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.