Visitng Cabelas with Nana & Papa

We took a trip to Cabela's yesterday with Nana & Papa.

 Penny loved watching the fish in the tank.

 She loved running around the deer exhibit...I learned that my almost-2 year old is much faster than her very pregnant mama at this point! Thank goodness Papa and Missy were there to chase after her!

 She wanted to jump in and swim in the fish pond.

 And she really wanted to jump in and play with the bear.

 She loved seeing the elephant! And she wanted to pet the coyotes.

Animals that don't move are definitely her style! We had a blast...thanks Nana & Papa & Missy!

Crayola Fun!

We went to the Crayola Factory with friends this past weekend!

 The kids had a blast! There were so many cool activities- they got to draw on a car...

 They made paper suitcases, using paper, glue and all sorts of markers & crayons...

 And then they found the ball drop. This was by far, the favorite activity for our crew.  First you drop a ball into the box...

 ...then you watch it go up and over...

 ...finally it comes down through the color maze...

 ...and you grab another ball and watch it again!

 All three girls loved the ball drop!

 We got a family photo in the just dance zone :)

 And did some serious sidewalk chalking (funny- Penny spent most of her time in the chalk area collecting the pieces that were on the floor and putting them into the bucket, which she carried like a purse...she's got a bit of her aunt Nic in her)!

 We had fun with clay!

 E & P hard at work!

 We had a really nice morning at the factory!

 The girls also really enjoyed the canal exhibit.  They each got a boat and were able to take that boat on a trip through a series of channels and locks.

 Penny is still talking about how she got to "open the doors and make the water come in".

 It was a great day with great friends!



Fun with Aunt Nic and Dave

Aunt Nic & Dave stopped by for a visit.

 Penny brought out the playdough for some fun with them!

 But I'll be honest, I don't know who had more fun- Nic & Dave loved Elmo's play dough set just as much as Penny did!

Thanks for the visit guys!

Love!

Playing babies

Penny has been playing pretend and I love it! She cooks for us in her kitchen (she tells us she's making lasagna or "blansagna" for breakfast) and she's always grabbing her purse and keys on her way to the garage door, where she tells us she's "going to work". But, my favorite pretend play is when she plays with her babies.

A few days ago, she grabbed dolls for both of us, handed me one, and started telling me how to play.  "Hug the babies mama. Rock the babies mama. Sing to the babies mama." I had so much fun playing babies! 

She's going to be a great big sister, for sure!

Snow!

We finally had some real snow! Penny wanted to go outside at 6am when she realized it snowed. We made her wait until 9...she watched the plows work until it was time to go out.

 We thought a tube might be fun- she thought it was fun to carry, but wouldn't sit on it.

 She loved being outside in the snow...not so much walking in it, but standing in it and throwing it!

 We went through three pairs of gloves (they'd get wet as soon as she'd pick up snow and she'd rip them off)...we went to buy a pair of waterproof gloves as soon as the roads were cleared...now it won't snow the rest of this winter!

 Daddy's helper!

 Daddy taught Penny how to throw snow balls :)

She had a blast throwing snow at daddy!

Progress in the Big Girl Room

We're making progress in the big girl room...although someone was extremely happy to have a big empty room on her hands- dance party! 

 Aunt Missy & Eric helped daddy with the painting!

 And Penny supervised!

 She picked her wall color- yellow of course!

 And here it is...bed is on the floor for now until we get bed rails.

She loves it!

I'm a good girl!

Penny gets a daily status update from daycare. She's started "reading" her paper to us at night when we clean out her backpack- regardless of what the paper says, she tells us "Penny played with friends, Penny went outside, Penny is a good girl!" I love it!

Fun at the Library

We spent some time at the library this weekend. Penny loved it! We didn't read many books because she was so interested in exploring- I think she sat in every chair in the children's area. She loved all the puzzles and counting

toys! But most of all, she loved the Penny sized rocking chair. Once she found it, she stayed put for the rest of our visit. We can't wait to visit again!

Football at Pete & Colleen's house

We recently got together with some friends at Pete & Colleen's house to watch some football! We used to take crazy pictures of ourselves having fun while we feasted on  ginormous portions of amazing food.  Now we seem to spend more time watching our adorable kids play together than we do watching tv or eating! 

 Seriously- aren't they beautiful! Look at little miss Olivia's gorgeous smile! And see how big brother Gavin is holding her and Penny safe :)

And Penny & Luke hugging- melts my heart!

 I love that our little ones are getting to be friends! So much fun!

After Christmas Fun

We enjoyed our days off after Christmas! We had so much fun with Grammy & Pa during the rest of their visit.

Daddy & Pa finished building the bottom cabinet for the entertainment center.

We got to see our Fitzpatrick cousins.

Penny had a blast playing with her cousins!

Does it look like she's having fun? Too much fun!

One of Penny's new favorite things to do is look through pictures. She loved looking at photos with Grammy from our trip to Cleveland this summer.

Almost finished- just needs to be sealed with poly! Good work :)

The tickle monster came to visit!

And Penny taught Grammy how to fingerpaint.

PJ time with Jane :)

We love godmother Kellie!

We miss Grammy & Pa already! Can't wait for them to visit again when Baby Brother gets here!

It was an awesome Christmas break! Thanks to everyone who made it so special!