Happy Holidays!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Happy Holidays to all! Hoping this blog finds everyone ready to bring in the new year and had a wonderful past last year!  Our holiday season was wonderful!  We spent it at home with ALL of our family.  From Wednesday thru Sunday we had company and it was wonderful.  Jovie was loved on all week/weekend by her Nana's and Papa's! She received SOOO many wonderful gifts and loves them all.  I'd have to say the highlight would be the new colors, which she gets her money's worth out of, OR the Mickey light up wand that she got when we went to Mickey Mouse Roadshow and hid until Santa came :)

Libby had a wonderful Christmas as well.  She always seems to make out like a fat rat when it comes to gifts.  New bike, new camera, clothes, CD's, and numerous gift cards.  Shopping for her gets easier the older she gets!

Steve spoiled me and bought me the next step up of camera lens' for my Nikon, and I LOVE it!  I also got some great North Face running gear that I will certainly put in use in the Fall of '11.  I can't wait to get back to hitting the pavement daily!

I got Steve a few shirts, the new Kid Rock cd and Kid Rock tickets for Chicago in February.  Can't wait!  Hotel is booked and we are ready for the weekend away!

Looking ahead to 2011 is very exciting as Steve and I are expecting our 2nd baby on May 13.  We had our 20 week ultrasound this past week and the baby looked perfect.  We decided (a bit reluctantly) not to find out the sex of the baby again this round, so what a surprise it will be!  Steve and I are both guessing girl, but only for the fact that he has 2 already :).  Of course we are 90% set on a girl name and can't for the life of us decide on a boy name, so maybe it will be a boy! NEVER KNOW!  Jovie will have a rude awakening when the new baby joins our family, as she is quite the mama's girl and is VERY used to getting her way!

Again, hoping that this blog finds you and your family healthy and happy moving in to 2011.  I'm sure it will be a year filled with excitement and changes!  Here are a TON more pictures for you to enjoy!

So much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry for the lack of blogging - we've been incredibly busy! I started the month off traveling for work to Oklahoma - THAT was interesting.  Let's just say, Lawton, OK, would not be a place I choose to live, OR to fly into EVER again! :)  Jovie stayed very busy this month playing (mostly inside because it's been freezing!)  We also took Jovie to her favorite cartoon character Mickey Mouse Roadshow at the US Cellular Center this month.  She LOVED it!

Getting ready to go to Mickey

She wouldn't take her eyes off it!

Clapping for Mickey!

Her $20 glow stick

Playing inside!

After a lot of inside playing and little road trips to stay busy, we took off for Thanksgiving and went to Cherokee to visit my Dad's side of the family.  This was Jovie's longest road trip (4.5 hours) and she was a champ both ways!  It was good to see everyone as it had been a couple of years! Seems silly to only see each other every year or so when we all live in the same state! We stayed at a place called the Grainery, it was a huge old restored Grainery and slept the entire family.  This was a brilliant idea, until you think of the NOISE and the toddler trying to sleep.  Needless to say, Mommy and Jovie didn't get a lot of sleep and it was a good thing we only stayed one night.  I'm so thankful for my amazing family, my dad is simply the BEST Grandpa in the world, as Jovie could spend hours and hours and hours playing with him.  And he is the BEST dad in the world.  I'm so grateful and thankful he's in our lives.  Jovie sure loves her Papa!  I was also very thankful this Thanksgiving for getting to spend some time with my Granny Shirley, as we don't get to see each other often.  I always enjoy our talks and know she enjoyed getting to see Jovie!

I of course had to partake in the Black Friday festivities, but only for about 2 hours and I didn't leave home until 6:30.  I got everything I wanted and was out of there! :)  We had a small Thanksgiving with Steve's family and my Mom on Saturday, and my Mom stayed the entire weekend.  We had a lot of fun just chatting, eating junk food, and staying up late putting up the tree.  What a wonderful mother I have, I'm so truly blessed with the my family, and I'm so lucky Jovie gets to see them so often!

Playing cards with the boys

Family minus Lib

Love my family!

 Cutest pic -- having a Heart to Heart talk with Great-Granny

Mmmmm... First Thanksgiving Dinner

Spoonfuls and spoonfuls of Cool Whip, thanks to Papa

They played in the water like this for at least 30 minutes

Special Papa time

Snuggling with Nana

Just woke up and watching... you'll never guess... MICKEY!

This coming week will consist of putting ornaments on the tree together as a family, listening to N'SYNC and Jessica Simpson Christmas music (totally against Steve's will, but it's 3 against 1), drinking hot cocoa, and being together as a family. 

As I wrap up, I again want to say how thankful I am to have Steve, Libby, and my baby girl Jovie in my life.  They are my heart and soul.  I'm also so grateful for my wonderful, loving, supporting parents and brother.  I also got very lucky and married into a wonderful family as well.  Each of them are wonderful people and I'm so thankful they are in our lives.  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

My sleeping beauty!