Christmas 2012

Christmas has come and gone and we are still enjoying our break from school. Things have been busy! Lily had her Christmas program at school. We spent the weekend before Christmas in Chicago with the Printz side of the family, then we spent Christmas Eve with the Stehlin's and Christmas Day with the Binzer's. Lily was super-excited to see that Santa had visited our house! She was very happy that he ate his cookies and drank his milk, and that the reindeer ate their food, as well!

The day after Christmas was our first "big snow." It's too bad we're already on break because we would have had a snow day for sure ;) We all enjoyed some sledding time in the backyard, and Lily loved making snow angels and eating snow, like always! We have a few days of break left and I plan to enjoy every minute. It always goes by so fast! It's so nice to be able to relax and not to have to worry about any schedules!

Merry Christmas! Look's like we'll be spending New Year's Eve at Tracy & Brian's house, as usual :)

All my Christmas pics are on my camera, but I did get a few while we were playing in the snow and when the girls were playing in their new tent. It's so cute to see them playing together and giggling in there. Lanie is really growing up quickly and starting to play with her big sister more and more!

Lanie's First Birthday!

Our sweet Elaina Violet turned one this past Tuesday, December 4th. This was the fastest year ever!!! The birthday girl was the only one of us who wasn't sick on her special day--the rest of us all had a nasty stomach bug. At least she's still too little to know that her birthday was not very fun this year! We did get better though, and we celebrated with a party at her Mamaw and Papaw Stehlin's house. We decided to have it there to prevent anyone from catching our germs! Jay's parents came down, too, and we had a great time. Here's hoping that her next birthday is a healthier one for all of us! Oh, and did I mention that she's walking??

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week we traveled to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with the Printz clan. It was a great week and we took care of all the usual traditions. Wednesday night we had pizza at the condo. Thursday we had turkey dinner at the bed & breakfast that Dad Printz rented for the family. Mom Printz cooked up a delicious meal, as usual! The weather was really warm and we all had an outdoor photo shoot, since the whole family was there. Thanks to Ruth and her camera we got some great shots. Friday we had lunch at 8th Street and then saw Santa. We didn't stay out very long because the weather had changed drastically and it was COLD and WINDY. That night, Nancy whipped up her delicious sausage and peppers and we ate my pumpkin gooey butter cake and decorated the Christmas tree at the condo. We stuck around on Saturday until after the Michigan game. It's always a bit sad to come home after having so much fun and seeing everyone, but we'll be seeing everyone soon for Christmas! I know the girls had a blast...it was Lanie's first turkey day, and Lily LOVED playing with her buddy, Drew! Can't wait til next year!

11 Months Already

Lanie is 11 months old today! Time is flying. Next month we will celebrate her first birthday...hard to believe! She is really starting to get a personality. I love listening to her laugh, and no one can get her going quite like Lily. My favorite sound in the world is my girls laughing together. Lanie has also started "dancing" when she hears music...too cute! I took a few pics today--enjoy!

Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween! Our tradition has been to go to Tracy's house for trick-or-treat, since we don't live in a neighborhood with sidewalks (and we never have any kids knock on our door for candy!). The weather was not very nice, unfortunately, but Lily was still grinning from ear to ear the whole time. She did a fantastic job of saying "Trick or Treat" each time and then thanked each person for the candy. Since she was dressed as a Michigan cheerleader (which was a total last-minute change of mind on her part after we had already bought her Snow White costume) she got heckled a few times by some Buckeye fans, but Jay taught her to simply reply, "Go Blue!". Lanie was dressed as an elephant. We didn't keep her out long since it was so cold. In fact, when we got home she felt warm to me and she did have a fever. Poor baby! She literally has had a cough/snotty nose for the entire month of October. And after taking her to the doctor today, we discovered that both of her ears are infected! I sure hope she gets better soon and that all this sickness is building up her immunity for the future!

Happy Halloween!

First Report Card

Lily got her first "report card" from preschool today. I am a very proud mama...she got all A's! Well, A stands for "always" does something, but apparently she's always being a good girl at school. That makes me happy because I have this paranoid fear that my child will be the bad kid that no teachers like. But she's on the right track so far! Fingers crossed that she stays that way ;). Good job, Lils!!

A Blustery Day at the Farm

Today we went to Blooms & Berries Farm in Loveland. We didn't get around to it last weekend because we were too busy...and, boy, what a difference in weather we had! Last weekend was beautiful, sunny, and temperatures were in the 70's. Today was COLD and WINDY with the temperature around 47 degrees! Not to mention that it's been rainy, so it was a bit muddy. We bundled up and enjoyed about an hour of sliding, swinging, cow-train riding, pumpkin picking and more. Poor little Lanie was quite a trooper in her stroller. We decided to call it quits when we went to get hot chocolate and they had run out of cups! We ended our trip with a short visit with Aunt Tracy and Uncle Brian. Can't wait for Trick or Treat this week!

Dance Class

Lily had her first dance class performance on Wednesday. The girls were allowed to wear Halloween attire, so Lily chose to wear the princess outfit Aunt Tracy gave her. She did a great job and had lots of fun!

Busy Weekend

I like busy weekends because we get to have some fun...but, man, do they fly by! We spent Saturday morning at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital walk at Coney Island. We walked with my Aunt Janice, cousin Luke, Aunt Mary, cousin Daniel and his wife, Chrissy, and their triplets. I had never been before...there were A LOT of people. Aside from the walk, there were some rides open for the kids, face painting, crafts to make and more. We all had a great time, especially since it didn't rain! I will definitely do it again next year (but I'll register completely online to avoid the lines ;)

This morning was Preschool Sunday at the church where Lily goes to school. They had breakfast and activities before the service. Then at the service, to celebrate the preschool, the kids sang a song. Lily did a great job :). And, of course, we sat with her BFF, Samantha! I'll post pics when I get them soon.

After church we went to lunch. Then I took Lily for a haircut. Since she never lets me touch it, we cut it short so there's less to mess with ;). After the cut, we went to my parents' house for dinner with the whole family. Thanks, Mamaw!

Is it really almost Monday already???