No!

Eliza has finally entered the toddler world of saying "No"! If it isn't the cutest thing ever!
She usually only says it when she is eating and we try and offer her something she doesn't want. She will shake her head and say "noh" at the same time. If a "no" could sound like a Princess, she has got it down pat! I really try not to laugh because it is so cute, but I know that we are about to experience the full force of the toddler "NO"!

Just like Madeline!

Shawn took Adrianna to get her haircut yesterday! They actually went on a date that included going out to lunch, going to the chiropractor and getting a haircut. I think she looks just like Madeline! Adrianna loves Madeline so she was pretty excited that her hair looked like it. It is all one length now and will hopefully be longer by summer.
Does she look ready for preschool or what?:)

Such personality!

Eliza is at such a fun age right now! She is 16 1/2 months and her personality is starting to emerge. She has been repeating many of the things we say to her. Her favorites are: up, Gus, please (peez), hot, baby (babe), stinky, and mom. She follows me around most days and says "mom" while trying to hand me something or give me a kiss. She is very personable and waves to everyone we see.
She still loves to scream when she doesn't get her way and has recently added the precious talent of biting her sister when she is annoyed!
But I do just love that fact that she is becoming more of a little person rather than a baby. I often get caught off guard when I look at her and realize that she is old enough to understand things. Like throwing things in the trash when we tell her and going to her chair at the table when she is hungry. It seems like with the 2nd child you don't anticipate the new things and then when they happen, it is more amazing.
I am really trying to enjoy each stage and I know I will miss the toys everywhere, the spills, the dirty laundry, the never-ending clean up of pooh and snot, and reading Curious Buddies 20x a day. I can say this today because we have had a pretty good day!

I was reading Winnie the Pooh to Adrianna today and Eliza walked over, looked at the book and said "Pooh". I have no idea how she knew that but it was so funny!

Well, I'm off to change a stinky poohy diaper. Enjoy it right?!!:)

Eloquence

After I was done reading to Adrianna last night I asked her what we should pray for. Here is her response...:) (this is NOT embellished on my part)
"Thank you for the boogers in my nose, that they can stay there, I don't like the mean monkey, the monsters, and the fleas."
I'm glad God knows our hearts and doesn't care how eloquently we say things!

A few other comments from Adrianna...
"Mommy, do you still hate this weather?" (Okay, so I have said that a few times lately!)

"Eliza, you're a chicken. Mommy can I get a kind words sticker now because I called Eliza a chicken?". ( We have a chart of Princess manners and she can earn a sticker for kind words, a giving heart, clean-up, respect, obeying the 1st time, happy heart, etc....) She of course likes to ask for a sticker when she thinks she is doing something good. I guess that is good! Even though I have no idea why she thinks calling someone a chicken is a kind word!

(God makes) All Things New - Steven Curtis Chapman

Exercising with Great Papa

Eliza is so hilarious! My grandpa was laying on the floor doing his exercises that help his back when Eliza layed down beside him and started doing them too!
She is so personable and has been repeating a lot of the words we say to her. Her new ones this week were glasses, apple, and Gus.
She also said Alex! She loves her big sister cousin!

Celebrating Jen & Keith's Wedding

GETTING READY TO BE MARRIED!
Jen looked absolutely beautiful! She was very anxious to just be married! We had fun getting ready together, doing Satin hands, getting the girls dressed, and making sure we didn't have lipstick on our teeth!
Eliza didn't appreciate all the tulle and layers of her dress and clearly let us know about it! She looked like a little doll and was so sweet. She eventually accepted the fact that we were not going to take the dress off! Adrianna of course loves getting dressed up and she looked so beautiful too!













My dad got the little man ready and what is cuter than a 3 year old in a suit!







THE CEREMONY

The ceremony was held at Noel Restaurant in Jamestown. It is decorated year round for Christmas but they had beautiful candelabras and flowers that Jen could use to decorate. Very low maintenance on our part but still beautiful!
Adrianna got to walk down the aisle with Keith's nephew Kenny. They only practiced one time and did great! Adrianna kept calling Kenny her prince and she was always asking who she was going to marry! On the way home last night she said "Hey, I didn't get to dance with my prince!":) She looked like a fairy princess and she was so grown-up! I was amazed at how well she did.

My dad walked Jen down the aisle with Colin. Colin was more interested in pulling dad's flowers off of his boutenaire! I have yet to ask my dad how it felt to give Jen away again, and this time to a very godly man. My dad's prayer before he gave her away was just a simple 'thank you' to a God of wonders! He said everything very eloquently and in a way that captured his heart.
I was a basket case! I started crying the minute they stared playing "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini". It was like all the pain and heartache of the past melted away and we could all rejoice with happiness for this new life Jen is going to have. We all thought in our minds that she possibly would get married again but we didn't know when or with who, or what the day would look like. It was relief and joy and a reminder of God's faithfulness!
Keith's dad did the ceremony and it was very emotional! I was supposed to sing "I will be here" with Shawn but I found out on Friday that I either have strep or mono. My throat is so swollen that I could hardly talk! Anyway... Shawn sang beautifully and the song isn't really a duet! It was just perfect and he always sings with such confidence.


1st kiss as Mr. & Mrs. Keith Wells!






The recessional was Steven Curtis Chapman's song "All things new". God truly does make all things new, in His time, and in His way. Being patient in the waiting is sometimes painful but the joy on the other side blows your mind away! Jen's face truly captures a heart restored!




FUN SNAPSHOTS
The kids did so well during the ceremony! My aunt and uncle graciously watched Eliza and she did okay as long as she was eating pretzels! Alex did a great job passing out programs before the ceremony. Eliza LOVED getting her picture taken and was laughing the whole time! I think the photographer got at least 1 cute one!



















THE RECEPTION
Jen & Keith's reception was held at the Holly House which is part of Noel Restaurant. Jef & Sal Koert have been friends of our family since before Shawn and I got married! Jef is one of the cooks and he also catered our wedding. His food is AMAZING! If you have never been to Noel, you need to go! It is great for big groups or if you just want to order off of the menu.
Anyway...we enjoyed a family style dinner complete with chicken, swiss steak, ham, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, rolls, salad, & fried mushrooms. What a blessing it was to see Jen and Keith so happy! He is definitely a god-send for her and our family. He already loves Colin and is a very strong, but gentle man that just adores Jen. It was so nice to spend time with family and friends and celebrate their union.






































I love wedding cakes! I think they are so beautiful and really add some class and creativity to a wedding. They always taste so good too! Noel made Jen's cake and it was delicious! They also made our wedding cake and the taste brought back memories of our cake.




So the picture of me and my 2 sisters really shows how much we look alike, don't you think??:) I think Jen and I look more alike than Sarah and I do. If Sarah and I go out together, some people think we are twins!

Alex is such a good big sister cousin! She got along so well with Adrianna and they both played together ALL DAY! This was the 1st time they played so well together without any fights! I wish we lived closer because I know they would want to be together a lot! Alex really helped out with the girls at the wedding and she is growing up to be a beautiful, loving, and sweet little girl. I really see the spirit of God working in her!

You can also see the pictures of my crazy sister and my funny grandparents. You don't have to wonder where she got it from! They always bring joy to every family event and my grandpa LOVES to be the life of the party. He always has some song and dance to go with everything!

So, it was a fabulous day of celebration and fun. Our family has been overshadowed by heartache for a while and it was so nice to have a day of happiness and joy! Jen and Keith can start their new life together with hope for the future! Please pray for them as they adjust to having a child already in their marriage and that they would continually put Christ first in their lives and relationship.

Curls, Curls, Everywhere!

Adrianna woke up this morning very excited to take out the curlers. She wasn't too happy after the curlers were out though!
It was a little poofy, but after a little mousse and her crown, I think it looks really cute!

As the day has progressed, the curls have relaxed a little and it looks even cuter!

The best deal!

I think we found the greatest deal ever! My sister and I went shopping today to find dresses for my sister's wedding NEXT WEEKEND! We had been browsing for a few weeks and also looking at some online. We went to JCPenny at Woodland Mall to start with. I was praying that we would be able to find something that didn't cost $100 or more and that we would not have to shop for hours and hours. Well...we found a few on the clearance rack and we found 2 matching ones in the right sizes. We tried them on and loved it! It was the first dress we tried on and it was so great!
The dress was regularly $90 on sale for..........


$14. 97!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I also found a purse for $6 too! We got up to the register and they also had the deal where you spend $50 and get $10 off. We combined our purchases and it came to $52! Then we got $10 off of that! So................. we got the dress for



$11.97!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think we could have found a better deal!
We were then able to buy jewelry and control top underwear for a total of around $40. I only had $40 to get everything with! Wow...the Lord answers prayers in the most surprising and simplest ways! We were so excited to be frugal and also find something that cheap. We found the jewelry at meijer and they only had 2 left!

I just love a good deal! The Lord provides!

A blast from the past!

I have been waiting for as long as I can remember to put sponge rollers in my little girl's hair! We are doing a practice run on Adrianna's hair for my sister's wedding. My mom used to put these rollers in my hair as well as my 2 sister's hair on Saturday night for church the next day. Wow...what a past time! We'll see how well she sleeps in them and if her hair is a frizzy mop tomorrow morning!












Eliza just wishes she had hair to put SOMETHING in!

A Shower for Jen

My sister Jen is getting married! The wedding is February 16th. My mom, my other sister Sarah, and I gave her a shower this past weekend. We had about 13 ladies and it was so much fun!
We made chicken and broccoli braid, fruit, cheese & crackers, & lemon bars. We played a game called "Getting to know Keith" and "The Price is Right". Everything went smoothly and it was fun to celebrate some happiness in Jen's life. A friend from 1st Baptist shared a few words of encourgement to Jen. She gave her a welcome mat and encouraged her to welcome people in to her new home, welcome Keith into her life and Colin's, and welcome the changes that will happen with her new life. It is definitely a time for new beginnings!


Jen got this cute night shirt that says "You may now kiss the bride"!










Our crazy friend Rose and my Aunt Deb.






My mom and my weirdo sister Sarah! (love ya sis!)








These are the petit fours my Aunt Deb makes. They were heart shaped and very good!

(btw, does anyone know how to flip up and down pictures so you can actually see them?)

Radar

I'm sure all you mom's can empathize when I say that kids have radar! They could be on a different floor or in a different room of the house and if they hear paper rattle (food), hear the phone ring, or know you are going to the bathroom they come running! I swear, if I try and get a snack or open a bag of ANYTHING, Adrianna comes running and asks "Can I have one?". It drives me CRAZY! It doesn't matter that she just had a snack or a meal.
Well, all of us were on our way to meijer to do some grocery shopping. We stopped for gas and Shawn got us our pop with a straw and a little treat. It was a 3 musketeers mint. OH YEAH...this is the greatest candy bar! It has 2 mini bars in the package and it's only 3 WW points! Anyway, we were going to split it and we tried to be very sneaky so Adrianna wouldn't ask for any. He opened the package and passed me one. I thought we were very quiet and gave no illusion to the fact that we had candy. Adrianna says from the back seat "Do you have M&M's?, we said No...She said well I smell chocolate and it smells like M&M's". So I guess from now on we need to cover up the smell too!

Laughter

I have to remind myself throughout the day to listen to what Adrianna says and laugh at it! She is almost 4 and quite funny! It never ceases to amaze me how she can make me laugh at a time when I need it the most!
Here are a few of her funny sayings just from today!

1. We were in meijer tonight and she saw an older gentleman with a full beard. She of course had to shout out "Mommy, is that Santa Claus?"! I had to smile and the guy did too!
2. The girls have been sick for the past week so we have been dealing with a lot of snotty noses! Well, Eliza can't wipe her own nose yet so you can imagine where the snot ends up! She happened to wipe some on the front of my shirt and Adrianna pointed it out. She said "There's some snot from Eliza right there on your private part". At least the importance of keeping some things private is having an impact on her!
3. I was in the feminine aisle in meijer and Adrianna asked why Charlotte (from Charlotte's Web) ate bugs. I told her that spider's eat bugs. She said, "No they don't actually eat them, they drink their blood. But I'm not going to eat a bug because drinking their blood is gross". I laughed so hard and I got a funny look from the woman that was passing by us! This was followed by "I don't need one of those, (tampons) because those are for mommy's.

She also LOVES to ask why about EVERYTHING!

Here are some of her favorite why questions...
1. Why do we have backs?
2. Why does that lady have a small cart? (asked while we were in meijer)
3. Why is that boy/girl looking at me?
4. Why do we eat?
5. Why do I like this food?

Oh to have the mind of a child! I have to remember to have patience and answer her questions because she really does want to know!

Mama!

Eliza is 16 months old today....AND....she said Mama!

She is repeating many of the words we say to her and she is understanding a lot of what we tell her. It is so fun to see her little personality emerge! She definitely knows what she wants and does not want Adrianna to get in her way! She loves to empty her clothes drawer of all of it's contents...especially after I have just organized it! She has recently found a liking to conversation hearts too! It has been a blessing to try and enjoy every stage of her growth!

Today is SuperBowl Sunday and I think this is the first time in I don't know how long that we have stayed home! We are all sick, fighting fevers, runny noses, coughs, and the cranks. It is kind of a bummer but we are going to try and enjoy our evening! I think Charlotte's Web and popcorn are in order!

Winter Fun!

We had a lot of fun watching my nephew Colin! We ventured outside for a walk on Monday and then played in the snow for a while. To top the day off, we made Snow Ice Cream!