Annual Thomas Christmas Bash

This past Saturday we attended the annual family Christmas party at my parents house and I'd like to say it was a success! Friends and family all came together to chow on Mom's homemade dishes and enjoy some company. This year there were A LOT more kids dominating the party and I'm sure next year will be complete chaos... We were complete and total morons because we didn't take ANY pictures! Whether it was the constant visiting (or stuffing my face), I just didn't think to pull the camera out. I'm hoping somewhere that my Mom or Dad got a few shots of the kids, but let's not bet on it. :-)

Thanks to everyone who came out, especially those that had other commitments as well. It was just so great to see you all!

Katie's, Tyler & Abbie's Birthday Party!

About a week ago, we were invited to a big birthday bash for three of Emaline's friends, Katie, Tyler & Abbie at Gymboree in Webster Groves. I was so glad that we got to go. It was so much fun! Emaline loved every minute of getting to run wild with the other kids and climb all over everything. Above is a shot of her and one of the birthday girls, Katie. It really put a smile on my face to see her have so much fun and she didn't even have any tantrums, A+ in my book! She did some rolls, climbed and had fun with a parachute. Piper and I just hung back and watched all the big kids have their fun, although after about 20 minutes into it, she wanted to crawl into the fun as well. The kids enjoyed some pizza, juice boxes and yummy cupcakes. Thanks again the the Mackies, Minges and Hills for such great fun!

Christmas Tree Hunting

I should have blogged about this weeks ago, but finally decided to put up that we again went on the hunt for a tree to cut down this year. Unfortunately, we did not end up going with my family this year because Kellen made his debut a little early and I had a trip to KC the following weekend with my girlfriends. So...we drove out to Wright City again this year and luckily found one of the last good trees and chopped that baby down and brought her home. Emaline had a great time running around the tree orchard/field, she especially thought it was funny trying NOT to trip over all the stumps. Silly little lady. Piper really didn't have much to add, as she was bundled up and carried around by me the whole time. It wasn't as cold as I thought it was going to be, but it was gray and gloomy and NO ONE was there. It was kinda sad, quite frankly. But, we found one and strapped it to the Equinox and we were on our way home.

I promptly pulled out the ornaments and lights once Dad and I got the tree upright and soaking up some water. Of course Emaline jumped right in and wanted to unwrap/unbox everything and place them all neatly on the two lowest branches of the tree. After I told her that they would all be touching the floor and end up broken, she was okay with me placing them all over while Dad and Piper looked on. It was a long day, but the end result was fantastic. One being that we spent a fun day together as a family and two a beautiful tree was born! Hooray for Christmas! I love it.

Annual Girl's Weekend 2009

With all that was upon us this year, as a last minute thing some of my girlfriends and I decided to have our annual girls trip in KC at our friend Sarah's house. Unfortunately, the gang was not all there and Erin was missed dearly, but Sarah's husband, Paul, gladly stepped in for her and helped us celebrate :-) So, three of us drove from STL to KC, picking up one in Blue Springs, MO on the way and ended up in KC, KS. It was a fantastic time! I always laugh so hard when I'm with these women and I'm glad that we did do something spontaneous. We did a little shopping and ate and drank to our little hearts' content! Then stayed in and played games and and talked and enjoyed each other's company. It was short-lived, but still wonderful. Thanks ladies for always making me feel like I have some the best friends ever. Spring Bake '84 rocked again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Believe it or not, this was the ONLY picture taken for Thanksgiving by me. I know, I know, horrible Mommy. We did the usually two houses for the holiday again this year and I took the girls and went to my Mom & Dad's in the late morning. The food was delicious, as it is every year and we were pretty full. My sister's in-laws usually come over to my parents' house, so there was definitely a full house! It was really nice and laid back. Josh had to work that night, so we let him get his extra rest before heading to his parents' house around 4:30pm. I think I was so overwhelmed with getting to see my new nephew come home from the hospital that I didn't even think to take pictures of my kids! Kellen made it just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! He came a little earlier than expected on Nov. 23rd at 11:10am weighing in at 9lbs. 2oz. and 20 inches long. Also had himself a full head of dark hair!
We then made our way over to the Little household and met Josh there. Ate a whole lot more good food and hung around so the kids could see PaPa and Grandma for a little bit longer while Josh went back home to get some shut eye. Emaline did do some Thanksgiving baking and made some pies with Nana and showed off her new fall apron.
We are extremely thankful for all the family and friends we love and have in our lives and only wish the best for everyone as the Christmas season comes upon us. We are VERY LUCKY people! Happy Holidays!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Just when I was going to report my baby Piper was pulling herself up onto the furniture and legs (anyone standing close to her) she decides she will also start crawling the same week! I know that she's been itching to get on the move for quite some time now, but not until today did I see her keep going and not stopping! So proud of her accomplishments and I'm sure if she's anything like her sister, walking and running are not far behind! Emaline didn't crawl until she was 8 months or so (same age Piper is now) and then was walking at 10 months. So we shall see! Here are two videos I took one day apart. The first is yesterday and then the other was this afternoon. The first one is longer and probably more annoying, but they both showcase her talents! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to Me!

This past Saturday, my friend Carrie and I decided to go out on the town for our birthdays (they are within a week of each other). Unfortunately, I did have to work the whole afternoon, which sucked but my Mom & Dad were very nice and decided the girls could spend the night with them. It was so nice to be able to go out and not worry about anything and just entertain myself and spend some quality time with my good friends. We had dinner at Llywellyn's in Soulard, where I had the best "adult" grilled cheese I've ever had. At least that's what they called it, texas toast type bread with 3 different cheeses, tomato and bacon. How can you go wrong? Then, Carrie and I decided to be adventurous and try a new beer every time we needed one. They had some very good choices at Llywellyn's and it was fun to try something different. We had a great night in Soulard, thanks to Josh and my wonderful friends! Again, thanks to my parents for watching my girls--you are the best!

Then Sunday night we went out with my family to the Texas Roadhouse for a deee-lightful steak dinner and it was yummy. Received some fantastic gifts, those being a lovely new plaid coat and ovenware (Polish pottery) from my parents, a beautiful scarf from Kayleigh and New Moon movie tickets from my sisters to be used Friday when we all three go see it together and get dinner afterwards! Ended the night by enjoying some much needed ice cream cake. Kit Kat with coffee ice cream and chocolate cake. It was really tasty. So tasty, I think I need a left over piece right now! Off to the freezer...

Zoo Day!

Since Josh was off all this week and switched over to weekends this past weekend, we decided to take advantage of the awesome warm weather and hit the zoo as a family. We hadn't been yet this year and I was afraid we weren't going to! We got to the zoo around 11:30am-ish and spent all afternoon walking around and talking it up with the animals. Emaline had control of where we went, so basically we saw all the animals she wanted to see, except for the penguins because there was a line to get in! It was fairly busy that day because of the weather, but that and waiting about 15-20 minutes to ride the train were our only delays. Me and Emaline got to ride the carousel and explore the Butterfly and Insect House, something I have not done there before. It was very interesting! Not to mention Emaline asked to see ALL the creepy crawly things and know their names! We spent some good times with the playful tigers and lions at Big Cat Country, saw the sea lions after they ate, and hung out at River's Edge. I'm so glad we have such a great zoo and still for free! Granted, it is $11 to park, but hey it all goes to the zoo and keeping it fee free :-) Hopefully we can take a trip again for the Wild Lights at The Zoo for the holidays!

Basement Remodel: Part VI

We have definitely done a lot since my last post and I think we are well on our way to being very close by the first of the year. We've actually done all the color painting and Dan & Jamie got all the wainscoting and chair rails up. Dan and Jamie have been coming over almost every day because Josh ended up having to take some days off this week because he was comp timed out. It has been amazing because I leave the house in the morning and when I get home things are finished and ready to move on to the next step! I can't believe it. We did end up putting in a bathroom in the basement, although it is super tiny, I know it will be used often. Especially if we spend the majority of our family and down time there. So, Josh tore out all the concrete, our plumbers came in and laid and replace a lot of our old pipe and then Josh and the guys poured concrete back in. I was very impressed! Chad (my brother-in-law) thankfully came and fixed up the electric, then Dan and Josh put in the tile floor. On Monday, the mudder is going to come back and finish our walls so that we can get some paint on them. Finally, as part of the deal our plumbers are going to come back and put in all our fixtures for us! Very excited to keep moving right along :-) Here are a bunch of pics to document our progress.

Halloween 2009!

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