Christmas morning...

Christmas morning!!! Santa's elves were very busy wrapping gifts and preparing for the big day... With everything in place the kids had to be woken up to see what Santa had brought them. (I know that wont last long but it was nice since we were up til the wee hours of 3:30!)

Finally awake we snapped a few photos in front of the tree.

Logan, my poser, sat nice and still for the photo shoot.

So he got his stocking first! =)

Lillian very carefully pulled everything out of hers.

She was very excited for the Little Kitty PEZ!!!

Logan scored with some Butterfinger!

After stockings it was time to play for a while so he dumped out all his cars.

Lilian wanted to see what Santa brought her so the kids each got to open one gift.

Santa brought her babies!!! Snow white with five dresses... Santa, you shouldn't have!

Oh wait, Lillian got to open two. Can we say SPOILED!

Logan was happy and content with one.

He got a CHUCK semi truck. He loves his cars and trucks. Both kids were very happy with thier gifts and somehow we were able to keep them out of the rest of the gifts until the rest of the family arrived for breakfast! =)

Christmas!!!

Another Christmas has come and gone and the kids were spoiled... AGAIN!!! This year we spent Christmas Day at Shari and Joey's house. We figured we had not been there Christmas Day since 2004 so we were due! With everyone there, the house filled up fast but everyone had a good time. The two youngest, Matthew and Logan, had fun checking eachother out. I think they were happy to have another person there at thier same level to play with.

The girls quickly found a place on the couch to play with babies. I think this was the fastest that all the kids settled in and started playing together. We had hoped one day this would happen!!!

One last picture of the kids before opening gifts. They had been patient long enough.

Lillian got some little nesting boxes from Gramma Eileen that she adores! Anything little right now is just her size!

Logan had fun with the ribbon and wrapping paper...

Lillian also got a pony in a purse from Aunt Christine and Uncle Mike. Huge hit!!! To this day she still carries around the pusre full of her treasures!

We tried to get a good group shot of the kids but by this time they were done. They being the youngest two.

Lillian and Olivia were pals most of the day. It is always nice when we all get together and Lillian has a few girls on her side to play with.

Shari got the kids individual containers of cereal. Someone's cereal got spilled and Matthew must have sat in it.

Logan found the pile and started chomping away. I am not sure where he puts all this food he eats but he EATS and EATS and EATS!!! Can't imgine what it will be like when he is a teenager!!!

New Years Weekend

This year we went down to Tillamook, Or for New Years weekend to visit Daniel's Dad. We had not been down in a year so we figured it was time to get down there again. Like the year before it was very cold and Lillian still wanted to go out on the boat with Daddy. Part of the pond was frozen so Daniel had a hard time navigting around the island. On the far side of the pond it was frozen over. Here is a picture of Daniel breaking through the ice so they could go through. Last year Achilles got scared and jumped in the water. This year he was stupid and thought he could walk on frozen lily pads and fell in the water! LOL!

The trip around the pond was short but sweet. Lillian had a great time spending some time with Daddy and Achilles was just glad to be out of the boat and on dry land.

Next time we visit I think we will go when it is a little bit warmer out!!! A few years ago we met Christine and Mike down there and they camped on the island. I slept in the nice warm comfy house with Lillian but I think this year I may rough it in the tent with my air mattress! =)

Marine Corps Ball

Every year to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday each unit has a Marine Corps Ball. Last year we were unable to attend because I had just given birth. This year I pretty excited to get all dressed up for a night on the town! The Ball was held at the Portland Convention Center. Dinner was pretty good, drinks were over-priced and as soon as the dancing started we left. :) Below is a picture of the guys in the shop Daniel works with. Ssgt Najera, Sgt Clement, Sgt Perez and his wife Diana. This is another one of the guys. Who is that hottie on the left?

This is Clement and his date Heidi. After the ball we went to a club with them and some of her friends. We had a pretty good time dancing. As the crowd got bigger, louder, and younger we decided to go to Kales. Kales is a little Irish Pub downtown and it is tradition to go there every year after the ball .

This is Perez and Diana. Diana is such a sweetheart, beautiful inside and out.

All in all we had a pretty good time. It is always fun to get dressed up and go out but I don't think we will be doing it again for a while. By the end of the night both of our feet were killing us from all the walking, me in heels and Daniel dress shoes. Next time I plan to stick with flats! =)

It's rough being the baby!

The other night Daniel decided to mow the lawn. I was thrilled because this ment I would not have to worry about doing it while he was gone om the field. Usually the kids will both stay in while the lawn is being mowed but Lillian insisted on goin out. So out she went and I put up the baby gate to keep Logan in the house. He did NOT like this at all! He wanted to go out SO bad!!! After a few minutes of crying and trying to climb up the gate he decided it was okay to be in the house with mom. I even got a few smiles...

Most of the time though he kept his eyes on Dad and Sister while they were in the yard. He's getting so big!

When Daniel was done mowing Lillian was a little upset that the slide was not put back right away for her to play on.

She found something else to play with though until the slide returned.

Yum! Looks good, doesn't it?

She even got some yummy pool water to pour over her creation making quite the little mess. :)

She knew just what she was doing though. It is so fun to watch her play by herself. She has such a colorful imagination!

Not to mention a great sense of style. Check out those kicks!

She was cutting the grass up into little pieces for baby. What a nice big sister!

Looks good...

Growing up

My babies are growing up... I know I have been saying this in the past but it is really starting to sink in for me. Logan is 10 months old and before I know it Lillian will be THREE!!! Seems like just yesterday I was in Jacksonville, NC reading a home pregnancy test with a plus sign. Who knew one little plus sign could change my life so much! As birthday season draws nearer I am trying to accept the fact that getting older is a part of life and I need to enjoy every moment of everyday I have.

This year, since almost all the family has a birthday between September and January (making it birthday season), we are having a cousin's party. For the invites we decided to put pictures of the kids on the front. We tried a group photo but that bombed. Trying to get a good picture of one kid is hard enough let alone 6! Option two we decided to do three pictures. Ingrid did one of her girls and one of her boys, so I was to do one of my kids. Getting a good picture as I said is never easy. As you will see we had a 'great' time taking the photos! Shot one Lillian had a cheesy smile and Logan had the dear in the headlights look. The next two were okay but nothing that struck my fancy.

Then they did this! HOW CUTE!!! They really DO like eachother!

Since they were all dressed up I decided to try for a few more good ones but they had other plans as always. Logan looks a little tired here... just a little. (Soon after the photo shoot he took a nap.)

Lillian was a little tired too. Not sure what happened that made her SO upset but her cute little happy face changed really fast!

I got her to calm down but there were no smiles left in her for the pictures. With one looking down and the other looking up, I threw in the towel and went with the best one of the day. Now I look back at these photos and just smile. You can see the love they have for eachother even if they both despise the camera at times. :)

Lillian and Logan

Lillian loves to go outside to play. Most of the time Logan and I go out to join her but somedays I take advantge of the fence and let her go out with the dog and open the door so I can keep an eye on her while she plays. Yesterday was one of those days. I had a million things to do inside and Lillian wanted to go 'wee' (swing) so I put her out and Logan and I stayed in.

Logan was crawling around the livingroom while I was folding some laundry. I think he liked having free range of the space.

Every few minutes he would crawl over to the gate to take a peek out at sister.

Sometimes he would pull himslef up to look out but most times he would just look through the gate.

A few times Lillian came over to say hi and get some water. After about an hour of playing outside she was ready to come in. She set up her little high chair for brothers bear to sit in.

Brother of course had to go investigate...

Lillian was not too happy about that but she cleaned up the spilled water all by herself and put the bear back in the chair to play.

While she was cleaning up Logan crawled back over to the gate to look outside.

Lillian saw him standing at the gate and raced over to put her hand on his back. This made me so proud! She loves her little brother so much, it makes me so happy to see her protecting him.

This picture brings almost makes me want to cry. My babies are growing up right before my eyes! I am so happy they will always have eachother. They may fight over toys or get upset when the other one takes a special blanket but they love eachother thru it all.