Gus Gus

 Gus Gus is still such a joy! He dresses up sweet, he helps with sorting laundry, too bad it was cleaned and just needed folded. This giraffe.... he drags this thing all over and just continuously wrestles with it lately. It is still bigger than him but Gus sure does like to attack him!

Sledding

 We finally had enough snow to be able to get out the sleds. The kids bundled up and headed out for a couple hours of fun! Unfortunately our snow is already mostly gone and with 50's in sight over the next days it will be completely gone. Little Gus did not get to partake so he was stuck standing on the couch just watching and yelling throw the window. He squealed for them when they would have a good run going.

donations

We had an ice day here not too long ago and we attacked the basement and went through every tote. Going through toys means some need to find other homes. Tough as it was the kids did a great job of cleaning out the totes. We took the stuffed friends to a local shelter that has children and families. As we dropped off our donations the kids got to witness a couple families coming into the building that they call home. These individuals did not have nice clothes, heavy coats, and some of their hair was not very neat. It was an eye opener for my kids. They were full of questions about the shelter and the families that need to call it home. I think the next time we "clean out" the basement they may be far more generous.  A good lesson learned and a good feeling.

grandma's in town

 Pete was out of town and we have a busy schedules over the weekends so my mom came into town to help out. It meant a lot of her staying at the house keeping that going while I spent the weekend running. Mom and Gus definitely bonded again over the weekend, he was thrilled to see her walk through the door. We always enjoy her company and she is just crazy good at being a grandma! love her to pieces, thanks for all you do!!

16 months

The babe is 16 months old today and full of fun! He is roughly 25#, officially walking, new in the last week. He has 12 teeth and working on the lower 2 canines, we are feeling the side effects of said teething! Gus is not really verbal, more screeching and grunting - but someone he gets his point across and gets what he wants! We have created a rotten, spoiled monster but we all love him to pieces. The giraffe still lives and is one of his favorites! he would totally take it to bed with him if his momma would let him!

playdates

 We had a rare Saturday where we were done with our things by 11 and home the rest of the day. So lets have some friends over to play! good times were had by the kids, lots of giggles and lots of energy exhausted!  Everyone slept very well that night!

volleyball x 2

Both girls are playing rec volleyball this year! A lot of fun and a fair amount of running here and there! First games were this weekend and while neither won they both had a great time!
Maggie is fortunate to have a mentor program at school that she participates in and her mentor Ms. Sarah came to her game, so sweet of her. It made Maggie feel very special to have her there!

1-1-17 and a little D&D

Random photos from the first few days of January. Snuggles with the baby, and a little karaoke .

The daddy dug out all his old dungeons and dragons stuff and has begun to teach the children how to play... they are loving it and it occupies a large amount of time!! holy smokes! Gus just wishes he was old enough to learn!

Makayla + braces

 We knew the day was coming and Makayla's only request was to have one last caramel apple. Of course thanks to my great sisters I was able to get the ingredients and make from scratch real caramel apples for my girl. Maybe I will do that again in 18 months.... that is how long they predict this process will last. We will see. Kayla is getting used to her new mouth and really do well!

2017 a new year and a new start!

I have not blogged in a year and I so miss having my memories written done! My hope is that 2017 will allow me a few more minutes to capture my family time on here! We had a very busy but wonderful holiday time! Visits with family and a bit of traveling. Company from family and friends! We had one of my dear friends spend New Year's Eve with us. A good time was had by all!! our kids had a blast together!! We went downtown and watched the fireworks, very well done!!

 Silly girls playing the game What'cha saying? pretty funny these two! they were peas in a pod all weekend!