Christmas!

Stuart and I live in a small home that Stuart remodeled in the first couple years of our marriage. We moved into it when Blaire was 9 months old. When I say small, I mean small. The house is about 950 square feet with 2 bedrooms. The house is adorable and Stuart worked so hard to bring it back from a very dilapidated state.

While my house is small, I do love it. However, I was wishing for a couple of hundred extra square feet over the holidays. But, we made due and enjoyed every minute of it. The kids all crashed in Blaire and Presleigh's room which was interesting at times and Jenna and Pobzeb slept on an air mattress in our living room. The kids wen to bed and the "adults" stayed up way to late playing games and watching movies. It really was a great time of fellowship.

As is tradition we let the kids open up a gift on Christmas Eve. Sheryl, my mother-in-law took care of this. All the kids got a gift to open and inside each present were the most adorable Christmas PJs for the kids to wear, with Santa socks and Santa hats. The kids loved them and you couldn't ask for cuter pictures. We dressed them in their pj's and sent them off to dream land so we could play Santa for the kids.

Of course, the kids woke us up the next morning. Well, I needed a shower and wanted to get semi ready for the day before we opened up gifts. So the kids were "locked" into the girls bedroom until we were ready for them to come out. It was fun really "torturing" them as we had been "tortured" as children eagerly anticipating the gifts that Santa had brought. Jenna and I reminisced briefly about sitting at the top of our stairs in our childhood home waiting for our parents to give us the OK to FINALLY go down to see what wonderful gifts Santa had brought us.

When we were ready, we let the kids out of the room, all of them clad in their matching pj's. They ran into the living room and were thrilled with their stocking stuffers and their Santa gifts. Blaire had been asking for a Jewelry box and of course Santa had come through.

I look forward to many more Christmas' such as this. It was wonderful to watch the kids experience the magic of Christmas and continue to learn about the reason for the season which is the birth of Christ!

"Nutcracker"

Better late than never, but, as I mentioned before Blaire started taking ballet. It took her a bit to adjust to the whole idea of going to a class and following directions. She has had to learn to pay attention. While it seems that she isn't learning anything during the class, she comes home and shows us all of her new moves. The first part of the year her class was preparing for the Nutcracker Ballet. Her class was to be the "Teeny Tiny Fairies".

So we went each week and they learned their dance. Of course the average age of the girls in this class is 4 so you can imagine some of the interpretation taken by each girl. But, by the night of the performance the girls new most of the steps. So all that was left was hair, makeup, a teeny tiny fairy costume and wait to see what they do onstage.

Well, my little Blaire has a bit of a shy side(not a trait she gets from me) and so as I expected she stood onstage with her fingers in her mouth. But, there were no tears and she even thought about doing some of the steps to her dance. Her dad and I were so proud and made sure to present her with flowers as is tradition. We are looking forward to the spring recital!

Note: We are going through a bit of a "I don't want my picture taken stage" so this is the best I could get!

Missing Papa and Grandma Jill!

I promised to get a picture for Papa Tom and Grandm Jill in the sweet outfits they got for the kids. They were so cute. Hopefully next year we will get a chance to open gifts together! We missed you Dad and Jill!

Presleigh is 10 months old!

Presleigh is now 10 months old. It is hard to believe that in 2 short months we will be celebrating a year with this little girl. Stuart and I speak often of how blessed we feel with our girls. God created each of them so uniquely and it has been fun to watch them both grow through the stages.

Presleigh is beginning to communicate with words and sign. She says "mama", "dada", "bye bye" and "more" in sign language. She babbles all the time and has so much to say. She looks at me and tells me whole stories in baby talk. It is too cute!

She isn't crawling traditionally but she army crawls quite proficiently. She makes her way around the house in nothing flat and keeps both Stuart and I on our toes. I catch her often crawling into her and Blaire's bedroom and try to play with Blaire. Blaire tries to let her play but gets frustrated with her when she gets into her stuff.

Presleigh at her 9 month appt was 17lbs 8oz, and 27 inches long which landed her on the small side of the growth scale. While the doctor did mention that she is small he wasn't concerned in the least. She looks good and is as happy as it gets. She has let me keep her a baby a little bit longer and I am enjoying that.

Decorating Cookies!

As is tradition in our house we decorated Christmas cookies, or well we put frosting on cookies. As I have mention in previous posts my sister and brother-in-law moved to Colorado Springs and so they were able to come to our house for Christmas. So all the cousins were together this year to docorate cookies. We had so much fun!

When setting out to decorate cookies with two preschoolers, a toddler and a 10 month old you must be prepared for the licking of spoons, sprinkles sprinkled directly into the mouth, frosting on the table, bellies, hair and face and you get the idea. The kids had a great time and we did manage to get a few cute cookies out of the whole ordeal and of course we had to top it off with a bathtub full of cousins!

Fall Happenings!

We have made it nearly all the way through the fall and so much has happened. Last Tuesday we experienced our first set of stitches. Poor little Blaire tripped and fell and hit her head. She was very brave....I was not. She cried and so did I. Dad kept it together, barely. On Sunday we had them taken out and I think that the scar is going to minimal on her forehead. I suppose if nothing else it will add character(as if she needed anymore of that!) Well, enough with that, as there is so much that has happened in the last couple of months.

Stuart and I decided this fall that Blaire needed a couple of structured activities to participate in. We enrolled her in Ballet and she was old enough to start AWANAS at one of the churches here in town.

Blaire loves Ballet and is really doing well. She comes home and shows us her "moon arms" and her moves that are pronounced in French that I cannot begin to spell.

AWANAS has also proved to be a wonderful experience for her. She works hard each week to memorize her versus and is good to say them for her teachers. I am amazed at what she is learning and enjoy talking to her about her lessons. The Lord is working on her 3 year old heart!



Presleigh is a hoot. Really, this child keeps us laughing ALL the time. I personally have never met a happier baby who is so ready to giggle. While Blaire is my more serious child; Presleigh is quite the opposite. She most often finds her sister the center of her attention which is to be expected as Blaire has discovered that Presleigh makes a great audience!

Presleigh isn't crawling yet, but she is rolling all over the place. It is funny to watch her as she has a destination to get to but has to maneuver her body which seems to pivot around her head. I keep trying to explain to her that crawling would be easier but she hasn't given it a try yet. She will in her own time and I am relishing her babyness as long as I can!

About two weeks ago Presleigh cut her first tooth and a second bottom tooth is about to make its appearance in the next day or two. I dread the teeth as she is still nursing but their is nothing cuter than a baby smile with two bottom teeth shining through.

I am amazed everyday how much I can love these two little girls!

Sweet Blessings!

Wow, what a fall we have had. We are still celebrating my sister and brother-in-law's move to Colorado Springs and relishing in the fact that we can see them and enjoy their company on a regular basis. We made a trip to springs a week after they moved and are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with them as well.

Although, I feel for the family they left behind in Missoula, I am soaking in the fact that we can spend a weekend with them without a years worth of planning. Very exciting. I am also thrilled that I will be able to host them at our home this Christmas! God is good....all the time!

Cheese!

I have been dabbling in different ways to make money! I love taking pictures and have been doing it on the side for awhile but have not put much effort into getting my name out. I have recieved quite a bit of buisiness from word of mouth and right now with my crazy schedule that is about as much as I can handle. Here some of my favorites!

Wedding Weekend!

What a weekend we have had! Stuart's sister Lisa got married yesterday which called for a day of primping and pictures. Two of my favorite things, and with 2 girls it was double the fun! I chose the girls dresses 3 months ago and they have been hanging in the closet just asking to be worn. Today was the day and the girls rocked them! I took Blaire to her hair stylist(yes, she is only 3 but she has one!) and she did her hair which Blaire enjoyed tremendously. Then we topped the do off with some really cute polka dotted dresses and over sized bows which I made! I had a lot of fun dressing the girls up and realize that the days may be numbered that they will let me treat them like little dolls from time to time! God knew what he was doing when he gave me girls!

Our first bath together!

I cannot resist posting this picture. What is cuter than two little girls soaking in a tub? Presleigh is finally big enough(6 1/2 mo) to sit up in the tub and thus can now bathe with her sister. Blaire found this wildly entertaining and had to show Presleigh how taking a bath is done! What a pair these two are!

Blaire Turns 3!!

Well, better late than never but on the 29th of August we celebrated Sandra Blaire's 3rd birthday! She requested a "monkey ballerina" party so that is what she got. We have a great friend who made her a monkey ballerina cake that turned out really cute. We made ice cream cupcakes and ate pizza. We had a couple of Blaire's friends with their parents over, plus Grandma and Grandpa Wagner and Granny. We celebrated with gifts and we got her a sandbox for the backyard.

We had a great time and I can hardly believe that my "baby" is 3. She is turning into such a sweet and bright little girl. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for her!! Happy birthday Blaire!

Playin' in the Rain!

The girls and I were home one afternoon when it began to pour. It was a beautiful summer rain and Blaire and I couldn't resist going out and playing in it. So while Presleigh was snoozing we went out to find some puddles!

Sisters at Play!

As Presleigh gets older her interaction with her sister is increasing everyday. I have mentioned it before but Blaire doesn't have to do much to get a smile from her sister. It is really too cute! Blaire is so in love with Presleigh and it warms my heart to know that God willing they have a lifetime to love each other. Blaire has so desperately wanted to play with Presleigh. When we brought her home from the hospital you could almost read the disappointment on Blaire's face when all Presleigh did was lay there. But all of that is changing!

So the other night Blaire was playing "daycare"! She had the "car" set up with her rocking chair as the front seat and her play high chair as the back seat(what a great imagination!). Naturally, she needed a baby to take to "daycare" in her bedroom! So after trying out numerous unresponsive plastic babies, she decided that Presleigh would work best(she is far more lifelike!) So we put Presleigh in the highchair and off to "daycare" they went.

When they got to "daycare" she got her out of the car(with some help from mom) and guess who got to be the childcare provider! ME! And off to work Blaire went! It was too fun! After work Blaire came back for her baby and we put her back into the "car". Presleigh mostly enjoyed herself and I can't wait to see more of these moments!

Rock on!!

Last weekend we took the girls to the Tumbleweed Festival here in Garden City. There were crafts for the kids during the day and a children's stage that featured kid oriented acts. We didn't get much of a chance to see any "adult" acts during the day, but Barlow girl played the first night and we decided that was the perfect opportunity to take the girls to thier first rock concert! Blaire loved it and Presleigh....well she slept and smiled! It was a great day!

Flower Power!

Ok, seriously, I LOVE the flowers and bows. As if dressing up little girls was not fun enough, now they have flowers and bows that I can put on top of their sweet little heads. They are way too cute and I have so much fun dressing up Presleigh and topping her off with a flower.

Jesus lives in my heart!

In the last few weeks we have been talking with Blaire about God's forgiveness of our sins and His love for us. While I find these conversations with her tremendously important(which they are), Blaire does not always find them particularly interesting. After all this is not a concept that she can see nor touch but is demonstrated through our love for her as parents. However, I continue to talk to her anyway and hope and pray that it begins to sink in, which I believe that it will. She is after all not even 3 yet.

Along with that, during our trip to Montana, we talked about that Aunt Jenna, Uncle Pobzeb, Papa and Grandma Jill live in Montana(which is also confusing because our dog is named Montana) and that we live in Kansas. As a result, she is particularly interested in where people live and so on. So during our trip I asked her where Jesus lived just to hear her response. Blaire responded, "in Kansas!". Well this is true. Jesus does live in Kansas and I affirmed to her that she was right. However, last night I asked her the same question, "Blaire, where does Jesus live?" and Blaire responded, "in our hearts!".

The Lord has impressed on me just how moldable our children's hearts are. I know that Blaire still has a lot to sort out in her understanding of the Gospel but I trust that God is working in her life at the young age of 2 years 11 months and 13 days. Praise be to God!

Family Pictures!

We went last week to get our first picures taken as a family of four! We also had pictures taken of Presleigh at 6 months(almost) and Blaire at 3 years(almost!) We had a great time and the girls were champ picture takers. In fact we went with a budget and wound up doubling it(Sorry Dave Ramsey!) They were great and we couldn't turn them down. Here are a few to share.