Merry Christmas!

Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted. But I sure have been busy! There have been lots of fun things going on this month. We have been doing some early celebrating, wrapping presents, getting ready for Christmas, and of course...preparing for my very 1st Birthday!!! Can you believe I'm almost 1 already?

I have been keeping Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma busy! I was already getting into everything, but now I'm walking! It's faster and I can reach SOO many more things!!! Plus, all these new decorations around the house...there's just so much to explore!

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you.  If I won't be seeing you I'll miss you.  I will post more pictures after Christmas.  So, until then...

Merry Christmas to you and your family! 

Thanksgiving

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

This was my 1st Thanksgiving!  We went to Grand Rapids and celebrated with the Alexanders.  I had so much fun, especially with my cousin Lilah.  We played with toys, read books, and ate lots of good food.  It was exhausting!  I hope you enjoy my little scrapbook slideshow!

The day after Thanksgiving we had another busy day.  I was so tired since I hadn't slept the night before, but we still had a good time.  First we went to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.  There were so many neat things to do.  My favorite was painting at the end.  Then we went to the Alexander's house for lunch.  Yummy, leftovers!  Finally we left to come home, but had to stop at the outlet mall for a few hours.  I did a whole lot of sleeping in the car and once we got home.  This whole trip wore me out!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

OSU vs. U of M Game

Genesis and Lilah on game day....
Both wanting to take home the trophy!

This weekend was our annual get together for the Ohio State/Michigan game.  Aunt Susan, Uncle Bill, and Lilah came on Friday night.  On Saturday Chad, Mandi, Lily, Grandma, and Grandpa all came over.  We had so much fun!!!  (Well, those of us in red had fun, those in maze and blue...not so much!)  The good news is we get to keep the trophy at our house for another year!  That makes 5 years in a row (although, I wasn't around for the other years).
  

Lily and Genesis showing off their team spirit.

  

After such a tough loss, Genesis thought Lilah could use a hug.

  

They don't like the same team, but they both love Grandma!!!

  

And, they love to play together!

After all that cheering and playing I was exhausted!  It's a good thing Grandma was there to snuggle with me.  She held me and I pretended like I was going to go to sleep. 

The Snuggle Bug!

But, that didn't last long.  I still had lots of energy to burn. 
I played until 9:00!!!

The Energizer Bunny!!!

Trip to Indiana

This week Daddy had to go to Indianapolis for a long time. I was sad at first because I really missed him. Then, Mommy took me on an airplane to go see him. I was so excited when we got there. It had been a long trip and I finally got to see Daddy. We stayed at a nice hotel with lots of things to see and explore, but we only saw Daddy at night. Mommy took me to see lots of nice people.

First, we went to the school where she used to teach. I met lots of teachers and some really funny kids. They were all really nice to me. Then I went to see Jen, Matt, and my friend Braden. We played for a long time. Braden has lots of cool toys! It was a long day and I was so tired, but Mommy dragged me to dinner with the 2nd grade teachers. They are nice and everyting, but I was tired!!! So, I slept almost the whole time. Just to be nice, I woke up at the end so they could see me a little bit. The last day in Indianapolis I got to meet people Daddy works with. I'm so slick, I even stole his bosses glasses!!!

When Daddy was finally done with all his meetings we left for Shipshewana!!!

I have never seen anywhere like Shipshewana before. There were lots of horses, buggies, ladies with white hats, and guys with funny beards. We went to so many neat stores and the food was great!!! Mommy and Daddy did lots of Christmas shopping and even got some gifts for me (don't worry, I'll act surprised). I had 2 favorite parts about Shipeshawana. One was riding the pretty carousel with Mommy. The other was getting a really fun shaker to play music on!

I had a lot of fun while we were gone, but it's nice to be home. I have all of my toys and a lot more freedom!

Halloween Photo Shoot

Here I am at my Halloween photo shoot. I wore my fall denim jumper and, or course, the super fun chicken costume. It was so fun getting the pictures taken. The best part was playing with the pumpkins.

Halloween

I just celebrated my first Halloween. You should have seen me...I was adorable! Mommy and Daddy have been calling me "The Little Chickenhead" for months. I guess because my hair sticks up all the time. No matter what they do to it I, always look like a just hatched baby chicken. So, they decided to dress me up as a chicken for Halloween. I liked my costume for the most part, but didn't want to keep the feet on. I got to dress up lots of times. First there was a party with my playgroup, then we had Trunk-or-Treat at church, then we had our party at the library, then I had my pictures taken in my costume, and finally I got to go trick-or-treating with Daddy. For Trunk-or-Treat we did the story of Noah's Ark. Daddy looked silly as Noah, especially when he put on his beard. I got to be one of the animals on the Ark. It was so fun! Check out some of my pictures.

Noah (aka Joe) holding "The Little Chickenhead" at Trunk-or-Treat.

Genesis testing out the candy she got Trick-or-Treating.

My Weekly Routine

I have been so busy this fall. I spend lots of time with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma. We have a pretty busy schedule. On Monday and Wednesday I go to Grandma's house. We play with toys, go for walks, listen to music, and spend time outside. Grandpa ususally comes to see me at lunch and takes lots of pictures. He is one of the latest!

Rocking away!

On Tuesday, we go to "Small Fries" at the library. We listen to stories, sing, dance, make crafts, and play with cool toys. After the library we go to the park with friends or they come over to play at our house.

Genesis crawling around during story time.

Genesis actually playing with Liberty
(as opposed to the usual attack)!

On Thursday, we go to Bible Study at chruch. I get to play with my friend Lily. I'm so happy that she finally got out of her mommy's tummy and can play with me now! I sure love Lily, but for some reason Mommy and Mandi are always tring to move me away from her. I think it has something to do with me wanting to grab her eyes and steal her pacifire!

Genesis ready to attack sweet baby Lily!

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we do all kids of different things. Keep checking my Blog and I will keep sharing with you what I have been up to!

Trips I Took This Summer

I got to go lots of cool places this summer. We were in the car for a long time, but every trip was worth it! I got to see most of my family and a whole bunch of friends.

First, I went to South Carolina to see my Aunt Wendy and her family. It was my first time on an airplane. It was so hot there so we played inside, or went on the boat, to the beach, or to the pool. It was my first time swimming and I loved it! It was fun to play with my cousins!






Then I went to Cincinatti to see Aunt Jennifer and Nana. We went to the creation museum. My favorite part was the pretty gardents and petting the furry animals.





Our big trip was when we went to Lake Keowee for family vacation. Grandma and Grandpa invited us and all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a really long drive, but Lilah and I had fun together in the car. It was so great to play with all the other kids. They can all do more than me...it made me want to crawl and get around better and now I'm into everything! We spent a lot of time on the boat. It was nice and breezy! The funniest part was watching my daddy wipe out all the time when he was learning to ski. I got to swim a lot too. The water was nice and warm like a bath. I floated around in my little yellow boat. It felt good, but I came home with a double ear infection and a cold!



Our last trip was camping in Indian River with Michelle, Brandon, Alison, Scott, and Jack. Jack is supposed to be my boyfriend, but I think I like Brandon! We were outside the whole time and it was very cold, but I was a really good girl most of the time. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. ready to play. One man didn't appreciate my cute noises and yelled "Shut up that baby!" But we all thought it was funny!

My Summer

I can't believe summer is already over. We had a lot of fun this summer and I learned to do lots of new things. Here is a breif summary of what we did.




I kept cool on hot days by swimming in my baby pool. I love splashing around in the warm water.









We went to the park a lot and I learned how to swing. It was so relaxing that I usually fell asleep with my forehead on the swing.







I discovered that I can make really loud sounds and funny faces! Here you can see me entertaining with my new found talents at or small group picnic.






I got to go out on Grandma and Grandpa's boat a couple times. Grandpa even let me drive!! And, Grandma didn't even get worried because my driving was so good.

My New Blog

Welcome to my new blog! My babysite kept running out of space so I thought I would try a new place where I can take up as much space as I want. Through this blog I will be keeping you up to date on what I'm doing and, of course, posting adorable pictures of myself. Please check it out from time to time so you don't miss out on anything.