Enjoying Labor Day 2010

I am very thankful for the idyllic suburban life my husband has provided for his three girls. Here we are enjoying the last swim of the season in our association pool. Over the summer we enjoyed many family evenings together swimming, splashing, and racing; we had several friends come over and enjoy it with us and hope that many more will be able to come next year. I particularly enjoy that it is a two minute walk from our home, always maned with lifeguards, spacious, surrounded by trees, and kept immaculate and leaf free. As we would never have a backyard pool (safety, time, expense), I am thankful husband has provided this one for us to enjoy as a family.

They both pour out their love and smiles upon me every day.

My little and littlest sweeties

Each day that goes by we are getting more excited to meet our daughter. Here she is at 31 weeks. After the morning sickness passed, I have been enjoying an extremely comfortable pregnancy.

I love her thighs and sweet tutu. My mother bought her this adorable suit I found half off at ON. It was the first suit I saw all year that I LOVED, and my mom treated me to two seasons of matching cuteness for the girls. As we go to the pool after husband comes home and we've eaten dinner, this suit works perfectly for the evenings. Yet, on the rare occasion we go to the beach or pool during the bright hours of the sun, I am a firm believer in protecting her skin with a rash guard and floppy hat.

May we go in the pool?

Please!

Daddy is a blast...

and really fun to splash!

We are all wet and ready for a good night's sleep.

Happy Easter 2010!

This year we had a blessed Easter spent with our church family and sweet friends.

I LOVE them!



Our classic yearly pose
Looking at this picture, it is still amazing for me to believe that we have been blessed with a child.
Our vintage baby :)
and for a peek into the past here is Easter 2009.

Together

This Christmas we had a delightful time enjoying ourselves as a family. Here we are at our pastor's beautiful home for a party in honor of a church friend who is a missionary. Baby had used up all her smiles for the day as it was 10pm.

On Christmas day the three of us had a lovely and quiet day together. We greatly cherished being together (especially because it appears next year we will be separated). Here baby and daddy are smiling for the yearly picture before the meal.
Last Christmas baby was only one month old and sleepy.

Mommy and baby before leaving for the Christmas communion service.
Same pose last year
Rather than putting most of our focus, time, energy, and money into shopping, wrapping and exchanging presents for Christmas, we prefer to pull our resources in order to make the most of being together as a family, going on fun outings, and making memories. My husband wants to be flexible on this point and thinks that maybe we should do presents when our children are older. I am delighted with how we celebrate now and enjoy using our Christmas money for family enjoyment rather than individual gifts. With my family (and friends too), I love to deck the halls, ice skate, see shows, listen to the Messiah, make gingerbread houses, bake desserts, decorate cookies, cook favorite foods, watch movies (LOTR Trilogy is our tradition), play games, take pictures and smile a lot. The best presents in life never come wrapped in little boxes tied with ribbon. (As it is I love giving birthday gifts and "just because I love you" gifts throughout the year to my hubby, babe, family and friends.)

Our families were able to come visit a few days after Christmas. We had a wonderful time with them, and I had a particularly delightful evening with my little sis-in-law making this house.

Our favorite part was the roof we made by melting lifesaver candies.
Mama and baby at our friend's house to decorate her beautiful cookies. This picture made me laugh because my hair looks like it belongs to baby. Do you see we both have the same red highlights?
Here are the fondant covered sugar cookies I decorated. It was such a wonderful time being together with my friends (whose cookies looked amazing) and my little girl.

Happy New Year!

God abundantly poured out His blessing on us in 2009, and we are delighted to see what He has planned for our steps in this new year of 2010.

Merry Christmas!

We are delighted and thankful to be spending this Christmas together.

Happy 1st Birthday to Our Little Girl

Baby girl spent her first birthday the most delightful way possible. She was surrounded by those who love her. She celebrated with mama and daddy (whose presence we do not take for granted), both sets of grandparents, her two aunts and four uncles on her birthday and the four days following because of the Thanksgiving holiday. We were thankful most for being together. Dear family, thank you all so very much for coming. It was a delightful treat having you down with us and there to celebrate baby's first birthday. We all had a blast with you and are looking forward to your next visit. Baby girl would like to say...
Here are her gifts with my anniversary roses (Happy 3rd my dearest husband!!)
A huge gift from Grandma and Grandpa. Whatever could such a little girl need with such a large present?
It is a gorgeous highchair!! Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa! It is so lovely. This cherrywood Amish highchair was an especially fitting gift for our little girl on her first birthday because it was the day she was introduced to the world of solid food.
Our little girl at her new proper place at the dinner table.

Trying out her new seat and something they call a bib :)Giving avocado a try

Several people mentioned how unique it was of me to start her on avocado. I went with it because it is one of the most nutritious foods, high in good fat (for the brain), low in sugar, and is ready to eat raw. Jars are not for us, and I prefer not to freeze because I want the freshest possible. This classic mill and this new one have become my best friends.

"This is not milk."
For this cake, I tried my first carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and covered it in homemade mm fondant because I cannot get enough of the look. While making this cake, I enjoyed the company and help of my family. Auntie H shredded the carrots, Grandpa sifted the sugar, and Grandma trimmed the fondant and added the embellishments. Baking with your family is so much more fun than doing it alone.

Our little birthday girl playing with her candle

While we were singing to her

Here she is playing with her gift from mama and daddy (hint: It is the only thing she will ever truly need)
It's a Bible.

We wanted to get her one that would be with her for decades to come. While researching, I really enjoyed learning a lot from this blog and ended up getting this one with her name subtly branded on the cover. How sweet to see my baby girl's hands holding her Bible.
Can you guess what this one is? After husband made fun of my first attempt to wrap this one, I went with a more tasteful yet less mysterious wrapping technique.

Playing with her skwish natural from Mommom and Papa

Opening another from Grandma and Grandpa
Here she is sorting her shapes. Well, she is not sorting yet but having a great time anyway.

Trying out her new Plan Toys punch and drop from Grandma and Grandpa.

Playing with her Uncle Goose blocks from Mommom and Papa.

Dear little girl, it has been our greatest pleasure being your parents and look forward to everyday we are blessed to spend with you.

Memorial Day 2009

This Memorial Day, I was delighted to be able to spend with my sailor and our daughter. Besides being a day to celebrate who N is, it also happened to be baby's 6th month birthday. What a perfect day to go out on a family getaway! We spent the day in Colonial Williamsburg and greatly appreciated the free admission for military families. It was such a wonderful day.


My family in front of the Governor's Palace.

Inside the "Palace." Seeing my husband carry the baby around in her carrier was just precious.
The back of the palace. This crest is really beautiful. While inside our tour guide thanked all the military members and their families, and I started to tear up. Having two friends with currently deployed husbands, daily reminds me of the heartbreak of being a military wife.
Daddy and daughter outside of a general store
My family with an actor outside of the Capital building.
Melts my heart
Big smiles for Daddy
Remember that you can click on these pictures to enlarge them. I love that about blogger.


This week baby is competing in a little contest to win free portraits. Check out our little sailor #27. How cute she looks!