Christmas Morning

Bella coming down stairs in the morning. It's hard to see her expression, but she was in total shock.


Bella showing off her toys from Santa.


Noah gets some love from Grandma. In hindsight, I really wish we would have taken more pictures of Noah. He was so content on Christmas and because this was the first time Bella really grasped the concept of Christmas/Santa/presents, we focused mainly on Bella. He's certainly due for a few photo shoots.


Even Mom loves Christmas.


Everyone was busy opening presents and we looked over to find Bella had climbed on top of her present to unwrap it (it was some shelves for the playroom).


This is a terrible picture of Bella, but she was trying to figure out what this present was for a long time. Uncle Josh and Aunt Amber always do such a nice job wrapping presents, so she was drawn to this one from the start--guessing anything from a Barbi to a ball. It was pretty cute when she finally opened it and found a game (and Strawberry shortcake none-the-less!).

Our Christmas Trip

I'll post some pictures of the wedding later (when I finally get them off Abel's computer), but in the meantime, I wanted to share some pictures from our trip to Texas.

I don't know any families who have five generations alive at one, but Bella and Noah are fortunate to have two great-great grandmothers. Here is Nana (isn't her coloring beautiful?).



Mimi learned that Noah hates bath time. (On a side note, I have such an attachment to my grandparent's house. Looking at this picture, with the kitchen window in the background--it's very comforting. I hope we feel the same way about our house. Maybe in time with enough memories...)



Justin and Travis...and I think the bunny ears are provided by Father Francis but I'm not sure.



I wish I would have noticed Bella drank some orange gatorade before I took this picture.



Mimi and Bella opening presents.



Our little flowergirl.

Sunday Ritual

Sunday afternoons as of late have been filled with baking. We have started a new cooking ritual with the kids. And yes, even Gunner joins in the fun.


Bella counts Noah's rolls.





Noah really wants a brownie.

Halloween

Here are our little Raggedy Ann and Andy. Bella had a great time trick-or-treating. She never quite got around to saying "trick-or-treat", she just knocked on the door and said "please".

Photoshop Play

So we lounged away today (doing odds and ends like setting up trash collection services and utilities) while we wait for the keys to our house (YAY!!). Though Noah needs to help, I played around with photoshop a little--unfortunately we only have Photoshop elements, so I was somewhat limited. I wanted muted tones with just the blue of his car seat coming through. I wish the initial photo would have come out a little more clear, then it would look a little better.



I also wanted to share this picture of Isabella and Mimi. Doesn't she just love her Mimi?


While we worked on the house on Sunday, Bella played with these wooden "paper" dolls by Melissa and Doug. They were a steal at only $3 at the Family Swap Meet earlier that morning.



Here is our nice scraped ceiling in the master bedroom. No popcorn here! (Check out the view)