Snow, Snow and More Snow

It has been a virtually snow-less winter in the Pacific Northwest this year. I almost thought we could squeak by without getting a major downfall, but I was wrong. In the last two days Spokane has unfortunately received more than 10 inches of snow, and many school districts, including the one we live in, were closed today. The bright side of all of this snow is that Marek LOVES it! He especially loves "helping" daddy snow blow the drive way. I just wish it didn't take so long to get Marek dressed in his snow gear! :) But in the end it is completely worth it when you watch him having so much fun!

how cute are these two!

happy, happy, happy

loving life

so sweet

doing it himself

Snip Snip

It's funny to me the things my husband ends up caring about that I would just never think he would give a second thought to. Our son's hair just happens to be one of those things. Brandon is adamant about the idea of keeping Marek's hair longer...for as long as we can! With that being said, I have trimmed his hair here and there, but he has never had an official haircut, that is until today! I have to say I was really impressed with the little guy. He stayed pretty still and he didn't get wriggly and whiney until the very end. Good job Marek! I think his hair looks super cute, and the most important part is that dad likes it too! Thank you Jasmin for giving him his first of many haircuts!

The first cut

He's being so still

Having fun

The finished look :)

Hard at Play

If you have a two year old then you know that they are constantly in motion. I swear the only time Marek is stagnate is when he is sleeping or eating. What I could accomplish if I had that much energy! :) Lately Marek's go to game is "the ticket game". He rides around on his Power Wheels (a Christmas presents from Nana) and daddy and mommy play the police officers that pull him over and give him tickets for speeding. He thinks it's hilarious.

big smile

We also have a growing artist in our midst. He loves to "color"... its mostly just scribbles on paper, but its been a great tool for him to learn his colors.

working on a masterpiece

McKenna too is hard at play. She love, love, loves her exersaucer! She has figured out that her seat spins and can now navigate herself around and play with all of the exciting toys around her. She is also a big fan of her play gym too. If I'm being honest, she is pretty much happy no matter what she is doing.

     tummy time under the play gym

                                                                   what a big girl

                                                                     bouncing around

What I find the most amusing about Marek and I guess most kids at his age is that he has a house full of toys and yet a good amount of the time he has more fun playing with random objects (the laundry basket, big diaper boxes etc.) Go figure!

The greatest outcome from all of this hardcore playing is the reward of a two and a half to three hour nap in the afternoon! :)

Adventures in Eating

And it begins. The big jump from milk to actual food. If you can even call rice cereal real food. I remember being at this threshold with Marek. That kid ate everything and anything from the very first feeding. Which is probably why he was a little bit chubby from the ages of six to ten months. McKenna on the other hand is actually quite restrained. She is finally getting the whole..."oh, I need to open my mouth and actually swallow" part. And today I think she actually enjoyed herself and the rice cereal. However, I think Marek might have enjoyed feeding his sissy just as much as she enjoyed being fed! :) More to come.

                                                                 I want MORE

                                                              Good to the last lick

 Having fun

Good job BIG Brother

                                                            So proud of himself

So proud of herself

Look at her face "give it to me already"

Marek at this stage

McKenna is 5 months old

It is hard to believe that 5 months have passed since my precious little McKenna Grace was born. While my sister-in-law Stacie was here over Christmas she was gracious enough to take some pictures of McKenna and they came out absolutely beautiful. We love you baby girl and we can't wait to continue to watch you grow and blossom!

Christmas

Well, this being my first post on our new blog, I thought starting with a recap of Christmas would be a pretty good way to start! Our Christmas almost didn't start when my brother and his family nearly got stranded at the Denver airport due to snow, but thankfully by the grace of God they were able to get on a flight to Seattle and then drive from Seattle to Spokane. Not fun, but we are just thankful they made it! Christmas just isn't Christmas without the whole family. We started our Christmas Eve morning by having a wonderful breakfast with my husbands brother Bryan, his wife Kammie, and their 11 year old son Noah. It was great to be able to spend some time with them relaxing, eating and opening presents! Later that evening we continued our new tradition of going out to dinner on Christmas Eve. It was so great, and the best part is that we didn't have to prepare any food or clean up any dishes! :)

Noah, Bryan, Kammie and our fam around the tree

Kammie and Mr. Marek

Noah checking out his present

                     Knox and Marek waiting for dinner

                                   Knox eating a straw

        Mom and Kyle

Marek trying on rainder ears

             McKenna and mommy

 Mckenna and daddy opening presents

Christmas day was so much fun with a two year old! Marek was so excited to open presents and see what Santa had brought for him. Mckenna was happy to just take it all in!

                                                Marek focused on unwrapping his presents

  Loves his rocking horse "Pete"

McKenna sitting on her giraffe

    Stocking stuffers

   McKenna's stocking isn't the much bigger then she is!

   Marek just wants to get down and play with his toys

     Stacie and McKenna snuggling in front of the fire

    Nana, Great Grandma, and Great Grandpa with the grand kids

All in all we had a wonderful Christmas! Marek had a blast playing with his cousin Knox and it was great to spend time with family for an extended period of time. My only wish is that it wouldn't have flown by so fast!