Christmas part 6

Lenorah listening to us all sing at Mom's house. She is used to me singing.... all the time... but she does not hear voices singing in harmony very often and she was a bit captivated.

Christmas part 5

We were able to spend time with my sweet nephews. Here are a few shots: Lenorah using great squat and lift form trying to pick up a gift for her that was bigger than she was.

Josh and the boys. I'm sure Josh and Katie love that I added to the nerf gun collection 8-/

Chas and Reese reading to Lenorah. They are so precious.

Christmas part 4

When she is tired, no matter where she is or who is around, she just needs her blanket and a spot on the floor.

The blanket also helps Lenorah with transitions, with being comfortable around those not-Mommy and not-Daddy people.... but here is a shot of her realizing that she had cuddled up with a not-Mommy.

Christmas part 3

One of the highlights of the trip for Lenorah - wrestling sessions with her Aunt KoKo. Once she warms up to you, watch out! she's on you like a little featherweight wrestler. (and yes, for those of you who know Kobi, those are real feet in her face ;-)

She'll have some competition in her cousin Ansley in the future - I witnessed firsthand Ansley putting the hurt on her uncle Brian this Christmas and that girl has some skills.

her favorite gifts - 2012

Her cars and trains

Her beads and bubble blower

and this nice rubbermaid lid

Silly girl :-). She loves looking at the world through a different lens....not exactly roseate, more blue-green. She is still discovering her new gifts/books/etc., and I will be sure to share more pics as new favorites emerge.

Cash says Happy Holidays

There used to be lots of pet pictures on here... then there was a period of silence.... now it seems as if it is just baby baby baby. For those of you who miss Mr. Cash, here is a picture:

An update - he is still as sweet and energetic as ever, he is still a little pudgy (unless Dazhou comes for an extended housesitting visit during which the 24/7 playtime leads to some pounds lost ;-), he still loves ice, he still sheds like... something that sheds like crazy, and he will still gas you out of house and home. He makes Lenorah laugh every morning when his nails click-clack through the hall to her room :-)

Christmas part 2

We were able to spend a day in Cumming, visiting the Harris family and also some Ferm's.

Uncle Paul, Aunt Mel, and Sa were finally able to meet Lenorah! We had a short but sweet visit :-)

Fun with Mary and Reed, Sarah Grace and Jacob. Brent was there too, but he was taking the picture :-) Their sweet puppy Mocha also hung out with us, but only because sweet Lenorah and the dog whisperer Brent were able to convince her that we were all good peeps.

Christmas part 1

We had a great time with the Bjurstrom's and Makin's. It was fun watching the kiddos play and enjoy each other, it was great catching up with our dear friends, and it was a perfect day-o-eating for me - Marti's at Midday for lunch (thank you Janice and Mandy for thinking to pick it up!) and Cali-N-Tito's for dinner - it doesn't get any better than that!

O being a ham!

The kiddos enjoying their awesome lunch.

Lots of toys around ... but I think they enjoyed the walk-in shower the most!

I love the look on Q's face in this one!

Just catching up on her current events.

pillow fight

I love wrestling with my little lady, and she is ALWAYS game for some fun!

restful holiday

This was perhaps the most restful and restorative Thanksgiving holiday we have ever had. We turned off the work, stayed close to home, and just enjoyed each other. We were able to get our Christmas decorations up, and do more cleaning and organizing in 4 days than we have been able to for the past year. It feels good. Here is a shot of Lenorah Hope experiencing the wonder and beauty of a Christmas tree.

the kiddos in action

All three of these beautiful kiddos love their books. And the boys were kind enough to let Lenorah watch Olivia instead of Shawn the Sheep. :-) We were able to spend a lot of time on the bikes, at the playground, and at the beach. The bike-riding is probably the highlight of the beach trips (but hard to take pictures of this ;-). I look forward to creating more memories.

footprints in the sand

what a difference a year makes

Look at these beautiful kiddos :-D. Makes my heart smile.

Last year, it was "hold on tight to Lenorah, don't drop her"

This year, it was "everybody chase Lenorah" (since she wasn't a fan of sitting still, not with all of that real estate (i.e., beach) to walk on ;-)

walking on the beach is her favorite

I am happy to report that LHR loves the beach just as much as I do! Well, maybe not all aspects of the beach (i.e., the waves), but she definitely enjoys walking on the beach and exploring. Once we put her feet on the ground, she is off and toddling. She just keeps going... and going... and going...

so serious

She studies and observes... people, animals, trees, everything. My serious little girl.

no more pictures please

She's all smiles and laughs.... until someone pulls out a camera. But at least she looks my way every now and again :-)

cheeks

year round snow man

LHR loves her snowmen.... she definitely demonstrated her preference for them over Chrisstmas, always laughing and giggling and snuggling when she sees them, so they have been sitting out all year long. I don't mind, you know I love my snowmen. I'm already looking forward to pulling out my snowmen Christmas decorations... perhaps this early desire to do so is because Lowe's already has their Christmas decorations on display!?! I blame Lowe's.... and Michael's....

Morning sweetheart

Little girl is so happy, all the time really, but especially just before she goes to sleep and when she wakes up from sleeping. When we put her to nap or to sleep at night, we have our fun routines, and she usually goes down laughing.... and then we listen to her talk and laugh for another 30 or 40 minutes. When she wakes up in the morning or from nap, she wakes us up with more talking and babbling and laughing and squealing. Sweet little lady.

You're in my way mom!

This is an adorable picture of sweet girl trying to look around me because I was obstructing her view of a cat that was hanging around us during our nature walk. For some reason, it just makes me laugh. She's so focused sometimes. On a related note, she has definitely become very skilled at ignoring someone when they are trying to get her attention... especially if they have a camera ;-)

My heart

To her, the word "Daddy" is synonymous with the word "love."

Reading

LHR loves books. She loves to sit on my lap and hear her favorite stories. She loves to sit surrounded by her books, turning the pages, babbling. She loves to have her books recited/sung to her at any time - bath time, at the park, in the car.... anywhere. When she is having a hard time at her gym class, I pull a book out of my pocket to give to her and she immediately calms down (and at least doesn't disrupt circle time, even though she may not be participating). I love that she loves books, it is something that we will always share.

Watching Olivia

Sweet girl loves her Olivia. I don't know exactly understand the appeal.... I tried to "push" Octonauts and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for a while to no avail, but Olivia is definitely her preference. Here are some shots of her laughing at episodes she has seen about a million and one times. :-)

Where are you going Mom?

My sweet girl on the inside looking out.

Birthday Pics - The Second Cupcake

We were able to go home for a quick visit, and at the Woodman residence, the pink cupcake was introduced. She was pink for days, and B's shorts have a permanent pink stain that makes him smile with the memory every time he wears them. She had a lot of fun hanging out with her cousins and the rest of her family.

Birthday Pics - Friends

Some wonderful friends were on hand to spend some time together with us.

Birthday Pics

"How amazing. She is already one. What a precious person she has become."

Sleepy girl

Our little family

Our little family.We have a lot of fun.

My sweet darling. She brings a smile to my face every time I see her or think about her.

we love to be outside

We love to be outside. When weather permits, you will find us walking in the neighborhood, hanging out at the pond. The geese love to see us coming since we always bring treats.


hanging with Mom


sweet little girl


Watching her Dad feed the geese