27 days into the new year....

Hey! There was a New Years celebration a few weeks back I wanted to share. It has become an unspoken assumption with John and Emily that we will be getting together. While we have tried cooking big and also re-heated frozen foods in years past. This year we decided on a middle of the road make-your-own-pizza. I think it was a big success!

The girls opted for mac & cheese...

ad The adults had just a little bit of fun with the pizzas, too!

Everybody now!

We hung around and chatted for a long time while the kids played. Our friends Jill and Dennis stopped by for a while, too.

We later let the kids go on the deck and shoot off silly string. Owen had a blast. Will liked shooting it but not getting it on him. And Avery... poor thing.

Post silly string fun:

Thanks for all of the smiles & fun! Happy (27 days into) 2014!

Belated Christmas Post

We did celebrate Christmas with the Taylor side as well and even though it was after the 25th it was quite some time ago! I need to get these on a little quicker. Uncle Steven said he had really been missing the kiddos and definitly got in some good niece & nephew time.

` These pictures with Elliette and Steven playing on the stairs reminded me of a similar picture I took in December 2009...

Kind of loving this picture of the bro & I:

Present opening. I noticed that the theme of these pictures seems to be "playing with someone else's present."

It was short and sweet but we made the most of it. Love you guys!

Sick Days and Snow Days

Since October 31 we have had 7 days of kids home sick and 8 snow days. That has made for lots and lots and lots of time with my kiddos. The sick days have all been Miss Elliette. We started with a horrible case of pink eye (proceed at your own risk!) 

Which then became croup...

Which breaks a Momma's heart, but it does lead to some awesome cuddles :) 

Snow days were all about hanging in our jammies...

... Taking naps...

...and looking at the beautiful landscape. 

No, I have not changed my mind on snow. I hate the winter so very much. But I will admit that a fresh snowfall is an awfly pretty sight! 

However, having some men from your neighbor's landscaping crew show up to plow your drive is a welcome sight, too! 

We dressed up for our Christmas card photos... 

...we dressed up for Mizzou games... 

...we found that paper was both great to draw on AND fun to push around on the floor:

The kids are playing together and bonding like I always hoped they would. 

So then Elliette got the WORST stomach. bug ever and missed 4 days of school. While she mostly acted and felt ok, the bug did quite the number on her stomach. I had the lovely experience of collecting stool samples for the doctor. Ahh, parenthood! 

Hanging out with the silly girl waiting on the next blowout: 

With all of our time at home Will has discovered the fun of kinetic sand: 

I have gotten to paint: 

And Elle has discovered a love for books! 

When the last storm produced below freezing temperatures we did an experiment that involved throwing boiling water outside. Poof! It evaporated! 

Oh, sure we got a little stir crazy. But that's what selfies and yoga are for! 

Spring is still a long way off but I'm hoping we are done with the snow. I love love love these two angels but I would much rather be spending time at home with them this summer!