Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Lillian - Two Months


No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get my girls to stop growing!  Lillian weighed in at 14 lbs. and is over 24 inches tall.  She's starting to coo and smile more and just gets deeper and deeper into our hearts!


Eliana and Lillian at their check-ups

She'll go on pretty fantastic sleeping stints and snooze for 5 or 6 hours at night, but other nights she's not interested so much in getting some zzz's.  We'll get there!  Lillian is also not a fan of tummy time--are any babies okay with it?  However, she is a HUGE fan of bath time and still rarely fusses about anything.  She's definitely a keeper!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Our First Winter 2016 Snow

Eliana refused to wear mittens, she decided they were better off in her pockets.  And she only wore her hat for 20 seconds...





Hylie showing off her mad snow angel skills 


And Lillian slept through the entire outside adventure!

Happy Birthday, Eliana!



Last week Eliana turned two and we had a fun little time celebrating as a family.  Her actual birthday was on Friday, but we decided to make it a birthday weekend and celebrate on Friday AND Saturday.  On Friday we spent a little time at the Children's Museum.  I love going places where the kids can explore and Mom doesn't have to keep on saying "no"!







On Saturday we had her dinner of choice (macaroni and cheese) and a chocolate butterfly cake.











I'm not sure Eliana understood why she was getting all the attention, but she sure didn't complain! How we love our sweet, little two-year-old!  Lots to look forward to this year!


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Thanksgiving 2016



This year we spent Thanksgiving in Chicago.  When I realized we would be here, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to check off one of my bucket list items: prepare an entire Thanksgiving feast on my own!

Okay, it wasn't completely on my own, Hylie and Eliana helped out, plus I made multiple phone calls to Mom to go over recipes and cooking tips, AND if Geoff wasn't here on Thanksgiving day tending to the kiddos, nothing would have been prepared for the feast!

Chopping celery

Wrapping sweet potatoes


Getting in all the Wednesday prep!

I must say, when everything was all said and done, I was pretty proud of myself!  I had everything warm and ready at the same time and I liked how everything tasted: win, win!





Although, I had to laugh...the minute we sat down to eat, Lillian was ready to eat, too--so by the time I got back to my plate, it was cold!  Ha ha!  Regardless of that little detail, I thoroughly enjoyed preparing everything and look forward to doing it again sometime.





The sister missionaries gave a beautiful thought on gratitude and we each took a turn expressing our thanks for various things in our lives.  I love that when it comes to sharing our thanks, no one ever hesitates or has a hard time thinking of what they have been blessed with.  Indeed, I am thankful for this amazing life I have.  I was raised in such a loving family, received an excellent education, had wonderful employment opportunities that have helped shape who I am, and now I am blessed with a loving, patient, super husband and together we have three beautiful daughters who light up our world.  I know I wouldn't recognize how bountiful these blessings are in my life if it weren't for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Heavenly Father's plan of salvation is a perfect plan full of love and mercy--I'm so thankful to know of His love and of what can be in store for us in the next life.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!