Smooch-

I have found it difficult at times to give all 3 of my children equal time in the spotlight when blogging. However, sometimes one just gets the spotlight because they deserve it and the other two just sit back and enjoy it. I just couldn't resist this picture of Parker. He is starting to follow after his sisters and their silly faces.

Family Christmas Party

Every year Jeff's side of the family has a Christmas Party. It is a lot of fun and there's lots of people. We eat, have a visit from Santa...with gifts for the children, and dance. I am pretty sure that it was the REAL Santa. He was great!!! The dance party is by far the best part of the night. We had the party in a church gym so there was plenty of room to dance. The DJ did a great job and the kids had a blast. They danced for over 2 1/2 hours. A big thanks goes out to Melanie and Frank Henrich and Sara and Ryan Olson for teaching my girls all their snazzy dance moves :-)!!! They were the hit of the party. We miss you guys-

Maddie wishing for a dog on Santa's lap..keep wishing honey!!

Lauren wishing for a new princess dress

Parker checking out his new Hot Wheels with Santa

Of course, great-grandma couldn't pass up a

chance to sit on Santa's lap

Lauren's fancy foot work

Maddie in the middle of a jump

Cute cousin Anonya doing the twist

Even Parker was dancing while holding on to a chair

The limbo was great fun!!

And finally....what could be better than doing the

Hokey Pokey while wearing a green boa?

Maddie's New Do-

In an attempt to make my life, and Maddie's life, a bit easier, we decided to cut her hair. She had a hard time washing it herself but now it is a piece of cake.....well, that is when she decides she can do it herself. Now if I could only teach her how to dry it with a hairdryer while using a round brush!!!

365 Days Ago

365 days ago our family and many of our wonderful Virginia friends spend the weekend at the beach in the Outer Banks. Oh how life has changed!! The girls are older, Amy is not pregnant and ready to pop, Jeff is out of school....well kind of.....and Parker is here. We love life and we are so are grateful for our families and the time we get to spend with them this holiday season....but oh, how we miss not being in the ocean. What fun we had!! Here are just a few pictures of last year.

Lauren and Maddie just getting out of the hot tub
The beach house we stayed in

Maddie not wanting her picture taken

Lauren cheesing it up for the camera

The only family picture we took on our Thanksgiving trip

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We had a wonderful Halloween this year. The weather was nice and warm so coats and gloves weren't needed. However, we missed all our friends and the annual party at the Winegars. Maddie didn't have school and it was a really long day for her. She got up at 6:00 a.m. and I tried to get her to take a nap but there was no way that was going to happen. When it came time to go out and trick or treat Maddie was so excited but by the time we got about half way around the block she was complaining that her feet hurt, her bucket was too heavy, and she was tired. Poor Girl!! Lauren on the other hand had a fantastic nap so she had a wonderful time. After every door we would go to she would say.....Just one more, ok mom. It was fun to watch her and Maddie trick or treat. When it came time to decide on what to be this year, there was no hesitation. Maddie was a dog, of course, and Lauren was a princess. Cinderella to be exact. Parker didn't care so it was a skeleton for him. We spent lots of time on the costumes this year and thanks to my mom and her wonderful sewing abilities, the costumes were a hit!!

What a cute bunch

Parker is such a happy guy

This is Parker screaming like a skeleton

What better way to spend the night than to get
in the bucket with all the candy??

Lauren striking a pose for her playgroup

party in one of her many princess dresses

Dancing and twirling on the deck

Eating her candy

She loves her princess hair

Maddie's dog face

Maddie striking her new "cute" look

It doesn't get any better than this for Maddie.

She LOVES to be a dog....barking and all

This was the Halloween party we had with Jeff's cousins.

It was quite a party and we had lots of fun

Gardner Village

We took the kids to Gardner Villiage this weekend and had a great time. It was all decorated for Halloween and there were pumpkins and witches everywhere. The weather was perfect which allowed us to take lots of great pictures. Here are just a few....well not a few. ENJOY!!!

This was our favorite witch...she looked great

Aren't these just the cutest kids??!!

Our cute little witches

Parker was a good boy....waiting patiently while his sisters had their faces painted

Face painting is so much fun

Of course our day wouldn't have been complete without riding the ponies

Go Pink Panthers!!

Maddie just finished up her first soccer season. She had a great time playing on the "Pink Panthers" team. She loved her soccer uniform so much she would wear it to school at least once a week. One day she even wore her soccer cleats to school. I didn't know until she came home that day. I bet her teacher thought I was crazy to let her go to school like that. Oh well, to be young and not worry about what to wear!!!

This is Maddie before her first game started.

Notice how excited and full of energy she is

Gotta love the tongue hanging out as Maddie runs

Uh, oh...the game is only half way over and Maddie is exhausted!!!

Finally, she gets to be the goalie and take a little rest

When we were at Maddie's game we told Lauren she could play anywhere but she couldn't step on the white line. If she did, she might get hurt. She was really obedient but during half time she really wanted to go out on the field with Jeff but she couldn't figure out how to get over the white line with out stepping on it. This is Lauren contemplating how to get over the white line. It was hilarious to watch her.