Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in Rock Chalk land. Our little Goose loved opening her presents and taking it all in. She loved ripping the paper again this year. Although, I think she is starting to realize the things inside the paper may be more fun than the paper.

She got lots of wonderful things for Christmas. We opened presents Christmas Eve with my family. Uncle Ry was in town just for the day. So we spent the day with Grammy and Papa.

This particular package has books with our little Goose's name in the title. What a creative and wonderful gift!

This is probably the most played with toy she got. It's an alphabet train ride on toy. She loves playing with it.

 Time to stop for a snuggle with Papa. It was way past bedtime and we were pushing it. Hence, the paci to attempt to buy time.

 We woke up Christmas morning at our house and Lucy came down to find this.

 She was in love with the American Girl stuff. Thanks to L & J who just gave it to us. L decided she didn't need it any more. She was getting too grown up for it.

Goose got a purse. She loves carrying around Grammy's and mine. Grammy thought it was only right to get her a purse complete with cell phone, compact and coin purse. She loves carrying it with her.

She got a backpack too. She got a backpack from school in the fall and loved it. We decided she could get a new one for Christmas. She asks for her "ba pa" when she's ready to wear it around the house.

We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season. We are hopeful you took time to remember what the season is all about. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year. We look forward to seeing what 2012 brings to all of our family and friends.

Santa Visit

Our little Goose still isn't real sure about Santa. We actually had to take two different trips in to see him as the first time was just too much. I thought this picture was adorable. She was definitely more interested in the candy cane than she was in the man in the big red suit.

Happy Holidays!

Our little pumpkin...

isn't so little any more. Here are the pictures from last year. Oh my goodness how she has grown.

And then the pictures from this year. Unfortunately, we didn't remember to get the camera out before bed time so they aren't the greatest. You get the idea though...

 

Thanks Uncle Paul for the beautiful tutu!

So we have a subscription to this awesome pumpkin carving site. Here are our pumpkins from this year. Mine is the owl. D decided on Edgar Allen Poe.

Happy Halloween from Rock Chalk Land!!!

A weekend adventure

Today was my dad's birthday. So we hopped in the car and took a trip north of the river, took in the beautiful leaves and couldn't resist the opportunity for some wonderful family pics. Here are a few of the highlights.

Pumpkin Hunting

We took a family trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday. Oh boy did we have tons of fun! (To be honest, it was much more fun than either D or I anticipated.)


We took in some entertainment before we worked our way to the patch. She started out chilling in her stroller, that didn't last long.

She wasn't sure about all of the action at first and thought my lap might be a bit safer.

Our little Goose was a dancing fool once she got comfortable.

She danced so much she worked up quite a thirst.

Then, it was off to check out the square pumpkin

and the old medicine wagon.

I decided to take a load off. She was pretty interested in the pumpkin cannon though.

I love this picture. I wish she would have been more into sitting. They had some wonderful back drops set up for pictures.

After D and I took in some tetherball (yes, teatherball), we were off to the pumpkin patch. We decided we should go little as our Goose is just a little one herself.

Minus the hand with the snotty kleenex, you can see she picked herself out a good little one.

All in all, we had a blast. We will most definitely be going back again next year. 

It's been a while...

I just realized how very long it has been since we posted last. Things are happening so fast these days as our little Goose is off and running (quite literally). She loves acting like a big girl and makes no bones about telling us exactly what she wants. We look forward to listening to all she has to say as she continues to share her new words and "almost words" with us every day.

Here are some pictures to catch everyone up on what we've been up to the last couple of months.

Can you see the resemblance to daddy in this picture?

She loves her little car. It was a wonderful birthday gift from the boys. It provides hours of entertainment.

Goose wants so badly to be independent. She would much rather head up the stairs herself than be carried up. Even when it is time for bed.

When she realized Daddy was back there, Goose decided to smile for the camera.

We went to the Renaissance Festival with Nana and Grandpa last weekend. Goose was taking it all in. There was some seriously good people watching! Plus, there were camel and elephant rides. We watched from the sidelines, but she was very intrigued.

At the end of the day we decided to watch the jousting match. 

Can you see this adorable onesie that says "Silly Goose." Thanks B and A for thinking of our little Goose when you saw it. She really does love it, contrary to what this photo shows. She was running out of energy given we were way past nap time.

I'll try to post more often. Be patient with me.

Lucy's Birthday Party

Last weekend was the formal celebration of Lucy's first birthday. There were family and friends, presents and most importantly, cake. It had all the makings of what a first birthday should be. Here are a few of the photo highlights...

Grandpa got a good dose of Goose's loving. He even made a point to not clash with the birthday girl's outfit.

Presents came first. Goose did fairly well at getting the wrapping paper off. A little help from mommy was a time saving strategy. Although, tissue paper in bagged gifts was no problem.

Grams and Lucy being entertained by a couple of the other little munchkins in our lives. 

We were lucky enough to have the lady that made our wedding cake make the cake for this occasion, as well. Mom did such a great job at bringing together all the aspects of a wonderful ladybug themed party. 

We fed the ladybug portion of the cake to Goose first. All she did was eat icing, not quite realizing the fluffy treat that lie beneath. So...

We fed her a piece of cake, instead. Here she is adorned in her party hat from Uncle Paul.

"This is sooooo good," she seemed to say. Good stuff, Maynard.

Well, the party was a smash and Goose filled her role as the messiest cake eater in the room perfectly. For mom and dad, this felt a little like a rite of passage; this was the first of many birthdays to come. Happy Birthday, Goose. We love you.

Mom and Dad