White Christmas

We enjoyed a white Christmas by playing in the white sand at the beach by our house. I didn't take my camera but it was absolutely packed!

We were all up by 7ish at our house. After Trent read the account of Christ's birth from Matthew, we opened presents, ate a big breakfast, went to the beach, Stephanie & I made our first homemade Apple Pie and then we all enjoyed dinner with friends.

Hudson got a tricycle & helmet (but he was most excited about the Thomas the Train set he got from our neighbors and the construction trucks he got from friends)

and what bicycle ride isn't complete without running into your sister...?

Anna Kate got her first baby doll and loved it!

She also enjoyed eating lots of packaging, wrapping paper & sand on Christmas.

Stephanie got lots of cool books & here she got a canvas and paints...she's already started painting a family portrait of us in sea creatures. I'm sure her work will be showcased on the blog when it's done.

Trent got a couple CDs he was wanting (John Mayer & Jack Johnson) and things related to triathlon training (a book, a magazine, a month of working out with an intense triathlon training group...)

Here I'm receiving some spices for cooking. I also got the new MacBook Pro from which I'm composing this post and an intense weekend photography class I'm taking in January!

Our Dad & Stepmom got all of us matching shirts...I'm sure there will be a picture coming once all my family arrives this week!

We hope all of you up north are enjoying all your fresh fallen snow! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve! We started our celebration last night with dinner with some dear friends. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. Today Trent & I both enjoyed 10 mile runs with shorts & t-shirts. It's consistently been in the 70s & sunny for a few weeks. Not our normal Christmas weather but we're loving it!

This evening we enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Eve service where children did everything. It was so great to see & hear all the kids singing, playing handbells, reading scripture and celebrating the birth of Christ. Trent's at our church's late service now.

Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful dinner & presents with our friends and neighbors, Tom, Meredith, Stephen & Rose. It was a sweet time!

My Beach Babies

I can't resist putting these cuties on here. They're all unedited.

Richardson Family

Thanks to Ryan & Charlene for letting me photograph their adorable kids! I loved photographing them in their backyard where the kids love to run and play. These kids are polite and fun, yet each has their own personality.

VanEssendelft Family

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege of photographing the VanEssendelft family. I loved watching their four cute, fun kids run around and interact with one another. The closeness of this family was evident. Thanks for letting me capture some memories for y'all!

Aunt Stephanie

My sister, Stephanie, arrived yesterday and is staying with us for about 5 weeks! We're all so excited.

Rose

Our neighbor, Rose, comes over after school several days a week. She's so helpful with both kids and they both absolutely adore her. She and Anna Kate have the same birthday (just 11 years apart). I took Hudson and Rose out for a fun treat this week. They split an oreo brownie.

Happy Six Months!

Our little girl is 6 months old today! She started out her day with a clean bill of health from the pediatrician, then did a lot of playing with her mother and brother, slept some, tried carrots for the first time and then went to our neighbor's middle school band concert this evening.

Anna Kate is 14lbs 8oz (25th percentile) and 24 1/2" long (10th percentile). She sits well by herself, reaches and plays with anything in sight, makes new babbling sounds and is generally happy. She also loves spending time with her mother in the middle of the night which we are continually working on. She did not like the carrots we gave her this evening at all. We'll try again tomorrow.

We love you sweet girl!

Warning: Snake Pictures

Hudson and I went to go clean out the filter of the pool this week only to find a snake in there. I didn't notice it was there until my hand was already in the water right next to the snake. It was a small snake but startled me none the less. Here's the beauty after we put him in the grass as far from our house as possible.

West Virginia

Last week we enjoyed Thanksgiving and a week vacation in West Virginia. We spent the first half of the week at Trent's parents' house then headed to his grandparent's house for the second half of the week. There is way too much to write about, but I'll try to cover some highlights...

These are Hudson & Anna Kate's 1st cousins on Trent's side...

Trent's parents, their 5 kids behind them & 2 daughters-in-law up front

Hudson & Anna Kate enjoyed playing with their Nana and Papaw

I took my new DSLR camera and enjoyed having some time to practice snapping photos. Here is one of my favorites of Anna Kate.

This little girl started sitting up!

I can't seem to load any other pictures right now...more to come some day.

Some other noteworthy events included:

*Hudson getting to sit on big tractors at Trent's grandparents farm

*seeing my Dad and Stepmom one evening

*seeing my Grandma & some family members for a quick dinner in Columbus

*getting to run a very cold, hilly & slow (but fun for me, not for Trent who ran despite having the stomach bug) 5k race with one of Trent's cousins

*playing several games of Tuck with various family members

*visiting with lots of family members we haven't seen in way too long

*coming back home to blue sky, sunshine and 80 degrees

Fall Festival

This evening we had an awesome time at our church's Fall Festival! There were big inflatables, little cars to drive, lots of games to play, face-painting, balloon animals, lots of carnival type food, a hayride and hundreds of people there. The kids in our community should sleep well tonight.

Playground

We love that we can enjoy being outside in comfortable short sleeve weather!

Anna Kate only enjoys the swing if it is perfectly still.

Mom's Helper

Hudson loves to help me do about anything. Here, he's helping me make some banana bread to take to friends. Don't worry, the stove is not on.