2010 was GREAT!

Uncle Dave burying Grace and Cole in the foam blocks

I blame this on Dave!!!! Thank You :)

Someday they will all sit still, then we will look back at these and LAUGH

These are the cuties I was forced to be with for 3 days!

Grace throwing her reindeer food Christmas Eve night so Santa will come!

This week we ended 2010 with a lot of family time and fun! We celebrated Christmas with my Hellebuyck family for the first time in our house, that is a lot of people in one house : ) My younger, yet taller brother, then asked if we (being the girls and I) wanted to hang out during the week and hit up some fun stuff to do with the kids. Of course, I jumped on that chance, so Monday we headed to the Henry Ford Museum, the kids liked running around and seeing the giant airplanes and touching the things they were allowed to touch. Tuesday I thought of the Hands On Museum in Ann Arbor, its a science museum for kids, and although they are probably still a little young for it, they got to touch anything and everything they wanted!!!! For more pictures from our WILD life click here.

We had a great few days with Cole and Uncle Dave, he is totally a big kid himself! As 2010 is over tonight and we rest our heads on our pillows I hope that our dreams bring us wonderful ideas, fresh perspectives, and a new spark for life. As for me and 2011, I hope that my girls being 4 and 2 this year, will bring me love, patience, and more time to cuddle as a family. I hope that my photography grows more and that I fall even more in love with it, and maybe get a client or three :) As for my friends and family, you have no idea how much I love you and the support you have shown me and my girls, Thank you could never been enough!

Merry Christmas Eve

My Jenn looks angelic!

Grace calls her "my Suzi", I think she thinks everyone is hers ;)

Getting her hair done

Mmmmm, sugar high!

A caramel apple with M&M's on it

Gwamma and Jenni

The girls singing jingle bells, with bells off of my Christmas Tree.

Christmas Eve is special to my heart because Ryan asked me to marry him this night in 2003, and I have never looked back!!

The girls had a great week leading up to Christmas this year, Grace is finally understanding that Santa comes and brings presents, she has not yet asked how he will get in the house yet, being that we don't have a chimney, so I have been lucky enough to dodge that question this year :) Grace and I got our hair done earlier in the week, by my friend Suzi, Grace loves Suzi, and she looked great after getting her hair did! I had my hair done also, I am in LOVE with it, if you need your hair done, she is the girl! I am blessed this Christmas with so many things, I wouldn't even know where to start. My girls, my husband, my mom, my family, that is just a start! And a BIG thank you for reading this every friday, and being a part of our lives. Merry Christmas to all, I hope you get what you are wishing for ; )

Big News This Week

Grace and her friend Mara playing play dough together

Grace making a Christmas tree, while Jenn and Daddy watch

Grace and her classmates singing songs for all the moms and dads

OMG, Grace and Mara, one of the best pictures ever!!!!

Jenn sleeping in her big girl bed with bear bear of course

Jenn and mom having a photo session day

Grace helped me turn Jenni's bed into a big girl bed

We had a snow day for school, so we made glamorous hats

Grace and Daddy making snicker doodle cookies

This week flew by really fast, even with a snow day thrown in there! The biggest news of the week was Jennifer getting into a big girl bed, and she transitioned like a champion!!! When Grace went into her bed, she had a few issues that took time to work out, Jenni, had no problem what so ever. It is sad and happy all at the same time for me, its great that she can sleep in a bed, but it also means one less baby in the house :(
Monday Grace had a snow day so she and Daddy, made cookies, I made crown hats with both of the girls. It was one of those days that was just fun, because we were all together!
We also got to have a Holiday party with Grace and her classmates, they made sugar cookies, Grace made me a necklace, and a picture frame with her picture in it!!! The best part of the picture frame was that the picture of her is from the day that she picked out her own clothes, Oh, how perfect!!!! We got to listen to Grace and her friends sing songs, it was a lot of fun!!

Tricks

Grace learned a new trick from her Uncle Dave......lets see how it goes!!!

These girls grow so fast

Jenn is helping daddy with his new hobby

This is what Grace picked to wear to school all on her own

My favorite family picture for 2010

The girls are becoming princesses, Lord Help Me

Jenn is reading with Bear Bear

This week I think I finally realized just how fast my girls are growing up. Jennifer is starting to undress herself and then dress herself all by herself, its just sad really, and yet totally thrilling. Jenn has taken an interest in reading finally, it seemed to take her much longer to like it then Grace did, but I am excited to see her looking through all the books and she is asking me to read them to her.
Grace had also taken it upon herself to get ready for school on morning, by choosing her own clothes for the day. Although, it was not at all what I would have chosen, I felt like it was a good time for me to let her wings grow a little bit, no doubt though that it was hard for me.
My life this week was crazy, but again, worth every second to watch these amazing little girls starting to become strong and independent, I hope I can say these words again in the future, but with no tears in my eyes!!

A busy week, I am greatful for

Grace's artwork from school, I have had it appraised at $654,657.56

Grace made a train out of diaper boxes, that I keep their clothes in :)

Jenn reading a book in the book nook!!!

This week has been pretty crazy for us. I went to visit Grace in school, which really means that I got to watch her behind glass, so she had no idea I was even there! She had a great day, and she was a happy girl in preschool. That class was the best entertainment I have had in a very long time. I got to watch Grace play with her best friend Mara while they were at school, good time I tell you!!! As for Jenn, well she has been a little under the weather lately, and I am waiting for her to get better so we can get her 18 month shots, not looking forward to that at all though. All in all it was a good week, I will take busy because that means that I have kids, and I am blessed to have them and to be a mom!

Girls just want to have fun!

Look, mom, I can do it!

" I did it!"

Grace spending time with the cousins

Learning to use a hula hoop

Daddy and Jenn cuddling :)

We had a short school week with Thanksgiving being on Thursday. We stayed at home a lot, which was really nice for me, and did house cleaning. We threw our first Turkey day feast, where Ryan and I cooked a whole Thanksgiving dinner, we did pretty good, if you ask me!! This year I was overly Thankful for so many things mainly being my family, who has helped us survive in more ways then I could ever imagine. Friday the girls and I left home and went to stay and play with some of our cousins, the girls had way to much fun!! Jenni was a little sick, so she stayed pretty close to me for the most part, but Grace went to town, they hula hooped, played school, restaurant, and ate more food then I thought possible :) When we got home Daddy missed us, and took advantage of the pre-bedtime snuggle for the night, nothing wrong with that!!

**Jenni learned to zip her jacket up this week, and Grace had a more then amazing review at her first parent-teacher conferences!! She is very far ahead of her age and her teacher Ms. Wanke was very proud of Grace and applauded us for our hard work at home.

Weekend Bliss

The girls playing tea, while in the background Cole playing truck!

It was a cold one outside.

Personally, I think this kid should be a model or something!

He is a cutie!

How high can you throw that thing Dave???

This weekend my brother and his son, my nephew Cole, came down for a weekend visit. We had a really good weekend just letting the kids run around, make a mess, and have a good family bonding weekend! We went outside for a short time, it was freakin' cold out!! We took the kids to a local model train club display, Cole loved it, as did Grace and Jenn. We just had an all around really good relaxing weekend where the kids got to bond that cousinly bond. I got to talk and hang out with my brother, who by the way is an amazingly loving and wonderful dad! I can't wait to do it again, SOON!!

Testing Mommy!!

Jenn sleeping in her crib!

Reading to themselves before nap time!

Jenn discovering the "push the chair over to the counter" trick

Waving at a train going by

Grace helping me to compost the pumpkins for next years garden

This week I am feeling totally exhausted!! I feel like the girls have been pushing every button they could manage to push with me, and UGH, I am glad the weekend has arrived!! Not that the weekend ever really makes a difference in our house, Ryan still works weekends, but my brother and his family are coming down for a weekend visit!!! Grace and Jenn get to play with their cousin and that always makes for good game time for the adults :) I know I am not the only mom that has her patience tested and her will kicked in the groin, but sometimes it just feels like I am alone in the mommy world.

This morning Grace got herself dressed and ready for school, she even put on her own socks and shoes. I got teary eyed, and Ryan just laughed at me. For me, this is one less thing that she will need me for, one more advance to her growing up faster then what I am ready for, it made me sad. I looked at her the other day and I just stared at her for a long time, she says to me "mom stop looking at me, you are so weird." I immediately apologized and looked away from her, I was just in shock looking at her and wondering where my little Gracie went.

Jenn on the other hand is 18 months old and is smarter then Grace was at 18 months, I know she is watching Grace and learning from her, but that is supposed to be my job! I taught Grace and I was supposed to teach Jenn too, but I guess sometimes I am a little slow. Don't get me wrong here, I still teach Jenn, but I know she learns a lot from her big sister too, I taught my little brother things ;) I look at Jenn and get sad knowing that she very well could be my last baby, and she is just not a baby anymore, shoot she is trying to go on the potty already!

Life moves to fast, I know I have bad days and get frustrated and upset, but I also know that I don't have to many more days until Grace will not need me to pick out her school clothes in the morning. I also know that Jenn will be out of her crib soon, these are the things that seem so crazy and annoying, but someday, someday soon, they will be gone and I will for sure cry more tears something new changes or goes away!

Nice Fall Days

The beautiful birds nest we found!

Jenn was sleeping so soundly, I couldn't help myself!!!

School was canceled, so we make a few art projects!

Jenn got in on the art projects too!

Taking advantage of the sunshine!!

Jenn makes the Lions look good!!!!!

This week the weather has been unusually warm for November! So we chose to take full advantage of it as winter is on the way and we will be locked inside the house where it will be much warmer :) We went outside and Grace helped me and daddy put Christmas lights up on the house and in a tree, in that tree we found a birds nest which was empty, but I left it in the tree because it is just beautiful!! Grace had her first play date with a school friend, Jenn and I went with Grace to her friends house and we had a BLAST, we are hoping to have another play date soon at our house. Grace also had her first school cancellation, so we made it into an art project day, Grace made her Grandma Kathy a snowman for her fridge (as she requested), and then we got ahead start on making a few Christmas gifts. Busy weeks are making time fly by, sometimes I will admit I want time to go fast, but usually, I just wish it would slow down these girls will be big, and not want to hold me hand before I know it!!!