little monkeys

I am about tired of all these rainy days and so are my girls!  Thankfully the weather man said there is some sunshine in the forecast!

 

When it's too cold to be out, we sure do have fun inside though.  Emmy and Bailey love their rooms and sometimes we'll just play for hours on the floor and bed and with all the toys in their rooms. 

The other day we spent a few hours in Emmy's room. They played and climbed on the bed most of the time while I would try to "catch" them.

 It moments like these, simple joy and those darling belling rolling laughs, that bring me so much happiness. I know these little girls will grow up one day, I hope to cherish these moments forever.

warm and TOE-sty

I married a man with fabulous grandparents!  Since all my sweet grandparents have passed on, these two have really taken me in and treated me like one of their own.  Great Grandma Alice is quite the baker and crochet-er (is that word?...and I'm pretty sure it's crocheting?).

She made and donated over 2000 pairs of slippers last year for children and people all over the world who are in need. She also donates hats and scarves and makes pretty dish towels and beautiful throws.  There was even an article in the Herald Journal about her and all the service she does.  Yup, she's amazing!  I know the throws she has made my girls will be keepsakes forever! 

We visited Great Grandma and Grandma today and left their house with turkey and rice soup, delicious banana bread, apples, flashlights for our key chaines (thanks grandpa), and some of these fun slippers.  Emmy was SOOO excited.  As soon as we got home we had to put them on!

It was a perfect day for slippers and soup since we woke up to snow on the ground today!

So thanks to Great Grandpa Alice for keeping our toes and tummies warm today!  We love you so much! 

and we celebrated

I just love parties!  The cake, the ice cream and getting together with family.  We missed those who couldn't come to Bailey's party.

She did pretty good at diving in, after we removed the strawberries.  They turned out to be a distraction!

It was a fun evening and Bailey LOVED all the attention.  Thanks to everyone for coming!

our home

WARNING:  This is going to be a long post!  :)

I still can't believe we are in our house!  It feels so good! 

It took about 4 months to build our home but we were "homeless" for about 6 months.  We will forever be in debt to Brian's parents for letting us invade their home for those 6 months.

Before I post inside photos, here's a little look back....

Yup, be bought a .50 acre lot with a LOT of overgrown trees, chicken coops, garbage, a huge shed and this beautiful trailer.  After lots of work clearing the lot and hauling the trailer off, we were finally able to dig our hole and start building.  We bought the lot in July, officially "broke ground" for our house in October, and moved in the last week of February.

Home Sweet Home

There are so many things I love about my house and I actually owe a lot of thanks to Pinterest for helping me build a house I love. 

 entry and family/dining 

(minus a dining table)

my kitchen

Here are some of the details I love about my kitchen/dining area

MY VERY MOST FAVORITE part of my kitchen

the corner sink.  i love windows!

Laundry/mudroom

Emmy likes watching her clothes get washed :)

Emmy's room

(well, a corner of it...needs some decorating)

Bailey's room

(another corner...needs decorating even more than Emmy's)

Master bedroom

Master bath

Emmy & Bailey's bathroom

(you guessed it, needs decor.  wanted to show you my favorite part of this room though, the step stool.  thank you pinterest)

Well, that's it for now.  We finished a large family room downstairs too but I forgot to photograph it.  It's the man cave/play room/computer & sewing room.  I'm so glad we decided to finish it.

Our house is really starting to feel like our own.  We've already put a few dings in the walls!  Everyone is pretty well adjusted to the new environment.  I actually think it was hardest on the dogs!  We still have organizing to do and a lot of bare walls that I am excited to decorate, but I'm in no hurry.  I want it all done but decided it's ok to take my time and personalize it.

So, for now I guess we'll just let the memory making begin!

ONE

My baby is ONE!!!

Life is been crazy around here.  It seems we have been celebrating Bailey's birthday for weeks now because we haven't had a real chance to really sit down and appreciate her special day.  We spent our first night in our new home on her birthday (Feb 24) and we've been trying to get unpacked, settled, organized and put together since then!

I finally got a chance to take a few photos of this little sweet heart and boy do they show her personality.  She is such a character and pulls so many faces. 

Bailey isn't walking yet but she wants to.  She likes to hold on to your hand and walk with you.  She's taken several steps (with coaxing) but just prefers the crawling route right now.  I think she can chase Emmy and the dogs around easier and faster on her hands and knees:)



Bailey doesn't say many words yet.  Da-da and hi are really the only two words she speaks that actually mean something.  She babbles a ton and knows how to let out a real good scream when she doesn't get her way.

Bailey is sleeping great in our new house, in her OWN room.  I think us sharing a room with her was keeping her up as well as us.  Now she's to bed about 7:30pm and I don't hear from her till about 7:30am.  Couldn't ask for more!

Lastly, she's one and she's still a cuddler.  I love it!  She loves to be right there against your neck.  She'll practically climb up you to get there (no matter if you are sitting on the floor or holding her).  She also is a great "love" giver!  She hugs Emmy, hugs the dogs, hugs your leg or arm...she just likes to be close. 

Bailey is such a sweetie (she is screaming at me right now as I type) and just loves to be a part of everything.  We are so blessed to have this darling one-year-old in our lives!