Christmas Time is Near!

Rich, Rachel and I went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens together on Saturday and had a fun filled day! We started off by looking at all the beautiful Christmas trees from around the world. Rachel truly loves looking at all the ornaments on the trees. A cute family shot...

Rachel LOVES trains and there are several on display. Here, she followed the train as it made its rounds.

I love this picture of Rachel, you can see the wonderment in her eyes as she is taking it all in!

Rachel stops at the Dutch tree every time! She adores the delft wooden shoes.

Holding hands with Daddy...

The highlight of Rachel's day was getting the chance to meet two of Santa's Reindeer! (We told her that Santa lent them for us to look at, but they would not be flying because they were saving their energy for pulling Santa's sleigh and delivering gifts.) She thought that they were wonderful, but she chose to admire them from afar and did not want to pet them.

They are such beautiful creatures, aren't they?!?!

This one was a baby - only 6 months old! She still had fuzz on her little antlers.

We jumped in the sleigh for a quick family picture before leaving. What an awesome day!!!

Making Christmas Cookies

We made spritz cookies with Nana on Friday and had lots of fun! Rachel was really interested in how we made the cookie dough. Putting on sprinkles was the best part!!!

Playing in the leaves!

It's always so much fun to play in the leaves! Rachel is infatuated with them and wants to stomp on them and play with them whenever she sees them! It's pretty darn cute. We were playing in the backyard with her bestest little friend Alessandra, and they had a ball jumping in the leaves, throwing them at eachother, and being silly little girls. What a fun November day!!!

Choo, Choo! All Aboard!!!

We went for a wonderful train ride last week with Anna. Rachel had not gotten to spent much time with Nana due to Nana & Papa's traveling, so this was an outing she and Mommy were really looking forward to. We took the train from Coopersville to Marne and back again. The inside of the train was decorated in cute fall decor, and the weather matched. It was fun to learn about the history of the train and the cities. We enjoyed Rachel's expressions when she saw new things. What a fun time we had! Choo, Choo!!!

Diaper Cream feels like finger paint, Mommy!

Well, I learned a valuable lesson last week... put the diaper cream WAY up HIGH out of Rachel's reach. Diaper cream can apparently be an extremely fun toy! It is so smooth and creamy... So here's the story. After her nap, Rachel decided to get all the diaper changing items out for me. She is such a big helper. (You'll see the changing pad, diaper and wipes are all on the floor, ready to go.) But the diaper cream was far too tempting... so she rubbed it all over herself and on the carpet, making it one of the worst messes yet to clean up! Before rushing to clean her up, a bath was most definitely in order, I had to grab the camera to capture this!!! I just know my parents are looking at this with huge smiles on their faces, laughing to themselves, thinking that what goes around comes around - as a child I gave them a run for their money, too! I'm certainly getting my share of paybacks! Oh well, these are the fun things to remember, right? She was having so much fun!!!

Dance Class

Rachel had her first dance class yesterday night! It is a combination of tap, ballet and "creative movement" class. Seeing her in her little leotard was one of the cutest things I have EVER seen! And she had a wonderful time. The girls go into the classroom without the Mommies - Rachel did not seem to have any problem with that. She went right in and had fun. She really liked seeing herself in the mirrors! Her two other little friends - Alessandra and Carolyn - are in the class, too. They were all so adorable!

The "Pink" Room!

This is Rachel's new bedroom! She affectionately calls it the "pink room" and has been happy transitioning into her big girl bed. Rich and I painted the room and then I hung butterflies and dragonflies from the ceiling to give it a whimsical, garden feel. She loves to lay in bed and look up at them... I'm so glad she likes it so much!

Happy 1st Birthday Lilyana!

Today was Lilyana's First Birthday!!! She is a dear friend and my God Daughter. So this was a party we weren't going to miss! We played, socialized, and had a delicious dinner. Then, it was time for the cake. I love seeing the babies' reaction to the cake and the mess that ensues is always unforgettable. So with that, we watched in anticipation as Lily's cake was brought to her... then, TEARS! Poor thing was scared - maybe of the candle? But after she got a good taste, she gobbled it and made a big mess for her mommy. Of course, a bath was in order to clean her all up. What fun! We're so thankful to have such wonderful friends and to share these very special days with them!!!




































While getting in the bath, Lily managed to smear frosting all over her mommy. Lily was covered in it. What a cute cake face! She is just so precious...

Happy 1st Birthday, Lily!!!