The Girl Loves Her Shoes

Vanessa has a new obsession with shoes.  Jim would say that she gets it from me, and I guess it's most likely true.  Vanessa will find shoes anywhere she can and has to put them on, whether they fit her or not.  The other day she found some shoes that were too big for her but that was good since she wanted to wear them with her footsie pajamas.  She loved it and walked around for quite a while with her shoes over her pajamas.



She also loves to dress herself. She came up with this little outfit all by herself

I love how proud she is of herself! She's gonna be a little fashionista!

Dance Moves

This afternoon Andrew had to show me the dance moves he learned in his school dance class today.  The pictures don't do it justice, but he is actually pretty good at the break dancing moves he's learning.  His teacher called the move he learned today the 'coffee grinder.'  After watching him, it made sense to me.

The funniest part was watching Vanessa try and imitate what Andrew was doing.  They were having a lot of fun!

Outside Fun

Today we had a little bit of a warm spell, it actually hit 37 degrees.  Andrew wanted go outside and practice basketball but unfortunately the court is covered with snow right now.  He decided to go out and play out back using our small basketball hoop.  The second Vanessa saw him out there she had to go out too.  Andrew came in telling me 'you have to see this.'  Vanessa was riding his wiggle racer and actually making it go with her feet which Andrew thought was absolutely amazing.

The only problem is that she doesn't know how to turn so Andrew would have to go turn her around when she ran into the snow.

She was having so much fun she didn't want to come in when Andrew got too cold to stay outside.  One more reason I can't wait for spring.

Little Helper

Vanessa is a great little helper.  Her new favorite thing to do is help get us diapers when she needs a change and then put it in the garbage after it's changed.  The other day I asked her to get me a diaper and she went off down the hall to her room to get one.  Not too long after I heard her yelling for me.  I found her standing on her bottom shelf trying to reach the diapers.

I ran down the hall to get my camera (yes, I know, I am a wonderful mom).  By the time I came back she had gotten down and I couldn't get her to climb back up.  That picture was the best I could get.  She was trying so hard to be a good helper.

Later that day she was 'helping' me load the dishwasher.  Unfortunately her help is just standing on the door of the dishwasher. 

I finally got her to watch some TV.

She really does make life entertaining and fun!! 

Interesting Seats

Vanessa has found a few interesting places to sit lately.

Easy access to the books she loves to read.

She must think that since Rocky is in the basket full of clothes it's a comfy place to sit.  Either that or it's easy access to the cat she loves to love and torture.

I really don't know why but for some reason Vanessa thinks Dixie makes a great seat.  We are constantly pulling her off poor Dixie.  Vanessa is such a fun little girl that keeps my day full of entertainment.  I love being able to spend my days with her.

Pillow Pet Fun

To say that the kids LOVE their Pillow Pets would be a major understatement!  They are out of control in LOVE with these things!  They take (or try) to take them everywhere they go! 

 

Even Vanessa has decided hers is pretty cool too. Especially when she gets to share it with her favorite person, Daddy. It was so fun when to see them watching football (yes I said football) together.

Their uncle Cameron even showed them a different way to 'use' their new friends, making them love them even more

The next day all I heard was 'Mom, can you come buckle me up?' They walked around wearing their Pillow Pets for days after. It really was fun and cute. They didn't think I was so funny when I told them the Pillow Pets were going to be their Halloween costumes this year. I thought it was a fabulous idea!

Year in Review and New Year Goals

As I sit hear reflecting on the last year I realize we have had a year of some majors.  Ally turned five and started all day Kindergarten (which she is loving).  Andrew turned eight and was baptized a member of our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He also played football for the first time this year and is now in 3rd grade.  Jim left his position at MonaVie to take on a position at ZenPrint and was laid off from that company a little while later.  He has been working on starting his own company while continuing looking for a new job (we are hoping something happens very soon).  Vanessa turned one, learned to crawl, walk and climb.  She loves to go everywhere, get into everything and really wants to be one of the big kids.  Dixie had a few tumors removed and for now is doing well (which we are all extremely grateful for!).

Another thing I realized is that I didn't do too well at some of my goals/resolutions that I set for last year.  Some I did great on but some I really need to work on but since I figure I am a work in progress (yes I am very good at justifying) I am going to include these things (again) on my list for this year.  I'm excited for the new year, the new start (in a way) and am excited to see what new adventures this new year will bring for me and my family!