Fun with Friends

We had a great time this weekend with friends. Quentin, Paula, Elli and Jess came to visit and stay for a few days and it was so nice to see them again. We've been spoiled getting to see them 2 times in the past 2 months after not having seen them for 2 years after we moved from TN to TX!

On Saturday we went to a very advanced, large dairy farm that has tons to see and do. The corporation milks 30,000 cows across ten different farms and owns 19,000 acres. They make their own cheese, milk, and ice cream. We took a bus ride to one of the farms to see how they care for their animals. The girls loved riding on the bus.

The farm keeps all the heifer calves that are born and sells all the bull calves.

This is one huge milking carousel that the cows ride on 3 times a day. 72 cows can fit on it at one time and they are milked in 5 minutes!

Having a yummy lunch of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

Anna and Jess liked playing the calcium climber game.

Before leaving the farm we were able to see a baby calf be delivered. I think us adults were definitely more into it than the girls but it just reinforced how awesome our God is giving animals the same maternal instincts as us humans in taking care of our babies. Nature is amazing!

The girls had a great time playing with the wagon. Be sure to watch the video...they're so full of energy and so fun to watch!!

Our neighbor, Bob, was out taking his dogs for a walk and stopped over to let the girls pet them. Gus and Scooter provided the girls with lots of entertainment. Bob let the dogs off their leashes and Gus did a great job burning some of the girls' energy by running all over the yard letting the girls chase him. They are good dogs who are patient with children. Anna isn't always very easy with them but they keep coming back for more of her attention. She loves to watch them out the window each day and they often run over to our yard to play.

Big Sister

Anna's going to be a big sister! Mommy is due on or around March 15 and we are very excited. We've been a bit fearful this week as some spotting has occured but after having an ultrasound we were much less worried. We heard and saw the baby's heart beating at 174 bpm but also found out there is some bleeding in the uterus. Hopefully with rest and the power of prayer it will heal on it's own and all will be well. Anna will make a great big sister, as you can see she's already the pro at feeding Elmo (see movie below). :0)

Mommy in Training

Anna has been practicing her mommy skills. She's often dragging her diaper bag and babies around the house telling us, "have a good day" as she makes her way to the "grocery" or "to church". It's so fun to watch her play and immitate us. She feeds her babies and Elmo, puts them to bed, reads them stories, and makes them burp. :0) This is such a fun age, most of the time. :-)

Making Cookies

Daddy and Anna have started baking together and this was their first attempt at making sugar cookies. Anna loves to help and is learning from a pro. Michael is a great cook which is nice for mommy. :0)

Time with Family

Over the past few weeks we've been blessed with getting to spend time with our families. Anna's doing great with learning each person's name which is difficult as we both have lots of family members. Unfortunately, many of my pictures turned out blurry so I don't have many to share.

Kenley was too cute wanting to be everywhere Anna was so whenever someone would hold Anna, Kenley automatically wanted that person to hold her too. I think Anna has a shadow. :0) It is so fun to see the girls play together.

Over the bridge, through the woods, and up the hill to Great Grandma Smith's house.

Having LOTS of fun playing in the sand with Aunt Aimee. She is definitely a kid at heart and will make a wonderful pediatrician!

New Shoes

Anna got some new shoes this week. At her 2 year check-up we mentioned to her doctor that she's still walking on her tiptoes. She didn't start doing this until she was about 16 months old which is odd because most of the time babies start this when they first start walking. So, her doctor recommended we get her some very good hard soled shoes for her to wear all the time to help break her of this habit. This week her new shoes finally came in and she's been wearing them a lot. Hopefully they help as they weren't cheap. She likes them which is good and thankfully we were able to find a pretty neutral pair that will go with almost anything.

She's got the modeling part down.

Advertising for Stride Rite :0)

See my shoes?

Visit with friends

This past weekend we had so much fun visiting our friends in Il. Quentin and Paula were our neighbors when we lived in TN and now we finally live closer to one another so we can visit much more easily.

Quentin, Paula, Elliana, and Jessalyn Bath time fun Reading a story together On Saturday morning we headed to the John Deere World Headquarters and had so much fun playing on all the equipment and getting to see it all up close.

Daddy would love to have a lawnmower (toy) like this to play around on. :0)

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a fun waterpark and all of the kids and adults loved it. It was definitely plenty warm so playing in the water felt great. They had many different slides, fountains, and pools for all ages.

Anna LOVED the waterslide. We'd get to the bottom and she would immediately start asking for more. She even went down it herself! Michael and a lifeguard put her on it at the top and myself and a lifeguard were waiting for her at the bottom. She came out head first on her back, went under a little bit, and asked for more as soon as I picked her up. She's such a dare devil and definitely loves the water!!

Bike Ride

On the 4th we went to the state park for a bike ride and to play on the playground. We had a good time and missed the rain but it was so humid! We were all soaked with sweat and so hot by the time we headed home. As you can see, Anna's teeth (24 month molars) have been bothering her and she's been letting us know!

Anna liked climbing but wasn't so sure about the big, enclosed slide. After going down a few times, she seemed to enjoy it.

Putt Putt Fun

Daddy and mommy enjoy playing Putt Putt Golf and after playing just recently on their vacation, decided it was something Anna would enjoy too. So, last night we decided to go as the weather was awesome and we weren't able to go anywhere on her birthday with it raining the entire day.

She's got her bright pink ball and purple putter ready to go. Getting a lesson from daddy. She loved chasing after the ball. She used her putter more like a pool stick, trying to push the ball around rather than hitting it.

A few times she actually got it in the hole.

But most of the time, she just dropped the ball in the hole and then cheered for herself. :0)

We had a fun time although I don't think Daddy will be wanting to go again for awhile. He's quite competitive and when Anna ran down the green and moved our balls each time, he gave up keeping score. She even threw his ball in the water once. Of course mommy had many laughs! We went to Anna's favorite place to eat, McDonald's, afterward and she screamed with delight when she saw her hamburger. She actually calls McDonald's "hamburger". We've not taken her there many times, maybe 4 or 5, so that must be why she loves it so much. To finish out the night, we stopped by Toys R Us and let her run from aisle to aisle taking her time playing with all the toys. For all of you bargain hunters, they have their clearance summer clothes marked down another 50% off the clearance price so we found some great deals on clothes for her to wear next spring/summer. You might want to check it out if you like to buy ahead and save money like we do. :0)

2 year check-up

Anna had her 2 year check up yesterday and she's growing like a weed! Of course she loves playing with all of the fun things in the waiting room like the car above. They've really made it kid friendly with movies playing, coloring tables, ride on toys, etc. She's very healthy and measuring in the 80th percentile for weight, 29 lbs. 4 oz., and height, a hair shy of 35 inches. The doctor said there's a theory that if you take a child's height at the age of two and multiply it by 2, that will give you an idea of their adult height. So with that, 35 x 2 = 70, we can expect Anna to be 5' 10" when she's done growing. That's pretty tall for a woman although daddy's 2 sisters are right at 6 foot each so she just might get there. She'll be soaring over her mommy but most people do. Thankfully she's a healthy little girl and we are greatly blessed!

A new sand table

We got a great deal on Anna's birthday present. Aldi had only the display sand table left as all the others were gone so we got this one, mostly put together, for $39.99. I had looked at these at Toys R Us and they were $79.99 there. We definitely found a bargain, Praise the Lord!

It's a toss up between which she likes more; her sand table or swing but thankfully she has some things to do in the back yard now. We were able to put her swing under the trees in the back yard so it's been great that we can swing her in the shade all throughout the day.

Birthday Party

We celebrated Anna's birthday last Saturday with both of our families at our house. We were so excited to have everyone come to our house as that's not happened before with us living so far away. Thank you everyone for driving 2+ hours and spending the day with us. We had a great time and hope you did as well!

The Elmo cake turned out good and quite yummy! Mommy is obviously not a professional cake decorator but thankfully it didn't look like Anna decorated her own cake. :0)

Anna got a chest full of new clothes for her Bitty Baby, also known as Julie, and she's had a wonderful time this past week taking the clothes off of Julie after mommy puts them on for her.

She'll be enjoying the outdoors in style!

Anna and Kenley played great together. They even got into trouble great together as they made a few escapes up the stairs. Of course Anna would get to the top and then clap her hands, cheering Kenley on as she climbed. :0)

A family gathering is never complete without sharing a bath together.