February

We started February off with a Preschool field trip to the pet store.  Sienna, my animal lover, was in heaven.  They got to feed the fish, pet a guinea and a bearded dragon, and tour the store.  Shelby loved getting to hang out with the big kids and Sienna's favorite part was feeding the fish.  The only bittersweet part was that they usually have cats that are up for adoption that the kids can pet as well, but they had all been adopted. 

We also celebrated Valentine's Day!  Grandma Hudson sent the girls some candy and stickers, Grandma and Grandpa sent over lots of different Valentine's goodies and Daddy got Sienna a new intricate coloring book and Shelby the movie Snow White.  Daddy got Mommy chocolate covered cinnamon bears and I wish that I could say that giant bag lasted longer than like a week and that I didn't eat more than half of them but I'd be lying.  We also made pink heart shaped pancakes for breakfast that morning.  The pink was hard to see until you cute into them but the girls loved them, so mission accomplished.

 

A few days after Valentine's Day Sienna's friend Carli had her fifth birthday party at Jabbers.  Sienna and Carli love each other and we had never been to Jabbers so it was definitely a couldn't miss event.  The girls had a blast and we will definitely have to go to Jabbers again. It was nice to discover a place where both girls had plenty to do and I was able to keep an eye on both at the same time.

Other random February happenings:

 Shelby learned that she loves dipping things

Sienna wore her dress from Mexico to church for the first time

Shelby started Nursery early because mommy got called to Primary.  This is a very accurate picture of how she felt about the whole thing.

Miss Candi (my friend, neighbor and Sienna's preschool teacher) brought the girls over some heart shaped pizza because Sienna got sick on the day of her Valentine's party at school and Miss Candi didn't want her to miss out on anything.

 Walking to school with mommy's old backpack on

The loss of the second tooth

Trying on Grandpa's missionary tag!

 

 I remember when life was pretty uneventful, but with two little ones our lives feel very full.  I love that Sienna is growing up and now we have field trips and gymnastics.  It's so fun to see her learn new things and develop new skills.  It also nice that Shelbs has enough personality and spunk to keep up with her big sister.

Tooth Fairy!

Of course two days after my January post Sienna goes and decides to finally let us pull out her first loose tooth!  It was mildly eventful, but not nearly as traumatic as I anticipated from my sassy, drama queen.  Nick had tied a piece of string around the tooth and while he was wiggling it the floss got stuck on the tooth.  She came over to me with floss hanging out of her mouth with a very sad look to let me know that she hated the predicament she was in.  Being the sweet, kind mother that I am I pretended to feel sad for her so she would let me look at it and then I ripped that tooth right out of her mouth.

She cried for a little bit and then remembered that the tooth fairy was coming and all was right in the world again.  She was so excited to decorate her envelope and take a picture of the new hole in her smile.  She lost another tooth like a week later, but she's apparently a pro at losing teeth now so that one was no big deal.

Welcome to the awkward stage Sienna, we love you.

January

I gave myself a break from blogging and in the process kind of shot myself in the foot.  I do family yearbooks for us each year and not having blog posts to look back on is now making my 2015 yearbook project an overwhelming thought.  So, I decided at least once a month I need to take the time to journal here and reflect back on the fun things we've done, because I don't want to forget that they happened.

January is usually pretty uneventful.  Partly because of the Christmas hangover and partly because it's so cold you don't want to do anything.  Luckily for us the sun has been shining occasionally and Sienna is getting older and that means more activities all around.  In the beginning of January the girls and I went to a fun family improv day show with our friends.  We love hanging out with the Romer family any chance we get and this was a perfect way to do that!

 

Sienna also started gymnastic this month!  She absolutely loves it so far and it's so fun seeing her try something new and getting so excited for each class.  Sienna's favorite things about gymnastics so far are the bars and the trampoline. Shelby is so jealous that she only gets to watch from the balcony.  

Shelby may not have started something awesome like gymnastics, but she finally has enough hair for a tiny little whale spout pony tail and I love it so much!

We have had some nice days that we have been able to get outside and play.  It mostly ends with us being covered in either chalk or mud (we can't wait to have grass in the backyard!) but it's a small price to pay for a good time.

When it's too cold or we are just craving something sweet the girls also like to help mommy with some baking!

These silly girls sure filled our house with joy during the usual dreary month of January!

Until next month!

Random Photos: December Edition

Morning sister snuggles

Tummy time!

Just hanging out....

 

Sienna "winking"

Finally smiles!

Sienna is excited for the new year, Shelby isn't so sure.

I sure do love these silly girls.

Christmas time is here!

We had the best Christmas.  I love spending holidays with family and all the craziness and excitement of the people you love being all together in one place, but there is definitely something special about spending that time in a more quiet setting with just your own little family.  

Santa had come while we were all asleep and lucky for s he was able to pull through for Sienna on her bike request minus a bell, which has since been purchased by mom and dad.

Sienna and Shelby went through their stockings and Sienna was so excited about her Sophia the First bike complete with a spot for Speedy.  I love watching Sienna open gifts because she is still so excited and grateful for everything whether its a book, socks or new bike...everything is awesome. :)

I also was very excited that Santa got Shelby Despicable Me 2 in her stocking, because Sienna had gotten the first one in her stocking her first Christmas.  It was too perfect.

 

Sienna all bundled up and testing out her new bike in the garage because it had snowed the night before, just in time for us to have a white Christmas!

 

It was such a fun and low key day celebrating and relaxing with our little ones and feeling the spirit of Christ in our home as we reflected on the true meaning of the day.

Getting Ready for Christmas

There is always things to do in order to get ready for Christmas!  The first weekend in December we decided that we were more than ready to start decorating.  While most of the decorating process didn't get documented I had to capture this moment when Daddy helped Sienna put the star on top of our tree.  She was so excited!

 

We also had to write our letter to Santa, of course.  Luckily for us Santa has his very own mailbox near us that makes it super easy to get our mail to the North Pole.  He even sent Sienna a letter back telling her how excited he was to stop by our house on Christmas!  This year Sienna's main request was for a bike with a basket for her stuffed animal Speedy and a bell so that I could hear her riding.

 Sienna also was asked to participate in our ward Christmas program as an angel.  She was SO excited during the week leading up to the program and then the day came and the stage fright hit.  Luckily, some very sweet girls were able to convince her that it was going to be okay and she was her regular performing self by the time it started.  She didn't have any lines, she just had to stand there and look cute, which she did perfectly.

In the group picture above she is the little small fry in the middle.
We also had to make sure the girls wore their beautiful matching dresses from Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas Sunday to church.

It is so fun carrying on traditions and having the chance to create new ones with my girls.  Christmas time is so much more magical when you have kids.

Sienna turns 4!

 My big girl turned four!  I have a hard time wrapping my head around it every once in a while.One her actually birthday she had a special mommy day where we went out for lunch and played in the snow while Daddy worked.  She also got to open her new pajamas the night before and we opened presents from grandma and us when Daddy got home.  

 

A couple of days later the Esslingers and the Pollmanns came over to celebrate with cupcakes and ice cream.  She wanted everyone to be able to decorate their cupcake with jellybeans so we did exactly that.  She also got to open a few more presents from her cousins and Dave and Janie.

 

 

She is seriously the best. 

 She LOVES her stuffed animals and is really starting to blossom as far as trying new things and making new friends.  She loves to sing, dance and create beautiful masterpieces.  Her preferred medium for her art projects are stamps and paint.  She is a really good big sister and tries her best to be helpful.  

 She is sassy, silly and very sensitive.  She has a great memory and often quotes movies and funny tv commercials.  She's got a serious sweet tooth and zero patience.  She is the queen of snuggling Mommy and loves Home Depot trips with Daddy.  

Sienna loves fashion and her new favorite thing is mismatched socks and/or pajamas.  Everything must be accessorized and she often asks me if I think she is "gorgest".  

 I think that she is one of the most "gorgest" girls inside and out.