Christmas!!

Christmas at our house was WONDERFUL this year! My mom and dad came over from Eastern WA, we got together Christmas Eve with Mark's family, stayed home Christmas Day and my dad cooked a yummy Christmas dinner for all of us, and the day after Christmas, we went to my grandparents' house for a Christmas/Birthday celebration for my mom's side of the family. We saw our whole family and had such an amazing time with our girls!

Avery was so excited when she woke up on Christmas morning! She said, "Mommy, Santa came! He really came to our house!" Absolutely precious... she was astonished!

Daddy helping Em open a very special present from Mommy and Daddy. It's the children's classic Goodnight Moon. That book is very special at our house!

I had to post this one! My brother's dog Jordy LOVED Papa Dome! He kept jumping up and standing on his back... crazy dog! And like every good Papa... he just let him!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Happy Holidays!!

Boy, if this isn't the 4 of us to a tee, I don't know what is!

Happy Holidays!

...Hanging by a thread...

Yes, I'm still around....just going crazy during the Holiday season! Stay tuned for some fun pictures... I promise!!

Time at the beach...

It's not a great time in the Pacific Northwest for a beach visit the second week in November, but we had to take advantage of the weather (it actually stopped raining today and the sun shyly peeked out from behind the grey clouds) and get the girls and Webster out to run and play. We bundled up the girls and headed to the beach! We froze, Mark and I that is, but the girls and the dog had a blast...now that I'm home and warm, I'm glad we went!

Avery, her usual solemn self at the beach...she spends the time gazing at the water, throwing rocks and digging.

Emmy follows so closely in Avery's footsteps in so many different ways... she loves tossing rocks just like big sister!
Em swinging at the beach park
Our handsome boy Webster LOVED the beach too!
And a post about the beach wouldn't be complete without a shot of the Mukilteo Ferry heading off to Whidbey Island!

My silly girls.....

My polka-dotted Emmy-lou

xoxoxo

Blue-eyed Bugaboo!

Trick-or-Treat!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! We did, that's for sure! Avery was a little lamb and Emerson was a little 'Who' from Whoville...we called her Emmy-lou Who!! The girls had a blast! Avery was a die-hard trick-or-treater, out til 8:30pm!!

Our "Little Lamb"...I almost couldn't find this costume in a toddler size

and she's wanted to be a lamb since this summer!

Sweet "Emmy-lou Who," our little "who" from Whoville!! (How the Grinch Stole Christmas??) :)

Ready to go!!

We actually trick-or-treated at the mall first because the weather was AWFUL! When we got home from the mall it was dark and the rain let up a little. Emerson didn't trick-or-treat outside, rather, she answered the door with my mom and LOVED seeing all of the kids in their costumes!

Pumpkin Patch '09

Yesterday we headed out to The Farm for pumpkins!! Last year Em was just 2 months old... this year she is 14 months old and she had a blast discovering pumpkins...and lots of MUD! I tried and tried to get a decent family picture...but Em wasn't too interested in posing for mommy and Avery told me that Em didn't really want to be doing it... Webster posed very nicely for every shot. :) All in all... we had a fantastic day together yesterday!

Emerson LOVED the pumpkins!

What a great family shot... I don't know why I try so hard... honestly!

Sisters shot didn't work either :(

I love this crazy bunch!!

My <3's

No words necessary

xoxo

You have no idea....

...how hard of a sell this guy was! Now look... they're best friends!

(He said, "Don't take a picture. I don't want everyone to know I like the dog." Hahaha!)

Meet Webster <3

Yesterday we made it official and adopted a 4 month old Black Lab/Golden Retriever mix named Webster. We finally got our BOY!! He is so sweet, so gentle with the girls and so loving. He just wants to be with us all the time. He responds to many basic commands and listens exceptionally well! We've now had him for 24 hours and he just keeps getting better and better!


He is the perfect addition to our family... we are definitely complete now! I just hope that our kitties come around soon... they are not as pleased as we are for sure!

Ryder Cup Weekend

We headed over to my parents' house this weekend for the guys' Ryder Cup 2009 matches at Alta Lake Golf Resort. It was fair-weathered, cold... but not raining! We had a great time; Mark played golf for 3 days in a row... pretty rare these days! Here's a few shots of the guys:

Excited to tee off Friday morning...

The Girls

President Mutt~Dog

Finally standing on the number 1 tee!

Fist-pumping!! John birdied #8!

Papa Dome and Daddy watching Papa's tee shot

The cutest little caddy in the world~xoxo Emmy-Lou!

The cutest golf cheerleader in the world!

Can't even blog about a golf weekend without my two little bugs! Ha ha!!

Where's My Big Sister?

Now that Avery has started school a couple days a week, Emerson and I have special one-on-one time together that I cherish! Now I can follow her around with the camera (Avery LOVES the camera lately and constantly wants to "pose"), this morning we went walking and fed the ducks and just sat in the chair and read books together (which is by far her favorite past-time these days). I really cherish this time with Em because when you just have one child, you get to do everything together. Avery and I took all kinds of classes, played and played together... etc. When the second child comes, you're so busy with both of them that you have to really "make" time for them individually, it just doesn't happen as naturally, for me it didn't at least. Emerson has not lacked individual time with me or Mark, but I always get around to feeling guilty about the time I provide for both of them individually. Just a "mommy thing", I guess.

Playing in the pool... first time I've gotten all of her hair into one ponytail...sooo adoreable!

I love you Emmy-lou! xoxoxo

Avery's First Day of Preschool!

Yep! You read that right!! Today was Avery's first day of Preschool! She woke up very excited and ready to go this morning. And of course I wouldn't have it any other way! We're so proud of Avery! She's a strong, confident, caring girl. My heart is heavy for one reason: I cannot believe how fast three years flew by... I remember holding her in my arms for the first time after she was born, just like it was yesterday and today here she is off to preschool!

Proudly wearing her backpack that she picked out on her own. Yes, it's too small for her folder, but I just didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't quite big enough. She LOVES it! Super excited to go! Avery immediately found her name, hung up her backpack, put her lunch away and sat right down in front at the teacher's feet to listen to the read-aloud! She's AMAZING!!On Tuesday evening, Avery and I attended her school's Open House. There was a bouncy house to play in (definitely the hit!), the Tumblebus was there, and pony rides too! I just love her school... they are all about the kiddos!!

Taking a break to pose for a picture inside the bouncy house

Climbing... (This is her, "Mom, I know you're excited for me but just let me do my thing" smile)Tire swingProudly riding the pony. Before she got on she said, "Mom, I don't like that farmer..." Hahaha... but she warmed up to him really fast after he started being silly with her.

Happy 1st Day Avery Elizabeth!! We are so proud of you!!

xoxoxo

Happy 1st Birthday Emerson Paige!!

On August 13, 2009 our sweet Emmy-Ems turned 1! I cannot believe she is a whole year old! Emerson is a beautiful energetic girl and she has learned so much in this short year! We are crazy about her!

Her big sister loves her too!!

Happy 1st sweet Emmy-lou! We love you!!

Avery and Mommy Time <3

Avery has become a bit impatient with Emmy lately... I can't really blame her. Em's almost walking and kinda wreaks havoc in Avery's world. At times they play beautifully all day long, other's I feel like a referee! I thought it would be nice if Avery and I could spend a little quality alone time together, so we went down to my Grandparent's house on Hood Canal with Aunty Beck to spend the night. We had a very nice time!

I've never been able to keep her out of the water... no matter what the weather, temperature, or season!

I love you Bug!!

What haven't we been up to lately??

We've had such a great summer thus far! The girls and I have visited my parents in Eastern WA, Avery is in Summer Camp which she absolutely LOVES, she also takes Ballet lessons. Emerson is so close to walking and trying to say so many words... and the little "sisterly quarrels" have started as well! ;) Emerson is learning to yell back at Avery (don't like this, but it's pretty darn cute to see) and does everything she possibly can to keep up with her big sister. I tell ya what... these girls are nothing short of a miracle and life couldn't possibly be better than this! Enjoy the pics!!

Emerson is into EVERYTHING! Avery got this trike for her birthday and has since become disinterested in it. I swear Emerson will be riding it before Avery does!!

Is this not the perfect, "Who me?" face??!! "What Mom, I haven't done anything!!"

At Alta Lake. Avery was showing Em how to throw rocks into the water. Em's got an arm, just like big sister!! Look out Boys!!

Avery is very much into art and "doing projects" these days. I found this awesome Sidewalk Paint by Crayola and it's been a hit! Plus our walkway to the front door looks fabulous!!

Happy Summertime!!!