Addison turns FIVE

January 24, 2012

My sweet baby is five. I can’t believe it. Not so much a baby anymore.

Two days before her birthday, Addison had a fever of 104.5. So sad! She was much better on her birthday, but still not 100%, so she didn’t go to preschool. I tried to make it a special day for her anyways. Nana had brought over birthday pajamas the night before, and she woke up to all sorts of fun decorations and presents.

After the girls were off to school, we went to have our fingers and toes done together. She had never done this before, and it was really fun. They even had a tv with Team Umizoomi on in front of her.

From there we went and bought her new tap and ballet shoes for the class she just started. And had a special lunch, at her choice of restaurant, Burger King. Then, home for a good nap (which she still does almost every day), and a relaxing evening at home with her choice of dinner, pizza. Pretty easy choices for mom:)

Oh, how we love our Addison Kate.

Stay tuned for birthday party pics, I am sorting through LOTS of them.

February ten on ten

Haven’t done this in a while, but I felt like taking it on today. A photo an hour for ten hours, fun glimpses of every day life.

{1} Good morning gray {2} Working on valentines {3} Zoning in on tv {4} More valentines {5} Posing {6} Having some fun in Junior worship {7}Yay for getting to go outside {8} Beauty parlor {9} Return of the chore chart (their request!) {10} movie night

See other tens here

Symantha’s Baptism

December 30, 2012

A pretty special day for Symantha and our family. Symantha has been asking us to be baptized for a long time, and we have held her off because she is still very young and we want her to understand the commitment she is making. We have been studying the Bible, praying, and talking a lot with her about this decision, and Derek had her write out why she wants to be baptized. She wrote this completely on her own and I was very impressed that she read it in front of the whole church! We are very proud of the person that she is becoming. Although she struggles sometimes, like we all do, she has such a good heart and she genuinely wants to live her life for God. I love that we have this on video – sorry it took so long to post it:).

December Highlights

Yes, it’s mid-January. Yes, Christmas seems like eons ago. But I couldn’t let it pass without putting some of my favorite pics on here. Get ready for most of our December events all in one post.

Christmas tree hunting

Snowflake Lane

Seeing Santa

Kids Choir Performance

Christmas pj’s

Annual Girls Christmas Breakfast

Christmas

                                       

Happy birthday, Jesus

The cousins made mistletoe on paper, tied it to a stick and surprised Grandma and Grandpa while they were standing for a picture. Pretty cute.

Addi’s Christmas play

Addi’s preschool class put on a little performance at their Christmas party. Sorry, grandparents, if I had known it was going to be SO cute, I would have invited you! Addison played Mary in the Christmas story, and then they all sang songs with jingle bells for us. They were a big hit and I was so glad her teacher, Ms. Suzy, took this on for the first year.

The Mom Challenge

During October and November, I took a mom photo challenge for 30 days. The point was to take more pictures of YOURSELF with your kids, rather than always being behind the camera. It was very hard to get a picture of me with the kids every day, and there were a few nights where I barely made it and took an instagram next to them sleeping in their beds.  I used the remote a lot, actually handed the camera to Derek sometimes, and let the kids have turns taking pictures (which they loved). I had a number of friends do it, which made it fun and encouraging, and the other motivation was earning a free photo shoot with the photographer who started this whole idea. I did manage to complete it and I am thankful for some of the pictures that never would have gotten taken if I hadn’t done it. These are some of my favorites.