November Highlights

November flew by, but we caught a few highlights on camera!


Josiah's 3rd birthday


Aaron's 3rd 1/2 marathon


Our 3 children (yes, Mary and Josiah are in swim suits!)


All babies are "good", but some are easier to care for than others.  We are so thankful that she is eatting and sleeping well and generally a very content little one.


Mom blessed our socks off with all her help after Stella was born.  Lots of laundry, dishes, meals, grocery shopping, cleaning, football games (with Josiah), and afternoons with Mary.  Thank you mom!

We spent Thanksgiving day at the home of Nancy and Butch Ross.  Nancy is a cousin of Aaron's dad.  It was a wonderful relaxed afternoon of visiting and naps accompanied by an amazing Thanksgiving feast!  Thank you for your love and kindness!

Stella's Birth!

Stella Jean was born on Monday Oct. 29th at 12:48pm.  She weighed 7 lb 15 oz and was 21".


 Daddy got to help catch her as well as cut the cord!






5 days old

October Update

It has been awhile since updating our blog!  Some dear friends from Wichita, the Hendleys, came out for a visit at the beginning of the month.  At the end of the month, our family went to Tolmachoff Farms for some fun fall festivities while I was in the early stages of labor.   


Game night with John and Erika Hendley


Josiah, Simon Hendley, and Mary at the Phoenix Children's Museum.


Us with our pumpkins (cheesy, I know!)  :)



Corn maze


Fun day on the farm!

Of course the highlight of October was Stella's arrival, but she deserves her own post!

September Celebrations

Here are a few photos of memories made this month.  On the 8th, I took the kids to the children's museum, then met Aaron at Zipp's (the official Phoenix football watch location for K-State Alumni) for lunch and watching K-State wrap up a win.  Josiah loved showing off his Wildcat "tutu" and it lasted five days!




In celebration of Mary completing one month on her chore chart, we had an Angry Bird hat making party (her idea), then went out for ice-cream (Aaron's idea).  She was too embarrassed to wear her hat in, but agreed to put it on for a picture.  Josiah was delighted to wear his "mad bird" hat all evening.




Finally, a moment this mommy has been waiting for… Mary's first sewing lesson!  She was pretty excited and did a great job driving and steering.  :)  Tips:  Start beginners by sewing along straight and wavy lines drawn on paper.  They don't have to hassle with thread and you can assess their work by the trail of holes left by the needle.



On another note, I have found myself giddy with anticipation of cooler weather.  On all but one day last week, the high temp was below 100 and this morning the kids had jackets on for breakfast outside.  I look forward to rediscovering local parks, enjoying family walks, and busting out the bikes and trikes!

Mary's first day of school!

Today was Mary's first day of kindergarden (1/2 day).  For the first time this morning she was beaming and telling me about how excited she was.  Up until yesterday she told everyone no when asked if she was excited about starting school.  Afterward she regrefully informed me that she didn't miss me at all.  The highlight of her day was playing tag with one friend she already knew (that is in another class) and a new friend during recess.  Our little girl is growing up so fast!

June Update

The highlight of June was an anniversary get-away for Aaron and I and a visit to camp Grandma Dee and Papa Bob's for the kids.  We celebrated our 9th anniversary with a trip to Hawaii.  Here are some photos from our adventure.


Aaron hiked Koko Head Crater Trail.


Aaron tried out boogie boarding.


We had a blast just being together!


We learned to play a song on the ukelele at the Polynesian Cultural Center.


We both enjoyed paddle boarding for the first time.


It was fun to introduce Aaron to lee chi fruit.












The kids had fun with Hawaiian inspired dress up play when everyone got home.

Sugar and spice and everything nice!

My doctor indulged us at my appointment this week with a quick sonogram to find out the gender of our baby and he is fairly certain it is a girl!  Mary is stoked as she has been telling people she wants a baby sister and Josiah is excited because he is Mary's copycat.  The name we pick will be a surprise upon birth, but feel free to put in your two cents if you think of one that you like that sounds good with Jeanne (sounds like Jean) as a middle name.

Change is coming….

Someone's got a basketball in her belly! Queue the drum roll……. we're pregnant! Sarah is was 12 weeks along in this picture and the baby's expected debut is around Nov 1st.  Josiah is now convinced that he's got a baby in his tummy and has even complained that his "tummy hurts" only to find out that he's referring to his progressing pregnancy.












Mary and her friend Sebrina shared "teacher of the day" responsibilities early this month.  They did a fabulous job getting snacks from the cafeteria, choosing a craft, (bead necklaces) picking books for story time, and leading the line to recess.









Our first NHL Hockey game! Round 2, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (Phoenix Coyotes vs Chicago Blackhawks) with the home team about to win a second round playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Needless to say it was a little more exciting than the Amarillo Dillas and Wichita Thunder games we've seen in the past.
In spite of the big-time atmosphere we managed to walk away without being hooked.










On Thursday I was offered a new role with Amazon and we had 24 hours to make a decision. We accepted the position. So shorly I will no longer be working as an Operations Manager within the Fulfillment Centers, but will be supporting new building startups in the western half of the US as a subject matter expert (the last part is a stretch, but they were willing to take a shot). Sarah is excited about the change as the hours should be less and my work schedule will be very flexible. The biggest downside will be the travel as I'll need to physically be in the new buildings as they launch- helping with setup and training new managers.

March was a blast!

The month of March was full of spending time with people we love!

It began with a trip to Colby.  Below is a photo of all 8 of the cousins and a shot of the hairdos I gave my neices, Mary, and Victoria (my sister-in-law).

The fun continued when we got to have Clarise all to ourselves during her spring break!  She loved our cacti and palm trees, picnics, parks, and picture books.  It was definitely a break from her college routine.










Next, was Mary's 5th birthday pARTy.
Below are our little artists eating their cupcake creations and painting canvases.
 


Special guest during Mary's birthday week were Grandma Nancy, Uncle Ben, and Pamela (Ben's girlfriend).  Below is a photo of the gang heading to a spring training baseball game.







Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Mary the machine

Mary seems to have an unquenchable capacity for "projects."  She loves to make things and has said "I love projects" and "if anyone told me I can't do projects anymore... I wouldn't listen to them" and "I just have so many projects to do!"

I thought I'd see if she could get too much and gave her the opportunity to design a butterfly valentine for each classmate and her teachers.  I had the materials set out on the kitchen counter the night before and her eyes got really big when she saw it in the morning!  I helped her with assembly, but she designed, drew, glittered and stickered her way through all 28 butterflies in one day!

cheesy show and tell

I got the cheesiest grins when I set out to document the kid's latest eye fashions. Below, Mary is showing off a horrible bruise she got at the playground this week. She walked right into a pole. We found out on Saturday that a friend got the same bruise on the same bar last February. Josiah is showing off his new specs. I can't believe how much his head has grown in one year!