January pictures

Livvy is a genius - MagnaDoodle says ages 3+

made our Christmas cookies a little late - Kate's favorite part was the purple frosting:)

oops

Kate's ice castle:)

Kate's First Ski Trip!

We went up to Boyne for a weekend of skiing and got Kate out on the mountain! It was so much fun.  We had been talking about skiing since we went up north over the summer, and have been talking it up as much as we could so that she wouldn't be scared.  We don't have skis for her, so Matt took her down to the lodge to rent some on Saturday morning.

Liv had a blast watching everyone go down the hill

ski boots, a.k.a. huggy boots

 Once they were back at the condo, all she wanted to do was get outside and ski! Matt held her between his legs the whole time, but she did an awesome job.  She rode the magic carpet up the first time, but then did the chair lift ("big swing") after that.  We went up and down the mountain a few times before lunch, and then a few more times again after Kate's nap.  She kept telling Matt she wanted to go faster, and she certainly did not want to quit for the day.  I'm not a hug skier, but being out there with our fearless little girl was pretty awesome.  

at the top, ready to go!

Once they were back at the condo, all she wanted to do was get outside and ski! Matt held her between his legs the whole time, but she did an awesome job.  She rode the magic carpet up the first time, but then did the chair lift ("big swing") after that.  We went up and down the mountain a few times before lunch, and then a few more times again after Kate's nap.  She kept telling Matt she wanted to go faster, and she certainly did not want to quit for the day.  I'm not a hug skier, but being out there with our fearless little girl was pretty awesome.  

Olivia 11 Months

I really seriously can't believe Olivia is almost 1.  This year has gone so very fast.  It took me forever to get this post up because it took me forever to get her pictures taken.  I can't get the girl to sit still for the life of me, and when the camera is out, all she wants to do is come get it.  She thinks it's a really fun game to crawl towards me as soon as I set her down...over and over and over again:) So, I had to wait until Matt was home at a time with decent natural light coming in to take them.

Like I said, Miss Olivia is a busy body; unless she's out of her element, she rarely sits still or plays with the same toy for more than 30 seconds.  But, once she finally got over all of her ear infections, viruses, and colds this month, she has been a much happier girl.  Right now, she loves touch and feel books and books with flaps.  She loves music and dances any time she can hear it.  Her favorite toy is either the cookie jar shape sorter or her stand up play table.  She also likes to chase balls and laugh and scream.  She's starting to pull herself up, which means walking is probably just around the corner.  She's pretty ticklish, and her little giggle is probably the cutest thing ever.

upside down!

Favorite foods:

• avocado
• tortillas/bread (pretty much all carbs)
• Cheerios
• yogurt
• popcorn
• strawberries
• corn
• black/white/red beans
• Puffs
• Rice Krispies
• apples/applesauce
• chicken
• ravioli
• bananas
• blueberries
• yogurt melts

She's really funny about food; one day she loves it and the next day she won't touch it.  But, I think that's pretty normal.

She's wearing 9-12 month clothes.  As far as sleep goes, she's usually up for the day between 6:45-7:30; takes a nap around 9:30 (a VERY short one) and another one around 1:30 (sometimes a longer one), then goes upstairs for bed around 7:00.  She's finally sleeping through the night.  Thank you, Jesus, for sleep:)

New Years Eve

Andy and Sam were here for a whole week with us after Christmas, so we tried to take as much advantage of our time together as we could.  On New Years Eve, we went to check out the Christmas trees at the trains at Frederick Meijer Gardens.  Matt had to work, but the rest of us had a lot of fun together.

Big Red

Whitecaps Stadium

Van Andel Research Institute

DeVos Children's Hospital

After FMG, we had dinner together at my parent's house and then came to our place to play games and hang out until the ball drop.  2014 was a great year and spending the day together was a great way to end it.

Kadzban Christmas 2014

We celebrated Christmas with the Kadzban's on December 30, once Andy and Sam (and Burley) were in town from New Jersey.  We went over right after the girls got up in the morning and had a fun day together.  Kate got to make a gingerbread house.  The boys did a crossword puzzle.  Both girls took ok naps there, and we all had fun giving gifts.

it's a Burley pillow!

matching sweaters:)