07 December 2013

(The Past Month) - 11/11/13 - 12/7/13

Well, it's been almost a month since my last post.  Part of me is a little sad it's been that long of a break, but I know that things have just been so busy and something had to give.

So, let's look back at these past few weeks.  November just FLEW by and before we knew it we were gathered for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Tons of yummy food.



And cute babies :)


And celery-eating little boys :)



With Thanksgiving behind us we moved right into CHRISTMAS mode!

We got the lights up on our house,  set up and decorated the tree, hung the stockings and swapped out the fall decor for all things red & green!




We also went to Festival of Trees

Mariah LOVED getting her face painted and sitting on Santa's lap


Madden, on the other hand, was not a fan...


But he would hang out with this dog any day!



Next, a funny little elf arrived at our house!



The kids were very curious and excited about their new friend.

We read the book and they picked out a name for him:
MAGIC

Then began the adventures of Magic the Elf.

Just look at what this little elf was up to this past week!

The first day he built himself a cute little house with the kids' blocks


But he didn't stay there long

The next day he got into my dry erase markers and gave Mariah and Madden's photos a makeover




We've got our hands full with this Elf, I'm tellin' ya! :)

Thankfully he settled down a little bit and spent the next day reading books to his new friends.


Magic was back at it the following day - fishing for Goldfish from high up on the kitchen cabinet.



No rest for Magic!

The next morning he had swapped out our stockings…


{I never thought I'd be posting pictures of our underwear on my blog…}


After a mischievous few days, Magic decided doing some gymnastics from the light fixture would be fun.


The next day he spent sitting atop the Christmas tree.


And just this morning we found Magic playing with the kids' yo-yo


I can only imagine what he will be up to next?! :)


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I know it's a busy time for everyone!

I am trying my best to take some time to sit back and enjoy the wonderful life we have with our amazing kids.

I mean look at these two!


They are growing up right before our eyes.

And Madden, my baby boy, will be TWO next Saturday.

Blessings to your and your family this Holiday season!

I will be back with more updates on Magic's adventures SOON!

13 November 2013

{Our THREE Weeks} - 10/21/13 - 11/10/13

Just when I think things might slow down, they get busier!  Can anyone else relate? :)

I'm going to switch things up a bit and recap these past few weeks with photos!

Let's see - where shall we start.... Well, we had a family photo shoot in downtown Davenport in late October.



It was seriously the last not-so-darn-cold day of the year, so (minus the wind) it was perfect!







  We got some great pictures in the first 10 minutes, and then when the kids got restless we captured some action shots as well :)




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We also got Mariah's pre-school picture :)


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Next up - Mariah's FIRST dentist appointment!


I was a little nervous about how this was going to go - but this girl never ceases to amaze us.  She did AWESOME and loved every minute of it!  She continues to ask when she gets to go see the dentist again. :)

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Before we knew it, Halloween was approaching.

So, naturally, we carved some pumpkins! (Some more sensible than others, ahem, MIKE)



Mariah got to bring treats to preschool on Tuesday, October 29th.  We decided something healthy and Halloween themed would be perfect!  We put together these cute little "pumpkins"!

Remove the peel from a clementine and stick a celery stalk right in the middle :)




We also made some cookies for day care!


Despite the rain on October 30th, our little superheros enjoyed trick or treating and passing out candy.






They even shared their hard-earned treats when our supply ran out. :)


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On Thursday, October 31st Mike and I left for RIVIERA MAYA!




A well-deserved vacation as a late celebration of our 5 year anniversary.  It was so wonderful!  We loved having the opportunity to relax and have adult conversations.



We even did a little site seeing and exploring, complete with a tour of the Mayan ruins (Tulum), snorkeling, zip lining and cliff jumping!




We also spent PLENTY of time in the sun, at the pool and on the beach.



The kids enjoyed a WHOLE WEEK with Grammie and Grampi Hopper.  They enjoyed many fun activities - the park, Chik-fil-a, sleepover party, crafting and running around like they owned the place! :)

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On Sunday, November 10th I became a Godmother to sweet little Katherine Anne.



I am so honored to be such an important part of her faith life.  The whole family came to celebrate!



She was the perfect baby during her baptism and threw a great after party complete with cake and cookies :)


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And that rounds out our festivities these past few weeks.

Now the countdown is on for THANKSGIVING just a couple short weeks away :)

21 October 2013

{Our Two Weeks} - 10/7/13 - 10/20/13







Madden is really making us laugh lately.  His favorite word is "OK", but how he says it is too funny.  It comes off as an annoyed, "Ohh - KAAYYYY".  For example:
"Madden, it's bathtime"
"NOOO"
"Come on, you can have the shark towel :)"
"Ohh - KAYYYY!  Ohh - KAYYYY!"













Mariah's favorite activity lately is writing letters and drawing pictures for her daycare friends.  She spends many hours with her paper and markers creating some pretty cool art :)

We also had conferences for Mariah last week.  She's doing so good!  Her report card was great - she knows all her shapes and colors, it starting to recognize some letters, follows directions and plays well with her friends!  We couldn't be more proud of her :)












Mariah also wrote her name by herself for the first time this week!










Not much new with Mike & I.  I am in the process of recovering our kitchen table chairs - and thankfully Mike is handy with a screwdriver and could assist me in this project that I know he is SO excited about ;)











Mariah's best quotes seem to come when we are all in the car.  This week was no exception!

Out of nowhere Mariah said "Guys, this is just NOT my day."

:)



Weekend of 10/12 to 10/13
GETTING ALL HALLOWEEN-Y!

On Saturday morning we gathered up a couple superheroes and brought them to the Mel Foster Pumpkin Day.  They had fun checking out the petting zoo, playing games, getting candy and of course picking out some pumpkins!






Sunday we painted our pumpkins and also made some fun "SOCK PUMPKINS"!




We ended the weekend with some cookie baking - the little monster eye cookies were so fun and easy!



Weekend of 10/19 to 10/20
PIRATES, PRINCESSES, PARTIES & PICTURES!

Friday afternoon we saw Disney Pirates and Princesses at the iwireless center.

Mariah was the perfect age and really loved it!

Madden got a little stir-crazy in the second half (once the food ran out). :)



Saturday we headed to Dubuque for Hunter's 4th bithday party!  The kids played hard and had fun!



Sunday we got our fall family photos done!

Here's an out-take for good measure :)




MOVIE NIGHT! :)