Giving Thanks

We did a little traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday!  We started off in Ames where we enjoyed spending time with the family and even did a little shopping on Thanksgiving Day in the good ol' town of Huxley!

Lillia got her hair done by Aunt Carrie!  Too cute!

Then it was off to Omaha.  Brandon and his brother went to the Iowa/Nebraska game on Friday while the rest of us enjoyed spending time relaxing and doing a little shopping as well!

 

 Lillia loved going outside to look at Papa's Christmas lights on the fence!

 

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Fischer/Miller side of the family on Saturday in Grand Island.  It was fun to see family we don't get to see very often!  Lillia was tuckered out from traveling and playing, but for some reason, nap time was not successful that afternoon.....

It was a great holiday spent with friends and family!  Thankful we go to travel as we did with no complications!  Now it's one last trip back home to Ames to celebrate an early Christmas with my family before staying home until this baby comes!

Lillia Paige

 Just a normal day at home!

Playing with playdough for the first time!  She LOVED it!

Coming soon....a tidbit about Thanksgiving and a few pictures from our travels.

Birthday Flowers

Aren't these beautiful?!

A knock at the door brought this delightful birthday wish from friends back home!  I absolutely loved it and felt very loved by those that sent it!  Thanks girls! 

The Evidence Speaks for Itself

After mixing up a little batch of no-bake cookies....my helper, who was sitting on the counter, helped herself to the spoon in the empty bowl.  We love sharing afternoon delights!

Cuts and Curls

I have really STRAIGHT hair....no body to it really.  So I figured my kids were doomed to have straight hair just like me. 

Well, to my surprise, Lillia has a little bit of curl to her hair!  I love to put a little product in it and watch it curl up!  :)

This was the last picture I got before Lillia went in for her first haircut!  She did well once we got her in the chair and distracted by all the suckers, of which she could pick one, when she was all done!

Lillia even got to put product in her hair, which she was excited about!  Thankfully, her hair still curls up in the back and the little trim is just what she needed!





After a successful haircut, we were off to Target to do a little shopping and get some popcorn and lemonade!  Who can pass up a $1.50 combo with free refills?  Not our family!  What a tasty treat!

Frozen Corn

Lillia has a new "favorite" snack....frozen corn.  What a goof!  Since we have a fridge with the freezer on the bottom, she is able to easily reach her delicious treat.

I did put the kabosh on eating frozen corn....and she had to ask mommy before getting it out of the freezer.  So what did she do?  Move on to frozen peas.....

Weekend in Iowa (part 3)

We celebrated Lillia's birthday with a brunch on Sunday!

 Lillia with two of her new favorite toys....Buzz and Woody!

Jammies from Gramma and Grampa Great

 It's hard to find Toy Story jammies that look girly!  Oh well, she LOVES them!  :)

Enjoying her new camping chair!  Had to make sure she put a drink in the holder!

Thanks everyone for helping to make Lillia's second birthday so special!  Lillia is delighting in all her birthday gifts!  We loved being home with you and look forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving!

Weekend in Iowa (part 2)

As mentioned before, we celebrated my cousin's wedding while in Ames.  Lillia had a great time at the reception!  :)  She loved dancing with Carrie, Molly, and Kayla!  A few pictures from the day....

Weekend in Iowa (part 1)

Lillia and I headed to Ames last weekend while Brandon headed to Texas with his buds for their annual Cyclone Football road trip.

With the weather being as beautiful as it was, we took full advantage of being outside!  My mom, sister, Lillia, and I made our first trip to Center Grove Orchard!  Lillia loved it!  Actually, we all loved it!

We found farm animals...

We ventured into The Three Little Pigs Houses....

We milked a cow....

We played in the corn pool...

We bounced on the big yellow "pillow"...

We went down the big slide...

We found a fuzzy wuzzy...

We picked out pumpkins...

And what trip to the Apple Orchard is complete without a little snack?...

 

 

Thanks for such a great trip to the apple orchard gramma and Molly!  Let's do it again next year!

Lillia's Two!

This sweet girl turned 2 years old on October 3!  She is such a delight! We are loving this age!

Brandon's family came to celebrate Lillia's birthday with us in Kansas and the following weekend we celebrated with my family in Iowa. (more about our Iowa trip later)

Thanks for coming to celebrate with us Papa, Grammy, and Uncle Bri!

Uncle Bubba we missed you! (and Caitlyn too!)

A little help from mom blowing out her candles!

Happy Birthday Lillia Paige!  We love you!

27 Weeks

When packing for a weekend in Ames, which included going to a wedding, I happened to remember that I went to a wedding at the same point in my pregnancy with Lillia.  So I specifically packed the same dress and jewelry in order to make a little comparison!

The reception happened to be at the same location, so I grabbed a picture in the same spot I stood a little over two years ago!  

What do you think?  Has much changed in two years?!  :)

Girl After My Own Heart!

On Saturday I was watching the Food Network.  Paula Deen was on, creating some delicious dish with chicken, and of course, butter!  ;) 

Lillia crawled onto the couch with me and watched for a few minutes.  I told her "There's Paula!  She's making yummy chicken!"  She watched with me for a little bit, then went back to doing her own thing.

Yesterday after she woke up from her nap I brought her downstairs.  The tv was on, and just so happened to once again be on the Food Network.  She looked up at the tv and said "There's Paula!  Making chicken!" 

OH MY STARS!  I LOVED that she said that!  And I couldn't believe it either!  She's a girl after my own heart!

When you're out of peanuts....

Ok, so perhaps by now you know I LOVE FALL!  It's definitely my favorite season!  And what snack screams fall better than Candy Corn and Peanuts?  Mmmm, such a delicious little treat...it's hard not to eat the whole bowl by yourself!

So, the other day Lillia and I ran to Walgreens to grab an extra ingredient we needed for dinner.  And of course, there on the way to the checkout, was a huge display of candy corn!  So, needless to say, a bag ended up coming home with us.  My mouth was watering on the way home...I couldn't wait to mix it with some peanuts!  I opened the cupboard to grab the jar of peanuts I just knew we had......nope.  We were out.

Enter the State Fair!  Have any of you ever had a Cashew Nutroll at the Iowa State Fair?  Tasty little treat that I can't leave the fair without!  Anyways, if candy corn and peanuts are supposed to taste like a peanut nutroll, why not mix candy corn with cashews?  And why stop there when you have almonds in the cupboard?

Well, there you have it!  My new FAVORITE fall snack mix!  Cashews and almonds took it to a whole new level!  If only I could blame the disappearance of these pieces in the bowl on my husband, who happens to despise candy corn......