Merry Cousins

So these are pictures of Leah with all of her cousins. Above is the Schultz side of the family...Rylee, Leah, Shelby, Lexi, Bradyn and Justin. They are all quite a bit older than her, but she LOVED spending time with them and had all their names down by the time our Christmas celebration was over. In the picture to the left is Leah with her Myerscough cousins...Colby and Macy. Leah is enamored with Macy. She can't get enough of her. It's pretty great to see them play together and it's even more fun when we get to see her play with all her extended cousins.


Growing up I was very close to most of my cousins and sometimes I can't help but feel like Leah is missing out, living so far away from family. But maybe that makes the time that they get to spend together even more special. I love going home for the holidays or anytime really, and I always wish that there was more time to spend with my cousins. But the holidays were chaotic and they FLEW by and time got away from us. Next time we go home we will definitely be trying to arrange more "play-time". When we were home for Thanksgiving we got to see Tara and her son Jameson, Tiffany and her 2 kids Preston and Brooklyn, and Paul and his 2 kids Spencer and Tyler...I definitely need more of that.

We had a very Merry Christmas, full of Family and Fun. And while it was chaotic going from New Jersey to Illinois to Minnesota to Wisonsin, back to Illinois and then home again....we wouldn't change a thing. What a wonderful opportunity for us to spend time with those that we love. I cherish every day we get to spend with family because they are too few and far between.
So thank you to ALL of our family for making the holiday's so special and may we continue to be blessed in the New Year!

The Girls Got Good Taste!

Be still my beating heart...what a proud moment for Mommy, HA! After all the presents had been opened Leah went straight for Aunt Cynthia's new COACH purse. Teach them right from the start!!! You would think that with all the toys on the floor she would be itching to get into all of them, but no, not my girl...high class all the way. Now I just have to work on making sure we don't have any "Diva" Attitude. Maybe next year we can shoot for some Gucci or Versace...or not :)

Official Taste Tester

YUMMY!

This past Friday Leah and I were hard at work doing some holiday baking. Normally I try to find something for us to do during the day to get us out of the house for a little bit...even if it is just running to the grocery store. But Today, we were waiting for Leah's "Big Girl" bed to get delivered, so I had to stay put. I decided that making cookies for our neighbors was a friendly-holiday thing to do. NOTE: We have the best neighbors (2 of them actually) that always help us out and house-sit/dog-sit when ever we leave town. Anyway, I tried to get Leah to step in and really get involved (meaning-Messy) but she wasn't really interested. She did have fun helping me hold the mixer, but that was short lived. Of course when I was unwrapping Hershey's Kisses for the Peanut Butter Blossoms she was happy to steal a Kiss. Anyway, as I was taking the beaters out of the blender I let her have a lick. Her face lit up, so I gave in and gave her one...and she was off!!! She ran out to the living room to cherish her new treasure. She loved licking the beater so much. You can tell by her expression above how much she is enjoying it. Even after she had licked it clean she wouldn't hand it over. I thought it was pretty cute. I know when we are at Gigi's (my mom's) house for Christmas she will get to make more cookies and I can guarantee she will be begging for the beater. The trick will be getting Aunt WaWa to share, Ha!

In other news, I am 28+ weeks in my second pregnancy now. The THIRD trimester, YAY! I seem to be doing well, or at least I think so. My doctor is concerned because I am experiencing some Braxton-Hicks contractions. I'm not too worried...I had them for the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy with Leah, but my doctor says this time it is different. Everything has been "stretched" before and I started having them very early. So I am on strict orders to take it easy...of course this would be right before the Holiday's with our crazy travel plans that include Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois! I told my doc...I know the deal (All my time working for the March of Dimes has made me a expert, of sorts-Ha!) Lots of rest, lots of water, warm showers and laying on my left side. I don't think he liked my quick response and lack of concern...Now my problem is that Mitch is going to be on me...He is not that kind of doctor but he sure is acting like THAT kind of doctor :) But seriously, neither of us wants me to end up on bedrest, so I guess it's time for me to buckle down and behave.

WaWa!!!

Okay, so WaWa is actually Aunt Laura but Leah can't seem to pronounce Laura so she says "WaWa". We were fortunate enough to have Aunt Laura come and stay with us for a few days after Thanksgiving. She was out in NJ/NY visiting her in-laws for the holiday and her work schedule permitted her to stay for a few extra days to catch up with her favorite little niece Leah. We only had 2 days but they were great. On Monday we took Leah to the asthma/allergy specialist (not so much fun) and then we went shopping at Quakerbridge Mall where Leah got to see Santa Claus. Last year she loved him but this year...not so much. She just kind of looked at him with this scowl on her face...it didn't last long. I had been trying to introduce the idea of Santa to her with books. Now, when ever she sees him on TV or in books she says "oh, oh oh" I guess that is her version of "Ho Ho Ho!" Maybe if I would have waited a bit longer she would have been a little less apprehensive, oh well maybe next year.

On Tuesday we went to Adventure Aquarium in Camden. It has slowly become one of our favorite spots. Leah does really well and loves to look at all the fish...plus on weekdays it gives her an opportunity to run around, even though we are stuck indoors. We spent the most time watching the hippos and the sharks. We are glad that Aunt Laura got to go with us, and I love the picture above of them posing in the shark's mouth.

Lucky for Mitch and I. My sister was here for our anniversary. We were able to go out to dinner and knew that Leah was in good hands with her Auntie! I think Leah had a great time, but Aunt Laura looked exhausted when we got home :) Thanks Aunt WaWa for coming to visit. We love getting to spend time with you and can't wait for Christmas!

Leah trying to tickle her Aunt Wawa!

The Road Warrior

Leah and I flew to Illinois to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Mitch then drove to Illinois on Wed. and we all drove back together on the 29th after my niece and nephew were baptized. Yes, it is about a 13 hour drive and we have been told many times that we are crazy. But Mitch and I kind of got used to making that long of a drive when we lived in Champaign. Anytime we went to Minnesota to visit his family it was about an 11 hour haul. People think we are especially crazy to attempt it with a toddler, but I have to say she did GREAT!

Now looking at this picture you might be thinking she doesn't look "great". But this is a kid who didn't take a nap and was exhausted from playing with all her little cousins. It was pretty cute actually...We got home from church, and put her in the high chair to have lunch and she was actually falling asleep eating her meal. But as soon as we took her out and gave her a little bit of freedom she was off and running with the troops! She kept right up with Macy and Preston and wanted to do everything that they did. By the time we got her in the car around 2:30 she was wiped out. She was asleep before we even got out of Charleston and slept for over 2 hours. I finally woke her up so that she would sleep during the night on the ride home. We hooked up the portable DVD player and for the most part she was happy as a clam in the backseat. She had a few small meltdowns but that was to be expected. It gives me hope that she will be tolerant when we drive to and from Minnesota for Christmas. PLEASE PLEASE do good on the drives at Christmas!!!

So Many Blessings!

This is Brooklyn and Preston Phillips (My cousin Tiffany's kids) Preston is holding my nephew Colby. Then of course there is Leah. My niece Macy is holding baby Jameson (my cousin Tara's son). Aren't they adorable!!!

Wow, has it really been over a month since I last blogged? This getting ready for the holiday thing has really slowed me down...well, that or the toddler that lives in my house that is in constant overdrive :)

I was fortunate enough to go home again this year for Thanksgiving. I have a feeling...actually I know that it won't be nearly as easy for me to pick up and go home once baby #2 arrives in March so it was GREAT to go home. While I was there I got to spend lots of time with family. I think one of the highlights was getting to see Leah play with all her little cousins that are her age. We had quite a wild bunch on our hands. But it was so much fun. I feel bad that Leah doesn't get to have these experiences more often...maybe someday.

The picture below is of my niece and nephew's baptism. It worked out perfect actually because little Jameson was baptized on Saturday so I got to celebrate with them too. That's the real reason that I went home. There is no greater gift from God than Children. And MAN, are these two little ones pretty special. I may be a little biased, but I love them so much and was so happy to be there on their special day. I can't wait to get home for Christmas and see them again...oh and the rest of my family too :)