Team Spirit

Today was "jersey day" at school and the girls were the only ones to show up in hockey jerseys! 

Go Red Wings :)

Yes, and today is my 30-something birthday. I had a great day at the spa, followed by a yummy (cooked) sushi dinner and cupcakes. Who could ask for anything more? 

"Wacky Day"

This week is National Lutheran Schools Week and the girls' preschool is filled with lots of spirit activities. Today was dubbed "wacky day." 

 Notice the mismatched socks/legwarmers and shoes!

 Emi shows off today's art work -- a snowman and the letter "P"

 Back at home, it's in the low 70s (what?!) and our Lenten Roses have bloomed, ut oh... Cora was so excited to smell them -- doubt they'll fare well with the expected freeze later this week :(

 Just relaxing in the backyard after school

 Cora is bubble queen

Writing her name in sidewalk chalk

and Emi trying to do the same... 

Post-bath

The girls trying to be like Mommy after bath time...

We can't believe they're just 3.5 and 1.5 years old! What insight into the future...

We saw Nana and Duke (and Molly)!

After nearly 7 months, we were able to meet up with Nana and Duke this weekend in Alabama (half-way between Memphis and Atlanta). What would we do without Skype in the meantime? We stayed at a dog-friendly hotel, so the entire family got to visit. Cora was thrilled to be able to swim, as well... 

Emi and Duke watching "Mary Poppins"

The dogs eagerly awaiting their nightly bone

Yum -- Japanese hibachi lunch. Doesn't Cora look like she's a teenager?

No this isn't a posed/staged picture... they slept almost the entire way home!

How to pass the time during an ice storm...

We're experiencing our first ice storm of the season. Funny, having lived in very cold climates for a lot of our lives (and feet of snow last year in Connecticut), this seems so COLD! Maybe it's being used to warmer temps. Definitely it's being somewhere that is not prepared for inclement weather. Thus, we're hunkered down. Unsure if we'll have school tomorrow or not. Greg came home early from work today. We've got our fingers crossed that the trees stay intact and power lines are not affected. We've stocked up on wood, just in case...

 Gotta love the dry air inside and Emi's ridiculous hair!

 The girls marched up to me this afternoon and told me they were "going to the indoor beach"

Cora opened a package this morning with handknit mittens and a hat (Emi got a set, as well) from Oba... it's like she knew we need these now! Thanks, Oba!

Happy 19 months, Emilia!

My, my time flies. Our baby is a full-blown toddler now and keeping us on our toes!

 Who knows what's going on in her mind, but she sure has something to say... ALWAYS

a "better baby bump" photo @ 32 weeks

Showered with blessings!

This morning, I was thrown a baby shower by the ladies in our church here in Collierville. Another member is due in a couple of weeks, so we had a "team shower" and it was fun!  Considering this is our 3rd baby, we really need nothing... BUT we still got a bunch of generous gifts and a TON of diapers! It was such a nice event, we feel blessed indeed...

my 32 week "bump"

New Year's Day

Cora is quite the helper with dishing out appetizers, we just have to accept what SHE thinks we need to enjoy

 No joke, Bonny takes over Cora's chair to watch some football

Bonny bored with the game

 Sofu helps Cora set the table

 Sparkling Red "wine" for us girls

 Cora likes to smile, but didn't like the taste

 Hmmm

Still not sure

 Mikey likes it

Cheers!

Happy 2013!

We chose to celebrate 2013 as it occurred in Greenland, so the girls could join in the festivities. 

 First of all, we finished our challenging puzzle in 2012!

(notice the 5 missing pieces, we still blame Finn!)

 Our toast was with eggnog :)

 New Year's kisses all around!

After dropping the girls off to bed, we adults kept awake playing Trivial Pursuit and toasting the CST arrival of the New Year!