love our little girl so much and had a great time celebrating her first birthday!