Thank You 2009...

...for so many blessing throughout the year...

...for a wonderful surprise of baby #2 on the way (January).

...for the birth of our new niece, Mackenzie (April).

...for being able to celebrate my first Mother's Day as a mommy (May).

...for being able to spend 3 weeks at the lake with family and knowing we'll have many more years together up there (June).

...for the celebration of Brynn's first birthday (July 16th).

...for being able to spend the summer at home with Brynn playing outside, taking walks in the stroller, and playing together all day (June-August).

...for an excited husband starting his football season (August).

...for the annual weekend at the farm with the Voigt family (Labor Day).

...for a healthy, enjoyable pregnancy (January-September).

...for the birth of our huge blessing, Molly Rose (September 27th).

...for wonderful parents/grandparents who helped us adapt to being a family of 4 (and always)!

...for a fun, successful football season (August-November).

...for 3 wonderful months of maternity leave at home with my girls (October-December).

...for wonderful holidays spent with our families (Thanksgiving & Christmas).

...for the anticipation of the wonderful memories that 2010 will bring.

Happy New Year!!!

Today...(something new to try)

I found this idea on a blog that I discovered while clicking around on some other blogs....thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.  I found other women's and mommy's trying out this blogging format and discovered how interesting it is to read of other women's entries---and how remarkably similar some are to my life! 

I'm giving it a try because I think it is a perfect way to help me to slow down and live in the moment...........

Outside my window...it is cloudy and barely light out...some days I prefer the quiet cloudiness to bright sunshine...makes one appreciate the sunshine a little more!

I am listening to...the sound of my little Molly grunting and cooing after her morning bottle...what could be better?!

I am wearing...white t-shirt and gray shorts..."mommy pajamas"!

I am thankful for...the week ahead...being home with my girls and husband, seeing family and friends.

I am pondering...why I drank a large cup of coffee last night while I strolled around Target at 9pm...I was wide awake until 1:30 and now am wishing I had gotten a few more hours of sleep!

I am reading...lots of information online about Nutramigen- a baby formula we're trying with Molly to try and ease her tummy problems.

In the kitchen...I'm wishing there were warm caramel rolls in the oven (something I've been planning on making for the past few mornings), but my Special K will have to suffice.

I am creating...(I created) some magnetic, fabric covered boards to hang on the wall and hold pictures for our nieces for Christmas...my mom taught me how after we had seen them at a craft show this summer.

I am thinking...that I hope Molly needs a catnap so I can catch one too, before big sister Brynn gets up!

I am going...(we are going)...to Kevin's Grandparent's farm to see them since we didn't on Christmas.  We're also planning a trip to Winona to see my grandma who we also didn't get to see.

Around the house...lots of pieces of pretend food from Brynn's new kitchen...need to get a container to hold it all so we're not stepping on french fries and ice cream cones going from room to room!

One of my favorite things...the privilege of being a mom...and being able to spend the first quiet moments of every morning with my baby.

A picture thought to share...

Most recent family picture taken on Christmas.

(I've come to realize that it might be a while before both girls will be looking at the camera and smiling.....we'll take what we get!)

Merry Christmas!

Too bad Christmas can't be a week long instead of one day...it is always such a let-down when the 25th is over...we anticipate the special day for so long, the celebrations, time with family, and gifts that are given/received and then bam....it's over!
But....we had great celebrations, time with family, and fun with gifts on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
We were able to go to church on Christmas Eve with Uncle Matt, Aunt Leah, Cameron and Emmy and then spent the evening relaxing at Grandma & Grandpa A's.  Although we missed Eric, Kecia and Harper, we are excited to celebrate Christmas with them in a few days!  (Our memory card was left at home on Christmas Eve....hoping to share pictures from G'ma's camera eventually!)
After the girls were in bed, Kevin and I spent Christmas Eve finishing wrapping gifts, and putting together one of Brynn's gifts...her new kitchen (thanks Kev!).  Although it will still be a few years before the girls understand the concept of Santa, stockings, etc., I had a blast wrapping their gifts and getting their stockings filled with their gifts.  Can't wait until Santa starts stopping at our house in a few years!

Christmas morning, Brynn woke up to her gifts.  She wasn't awake enough to rip into the paper, but instead peeked through the paper at her new kitchen! 

She finally started to come to life when Daddy helped her open her giant box of food for her new kitchen!  She proceeded to taste all of the ice cream cones!

Later on, we spent the day at Grandma & Grandpa L's with Uncle Bill, Aunt Steph, Madi, Kenzie and Matt.  We exchanged gifts, enjoyed yummy food, and had fun playing together!

We hope your Christmas was wonderful!

Happy Holidays & Heartache

This is the time of the year that I have always looked forward to...decorating the tree, shopping for gifts, listening to Christmas music, and spending multiple days celebrating with family. 

However, this year is a little different.  Although I have been enjoying the holiday anticipation, and am looking forward to our Christmases with our families, it is bittersweet for me.  I knew these few weeks would bring mixed feelings for me as I prepare to head back to work after the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over and the tree is packed away until next year.  And for that reason, I'm finding myself wishing it were September again! 

I knew the day we came home from the hospital with our new little Molly that I needed to enjoy every day of my maternity leave and not look too forward to anything but the present moment we were living in...and as much as I tried to live in slow motion, the time has come... my last "official" day of my maternity leave.

But...I know that I am so blessed...
...to have a husband who has supported our decision for me to stay home longer than most mommy's get to. 
...to have wonderful parents who have helped us in countless ways while we have gotten used to being a family of 4.
...to have a great job to go back to on January 4th.
...to know that everyday I will still get to wake up to my little girls, and at 4:00, I'll get to be home with them again.
...to have a safe and fun new daycare to take the girls to each day.
But these things can't take the heartache away just yet...

I can only hope that the next 6 months of work will go as fast as the last 3 months have, so I can quickly find myself home everyday again, loving every moment and not missing out on any memories with my babies.  

These 3 months have been the best of my life.  It amazes me how two little people can bring more joy than I ever knew existed, even if we're just lounging around in our jammies, reading books, and snuggling in the chair all day.  I will miss these days like crazy...until I get them back again!

Even though my heart is breaking, I know I have to do my best to enjoy the special holiday season upon us, and I will. 

Where Have We Been?

What have we been up to?

We've been hanging out on the couch together...Big Sister Brynn excited to hold Molly more often!

We've been learning how to and thoroughly enjoying dunking Oreos in milk!

We've been growing and continuing to smile everyday!

We've been enjoying our daily dose (5 minutes!) of Sesame Street!

We've been catching Ben getting smarter and a little more daring in his attempts to clean the high-chair tray!

We've been more interested in playing with the batteries and screwdriver than the actual toy itself!

We've been giving Mommy a reason to fix our hair....

And being happy to pose for a picture when she's done!

We've been giving Mommy the greatest 2 reasons why she is the luckiest mommy in the world...and making her wish she had months left in her maternity leave instead of just days......

Say Cheese!

Molly seems to be at that very photogenic phase of her life where she doesn't know any better but to smile in response to my silly noises and faces while I blind her with the flash!  Her sister on the other hand...that's another story!  Brynn is at the phase where as soon as I pull the camera out from behind my back to quick capture something, she completely ignores it and continues in the other direction!  If I'm not quick enough, I either get half of her in the picture or a very unhappy face! 
However, I was lucky tonight that she wanted to "hold" Molly on the couch and was quick enough to get a few!

The Best Birthday Yet...

I would've never expected that after 3 years of marriage and 28 years of life that I would be the mommy of two perfect, little girls.  And for that reason, I celebrated my best birthday yet yesterday!  Being married and being a mom has made life so much richer than I could ever have imagined just a few short years ago! 
Its funny how birthdays start to lose their excitement after the major milestones are passed...but that is okay because it means there are people in my life much more important that provide more fun and excitement than turning 28...or 29...or 35, etc. ever could! 

On Wednesday night, we braved the snow and cold (it was a snow-day for daddy!)and celebrated by having dinner with our parents and the girls...it was a nice night out, but not something we plan to do regularly with an almost-18 month old!  Last night Grandma Carol came and had supper with the girls and me while Kev had to work at hockey...it was a nice, relaxing birthday at home!   

The best birthday gift ever!

Sister, Sister

I'm amazed everyday at how much both of the girls continue to grow and change.  It seems we wake up everyday and they're both doing something new and I love it!  Before we had kids, I always wondered if I would prefer one stage of a baby over another.  I've found, though, that I love every stage as much as the last. 
Brynn has always been such a relaxed, happy baby who smiles all the time.  Although she is like that as a toddler now too, she is definitely starting to show a personality that we could've never expected....she loves anyone she interacts with and is surely starting to "tell" us what she wants but also "tells" us when she disagrees with us!!!  It is so fun to see her finally paying attention (sometimes too much!) to Molly...I'm sure she realizes now that she's staying for good and she is definitely starting to understand the concept of "big sister".

Molly continues to be a very happy and easy-going baby too. She doesn't complain too often for being set down in her swing or bouncy seat throughout the day when I'm tending to her big sister...she must know how busy Brynn keeps me! Although she's content and pretty "independent" during the day, she sure does have her evening time where she loves to snuggle...and who can argue with that! It is nice to have time alone with her in the evenings after Brynn goes to bed.

 Tonight while eating her grilled cheese, Brynn kept insisting that Molly share it with her!

As I think about the girls and their personalities, it makes me so excited for the future...to see what kind of relationship they will have. Without a doubt, they will be close, and I'm so thankful that "life" happened the way it did and we were blessed with two little girls so close in age. It is amazing what kind of blessings are given to us when we least expect it! I can't imagine our life any different!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

The girls and I spent the last few days putting up the Christmas tree (and all of it's millions of pieces!) and lighting it.  The set up is the part that Daddy usually prefers to opt out of, but we're saving the ornaments to do together when he gets home from school! 

I very fondly remember all of the years of putting up our family Christmas tree with my parents and brothers.  It was usually a Sunday afternoon, the entire living room floor would be covered with lights, ornaments, and tinsel.  I remember the way we would laugh at Dad trying to untangle the lights, just to discover that half of the string didn't work!  I remember watching our cat take the tinsel off the tree to eat it.   And most of all, I remember just how much I loved seeing the finish product....especially after dark when the tree lit the whole room!  I loved seeing the tree lit up every night of the Christmas season until we would take it down until the next year.  In fact, every December, this was one of the biggest things that I missed about home for the 4 years I was away at college .

So, for this reason, I want to "include" the girls as much as possible in putting up the tree, lights, and ornaments every Christmastime.  Last year Brynn slept on the floor while the tree went up.  This year, she played with the strings of lights as I was putting them up and Molly sat in her chair taking it all in with bright colors reflected in her bright eyes.

How lucky I am to have a home for our Christmas tree, wonderful family memories, and traditions to share with the next generation!