December Randoms

Time for our "December Randoms" post! We do all sorts of fun stuff that never makes it into its own blog post. So, just in case you thought we only travel and have parties, here is what happened on some ordinary days around here.

 Delivering our stash of Christmas cookies to mommy's work and friends!

What will forever be known as "The Cheerios Incident" -- Chloe got out the container of Cheerios and promptly dumped it on the couch and floor. Megan thought this was awesome and started eating the Cheerios. You will not be surprised to learn that this happened while mommy was at work and daddy was watching the girls by himself. 

A visit from cousin Jessica just before Christmas! Yay! 

Chloe exploring the outside on a warm, early-December Sabbath afternoon.

Somebody found the Mr. Potato Head Santa!

Nobody told me that sisters wrestle. This is baaaad news for me! Now I have to constantly watch Chloe to make sure she's not body-slamming her sister.

Somebody decided that eating apples off the core was waaaay better than having mommy slice them for her. This leads to a lot of half-eaten apples so mommy got smart and now cuts off half the apple for herself and then lets Chloe eat the other half. This strategy seems to be a success so far. 

The girls got colds and were running fevers just before we went to Florida. Chloe got a hold of the temporal thermometer and decided to check her sister's temp. No worries -- all was well.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas! 

My favorite time of year has finally arrived! I can't think of another season that holds such strong memories and makes me feel sentimental like Christmas and New Years. The song "Auld Lang Syne" has always been a favorite of mine because I just love the sentiment of taking time to think about those in our past who, even though we don't see as much as we used to, are still treasures to us. So for those of you who fit into this category, this is what our life looked like in 2012 :-)

Our biggest blessing was the addition of little Megan to our family on March 5th. We found out we were expecting her during the summer of 2011. When you have one girl and you're expecting another, it's really hard to imagine what that new girl will be like. I kept thinking she would look like Chloe and have a similar personality. Well, I definitely got the first part wrong! While I think Chloe looks a lot like me when I was little with her green eyes and sandy brown hair, Megan looks just like her dad. She's got his big blue eyes and several other features of his. Their personalities are a bit more similar with both girls being pretty happy, good-natured, and low-key. I have noticed that Megan is very strong and fearless, though, which means I find her with new scrapes and bruises more often than I'd like. She started crawling at 7 months and now at 9 months is actively pulling herself up and into things. Walking cannot be too far away.

Chloe turned 2 in September and has grown into such a little girl this year. Her personality has just bloomed. She loves to read her books. Her language skills have really grown to where she speaks quite a bit and we can understand the vast majority of what she says. She's a singer and will break out in song just about any place. This year she has learned her ABC's, colors, and numbers. I love how she just soaks up everything and is constantly surprising us with words she knows. Chloe is also super loving and gives hugs and kisses to us all day. She especially loves her sister and I can assure you that the feeling is very mutual. I see these two getting into some trouble together in the coming years.

We have been so blessed with our two girls, home, jobs, and health.  I hit a few bumps in the road with my health this year, but thankfully most of them were treatable and I'm resolving that 2013 will be a healthy year for all of us.

While life continues to have its challenges, we hope 2012 was a terrific year for every one of our family members and friends and wish you many blessings in 2013.

(Christmas photos below taken by Noel Kelley Photography)

Florida Trip!

We took our annual trip to Florida from December 8-15 this year. We had an awesome time! The first few days were so nice and relaxing. We had a few yummy meals and did some shopping. During the middle of the week we spent three days down in Orlando vising Mickey and all his friends. We ended the week how it started -- with more food and relaxing. We're always so sad to leave. One of these days Nathan will convince me to live here!

Day 1 - traveling!

Megan in the Detroit airport -- "It's cold here -- get me to Florida!"

We passed this on the Florida Turnpike -- how cool!

Poor Chloe was totally worn out by the flight. She got airsick and conked out as soon as we hit the road.

Chloe was so glad to see Grandpa and Grandma Roush!

Day 2 - Sunday was a busy day!

Grandma measuring Chloe on her closet wall.

Megan being measured for the first time!

We made hummingbird pancakes. So delicious! 

Visiting Aunt Jean.

Inspecting grapefruit.

We went to lunch at The Ice Cream DR and got to try some fun sodas. Had some tasty soup and sandwiches...and ice cream! 

Day 3 - more fun relaxing

Good morning! 

Hibachi at a restaurant in The Villages. Chloe and I were first-timers. 

Day 4 - Epcot and Hollywood Studios

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom and more Epcot

Day 6 - Downtown Disney

We got to stay in a suite Wednesday night and we loved it!

Breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Day 7 - last day

Visiting with family friends the Gammons.

We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch -- so yummy!

Last few bites of ice cream at The Ice Cream DR.

Saying good bye to Aunt Jean.