Random pictures/videos

Here's Charlie trying to relax while Emma pokes his belly. I went over to pet his belly after this and he kicked me with his claws. Guess I see where I stand...

Last night we took the kids to Zootastic - a two mile trail though a park with Christmas lights. It was their last night of the season. They also have animals and other things to see, but we just went to drive through and see the lights.
70 degree January days mean bike rides around the neighborhood!

Drew and I were laughing so hard at Emma's hair every time she got to the bottom of the slide!

And as soon as she got to the bottom of the slide, she headed back up to go again! Drew taught her how to do it and held her hand to help her until she figured it out - so cute!

They liked to go down together!

Cheese!

The kids were dressed up to cheer the Hoosiers on to victory when we played Ohio State!

Drew practiced his dribbling and passing with Chad part of the time!

Emma practied her cheers. HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS!

Emma can do her forward roll on the floor, so now we're moving on to some strength and conditioning to get her ready for uneven bars. =)

Emma is starting to string words together like a cave man! "Mommy, Drew ba pop!" when Drew's balloon popped was her favorite sentence - she told me about it for a few days! Drew fell and cried and she came to me, "Mommy, Drew ouch!" Yesterday she figured out how to say "apple juice" and said it a whole bunch. She even took her cup to Charlie and kept saying, "kitty, apple juice."

Christmas in Lenoir

On Monday, December 26th, I woke up with some sort of stomach bug. I felt awful all morning, but better later on. So, we were able to still go to Chad's mom's family gathering in Mooresboro. Drew played out on the playground most of the time. Emma I think was worn out from all our traveling and Christmas in general...she wasn't a happy girl until one of the little cousins swang with her on the playground! Then we all headed to Lenoir to eat dinner and exchange presents. We all stayed the night and then got to see Nana the next day. Here's the pictures...but not in order! I'm having issues with the website...

Here's Chad and Drew playing with baby Owen. Owen is looking more and more like Grant!

Drew and Olivia played with their new Etch-o Sketches!

Emma loved her new penguin hat and gloves - they match her red coat!

Emma got lost in her big bag of presents!

Drew got monster trucks!

Baby Owen was so happy the whole time we were there! Such a good little baby! It's hard to believe he's already 3 months old!

I was so happy Nana got to come over - it was her first time meeting Owen. She loves playing with the kids! And Emma really liked her key that she wears on a necklace! haha

Christmas Eve and Christmas at home!

This website is driving me a little bit crazy...sorry, the pictures are out of order, and I can't figure it out!!

Drew got the Monster Jam Wii game that he'd played in Florida with Parker and Will! He is definitely in to monster trucks right now.

Emma got a new baby doll - and she came with a diaper bag w/ a diaper and wipes in it. She loves babies and really likes pretending.

The baby also came with jars, spoons, bottles and a bib!

Love the wrapping paper mess!

Drew really tore into the presents this year!

Emma wasn't sure how to get into the presents. She'd tear off itty bitty pieces and need some help! Santa brought her a Hello Kitty necklace and the First 100 Words book (which was Drew's favorite book as a toddler - he totally wore his book out!).

Here's the kids, bright and early at 7:30am DYING to open their presents!!

On Christmas Eve night, Emma put the new coat on her baby doll that my parents got her. Emma loves hats (and calls hoods "hats"), so she really likes this outfit on the baby!

We let the kids open one present each on Christmas Eve...slippers!! And I got monkey slippers from Julie!

Chad's parents stopped over in the afternoon on Christmas to see the kids. I think the kids had missed them - we hadnt' seen them since Thanksgiving weekend. But by the end of the day, they were worn out! I was sitting on the couch, and Emma squeezed in with me!

Christmas in Indiana

I can't get the computer to let me rearrange the pictures...so they are out of order. I apologize! =)

Wednesday, December 21, we headed to the airport bright and early and headed to Indiana to celebrate Christmas with my family. Wednesday evening, my sister and her family came over to hang out. Then Thursday, our whole family got together to decorate cookies (yearly tradition!), exchange presents, and eat a Christmas dinner. Then Friday, we took the kids to the Commons Mall and then headed back to my parents house to play some Family Feud (which I think the men won EVERY round!). Columbus has been doing some major renovations since I moved away - and the Commons Mall is one of them! It is totally different than what I remember. When I was a kid we played on the little indoor playground at the mall...but now it is like no other playground I have EVER seen! Here's Emma on the playground.

And Drew peeking at Emma.
And everyone from Columbus knows about the Chaos sculpture!

And here's the playground...amazing! The climbing part is for 5-12 year olds. Drew started to try it, but it was really busy and he was much smaller than the other kids and about got trampled.

Cookie time!! My mom made a bunch of dairy free sugar cookies and gave each of the kids some icing and sprinkles to work with.

Drew figured out his Leapster Explorer that my parents got him pretty quickly - he loves it!

Emma got headbands! She wore them all at once...but now I can't even get her to wear them one at a time. I won't give up though - they're so cute!

Ben got a Wii game, so the boys had to try it out upstairs - Parker, Drew and Tim.

The newest Greenlee baby - Jackson Edward - is so SWEET! And tiny! I think Julie said he was just 6 lbs 11 oz the day before we got to meet him (at about 12 days old). Emma was very interested in him, and didn't even get jealous when I held him. She'd just say, "baby," and wanted to touch him.

Look at her tongue sticking out in concentration! Uh oh - like mother like daughter!

The kids take cookie-decorating VERY seriously (especially Will!)...but Drew was the licker this year (seems like every year one of the kids starts licking the cookies and then has a pile of cookies to themselves! haha).

Ah ha! Caught them both eating on the job!

My dad went and dug out my old keyboard for me - the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Christmas vacation begins...and we're off to Indiana!