Little Vera?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of Vera Bradley bags (quilted fabric purses for those of you out of the loop..). Well, this little outfit happens to look just like one of my bags. Just look how excited Caroline is to be dressed so cute!!

Here she waves hi as she 'jumps' right out of my Vera Bradley bag! She's so talented!

My sisters teased me when I was pregnant that I should name the baby Vera for a girl and Bradley for a boy, and then all my bags would be personalized for them! Nice thought, but I like our sweet Caroline named just as she is!

She wiggles so much it's hard for her to sit still long enough for a pose! Those arms and feet are going constantly! Had to throw in a post with our girl since the house and dog already got their props today!

Ikea update

I never officially posted the results of our Ikea assembling, so here they are!

I am so proud of Rick- each dresser drawer was 25 pieces-yep! Multiply that times 14 drawers and you'll understand what a feat that is!

The king bed & nightstands were among his first projects.

And among the last...the tv stand & 3 bookshelves for his rec room/rick room. This area is still a work in progress, but it's coming. Rick expects to wire the surround sound later this week so at least he'll be in business for the bowl games. I plan to paint a stripe around the room and we have shelves and memorabilia to hang, but it's a start.

Why exactly do I have a dog????

Happy Anniversary to me....a little gift from the dog yesterday!! Grrrr....

Yes, I usually wipe her feet when she comes in from outside, but I thought, eh..what's a little snow gonna do?? Here's what I get for my thinking!

Apparently the dumb mutt has decided she likes to 'camp' under our stoop to the back yard, which conveniently enough is all dirt and no sod. I forgot this little detail yesterday when I went to let her in and the results are obvious.

Do you see her hiding there in the front room at the end of her trail??? We've now cleaned both wood floors twice and the carpet in two rooms. You see, dogs also like to run from the mad adults in the house, so we have a trail everywhere! What fun!

Isn't she cute??? I would like to point out that if ANYONE out there is in need of a furry beast, she's yours!!!! Anyone???

And the Holiday fun continues...

A Christmas morning brunch- with lots of excitement over the toys from Santa! Tradition is to go to my sister Wendy's home for a holiday brunch on Christmas morning to see what Santa has brought. I'm sure it will move to our home eventually, but it sure is fun to see the excitement in their eyes. Here Will does his best rockstar pose with his new guitar.

Lots of fun was had building that marble tower!

The Smith's arrived in Santa hats and pj's!

Our little elf joins the Santa hat parade!

And later on.....Christmas Day dinner at the Ward household- lots of kids and lots of fun! Here Hannah poses as a Christmas tree as we decorate her with balloon ornaments.

The master chef for the day- Grandpa Ward created quite a feast as usual!

I think she's showing off her red hair in this photo. It will be fun to see if she keeps it this color!

Excitement builds as we approach the gift opening!

Leah and Grandpa model their new vests- they look like opposites here- or candy canes, as Leah put it!

The Nuspl family gifted Caroline with a handpainted rocker. Beautiful! They all helped with the painting process. Won't that be a treasure she'll grow in to! Love it!

The festivities continued on the 26th with Rick's family coming to our home. Here Haley and Brady sort out the gifts for our exchange.

Look how nice that new sofa holds people!!

Caroline offers some big smiles for Grandpa Smith!

This is one of my favorite pics of the holiday- just a natural smile from our happy girl!

And here she is- Santa's little helper. So excited about the holiday she's jumping out of her hat! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday. We sure did!

Merry Smithmas!

We had a big day on Christmas Eve yesterday! We spent some time with the Smith family and Caroline finally met the rest of her cousins. Here she bonds with Haley and Brady.

And Aunt Lori too!

It was a very special day because Caroline got to meet her Grandma Smith. Caroline was born on Ron and Carol's wedding anniversary, and was named after her Grandma, too! I think she even looks a bit like her Grandma Smith. And Grandpa Smith looks like he's got the right touch!

Here we are- the Smith clan! What a lot we have to be thankful for.

Before heading out to church we posed in front of the mantle, all dressed up. Here's the Marysville Smith girls ready to go!

And here's one proud Daddy!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hallelujah! The couch has arrived!

Little did I know when I ordered this sofa on November 1st that it would not arrive until December 22nd! Wow- what a fight with my friends at JCPenney! But - it's here! Just in time for Christmas! Relief! We've been enjoying our lovely new home with just 2 seats..fine for us but not exactly inviting for all of our guests. But now we are in business! It finally looks like a home, and we can host our visitors and even offer them a place to sit. So, if you were one of the lucky few that has already visited, it's time to come back and see the real home now. (Although we're still minus a kitchen table...I've spotted one at Crate & Barrel but it's on backorder til February! Hey, if I can wait 7 weeks for a sofa, I guess I can wait for a table too!)

In the meantime...we'll be enjoying our couch!

A visit with Amy from NC

Amy used to be my teaching partner before she moved to North Carolina, and is truly my best friend. Gosh I miss her! I was thrilled she came home for Christmas so we could visit. We had just a little catching up to do!

Even Caroline realizes she's in good hands! Amy's a natural at this!

Along for the visit was Amy's twin nephew and niece. Here Colter takes a turn at handling Caroline.

When she wasn't napping, Caroline was all smiles for their visit.

And Lily has no problem posing for the camera-or with feeding Caroline!

Adorable! But I believe Caroline may be getting a bit tired here. I can't believe how big the twins are getting. What a fun holiday visit!

She's blossoming!

Mommy bought me a new hat....and I'm blooming!!! (Do you think someday she'll hate me for all this??)

Just wait til Mommy buys one in another color!!!

A giggly diaper change!

I just had to post this series of pics..and I just couldn't decide- So I posted them all....She is like this every time she gets a diaper change!

Love the tongue hanging out!

...and if this is not a 'hi', I'm sure it's her signal that she's had enough with the photo shoot! What can I say..the camera was handy!

And this one is my fave! What a goofy grin!