Baking

One of my favorite things to do with Jenna is to bake.  We love baking breads, muffins, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc.  She helps here and there when she feels like it.  And she of course loves eating the chocolate chips and licking the spoon with batter from the bowl.  She gets really excited whenever we are going to bake.  I have been thinking about these pics lately and wanted to post them because they are some of my very favorite pics ever.  This was almost 2 years ago and was one of Jenna's first times helping in the kitchen.  I just think she is so cute in her little diaper with chocolate all over her face. :)

Wendy Got Married

Wendy got married at the end of July but I never posted about it!  Jenna was a very cute flower girl, and I was a bridesmaid.  Ivy was only 5 or 6 weeks old and just slept in our arms the whole time. :)  When it was Jenna's turn to walk down the isle she threw the flower petals from her basket as she walked.  However, she didn't have time to throw all of the petals so while she stood in the line next to me during the ceremony she kept throwing the petals until they were all gone.  It was really funny and cute! Welcome to the family Darian!

The Blacks came to the reception. I love this picture of these cute cousins.

Beautiful new Baby Ivy.

On the dance floor.

Family pic.

Wendy and Jenna.

Sibs.

S

Cute, energetic Jenna.

Almost forgot

I almost forgot to mention that during our drives to and from San Diego, Andrew drove most of the time, and I sat in the back of the Ford Escape in between the two girls so I could help them with whatever they needed.  This was my view for a good part of the drive.  I sure do love my sweet little family.
:)

Halloween and Jenna's 4th Birthday!

We have been very busy with lots of fun events!  We went to the annual Willardson halloween party at Curt and Gayle's house and dressed up as Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell.  It was a lot of fun!  I made my, Jenna's and Ivy's costume which was fun and something new for me! Jenna's hair has natural ringlets which made her a perfect Wendy.  I was in charge of the joy school halloween party which was fun.  We had Jenna's first birthday party with friends two days later.  Then that night we had a family party with the Hughes clan.  And on her actual birthday we were in San Diego and went to Sea World!  Andrew was participating in the "Tough Mudder" event there the next day with a bunch of his cousins.  They had a lot of fun! Andrew worked really hard to prepare for it. We are very proud of all of them!
Four things I love about Jenna at four years old:
1.  She is very sweet, understanding, loving, and thoughtful towards us.
2.  She has a wonderful imagination! It is really fun to listen to the things she comes up with while playing.
3.  She like to "tell stories together" She leads us in making up progressive stories together.  We each take a turn telling part of the story. We do this during almost every car ride we go on.
4.  She can make Ivy laugh more often and more easily than anyone else, and is a very helpful big sister.

First Jack 'O Lantern

 Preschool Halloween party. We played games, had festive treats, a costume fashion show, etc.

 Family Party

Tough Mudders!San Diego and Sea World

Jenna's Friend Party. Butterfly and flower themed. They made butterflies out of construction paper, t.p. rolls, and stickers.  They also colored a butterfly coloring page and collected nature items outside in color coordinating egg cartons. :)

Jenna wanted flower cupcakes that were red inside, had green frosting for grass, pink petals, and blue centers. Tadaa!

I just put this pic in just because I love it. :)

Update and Mommy Thoughts

I love, love, LOVE being a mother.  This is definitely, without a doubt in my mind, what I am meant to do in life. The joy I feel through motherhood is unlike anything I could have ever imagined.  It is so immense.  Am I a perfect mother? No.  But I try my very best, and I hope my children will always feel my tremendous love, adoration and gratitude for them.  Though this stage of motherhood can be challenging at times, I am in no rush for it to pass.  I love my littles being little.  It is so fun to observe how precious they are.They are both so cute, sweet, happy, and fun! I love all of the funny things Jenna says, and how she looks out for all of us and enjoys serving, helping, and spending time with each of us.  I love how Ivy's smile takes over her whole body, how she coos and talks to us, and makes me feel so loved by the way she calms down from crying whenever I am the one to hold her, falls asleep easily in my arms, and is so snuggly.  I love my girls SO much! I am SO grateful to be able to spend so much time with them as a stay at home mom. I have so much fun hanging out all day with them. I am so grateful to be their mom!  These are my favorite years of my life so far.  I love being a mother. Here are a few fun pictures from the last month or so.

The Last 2 Months

The last 2 months, or 10 weeks I should say have been very busy.  A new addition to the family incorporates a lot of changes.  We have definitely had our hands full with family events, learning how to recognize and meet new needs, getting ready to start new things, etc. Jenna started preschool and dance class this week! Ivy is a very sweet little baby.  When she is not too tired or hungry, she is VERY wiggly and smiley. She has been patient with us as we have been learning how to recognize and meet her needs and Jenna has been patient as well with all of these new adjustments.  Jenna has been doing a lot of big girl things by herself and is a great helper.  Ivy has sparkly eyes, a big smile, and makes us all feel very happy.  We are very blessed to have two very sweet, happy, loving, fun little girls.  Here are some pics of the past two months.