snowy days

We have enjoyed some great snow in the last month. Our friends, Peter and Myra, have a great hill in their backyard for sledding. Lucy is doing great being outside this winter. (You might remember that it was nearly February last year before she was interested in doing anything outside. She didn't even want to walk to the garage!) 

Anna Kate and Samantha sledding, with a little help from Myra to get them going. Samantha loved sledding. 
Our backyard has no hills or bumps. But as the snow piles up from the driveway we can make some! Anna Kate is climbing on a "hill" which is where our cucumber plant grew last summer (hopefully again this summer). 
Samantha loves being outside, loves it! She cries when we come in, even if she is cold and wet (like on this day, when it changed to icy sleet and rain while we were outside).

Lucy's third birthday

We celebrated Lucy's third birthday on Sunday - Super Bowl Sunday. So, we had pizza (her choice) after church. She was tired but very happy on the couch after it was all over! (These pictures are in backwards order. oops)
Opening presents - that's her face when she opened the Chapa's Bitty Baby! Her face was priceless! The Melissa & Doug mailbox is a hit (Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa - now, we play mailman!). Lucy got some of her favorite things, too - gum and striped tights and sparkly stickers  (thanks Uncle Chris and Aunt Emilie) and that purple pony she's been asking for (and I've been looking for ) since November!
Cake - a strawberry heart-shaped cake (her choice). She requested Anna Kate's help in blowing out the candles. Cute!
After our morning celebration - we love letting the girls open some birthday presents in the morning, so they can enjoy them throughout the day - the big girls walked to Stewart's with Gramma Maggy (a favorite tradition). 
A little celebration pre-lunch at Stewart's. 
In the morning, we opened some presents. Aunt Hillery and Aunt Heather sent "very merry un-birthday" presents to Anna Kate and Lucy. They included mary jane crocs and UTEP cheerleading outfits. Anna Kate wore hers all day!


Gramma Maggy and Grampa Bill gave Lucy a big-girl bike. We're riding it inside right now, since the driveway is icy. :)

The start of the birthday day!

We love this little Lucy-Lu! She can be a ball of energy - jumping, hopping, skipping around - or, just as easily a snuggle-into-you quiet little girl. I feel like I am learning so much about her this year, and I am so thankful for that. She adores big sister Anna Kate and is a great big sister to little Samantha, too. She is sensitive and very observant. This year she is really enjoying playing outside in the snow. She still loves her "pink bear" and she goes most places with us. But, Lucy also loves lots of soft, cuddly things and usually sleeps with countless animals, babies, and blankets.  We are all having a great time playing games together - thanks Aunt Heather for that super fun Candy Land game. 

Samantha is 15 months old!

How can it be? My little(st) girl is already 15 months old! She is up to so many things these days. She loves rocking chairs, and can climb into most chairs. She likes "jumping" on the bed (but she can't get her feet off the bed).  She has a great laugh and smile. She is allergic or sensitive to milk; we're trying to figure that out. But, for now, Lactaid milk (milk without the lactose) seems to be okay. She LOVES her big sisters - so cute! She successfully did her first "chunky" puzzle and carried a purse on her shoulder today! 

bedtime story funny

Last night we were reading Franklin and the New Baby (no babies coming in this house anytime soon - fyi). In the story Franklin says, "I can't believe my ears." Anna Kate quite matter-of-factly replied to David, "Franklin doesn't have any ears!" (Franklin is a turtle, so this is quite accurate.) We had such a good laugh!

games before naps

There's my big girl! 
Lucy has been joining Anna Kate and me for games before naps most days. As Lucy approaches her third birthday (!), we're working hard to keep her afternoon nap, which she still really needs to get through the late afternoon! So, we've been playing "Go Fish," Hungry, Hungry Hippos, Matching Bears, and Operation, which is a little challenging for both girls. (Operation has changed since I was little, too, by the way!) So, Anna Kate gets three buzzes before she has to pass the turn to someone else! 

Lucy concentrates so much! Her tongues is out and moving, right along with her little fingers, trying to work those tweezers.
She basically ignores the buzzing; although, I don't possibly understand how she can ignore it. Can you see his nose lit up in the picture? She just works and works until she tires of the attempt, or until she succeeds. 
There's that little tongue.

Vacuums, dessert and beads

Thanks, Aunt Hillery, for our Princess vacuum. The girls really like it!
Samantha has the funniest habit after dinner. Daddy loves it! Samantha comes running to Daddy, who is at the table, for a bite of dessert. Then after taking the bite she runs off to play some more. She always returns for more bites!
She enjoys her new vacuum, too!
And beads! She discovered the girls' dress up beads and has fallen in love with them. She can usually put them on and take them off (mostly) by herself.
So pretty! (and what a mess - she also likes dumping out every basket, bag, container she can get her hands on!)

December

We arrived back in Albany on December 30, and we had to be in Boston on January 1 for our annual Boston Winter Conference. It was so worth it to be there! Of course, we spent lots of time with our friends, the Bettses, who live in Ithaca. Here is a picture from lunch one day. We didn't usually venture outside for meals; the hotel is connected to a big mall, so we can eat in the food court. But one day we went out to try a new-to-us burrito place (mmm . . . ). Here we are city-living-style in the very small but good restaurant. 

David's younger sister, Hannah, got married December 28 in Omaha. It was so much fun to be together for Christmas and her wedding. Our girls did surprisingly well on the 3000-mile roundtrip car trip. Here's Samantha, at the reception, who claimed the back area as the place of her own party. She was amazingly cute, if I do say so - twirling, dancing, running . . .


Aunt Emilie and Anna Kate, who was one of the flower girls, watching dancing!
There is my most handsome husband and Samantha. I was sure that we would get a picture of our family of five, but, as you can imagine, caring for the three wee ones in the midst of the festivities was about all we could do. Oh well.
Here's Christmas- an action shot with so many Sheehan relatives!
oops. this one is out of order! But, this is the beautiful bride. 









To break up the drive on the way to Omaha, we stopped at my mom's new house in Indiana. We figured it was really important for us to be as well rested as possible when we arrived in Omaha on Christmas Eve. We had a very restful time in Indiana, and had a little Christmas early. (My mom has most of those pics, though.)
And, of course, we celebrated Anna Kate's FIFTH birthday on December 19, before we left town. I can't believe that she is FIVE! Late morning and throughout the day we got lots of snow. So, there was no birthday date with Daddy, which was a big disappointment. (they re-scheduled.) Here's some pics.